Cowboy After Dark

by Vicki Lewis Thompson

  “Should be a total of twenty. Eight are already here.”

  “Any more of the Thunder Mountain guys?”

  “No, unfortunately. We let them know about it, but they had issues of one sort or another and couldn’t make it. Phil had some people she wanted to invite, anyway, and apparently it’s nice if you have a good balance between the groom’s guests and the bride’s guests.”

  “I wouldn’t know about that. Never studied wedding etiquette.”

  “Not my area, either, but it’s Rosie’s for sure. Anyway, the others should start arriving around three-thirty or so.”

  “So what is it, now? About three?”

  Herb glanced at his watch. “On the dot.” He turned as an SUV swung into the circular drive in front of the house. “And here comes the bride.”

  Herb wasn’t the only one who’d noticed the SUV with Edie at the wheel and Phil and Lexi inside. As they got out, Rosie ran over with Hope, Chelsea, Whitney and Aria close behind. In a flurry of bags, boxes and laughter, the women unloaded the SUV. Then they all headed for the house.

  Herb smiled. “Rosie’s waited so long for one of her boys to get married here. It’s great to see her so excited.”

  “They all seem pretty excited.” Even Hope, he thought. Good. She seemed to be having fun, so maybe she was keeping her demons at bay.

  “Guess that means it’s time for the rest of us to put on our party duds.” Herb glanced at the clouds again. “Do they look closer to you?”

  “Yep. They’re moving this way.” The wind picked up. “Wow. They’re coming in fast, Herb.”

  “Damn.”

  “Look, before we change clothes, we could all work together and get the chairs into the rec building. We might have time to add some greenery and flowers to make it look a little nicer.”

  Herb rubbed the back of his neck. “Rosie would hate the idea of moving the venue.”

  Lightning zigzagged across the sky, and Liam automatically counted the seconds before he heard the crackle and boom that followed. “She might hate it, but we don’t have a choice. Even if we could hold the ceremony this very minute, I wouldn’t like our chances of finishing before it hits. And lightning is damned unpredictable.”

  “Then let’s get Damon and go talk with Rosie and Phil. I want a consensus before we move anything.”

  “Okay. It can’t be a long debate, though. We don’t have much time.”

  “I realize that. But when you’ve been married as long as I have, you don’t make this kind of decision without consulting your spouse. You’ll understand that better someday.” He started toward the side lawn at a rapid pace.

  “Assuming I find somebody as perfect for me as Rosie is for you.”

  Herb didn’t break stride. “Rosie thinks you already have.”

  “She’s wrong.”

  “Son, have you forgotten the number one rule around here?”

  Liam grinned. “Rosie’s never wrong?”

  “That’s the one.”

  “I haven’t forgotten. I’ll keep my opinion to myself.”

  “Doesn’t matter if you do or not. And I should warn you, she has a sixth sense about these things.”

  “Hmm.”

  They reached the group playing horseshoes, and Herb paused to allow Damon to finish his throw. Another ringer. The guy was deadly at this game, but Liam had known that when he’d set it up. The groom should be allowed to dominate the competition on his wedding day. Besides, the cake was safe.

  “I hate to break this up, Damon,” Herb said, “but I need you to come with me into the house.”

  “We should all go and get changed,” Cade said.

  “I volunteer my cabin for any of you who want to avoid the chaos in the house,” Finn said. “Chelsea told me she’d be getting dressed with the rest of the women, so there’s only me in there.”

  “Don’t any of you change clothes yet,” Liam said. “Let’s wait and see whether we have to move chairs into the rec building.”

  Damon groaned.

  “Look at the sky, bro.”

  He glanced up and swore. “I was hoping this wouldn’t happen.”

  “Sorry.” Liam squeezed his shoulder.

  “Damon and I are going in to consult with Rosie and Phil,” Herb said. “Everybody else hang tight until we have a plan. Except for you, Liam. You’re the weather expert. Come in with us and make your case.”

