Читать книгу Cedar Cove Collection - Debbie Macomber - Страница 35

The day of her reception had finally arrived. Preparing for it, trying to get all the details right, had made Grace more nervous than she’d been about either of her weddings. Her first to Dan Sherman, shortly after her high-school graduation, had been a large formal affair. Olivia Jefferson had been her maid of honor, and she’d had three bridesmaids. Her parents had invited a crowd of family and friends, some of whom she’d never even met.

Wearing a traditional white wedding dress had been hypocritical, since Grace was nearly four months pregnant with Maryellen at the time. Her mother, who’d wanted to keep the pregnancy quiet, had insisted, however. Grace had gone along with it, although she suspected that anyone looking at her would guess.

Still, she’d been a happy bride. She’d loved Dan, although in retrospect, she’d known virtually nothing about either love or life. The hard realities would hit soon enough. In an effort to support his wife and child, Dan had enlisted in the army and been sent to Vietnam. The young man who’d left her behind with their unborn child had been forever changed in the jungles of Southeast Asia. The man she’d loved and married had never returned; a very different Dan Sherman had come home instead.

Her second wedding, of course, had been an elopement.

Their sudden marriage had upset everyone for one reason or another. Not surprisingly, perhaps, Olivia had been the most vocal. According to her, best friends should be informed of such plans, regardless of time or circumstances. Grace had come to regret not letting Olivia and her own family know until after the ceremony. Everyone now seemed convinced that Cliff and Grace needed to celebrate their marriage with family and friends in order to make it official—at least in their eyes. Pastor Flemming had agreed to perform a short ceremony, which would be followed by the reception.

“How do I look?” Cliff asked as he stepped into their bedroom. He was handsome in his tuxedo—and completely miserable. He held his head at an unnatural angle and scowled in her direction. There were only the two of them in the house, since his daughter, Lisa, and her family had already left for the church hall. She planned to help Maryellen and Kelly finish decorating.

“You look like you’re going to a funeral,” Grace told him truthfully.

That earned her a curt laugh. “I hate these things,” he muttered, twisting the black bow tie.

“You don’t need to wear it on my account,” she assured him. “Actually, I’d rather you didn’t.”

“It came with the suit,” Cliff muttered. “I didn’t think one of my string ties would do.”

“Why not?” She didn’t want him to be uncomfortable; this day would be long enough as it was.

“Really? You mean it?”

“Yes, I do.” Grace kissed his cheek.

Raising his eyebrows, he eyed her in the pale pink suit. “You wearing panty hose?”

“Truth?” Cliff knew her aversion to nylons, especially the control-top kind. “I cheated.” She lifted the skirt to reveal her thigh-high stockings.

Grinning, Cliff reached for the corner of his bow tie and pulled. The black silk instantly unfolded. He walked into their shared closet, and when he reappeared, he looked like a different man, relaxed and at ease. The bowtie had been replaced with an elegant black string tie and opal clasp, the perfect complement to his formal attire. Now he resembled the man she’d married.

On the way to the church hall, Grace thought about mentioning a troubling conversation she’d recently had with Olivia. Her friend had suggested that Will Jefferson might have the audacity to show up uninvited.

Grace didn’t want to believe that Will would crash their wedding reception, but she was afraid acknowledging it would only cause more trouble, so she kept the information to herself.

“Something’s wrong with Olivia,” she said abruptly as Cliff helped her into the car.

“Excuse me?” Cliff asked, giving her an odd look.

Grace hadn’t intended to blurt it out. This feeling, this intuition, had hovered in her consciousness for the last couple of weeks, but Grace had tried to ignore it while she prepared for the reception.

At first she’d assumed that whatever it was had to do with Will. Now she wasn’t so sure. Olivia and Grace hadn’t met for aerobics class for the past two Wednesdays, which was completely unlike Olivia. Grace would willingly have skipped the workout and gone straight for the coconut cream pie. Not Olivia. Her friend was a stickler about their exercise routine. If it hadn’t been for Olivia, Grace would’ve dropped it years ago. The fact that Olivia had cancelled two weeks in a row told Grace something was going on.

