Getting to the Church On Time (10 page)

Tucker wrapped an arm around her and squeezed her with a grin. “You did a pretty good job, Mom.”

She wiped her cheek and Levi shook his head.

Tucker headed back in the direction he’d come from and Levi turned to Kathy. “This is going to be awesome.” Levi loved a big, crazy spectacle, and this would be one for sure.

They grabbed their coffees and headed back toward the gazebo.

“How are you going to do this?” she asked.

Levi thought about it, a grin growing. “Things just seem to have a way of working out, you know?”

Lauren, Delaney, Hope & Hailey

Lauren felt her eyes fill as she walked into the bride’s room at the church.

Three of her best friends, women who would be her sisters-in-law, were gathered there putting the finishing touches on their hair and makeup. One of them would be her sister-in-law
tonight
.

It didn’t matter which one. She loved them all and knew that they would all be related by marriage eventually. They already felt like family.

But she couldn’t wait to find out which couple Levi had told they were saying
I do
tonight.

“You look absolutely beautiful,” Lauren told Hope, watching her friend turn in the middle of the room.

Hope wore a tunic dress in soft yellow that should have looked bulky and unflattering, but instead fell in a gorgeous drape over her petite frame to her knees and looked perfect on the woman her fiancé called his little hippie. Though it was December, the top of the tunic was halter-style, leaving her shoulders and arms bare, and she had wildflowers woven in her hair. They were silk, but still had the intended effect of reminding everyone that Hope was their earth girl.

Each of the possible brides had chosen a dress and accessories that fit their personalities, rather than a traditional wedding gown, in part due to the short notice of the wedding, but also because the two women who didn’t win the wedding contest would be standing up as bridesmaids.

“Thanks. We all do,” Hope said with a grin at Hailey and Delaney.

Lauren couldn’t argue with that. Hailey was dressed in a floor-length, white-silk sleeveless dress that fit her practically perfect body like a second skin. The bodice sparkled with silver sequins and the skirt was cut up to mid-thigh on one side. She wore a filmy white wrap over her shoulders and looked sophisticated and glamorous. Her hair was up in a twist secured with a sparkly silver clip and her makeup was flawless. She was gorgeous. As always. But today she wore a soft smile and an unmistakable glow of happiness and love.

“Thanks,” Hailey said. “I’m so happy I’m going to be up there with you both.”

The glow of happiness and love was contagious, evidently. Delaney was just as radiant.

Delaney had chosen to keep her hair down and natural, with her makeup doing little to cover the freckles on her nose and cheeks. Her tan and freckles reminded her of the long summer days on the farm, playing with the boys, running with the dogs, doing her woodworking in the barn and the midnight skinny dipping with Tucker and she wanted them to show.

While she would have been happy in blue jeans and getting married in their barn, she’d put on a dress that she’d bought specifically because of the pretty sapphire-blue color. It was a simple short dress with capped sleeves.

But easily the most stunning thing in the room were the smiles on the three women’s faces.

They all felt bad that it wasn’t Kate walking down the aisle tonight, but they were all thrilled for the one of them who would.

“So? I’m dying here,” Lauren said, looking around the room. “Who is it?”

Levi had made the wedding announcement from the gazebo as promised, but it hadn’t been the announcement everyone had been expecting. He’d said simply that he’d decided it would be fun for everyone to come to the church tonight to find out who the winners were.

People had groaned, a few had protested that getting the appropriate gift would be hard without knowing who the lucky couple was, but because it was Levi and everyone was used to his eccentricities—and because everyone liked him and felt bad that his own wedding had been ruined by the weather—they’d let him do it his way.

Besides, with the last-minute change in wedding plans and the weather, it was most likely that whoever was getting married was going to get a bunch of I.O.Us instead of actual gifts anyway.

Hailey raised an eyebrow and looked at Hope and Delaney. “Yeah, which one of you is it?”

“Oh my gosh!” Delaney exclaimed, grabbing Hope in a hug. “I’m so happy for you and TJ!”

Lauren was too. Honestly, Hope was one of the sweetest people Lauren had ever met and she was thrilled for her take-care-of-everyone brother-in-law TJ.

Hope pulled back. “So happy for us?”

Delaney laughed. “Of course we are. No hard feelings at all.”

“But it’s not us,” Hope said. She looked at Delaney. “It’s not you?”

“No.” Delaney looked over at Hailey. “So it’s you guys.”

Hailey shook her head. “Ty went to Levi and said he wanted one of you to have it. We’ll do something in a few months.”

Hope looked back and forth between Delaney and Hailey. “But TJ did the same thing. He told Levi that we would wait ’til spring and that Tucker or Ty should have it. We’re so happy for both of you and we’re fine waiting.”

Delaney stared at them both. “But Tucker did that too. He told Levi he wanted TJ or Ty to have this wedding.”

The women all shared a stunned look.

It was Lauren who started laughing first. Soon Hailey joined her and then Delaney and finally Hope. This was so typical of…everything. Sapphire Falls might be a sleepy little town in the middle of Nebraska but that didn’t mean it didn’t have its share of craziness.

Maybe more than its share.

“Levi is in so much trouble,” Lauren said, wiping a tear from her cheek and trying to take a deep breath.

Hope nodded. “I’m making a note—when Levi’s bored and Kate’s out of town, look out.”

“Do you think he told the guys?” Hailey asked. “It would be just like the three of them to keep this from us until we get to the end of the aisle.”

Delaney’s eyes widened as Lauren nodded. It
was
just like those three to do something like that.

“But they wouldn’t really think we wouldn’t talk about it, would they?” Hope asked.

