Every Bride Needs a Groom

  Madge shrugged. “Just saying I’ve witnessed it firsthand. Once that dress is tucked away and preserved, the bride’s still stuck with the wrong fella.” She gave me a knowing look. “Nothing worse than that. Don’t ask me how I know.”

  Some sort of subliminal message, maybe? Or did Madge have a story?

  “Anyway, I’ll tell your aunt that she and the boys should go on to lunch. Just hope the girls don’t decide to take off with them.” Madge turned away from us, muttering something under her breath, then added, “Gotta get back to the front of the store. Someone’s gotta keep this place running while everyone else is busy flirting.”

  “Flirting?” Jordan looked back and forth between Brady and me.

  “Just ignore her,” Brady said. “Next question?”

  “Well, let’s get back to you, Katie.” Jordan tapped the front of his tablet and it sprang to life again. “Tell me what you like most about the Loretta Lynn gown, then tell me how it makes you feel when you see yourself in the gown that Nadia made just for you.”

  “My favorite things about the gown? That’s easy. It’s not as fussy as some of the wedding dresses I’ve seen. I mean, if you think about Loretta Lynn, she comes from a simple background in Butcher Holler. I’m from a simple background in Fairfield. So having a fussy dress would’ve been too much. On the other hand, Loretta Lynn’s style has always been ruffly and sweet. Look at the dresses she performed in during the eighties. Everyone wanted to look like her because she was so delicate and pretty. But in a nonthreatening way.”

  “A nonthreatening beauty?” He laughed. “You’ll have to explain that one.”

  “Just saying she never had to try too hard. So many women—even brides—try too hard. They don’t look like themselves on the wedding day. They’re so overly made-up, so fussy, that people don’t recognize them when they walk down the aisle. I want people to know me, to know that I’m the real deal. Genuine.”

  The moment those words were spoken, I had a revelation. I wanted people to know me. Me. Not the dress, but the girl inside the dress. Simple. Unpretentious. Genuine.

  Only, I hadn’t been very genuine, had I? I’d made this all about the dress. The day. The event. Really, I needed to make it about me. And the groom.

  Not that I had a groom, but if I did . . .

  Jordan continued to pepper me with questions, but I couldn’t get past what I’d said. Nothing about me had been genuine, at least not since my arrival in Dallas. And now look at the mess I’d caused—Aunt Alva thought I was marrying Brady, my brothers couldn’t figure out why I was hanging out with a pro basketball player, Stan thought I was a distraction to Brady’s career, and Mama and the WOP-pers were likely praying I’d come to my senses and marry Levi Nash and have a houseful of babies.

  Eventually Jordan shifted gears to get Brady’s input. I sat like a schoolgirl with a crush as I listened to the handsome basketball player answer each question with confidence and poise. This guy might not be a pro in the wedding world, but he certainly knew how to handle the press. I had the feeling he knew how to handle a great many things. And his obvious love of the Lord came through with every answer. I found myself completely drawn in as he spoke, hanging on every word, every syllable. When he glanced my way I felt my cheeks grow warm.

  Careful, girl.

  I cautioned my heart to steady itself. The idea that it had fluttered in the first place alarmed me a little. But who could resist someone with this sort of charm and grace? I had a feeling the WOP-pers would change the direction of their prayers if they could meet this guy face-to-face. In the meantime, I’d just sit here and listen to his heartfelt words and allow my heart to flutter all it liked.

  17

  You Lay So Easy on My Mind

  If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.

  Dolly Parton

  When I arrived back at Lori-Lou’s condo, I found her awash in tears. The baby had screamed all afternoon due to teething pain, Gilly had overflowed the toilet in the hall bathroom by shoving dirty panties down it, and Mariela had colored on the kitchen wall with Lori-Lou’s new craft markers.

  My cousin was on her knees on the floor, scrubbing the wall, tears streaming down her face. “We’ll never get our deposit back now. We need that money to put down on the new house.” She leaned her head against the wall and cried some more. “How are we ever going to make a fresh start if we can’t move to a place with a lower payment?”

