Last First Kiss (17 page)

“I may kiss the bride,” Wade had added.

It hadn’t been on the lips but on the cheeks.

“Now we have to go on our honeymoon,
”
Sophie
had said.
“Other than lots of hugging and kissing
,
w
hat’s so special about those?”

“It’s the start of their new life together
,
”
Wade had said.

“
And
they start to share a bed. You want me to come and sleep in yours
,
or will you sleep in mine?”

“Hey
,
Soph, I really like my
bed all to myself.”

“Okay
, but will
w
e still be married?”

“Sure we will.”

“If you say so. Oh, and when bride and grooms come into Mountainview, the groom carries his bride up to the room.”

“I can carry you, no problem. And you
know what this means
,
don’t you?”

“No what?” Sophie
had asked
.

“
That
we can never marry anyone else,”
he
had
said, holding both her
hand
s
. “It would be ag
ainst the law
,
a
nd we’d get in all sorts of trouble
.”

“I promise I won’t.”

Sophie closed her eyes thinking back to what he’d said and how she
had broken
her word.

“We’re nearly there.”

Sophie glanced
at Wade as helped the horse deliver her foal. It s
lipped out onto the straw.

“It’s a boy
,
and he’s a handsome one,” he said
,
stepping away so the mother could clean up her newborn.

“I wonder if the owner got rid of her because he knew h
e’d have another mouth to feed?” asked Sophie.

“Maybe. If Emily doesn’t want to keep it I think Pops might like it. He had to have his horse put to sleep last month
,
and you know how h
e loves to ride. At least with a fo
al he could
r
aise and train it. I think he’d
really enjoy that.”

Wade slipped his arm around her waist
,
and she set her head on his shoulder. She loved this man so much it physically hurt.

Chapter Eight

Sophie flicked through some design magazines she’d picked up in town earlier that morning. She’d checked with Amy who was filling in for her while she was away
,
and everything was okay, no problems. Even her cli
ent’s furniture had finally been
delivered.

“When do you think you’ll be heading back to
Seattle
?” Amy had asked her.

She only just thought of
Grans, the real reason
she’d
been
forced to return home, when
Amy had asked her that.
Up
‘
til now it had been all Wade.
How would she deal with
saying goodbye to him?

Can
I
say goodbye to him?

“I’m not sure.
Probably after Grans
’s
pretrial and then I might fly back to
Seattle
for a
while and then come back if it goes to a full trial.”

“You think it will?”

“I hope not
,
but I have to be prepared for that scenario.”

“Don’t worry because I can handle anything for you.”

“Thank you so much
,
and I’ll call you again a few days.”

Sophie
pressed the end call button on her cell and then
tapped her fingers on the reception desk. She’d told Grans that she’d man the desk as Julie was heading out to the police fundraising dance. The same one t
hat Cathy was attending with Wade.

Grans walked out of the office carrying two cups of coffee. She placed one down in front of Sophie.

“While I’m home I should give this reception area a makeover.”

“There’s nothing wrong with it,” said Grans
,
perching on the stool beside her.

“It’s outdated.
I mean how long have you had those pillows on that couch over there?
And the drapes…no one has that style
any more.
In fact, let me start taking some measurements now.”

“Nelson’s Ice Cream parlor is still around you know.”

“Meaning you want me to go there and not mess with your décor?”

Grans grinned.

“You want to come with me?”

Grans shook her head.
“I have an outdated reception are
a
to man.”

It was Sophie’s turn to grin.

“Go on, take my car and buy yourself one of those banana splits you used to love so much. You don’t want to spend your Saturday night with an old lady.”

“I’m home because of you.”

“We have plenty of time to hang out
,
and besides, I’m working.”

“If you say so.”

Grans flickered her fingers
pretending to shoo
her away
.
“
My car keys are on the hook
in the kitchen.”

Sophie
ran up t
o her room to brush her hair before heading out. She
grab
bed
her purse and then
ran back downstairs. She collected the keys and made her way outside toward
her grandmother’s car.

