The Best Man's Bride. Lisa Childs
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down the aisle and crossed the hall with the rest of the wedding party except for Clayton and Abby, who already stood inside the bride’s dressing room, nose to nose, as they argued.
Of course Clayton would blame Abby. And of course he’d be furious. Feeling responsible, as always, for all his father’s duties, Clayton had taken it upon himself to pay for the wedding and give away the bride. He’d said he couldn’t wait to have one less responsibility. Poor Clayton.
He just didn’t get it. He actually loved being in charge of his younger siblings. Colleen worked for him at the insurance agency he’d taken over after their father died. Although Clayton had given her the title of office manager, he’d never really given her any responsibility. So she didn’t feel all that guilty for the two afternoons a week she spent volunteering at the hospital in Grand Rapids, where the best man and the groom were on staff.
The jilted groom.
The wedding dress hung from a hook on one of the white walls, almost blending in but for the lace and satin that stirred in the breeze blowing through the open window. Molly had run away? Colleen’s stomach churned. Molly was too smart and strong to run. When they were growing up, Colleen had been the one to constantly run away—although no one had ever noticed. So she’d always come home, and Molly would, too. Safe and sound. She had to.
Abby’s argument with Clayton subsided as she unfolded a crumpled note. Of course Molly would have left a note. She’d always been as responsible as their older brother.
“What does it say?” Clayton demanded, asking the question that was burning on everyone else’s lips. “Come on, I’m worried about her. I want to know what it says!”
“It’s a good thing that she ran off,” Abby said, “before making the biggest mistake of her life.”
The groom gasped in surprise, and the muscles in Nick’s left arm tightened beneath Colleen’s fingers. His pale green eyes darkened with anger and a muscle twitched in his jaw, as if he had clenched his teeth to hold in something he was dying to say.
“Josh, I’m sorry.” Clayton offered the apology first, used to assuming responsibility for everyone else. Even Abby?
Nick’s tension didn’t ease, not even when the kids chattered, the twins pulling petals off each other’s boutonnieres. Colleen pulled her hand from his arm and curled her fingers into her palm to quell the tingling. She should have let go of him long ago. Actually she never should have touched him in the first place. He’d made no secret of his disdain for long-term relationships; the other volunteers and the hospital staff had warned her not to develop a crush on the handsome doctor. Nothing would come of it but a broken heart.
“I’m sorry.” Abby offered her apology to Josh. “She doesn’t say that in the note…about making a mistake. She’s just really confused right now.”
“What’s going on?” Rory asked, tugging loose the knot of his bow tie. Colleen was surprised her kid brother had kept it tied as long as he had. “Did Molly really skip out?”
Clayton shrugged. “Ask Abby. She’s the one with the explanation.”
“Is she all right?” Josh asked. His handsome face held none of the anger that was darkening his friend’s eyes.
From her years of volunteering at the hospital, Colleen felt she knew him well. Unlike Dr. Jameson Josh had noticed her, although not the way he’d noticed her sister, who’d only volunteered when she’d had time around her med school classes and studying. Even if he and Molly hadn’t dated all that long, Colleen understood why her big sister had accepted his proposal. Besides being ridiculously handsome, with dark hair and bright blue eyes, Dr. Joshua Towers was a genuinely nice guy.
“She’s okay,” Abby assured him as she clutched the note.
Colleen wasn’t surprised that Molly had trusted Abby with her explanation. She could keep a secret and she would only share what Molly wanted everyone to know.
Abby continued, “She’s just confused right now. She needs some time alone to figure out what she really wants.”
“Maybe she should have figured that out before she accepted Josh’s proposal. It’s pretty damned flaky to back out at the altar,” Nick muttered, pushing his hand through his hair and squeezing the back of his neck.
“Molly is not flaky!” How dare he say anything like that about her sister? He didn’t even know her. Neither had the groom, sadly. Despite dating for a few months, Molly had admitted that due to their crazy schedules, she and Josh hadn’t gone on that many dates. Was that why Molly had backed out of the wedding?
Actually, why had Molly, the focused and sensible McClintock sister, agreed to marry a virtual stranger? Even if he was nice and handsome. Molly wasn’t the type to believe in love at first sight. She never acted impetuously.
Colleen had always been the impetuous one. If any McClintock were to fall in love at first sight, she would be the foolish one.
“It’s my fault,” Josh said, with a heavy sigh. “I rushed her into this, even though I knew she wasn’t ready.”
Nick gripped his friend’s shoulder. “Don’t blame yourself. She could have told you no. This just goes to show you, they can’t be trusted.”
Colleen sucked in a breath, but she couldn’t really argue. She’d told lies. She’d kept secrets. Nick Jameson was wrong about her sister, but right about her. She couldn’t be trusted, despite how careful she’d been the past eight years to always do the right thing. She couldn’t trust herself not to do something foolish again. Like fall for a man who didn’t believe in love…
FAIRY LIGHTS IN RED and white cast a romantic pink glow, disguising the worn linoleum and painted paneling of the American Legion Hall, which everyone in Cloverville used for their wedding receptions. The biggest facility in town, the hall also hosted anniversary parties, graduation open houses and funeral luncheons.
Funereal described the mood of the wedding party, or at least Colleen’s mood as she stood before the gift table. Her eyes misted and all the vivid colors of the wrapping paper swirled into a kaleidoscope. Molly had asked for time alone to sort things out. But selfishly Colleen wanted to see her sister, to talk to her, so that she could sort things out, too. Like her feelings for a certain blond doctor. His noticing her, finally, had intensified those emotions, so that they couldn’t be dismissed like a harmless crush anymore. And as Colleen had learned in high school, there really wasn’t anything harmless about a crush.
An arm slid around Colleen’s waist and she received a gentle hug. She turned toward her mother. “We should have canceled the reception,” she told Mary McClintock.
Yet Colleen understood her mother’s reasoning in insisting they not cancel. Cloverville’s only caterer, Mrs. George, who was the sole provider for her family, had been cooking for days. She’d had help from Brenna’s parents, the Kellys, too. Regret filled Colleen at the thought of all their hard work going to waste. In addition, her mother had pointed out, the whole town had been looking forward to a party.
“And let all that food go to waste?” Her mother tsked, then shook her head, tumbling soft brown curls around her face.
“Your brother would have a fit, since he paid for it.”
Colleen’s lips twitched into a reluctant smile. “He’s probably having a fit about paying for it now.” Since their mother, the minute everyone had arrived at the hall, had turned the reception into a welcome home party for Abby Hamilton, the girl Clayton had always considered a bad influence on his sisters. Her smile slid away as guilt took hold. If he only knew that the real troublemaker had been his little sister.
Mom’s arm wound tighter around her waist. Did her mother know? Over the years Colleen sometimes had suspected that she did.
“Ah, it’s good for your brother when everything doesn’t go exactly according to his plan.” Once he’d realized there would be repercussions if he canceled the reception, he’d