Caught in the Frame (22 page)

Even now, two days later, the truth of why Remy had turned to revenge left her feeling like she imagined Dorothy felt when she first laid eyes on the humbug masquerading as the great and powerful Oz. A deathbed promise to an old man with dementia was a flimsy excuse for the actions that had turned Tomas into collateral damage.

All of that was over now, and, grateful for the distraction, EV realized her feet had carried her to Dalton’s door. She swallowed the irrational fear that he might have changed his mind, and tapped rapidly but lightly to find out; her heart rapped to the same beat in her chest.

Then the door opened, and she was in his arms, and he was kissing her. Deep, drugging kisses that sent tingling heat all the way down to her toes. She pressed against him, whispered over his lips, “mine,” and “more.”

Before he tumbled her to the bed, Dalton answered with a single word, “Forever.”

Later, Dalton leaned up on one elbow to look down at her. “How are you feeling?” He lifted a broad hand to brush a lock of hair from her face, scowling at the mark where Remy had hit her. “You should see the other guy,” she joked. Dalton didn’t see the humor. “It doesn’t hurt, honest.”

“I failed, and he got his hands on you.”

“Not where it counts. He touched my face, but you touched my soul.”

His gaze turned solemn. EV turned her face until he cupped the tender flesh with his hand. “I love you,” She said the words he needed to hear, because if she didn’t, she was afraid they might burn their way out of her.

Everything he felt for her was there in his eyes. Hers fluttered closed, then opened to show him all the shadows had gone.

* * *

A quiet knock on the door leading from Lila’s room to the castle hallway interrupted her nightly beauty ritual. After removing her makeup, applying a creamy, anti-aging mask, and a thick layer of night cream, she was finishing the routine with a roll-on eye serum. She needed to look her best tomorrow.

Though the drama seemed to have subsided, but since she’d banished Javier for the night so he couldn’t possibly see her in her dress before the wedding, Lila looked through the peephole before opening the door, and was surprised to see Nate’s face distorted by the curved lens.

“Is everything alright? Is it Chloe?”

“No, no. Everything is fine. I was hoping I could talk to you about something.” Lila ushered him inside, indicating that he take a seat on the sofa while she perched next to him.

Nate did as directed, leaning over to place his elbows on his knees, nervous energy spilling out of every pore. She remained silent, waiting for the question she knew he was about to ask.

“I want you to know that I love your daughter more than anything in this world. I get the feeling you’re not so thrilled about that, and I’d like to know why.” This wasn’t the path Lila expected; she was being put on the spot, and that wasn’t something she was used to.

Lila sighed; she knew she had been less than hospitable toward Nate, and realized that he had shown nothing but care and concern for her Chloe. What more could a mother ask for? It might be time to let him off the hook.

“Chloe has been my whole world; she’s everything to me. I’ve been lonely since she moved back to Ponderosa Pines. At some point, I figured, she’d tire of provincial life and things would get back to normal.” Lila stalled by brushing at an imperceptible bit of lint on her pants. “I thought I was giving her a life of adventure, the kind of life I dreamed of when I was her age. Instead, it turns out all she wanted was to settle down and stay in one place. Best laid plans, I suppose.” The fidgeting hand moved to rest on his arm.

“I have nothing against you; in fact, I encouraged her to go after what she wanted. But, I had to make sure you weren’t going to try to clip her wings. I can see that you want her to be happy, and that you’d go to the ends of the earth to ensure that she is.”

Nate interjected gently but firmly, “You know this means you’re going to have to butt out now, right? I can only handle so much interference.”

“I will, I promise. And I’m sorry for making you feel like you had something to prove. You’ll understand, someday, when you have children of your own,” she punctuated the statement with a pointed look, “the overwhelming need to meddle. Can you forgive me?” Nate doubted many people had ever been on the receiving end of a Lila LaRue apology, and accepted it without further to-do.

“You realize I’m not going to bow out gracefully, and that means you and I will be spending time together. Hopefully, as family.”

