Close to Heaven

  “Prime rib for a thousand people? That would mean roasting…” she did the math… “a hundred prime ribs. We don’t have the oven space.”

  “We’re planning on feeding about five hundred. We hired a caterer to help. They’re bringing up a trailer with extra ovens.”

  “That will be incredibly expensive.”

  He rested his hands on her shoulders. “I know you’ve always had to worry about money, but you don’t have to worry now.”

  She looked doubtful. “It’s going to take me some time to get used to that.”

  “Fair enough.” But he had more to tell her. “Libby has renamed ‘Plow Me’ to ‘I Do’ Christmas Wedding Stout in honor of the occasion. She’s bottling it now.”

  Rain laughed. “So we have our own wedding beer, and I don’t get to drink it. Doesn’t that just figure?”

  “You can have a taste, right? I’ll save a few cases for you.”

  Rain told him how she and Lark had gotten everything they needed to wear for the ceremony and described for him the kind of flowers they’d chosen. “I went with red and white roses for our bouquets and your boutonniere and roses with holly and evergreen for hanging decorations.”

  Joe had gotten the receipt for that, too. “I’m sure it will be perfect. Marcia has volunteered to decorate. She wants to talk with you when you get the chance.”

  “I’ll talk with her now, but then I need to go home and take a nap.”

  “She fell asleep in the limo,” Lark said. “Isn’t that cute?”

  “Let me know when you’re ready to go, and I’ll take you home.”

  When Rain disappeared to talk to Marcia, Joe leaned over and spoke for Lark’s ears alone. “Thanks for keeping your promise about the dress.”

  “I knew you could afford it.”

  Joe raised an eyebrow. “Did you?”

  “You’re a millionaire, right?”

  Joe shook his head. “No, I’m not. Replace the ‘m’ with a ‘b.’”

  Lark’s jaw dropped and her eyes went wide. “Billionaire?”

  Joe chuckled at the shock on her face. “Keep that to yourself, please. I’m not in the habit of talking about my finances with anyone, but you’re family now. And don’t tell your mother because she doesn’t want to know.”

  “O-okay. Why not?”

  “She doesn’t want anyone to think she’s marrying me for money.”

  Lark laughed. “Anyone who knows my mom knows she would never do that.”

  “That’s true, but people love to talk. Also, never let your mom know how expensive that dress was. She would have a heart attack.”

  “It will be our secret.” Lark smiled. “But trust me—when you see her, you’ll think it was worth every penny.”

  “I can’t wait.”

  Chapter 16

  Two days till Christmas

  Rain woke Sunday morning in the Matchless Suite at the Forest Creek Inn, the best suite Bob and Kendra had. Rain had cleaned it many times, but she’d never thought she’d be staying here. Joe had rented the suite for her so that they could observe at least one wedding tradition and not see each other the night before the wedding. As superstitious as it seemed, Rain hadn’t wanted to risk bringing bad luck their way—not now, when all of her dreams seemed to be coming true.

  Today, she was marrying the man she loved.

  She had just climbed out of bed when a knock came at her door.

  Sandrine, the French pastry chef who baked the croissants for which the inn was known, stood there with a breakfast tray, a bright smile on her face. “How is the bride this morning?”

  “That looks delicious.” The scent of food hit Rain—followed immediately by a surge of nausea.

  Oh, great.

  Sandrine set the tray down on the table. “We are all so happy for you.”

  Rain sat, fixed a smile on her face, did her best to look like she wasn’t on the verge of throwing up. “Thank you, Sandrine. That means the world to me.”

  “I hear Joe has a special day planned for you.”

  Rain nodded, breathed deeper. “Yes. He has been amazing.”

  Shawna Evans, who owned a salon in town, would be coming with one of her assistants to give both her and Lark mani-pedis and to style their hair. Victoria, Lexi, and Kendra would be there to help her and Lark dress. Then a limo would pick them up at 4:45 to drive them to Knockers.

  Rain didn’t have to do a thing—except not throw up.

  “I’ll be there tonight. I think the whole town is coming. You must be so excited.”

  Rain nodded, almost afraid to open her mouth. She swallowed—hard. “I can’t believe it’s happening.”

