Page 70 of Seaside Cowboy's Fairy Tale

It was just the beginning.

For her and other people.

Epilogue

SAYLOR HELMS WOULDrather stab her hand with a fork than attend another wedding of the Lawrence cowboy brothers.

But here she was again, sitting at the reception barbecue of yet another wedding, this time of Tex Lawrence. A fork with a brisket cut was in her hand indeed, though so far held in her fingers rather than plunged into her flesh.

She plastered on a smile that probably looked like a scowl. The air smelled of grass, meat, and mesquite smoke. People’s laughter mocked her gloomy mood.

She chewed the delicious-smelling brisket without sensing much taste. She could’ve chewed on her new salad-green shoe with the same enthusiasm. Well, her sister Marina’s puppy used to chew on Marina’s shoes with a lot of enthusiasm.

Saylor leaned to her sister, who’d come as the plus-one of her husband, the groom’s brother, who sat there now chatting up the couple beside them. The light caught on his pirate-like earring and his laugh rang out as loud as his parrot’s voice often did. Marina had been the second bride in this wedding avalanche fast toppling the most eligible bachelors in town, and many a heart had broken when the charismatic Kai proposed to and married Saylor’s sister.

“Tell me again how you roped me into attending this?” Saylor whispered. “I’m not related to either the bride or groom.”

“But you’re related to me.” Marina hooked their arms together, leaning in so close her hair tickled Saylor’s forehead. “Rachel was happy to invite you. I wanted to distract you from whatever’s been making you so forlorn. And you love me too much to say no.”

At that, Saylor returned the sisterly hug, but she eased out of it soon. She’d grown apart from her elder sister, and it had taken her a long time to realize how much Marina sacrificed for her siblings. Now Saylor hadn’t been able to say no because she owed her sister a debt of gratitude. But nobody wanted to see a downcast face at a wedding. Usually, Saylor was the most cheerful person at a gathering. But not today. “Your distraction isn’t working, sis. I should head out.”

“Wait, please.” Marina shook her head as she lifted a glass of orange juice to her lips. “Rachel didn’t even throw the bouquet yet.”

Saylor grimaced and wrapped her fingers around her cold iced tea glass. “It’s going to be a while before I consider a relationship, much less marriage.”

Her gaze moved not to the new couple, but to an existing one, Austin and his wife, and her heart squeezed painfully. He was taken now, and she had to let it go. Shehadlet go, of course, but her heart still ached.

To distract herself, she looked at the three-tiered cake where five mice posed on top as a decoration, thankfully made from buttercream. On the main table, an assortment of fancy cheeses accompanied good ole barbecue. She reached for a slice of Brie. Nope, still tasted like rubber.

“May I have this dance?” Darius, one of the remaining unmarried Lawrence brothers, extended a hand to her.

She was about to say no, but her sister elbowed her. After all, why not? Saylor wasn’t the type of person to sit and mope around about the man who couldn’t love her. Never mind that she’d done just that today and, well, for how long now?

She got up and took Darius’s hand, her heart making a little jolt at the touch of his callused palm.

Weird. This was Darius, her brother’s friend and someone she’d known since childhood. Well, it had been more like quiet, responsible Darius had done his best to keep her way less responsible brother out of trouble. But that was the way she’d looked at Darius ever since. Her brother’s best friend.

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