Page 53 of Serenity Harbor

Marsh, who had always seemed the most remote and self-contained among them, was now going to be a family man with Andie, Will and Chloe—as well as his own teenage son, Christopher.

“You really do look beautiful, my dear,” Charlene said. “Cade is a lucky, lucky man.”

“I’m the lucky one,” Wyn murmured with a dreamy look.

Charlene nodded. “He’s a good man. You know how much your father loved him.”

“He did,” Wyn agreed, with a smile that trembled a little around the edges.

“Oh, I wish John and Wyatt could be here to celebrate this day,” Charlene said, her voice rough.

Katrina tried to swallow down the emotion frothing up in her throat. It wasn’t easy, especially when Charlene dabbed at her eyes again and gripped Wyn’s hand.

A wave of loss washed over her like it sometimes did, stealing her breath with the pain of it. She missed her father desperately. John Bailey had been the best man she knew, a devoted husband, dedicated lawman and patient, loving father.

He had been a frequent intercessor between Kat and her mother, often sneaking Katrina off to do things both of them knew Charlene never would have allowed if she’d known. Horseback rides and sledding runs and teaching her how to pedal a two-wheeled bike.

She knew John had loved all his children, but she had always felt a special bond with him.

She had deeply held memories of a few of her frequent hospitalizations when he would trade off with her mother staying overnight so Charlene could get some rest. She remembered more than once waking up afraid and disoriented, only to find instant calm when she would see her father sitting at her bedside.

And Wyatt. Wyatt had been Wyn’s twin and partner in crime. He had been a rookie highway patrol officer, killed in the line of duty after being hit by a car while trying to help a stranded motorist during a snowstorm. She mourned him deeply, but she knew her loss couldn’t begin to compare to Wynona’s. Her sister had never been the same after he died.

“It doesn’t quite feel right without them both,” Wyn said, her ragged smile slipping away and her eyes brimming with tears.

This wouldn’t do. Today was Wyn’s wedding day. As maid of honor, it was Katrina’s job to keep her sister focused on joy, not the sadness of celebrating this day without Wyn’s beloved twin and their father.

She ran a hand down her sister’s lace-covered arm and gripped her fingers. “We might not see them, but Dad and Wyatt will both be here. I know they will. You think either of them would miss your wedding? Forget it. Dad would move heaven and earth to watch his Wynnie marry Cade Emmett, a man he already loved like a son. And Wyatt would never let you go through this on your own. I imagine right at this very moment, they’re both busting through Saint Peter and his gate with a battering ram if they have to. No way would Dad and Wyatt let a little thing like mortality get in the way of something so important.”

Some of the sadness lifted from Wyn’s eyes, and after a few more loud sniffles, Charlene tucked her handkerchief back in her bra. “Katrina’s right. I’m sure they’ll both be standing right beside you, beaming from ear to ear. It was lovely of you to ask Mike to walk you down the aisle. I can’t tell you how much it means to him.”

Wynona raised an eyebrow. “Who else would I ask but my stepfather-slash-uncle?” she asked ruefully, which made Kat laugh.

They fussed around Wyn a little more, adjusting a strand of hair here, a fold of the dress there.

Katrina tried to push down a little niggle of envy that made her feel small and selfish. Her sister was about to marry a great guy who loved her with all his heart. She was happy for Wyn. After everything her sister had been through—not only losing her twin and their father but other traumas she had endured alone and only recently told her family about—she deserved everything good coming her way and more.

Katrina didn’t want to take this moment away from her sister, yet helping Wyn prepare for the giddy excitement of her wedding only seemed a reminder of everything Katrina had decided to give up.

“Perfect,” Charlene breathed after a moment.

“You know we’re going to have to do all this over again when we get to the church,” Wyn said.

“It won’t be as hard when we’re there because we’ll know how perfection is supposed to look,” Charlene declared.

“Are you ladies about ready?” Her oldest brother, Elliot, asked from the doorway. He looked handsome, if a little stiff, in his groomsman tux. “I’m one of your designated drivers. When you’re ready, come on down. Uncle Mike has a surprise for you.”

“Oh no,” Charlene said with a look of trepidation.

“Don’t worry,” Elliot said. “I think you’ll like it. No rush, though. We still have time. We don’t have to be at the church for half an hour.”

Wynona and Cade had chosen to be married at the little church in town that Katrina’s family had attended her whole life, with a reception and party to follow in the beautifully landscaped backyard of Cade’s log home on Riverbend Road.

“It never hurts to be early,” Charlene said. “That will give us plenty of time to primp again at the chapel. If everybody’s ready, we can go now.”

After grabbing last-minute necessities, they all headed down the stairs in a flurry of hair spray and perfume. Katrina was one of the last outside, and she stopped short when she spotted two gleaming black Rolls-Royces in the driveway.

“Where on earth did these come from?” Charlene exclaimed.

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