Page 36 of Tempting Fate
Her eyes watered. “I know. And finding Harper…my God, Drew, it’s miraculous. I’m just having trouble figuring out what my place is.”
“Your place is always with me…with us. It’ll get easier, you’ll see.” But the truth was he didn’t know that for sure. The day his daughter came home, all his priorities changed. It was a lot to ask her to change hers to meet his.
* * * *
The dress was all wrong. Too short, too revealing. No doubt everyone thought Raylene was trash. Why she’d chosen it, she couldn’t remember, only that Annie said she could wear whatever she wanted and this is what Raylene had pulled out of her closet. There was a time when she wore provocative clothing for attention, and Butch had even paid for a breast enhancement. She’d enjoyed men’s stares and women’s jealous remarks.
Now she preferred jeans and sweatshirts and to go incognito. Better yet, invisible. The truth was she used to live to be in the spotlight, but in recent months she’d learned a lot about herself, including that she was more of an introvert than she ever thought possible. She actually enjoyed staying home and reading a book or going to the movies by herself. It should’ve been lonely, but it was liberating. No one to impress, no one to perform for, and no one to have power over her.
Gia, Annie’s maid of honor, tapped her on the shoulder. “You ready?”
“Uh-huh.” They were supposed line up behind the stairwell so they could start the processional. Raylene sucked in a breath. The thought of walking down the aisle while all of Nugget watched—and whispered behind her back—made her feel woozy.
“Hey.” Gabe came up alongside her and hooked his arm in hers. “Samantha said to wait until Nick and Gia are in their places before we start walking. She wants to drag it out for drama.”
Samantha Breyer, her husband, and the police chief’s wife owned the Lumber Baron. A party planner by profession, Sam had helped Annie coordinate the wedding and had overseen the rehearsal. While she hadn’t been outright rude to Raylene, she hadn’t been friendly.
“Drama’s my middle name,” Raylene said under her breath.
“Not tonight, okay?” Gabe squeezed her hand, and any resentment she felt at his comment drifted away. “Hear that? They’re playing our song.”
A string quartet had started the opening chords of “Don’t Stop Believin’” and Raylene rolled her eyes.
“I still can’t believe Logan picked this.” At least Annie had gone with Etta James’ “At Last,” for her walk down the aisle.
“Didn’t you seeThe Wedding Singer?”
“Shush.” Sam appeared with a clipboard and whispered, “On the count of three.” She held up one, two, then three fingers.
Arm in arm, Raylene and Gabe glided down the aisle. She tried to focus on Logan, who stood at the altar, looking so handsome in his black tuxedo. But seeing Cecilia in the third row, staring daggers, tripped Raylene up and Gabe had to steady her.
They took their places—Gabe alongside Nick and Raylene next to Gia—and she let her gaze drop to her boots before she saw disapproval in anyone else’s eyes. Without Gabe as her wingman, she felt exposed. But when the whole room rose to watch Annie’s father give away the bride, Raylene lifted her head and audibly sighed. Annie looked like an angel. Radiant, and so in love it made Raylene tear up with emotion.
From the side, she caught Gabe watching her and wondered how anyone could take their eyes off Annie. Raylene, who’d never been the weepy type, wished she’d brought tissues, because she cried throughout the entire ceremony.
After Logan kissed the bride, Raylene and Gabe followed the recessional to the hotel lobby where they were supposed to pose for pictures. But the bride and groom kept getting delayed by well-wishers.
“That was nice,” Gabe said in that nonchalant way guys talked when something momentous happened.
“It was better than nice.” Raylene jabbed him in the arm.
“I didn’t take you for the sentimental type.”
“That’s because I’m not.” She grabbed a glass of champagne from one of the servers, almost forgetting that she no longer drank. It would’ve been awkward to return it, so she held the flute, praying that the mere smell of the bubbly wouldn’t seduce her.
By the time they got to the farm stand, which had been transformed into a gorgeous dance hall complete with twinkle lights, ruffled tablecloths, floral arrangements of dahlias, eucalyptus, peonies, sweet peas, and a Western swing band, Raylene craved something stronger than sparkling wine. She used to be a vodka girl, but tonight called for whiskey. Hell, Everclear might not even do the trick. Twice she’d overheard someone calling her a bitch, which wasn’t as bad as being snubbed by Wyatt Lambert, who used to worship her in high school. Gabe had taken off to parts unknown, leaving her alone to face an angry mob. Okay, maybe she was exaggerating, but she could feel the hostility emanating in the air.
Please, God, just let me get through tonight. Then I’ll be on my merry way, hopefully with pockets full of gold.
Even though it was twenty degrees outside, she wanted air and made her way through the crowd, looking for the back door. There had to be one. Every farm stand had a back door, right? As she jostled her way through the crowd, she searched for Gabe. Given that he was at least two heads taller than the average human, he shouldn’t be hard to find. But there was no sign of him. Maybe he’d run off with one of the caterers. The thought made her stomach pitch, which she immediately blamed on the shrimp.
Today, he’d been her hero, rescuing Gunner from TAB, who would probably sell the gelding to a glue factory just to spite her. Watching Gabe work the phone and call in favors had been impressive. And it had saved her bacon. Her horse was everything to her. She didn’t want to think about what would’ve happened if Butch acted on his threat. Of course, Gabe had done it for Logan, to save her brother from having to bail her out of trouble—yet again. But that didn’t make her any less grateful. He’d gone above and beyond. Now all she had to do was figure out how to pay him back. The horse trailer alone would cost a big chunk of change, not to mention gas for the driver. And once he got Gunner to Nugget, she’d have to find a place to keep him. Not a lot of options there, considering her popularity in this town.
She’d worry about it tomorrow. Tonight was about Logan and Annie. Boy, the expression on their faces when they’d seen the ranch gate and sign had been priceless. Pure delight. A rush of joy had filled her as they oohed and aahed over the surprise. “Oh, Raylene, this is perfect, absolutely perfect,” Annie had gushed, her eyes watery. In her whole life, Raylene couldn’t remember ever giving anyone a gift she’d put this much thought or care into. But the ranch gate represented home to her, and she wanted Logan and Annie to have the happiest of homes.
That was her last thought as she slammed into the broad back of one of the guests. He sloshed red wine all over the woman standing next to him. When they turned around, her heart sank. Lucky and Tawny.
“I’m so sorry.” She frantically looked around for a napkin or anything to mop up the mess. “I wasn’t looking where I was going.”
