Page 43 of Love Finds Home

“I need you to take Trish and Lottie shopping.”

“Okay, and what are we shopping for?”

“Wedding dresses.”

I think of Lottie in a white dress walking down the aisle towards my brother, and it just makes me giddy. I think about Trish and her almost completely popped baby bump walking down the aisle to Davis and I can’t contain my glee.

“Oh my God, this is so amazing! Yes, absolutely I would love to take them shopping.”

“Uh, yeah, so you’ve met them, right?”

I laugh at the question. “I have.”

“You know, then, that they don’t really want to go wedding dress shopping. There’s a reason Trish doesn’t have a dress yet.”

“I hear you loud and clear, baby bro. I think I can figure something out.”

“I’m counting on you to make Lottie the most beautiful bride there was. Not that she needs much work. And Trish. Make her look good for Davis.”

“Tiny, Lottie doesn’t need any work. Good God, that red dress she wore to the benefit was amazing.”

“Yeah. Yeah, it was.” His voice sounds almost dreamy through the phone.

“I do not want to know what you’re thinking about right now, do I?”

He laughs. “Probably not.”

“What am I going to do with you?” I ask, tsking at him.

“Nothing. But you’re going to help me anyway, right?”

“Of course I am!”

We hang up, and I start making plans. I know there’s a bridal boutique in Rockton, but I want to do something else. Something more, like an entire weekend. We can’t leave Ginny out. She should absolutely be there. She’s closer to family than I am. And her mom! Her mom should be there. From what I understand, Trish is already an unofficial daughter, and that’s before she marries Davis.

I call Ginny, whose first question after I tell her the plan is, “When are we going?”

“We need to go sometime in the next week, just in case the dresses need altered. What’s your school schedule?”

“We have in-service days on Thursday and Friday.”

“Are you teaching anything outside of school those days?”

“Nope, I told them I was taking a vacation already.” She giggles, like she’s doing something naughty.

“Perfect. Now we have to figure out how to get the girls away.”

“I’ll call Doc and make sure he can cover for Lottie. But what are we going to tell them?”

“Tell them it’s for me.”

“What do you mean?”

“Tell them I need a new dress for a banquet and I want company, just us girls.”

“Perfect,” she agrees.

“And we can put them in dresses for fun that aren’t white but come in white. I know they don’t want traditional wedding gowns, but this would work.”