Lila’s encouraging smile gave Nate permission to ask the big question. “I want to marry Chloe more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my entire life. Your blessing would mean a lot to me, and to her. Do I have your permission to propose?”

Tears sprung to Lila’s eyes as she enveloped Nate in an unguarded hug. “Of course you do. Take care of my baby.”

“I will.”

Chapter 21

Lila stood on a pedestal surrounded by mirrors, watching the admiring faces of her beloved bridal party. Baylee knelt before her, the clicking of her camera audible above the din of a hundred anxious guests waiting in the next room for Lila’s entrance.

EV, sporting enough pancake makeup to cover her bruises, produced a small velvet box from the bag of emergency supplies Chloe insisted they put together “just in case”.

“Lila, I have something for you, something
old.
” With a tender smile, she lifted the lid and removed a single, 24-karat gold, diamond-encrusted hairpin.

Lila gasped. “I can’t believe you remembered this! You’re going to make me cry and ruin my makeup!”

“My mother had a whole set of these; six in all.” EV explained to Chloe and Faith. “We used to play with them as kids, can you imagine? There wasn’t much use for this kind of trinket in Ponderosa Pines, so she sold them and used the money to help construct the turbines that now power the town. I think it was more about making a statement than actually needing the money. But she kept this one as a memento, and I thought…” EV’s voice tightened, and when she looked up at Lila, her eyes were swimming with unshed tears.

“It’s perfect, and I love you. Thank you.” EV slid the pin into place and stepped back to appraise the bride. “It’s also a loaner; I might need it one of these days.” She added with a wink.

“So that’s old and borrowed; your necklace is new; now we just need something blue.” Chloe looked around the room in a panic. Of all the things to forget.

Lila lifted her dress, exposing one shapely leg and pointed to a lacy garter edged in blue satin. “All set. Let’s get this show on the road.”

* * *

The ceremony went off without a hitch; Lila practically sailed down the aisle, and vows were exchanged above sniffles from an emotional audience. Chloe, grateful for the wonder of waterproof mascara, shed tears of joy at the depth of love she saw on both Lila’s and Javier’s faces. As they said their vows, EV noticed the look passing between Chloe and Nate; deducing that it wouldn’t be long before they made pronouncements of their own. By the time Mr. & Mrs. Javier Rosales made their entrance into the Rose Room, Chloe’s eyes were dry and beaming.

All of Lila’s careful planning had paid off: soft, twinkling lights sparkled off beveled crystal at every place setting; the pale blue bridesmaids dresses provided inspiration for a neutral gray, silver, and gold color scheme punctuated with sapphire accents; and a decadent blue velvet cake covered in fondant and white chocolate roses elicited a chorus of
oohs
and
ahhs
when cut.

A delayed flight had given Javier and Tomas mere moments to reconnect before they had to take their places at the front of the room. After Baylee’s emotional phone call to tell Tomas of Remy Vincent’s arrest and that all charges against Tomas had been dropped, his attorneys had moved heaven and earth to get his travel documents reissued so he could get to the castle in time for the wedding.

Watching his brother stride into the lobby, take his wife in his arms, and kiss the breath out of her released the last weight from Javier’s heart. When Tomas stood to deliver his best man speech, it was with more confidence and poise than he had displayed for quite some time.

“To my big brother—my hero—and his beautiful bride: thank you for the unending support you have provided me, even in my darkest hour. It’s been a difficult year for me, and you’ve stuck by me through thick and thin. I can’t tell you how much that means to me.” His gaze broke from where it hovered between Javier and Lila, searching for Baylee, whose teary-eyed expression was full of hope for the first time in too long.

“Lila, I know you can take care of yourself; you’re an exceptional woman. But from now on, you’ve got a partner who, I can attest, will never fail to support you and fight for you. We should all strive to be the husband I know Javi will be. Love you both!”

Everyone toasted, the newlyweds exchanged besotted kisses, and when Chloe saw a camera flash, she knew Baylee had captured the moment.

