“We have several deliveries coming in today and tomorrow,” Steve said. “So we need to coordinate to make sure that everything goes smoothly.”
Grace knew that they were going to go ahead and set up a bunch of stuff in preparation for the rehearsal later. Thankfully, there was no rain in the forecast for the next forty-eight hours. The more they could do that day, the better.
“Why don’t you let me do that?” Bennett said a couple of hours later as she picked up a folding chair from the stack that had been recently delivered.
Grace straightened, leaning the chair against her hip. “They’re not that heavy. I think I can handle setting up a few.”
Bennett frowned as if deciding whether he should chance saying something more. “I guess you’re right.”
“I am.” She smiled at him. “I think I know what I can handle. I won’t overdue it.”
He hesitated again then nodded. “How about I carry the chairs to you, and you can set them up?”
She knew he was just concerned about her overdoing it while being pregnant and was likely trying to find a compromise between his concern and her desire to help out. “Okay. Sounds like a plan.”
Bennett looked relieved, probably glad that she hadn’t snapped at him. “Good. Why don’t you head down there, and I’ll bring you the chairs?”
Grace led the way down the steps of the layered deck. There were others working on setting up the chairs, so she really didn’t need to help out, but it felt good to lend a hand. Steve had instructed them on how to arrange the chairs, so as Bennett brought them to her, she opened them up and set them on the deck. Mitch and Gabe were helping as well, while Kenton and Ryan had been sent to a nearby town to pick up some food that Emily had ordered for part of their rehearsal dinner. Grace had heard Emily tell Makayla that Steve had insisted that she outsource as much of the cooking as possible so that she could enjoy the wedding with a minimum of stress.
They had just finished the chair setup when Tami showed up. The minister and his wife, along with the musicians, were also supposed to arrive before the rehearsal at four. The next day James and Erin were supposed to arrive with the wedding cake and cupcakes, and Finn and Noella were going to pick up the flowers from the florist.
“Is this lined up properly?” Bennett called out as he and Mitch positioned the large white arch in the open area in front of the chairs.
Grace joined Makayla in the aisle and looked at the arch’s position. “To the left a little, I think.”
“Yes,” Makayla agreed. “Shift it about half a foot to the left.”
The guys moved it as requested, and Grace regarded it once again. “Bennett, bring your side toward us just a bit.”
Once he’d shifted forward with his side, Makayla said, “Yep, that’s perfect.”
Grace turned in a circle, taking in the set-up that would be the scene of the start of Makayla and Ethan’s life together. Thoughts of her own wedding came to mind unbidden. It hadn’t been a time of excitement and anticipation like this was for Makayla. She hadn’t been nervous about it either. At the time, people had commented on how calm she was. How unflappable she’d been through all the planning. Franklin had wanted a big wedding and had sent invitations to anyone he’d ever done business with.
It really had been more of a social event than a celebration of the start of a marriage. There had been no unique parts of the wedding that reflected who she and Franklin were. No specially written vows. They’d just let the minister use whatever he wanted for their vows. Neither of them had needed the wedding ceremony to be a personal event. Grace had an idea of what Makayla and Ethan’s wedding would involve, and it kind of made her a bit sad, but she also knew that she and Franklin wouldn’t have been able to have any other sort of wedding at that point in their relationship.
And she also had to acknowledge that it didn’t matter what type of wedding a couple had, it was the marriage that followed that was more important. So while they hadn’t had a deeply meaningful ceremony, they had been working on building a better marriage.
“Do you have flowers for that?” Bennett asked as he joined them in the aisle between the rows of chairs.
“Finn and Noella are bringing them tomorrow.”
Bennett folded his arms. “We’re gonna be working like crazy to bring this all together, aren’t we?”
“Not me,” Makayla said. “I have a spa appointment then hair and makeup.”
“What about Grace, Tami, and Sammi?”
Makayla nodded. “Yes, they’ll be working like crazy with you.”
“So we’re your slaves,” Grace observed. “What else is new?”
