a pleasant distraction. “I flew over your new house on my way through town. It looks great.”
“Yeah?” Matt opened the door at the end of the upstairs hallway. “I’ve been working so much, I haven’t seen it in daylight since last week.”
“The roof was going on.” Ridge laid his suit carrier across the foot of the bed. “I like the siding. Who decided on light green?”
“We both did. Caty wanted yellow, I wanted blue, so we settled on green.”
Just saying her name eased the tension from his voice, and Ridge congratulated himself on breaking Matt out of his funk.
“You’re really happy, aren’t you?” Ridge asked, even though he knew the answer. It was written all over the guy’s face.
“Yeah.” He added a wry grin. “Me and a lawyer. Who’d’ve figured on that?”
Ridge made a show of thinking that one over, and they both burst out laughing. It was a good start to the day.
* * *
The morning flew by in a blink and before Marianne knew it, she and Lisa were standing in their places waiting for Caty to come down the aisle. Refusing to choose between them, the bride had cleverly solved the problem by making them her “sisters of honor.” Unconventional, but Marianne appreciated her coming up with a solution that wouldn’t hurt anyone’s feelings.
Angling a glance to her right, Marianne decided her little sister looked like a rosebud. They were wearing the same pink dress, but Lisa’s chandelier earrings sparkled in the sunlight, and the tiny roses and baby’s breath she’d eased into her French braid were the perfect touch.
After Emily skipped down the aisle and joined them, Marianne rested a hand on the bouncing flower girl’s shoulder to keep her in one spot. The guitarist strummed the first chords of the wedding march, prompting everyone to stand and look expectantly toward the front porch.
There, beneath swags of roses and hibiscus, the bride smiled up at the father she hadn’t even known a year ago. As they made their way toward the flower-draped arbor, Ridge tapped Matt’s shoulder and leaned in to say something. Whatever it was made her brother grin like an idiot, and Marianne sent up a desperate plea for divine intervention in getting them to behave themselves for just ten more minutes. Since Matt was the oldest Sawyer, she’d never had much luck being a mother hen to him in the past. Still, miracles happened every day.
Like the one that had brought Matt and Caty together in the first place.
In the past year, they’d navigated a long, rough road. Now they stood in the same spot where her parents, Ethan and Jan Sawyer, were married thirty-five years ago. The couple repeated their vows back to Pastor Charles in clear, confident voices. Despite their obvious differences, Marianne believed with all her heart that they really were meant for each other.
She wished their parents had lived long enough to see Matt so happy.
A warm breeze rustled through the roses climbing over the archway, releasing the sweet scent of the pink-and-white blossoms to mix with the hyacinth and jasmine in the garden surrounding them. Fifty-three guests were there, smiling and snapping pictures from every angle. Today really was perfect, she thought with a smile. She couldn’t have asked for anything more.
When Matt turned to Ridge for Caty’s ring, Marianne’s sunny mood took a sudden dive. The best man’s crazy—and unexpected—arrival had put her more on edge than she needed to be. As if she didn’t have enough to worry about, now she’d have a stranger wandering around the farm for the next two weeks until he headed back to Colorado. She’d get Matt for that one, she promised herself.
After less than a minute with Ridge, she’d pegged him as disorganized and cocky. Although she had to admit the phone call to his mom had netted him some points. A grown man who so obviously loved his mother couldn’t be all bad.
And no woman with a pulse could help noticing that his tall, solid frame looked as good in his crisp gray suit as it had in jeans and a leather bomber jacket. Or that his hazel eyes had little flecks of gold in them that sparkled in the sunlight.
Unfortunately, Peter Weston had taught her that looks could be crushingly deceiving. And despite all of Ridge’s good points, Marianne couldn’t get past the aggravation he’d already caused her. Coming in late with a crazy flying display that nearly gave her a heart attack was just the start. Then there was the mock RSVP that caused her to waste money on a catered meal for his plane. No doubt about it, Marianne decided as the ceremony wound down.
Ridge Collins was walking trouble.
While Matt and Caty sealed their vows with a long kiss, everyone stood to applaud and cheer. Caty turned, and Marianne dutifully handed over her bouquet of pink-and-white roses.
“We’ve been friends forever, and now we’re sisters!” Caty exclaimed, embracing first Marianne and then Lisa. “How cool is that?”
“Very cool,” Lisa agreed as the two of them exchanged a very unladylike high five.
“Excuse me.” Matt stepped in and tapped his new bride on the shoulder.
When he motioned down the aisle, she laughed and took his arm to make their ceremonial first walk as man and wife. After they rounded the corner of the house, he swept her up in a hug, giving her a kiss that seemed to go on forever.
When she realized she was spying on them, Marianne turned away to give them some privacy.
And straight into the best man.
Ridge offered her his arm. Still agitated by her conflicting impressions of him, she quickly invented an excuse for not taking it. “The kids are saving you a seat, so go ahead and sit down. I’ll join you after I see if the caterers need anything.”
“Sure. Let me know if I can help.”
People were settling in for their meal, and she watched the new Mr. and Mrs. Sawyer make their way through the garden, stopping at each table to talk with their guests. Tears stung her eyes, and she took a deep breath to calm her churning emotions. She was happy for them. Thrilled, actually. She wouldn’t let her baffling reaction to the best man or memories of her own failed marriage ruin this day for two people she loved so much.
She’d had her chance, and it hadn’t worked out. That didn’t mean Matt and Caty were destined for heartache.
Please, God, she prayed silently. Bless them with a long, happy life together.
* * *
Late that afternoon, Matt and Caty said goodbye to their last wedding guest. Marianne expected them to be as exhausted as she was, but they seemed to have caught a second wind. After hugs and thank-you’s for everyone, they climbed into Matt’s enormous blue pickup. Streamers and cans flying along behind them, they drove around the circular drive, waving out the windows before heading toward the main road in a cloud of dust.
The silence they left behind was deafening.
The family just stood there, watching the truck go down the highway until it disappeared over a hill. For fifteen years, they’d waited and prayed for Matt to come back from wherever his wanderlust had taken him. Their father’s unexpected death had finally brought him home, and Caty’s love had kept him there.
But