* * *

The party continued long into the night. Two hunky bartenders and a few kitchen staffers offered to stay and keep the food hot and the drinks flowing; Chloe noticed a tip jar full to bursting, even though Lila’s tab included a generous gratuity. She guessed they’d serve until dawn, if given the opportunity. Noticing a break in the steady stream of well-wishers who had monopolized most of Lila and Javier’s evening, Chloe gathered EV, Nate, and Dalton and whisked the happy couple into a changing room reserved for the bridal party.

“Something arrived in my email yesterday afternoon; a gift for you two. I forwarded you a copy, but I thought it would be appropriate if we all took a look at it now.” Chloe explained while booting up her laptop. “Congratulations from Ponderosa Pines.”

A few clicks opened a video, beginning with a panoramic view of Ponderosa Pines that Chloe could tell had been filmed from atop the church bell tower. Sparkling snow clung to every tree branch, covered every roof, and formed fluffy banks along each winding road through town. The village looked like a winter wonderland, and Chloe appreciated Javier’s involuntary, awed gasp at the sight. “Congratulations, Lila & Javier!” scrawled across the screen in glitter script, as if written with the wave of a magic wand.

Swirling into a pinwheel, the scene changed to a view of the town square where, it seemed, the entire town had gathered. A chorus of congratulations broke out over the notes of Pachelbel’s
Cannon
. Everyone waved and blew kisses at the camera, and when Chloe peeled her eyes from the screen there wasn’t a dry eye among the group.

Priscilla Lewellyn’s face appeared on the screen; she was sitting in the back room of Thread, surrounded by skeins of yarn and backdropped by an intricate quilt depicting an arial map of Ponderosa Pines. “Hello, Lila and Javier. We all wanted you to know that we’re so happy for you, and we wish you both a lifetime of happiness. You are in our thoughts, and we hope you’ll make it home for a visit one of these days!” As Priscilla and Thread faded into the background, Lottie and Talia swirled into focus.

“Watch out, Javier, you married one spitfire of a woman!” Lottie warned, an uncharacteristically warm smile emblazoned across her face. Apparently, Lila was one of the few people on Lottie’s good side—probably due to her significantly distant proximity. “And you must be one hell of a man if she chose to spend the rest of her life with you.” The statement was punctuated by a suggestive wiggling of eyebrows and a sly smile that actually brought a blush to Javier’s face.

Continuing on for several more minutes, a good percentage of the town expressed their congratulations, some including a story or anecdote about Lila’s youth, and all urging the couple to plan a visit to the Pines as soon as possible. When the last image faded from the screen, a teary-eyed Lila took turns embracing each of the five of them before returning to her place at Javier’s side.

“Damn those crazy old bats!” Lila exclaimed, wiping her face with a dainty white handkerchief. “Now I’m going to have to visit.” She shot a meaningful look at EV, knowing her friend would recall Lila’s promise to return when EV married Dalton. EV rolled her eyes in response, but shot a look at Dalton that spoke volumes in Lila’s educated opinion.

“Well, I, for one, can’t wait.” Javier had caught the Ponderosa Pines bug; Chloe guessed she’d be seeing a lot more of her mother in the future. The thought put a smile on her face, and as she wrapped one arm around Nate’s waist and the other around EV’s, she couldn’t help feel like everything was finally falling into place.

Epilogue

Chloe padded over to the kitchen in search of coffee, clad in one of Nate’s button-down shirts, her hair disheveled. Humming to herself, she filled the carafe with water and set the machine to brew. As she leaned over the sink, Nate watched her from beneath a pile of fur blankets stretched in front of a roaring, rustic stone fireplace.
How did I get so lucky?
He thought, as Chloe stretched on her tiptoes to get a better view of the rolling Irish hillside encompassing the cottage’s backyard, and revealing her long, lean legs.

Nate watched her for a long moment, then stole to the entryway and pulled a small box from his coat pocket. He was back before she realized he had moved, and when she returned with two steaming cups of coffee and pulled a fuzzy throw around her shoulders, Chloe still hadn’t noticed the beatific expression on his face.