Page 13 of The Baxters
“And the dresses are here?” Brooke glanced over her shoulder and back at Elizabeth. “In the closet?”
“All three of them.” Elizabeth walked over and opened the closet door. “They’re so pretty. Pale pink. The perfect summer color.”
“Not today.” Brooke peered out the window. “Black might be better.”
“Brooke!” Elizabeth’s tone was sharper than she intended. So much for peace. “Watch your attitude. Please.” She lowered her voice. “Kari might hear you.”
“I’m okay with that.” Sadness softened Brooke’s eyes. “Mom… look at the weather. It’s a sign, don’t you think?”
“No.” Her response was too quick. She searched her mind for a way to spin this. “Storms are beautiful.”
“Yeah.” Brooke took a seat in front of one of the mirrors. She muttered the next words under her breath. “Unless they kill you.”
Elizabeth stared at her oldest daughter. “Try to be kind, would you? Kari deserves better.”
Brooke reached into her bag and pulled out a hairbrush. She ran it through her hair and cast a quick glance at Elizabeth. “She deserves a better groom.”
This was going nowhere. Elizabeth crossed her armsand kept her voice low. “What exactly do you have against Tim?”
“Mother.” Brooke shifted in her chair and looked straight at Elizabeth. “Don’t kid yourself just because it’s Kari’s wedding day.” She sighed and turned to the mirror again. “He’s smug and… and overly intellectual.” Brooke stroked the brush through her hair once more. “So he has his PhD, big deal. I’m a doctor and you don’t see me acting better than everyone.”
Panic breathed against Elizabeth’s neck and made her heart skip a beat. “He’s young. He’ll outgrow that.”
“What about the way he treats Kari?” Brooke set her brush down. “Like she’s an imbecile.” She waved her hand around. “An airhead. Just because she models for a living.” Brooke paused. “You of all people should get it, Mom.”
There was a sound at the door and they both turned. Erin was there, holding her makeup bag. She looked from Brooke to Elizabeth. “Am I interrupting?”
“No.” Elizabeth reminded herself to smile. No doubt Erin had heard Brooke’s last words about Tim. Either way Elizabeth wasn’t going to touch the topic. She motioned to Erin. “Here. Come have a seat, honey. We were just getting started.”
Erin was the youngest, and her shoulder-length blond hair, straight and clean, framed her pretty face. She took the chair next to Brooke and gave her a side hug. “Is Maddie ready?”
Maddie was Brooke and Peter’s little girl. Elizabeth’s precious granddaughter.
“She is.” Brooke shot a quick look at Elizabeth, as if to say their earlier conversation could wait, but it was no less valid. She returned her attention to Erin again. “Peter’s bringing her over in a few hours. She’s had the flower-girl dress on since after breakfast.”
Another reason to feel happy about the day. Maddie, not quite three years old, was Kari’s flower girl. Peter would walk the child up the aisle while Maddie dropped fresh rose petals from Elizabeth’s garden.
Another request from Kari. That her bouquet and Maddie’s flower petals be from their own backyard.
Erin began brushing her hair, looking at herself in the mirror. “Kari said she’s coming down in a little while.” She glanced over at Brooke. “Where’s Ashley?”
“Running late.” Brooke’s tone dripped with sarcasm. “Love her, but… you know.”
Why was she doing this? Elizabeth shot her oldest a pleading look, and after that Brooke seemed to get the hint. Her haughty expression eased and she sorted through the makeup in her bag. “Thank you, Mother. For your help.” She managed a partial smile. “No one curls my hair better than you. Even still.”
“True.” Erin seemed to sense that the tension in the room was letting up. She sounded more at ease. “I love when you do my hair, Mom.”
And so Elizabeth took the curling iron and startedwith her youngest daughter. Erin had offered to help watch Cole when Ashley got here, so she needed to be finished first.
When her hair was a cascade of gorgeous blond curls, and when her makeup was just right to accent her light blue eyes, Erin excused herself. “I heard a car in the driveway. Probably Ashley.” She stood and kissed Elizabeth’s cheek. Then she studied herself in the mirror. “Wow. I should have you do this every day. Maybe the guy in my comp class would finally notice me.” She raised one shoulder and let it fall again. “Or maybe not.”
Elizabeth watched her go. “Erin.”
Her youngest daughter stopped and turned around. “Yes?”
“You’re absolutely beautiful.” Elizabeth hid her frustration. She hated that Erin was lonely much of the time, that she longed for a boyfriend. “The guy in your comp class just isn’t—”
“The right one!” Erin and Brooke finished her sentence at the same time.