She should’ve just asked.

This blasted reception was to blame. All her time and energy had gone into the arrangements for it.

“What’s the problem with Olivia?” Cliff asked when he’d joined her in the front seat.

“I don’t know,” Grace muttered, “but I intend to find out.” She wasn’t leaving the reception until she did.

The private ceremony with Pastor Flemming took place at the church an hour before the reception, with immediate family and close friends in attendance. Maryellen and Kelly and their families were there, along with Lisa and hers. Olivia and Jack, Charlotte and Ben, Cal and a few other dear friends made up the rest of the gathering.

Grace studied Olivia, who served as her matron of honor, and couldn’t see any obvious signs of distress. Jack, on the other hand, looked dreadful. The way he stayed close to Olivia’s side was revealing, too.

“Tell me,” Grace said as soon as the ceremony was completed and they had a moment alone. “What’s wrong?”

Olivia’s eyes welled with tears and she shook her head. “I will after all of this is over.”

“No,” Grace insisted, pushing her toward the church ladies’room and forcing her inside. “I’m your best friend. Tell me now.”

“Well, you married Cliff without letting me know,” Olivia reminded her, pressing her index fingers under each eye to forestall the tears.

“This is different.”

“I’ll tell you, I promise, but I’d rather wait until the reception’s over.”

Reluctantly Grace agreed. It must be bad since Olivia was almost in tears. Grace had no idea how she’d get through this afternoon without knowing. If time had allowed, she would’ve made Olivia tell her right then, but her guests had already started to arrive.

The church hall had been beautifully decorated, thanks to their daughters, who’d worked feverishly that morning. Soon it was overflowing with guests, all offering their best wishes. Cliff and Grace made sure they greeted everyone personally. Grace considered it the supreme compliment that so many people had chosen to share this special afternoon with her and Cliff.

They made the ceremonial first cut of the cake and fed each other a bite, to the applause and laughter of their guests.

The girls were cutting the cake and distributing slices when Grace noticed that Olivia, who stood at her side, had stiffened.

Sure enough, just as she’d feared, Will Jefferson hovered just inside the door to the church hall, near Cal and Vicki’s table. Grace felt her heart constrict. This was exactly what she hadn’t wanted, exactly what she’d prayed wouldn’t happen.

Olivia frowned. “Let me take care of this,” she whispered.

Grace put another slice of cake on a plate and, carrying it, went to search for her husband. Her stomach was in knots. Under no circumstances did she want Cliff to think she’d invited Will to the reception.

Olivia wasn’t the only one concerned about Will’s presence. As soon as Charlotte saw her son, she hurried across the hall and stood directly in front of him, hands on her hips. Although Grace couldn’t hear what was being said, Charlotte’s body language clearly showed that she wasn’t pleased.

Grace approached Cliff seconds after Charlotte had reached Will.

As she watched, standing beside her husband, Will nodded, looking across the room at Cliff.

“At the risk of stating the obvious, Will Jefferson’s here,” Grace said. “Before you ask, I didn’t invite him.”

Cliff slid his arm around her waist. “I know you didn’t. I did.”

“You?” She blinked in surprise.

“I ran into him at Maryellen’s earlier in the week and the two of us had a chat. He apologized, and so did I.”

Grace’s mouth sagged open. “But … you didn’t say anything.”

Cliff rubbed his jaw. “Actually, I forgot.” He shrugged. “You know what they say about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer. At any rate, he acted decent enough. You don’t mind that I invited him, do you?”

It didn’t matter whether she did or didn’t. Will had shown up for the reception. At her husband’s request … “Come with me,” Cliff said, taking her hand. Before they moved from the vicinity of the table, he grabbed the slice of cake she still held.

They held hands as they made their way to the table where Charlotte sat with Ben and now Will.

