by Jen Talty
“Based on your measurements, this should be a near perfect fit,” her mother said. “Mrs. Gettleman said she’d do the alterations, but we have to bring her the dress this afternoon.”
“This had to have cost a fortune. You shouldn’t have.” Echo hugged the gown close. When Spencer had told her about her parents pulling out all the stops, she didn’t think it went this far. “I brought a pretty dress that I can wear. We can return this, right?”
“Well, yes, but we won’t be doing anything of the sort.” Her mother scowled. “This is the style dress you wanted. Your father and I drove to New York City to get it.” Her mother had always been her biggest champion, and Echo hated disappointing her for any reason. Being the only girl had many advantages, but it also created a lot of pressure.
“I can’t believe you did this.”
A tap at the bedroom door startled her. She turned to see Candy with her hands covering her mouth. “Wow,” she said. “Is that yours?”
Echo nodded. “My parents surprised me with it.” Even though she was dying inside, she couldn’t help but smile. If she were getting married, this would be the dress.
“Why don’t you go try it on?” her mother gave her a little nudge toward the master bathroom. “I’ll get the vail. It’s really simple, just like the picture you sent.”
Echo took the gown and slipped into her parents’ massive bathroom. While her parents provided a good life, the house and the boat were purchases that came from when her father had been a professional football player, which had only lasted two years, so it wasn’t like he’d been paid a ton of money, and he’d made sure his kids understood the income from those years had been spent on a foundation for their family’s future.
So, while her parents were far from poor, they were both still working full time, and money was always an issue.
She slipped into the strapless white dress and gasped. The bodice hugged her perfectly. Beads lined the top part of the dress, and the bottom flowed naturally to her feet. A small train, about two feet, cascaded behind her.
Elegant and simple.
Perfect.
Her heart pounded against her rib cage. Panic gripped her soul. She tried to take a deep breath, but she couldn’t fill her lungs.
“Get it together,” she whispered. Since last night, she hadn’t sent a single text to Andy or left him a message. She was going to give him one more day, and then she was going to have to force his hand. At this point, she didn’t want to marry him, even if he changed his mind. But she did want him to reimburse her family for anything they couldn’t cancel.
But for now, she was going to have to suck it up and continue to play the blushing bride.
Flattening one hand against her middle, she opened the door.
“Oh my,” her mother said. “Look at my little girl.”
“You look gorgeous.” Candy rushed to her side, zipping up the back of the dress and primping her hair, twisting it quickly up in a bun. “We can put this piece in here just like this and then pull out some of your hair and let it fan your face.”
“Wait until Spencer sees you,” her mother said, shaking her head. “I’m sorry. I mean Andy.”
“Just don’t call him that when he shows up,” Candy said. “I don’t think that would go over too well.”
Echo’s mother stood behind her as they both gazed into the mirror. “I wish I knew more about this Andy.”
“He’s handsome,” Candy offered. “And he splurged on first-class tickets for us, so I like him.”
The last thing Echo wanted to talk about was Andy. Just thinking about him right now made her want to throw up. That and the idea that she’d have to go back to Atlanta, where she realized all her friends were actually his. There was nothing left for her in that city. Except her job, but even that didn’t make her feel better.
“I better get out of this thing before I ruin it with tears.” Echo raced into the bathroom and slammed the door. Quickly, she shed the dress, making sure to hang it up nice and neat, covering it with plastic. They would be returning the gown.
“Echo,” her mother called. “We didn’t really see if it needed alterations. Especially in the length.”
“It’s perfect.” Echo smoothed down the front of her jeans and greeted her mom and Candy with a smile. “Andy’s pretty tall, so I’ll be wearing heels.”
“We should go shopping.” Her mother clasped her hands together and rubbed them wildly.
“I’m game,” Candy said, patting her belly.
A loud thud echoed through the house.
“What the hell?” Echo stepped into the hallway and glanced out toward the family room. Her father lay on his back, unconscious. “Daddy!” She raced to his side. “Candy, call 9-1-1.” She took her father’s wrist and found his pulse. She leaned over and immediately felt his hot breath on her cheek.
“Oh, my God. Stanley.” Her mother dropped to her knees and pressed one hand against the center of his chest and the other under his head. “He’s bleeding. He probably has a concussion.”
“I’ve got the 9-1-1 operator. They want to know—”
“Just give me the phone.” Echo held out her hand. “This is Echo Farren. I’ve got a fifty-six-year-old male who appears to have passed out. He’s diabetic. He’s got a strong pulse, and he’s breathing fine. His sons are firemen at Station 29.”
“He’s coming around,” her mother said calmly, but a few tears streaked down her cheeks.
“Ma’am,” the operator said. “Help is on the way.”
“Thanks. He’s coming around.” Echo handed the phone back to Candy.
“What are you doing?” Her father tried to raise his head and groaned.
“Dad, can you tell me where you are?”
“That’s a dumb question,” her father said.
Echo pointed to the kitchen. “Candy, get me some orange juice, please.”
“Who’s the nice lady right there?” She nodded toward her mother.
