Page 158 of Lavender Lake
Wyn swiveled her body and thrust her elbow,accidentallyon purpose jostling the glass in Poet’s hand which caused her to drop it onto the table.
Poet and Wyn shot back from their seats to avoid the spill.
“Sorry,” Wyn murmured, shooting me a look.
Thank you,I mouthed.
She grinned and grabbed her cream napkin and began to pat the spill dry. Cater waiters jumped in to help.
“Did it get you?” Wyn asked Poet.
“No, I don’t think so.” She glared at Wyn. “Klutz much?”
I offered her my beer. “Here.”
“Thanks,” Poet muttered and took a sip.
I turned to Hadley. “How’s Dad doing, you think?”
Hadley leaned forward and looked down the table, past Declan and Cas to Dad. “He looks okay. But maybe we should do the father-daughter dance before the main course, just in case.”
Nodding, I stood up and walked over to my father. I crouched down next to him and told him the plan. I then went to the band that had set up in the corner of the tent. I spoke to the lead singer, and then stood off to the side.
The band waited for my father and Hadley to reach the dance floor before they began to play “Take me Home, Country Roads” by John Denver.
It was my mother’s favorite song.
I hadn’t cried at the wedding so far.
Not through the vows. Not when my father had given Hadley our mother’s locket.
But I cried now.
Silent tears poured from me as I watched my sister dance with our father at her wedding.
The wind shifted, ever so slightly. But I didn’t smell the strong aromas of ranch life.
Instead, I smelled the faintest trace of lavender perfume.
My mother’s signature scent.
And I swore I felt her arms wrap around me.
She was here.
As she was always meant to be.
After the father-daughter dance, Dad hung around for another twenty minutes before he and Jane left the reception.
“I feel old,” he grumbled as I walked with him and Jane toward the house.
“You’re not old,” I assured him.
“A weak old man who can’t even make it through his daughter’s wedding.”
His mood quickly deteriorated and I shot Jane a worried look. She shook her head and mouthedI’ve got it.
The doctor had warned us about potential mood swings. When he was tired or had a headache, his personality underwent a rapid change.
