Caught up in her determination to do what she considered the right thing, she would march down the aisle, give a no-nonsense explanation to the overflowing crowd, and invite everyone back to the ranch for the reception. But as she started down the center aisle alone in her wedding dress, she could almost feel the shocked surprise that rippled through the crowd. Row by row, silence fell like a stone as people caught sight of her. By the time she reached the spot where she and Thomas were to have stood to take their vows, the church was so quiet, the very air itself seemed to hum. And every eye was on her.
Her heart pounding, she would have liked nothing more than to turn tail and run. But these were her friends and relatives, people she’d known all her life, and she’d kept them waiting long enough.
Gathering her courage, she faced them squarely, with a forced smile that didn’t come easily. “I imagine you’ve all been wondering what the holdup is, and I can’t say I blame you. We had a few unexpected delays, and now Thomas has decided he doesn’t want to get married today, after all.”
A collective gasp went up from the crowd, along with more than a few less than complimentary comments about Thomas. But it was the sympathy she saw in people’s eyes that almost shattered Merry. Touched, she struggled to hold back tears, but it wasn’t easy. Her throat was tight, her heart hurting, and it was several long moments before she could manage to even talk. And even then, her voice was betrayingly husky with emotion.
“I apologize for keeping you waiting, but I was just as surprised by the turn of events as you are. Needless to say, there won’t be a wedding, but that doesn’t mean you’ll have to miss out on a good party. I’ll meet you back at the ranch in a few moments, and the reception will continue as planned.”
For a moment, there was nothing but stunned silence, then everyone began to whisper. Suddenly, from the back of the church, one of the cowboys who worked at the ranch jumped to his feet and let out a holler that rattled the church’s stained-glass windows. “Does this mean you’re available again, Merry, honey? All right! Can I have the first dance?”
Caught off guard, she had to laugh—she couldn’t help it. A wide grin splitting his face and his blue eyes dancing with excitement, he looked like he’d just discovered there was a Santa Claus after all. “You certainly can, Slim,” she said with a chuckle. “I’d be honored.”
“I want second,” another cowboy called out.
“Hey, I was going to ask her!”
“So what took you so long?”
Flattered, Merry found herself blinking back tears again. “Don’t fight, boys. I’ll be happy to dance with all of you. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to get out of these shoes—they’re killing me! I’ll see all of you back at the ranch.”
She hurried up the aisle before the tears could fall and found her entire family waiting for her at the back of the church. Her sisters-in-law, Elizabeth and Angel, had joined the group, along with Zeke and Elizabeth’s daughter, Casey, and although they didn’t all agree with her decision, they were totally supportive.
Tears glistening in her mother’s eyes, her smile tender with love, she said, “Your father would be so proud of you, dear. I know that wasn’t easy for you.”
“It was the right thing to do,” she said simply. “I’m not going to hide away like I did something I should be ashamed of.”
“If anyone should be ashamed, it should be Cooper,” Zeke said tersely as they all retreated to the dressing room again to wait for the crowd to thin out. “Damn, I’d like to give him a piece of my mind!”
“Don’t worry,” Joe retorted in a low-pitched voice. “He’s going to pay. He’ll have to live with this the rest of his life, and he probably doesn’t even realize it.”
Still furious with his old friend, Nick had to agree. “No, he doesn’t. He’s not thinking at all—he’s panicking. Once he calms down, he’s going to regret this, but by then, it’ll be too late. It’s already too late.”
Nick had to only look at Merry’s pale, drawn face to know just how badly she was hurting. And there was nothing he or anyone else could do to help her. That, more than anything else, frustrated the hell out of him. Tonight should have been her wedding night, the night she’d planned to spend in some secluded, romantic setting with her new husband. Instead, she would dance the evening away with a bunch of drunk cowboys, then spend what was left of the night alone with dreams of what might have been.
Nick didn’t know how she would bear it. No woman deserved that, especially one as kind and caring and beautiful as Merry. She could have graced the cover of any fashion magazine in the world—she was that gorgeous—and Thomas had walked away from her. He must have been out of his mind.
Wishing he could get his old friend alone for just five minutes, he tore at his tie. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I think I’m going to go change out of this monkey suit. This damn tie’s choking me to death.”
Quickly seconding the suggestion, Janey said, “I think that’s an excellent idea. Merry, don’t you want to change? With all that bead work, your dress must weigh a ton. Your suitcase is still in my car. Why don’t you let one of the guys get it for you so you can put on something more comfortable?”
Merry was tempted. Janey was right—the dress was incredibly heavy—and the most beautiful wedding dress she’d ever seen. She’d fallen in love with it at first sight and hadn’t needed to look at any others to know that this was The Dress, the one she’d dreamed of wearing when she walked down the aisle to Thomas. But that dream had turned into a nightmare. And the dress no longer represented her hopes for the future with the man she loved, but his betrayal.
And that was why she wasn’t taking it off. Not yet. With every step, the weight of it tugging at her would remind her of Thomas and just how close she’d come to making the biggest mistake of her life. God, what a fool she was! She’d loved him, trusted him with her heart and soul. And what had he done? Kicked her in the teeth in front of the whole town.
Numb, she still couldn’t believe it. They’d been friends their entire lives—she’d loved him for longer than she could remember. She’d thought she knew him inside and out, better than she knew herself. If someone had told her he was capable of hurting her this way, she would have called them a liar. She would have been wrong.
“No, thanks,” she told Janey. “I’ll just wear this for now. It can’t be returned, so I might as well get some use out of it while I can.”
Her eyes sad, her sister said quietly, “You don’t have to torture yourself this way, Mer. Why don’t you let me take the dress and get rid of it?”
Just that easily, the tears she’d thought she had under control were back, filling her eyes and silently spilling over her leashes. “Maybe later,” she said thickly. “For now, I have to wear it. I have my reasons.”
Afraid she was going to shatter if she didn’t get her emotions under control, she quickly changed the subject and forced a bright smile. “Enough of this. The church has cleared out, so let’s get out of here. We’ve got a party to go to!”
The reception was held at her mother’s house, the large, sprawling family homestead that had been added on to by generations of McBrides over the last century. With porches stretching across the front and back of the house and a huge patio under the trees out back, there was more than enough room to accommodate half the county.
