Page 8 of A Triple C Ranch Christmas Wedding
Chapter 2
Lucy finishedthe wedding dress just as December arrived. She was pleased with how it had turned out and got more excited about the wedding every time she looked at it. Now she had it in the back of her car, ready to take it to Sadie’s near Eagle Rock, closer to the wedding venue. Sadie had space to store it until the wedding day, which was a better option than the crowded closet at Lucy’s place.
Hank had been keeping Jack busy for the last two months. He’d taken every assignment he could, because he was putting together cash for their honeymoon and earning extra money for a down payment on a house. Though he’d put his house in Texas up for sale, he didn’t have a buyer yet. He’d offered to let Lucy move into his small apartment, but she’d turned him down.
She was old fashioned and didn’t want to move in with him until they were married, plus she also needed extra room to create her jewelry.
Though she’d offered to chip in on the honeymoon, Jack had said no. He wanted to cover their trip himself, and her extended stay hotel was costing her enough. Besides, he kept saying, he made plenty doing the extra bodyguard stuff. He was feathering their nest so he could spend more time with her after they were married.
“Mark out two whole weeks on your calendar,” he said. “We’re going on our honeymoon, which should be the trip of a lifetime.”
Where they were going was a surprise, but she would need a passport. It was a good thing she’d gotten one when she’d started working for Angelica, because those took time.
Though Lucy had pestered him to tell her where they were going, Jack hadn’t budged. She had everything she wanted for the wedding, and in turn, she let him handle the honeymoon.
He’d given her a list though. Swimsuit, water shoes, sunglasses, and a swimsuit coverup.
She’d taken to pulling the list out, looking at it, and imagining all the places they might be going, which required a swimsuit and suntan lotion. With these hints, she was pretty sure she would like wherever they were headed.
This long interlude leading up to the wedding was a lesson in trust. Waiting, not knowing, being apart for long stretches of time.
In Montana, it was now snowing. Light snowflakes sprinkled down upon everything outside the Eagle Rock diner, coating all it touched in white lacy patterns as Lucy and Sadie watched.
The falling snow made Lucy giddy with joy. “Looks like we’ll be having a white Christmas. That would be perfect,” she said. “Timbers is cutting our tree, right now.”
The one thing Lucy and Jack had time to do, on the two days he’d been back in town, had been to go hiking and pick out a good tree for the great room in the main house at the ranch, where they would be married. It had taken them a lot longer than she’d expected. She’d had no idea perfect Christmas trees were so hard to find, and she had wanted the tree to have a straight trunk and full branches.
Just like their marriage would be, full and straight, and healthy.
She didn’t want to start their marriage with a crooked tree or one with bad patches. Maybe that was silly, but it was how she felt.
So, they had gone hiking on both days Jack was home, until she found the perfect tree, and then Jack wrapped that tree trunk with a huge red plastic ribbon and tied a big bow, so Timbers would not miss their tree.
“I’m sure it will be a beautiful tree,” Sadie said. “And I love your selection of ribbon for the bows, and the ornaments you picked. You know, if you weren’t designing gowns and jewelry, you’d be good at decoration and floral design.”
“Thanks, Sadie,” Lucy said. “I loved playing dress-up princess in old gowns when I was growing up and was drawn to the dresses and jewelry. I used to say I’d make this dress in lavender satin with white fur around the shoulders and no sleeves. That was during my ‘put fur on everything’ phase, before someone told me those furs were really animal skins. I’m not sure where I thought they came from. A fairy godmother’s magic wand, I guess.”
They both laughed.
“Looks like you’re getting your wish with this wedding and your handsome groom,” Sadie said.
“Oh, I am,” Lucy said. “Everything is fairytale perfect, so far, and life isn’t usually like that. Not for me.”
Emma brought them a slice of apple pie to share and two forks before she topped off their coffee.
“Thanks, Emma,” Sadie said.
“You’re welcome, Sadie,” Emma said. “Anything else I can get you girls?”
“No,” they said, and both shook their heads.
Once the waitress had walked away, Lucy leaned forward and lowered her voice. “Cousin Rose sent her measurements a couple weeks ago, but now she’s saying the dress may not fit her. That her boobs may be too big.”
“Oh, no,” Sadie said.
“Rose is well-endowed,” Lucy head. “Has the kind of breasts men stare at. Now, she’s going to be poured into her dress because she’s gained weight. I’m just going to say it. She should’ve known that could happen and been more careful with what she was eating.”
“I agree,” Sadie said, wrinkling her nose. “That’s why we’re sharing this pie.”