“Yeah, we are all Makayla’s slaves,” Tami agreed.
Before they could continue to needle Makayla, Emily called for her to come to the house. Ethan was standing with Emily and the minister from their church. While the couple talked with the minister, Grace and Tami discussed where the flowers and candles were to be set up the following day. Bennett hadn’t been exaggerating when he’d said they’d be working hard the next day. Thankfully, they would have more help once Erin, Noella, and their men arrived.
Grace escaped upstairs to her room just after lunch to lay down for a bit. The day had warmed up, and her normal tiredness was weighing on her. She knew if she was going to make it through the rest of the day, she’d need to rest for a bit.
When she ventured back downstairs a couple hours later, there seemed to be controlled chaos in action.
“You doing okay?” Bennett asked when she walked near where he stood.
“Yep. Just need to take a nap every once in awhile. Growing a baby is hard work,” she said with a small smile. “But Bennett, unless you see me prostrate on the floor, you need to assume that I’m okay. Every time you see me, you’re asking if I’m okay.”
Bennett frowned as he puts his hands on his hips. “Am I really?”
“Yes, you are. Unless I give you some real reason to be concerned, like I’m just coming around after fainting, I think you can assume I’m okay.” She paused then asked, “Is there something that prompts you to keep asking me that?”
14
“Uh…you’re pregnant?” Bennett said by way of explanation. “I’m not sure what else to ask you, I guess.”
“I’m not the first person to ever be pregnant,” Grace pointed out. “And aside from a little tiredness and some nausea, I’m doing fine.”
“Alright. So no more asking if you’re okay,” Bennett said.
Grace considered his words and then had to figure out why she was slightly disappointed at the thought of him not expressing concern about her anymore. “Why don’t we compromise?”
Bennett lifted a brow at her. “A compromise?”
“Yes. You’re allowed to ask me once a day if I’m okay.” She held up one finger. “Just once. Not every time you see me.”
When Bennett smiled, it made Grace happy that she had suggested the compromise. “I will try my very best to only ask you once a day. So I’m done for today.”
“Yes, you are.” Grace turned away from Bennett, crossing her arms as she looked at where the others were gathered around the kitchen island folding bulletins for the ceremony. “I guess the rehearsal will be starting soon.”
“Yep. The pastor is outside with Makayla and Ethan. The musicians are just at the hotel getting settled in. The houseboat was also delivered to the marina. Everything is falling into place just like Makayla wanted.”
Grace was happy to hear that. When they were younger, of Grace, Makayla and Tami, Makayla was the one who had talked the most about getting married. It was good to see that she was getting the wedding she had always dreamed of.
“Hey, you two,” Tami said as she approached them. She slipped her arm around Grace and gave her a hug. “Ready for the big day?”
“As long as Makayla doesn’t change her mind, everything should be good to go,” Bennett said. “So, Tami, is Keenan coming up for the wedding?”
Tami smiled as sh
e nodded. “Since he played on Wednesday, he’s free to come up.”
Grace watched her friend’s face as she talked about the football player. She wouldn’t be surprised if there was another wedding in the next year or two. From what she’d seen, Keenan seemed to be a great guy and perfect for Tami.
For a moment, she felt a pang of grief at the realization that her two best friends were now part of couples. An evening out, if they included her, would be the two couples and Grace. Yeah, she’d be the fifth wheel. That would be challenging, and she’d have to fight the urge to turn down any such invitations. Add to that, she’d have a little one she’d have to take into consideration. When she’d been married to Franklin, she’d been willing to hang out with Tami and Makayla just like the three of them always had since Franklin had no problem with her going off with them. Since she had been the only one with a husband then, it had never been a problem for just the three of them to hang out together.
But in this case, Ethan and Keenan were good friends so it stood to reason that the two couples would be going out together. Double dates. Not double dates plus one.
“Hey.” Bennett’s hand came to rest on her back. “Are you…uh…why the sad face?”
She gave him a small smile. “Nice save.”
