Black Hills Forever

by A. C. Wilson

  “Not enough action at home, Andy?” Rayne teased.

  “Not as much as I’d like. I swear he falls asleep while I’m talking to him.” Andy looked incredulous at her statement.

  “Perhaps that’s the problem.” Nora offered.

  “What’s the problem?”

  “You should stop talking. Leave it until afterward.” Nora chuckled and soon they were all lifted with laughter.

  Rayne poured two cups of coffee and Nora sat content with her bottle of water. The doughnut box was open in the center of the table. Andy was wielding a pen and paper like a colonel in the reserves.

  “I know you don’t want a large wedding. Lacey seemed a bit put out by that.” Andy scribbled down more ideas.

  “Ach…I just can’t do a bunch of people. Small and intimate. That’s what I want for a wedding.” Rayne looked at them both as if daring them to gainsay her. No one did.

  “That opens up the venue candidates a bit more. We could use the Community Center, the church, or the main hall at the Laurel Leaf Bed and Breakfast. I particularly would like the Laurel to host it. Can you imagine?” Andy asked, looking at them both. Her green eyes twinkling with happiness. This was definitely her calling. “That main sweeping stair case and the expansive hall with the tall candle holders and flowers lining the aisle.”

  “Can we set up times to see them all? Then we can decide how we are going to decorate.” Nora asked, picking apart a sugared pastry. Rayne nodded. Andy wrote that down.

  “That’s another thing. I don’t want this to be expensive. I can’t afford anything lavish. So the simpler the better.”

  “Oh you shouldn’t worry about that. Garrett and Travis are splitting the bill.” Nora said around the piece of doughnut in her mouth. Rayne looked horrified and Andy looked near panic. Discussion was about to break down and Rayne couldn’t understand why she shouldn’t be happy about someone else paying for her wedding. Heck, her father should have if her were alive, shouldn’t he?

  “Read my lips.” Rayne pressed a fingertip to her chin. “Simple.” Nora nodded and then Andy followed.

  Both women understood the finality of the situation. Rayne was sure they both were worried about blowing up the marriage before it was even created.

  “What do you want to do about a dress? Do you want to go back to Rapid City to find one or look online?” Andy asked, going down her checklist. Rayne had considered the logistics of a dress. She didn’t wear them very often and in most cases, she felt completely awkward.

  “Maybe we could look online and see if you find a style you’d like to try on. If we can narrow them down, I’m sure Rapid City would have something similar in stock.” Nora suggested.

  It sounded logical. It beat showing up in a wedding shop where nothing lined the walls except long white dresses. The options were endless. It was almost overwhelming and it was only the dress. A dress she would only wear once.

  Biting her bottom lip, Rayne thought that it might be the one thing she would splurge on if she found the right one.

  “I do know that I want something long and not a whole bunch of sequins. Elegant and soft.” Rayne named off what she was willing to try and found herself daydreaming of the perfect dress. She wondered if it could be found in a few weeks.

  “Be careful. My mom will want you to wear hers.” Nora whispered as if Lacey were actually there. Rayne nodded and looked at Andy.

  “Right. So what about flowers? This will essentially be a Christmas wedding. What about poinsettias?” Andy asked, her pen drumming on the notepad. Rayne screwed up her face. Nora shook her head no.

  “Too much Christmas and don’t say Christmas cactus.” Rayne inserted before Andy could speak.

  “Oh what about those Calla lilies? I’ve always loved them.” Nora asked, wiping her fingers on a napkin. Rayne thought about it.

  “I’d love to have roses. They have always been my favorite.”

  “Maybe we should pick a theme or at least colors you want displayed at the wedding.” Andy said as she wrote her notes down.

  “What about white and red? Classic and simple.” Rayne liked the idea. It was going to be the eve before a major holiday and the colors would be in stock everywhere.

  “Brilliant. Not too feminine and not too Christmassy.” Andy wrote that down. “White and red roses for the bouquet.”

  “There are a couple of florists in town. We should talk to them, depending on how many we need.” Nora added.