“Seriously, Echo. I know that’s your mother, my wife. Why am I on the floor?”
Her mother held up her bloody hand. “You fell, honey. Now what’s your name?”
“Oh, for crying out loud. It’s Stanley Richard Farren.”
“And what year is it?” Echo asked.
Her father stared at her with blank eyes. “I don’t know, and I guess that’s a problem.”
“Honey, do you remember what you were doing or feeling before you fainted?”
“No,” he said.
Her mother cradled his head while she gave him a small taste of orange juice. “His A1C has been spiking lately, and he cheats by getting fast food French fries.”
“Dad, those are the worst, and you know it,” Echo said.
“Wonderful. Lectures from my wife and my kid.”
“I think I hear sirens,” Candy said. “I’ll go stand outside and guide them through the front door.”
“Be thankful Noah, Hugh, and Troy aren’t on today and that they are busy doing wedding stuff,” her mother said.
Echo blinked her eyes closed for a moment. She could only imagine what her parents had three of her four brothers doing. But that would have to wait. Right now, she needed to deal with her dad and his current situation.
“Hey, Echo,” Rochelle Bryant, Spencer’s sister, said as she rolled a gurney into the family room. “I think you know my cousin Renee Nash.”
“I do.” Echo made room for Rochelle and the other EMT to work on her father.
“Mr. Farren. Can you tell me how many fingers I’m holding up?” Rochelle said.
“Do we have to go through this again?” her father protested.
Echo stood. The sound of heavy boots caught her attention. She should have known that when they dispatched the ambulance, they would send the fire engine.
“Hey,” Spencer said. “How are you feeling this morning?”
“I’m more concerned about my dad, but it was a rough start.”
“I bet.”
“Thank you for last night,” she said.
“Anytime.” He looped his arm over her shoulder. “What happened?”
“I think his blood sugar dropped, and he fainted. It happened once or twice a few years ago.”
“I remember,” Spencer said. “But he’s had his diabetes under control for a while now.”
“I can hear you two talking about me,” her father said while Rochelle took his blood pressure and Renee hooked him up to a heart monitor.
“I need you to relax, Mr. Farren,” Rochelle said. “And we’re going to need to get you on this stretcher.”
“I don’t need to go to the hospital,” her father said.
“Honey, you need at least five staples in your head. And your pupils are wonky. You’re going,” her mother said sternly.
Spencer folded his arms across his firm chest and leaned closer. “Your parents are adorable.”
“I know, right.” She took him by the hand and led him outside. “But he doesn’t always take this diagnosis seriously. He thinks he’s invincible.”
“A lot of athletes do. Besides, it’s not like he’s overweight or anything. He’s in good shape, but his body doesn’t process—”
She covered Spencer’s mouth with her hand. “I’m an RN, remember?”
He laughed. “He’s in good hands with my sister and Renee.”
“I heard Renee’s got a boyfriend and they’ve been together for like nearly a year.”
“He’s a firefighter and a good man.” Spencer pointed to the fire engine in the street. “I just wanted to make sure everything here was okay. We’ve got to head back. Call me when they release your dad, okay?”
“Will do.”
He leaned in and kissed her cheek, letting his lips linger a little longer than appropriate. “I’ll talk to you soon.”
She curled her fingers around his massive biceps. “Considering everything we’ve been through, I’m surprised by everything you’re doing for me.”
“It’s water under the bridge. Besides, you were my best friend for years, and I’ve missed you. I kind of like having you back.”
She smiled. “Me too.” She watched as he climbed into the back of the engine.
He waved as it rolled down the street.
She let out a long sigh. Spencer had always had a way of making her feel as though everything was going to be okay. And this moment was no different.
As a matter of fact, since she’d set foot in Lake George, no matter what happened with the fact that Andy had dumped her, Spencer was there to help her pick up the pieces.
Just like he’d been there her entire life.
Spencer arched his back and twisted left and right. He was thirty hours into a forty-eight-hour shift. It never bothered him to pull a double. He actually liked it because he got more time off in between, but his station normally did one day on, three days off where other stations did two days on, four days off. But he took extra shifts where he could.
The microwave dinged, and he snagged his leftover lasagna before making his way to the common room to stretch out on one of the recliners and watch a little television before the next call or before Captain Nash made them wash the ladder truck.
Troy Farren had sprawled out on one of the sofas with a magazine in his hands.
“Hey, how’s your dad doing?” Spencer asked.
“He’s home making my mom and sister nuts,” Troy said. “But I think he actually gets he’s not a superhero now and will stop sneaking fast food.”
“That’s good.”
“But he’s got a pretty bad concussion, and he’s struggling with vertigo.”
“That sucks.”
“It sure does,” Troy said. “At least it’s summer and he’s off of work. Otherwise, we’d have to tie the man down. So, do you want to tell me what’s going on with my sister?” Troy asked as he pushed himself to a sitting position.
Spencer lifted the lever on the La-Z-Boy and made himself comfortable. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”
“She’s an emotional wreck, and my dad told me you carried her into her room the other night because she was so drunk she couldn’t stand up. Echo doesn’t get drunk unless she’s really upset.”
