chance if he’s half the man his father seems to think he is. Of course, if Olan doesn’t know the truth about the engagement, it makes me wonder what else he might not know about his son.”
“Plenty, I’m sure.”
As for giving Chris a second chance at breaking her heart...she wasn’t that crazy.
I can’t believe I’m doing this.
Chris stared at the front door of his parents’ house, unwilling to pull the doorbell and begin this evening’s charade. It was one thing to pretend the woman he’d asked to marry him had never ended their engagement. It was another thing entirely to parade a lie before his parents’ faces. He wanted to turn around, go back to his apartment above the mercantile and forget any of this had ever happened.
“Steady.” The low whisper from Adelaide’s stepfather meant the man understood Chris’s struggle. Adelaide must have told him the truth. Now the only people in the dark were Chris’s parents and younger brothers. He rolled his shoulders as though that might free him from the ever-growing burden of guilt resting there. It didn’t.
He pulled in a deep breath, then rang the doorbell. A few moments later, Chris’s mother opened the door and immediately enveloped Adelaide into a hug. “You’ve finally come, and you’re staying for supper. What a wonderful surprise! You’re so grown-up and even more lovely than before. Wouldn’t you agree, Chris?”
His gaze skimmed from the fancy chignon of her auburn hair to her lacy cream blouse and dark blue skirt before he managed to catch himself. “She’s always been beautiful.”
Adelaide’s lashes lowered demurely as a hint of a blush appeared on her cheek. “Thank you, both. It’s lovely to see you, too. Marta Johansen, I’d like you to meet my stepfather, Everett Holden.”
After their parents exchanged pleasantries, Chris glanced down the main hall in search of his siblings. Usually the boys came rushing to greet him as soon as he stepped inside the door. “Where is everyone, Ma?”
“They’re waiting in the parlor.”
He headed toward the double doors across the hall. “Why are the doors closed?”
“Just a moment.” His mother rushed around him to stand in front of the doors. “Adelaide, would you come and stand beside Chris? Thank you. Now, Mr. Holden, I’ll need help with the other door. Slide it to the left on the count of three.”
Chris frowned. “Ma—”
“One.”
“What is—”
“Two.”
“—going on?”
“Three!”
The doors slid away. The rich, unmistakable strains of “The Wedding March” crashed over them. His mouth fell open at the sight before him. The parlor had been decked out with all manner of decorations. The largest and most prominent was the banner above the fireplace that read “Congratulations!” in Hans’s big, slightly uneven letters. The little boy’s grin was so big that he kept missing the notes on his flute. Next to him, Viktor played his cello while offering them a much shyer smile. August winked at Chris as he dramatically swayed in time with the mellow tones of his viola. Sophia caught his eye as she ran her fingers across the string of her harp while mouthing two words. “I’m sorry.”
As usual, his father served as conductor for the quartet and soon brought the music to an end. Everyone looked at Chris with such pride and expectation. He had no idea how to respond. Adelaide saved him from having to figure it out by clapping for the ensemble. “That was absolutely beautiful! What a wonderful welcome. I can’t believe how much all of y’all have grown.”
His brothers rushed forward to greet her. Viktor and August remembered her well. Hans was eager to meet her again. Sophia’s greeting was a bit less enthusiastic. She alone knew just how much Chris had been hurt by Adelaide’s rejection. As their brothers continued to monopolize Adelaide’s attention, Sophia sidled over to Chris. She gave him a congratulatory hug that was really just an excuse for her to whisper, “I’ve been praying for you since I heard. I would have come over to see you, but Ma kept me busy preparing all of this.”
“It’s all right. I—” The doorbell interrupted him. Marta rushed to answer it. Chris turned to his father for explanation. “Is someone else joining us for dinner?”
“Yes, indeed.”
The satisfaction in Olan’s tone put Chris on alert. “Pa, you know I don’t like surprises.”
His father simply clasped him on the shoulder without saying a word. Chris stiffened as their guest walked in. Pastor Brightly took one look at the parlor and grinned. Tucking the book he carried beneath his arm, the man rubbed his palms together. “All right, then. Who’s ready for a wedding?”
His brothers cheered. Chris shook his head to clear it. Surely—surely this was a nightmare he would awaken from at any second. Adelaide’s gaze connected with his from across the room and the panic in her eyes was undeniably real. They’d been ambushed. There was no way out but the truth.
Adelaide didn’t quite seem to understand that. She sounded genuinely troubled as she said, “Oh, but I couldn’t possibly get married without my mother present.”
“I agree,” Mr. Holden said, looking decidedly unamused by the turn of events.
Sophia took Hans’s hand and shooed the other boys toward the kitchen. “Let’s all go check on the cake, boys. Perhaps it’s cool enough to frost.”
Once Chris’s siblings left, Pastor Brightly searched the faces of everyone left in the room. “Is there a problem?”
“Yes, there is a problem.” Finally finding his voice, Chris crossed the room to stand beside Adelaide, then addressed his parents. “Y’all cannot possibly expect us to agree to a wedding with absolutely no warning.”
Olan gave a tired sigh. “One would think that a five-year engagement is warning enough.”
Marta went to place a comforting hand on her husband’s back. “Adelaide and Mr. Holden, I understand your objections to having the wedding without Rose present, but you can always have another ceremony later. You also must remember that Rose has not approved of Chris for the past five years. I see little reason to hope that she will change her mind about my son unless she has the opportunity to get to know him as her son-in-law.”
“I agree with my wife. I would also like to point out that if a young lady truly loved my son no one would be able to persuade her not to marry him.”
If Chris hadn’t already been watching Adelaide, he would have missed the hurt that flared in her eyes before her lashes lowered to cover them. Her voice trembled slightly, betraying her high emotions. “And you, Pa? What do you have to say about all of this?”
“Adelaide, you are old enough to know your own mind. It’s your decision to make—yours and Chris’s.”
That was not the response that