  “Florists or flowers?” Rayne smiled and then chuckled when Nora shot her a dirty look. Pregnant women were fun to mess with.

  “I don’t think I want a ton of flowers.” Rayne said.

  “We can leave that until we pick a venue. See what might fit best and how much space we have to fill.” Andy tipped her head to write. “So we have ideas for the dress, the location as well as the flowers and colors. Not a bad place to start.”

  “Wait. What about an invitation list? We could start on that.” Nora opened her water.

  “Everyone in the family is invited, of course. Blake will bring Bailey and we should invite her sister if she wants to come. I don’t know if Royal will come, but he was at the first one.” Rayne tried to make light of it.

  “I’d like to invite Lance Harper. As it stands he may be moving to the hills. Seems he wants to be closer to his niece.”

  “Oh wow! That will be nice.”

  “Well if we are requesting invitations, I’d like to invite Colt. I know Drew would love it.” Nora paused and her face lit up. “Maybe he can sing at the reception!”

  “That would be special, Rayne. Such a unique gift for the day.” Andy was in awe, her eyes rounded with wonder.

  “That seems like a huge favor to ask.” Rayne was wary. She didn’t know what Garrett would think of Colt Cavanaugh singing at their wedding reception, no matter how big of a star he was. “Maybe we should run that by Garrett.”

  “Noted.” Andy smiled and ticked off her list.

  They all sat there in silence for a couple of minutes. The whole idea of a wedding for the Johnson family to be considered with some awe.

  “I just can’t believe it is all going to happen.” Rayne spoke before she had completely understood how the words were going to come out.

  “Garrett would have gotten married eventually. He’s a sweet guy for being a bit rough around the edges.” Andy observed, taking a drink of her coffee.

  “That’s not really what I meant.” Rayne pinched her brow together and tried to find a way out of the mire she’d created.

  “Is it happening too soon?” Nora asked, clutching her plastic bottle as if it planned on running away. Both she and Andy watched Rayne with concern and worry.

  “I just never expected to be doing this again. I mean, I meant forever the first time and you see how that worked out.” Rayne felt her stomach plummet. She shouldn’t have had two doughnuts heavy with frosting.

  “Matt told me once that the first leap is a calculated risk and everything after that is done by faith. You had no idea what would happen with Royal.” Andy flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder and sighed. “Love is an amazing journey. I’m glad I found my soul mate.”

  “I was a fool for far too long. I could have been happy years ago had I given Randy a chance to be the man I see now.”

  Rayne looked over, considering Nora. The world could be a different place if commitment disregarded fear.

  “Maybe we find our own way in our own time.” Rayne thought out loud. “Perhaps Nora you were not ready for Randy. Now you are.” She gestured at her baby bump. “Obviously.” They chuckled together.

  “The past trips us up. It inserts its fingers where it shouldn’t be. You can’t move forward without letting it go.”

  Andy was right. Rayne was getting everything she had ever wanted, except one thing. It wasn’t worth throwing it all away. She was blessed and she had found that blessing in these hills. A gem amidst the stones and his name is Garrett Johnson.

  Rayne
blew out a breath. Her heart hammering out a beat unlike her normal one. She smiled at the soon to be sisters around her. They looked back at her with promise and hope.

  “Would it be too much to ask for you both to stand up with me?” Rayne watched their smiles widen and Nora looked like she was going to jump out of her seat.

  “Oh I was hoping you’d ask!” Andy giggled and sat back in her seat with elation warming her face.

  “Absolutely. I’ll be as big as a house, but I would love to.” Nora patted her rounded belly and then reached for another doughnut. Andy and Rayne laughed.

  CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

  Garrett lay underneath one of the ranch trucks changing the oil. He was wiggling the wrench back into place when the toes of two boots caught his eye.

  “What are you doing here? I thought you had appointments.” Garrett asked, setting the wrench down and wiping his greasy hands with a rag.

