this minute, he could be lying on the side of the road somewhere, dying. She had to go to him!
Horrified, she whirled and headed for the door, determined to find her brothers and Nick and make one of them take her to Thomas. But she’d only taken two steps when there was a perfunctory knock at the dressing room door and Nick and her entire family walked in.
At the sight of their somber faces, she paled, her worst fears realized. “Something’s happened, hasn’t it? He’s in the hospital, isn’t he?” When no one answered, tears welled in her eyes. “Oh, God! He’s not—”
“He’s not dead,” Janey said quickly, reading her mind. “So don’t worry about that. He’s perfectly fine.”
“Then he’s here? Thank God! I’ve been worried sick.”
In spite of the fact that it went against tradition, she would have rushed to the men’s dressing room to see for herself that he was really all right, but the grim look that remained on everyone’s faces held her motionless where she was. “What is it?” she demanded when her heart started to pound in alarm. “What’s wrong?”
For a moment, she didn’t think anyone was going to tell her. Then Nick stepped forward and took her hand. “He’s not here, Merry,” he told her gruffly. “He’s gone back to Chicago.”
“He has not,” she retorted, chuckling in relief. For a second there, she’d thought something was seriously wrong! “We’re getting married, silly. Cut the joking. Where is he, really? The minister must be getting impatient. We’ve got to get this show on the road.”
Her hand still in his, Nick tightened his fingers around hers. “I’m not joking, Mer. There isn’t going to be a wedding. Thomas had a panic attack and freaked out at the idea of getting married. I tried to talk him out of it, but there was no reasoning with him. He left for Chicago ten minutes ago.”
Stella gasped, and somewhere behind her, Rose murmured, “Oh, God!” but Merry never so much as flinched. No! She stared up at Nick with large, unblinking eyes, denial echoing over and over again in her head. There had to be a mistake. Thomas wouldn’t do this to her. Nick must have misunderstood. This was all just some ridiculous misunderstanding. It had to be!
But there was nothing but sympathy in his eyes, nothing but regret and sorrow in the murmured words of her brothers and sister and sisters-in-law as they gathered around her to hug her and reassure her that everything was going to be fine. Clinging to denial, she submitted to their hugs, wondering all the while when someone was going to spill the punchline to this awful joke. Then her mother came to her, tears glistening in her beloved eyes as she slipped her arms around her and folded her close against her heart, and Merry’s defenses began to crumble.
“Mom?”
“I’m so sorry, dear. I know how much you love him. I can’t imagine what’s going on in his head right now, but I’m sure he never meant to hurt you.”
So it was true. Practically the whole town had gathered to see her marry Thomas, and it wasn’t going to happen. Without a word of explanation, he’d literally left her standing at the altar.
The pain hit then, sharp and excruciating, right in the heart. She wanted to cry out, to scream No! but her throat closed like a vice. Tears flooded her eyes, and she couldn’t seem to blink them away fast enough. Numb, all she could do was hug herself and rock back and fourth as hurt swamped her, threatening to drag her down into the dark void that suddenly yawned at the edge of her consciousness.
Lost in her misery, she suffered the hugs of Rose and Stella and hardly heard the words of condolences that swirled around her. It was like a funeral, she thought dazedly as she sank into the nearest chair and her wedding dress billowed around her. A death, only no one had died. Except her. She should have been wearing black.
Zeke squatted down in front of her, concern lining his face as he took her cold hand. “You don’t have to worry about anything, Sis. Do you hear me? Joe and I will talk to the guests and tell them the wedding and reception have been cancelled. Lizzie and Angel are going to go back to the house and help the caterers pack everything up while we wait for everyone to clear out of here. You don’t have to see or talk to anyone until you’re ready. Okay?”
“As soon as we get the all clear from Angel and Lizzie, we’ll take you home,” Joe added huskily. “To Mom’s house, not yours. There’s no reason for you to face Thomas’s things tonight. Tomorrow, Zeke and Nick and I will load his stuff into my truck and take it over to his mother’s.”
Enveloped in misery, Merry just barely held back a sob. She had such a wonderful family. They all had busy lives and didn’t always agree on things, but in times of trouble, they closed ranks. And she loved them for it. Unlike Thomas, she could count on them to be there for her through thick and thin and to protect her when she was hurting.
And right now, she was battered and bruised and more hurt than she’d ever been in her life. Like a wounded animal, she wanted to just crawl in a hole somewhere and hide from the world. But she couldn’t. Thomas had publicly humiliated her in front of the whole town, and if she didn’t face her friends and family now, she didn’t think she’d ever be able to look them in the eye again.
The decision made, she blinked away her tears and lifted her chin proudly. “No, I’ll talk to the guests. They were invited to my wedding, and I should be the one who talks to them.”
“Says who?”
“You don’t owe anyone anything.”
“Are you sure you want to do this, dear? It won’t be easy.”
Even as her mother cautioned her, Merry knew she understood this was something she had to do. Thomas was the bad guy here, and she wasn’t going to hide away like she had something to be ashamed of. The light of battle glinting in her sapphire eyes, she rose purposefully to her feet. “I’m sure. And I’m not cancelling the reception, either. It’s already been paid for, and everyone’s expecting a party. They’re going to have one.”
“What?!”
“You can’t be serious!”
“Maybe somebody should call a doctor. I don’t think she’s in any condition to be making these kind of decisions.”
Joe scowled at Stella, shutting her up with a single hard glare, and turned to Merry. Struggling to hang on to his patience, he was frustrated and furious with Thomas, and his control snapped. “Dammit, Merry, no one will expect you to go through with the damn reception. It’s crazy. So just hush and let us take care of things!”
At any other time, she would have snapped back. This wasn’t the Dark Ages and she didn’t have to hush and go meekly along with whatever the men in the family wanted. But he was upset and concerned and, like everyone else, more than a little emotional. And for that, she could forgive him. But she was still going through with the reception.
Love squeezing her heart, she pulled him close for a fierce hug, then quickly stepped free before she dissolved in tears. “I know you’re just trying to protect me, and I appreciate it,” she said with a smile that wasn’t quite steady. “But I’ve made up my mind and I’m not going to change it. Tell Lizzie and Angel the reception’s a go.” And not giving anyone a chance to argue further, she turned and sailed out of the dressing room with the train of her wedding dress trailing behind her.
Muttering among themselves
