Page 3 of Flippin' Cowboy
Telling herself to keep it together in front of all the cameras pointed in her direction, she turned to Karla. “Well, this is going to be the most interesting season finale ever,” she began, trying to sound like her world wasn’t falling apart. “I—” Her voice broke.
Then, with the cameras rolling and five hundred guests gaping at her, Winnie burst into uncontrollable tears.
What had begun as the best day of her life had just turned into the most devastating.
Chapter 2: Aftermath
“Winnie, your dad and I don’t mind hosting the reception. Really,” Mom said, her eyes shining with unshed tears.
“I mean, no use letting all that good food and drink go to waste if it’s already paid for,” Dad added.
He had traded his usual rancher’s attire of a trucker’s cap, dusty t-shirt, and worn jeans for a tux worn with the black Stetson cowboy hat that Geoff had given him last Christmas. He looked good. So did Mom, in her new blue dress and freshly highlighted hair.
What a waste, thought Winnie. All that planning and preparing, and for what? And how could I miss the signs that Geoff and Melanie were involved?
Beneath the layers of pain and humiliation, she felt stupid for not having noticed that anything was wrong.
And beneath that, she was angry at Geoff for not behaving like a normal, decent human being and breaking up with her before the wedding. Instead, he and Melanie—two people she’d trusted and considered friends—chose the most hurtful and humiliating scenario possible.
How could I have been so wrong about him?
“But will you be okay by yourself?” Mom asked, drawing Winnie into a hug. Dozens of phones aimed in their direction, and a cascade of shutter clicks filled the air. “I can’t believe Geoff would do this to you! He seemed so nice when we met him at your engagement party!”
“He had me fooled, too,” Winnie said, more tears stinging her eyes. Her mascara and eyeliner were probably a smeared mess by now, but she took the Kleenex Mom handed her and tried to wipe away the stinging cascade.
“Oh, Winnie! I’m so, so sorry,” Karla said, striding over to join them. “How are you doing, honey?”
In the wake of Geoff’s announcement, Karla had gone into damage control mode, doing what she could to smooth things over.
Like trying to bail the Titanic with a teaspoon,Winnie thought. It was one of her late Grandpa Frank’s favorite sayings.
Karla’s dark curls and impeccably applied makeup still appeared faultless, as did her silk fuchsia jumpsuit, but she had the look of someone who’d just taken a trip through the wringer.
“I’m okay,” Winnie lied, then blew her nose in the tissue.
“I know this is a really big ask right now,” Karla began, “but could you please show up at the reception? It doesn’t have to be for long.” She fastened Winnie with a pleading look from her dark brown eyes. “I need you to give a brief statement with your side of the story. Your sister Autumn said she’d help us craft it.”
Winnie shook her head. “I—I can’t. Not right now.”
But Karla wasn’t so easily discouraged. “Honey, I’mbeggingyou. Geoff and Melanie are blowing up on every social media channel, and they’re busy makingyouthe bad guy. A statement from you, while wearing your wedding dress and looking tragic, would go a long way towards fixing your image.”
“My image? They’re really trying to blamemefor all this? How is that even possible?” Winnie asked in disbelief. Then, before Karla could answer, she shook her head. “Never mind. I don’t have the energy to care. I just want to go home, put on my pajamas, and crawl into bed.”
Theirbed. The one she’d shared with Geoff for nearly two years. Her mouth twisted, and she blinked away a fresh surge of tears.
“Just fifteen minutes, okay?” Karla wheedled. Then, like she always did, she pushed for more. “How about a show of family unity with your sisters and brother?”
“No way,” Winnie said flatly. “Look, I did everything you and Geoff wanted for this wedding circus. And now I’m done.”
Mom squeezed her waist. “Can’t you just leave her alone, Karla? I mean, look at her.”
Karla sighed. “Yeah, I guess.” She shook her head. “Unbelievable. And you didn’t suspect anything was up with Geoff and Melanie?”
Winnie shook her head. “Nope. I mean, they were spending a lot of time together, but that’s normal as we get to the part of the renovation when construction is wrapping up and all the finishes are going in.” She bit her lower lip. “I feel so dumb.”
“Hey, honey, it’s not your fault.” Karla sympathetically patted Winnie’s satin-clad arm. Then she looked around at thepandemonium in the chapel and sighed loudly. “Dammit. My boss is going to have a stroke when he hears about this.”
Spring—his name was actually Zack, but no one ever called him that—came up to them. “Hey, Winnie,” he said in his usual soft-spoken way. “I got my truck waiting in the loading zone. You ready to go home?”
