Page 20 of A Triple C Ranch Christmas Wedding
Chapter 4
Early in the morning,Jack picked up Lucy, and they grabbed breakfast to go before heading to the Triple C Ranch to see that everything was ready for the rehearsal the next night.
Once she was in the car, Lucy pulled up her To Do list on her iPad and ran through it again, reading off all the items they’d already accomplished and going over what still needed to be done.
Jack patiently listened with the radio turned down low and showed no sign of being bored listening to her.
One of the things Lucy liked best about Jack was the way he really listened. He never made her feel like he would rather be doing something else.
She refocused on her list and read it to herself again, the same way she might have checked to be sure a door she had locked was really locked, or the stove she’d turned off was really turned off. This was not typical behavior for her, so when she caught herself doing that, she chalked it up to nerves. The wedding was getting closer.
The tree should be decorated. The poinsettias should have been delivered. White chairs they’d rented were supposed to be set up in the great room, along with stands for the flower arrangements.
Though Lucy had things checked off her list, she still needed to see things for herself. She wanted to be sure everything was in place.
Jack was supposed to pick up his twin, Ted Barr, at the airport this afternoon, after he looked over the decorations with her, and then the rehearsal dinner was tonight.
She had never met Ted but had seen pictures of him, and she wondered what he would be like in person. Her first chance to meet him would be at the rehearsal tonight.
They would have the bachelor party the following night. She didn’t know what the guys had planned, since Jack hadn’t volunteered that information, so she was going to have to ask him. She’d been putting off discussing the bachelor party with him, avoiding the subject, but it couldn’t be avoided much longer. The wedding would be the day after.
Everything was going like clockwork for a traditional, old-fashioned wedding.
Except, it didn’t feel like everything would go off like clockwork.
Ever since the weird dream she’d had last night, she’d been even more worried. Jack had been driving through the snow and wasn’t going to make it to the wedding, and even worse than that, he was in danger. She’d woken up, startled out of her dream but still holding onto one thought.
Something is going to go wrong.
“What’s on your mind, sweetheart?” Jack asked, startling her. “Other than going down the list for the hundredth time, you’ve been unusually quiet this morning. I can tell something is bothering you.”
Lucy finally blurted, “What’s planned for your bachelor party?”
“My bachelor party?” Jack said. “Sweetheart, you sound worried. Why are you so worried?”
“I’ve heard you Marines get pretty wild,” she said, addressing the biggest thing that had her worried. “Lots of drinking and women. One Marine had to be dunked into a swimming pool to wake him up enough to attend his own wedding.”
She blurted all this out and watched him for his reaction, waiting for his answer.
“Hey, baby,” he glanced at her, love and tenderness in his eyes, “you’ve got nothing to worry about.”
He loved her, she knew that, and seeing it in his eyes helped.
“I won’t even show up hungover,” he said. “Our wedding day is as important to me as it is to you. Don’t you know that? It’s the beginning of the rest of our lives together. I have more respect for you and for our future than that guy. And you’re not marryingthat guy. You’re marryingme.”
He had her tearing up again, her emotions showing, and she blinked hard, clearing the tears from her eyes.
Jack pulled up in front of the main house at the Triple C Ranch and parked. Then he turned to her. “How long have you been worrying about this?”
“Oh, I don’t know…” She shrugged.
“No, really. How long, baby?”
He didn’t appear to be mad at her, which made it easier to admit how long it had been. “Since the night I told Sadie our good news.”
“Damn,” he cursed. “And what started it? Let me guess. You heard some talk by some of the guys on the team, right?”
“Well, maybe…” Then she nodded, admitting it. “Dan said Marines always have wild bachelor parties, and that one got so drunk he had to be dunked in a swimming pool several times to sober him up enough to get to his own wedding on time.”