  “I’m sorry, Mama!” Mariela started wailing too. After a while I felt like crying myself.

  My cousin finally dried her eyes and looked up at me with a sigh. “I’m sorry, Katie. I know this isn’t much fun for you.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Please.”

  A strained smile turned up the edges of her mouth. “How did it go at the bridal shop? Did you have your interview?”

  “I did. It went okay. Oh, and Aunt Alva was there. And my brothers.”

  “Aunt Alva?” Lori-Lou paled. “Oh, yikes.”

  I gave my cousin a pensive look. “Anything you want to tell me?”

  She threw the rag into the sink. “Look, it wasn’t my fault. She caught me at a vulnerable moment. One minute we were talking about her new phone, the next she was wheedling family information out of me.” A sheepish look followed. “Will you forgive me?”

  I couldn’t help the feelings of emotion that escaped as I said, “I already have. But you’re not going to believe what happened. For whatever reason, she thinks I’m engaged to Brady James.”

  “Engaged to Brady James?” Lori-Lou quirked a brow. “Now there’s a thought.”

  “It was the biggest mix-up ever. But just for the record, it turns out Aunt Alva’s pretty great. A lot like Queenie, actually. It’s so sad that they don’t speak because they’d have a lot to talk about. It’s weird how much they have in common.”

  “Okay, but let’s go back. Did you say your brothers turned up at the shop too?”

  “Yes. And we can blame your husband for that. Josh is the one who told Jasper about Brady James, so he came to see for himself.”

  “To meet his favorite player.”

  “Turned out Brady wasn’t the one who ended up captivating the boys,” I said. “I think they’re twitterpated.”

  “Twitterpated?” She took a seat at the breakfast table and reached for her coffee cup.

  “Dahlia, Twiggy, and Crystal.”

  “Ooh. Wow, that was fast.”

  “No kidding. And get this—the last thing I heard, Aunt Alva took all six of them out to lunch at a Mexican restaurant. Weirdest thing ever.”

  “Going out to lunch sounds wonderful.” Lori-Lou sighed. “Doing anything grown-up sounds wonderful. Shoot, I’d give my right eye just to go grocery shopping by myself.” Her eyes flooded with tears.

  “I’ll make you a deal, Lori-Lou. Tomorrow morning I’ll watch the kids and you can go to the grocery store alone. Take all the time you need.”

  “Seriously?”

  “You bet. As long as you promise to buy some of those kiddy yogurt things I loved so much.”

  “You know those are for toddlers, right?”

  “Who cares? I loved ’em.”

  This got a smile out of my cousin, one of the first I’d seen all day. We ended up having a great conversation after that, but it was interrupted by a phone call, this time on my cell. I glanced down and saw Cosmopolitan Bridal on the screen, so I answered it right away, thinking Dahlia must be calling about my dress. A male voice greeted me instead.

  “Hey, Katie, this is Brady James.”

  For whatever reason, my heart skipped a beat when I heard his name. “Brady.” I released a slow breath and tried to figure out what to say next. I needed to address what had happened today at the shop, after all. “Hey, listen, about what my aunt Alva said today . . . I hope you don’t think I told her any of that? She’s just . . . confused.”

  “Well, she’s getting up there in years. It happens.”

&nbsp
; “True.”

  “I won’t lie, it kind of threw me that she thought we were a couple, but my grandmother got like that in her golden years too. If she ever says it again, should I just play along? That’s what people say you should do with folks who have memory loss. It stirs up trouble to argue with them.”

  “I don’t really know what to tell you about that,” I said. “To be honest, I don’t know her well enough to speculate.”

  “Well, I’m calling with an idea. After you left today, Jordan and I went to lunch. He thinks you’re really great, by the way, and he loved your answers to his questions about the dress.”

  “Aw, really?”

  Out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of Lori-Lou staring at me. Nosy poke! I turned away from her to focus on Brady.

  “Yeah, and he suggested we go ahead and scope out a place for the photo shoot. Someplace that jives with the theme of the dress, so definitely country-western. I was just trying to put together some ideas for places when my mom called, asking how the interview went. She’s been a little anxious, since she’s so far away.”