  So he’d get to be the Voice of Doom. Great. But Herb needed backup, and keeping people safe was what Liam did.

  Herb headed down the hall to summon Phil and Rosie to the living room. The sound of a muted argument drifted from the hall to the living room.

  Liam glanced at Damon. “You’re with me on this, right? It would be a mistake to try and hold it outside as planned.”

  “I’m with you,” Damon said, “but I hate that the original idea is ruined. That cabin really is special to us.”

  “Didn’t you and Phil work on the rec building together, too?”

  “Yeah, sure. But it’s not nearly as significant. Although I’m proud of it, there’s nothing about it that makes you go, ‘Wow, that’s awesome.’ So I—” He stopped speaking as Herb came into the room with Rosie. “Where’s Phil?”

  “Half-dressed.” Rosie didn’t look happy. She wore a lacy, high-necked outfit, and her feet were bare. “She didn’t want you to see her like that.”

  Damon laughed. “It’s not like I’ve never—”

  “That’s not the point. How’s she supposed to blow you away if you don’t get the full effect?”

  Damon sobered. “She blows me away every single time I look at her.”

  “Aww.” Rosie’s expression softened, and she padded over to pat Damon on the cheek. “I’m going to tell her you said that.”

  “Please do.”

  “Okay, but we have something more important to discuss,” Herb said. “Liam thinks—”

  “I’ve appointed myself as Phil’s representative.” Hope came down the hall wearing a Winnie-the-Pooh bathrobe. She was barefoot, and her hair looked as if someone had been pinning it up but made it only halfway around. She held up her phone. “I’m supposed to text her the details of this discussion as it happens.”

  Until that moment, Liam had convinced himself he could walk away from her when the time came. But as he looked at her standing there in that bathrobe with her hair partly fixed because she’d offered to relay information to her friend, he lost his heart.

  Rosie was right. He’d found a woman he could love for the rest of his days. He’d probably known that from the first time he’d walked into the hotel lobby in Cody and spied her behind the concierge desk. She might shoot him down at the end of the week, but until then, he’d give her all he had and pray it was enough.

  Herb took a breath and looked squarely at Rosie. The man was not a coward. “We can’t have the ceremony outside at four. It’s too dangerous.”

  “It can’t be that bad!” Rosie hurried to the window and looked out. “Oh.”

  “If we move fast,” Liam said, “the guys and I can have the chairs in the rec building before the storm hits. Then, if everyone gets changed quickly, we should all be able to make it in there before it starts raining, and we can have the ceremony when it was scheduled. Somebody would need to be stationed on the porch to direct the other guests to drive straight to the rec building, but—”

  “Hold it.” Hope held up her hand. “Let me text all that to Phil.”

  “And add that I’m not in favor of Liam’s plan, although I don’t have a better one.” Rosie turned from the window. “Damn it. I knew we had the potential for a storm, but I was convinced that by some magical intervention, this wouldn’t happen.”

  “Well, it has,” Herb said. “I’m sorry, Rosie, but I don’t see
an alternative.”

  “I don’t like the alternative.” Rosie folded her arms. “I don’t want us all throwing ourselves together and then running into the rec building like we’re racing to a storm cellar. That’s not elegant, and I—”

  “Slow down,” Hope said. “I’m texting as fast as I can.”

  “I don’t like it, either,” Damon said. “Could we possibly have it here, in the living room?”

  “It’d be better than the rec building.” Rosie glanced around. “But we’d be packed in like sardines. That’s not elegant, either.” She turned to Hope. “Has Phil texted back?”

  “Nothing I can repeat in mixed company.”

  Damon laughed. “That’s my girl.” He glanced around. “The rec room in the house?”

  “That’s not much better than the living room,” Liam said. “We’d still be crammed in there, and I don’t think you’re supposed to have the ceremony while everyone’s staring at the cake.”

  Rosie shook her head. “None of this sounds right to me. I’m not sure what to do.”