“I know, right?” He chuckled. “I have a feeling I’m going to be having to save myself a lot in the next six months.”
Grace couldn’t help but laugh as well, glad to feel the dark thoughts that had been settling over her lift. If she’d been alone, she had no doubt that she would have allowed that darkness and grief to overtake her completely. Instead, all she felt was the underlying grief that was always present but not overwhelming.
She stood elbow-to-elbow with Bennett as they finished folding the last of the bulletins, and then they moved outside to begin the rehearsal. Since she was the matron of honor and Bennett was best man, they were paired to walk down the aisle and then back up the aisle at the end of the ceremony. They had decided to have Ethan walk in first followed by the other pairs and then Grace and Bennett would come right before Makayla. Since none of the family or close friends had little ones, they’d decided to forgo the flower girls and ring bearers. And while it would have been cute to have little ones as part of the wedding, if they didn’t know the bride and/or groom well, it might lead to more toddler drama than including them was worth.
As Grace walked down the aisle, she held tightly to Bennett’s arm. The step at the edge of each section of the deck was shallow, but she was determined not to do anything that would make her fall in front of people. Behind the wedding arch and the minister, the water sparkled and gleamed in the afternoon sun. It was a little warm, but there was a breeze coming off the lake that helped to cool things down. Thankfully, the sun would be setting when the wedding took place the next night so they wouldn’t have to worry about heat. In fact, it might end up being a little chilly.
Once they reached the lowest level of the multi-tiered deck, Bennett covered her hand with his and gave it a gentle squeeze before letting go and moving to stand next to Ethan. The string quartet finished with the music for the processional and began to play the bridal march. Grace once again found herself swamped with memories at the sound of the music. She hadn’t expected these emotions from just the rehearsal and had to look down at the deck so she could blink rapidly and keep the tears at bay.
She tried to think of other things—anything else—to keep the memories at bay. The last thing she wanted was for her emotions to overshadow the happiness of this occasion.
Bennett kept an eye on Grace throughout the rehearsal. He felt a bit like she needed to have someone watching out for her since she was on her own. Of course, he was kind of hampered now that she’d called him on constantly asking her if she was okay. He’d just have to be more inventive in the ways he asked how she was doing.
After the rehearsal was done to Makayla’s satisfaction, everyone headed inside where his mom and the minister’s wife had started to set out the food for the rehearsal dinner. Though they had the money for a more elaborate wedding, both Ethan and Makayla had decided that they wanted to keep things simple and spend the money they saved on the wedding on a nicer honeymoon. Bennett had been a bit surprised when Makayla had decided to do things like that because she’d always talked about having a big elaborate wedding. It was just one more way that it seemed she’d changed since Ethan had come into her life.
When he had filled his plate with the pulled pork, buns and salads, Bennet sat down next to Ryan. He hadn’t had much opportunity to chat with his brother since he’d arrived. Of course, of the three siblings who didn’t live in Winnipeg, Bennett was in contact with Ryan most frequently. They video messaged at least once every couple of weeks and texted a lot in between.
“Are you heading home on Sunday?” Bennett asked as he put the top on his pulled pork bun.
“Yep. Back to work on Monday.” Ryan took a bite of his food.
“So, any girlfriend yet?”
Ryan rolled his eyes. “You ask me that every time we talk.”
“I know. I keep hoping your answer will change.”
“Fine. There’s no girlfriend, but there is someone I’d like to get to know better.” He paused. “We’ll see. How about you?”
“I’m pretty much the same. I haven’t really had the time to date since Ellie and I broke up.”
“Are there many single women at your church?” Ryan asked.
Bennett shrugged. “There are several, but so far I’ve found them to be a better fit as a friend than a girlfriend or potential wife.”
“With a wedding this small, the chances of one of us catching the garter tomorrow is pretty high. Maybe it will be you.”
Bennett laughed. “I hope Keenan catches the garter, and Tami catches the bouquet. Then they can be the next to get married.”
“He does seem like a pretty decent guy. Good enough for Tami.”
