Page 55 of Love and Other Trials
She rubbed her forehead like she had a headache. “Bad. We went to three seamstresses in Charleston and finally found someone who could alter the dress—but Tiffany is worried about how it will look. I feel terrible for her. And Mother— No, I’m not going there. All I want to do is take a shower and wash the day off. Is it only four? It feels like it should be midnight.”
“I’m sorry.” Even he knew a dress incident had to be like the worst wedding disaster ever. “What can I do for you? Start your shower? Rub your back? Get you an aspirin?”
She walked over blindly and touched the garlic wreath on the table. “You did it.” Her voice was whisper-soft and rough as hell. “You actually did it.”
He could feel heat rising up his neck. “Honey, it was nothing. I had time. I thought Rob and I needed something to focus on. We’re used to going all the time. When speed is your best friend, you have little patience. Plus, we have to break this curse, don’t we?”
He only said it because he wanted her to know he understood the severity of the situation. If they could still joke about it, they could defeat it. Even if it was only in people’s minds.
Her face lifted, and there was so much sadness in it, she could have beaten Sherlock out in a sad eyes competition. To make her laugh, he held the wreath up to his chest and wiggled it.
“Is this enough garlic, do you think? Or do we need more?”
An errant laugh came out before she pressed her hands to her face. “Sorry, I’m just tired. I was fine until I started walking back to the cottage, and then it hit me. It’s like they sucked all the energy out of me. I need a shower and something to eat. Mother wouldn’t let us have anything because, and I quote, ‘Tiffany obviously does not need to eat.’”
“That’s terrible.” What a bitch. Sending gratitude to his mom, he set the wreath aside and pulled her to his chest. He caressed her back softly, hoping to infuse her with his strength. If only he could share his mom with her. His mom was going to love her. “I wish I could make all this better. For everyone. Because Rob isn’t right either somehow. I finally saw it today even though there’s nothing really that I can do.”
She squeezed her arms around him tightly, like he was a lifesaver in a turbulent ocean, while he rested his chin on top of her head. “Stress and weddings in my family go together like raccoons and garbage cans.”
God, he hoped he wasn’t projecting. “I grant you the point. It’s valid.”
Maybe she was right. Except he knew Rob. Something was wrong, and he wanted to get to the bottom of it, even though he should probably leave it alone. Lots of people were involved—and he cared deeply about two of them.
“I missed you today,” she whispered against him, pressing her face into the center of his chest. “Sherlock, I missed you too.” She held out her right hand to the dog and gave him a good rubdown.
“Hey! We missed you too, didn’t we, Sherlock? Come on. Let’s get you into the shower. I’ll rustle up something for you to eat.”
She pulled back and touched his jaw. “Thank you, Dax. I won’t be long.”
“Take as long as you need.” He cupped her cheek, noting she wasn’t as pale. “If you think of anything else I can get you, I’ll get it. Ice cream run. Ride to the beach so you can walk this off. Anything.”
Because right now she was hurting, and he’d do anything in his power to make it stop.
“You’re so sweet.” She reached up and pressed her face to his cheek. “Thank you for being so nice to me.”
God, she might as well have gutted him. “Ariel.Honey.Being nice to you is a piece of cake. Best part of my day. Come on. Go wash it off, and then we’ll make it better.”
He wanted to kiss her, softly and slowly, but she needed to settle a little more.
She gripped his forearms, trying to smile, as much for him as for herself, he imagined. “There are some days when I wish you really could kiss it and make it better. This is one of them. God, forget I ever said that.”
Turning quickly, she hastened from the room, leaving him and Sherlock watching the space where she’d been. “She’s in a bad way, buddy. But I’ll bet you’ve seen that before. Go to her. I’ll find her something to eat.”
Sherlock’s expressive eyes blinked, and then he was trotting after Ariel. Dax decided to put the garlic wreaths out of sight. The last thing she needed right now were reminders of why they needed garlic in the first place. He decided to jog over to the lodge and see if he could pick her up something like a piece of fruit or another snack. Maybe she needed some air. She loved the beach. He’d suggest they go for a walk if she was up to it.
She was up for it, he discovered, when she returned from her shower. He was glad to see her polish off the banana he’d found in the snack area, along with two mini bags of Cheetos.
“Mother would yank these bags out of my hands if she saw them. She’d tell me I was playing with fire. Right now, she approves of my waistline, but after eating this? She’d chide me something fierce.”
He could feel his jaw crack as he clenched his teeth. How could anyone say that about their own child? He knew it happened. Rob and plenty of his friends had come from families that hadn’t treated them right. But it didn’t compute. How could you not be crazy about your own kid? “Well, I think you’re perfect.”
She only managed a stricken smile before agreeing to his adventure on the beach so she could get some air.
“Turn right,” she called as they reached the end of the road leading to Folly Beach. “There’s a place to park where we can hit the beach right past 9thStreet on the left.”
He followed her directions, noting the golf carts parked out front and the brightly colored houses on stilts.
“Can you turn into the next driveway on the left?”
