she promised softly. “We’ll talk later.”
At his slight nod, she turned away to take her place on the opposite side of the minister. When she turned back, the music swelled and she shifted her gaze to the arbor just as Mary Claire stepped beneath the arch.
She watched, emotion tightening her chest, as her friend and soon to be sister-in-law started that slow, life-changing walk down the carpet, unaware of the drama that had just taken place. Once Mary Claire had laced her arm through Harley’s, Leighanna followed, her gaze never once wavering from the man who stood at Harley’s right
Reggie shifted her gaze to look at him. Hank Braden. She didn’t know him, at least not personally, but like everyone else who’d ever lived in Temptation, she knew him by reputation. You better be good to her, she warned silently as Leighanna took her place at his side.
The harpist ran her fingers across the strings, then pressed them, silencing the harp as the minister opened his Bible. “Dearly beloved,” he began. “We are gathered here...”
Then, and only then, did Reggie find the courage to look farther, to the man who stood at Harley and Hank’s right.
Cody.
Her heart stuttered to a stop at the sight of him, then kicked into a rib-rattling beat. Like the two friends he stood up for, he was breathtakingly handsome, dressed in a dark western-cut suit and crisp white shirt, his hair freshly trimmed and slick against his head. She’d forgotten how handsome he looked in a suit, for the memories she had locked away in her heart were steeped in jeans and boots, a cowboy hat that changed with the seasons and a warm, lazy smile that had always had the power to both arouse and comfort her.
At the innocent age of seventeen, she’d thought him grown, mature... a man. As she looked at him, she realized how childish, how foolish her assessment had been, for it was a man who stood before her now. His shoulders had broadened over the years, his chest had filled out, and even from beneath the camouflage of his suit she could see the increased strength in his muscled arms and legs.
He’d changed so much...and yet so little. Now, like then, she found herself wanting to lean against that strength, to let those muscled arms envelop her as they had so many times in the past, offering comfort and protection from a life that seemed out of her control.
But Cody seemed unaware of her need. His attention focused on the minister, he listened intently as the vows were exchanged. With all her heart, Reggie willed him to look at her, to let those lips firmed in concentration spread into a welcoming smile directed her way.
But he didn’t. He kept his gaze on the minister, never once glancing her way.
“You may kiss your brides.”
At the minister’s invitation, both Harley and Hank gathered their brides into their arms and kissed them with a fervor that had the guests cheering. Their faces wreathed in smiles, the two couples linked arms and made their way back down the strip of red carpet.
Reggie knew what came next. She’d served as bridesmaid in enough weddings to know the script by heart. She shifted her gaze back to Cody and found him looking at her. Her breath caught in her lungs as gray eyes met hers. She didn’t know what she had expected from him. A sign of welcome, maybe. A yearning for what might have been. Perhaps even a little regret. But never this cool disregard.
He offered her his arm, but she could tell that he did so only out of obligation to his duties as best man.
She tipped up her chin, refusing to give in to the tears that threatened, and slipped her hand through the crook of his arm. Heat flooded her body with an awareness of his nearness as he silently walked her down the strip of carpet. Their hips brushed once. Twice. And Reggie’s heart crowded her throat.
She wouldn’t cry, she told herself. Not now. There’d be plenty of time for crying later.
Cody looked around the kitchen. The wedding guests were gone. Tommy and Jenny had left to make the drive back to their mother’s home in San Antonio. Stephie and Jimmy were knee-deep in a video game in Jimmy’s newly redecorated bedroom. All who remained to celebrate were the newlyweds, Cody...and Regan.
He wanted to kick himself into next month for not paying more attention to the wedding plans when they were discussed. But when the women had started talking colors and flowers, he’d tuned out. Now it was too late to prepare himself for the shock of seeing Regan again. She was here and ready or not, he had to deal with both her and the memories she’d left with him.
Arms folded across his chest, his hip resting against the newly tiled kitchen countertop, Cody felt separate from the group huddled around the table, talking. An outsider. It seemed he’d always been on the outside, looking in.
He’d all but grown up with Harley and Regan. His family, if you could call them that, had lived less than a mile from the Kerrs’ ranch. With no one at home but an alcoholic father, Cody had spent most of his time at the Kerrs’, preferring their company to that of a drunk. The Kerrs had welcomed him to their home and hearts, a gesture Cody would be eternally grateful for, but he’d always been careful to remind himself that he wasn’t truly a member of the family, merely an outsider who had gained entry out of pity.
Even so, he’d grieved with them when Harley’s mother had passed away. Celebrated when Harley’s father had brought a new wife and stepdaughter to live with them. He’d accepted big-brother responsibilities for Regan right along with Harley and tried his best to honor them even when his feelings for Regan changed to less than brotherly ones.
He’d grieved again when Regan’s mother had died. He’d even served as a pallbearer when Harley’s father had been killed in a freak farm accident less than a year after his second wife’s death.
But the pain of those losses paled in comparison with the pain he felt now. Regan. She was home. But for how long?
Though he didn’t belong there, didn’t feel he had the right to sit in on what should be a private family reunion, he couldn’t bring himself to leave, not when there were so many questions to be answered, questions he didn’t have the guts, or the right, to ask. Instead, he stood on the sidelines and listened while the answers unfolded before him.
“I thought you would come for me and drag me home by my hair,” Regan was saying as she shot a teasing glance at her stepbrother.
Harley chuckled. “The thought did cross my mind.” He shook his head, remembering, his smile turning wistful. “But I knew I had to let you go. By law, you were old enough to be out on your own. Besides, you were unhappy here. Forcing you to come back would have only made things worse.” He sighed, reaching to gather Regan’s hand in his larger one. “I’m sorry I didn’t make it easier for you here. I was so damn busy trying to make this ranch pay that I was blind to how bad things were between you and Susan.”
He squeezed her hand. “After I discovered what you’d done, my biggest concern was for your safety. When I found out that you had gone to the bank and withdrawn all the money your mother had left you, I knew that at least you wouldn’t be living on the streets.” He lifted his gaze from their joined hands, his eyes filled with the love and the pride that she remembered. “You were always headstrong, independent. I never doubted that you could take care of yourself, but damn, I missed you.”
Regan’s eyes misted. “And I missed you. You’ll never know how much.”
Harley