  “Oh?” My heart quickened as soon as he started talking about her. Maybe Madge had told her the truth about me.

  “I told her it went great and she was thrilled. But she loved the idea of settling on a place for the photo shoot. She suggested some practice shots.”

  “Do we really have to do that?” I asked. “I’ve never been very photogenic.”

  “Are you kidding me? That gorgeous hair? Those freckles? That great smile?” He cleared his throat. “Sorry. Anyway, I’m guessing you’re very photogenic. Why are you so hard on yourself?”

  “I . . .” I couldn’t find the words to explain. If I told him about the rejection I was currently facing, he’d know everything. And if he knew everything . . . Hmm.

  Maybe that would be a good thing. Maybe I’d be off the hook and wouldn’t have to go through with the photo shoot after all.

  “I was thinking of the stockyard,” Brady said. “Ever been there?”

  “Once, several years ago. They have a cattle drive?”

  “Every day at eleven. My mother thought it might be fun to photograph you there, since your wedding is going to be country chic. That’s the theme you said, right?”

  “Well, it’s what I like, sure. And it matches the Loretta Lynn dress.”

  “Perfect. What about your fiancé?”

  I felt sick as Brady spoke those words. “What about my fiancé?” I asked.

  “Doesn’t he like the country chic thing?”

  I sighed. “I kind of think Casey is burnt out on country living. He’s more of a big-city kind of guy at the moment.” Tulsa, to be precise.

  “Oh, interesting. Well, the stockyard is perfect for both of you then. It’s in Fort Worth, right in the heart of the city, but it’s still got that country flair. Do you think maybe Casey would like to join us there? It would be great to meet him in person before he comes in for his tux fitting. And who knows? Maybe Jordan will want to get him in the cover shot. You never know.”

  “N-no.” I shook my head. “He, um, he’s actually out of the state on business right now.”

  “Oh, bummer. Well, I guess I’ll have to meet him later on.”

  “Guess so.”

  “So, back to my original idea. What are you doing tomorrow?”

  “Tomorrow?” I looked at Lori-Lou. “Sorry, but I just volunteered to watch the kids in the morning.”

  “Ah. I was hoping to steal you away to find the perfect spot.”

  “Steal me away?”

  “He wants to steal you away?” Lori-Lou’s eyes widened. “Ooh, this is getting good.”

  I shook my head and put my finger to my lips, hoping she would shush before Brady heard.

  He didn’t seem to notice. “If you’re free in the afternoon, that works for me. I’d like to take you up to the stockyard to see if we can find some spots for the photo shoot. Would that be okay?”

  Lori-Lou mouthed, “Is. He. Asking. You. Out?”

  I shook my head and responded with, “Of course not!”

  “Of course not?” Brady sounded dejected. “You don’t want to go?”

  “Oh, I wasn’t talking to you, sorry.” I narrowed my gaze at Lori-Lou as she tried to interject something else. “Maybe I can work it out.”

  “You can!” Lori-Lou reached for my phone and turned on the speaker button so she could listen in. “You totally can.”

  “I’d love to go with you, Brady.” I pulled the phone out of my cousin’s hand.

  Lori-Lou let out a squeal. “I know! Let’s all go! It sounds like the perfect way to spend the day.”

  “I’m sorry? Was that you?” Brady sounded confused.

  “It’s me, Lori-Lou,” my cousin responded in a singsong voice. “I don’t really need Katie to babysit. She was just being nice. I’d rather go with you guys to the stockyard. It’s one of my favorite places.”

  “That’s great,” Brady said.

  “The kids will love the stockyard. And I’ve got a great eye for photography. I’ll help you two find the perfect spot, and I’ll even snap the pictures.”

  “The kids?” Brady appeared to hesitate. “So, everyone’s coming?”

  “Sure! We’ll make a day of it. And like I said, I’m great with the camera, so maybe we can do some practice shots. Maybe I can bring my wedding dress for Katie to wear. It’d swallow her alive, but oh well.”

  “No thank you.” I shook my head. “Let’s skip the dress.”