  “It is rather sudden, isn’t it?” Rose appeared in the doorway, Kendra behind her.

  Kendra gave a snort. “Right. After twenty years of being in love, they suddenly decided to get married. I’d say it’s about time.”

  Rose looked embarrassed. “Well, I… um…”

  Kendra shifted her gaze to Rain. “I just came up to give you today’s paper. I thought you’d want a copy.”

  “Thanks.” Rain took the paper, saw that the wedding was the day’s top story.

  “If you need anything, let us know,” Kendra said.

  Rain wondered if she would give her pregnancy away if she asked for herbal tea and crackers. She decided not to risk it. She would text Lark and ask her to stop by Food Mart. “I appreciate that. I’m good for now.”

  She waited till the women had left her alone, then dashed for the bathroom.

  Joe stood in the dining area at his pub, looking around at the sea of boxes. Flowers. Greenery. Ribbon. White Christmas lights. He’d closed the place until 4:30 to give them time to cook for roughly five hundred and to decorate the place. Staff had already moved the tables to make room for the buffet and to create an aisle for the bride. Now it was time to decorate.

  “How many lights did you buy exactly?”

  “I think twenty thousand,” Marcia said. “We bought pretty much everything that was left at the hardware stores in Boulder. I hope it’s enough.”

  “That will work.” He unfolded the ladder, then caught sight of Lark heading out the door. “Hey, are you going to see your mom?”

  God, he’d missed Rain last night.

  Lark nodded, then motioned for him to come over. She waited until he was standing right beside her, then dropped her voice to a whisper. “She wants me to pick up crackers and herbal tea. She’s nauseated and throwing up.”

  Shit.

  Joe had really hoped she’d be spared morning sickness. He knew she hadn’t wanted to go through the physical ordeal of pregnancy again. This was his doing.

  He handed Lark a twenty. “I know you’ll take good care of her. Tell her hi.”

  Lark shook her head. “No contact, remember?”

  Well, this sucked.

  When Joe walked back to Marcia, he found Cheyenne helping her.

  “We’ve got this, Joe,” Marcia said. “Go help Rico.”

  Joe found Rico in the kitchen talking with the catering staff, the scent of roasting prime rib filling the air. “Sorry to interrupt, but I need you to put me to work. Marcia just threw me out of the dining room.”

  Rico pointed toward a pile of roasting pans in the sink. “Start scrubbing.”

  Joe rolled up his sleeves and got to it, grateful for the distraction.

  Rico came up beside him. “You nervous, boss?”

  “What’s there to be nervous about?”

  Rico laughed. “You’re such a shitty liar.”

  Okay, so Rico wasn’t going to let Joe get away with that. “I just want it to be perfect for her.”

  “Rain loves you, man. She’d be happy with less. No one but you could have put together an event like this in three days. She is going to be amazed.”

  Joe looked over at his friend. “I couldn’t have done it without your help.”

  Rico clapped him on the back. “Don’t get mushy on me. Just keep scrubbing.”

/>   Joe had made good progress when Bear wandered into the kitchen. “Hey, Bear, we’re closed till four-thirty today.”

  Bear glanced around the kitchen. “They said there was going to be a wedding and we could all come here.”

  “Rain and I are getting married today, and you’re invited to join us.”

  Bear’s beard shifted as he smiled ear to ear. “Is she coming back?”

  “Yes, she is.” Then an idea came to Joe. “Hey, Bear, would you like to do something special for us during the wedding?”

  Bear nodded.

  Joe turned to Rico. “Do we have anything we can heat up for Bear?”

  Rico started toward the walk-in refrigerator “You like macaroni and cheese?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Fill up your stomach,” Joe told him. “Then we’ll talk.”

  While Shawna fixed Rain’s hair, Lark read the newspaper article aloud.

  “‘The couple has requested that people make donations to Scarlet Springs Fire and Rescue, which recently rescued the bride from her collapsed home, instead of gifts.’ Really? You don’t want gifts?”

  “I think it’s more an issue of them not needing anything,” Kendra said. “Not sure if you’ve noticed, sweetheart, but your soon-to-be daddy is loaded.”

