Page 6 of Coming Home

“Summer Michaels.” Nat shimmied her shoulders at her friend. “I do believe I just witnessed Todd Krueger flirt with you, andyouflirted right back.”

“Stop!” Summer waved her off with a breathy laugh.

“Attention!” Mom clapped her hands, calling everyone’s focus to the center of the bar.

Dad stood beside her. Tiny purple flowers peppered his white bow tie in honor of Elle’s favorite color. “As parents of the groom and soon-to-be parents of the bride, we’d like to make a toast.”

“Hopefully, you won’t blubber like Pete did earlier.” Elle’s Aunt Janet nudged her husband’s ribs.

“Hey, real men cry.” His head tipped up and his chest puffed out in a prideful stance.

“Just wait ‘til the wedding day. Clayton will be a puddle,” Noah teased, putting Clayton in a headlock and giving him a noogie like they were ten again.

Nat sipped her drink, taking in the scene. Gentle waves of love washed over her. Yes, she was that rainbow-sprinkle-covered single scoop, but she was in an entire parlor of scoops that went together. Couples held hands. Fathers and sons teased. Mothers dabbed their eyes. Aunts blew kisses. Friends poked at each other. As Dad toasted the happy couple, the different types of pairings blanketed her in warmth.

I am single, but I’m not alone.She hoisted her glass into the air. “To Elle and Clayton!”

After a string of toasts, Nat stood with Dad and Clayton while Mom stood at the bar with her best friend, and Noah’s mom, Maura. The two women laughed while their gazes danced around the room. Where one was, the other was never far.

Nat smiled, raising her pint glass in their direction. Both sent wry grins Nat’s way, causing her to arch a quizzical brow.What are they discussing?

After both women pivoted away from Nat’s stare to talk to Todd, Nat shrugged and settled back into her position between Dad and Clayton and once again contemplated how similar they were. Men of few words, but when they spoke, their words commanded, guided, accepted, and comforted. Each was the heart of this village. Dad had captained the Owens Family Clinicfor the last forty years, while Clayton led the Village Veterinarian Clinic for the last four.

Like sturdy oaks, both men towered in the forest, withstanding any harsh winds that whipped across life. Between the two, Nat felt akin to a tiny windblown fern desperate to grow tall, but the shadows cast by her two mighty oaks blocked out the needed sun. Oaks can’t help being oaks, and ferns can’t help being ferns. No matter how much a fern wants to be an oak.

I’ll always be a fern.She tightened her grip around her glass.

“When is the big day?” Virginia, one of the ladies who worked with Elle’s aunt at the Village Rose Florist Shop, asked.

“December tenth,” Clayton replied.

“Oh, an almost-Christmas wedding. I can picture the flower arrangements already. Although, with Elle, we’ll need to incorporate some purple.”

Dad beamed. “Our Elle loves purple.”

“OurElle,” Virginia sighed.

Nat joined in on the sentiment of claiming Elle. Since she’d walked back into Clayton’s life, the entire family embraced her with open arms. When Clayton brought Elle to a family dinner almost a year ago, she and everyone else there knew that this was his person…his forever. The moment they walked out the door, Mom proclaimed, “They’ll be married within two years.”

“So, why that date?” Virginia inquired.

“Because he’s impatient.” Nat poked Clayton’s side.

He swatted her off with a laughing grumble. “Elle wants time to plan, but I don’t want to turn a year older without her being my wife.”

“Clayton’s birthday is December twelfth. They also moved in together on the tenth, so it’suberromantic.” Nat looked up at her brother, whose gaze drifted across the room to his fiancée.

Surrounded by Carmen and Summer, Elle’s face was bright with laughter. Clayton’s gray eyes sparked with contentedlonging. She’d never seen her brother both so happy and impatient. With one word from his fiancée, he’d not pass go, not collect two hundred dollars, and proceed to city hall to marry Elle this very instant.

Warmth spread within Nat as Elle’s hazel eyes sought out Clayton. Their stares tangled in wordless conversation from across the room.

“So, he’s getting Elle as his wife for his birthday. I’m trying to talk her into wearing a big purple bow on her dress, but she’s not biting.”

“Ha!” Virginia clucked. “Natalie, you are a card. The patients at the clinic must leave in stitches after seeing you. Pun intended.”

“Well, we charge by the stitch, so it’s good for business.”

Clayton rolled his eyes at his sister’s very bad dad joke while Dad’s lips lifted with what looked like pride.

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