“Hello, Will,” Cliff greeted him. He set the piece of wedding cake in front of him. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“I’m not,” Charlotte inserted. “It’s always been my understanding that only those invited to a party should attend. A lot has changed over the years, but I didn’t realize manners had gone out the window with everything else.”

“Like I explained, Mother, I was invited,” Will said, glancing at Cliff with a wry expression on his face.

“That’s right, Charlotte. I asked Will if he’d come today.”

Charlotte looked taken aback. “You did?”

Lingering nearby, Olivia caught Grace’s eye; she raised one shoulder, indicating she hadn’t known anything about this.

“Welcome,” Cliff said, extending his hand. “Grace and I are grateful you could join us. Stay as long as you like, and by all means have a piece of wedding cake.”

Grace didn’t speak. Fortunately, it wasn’t necessary.

Two hours later, most of the guests had departed. The money tree for the animal shelter dipped under the weight of the attached bills. Grace sent her daughters home with their husbands and children, while Olivia and Jack stayed, helping with the final cleanup. Lisa and her husband took their restless little girl for a walk. April wanted to feed gulls by the waterfront, so Lisa gathered some scraps of bread in a cloth napkin.

While Grace collected the wedding cards on the table, Olivia unclipped the bills from the money tree and inserted them in an envelope. She and Cliff had requested donations for the shelter, a cause they both supported, in lieu of gifts.

Without Grace’s prompting, Olivia released a shaky breath and announced, “My mammogram showed something … suspicious.”

Grace froze.

“I went in for a second set of tests last week.”

“The results?” she asked, instinctively fearing what her friend was about to tell her.

“I have an appointment Monday morning.”

“Oh, my goodness, Olivia.” Grace was devastated for Olivia and heartbroken that she’d felt compelled to keep this to herself.

“I couldn’t tell you,” Olivia whispered, as if reading her thoughts.

“I made it impossible, didn’t I?” Guilt and self-contempt overwhelmed her. Caught up in her own life, in superficial concerns like a wedding reception, she hadn’t been paying attention to Olivia.

“No … I didn’t want to ruin your day.”

Grace dropped the stack of cards and impulsively hugged her friend.

Olivia shuddered, clinging to her for a long moment before she stepped back.

“Do you want me to go to the doctor with you?” Grace asked.

Olivia shook her head. “Jack said he wanted to be there.” She offered a brave smile. “He’s been a wreck ever since I got the phone call.”

“He loves you.”

Olivia inhaled slowly. “Thank you for not telling me that everything’s going to be all right. I don’t think I could deal with platitudes just now. I’m frightened, and so is Jack. If anything, this scare has brought us closer together.”

“You’ll let me know right away?”

Olivia nodded. “Of course.”

“What about Justine and her brother?”

“I haven’t said anything to the children. I don’t feel there’s any need to worry them until I have all the facts.”

Grace understood.

It was after ten by the time Grace and Cliff returned from dropping Lisa and her family at an airport hotel, since they were catching an early-morning flight to Maryland.

Cal was already back at the ranch and had seen to the horses. During the ride to Olalla, which felt far longer than usual, Grace’s head spun with Olivia’s news. It was all she could think about.

When they pulled into the yard, Cliff leaned over and kissed her, murmuring, “Glad to be home, Mrs. Harding?” She nodded, and not until they’d broken apart did she notice that Cal was standing outside the barn.

Cliff was out of the car right away, striding over to him, Grace trailing behind. If Cal was waiting for them, that meant some kind of problem.

“When I got to the house I picked up the mail,” Cal said, extending an envelope to Grace. “I must’ve taken this by mistake. I wouldn’t have opened it otherwise.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she said, glancing down at the envelope, which bore the rental agency’s logo.

“You might want to read it right away,” he cautioned.

“Something wrong?” Cliff wanted to know.

“Yeah.” Cal grimaced. “Apparently the check your renters gave them bounced.”

“Again?” Cliff said. “Last month’s was returned too.”

Grace sighed. This was more bad news she’d rather not deal with. Letting those ne’er-do-wells rent her home had been a big mistake, and she had no one to blame but herself.