She could almost taste the banana split as she drove through the entrance of Mountainview and down the dirt road that led to the main street leading into
Greenville
. Sophie turned on the radio
and tapped the steering wheel trying to decide what three flavors of ice cream she’d pick to top the banana. Funny how you always loved the foods you remembered from childhood.  She turned on the radio while she waited for the light to turn
green. Sophie used
her index finger
to
hit
the wheel
in time with the beat of the music
as she made a left onto the main street. She glanced momentarily at the parking lot of the
Horseshoe Inn
.
It was packed
because the police fundraising dance was being held there. Sophie knew it had started about an hour ago and didn’t want to think about Wade being inside there with Cathy. She signaled left and made her way down the street. At this time of the evening you could park on the street
,
so she pulled up as close as she could to the entrance of Nelson’s Ice Cream Parlor.

Nothing like ice cream to take your mind off things and to chase away the blues.

She got out of the car, locked it and headed down the road a few feet. Nelson’s looked exactly how she remembered
it
. A few tables and chairs o
utside on the sidewalk. The
red and white check
ered curtains in the window. By the look of their faded colors, Sophie guessed they were probably the same one
s
that had hung there since she’d been a kid.
What w
as it with everyone in
Greenville
not changing their
décor?
Maybe she’d give the whole town
one of her design makeovers. But no
, that would be wrong. It was
,
after all,
what m
ade it so unique and homely. In all honesty
,
it’s what she liked most about coming home. Everything was familiar and predictable.
Seattle
was fast paced and constantly changing
.

She smiled when she heard
the bell over the door ringing as she stepped inside.
Even that was the original.
On a Saturday night she hadn’t
expect
ed
there to be a line
of people waiting for ice cream
,
but eight people were ahead of her.
She looked up at the menu
above the freezer housing the ice cream
while she waited.

The bell over the door sounded again
,
and as she looked around she saw Wade’s father heading inside. He pushed his cowboy hat back
on his head
and smiled
.

“I’ve been meaning t
o drive over to see you, honey,” he said.

They hugged one another
,
and then he kissed her on the cheek.

“How’s Emily holding up?”
he asked.

“I think she’s doing oka
y, but she has her moments when
she’s scared.”

“And I don’t blame her. The whole thing is crazy. I told Wade count me in on helping get to the bottom of the mess.”

“Thank you.”

“And you
,
young lady, you
’re more beautiful than ever. W
hat are you doing without a date
on a Saturday night?”

“Waiting for a banana split.”

“
You getting one of those things?
Me
,
too. Hey, this is my treat,” he said reaching into his back pocket for his wallet.

“No, really, Bob, you shouldn’t.”

He lifted his hand. “I insist
,
and I’ll be insulted if you don’t let me.”

“Okay because I wouldn’t want
to do
that.”

They approached the counter
,
and Bob ord
ered two splits with the works.

“Let’s take the table over by the window there,” said Bob, putting his hand in the small of her back.

They sat down
,
and B
ob pulled out a pile of napkins from the stainless steel dispenser.
“There we go
.
Don’t
know about you
,
but when I eat these things, well, it tends to get
real
messy.”

Bob looked great
,
and she suddenly realized
where Wade got his good looks from. Despite grey hair and some lines around the eyes and
mouth, Bob was
still
a handsome cowboy
.

“And how come yo
u don’t have a date tonight
?” asked Sophie when the assistant placed
two glasses dishes overflowing with ice and whipped creams and chocolate syrup
.

“I am in fact
supposed to be at the police fundraising dance
,
but I guess my heart was
n’t
really into it.”

“You didn’t want to tag along with Wade and Cathy?”

Sophie took her first bite of the strawberry ice cream and thought she’d gone to heaven.

Bob shook his head. “I’
m
happy to see that Wade is dating
,
but I don’t know what it is, can’t put my finger on it, but there’s something about Cathy I don’t like.”

“Me neither.”

That had slipped from her mouth before she’d realized it.

“Sorry. I shouldn’t be judging. I
mean I don’t know her, only met her briefly a couple of times.”

“No, I think your instincts are probably right. We’re not the only two who dislike her
either
. In fact, everyone in town thinks something isn’t right about her
,
but they ju
st can’t put their finger on it either.
She seems nice enough
,
but she’s pushy and nosy
,
too. Wade brought her over to my place one evening
,
and her eyes were everywhere, asking me where I got this and that.”

“You don’t think she’ll hurt him do you? Listen to me. I did
just
that.”

Bob put his hand on top of hers. “I think that’s sweet of y
ou to think
about him and his welfare. Don’t
worry;
I know
Wade’s sensible enough to take care of himself.”