  “I’m hiding. I was ambushed this morning by Andy and Nora.” Rayne spoke from the other side of the truck. Garrett made a face. It was bound to happen, but he knew surprises really weren’t Rayne’s favorite.

  “I had hoped they would wait.” Garrett offered, watching Rayne’s boots pace beside him.

  “Apparently it was deemed customary to wait until the next day.” She paused and he leaned closer. “Although I think I might have shocked Nora a bit by telling her she would have seen more than she would have liked if she came by last night.” Rayne giggled and Garrett chuckled at her.

  Nora on the best day could be too much and now that she was pregnant, well it was more extreme.

  “I would have loved to see her face.” Garrett said as he picked up the wrench again. He considered sliding out, but decided that she might share more if he were out of sight.

  “They were helpful in lining ideas up though. I think I’m most nervous about the dress.” Rayne was still pacing. He imagined her waving her hands about and the way her beautiful eyes opened her soul to the world.

  “Get whatever you want. No cost spared.” Garrett halted his adjustment to the nut when he noticed Rayne’s feet had stopped moving. Now her boots were pointed directly at him. He had the impulse to swallow hard and wonder what he could have said to draw her fire.

  “Oh! That brings up an excellent discussion I had with your sister and sister-in-law.” Rayne’s tone had changed and with it came the ice. “I won’t have you and your father paying for all of this wedding. I can carry my half.”

  “It wasn’t meant as a gesture, Rayne. I was going to pay for the whole thing, but my father wanted to make sure you got whatever you wanted. I didn’t figure it was worth fighting over so I agreed.”

  Garrett pushed off the concrete floor with his hand to move the rollers further. Realizing his mistake, he pulled his hand up just as Rayne’s boot came down on the spot it had been. That might have hurt. His brow knit together and his lips pressed firmly in a line.

  “What the hell was that for?” Using his feet, he pushed out from underneath the truck, but forgot to pull out his wrench. It fell just above his knee and he yelped both in surprise and pain.

  “I really shouldn’t be surprised that you all think you need to take care of me. Poor Rayne who doesn’t have any family left. I get it. I do.” She waved her hands around in the air as Garrett sat on the ground rubbing his knee. “Damn it, Garrett, I deserve to be consulted. If we are going to be partners, we share everything.” Her gold eyes fairly glowed with her intensity and Garrett felt mesmerized as he almost always did. Something about her enlivened everything about his life.

  “I’m sorry you were offended and I agree that we should share everything. I don’t like being left in the dark either.” Garrett took a deep breath and got up from the spot on the shop floor. “I want you to have what you want and I won’t apologize for trying to give it to you.”

  Rayne watched him as she clenched and unclenched her hands. Her agitation clearly running deeper than he knew.

  “Let’s share the cost. I will pay for my dress, the girls’ dresses, the flowers, and minister.” Rayne ticked each subject off her fingers and Garrett paid close attention. Her share would be a decent chunk of the cost. If she was going to take that on then he was definitely going to come up with a bang up honeymoon.

  “Deal. I will cover the rest.” Garrett raised a finger up. “As long as we don’t have this discussion again.”

  “And if we do have to have this discussion again?” Rayne challenged him. She was daring him to come up with something good.

  “Then I am paying for everything.” He had her there. She wouldn’t argue with him over this again. Other women would jump at the chance to have their dream wedding, but a fiercely independent woman like Rayne found it to be a shot to their pride. “Deal?”

  She mauled that question over, but finally nodded abruptly. Score one for him. It was likely he would be in the hole soon, so he would enjoy that boon while he could.

  “Nora wanted me to ask you what you thought of Colt singing at our reception.” Rayne leaned against the door panel of the truck. Her arms folded across her chest.

  “Colt?” It wasn’t all that long ago that he was the devil reincarnate and now his sister wanted Drew’s father to perform at their wedding. “Let me give that some thought and talk to Randy.”

  “I told her you might say that and I wasn’t sure about it myself.” Rayne hugged herself a bit tighter.

  “Are you cold?” Garrett asked her, moving towards her. She lifted a brow and shrugged.