  “Oh. Right.”

  “What do you think?” Shawna handed Rain a mirror.

  “I love it.” Rain felt like a princess, her hair swept back in a loose French braid, her makeup understated and perfect. “Thank you.”

  Vicki, Lexi, and Kendra were helping Lark get into her dress.

  “You look like sex on a stick, girl,” Kendra said.

  Rain turned and stared at her daughter, whose body was sheathed in a beaded spaghetti strap gown in Christmas red. She looked stunning—and far too sexy. “Are you sure you want to wear that?”

  Rain had seen the gown, of course. She just hadn’t seen it on her daughter. Lark hadn’t wanted to model it, and now Rain knew why.

  Lark gave Rain her “whatever” look. “Mom, I’m twenty-one.”

  Shawna doused Rain with hairspray, then stepped back from the table. “Time for your hair and makeup now, Lark.”

  Rain got to her feet, still wearing her bathrobe. She’d begun to feel better just after noon. She’d given her breakfast to Lark but had eaten her lunch herself. Then Vicki and Lexi had arrived, and the day had turned into a party.

  “This reminds me of the day Austin and I got married,” Lexi called from the bathroom where she was putting on her makeup. “Do you remember, Vic?”

  “I was the maid of honor, so, yes, I remember. Eric and I fell in love that day.”

  Rain walked into the bedroom, shut the door, and put on the sexy lace panties, pushup bra, garters and silk stockings she’d bought to wear beneath her gown.

  “You two certainly put this room to good use,” she heard Kendra say. “You thought you were being sneaky, but we knew. Bob said we ought to rename it the Hawktoria Suite.”

  Vicki laughed. “That’s fine by me.”

  Rain stepped out of the bedroom. “What do you think?”

  Kendra wolf-whistled. “I hope you either worked out the contraception thing or have hit menopause, because that’s the kind of lingerie that gets a woman pregnant.”

  “I didn’t know lingerie could do that,” Vicki joked. “I’ll have to buy some.”

  Lexi stuck her head out of the bathroom. “Sexy.”

  Lark pouted. “God, I wish I had your boobs.”

  “The limo will be here in twenty minutes. Let’s get you into your gown.” Kendra walked into the bedroom, carried out the gown, and laid it out on the sofa. “This thing is heavy. What’s it made out of?”

  “Platinum,” Lark quipped.

  “Really?” Vicki and Lexi asked in unison.

  “How much did it cost?” Kendra ran her fingers admiringly over the beading.

  “I don’t know,” Rain answered. “I don’t think I want to know.”

  “And I’m not telling,” Lark said.

  Lexi and Vicki helped Kendra gather up the yards of tulle that made the skirt and lifted it over Rain’s head. Kendra buttoned the bodice, and the three of them fussed and fidgeted, adjusting the sleeves and skirts.

  Rain started toward the mirror. “How do I look?”

  The women stared at her, tears in Vicki’s and Lark’s eyes.

  She reached the mirror and found a beautiful bride looking back at her. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. “My God, I’m getting married! Do you think Joe will like it?”

  “Oh, honey.” Kendra’s voice broke. “You are going to knock his socks off. But your dress is going to drag in the mud. I’ll have Bob put a rug down on our sidewalk, but I don’t know what you’re going to do at Knockers.”

  “I have an idea.” Vicki got on the phone to Eric. “Hey, honey, we have a couple of beautiful women here who are going to need to be carried inside Knockers so they don’t slip on the ice or drag their gowns in the mud. Can you and the Team guys or firefighters figure something out?”

  Shawna finished Lark’s hair, then retouched Rain’s makeup and hair.

  “The limo’s here,” Lark called from the window.

  The women went down in the elevator and found Bob waiting.

  “You look like a million bucks, kid.” He gave Rain a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

  They walked out onto the carpeted sidewalk and climbed into the limo, the other women helping Rain with her gown, for the short ride across town. The sun was low on the horizon, casting a pink glow on the white snow. Christmas lights twinkled from houses, trees, and lamp posts. People waved as they passed, cars and pickups honking.

  It was beautiful, perfect, like being lost in a dream. Rain was on her way to marry Joe in her hometown with all the people she loved around her.

