Bride Interrupted (4 page)

Colton cleared his throat. “Come on, I’ll show you the storage building. Then, since you two are hitting it off so well, Mags can direct you for the rest of the day. And night.” He picked up the empty boxes and headed to the door. At least he agreed that she would be around into the night.

Maggie’s perplexed look made Kayla laugh. While the girl went back to straightening the shelves, Kayla grabbed the handle of the dolly and followed Colton outside. He was halfway between the bar and a weathered wooden building, and he didn’t look back to see if she was following. At the building, he opened the door, stepped aside, and waited for her to enter first.

The small room was full of boxes and crates. To one side sat a desk cluttered with papers. Kayla rolled the dolly to the corner at the back of the room. Colton leaned against the desk, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I appreciate your help. It is needed while Earl is out of commission. But don’t think you are going to take over. Earl and I each own half of the business.” His gaze turned to steel.

Kayla shook her head. She walked up to him until she was close enough to smell his musky, earthy scent. Damn the man. “I don’t know why you think I want to run you off, but I don’t. I know how much Grandpa needs you here. I just—”

“Just don’t shake things up.” His jaw clenched.

She sighed. “I’m not trying to. I only want to
consider
adding some fresh ideas.”

He uncrossed his arms, reached a hand to her hair, and ruffled his fingers through the tangled strands. “Hold still, you must’ve run into a spider web.”

Kayla jumped. “Where?” The thought of a creepy crawler on her caused her to shiver. She was planted firmly in Colton’s arms, and didn’t care. Spiders would be the death of her one day. His laughter vibrated through his chest and against her head. His hands rubbed her back, up and down, easing her fear. Fear of a tiny creature. She moved farther into his embrace, tilted her head, and looked up at him. “Sorry. I don’t like spiders. At. All.”

“Now you’re really stirring things up.” His mouth was close to hers. His breath tingled the sensitive skin of her lips. He released his hold on her and turned away.

Kayla backed towards the door.

The crowd in the bar Saturday night was loud and thirsty. Very loud. By ten p.m., Kayla’s head was pounding so hard, it had her stomach nauseated. She stepped outside for a breath of fresh night air. She inhaled deeply. Her nose twitched with the scent of saltwater. Not the same as inhaling the stale cement air of New Orleans.

The night was pitch black, no moon to reflect off the water. The waves lapped against the shore, easing her mind. Immediately, she could feel her headache lessening. Not enough to go back inside though. That would take something stronger than nature.

Sounds of the music from the bar drifted down to the shoreline. The country song playing reminded her of Colton. Tough on the outside, with a tender heart beating on the inside. He could play tough guy all day long, but Kayla had enough glimpses into his softer side to know it existed.

For some reason she couldn’t pinpoint, any time he referred to the business, he still had that iron grip attitude. Like a part of him didn’t trust her, or more to the point, like he felt as if she didn’t trust him. Kayla had made the decision not to mention her dream of adding her wedding business to the bar. She would continue to evaluate the area and the building before she made any decisions.

The tide rolled in. The water swirled at her feet, tugging at her as the foamy liquid receded. She froze, sensing his presence. He was there, standing behind her. His Black Ice scent teased her nostrils. She teetered, almost losing her balance in the moist sand.

A rumble of laughter touched her ears right before strong, steady hands reached out to keep her from tumbling face first into the ocean. She shrieked.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. Are you okay?” That voice could only belong to one person.

“Colton.” She eased out of his hands. “I’m headed up to my house to grab a few aspirins. My head is killing me.” They walked back towards the bar, away from the soft lull of the ocean. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

At the bar, Colton put his hand on her chin and tipped it up so he could look at her eyes. “You look beat. Go home for the night. The extra help we hired is doing a fantastic job. We’ve got it covered.”

She noticed he said, “we.” She was humbled when he asked for her help in deciding between some of the applicants. The fact that he valued her opinion had to mean that he wanted to work with her.

“No, I’ll be back in about half an hour. I just need to rest a bit.” She turned, walking towards her beach house. Conveniently, the house was less than a five-minute walk from the bar.

“Kayla,” Colton called after her. She turned to see his smirk. “You can relax. I promise not to run off with all the profits.” He entered the bar and closed the door before she could respond.

His condescending attitude over the last few days grated on her nerves. When they weren’t discussing the bar, his demeanor was totally different. Very likable. But every time he referred to the bar, his attitude was that Kayla wanted to take over. Sure, she wanted to be involved in the business, but she fully understood that Colt had his claim in it also. She had to find a way to convince him that she wasn’t the bad girl here.

What Kayla couldn’t figure out was why a man with his looks was stuck running a bar and not out entertaining the women. He was there every night, even though he could afford the help so he could take time off. Like Grandpa, Colton was dedicated to the business. The man oozed sex appeal, and had a smooth tongue. Kayla could get lost in his whiskey tainted voice.

Trudging through the ankle deep sand was not an easy task with flip-flops. What else was a person to wear on the beach? She reached down and slipped off her shoes, which made the last twenty feet easier to maneuver.

