Page 79 of Love and Other Trials
People could lose a leg or an arm, and I happen to like mine. And yours… Forget the barn. We’ll start digging again after the rain starts. What’s our drop-dead time for wedding setup?
Ariel
With the wedding at four on Saturday, we have until eleven at the latest. The event manager and I think we’ve calculated right. But this is new territory.
You coming back? I’ll see if Jeffrey has a steak sandwich for you. Also… I miss you.
Ariel
Steak sounds good. I miss you too. See you soon. If a gator doesn’t get me.
Not funny!! You’ve got your rabbit foot, right? See you soon. If it’s more than thirty minutes, I’m calling in the Marines.
Ariel
Huh? But you’re Navy…
Exactly! LOL
Ariel
LMAO
He pocketed his phone, knowing he was grinning like he’d just traded notes with a girl he liked in junior high. Heading out to Jeffrey’s cottage to hopefully find her a steak sandwich, he grabbed an umbrella from beside the door. He ran into Rob coming out of his cottage two doors down.
“Hey!” Rob called unenthusiastically and headed toward him, his brows clamped together, something clearly on his mind.
Dax headed over to meet him. “Hey, yourself!”
Rob refused Dax’s offer for a little shelter under the umbrella with a frustrated wave of his hand. “Any word on another venue?”
He shook his head and filled Rob in. By the end, Rob’s jaw was locked like he’d been dressed down by a two-star general.
“Shit. The last thing we need is a wreck of a barn with gators out back. We can’t cut a break, can we? Tiffany is crying all the time when she’s not raging at fate. Thank God my mom doesn’t expect me to spend tons of time with her. She said we could talk at the welcome cocktail party tonight for the early comers.”
Dax grimaced. “At the lodge, right? Seven, if I recall the schedule. Rob, we’re going to need every available hour to turn around the mud pit. You should go, but the rest of our buddies and I can keep going. All night if needed.”
He swore harshly, water dripping off his hair and face. “I know, dammit, but I hate leaving you again. I appreciate you guys chipping in?—”
“You know it.” The rain fell harder, pelting his umbrella, making him have to speak up to be heard. “We’ll get it done. Ariel got the resort to rent nighttime lighting.”
“Tiffany is worried the lights will keep the guests up.” Rob raked a hand through his wet hair. “I told her we don’t have a choice. I’ve laid sod before, and it can be a bitch. That’s assuming we don’t have a ton more mud to dig out after this downpour.”
Dax eyed the never-ending rain. “We’ll do what we have to. Why don’t you get some rest? You look bushed.”
“I’m fine.” He jerked his chin up, rain peeling down his tense face. “Even if I could, I can’t sleep in our cottage. Tiffany is either on the phone or complaining in the main area with her girls. God, I can’t wait for this wedding to be over. See you later.”
Dax watched Rob stalk off to the lodge. He’d never thought about it until now, but he didn’t want to have a wedding so stressful he’d be praying for the end. And he wouldn’t. It wasn’t his way. With that in mind, he headed to Jeffrey’s cottage.
Her brother didn’t have any more sandwiches, but he’d had requests for more, so they hopped into his silver Mercedes SL and picked up another order for the masses.
“I’ll have to remember this place if I end up moving to Charleston for my new job,” he told Jeffrey as they left the old country market store.
Which was sitting under clear blue skies. Not a threatening cloud anywhere. Like everywhere else in Charleston but Wedding Hell. The very sight made Dax want to grab some holy water himself and shake it at the sky. How could it only be raining at the resort? Don’t tell him this was a micro-climate moment.
“Ariel knows this place well,” Jeffrey commented casually as they drove back to the resort. “You can always text for recommendations too. Seeing as how I think you’re going to be around after this…”
“Planning on it.” He kicked out his feet, enjoying the seat warmer, he had to admit—the only modern feature he was tempted to install in his Bronco besides a new stereo system. “I can pick any city in the South with the new job. Even better, my new boss has a relation here who’s in real estate. Offered to set me up.”