There was no way he was going to last another week of this interrogation shit regarding Echo. When he picked her up today, he was going to have to make her see how important it was that she tell her family the truth.
“Listen. I’m not the resident expert on your sister just because we dated for six years.”
“I might be the baby of the family, and I might not know my sister as well as Noah, Hugh, or Morgan, but everyone in my family is painfully aware of the fact that Echo isn’t herself and something isn’t right in Kansas.”
“I don’t even know what that means,” Spencer said.
“I’m struggling with the fact that her fiancé isn’t coming now until a day or two before the wedding. Did you know he hasn’t actually booked a flight?”
“I have no idea about any of that.”
“Well, I pushed her last night after we got my dad home, and she finally admitted that Andy hasn’t been able to book a flight. This is his damn wedding too. It makes no sense, and I don’t take too kindly to people dicking my sister around.”
Spencer dug his fork into his lasagna and stuffed a large bite into his mouth. “I’m the ex-boyfriend. I don’t have an opinion.”
“We all think yours is the only one that matters.”
“That’s fucked up.” Spencer waved his fork in the air. “Your sister’s opinion is what counts, and if this is what she wants, you all need to jump on board.” Fuck. Why was he perpetuating the lie? All it was going to do was hurt them all, and he was now smack-dab in the epicenter of crazy. All because he still loved Echo and he couldn’t say no to her.
“Maybe so, but Noah, Hugh, and I were talking yesterday, and we’ve come to the conclusion that Andy is about to stand up our sister.”
Spencer choked on his food. Growing up, he always admired Echo’s parents and how smart and intuitive they were. Stanley had been one of those teachers who oozed brilliance but could talk to you on a common ground. He never made him feel as though his intelligence was so far superior to his that he couldn’t carry himself in any conversation.
That took talent.
And all of Stanley’s kids possessed the same aptitude.
“Why would you say that?”
“Because my sister is doing her best to avoid all of us.”
“Have you asked her point blank?” That question wasn’t breaking her confidence. Not even close. However, it was a probing question to find out exactly what Troy might have uncovered.
“I haven’t, but Noah said he would be doing so today when he took her to lunch. They should be sitting at the Boardwalk in the village right now.”
Spencer glanced out the window. His station house was located at the end of Cleverdale Point and covered from Assembly Point to about five miles up Pilot Knob Road. He loved that he got to work so close to home and serve his community
“Well, then maybe everyone in your family should back off for a bit.”
“You sound like you’re pissed off about the topic.”
“I’m mad that I keep getting dragged into it.” Spencer held his hand up. “I’ve told Noah and Morgan that a part of me will always love your sister, but I’m not in love with her.” Total lie, but it didn’t matter. “And I don’t like the fact that both families are still playing matchmaker, especially when your sister is wearing an engagement ring. It’s not fair to her or me.”
“Interesting that you don’t lump her fiancé into that.”
“Semantics,” Spencer mumbled.
“Yeah, well, you should know that Candy’s even concerned, and she said something to Noah.”
Shit. One of the reasons Echo didn’t want to confide in her friend was Candy’s inability to keep her lips sealed. Candy meant well with her meddling, just like the rest of Echo’s family, but it got
tiresome.
“What did she tell Noah?” Spencer finished the rest of his lunch and set the container aside. He clasped his hands behind his head, closed his eyes, and relaxed his aching body. He’d slept six hours last night, though not consecutively as they had a few calls, so he wasn’t exhausted, but his mind hadn’t shut down since Echo had returned. Even in his dreams, thoughts of her consumed his brain.
“Candy thinks Andy has been cheating on Echo for the last couple of weeks.”
Spencer bolted to an upright position. “Excuse me? I take it she hasn’t told Echo this.”
“No. She hasn’t, but she went to Noah to ask for advice on if she should because she thinks something happened because Echo’s been acting weird since Andy texted her on the airplane.”
Candy always was pretty intuitive with her ability to read people and their emotions. She just wasn’t good at keeping them to herself, so this was impressive.
“So, you haven’t heard that then.”
Spencer shook his head. “No. And I hope it’s not true.”
“My brothers and I want to hire a private investigator to look into it. He was going to call someone today.”
“I asked Tristan to check into Andy,” Spencer admitted. There was no point in lying and no reason for Troy and his brothers to spend money on something they might be able to deal with on their own.
“We’ll circle back to the fact you’re having someone look into your ex-girlfriend’s current boyfriend.” Troy leaned forward. “I don’t know Tristan all that well. Does he know someone in Atlanta?”
“No. But he’s taken a long-term leave, and until his baby is born, he’s going stir-crazy. Besides, he does have a PI friend here, and he’s got connections that we don’t have,” Spencer said. “He’s supposed to be calling me today sometime to check in. I’ll tell him what you just told me.”
“Thanks, but now you have to tell me why you reached out to him in the first place.”
“I don’t have to tell you anything.” Spencer set his boots to the floor and stood.
“All right. But when I go to my brothers and tell them what’s going on, we’re all going to assume it’s because you’re still in love with Echo or she confided in you, or both.”
