Page 27 of The Wedding Twist

The entirety of the itinerary for the wedding day was busy but manageable, and it all came down to having a detailed plan, with every minute carefully thought through in advance. Brunch would be served in the gallery, followed by optional activities: a local artist was coming to lead a watercolor lesson, Quinn was stepping in for Everett (who wasn’t running much of a fever anymore but was still fatigued and, according to Jeannie, acting like a real grump) to lead a hike around the periphery of Butterfly Lake, and Jeannie would keep the snacks and drinks flowing for anyone who just wanted to curl up with a book in front of the fireplace in the great room.

The bridal party would be getting ready in their separate spaces from about two o’clock on, ready for a sunset ceremony around six. Following that, it was cocktail hour and then dinner.

It was dark, cold, and quiet when Celeste left her cabin in the morning, desperate for coffee and bracing herself for a jam-packed day with hopefully minimal surprises. She stepped quickly down the path between her house and the lodge. The caffeine was necessary, but the crisp morning air was doing its job in jolting her awake.

Jeannie was sitting at the table with a coffee of her own when Celeste entered the kitchen. “G’ morning, Mom,” she said and kissed her on the cheek.

“You were up late last night,” Jeannie said. “I noticed your porch light was still on at midnight when I went to bed.”

“Bride issues. Crisis averted, though, I think,” she said and filled her insulated travel mug up with coffee from the carafe. She only had time to drink it over the course of the morning, so keeping it warm was essential.

“Oh dear,” said Jeannie. “Well, they’re already up. Victoria called down to ask for the forecast.”

“Don’t they have a weather app?”

She shrugged. “I guess they think we have special intel.”

“And?”

“Cloudy this morning but should clear up by noon.”

“Perfect,” Celeste said and took a sip of her coffee. With any luck, the backdrop to the wedding photos would be the perfect orangey light of the setting sun. Happy bride and groom. Smiles and goodwill…and all the likes on social media.

An hour later, Mariana had already delivered most of the trays for the second and third floors, but Celeste wanted to deliver to the bridal suite herself.

She was about to tap lightly on the door but pulled back when she heard heated voices on the other side of the door. She stood balancing her tray of warm cinnamon buns, a small carafe of brewed coffee, a pitcher of freshly squeezed juice and chilled champagne for mimosas, and a vase with a small bud arrangement picked from Everett’s greenhouse.

“He couldn’t even get it together to make it on time for his own sister’s wedding!” she heard Kassie wail. “He hates that I’m getting all the attention. And now he’s trying to ruin our day.”

Celeste grimaced. This sounded like a problem that not even cinnamon buns were likely to fix.

“There’s no way he did it on purpose,” her sister said. “He picked a stupid flight time, given how often he has to work overtime. But Kevin wouldn’t do this to hurt you.”

This was definitely not good. Kevin, the youngest sibling in the Harris family, was the only wedding guest who hadn’t yet arrived and was scheduled to land at the Calgary airport at noon and then be at the lodge by two p.m. at the latest, with lots of time to shower and get dressed. Celeste knew from Victoria and Gary that Kevin was a paramedic in Toronto, so maybe he was stuck at the scene of an accident or something. Something told Celeste that someone else’s emergency, however, did not trump Kassie’s wedding plans.

Balancing the tray, Celeste glanced at her watch. The wedding was only ten hours away. If Kevin could rebook on a flight out of Pearson Airport in the next hour or so, he might make it, but it wasn’t looking good.

She put on her best optimistic face and rapped on the door. Maybe some sugar and cinnamon would diffuse the tension at least a bit.

“Come in,” she heard.

She entered the room to find Kassie still in bed, the covers pulled up to her chest and under-eye patches framing her deadly gaze. The sisters, Melissa and Siena, were also wearing their matching monogrammed pajamas, the bright pink a stark contrast to the decidedly dark mood in the air.

“Happy wedding day, Kassie!” Celeste said, smiling widely and feigning innocence. “How did everyone sleep?” She scanned the room for a free space to deposit the tray, but every square inch was covered in makeup, hair products, iPads and phones and gift bags. “I brought you all something to snack on before brunch.”

Siena, the youngest of the sisters, moved her feet off the coffee table so Celeste could set the tray down. “Thank you,” she said, giving Celeste a look that translated toWe might need more than one bottle.They could have as many bottles as they wanted after the ceremony, but Celeste was keeping everything stashed until then. No need for any more unnecessary drama.

“We’re a groomsman down. Apparently it’s freezing rain in Toronto and they’ve canceled most of the flights. And now the photos are ruined,” Kassie said.

Celeste silently wondered to herself if Kassie was at all concerned with her brother’s well-being, but she was going to go ahead and keep that thought to herself.

“The photos are going to be stunning,” Melissa said. “And we can take some more pictures after Kevin gets here.”

“But not at the wedding! I’m not getting hair and makeup again tomorrow just because Kevin couldn’t get his shit together. And now everything’s going to look unbalanced.” She pulled the covers up farther, but her glaring eyes were still visible.

“I can sit out the pictures,” Siena said with what Celeste detected was a bit of hope in her voice. Kassie glowered at her.

“What about your dad?” Celeste suggested. “Could he fill in the space?”

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