Bennett looked across the table when Grace sat down there, a loaded plate in front of her.
“Baby liking pulled pork today?” Bennett asked.
Grace smiled. “Yes. The baby is starving.”
“Do you know yet if it’s a boy or a girl?” Ryan asked.
“No. It’s a little too soon for an ultrasound to be able to tell.”
“Are you planning to find out?”
Grace swallowed the bite she’d been chewing then took a sip of water. “I keep going back and forth on that. I think Franklin would have wanted to know, and it would be nice to know for buying things.”
“Do you have a strong preference?”
Grace sighed. “I know I should say I don’t, but given my situation, I think having a girl would be easier. Raising a boy by myself would be more challenging, I think.”
“You do know that a little boy would always have us guys around to help him out. We’d all be there to help teach him the important things about being a boy like learning to skate and play hockey.” Bennett smiled. “If you have a little boy, he’ll have lots of uncles. You wouldn’t be doing it alone. Hey, even if you have a girl, we’d teach her things like skating and how to beat guys at hockey or football.”
“He’s right,” Ryan said. “You’re not doing it alone. Boy or girl, we’re all gonna be there for you. Well, I’ll be supportive from a distance. But others, like Bennett and Mitch, will definitely be there to help you out.”
“I know,” Grace said with a nod. “But the baby is ultimately my responsibility. I feel like I need to be able to do this parenting thing on my own.”
“Gracie,” Bennett said with a shake of his head. “It’s great that you want to do it on your own, but when you don’t have to, it seems a bit…ridiculous to resist others’ efforts to help you. We’re all excited about the baby.”
Grace’s hand dropped below the edge of the table to rest on her stomach. “You’re excited?”
“Sure. Why wouldn’t we be? The first baby in the family. And really, my mom has always felt tha
t every baby is worth celebrating. So yeah, we’re all excited.”
Without responding, Grace continued to eat her dinner. Bennett hoped that he hadn’t upset her, but everything he’d said was the truth. They were excited, and they were definitely going to be supporting Grace however they could.
Once the dinner was over, the guys loaded up in two of their vehicles and headed for the marina to begin their night on the houseboat while the ladies went off to the hotel for their night in luxury. The minister and his wife were staying at the cabin with Steve, Emily, and Dalton. The teen had opted not to go with the rest of the guys, stating he’d rather stay at the cabin where he didn’t have to deal with talk about sports and business.
It appeared that he was correct in his assessment of what they’d be doing. It wasn’t long after the fellows had settled on the houseboat that they began discussing the latest football game, analyzing how Keenan and his fellow teammates had played. Talk eventually turned to hockey as Kenton shared what was happening in his world.
They were all seated on the top deck of the boat, enjoying the sun as it slowly sank below the horizon. They had lots of cold soda and junk food, and even after the big dinner they’d enjoyed, they didn’t hesitate to eat some more. Once it was fully dark, they turned on the deck lights and continued to talk. They seemed to touch on almost every topic as the evening slipped past. Thankfully, they didn’t have to be up super early the next morning for the wedding.
As Gabe talked about his latest adventures and what he had planned for the future, Bennett found himself wondering how Grace was enjoying her evening. He had heard Makayla talking about visiting the spa at the hotel, so he hoped that Grace was able to relax and have some fun. He had no idea where she was in the grieving process. It had only been about three months since her husband’s death so he had to imagine that her grief was still pretty fresh. He hoped that the upcoming move would help her focus more on the future.
When he’d asked his mom how long she’d grieved for his dad, she’d said that her grief had started before he was even dead. She’d grieved for the person he’d once been. The person he no longer was by the time he’d died. But she’d said that while she’d never forgotten his dad, she’d found that the overwhelming grief had begun to ease fairly soon after she’d received word of his death. She’d been alone on the military base with no family close by, and she hadn’t had much time to grieve as she prepared her family for a major move. Having four kids that needed her, had helped to keep her grounded in the present.
For the Love of Grace: A Christian Romance (The Callaghans & McFaddens Book 2) Page 13