Hailey shrugged. “Who knows what they think sometimes. I swear they
stop
thinking when they’re all together.”

“So we just play along?” Delaney asked. “Or do we ask them?”

“How do we just walk down the aisle without knowing who’s getting married?” Hope asked. “Who goes first?”

Delaney shook her head. “Good point.”

“They wouldn’t let you walk down the aisle. They’ll tell you before that,” Lauren said. She frowned even as she said it. “Won’t they?”

They might. Or they might not. These guys might think that was really funny to keep the girls guessing until they got to the end.

Hailey took a deep breath. “You know what? I’m ready either way. If it’s us, great. If it’s not, great, because it’s one of you.”

Delaney nodded. “Agreed. Totally.”

Hope grinned. “Agreed. So let them try to tease us. One way or another, somebody’s walking out of here married.”

Lauren half expected them to put their hands in on top of one another’s and yell “go team!” She laughed. “Let me see what I can find out.”

She slipped out into the small foyer outside the bridal room. There were two other doors. One led to a prayer room and one to the room where the groom and his groomsmen prepared for the wedding.

She knocked lightly.

Travis cracked the door. “Hey, baby doll,” he said with a grin. He slipped out as Lauren heard, “To the prettiest balls and chains in the world!”

She lifted an eyebrow. “A little toast before the ceremony?”

He grinned. “Levi sent in some specially made peppermint Booze for the guys.”

“Peppermint?” she asked. “Sounds good.”

“I knew you’d think so.” He pulled a small mason jar of pink liquid from his pocket.

“You were going to use that on me later?” she asked.

“Exactly.”

“You know I’m a sure thing even without liquor,” she teased.

He winked. “I said I was going to use that
on
you later, City. That doesn’t mean I was going to let you drink it.”

Ah.
On
her. Suddenly she felt very warm…and very in the mood to go home.

“I do love you,” she told him, taking the jar and tipping it back for a long sip of the beloved, locally made moonshine that was peppermint flavored tonight instead of the usual grape or strawberry. The peppermint was spicy but it was sweet at the same time. Like a liquid candy cane. “Oh, that’s good,” she said after she swallowed.

He grinned at her. “Don’t drink it all. I have some plans.”

“Your brother is getting married. You won’t be able to leave early,” she reminded him.

“We can always find time, and a place, for kinky Booze body shots.”

Lauren opened her mouth to reply—probably something like
let’s start right now
—but they were interrupted.

“Oh, there you are.” Pastor Michaels came around the corner. “Would you tell everyone that they have about five minutes until we begin?” he asked.

Lauren quickly stuck the jar of Booze behind her back and gave him a big smile. “Of course. The ladies are ready.”

“The guys too,” Travis assured him. “We’ll start getting them to the back of the church.”

The minister headed for the sanctuary and Travis turned to Lauren. “Naughty girl. Drinking and talking dirty in church?”

“Me? You started all of it. And I didn’t even have a chance to talk dirty.”

He moved in close. “Even
thinking
the things you were thinking is dirty.”

She grinned and put her lips against his ear. “You’re right. What I was thinking was
really
dirty.”

He pulled back. “Did it involve a mouthful of Booze and you on your knees?”

She shook her head. “Sorry, no.”

“Oh.”

“You were on your back.”

He grinned. “That’s my girl. It’s safer that way. You always make my knees buckle.”

She laughed and pushed him back. “Well, first, one of your brothers needs to get married. So which one is it going to be?”

He was still smiling. “What do you mean?”

“Which of your brothers is saying I do tonight?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. You tell me.”

She frowned. “Come on, Trav. Which couple won the contest? The girls don’t know.”

“They don’t? Levi didn’t tell them?”

She shook her head. “No. Only the guys know, I guess. I don’t know if they’re assuming the girls know or if they’re teasing them by not telling them, but it would be great to know which girl is the bride tonight.”

Travis shrugged. “The guys don’t know either.”

She stared at him. “What?”

“They’re assuming Levi told the girls. They all told him the other two should get the wedding.”

“So I heard,” Lauren said, her mind turning. Now what?

“But Levi didn’t tell them?” Travis asked.

“No. Is he here?”

“I haven’t seen him. Should we go look?”

Lauren looked down at her watch. “I don’t know if we have time.”

“So what do we do?”

“Assume the minister knows who he’s marrying tonight?”

Travis just looked at her. But slowly his mouth curled into a smile. “This could be interesting.”

“And entertaining.”

“Just the way Levi likes things.”

Lauren couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Good point.”

“The girls are okay with walking down the aisle not knowing what’s waiting at the end?” Travis asked.

Lauren felt her heart warm as she nodded. “They are. They’re happy. No matter what happens.”

Travis reached out and pulled her into his arms. He put his lips against her neck. “I know that feeling.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed close. “I can personally vouch for the fact that being a Bennett is the best thing in the world.”

Travis kissed her sweetly then pulled back to smile down at her. “Those girls are already Bennetts.”

Lauren nodded. “Yeah. So tonight is all just icing on the cake.”

“Hey, speaking of cake—what did Adrianne do about the cake since no one knows who’s getting married for sure?”

“She made a variety of cupcakes, all of the girls’ favorites,” Lauren said, letting go of her husband and smoothing her dress. “Actually, everything is good to go no matter what happens at the end of that aisle.”

“Well, then let’s get them down there. I can’t wait to see this.”

Two minutes later, the three women emerged from the bride’s room. Lauren had divided the bouquet that was supposed to be Kate’s in three and handed each of her friends a cluster of red roses, an evergreen branch and loops of white pearls.