  They reached Knockers five minutes later, and Vicki instructed the driver to pull up in front of the main entrance.

  The door opened and Eric stuck his head in. “You all look fabulous. Let’s start with the maid of honor.”

  Rain watched as Eric scooped Lark into his arms and passed her to Austin Taylor.

  “Hey, kiddo. Don’t you look pretty—and very grown up.” Austin handed her to Jesse Moretti, who put her down inside the front entrance.

  “There you go, darlin’.”

  “That was the best thing ever!” Lark said from the doorway.

  “Now for the bride.” Eric lifted Rain easily into his arms, Vicki helping him to gather up her skirts. “Congratulations, Rain. We’re all so happy for you.”

  “Stop, or you’re going to make me cry.”

  Hawke laughed, looking so much like Cadan for a moment that it made her heart hurt. “Don’t let her skirts drag.”

  “Congrats, Rain.” Austin took her, handed her to Jesse. “Joe is going to flip when he sees you.”

  “Hell, yeah, he is.” Jesse put her down inside the front door. “Congratulations.”

  That had been fun.

  Then a voice came from behind Rain “Wasn’t that sweet? Maybe they’ll start helping old ladies cross the street.”

  Megs Hill, the founder of the Team, stood there beside her husband, Mitch Ahearn, dressed up in a denim skirt and sweater. “Congratulations, Rain. Don’t you look beautiful?”

  Rain glanced around at the place she’d worked for twenty years to find it transformed. Garlands of pine, holly, and roses were draped along the walls and wrapped around the columns, thousands of white lights hanging from the ceiling like icicles.

  Joe had done this for her—with lots of help from their friends.

  Marcia stepped up to her and Lark with their bouquets—and burst into tears. “You look so pretty.”

  “Thanks.”

  A hush fell over the room, and then the Mudbugs began to play, first the keyboard and then the violin.

  Pachelbel’s Canon in D.

  “Hey, beautiful.” Rico walked up to Lark, wearing a black sports jacket over his best
pair of jeans, and slipped his arm through hers. “They’re playing our song.”

  They walked through the dining area toward the dance floor and the stage beyond.

  Rain waited a moment or two, then followed them, her pulse racing. It was crowded, friends and neighbors parting to let them through, everyone smiling. Mrs. Beech dabbing her eyes with a tissue. Frank from the gas station. Hank with a beer. Libby standing together with Brandon Silver. Rose with miniature white lights in her silver hair. Bob and Kendra. Chaska Belcourt and his wife Naomi and sister Winona. Sasha Dillon along with the rest of the Team. Cheyenne and Marcia, both in tears.

  Then Rain saw him—and her nervousness melted away.

  Joe stood beside Grandpa Belcourt on the stage in that tux she’d seen in his closet, looking more handsome than any man should. Then his gaze met hers, the emotion in his eyes taking her breath away.

  Joe’s first thought was that Lark had been telling the truth. That dress was worth every damned penny. Rain floated toward him like an angel, her face radiant, the bodice of the gown sparkling. His second thought was that there were tears running down his cheeks and there wasn’t a damned thing he could do about it.

  Why had he waited for so long? Why hadn’t he done this years ago?

  Lark smiled up at him as she made her way toward the stage with Rico, looking beautiful in a dress of shimmering red, her face as radiant as her mother’s.

  His daughter.

  She and Rico waited at the bottom of the stairs for the bride, lifting Rain’s train so that it wouldn’t get caught, then following her up to the stage.

  And then Rain was there—beautiful, sweet Rain, the woman he loved, the woman he had always loved. There were tears in her eyes, too.

  He took her hand. “You are so beautiful.”

  “You clean up nice, too.”

  The music ended.

  Grandpa Belcourt chuckled. “It’s good to see so many people together. In this world, true community is a hard thing to find. Too many people live for themselves without thinking of others or the future.

  “This town is a community, in part because of this man and this woman. I have heard stories from many today and yesterday about how Joe and Rain have strengthened ties, built relations, and helped others. Now they ask us to join them together as husband and wife, to bless their union, to witness their becoming one.”