  “I haven’t been feeling myself. Think it is just the weather.” She sighed quietly and moved away from the truck. “I told Royal I would come in and help him. I probably should get moving.”

  “Wait.” Garrett put his hand out to stop her and she looked into his eyes. All her feelings were laid bare in that moment. “Why don’t you go home and get some rest. Royal can handle it one more day. Heck, I’ll head that way when I get done here. I don’t want you sick with so much to do.” He cupped her elbows and brought her to him. She came readily and soon she was resting against him. He was worried. Something was off, but she wouldn’t tell him. Hopefully she wasn’t getting sick.

  “I need to go see him. If everything is fine and he can handle it, I will go home.” She looked up into his eyes. “I promise.”

  “Call me if he needs me to help. I can go in and spell you. I want you well. Stressing out and losing sleep is not what I want for you, babe. I’m almost your husband so you better listen to me.” Garrett teased her and Rayne shook her head.

  “That’ll be the day.” She moved away from him with a peck on the lips and out of the shop.

  Garrett watched her go. He was foolish enough to think that taking her on a surprise trip and savoring their love nest for a week would change her. He didn’t doubt her love or that fact that they would be married on Christmas Eve. He only wondered if Rayne could step out of her own way in order to be happy.

  Digging his cell phone out of his pocket, Garrett dialed his father. Travis picked up on the third ring.

  “Hello.” Travis’s voice was breathy and rushed.

  “Were you running to get to the phone?” Garrett quirked an ornery smile he knew his father wouldn’t see.

  “Wipe that grin off your face. I’m not back in top form yet.” Travis cleared his throat.

  “Understood. Hey I just had a talk with Rayne.”

  “Yeah.”

  “The welcoming committee this morning let the cat out of the bag about you and me paying for the wedding. Hurricane Rayne came in and was out for blood.” Garrett remembered the hard stomp where his fingers had previously been sitting. His knee hurt but he couldn’t lay that at Rayne’s door.

  “I wondered how long it would be before that happened. Those girls are so excited that no one can keep a secret.”

  “I can’t say as I blame them. I was afraid it might not happen.” Garrett leaned against the truck, his hand rubbing his jaw absently.

  “You’ve been
engaged for a while. Surely the wedding was inevitable.” His father’s voice softened. It alerted Garrett to who might be present on the other end of the line.

  “The first engagement was more a mutual understanding than an actual proposal. A host of other things made the wedding bells fade into the distance.” Garrett prayed his mom wasn’t going to be listening in. Then it dawned on him that he had called his dad’s cell phone.

  “I see. So you fixed that hole in the fence correctly this time?” Travis asked and Garrett started laughing. His mother was definitely in the same room.

  “That’s an affirmative.” It was like playing cops and robbers while corresponding in code over walkie-talkies.

  “Good to hear. Be sure to close all the gaps. There’s nothing worse than two sections that don’t meet properly.”

  “Will do.” Garrett found that to be most directional. If two sections of fence didn’t meet or the line was weak, any creature could bust through it. It was sound advice.

  “Good. I have physical therapy at Matt’s in an hour. Randy will be over to help check cows.”

  “Therapy at Matt’s?” Garrett hadn’t heard that one yet. He had been so wrapped up in Rayne that everything else had been forced to the back burner.

  “Blake suggested it. So I’m going to get in touch with my roots as they say.” His father did sound in better spirits and Matt had mentioned how difficult it was for him to be slowed down by the lame leg. Maybe it would be good for him.

  “Sounds good. I’ll give you a shout tonight and see how it went.” Garrett smiled when his dad said goodbye and hung up. He leaned up against the truck sifting through his father’s words and finding it funny that just now it was dawning on him that he was being prepared for marriage his whole life.

  Be accountable.

  Be useful.

  Work hard.

  Learn fast.

  Never, ever quit.

  Wasn’t that what it was all about anyway? Committing and making sure that when the day was at an end, everyone knew how you felt about them. It fit everything he had ever done in his life and it fit the biggest commitment he was about to make.