  “I have an idea.” Hope glanced up from her phone. “It might not be any good, but—”

  “We’re looking for every possible alternative.” Liam held her gaze and smiled. He could see the wheels turning, and it thrilled him that she was using that creative brain of hers.

  “Okay. I think we need to let go of the idea that the wedding will take place at four o’clock. Nobody really cares about that. It’s what’s printed on the invitation, but that doesn’t matter.”

  Rosie nodded. “I see where you’re going. What about the ten people who aren’t here yet?”

  “We text them right now and tell them to wait for our signal.”

  Rosie brightened. “I doubt they’ve left yet, and they wouldn’t want to drive through a thunderstorm, anyway. And we can take our time getting ready.”

  “Exactly.” Hope smiled at her. “When the storm’s over, we’ll go out to the meadow. It might be a little wet and muddy, but the air will be fresh, and you know how wonderful everything smells after a good rain.”

  Rosie came over and gave her a hug. “I love this idea.”

  “Me, too.” Damon smiled. “Eliminates all the stress. We can work with Mother Nature instead of against her. But we should find out what Phil thinks.”

  Hope’s thumbs moved rapidly over her phone. Then she waited. Finally she looked up and smiled. “She loves it.”

  “So we have a plan.” Herb looked relieved. “I’ll tell the guys. We should get a move on if we want everyone back in the house before the storm hits.”

  “We’ll make it,” Liam said.

  Herb nodded. “Yeah, guys, don’t take long.”

  “And the women are nearly ready,” Rosie said.

  Hope gestured to her bathrobe and hair. “Contrary to what it looks like.”

  “Great bathrobe, by the way,” Liam said.

  “Thanks. How do you like my hair?”

  “It’s...different.”

  “Diplomatic answer. Fear not. It’s only half done. Edie will finish it up for me.”

  “Then I guess we’re set.” Herb went over and gave Rosie a quick kiss on the cheek. “Any idea what we should do while we wait out the storm?”

  “Are you kidding?” Rosie lifted her eyebrows. “We should party, of course!”

  Liam glanced at Hope. When she met his gaze, her eyes sparkled in triumph. She’d avoided a wedding disaster by thinking outside the box. Now if only she could do the same with their situation, this week wouldn’t have to end in misery.

  Everything had to work out. After introducing him to a sexy, intelligent, creative woman with great taste in bathrobes, surely fate wouldn’t be so cruel as to snatch her away again.

  17

  HOPE HAD COME up with a plan, but she realized that it had one major flaw. When she returned to the bedroom and everyone started congratulating her, she looked at Phil. “There’s a problem. You’re not going to want to hide back here while everyone else parties in the living room.”

  “You’re right.” She shrugged. “It’s okay. I’ll just go out there. No big deal. I don’t need a grand entrance.”

  “Yes, you do.” Hope surveyed her friend’s confection of a dress, which mirrored the Victorian look of the others with its high collar, but the bodice had been designed with a cutout beneath the collar that dipped low enough to reveal a little cleavage. The dress was classy and sexy, just like the bride. “We can’t have you wander into the living room with the rest of us. You need to knock that cowboy’s socks off.”

  “I know what to do,” Edie said. “We’ll make sure everyone’s gathered in the living room and facing the hallway, but we’ll station Damon where he gets the best view. We’ll put some music on and you can be the last one to walk out.”

  Phil grinned. “Okay, I like that way better.”

  Rosie zipped up her boots. “I’m ready. I’ll find a good tune.”

  “Just don’t use the wedding march,” Phil said. “Damon insisted we play it at the actual wedding, so I don’t want to preempt that moment.”

  “I agree. We want something else. I’ll come back to let you know when the men are gathered.”

  Lexi glanced up from the hand mirror she’d been using to apply her makeup. “You know what? We should all make an entrance, one by one, and lead up to the grand finale, which will be Phil.”

  Edie clapped her hands. “Yes! I like it!”

  “And I know just the music.” Rosie’s blue eyes gleamed with excitement. “I’ll play Faith Hill’s ‘This Kiss.’”