When she reached the bottom of the steps, the motion-sensitive light flickered on, casting a warm glow into the black night. She dug her key out of her pocket. Taped to the screen door was a small gift-wrapped package. Tilting her head in question, she removed it, turning it over in her hands, looking for a label. Nothing. Was it meant for her? Who could have left it?

Unlocking the door, she headed straight to the kitchen for some pain relievers before focusing on the small gift. The wrapping was white. The sort of paper used to wrap wedding presents. Without hesitation, she pulled at the tape. If it wasn’t meant for her, she could re-wrap the item and deliver to the proper recipient. A small object fell out and clanked onto the kitchen counter. She picked it up and examined it. An engagement ring. That didn’t make any sense. Why would someone send her an engagement ring? She tore at the rest of the wrapping paper to reveal a pink note tucked inside.

Here comes the bride dressed all in white. Radiant and lovely she shines in his sight.

Kayla turned the paper over, looking at the backside for more information. Nothing. She shook her head, and reread the words one more time. Kayla put the ring and the note in a dish on the counter. Did one of her clients send this? Was it meant for one of her brides? The ring looked vaguely familiar, but with her head pounding, she couldn’t think straight to identify why.

Dread knotted her stomach, and she didn’t want to be alone. Downing two ibuprofens, she headed out the door back towards the bar to finish out the night.

The blaring ring of her cell phone woke Kayla Sunday morning. Before answering, she peered at the clock on the bedside table. Nine forty. Past time to get out of bed. Grabbing her phone, she mumbled a sleepy, “Hello.”

“Um, is this Kayla?” The man’s voice was uncertain and shaky.

“Yes it is. Who’s speaking?”

“This is Jerry. Marcy’s fiancé. She was supposed to come by this morning before our meeting with you, and she hasn’t shown up yet. It’s not like her to be late. Did I misunderstand and she went ahead to see you?”

Kayla sat up in bed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “No, I haven’t seen or heard from her in days. I’m sure it’s nothing but a nervous and excited bride-to-be.”

“That’s strange because yesterday morning she was fine.”

Kayla shook her head to clear the last of the morning fog from it. “Come on over, and we’ll wait for her here. You have directions?”

“Yes, I do. I’ll see you in about half an hour.”

Kayla quickly showered, dressed, and put on a pot of strong coffee. She poured her first cup when a knock sounded on the door. She opened it to find a distraught, disheveled looking young man. His black hair fell across his eyes, ruffled by his hands as well as the wind. The button-up shirt was half tucked in and half out. Beady eyes behind wire-rimmed glasses peered up anxiously at Kayla.

“Jerry?” she asked.

He nodded. “Is Marcy here yet?” A worried frown crept across his forehead.

“No, she isn’t. Come in though. We can try to call her.”

In the kitchen, she pointed him to a barstool while she dialed Marcy’s number on her cell phone. Three times, the call went straight to voicemail. A twinge of uncertainty lit up in the back of her mind. The man sitting at her counter toyed with a napkin, twisting and turning it over and over in his hands. His jumpiness was beginning to upset Kayla. She could deal with anxious brides-to-be, but dealing with grooms was not her thing.

Marcy should be there by now. Kayla tried to come up with a viable reason, but nothing seemed to fit the personality of the happy young woman she’d come to know over the past months via email and phone. And at their one in-person meeting the other evening, Marcy was so excited about marrying this man, the idea she got cold feet was ludicrous.

Trying to buy some time, and to calm Jerry’s nerves, Kayla pulled out the portfolio of Marcy and Jerry’s upcoming wedding. “I need your input on some of this food. Marcy wasn’t sure which main course would be best, brisket or roasted duck. Maybe you could help decide.” That wasn’t the full truth. The meal was planned, they were serving both meats, but Kayla had to give him something to occupy his mind and his hands. It was the first thought that came to mind.

After several minutes of wedding talk, they decided on brisket, but Jerry’s eyes had a faraway look, and she was sure his mind was miles away. Kayla jumped off her stool and went around the counter to the coffee pot. “More coffee?”

“Sure,” he mumbled.

Kayla carried the two cups back to the kitchen counter. Jerry reached around Kayla to pull the little seashell dish closer to him. Inside sat the ring Kayla had received last night. He picked it up and held it in his hand between his finger and thumb. His brow wrinkled before he turned questioning eyes in her direction.

“Where did you get this?”

“Umm, it was left on my door, wrapped up like a present. I wasn’t sure who sent it, or what it meant. Actually I set it here and forgot about it.” She told him about finding the ring and the note. “Why?”

Jerry turned the ring over in his hands, studying the underneath. When he turned back to her, his face was white as snow. “This is Marcy’s ring.”

Kayla’s heart pounded. Fear rose in her throat. “What? Are you sure?” She moved closer to him so she could get a better look at the diamond ring.

He pointed to the inside. “The inscription.
M & J - We are one
. When I bought the ring, I had it engraved with those words. She loved it.” His eyes misted over. “Where is she?”