  “Whatever.” Lori-Lou sounded hurt that I’d rejected her dress, but I couldn’t picture myself showing up in public wearing someone else’s gown.

  “Brady, I’d love to go,” I said. “And it sounds like we’re bringing the whole crew. You okay with that?”

  “Sure.”

  I couldn’t tell if he was just being polite or really wanted Lori-Lou and the kids there, but we went ahead and set our plans in motion, agreeing to meet in the back parking lot—wherever that was—at 10:15 the next day.

  I could hardly sleep that night as I thought about meeting up with Brady. Doing so would finally give me the perfect opportunity—away from Madge—to tell him that I couldn’t go through with the photo shoot or take the dress. He would be disappointed, sure, but maybe he would understand my situation if I presented it carefully.

  The following morning Lori-Lou awoke not feeling well. On top of that, her car wouldn’t start. I offered to drive, which meant we had to transfer car seats into my Cadillac. Mariela was particularly whiny and not thrilled with the idea of going to the stockyard. By the time we reached the parking lot, I realized why. The poor kid lost her cookies—er, breakfast—all over the backseat of my car. Minutes later, her mother joined her.

  Just about the time Brady arrived, Lori-Lou had put in a call to Josh to come and take them all back home. She made profuse apologies to Brady. His response? Ever the gentleman, he offered to chauffeur them back to her place.

  “No, you guys will miss the cattle drive.” Lori-Lou leaned against my car, looking a little green around the gills. “We’ll be fine.”

  “You sure?” he asked.

  “Yeah. We always recover from these things quickly, trust me.” She proved it by getting sick once more, right in front of us. Lovely.

  Josh showed up about fifteen minutes later to cart his sick family home. Turned out he had the bug too. They left moments later, kids crying, Lori-Lou holding her stomach, and Josh looking like he needed to crawl under the covers.

  This left Brady and me alone to clean out my car—ick!—and tour the stockyard without the others. I didn’t mind that part one little bit. From the look of relief on his face, he didn’t either. We started on the far end of the venue, near the parking lot. Just about the time we made it to the first row of shops, we realized the cattle drive was about to begin. People began to gather along the edge of the street to wait. A young man approached Brady and tapped him on the arm.

  “Hey, you
’re Brady James!”

  “The one and only.” He flashed a welcoming smile.

  “I’ve been praying for you, man. How’s the knee?”

  The two of them engaged in a conversation, which ended with the total stranger praying for Brady right then and there. Well, after he asked for Brady’s autograph.

  On and on the people came, each with a request to sign this or that. I couldn’t help but admire Brady as I watched him in action with his fans, who approached him as if he were a long-lost friend.

  Long-lost friend.

  As I gazed up at Brady’s kind face, as I took in the joy in his eyes while he talked to total strangers about his life, I realized I felt like I’d found that very thing . . . in him. And as he looked my way, offering a boyish smile, I had the feeling he’d found a friend in me too. Why that felt so good, I could not say. After all, I had lots of friends in the little town of Fairfield. But having one in the big city made me feel more at home than I would have dreamed possible.

  In fact, I felt so at home that I might just have to stay for a while.

  18

  My Past Brought Me to You

  You can be the moon and still be jealous of the stars.

  Gary Allan

  A familiar old-school country song blared from the overhead speakers as the crowd along Main Street thickened. Brady’s fan club dissipated, likely overwhelmed by the noise and chaos. We were finally left to ourselves.

  “You want to watch the cattle drive?” Brady asked. “I think you’ll like it.”

  “Sounds like fun.” We eased our way into a spot near the street. Unfortunately we landed right next to an overly romantic couple. They started out holding hands. A few minutes later they were smooching, right there in broad daylight. Awkward.

  The crowd continued to press in around us, which pushed Brady a bit closer to me. I didn’t mind. His yummy cologne tickled my nostrils. At least I thought it was his cologne. With people packed in like sardines, who could tell?

  I glanced up at him to find that his gaze was already on me. He looked away, his cheeks turning red. Of course, that might have something to do with the heat.