  Chelsea smiled. “You do realize a person can’t just walk sedately down the hall to the beat of that song.”

  “I know.” Rosie grinned. “I thought we’d dance.”

  Chelsea gave a little whoop of joy. “This is going to be so fun.” Then she glanced at Phil. “Not more fun than your actual wedding, of course.”

  Phil laughed. “I don’t care if it is. I’ll love thinking back on how the storm turned my big day into a total riot. Just so you all know, I’m a crappy dancer. Hope can testify to that.”

  “Uh, well...”

  “Come on. I was terrible. I can sing but I can’t dance. Remember those slumber parties where everyone tried to teach me?”

  “Yeah.” Hope smiled. “You were pretty bad.” Nostalgic images came flooding back—dancing in Phil’s bedroom in their pajamas, eating ice cream at two in the morning, pillow fights followed by pledges of undying friendship.

  “Still am bad, but I don’t care. This will be epic. Thank goodness you came to my wedding. It’s like old times.”

  Hit by a wave of emotion for the second time today, Hope could only nod.

  “Are you okay?” Phil asked.

  But Hope dashed out of the room. She took refuge in what was no longer her private bathroom, but thankfully it was empty. Dragging in several deep breaths, she dabbed at her eyes. This time she’d have to go back in and confess her real reason for bolting like that. An excuse that she had something in her eye wouldn’t wash.

  Squaring her shoulders, she returned to the bedroom. Conversation immediately stopped, and everyone became very busy. It would be embarrassing enough to make the speech in front of the women she’d come to know in the past few days, but she didn’t know Whitney or Aria at all.

  “Sorry. Small meltdown,” she said with a tiny smile. “I used to have great times like this with Phil and our other friends when we all lived in Cheyenne and I’ve...I’ve missed those times, and them, terribly.”

  “Aw, sweetie.” Phil moved toward her, arms extended.

  “No, Phil!” Her laughter was choked with unshed tears as she backed away. “You’ll wrinkle your dress.”

  “I don’t care.”

  “I
do.” Edie stepped between them. “That dress wrinkles like you wouldn’t believe. And I give good hugs, too.” She wrapped Hope in her arms.

  Somehow Hope kept from breaking down at that sweet and protective gesture. She hugged Edie back and sniffed as she eased away. “You do give good hugs. Thank you.”

  “She really does,” Phil said. “The day we went dress shopping in Jackson, we weren’t finding anything, and I was beside myself. Edie gave me a big hug and convinced me to try one more place. That’s when we found this one.”

  Edie swallowed. “Watch out. I’m liable to start bawling, too.”

  “Buck up, ladies.” Chelsea came over and grabbed one of Edie’s hands and one of Hope’s. “Edie, you have to finish your job on this girl’s hair, and she needs to ditch Winnie-the-Pooh and put on that sexy green number hanging on the closet door. The show must go on.” She winked at Hope. “Got it, girlfriend?”

  “Got it.” She had the feeling that of everyone in the room, Chelsea understood her best. A trip to Seattle to visit Chelsea and Finn might be a very good idea. But if she broke off her relationship with Liam, would she still be welcome?

  Rosie left to get Faith Hill’s song ready to roll, and everyone else put final touches on hair and makeup. Edie finished Hope’s elaborate updo and gave her a mirror so she could see it from all sides.

  “Gorgeous,” Lexi said as she came over to admire it. “Want to steal a couple of flowers from my maid of honor bouquet to tuck in your hair?”

  “No!” Hope laughed. “My flower-stealing days are over, thank you very much.”

  “You need some flowers in that hairdo,” Phil said. “Steal some from my bouquet.”

  “Definitely not from the bride’s bouquet! Talk about a bridal etiquette fail.”

  “Then let me give you some.” Lexi went over to the bed where the flower boxes lay.

  “She can have a couple from mine, too,” Edie said as she added one more hairpin. “Great idea. Flowers will make this arrangement sing.”