The Wedding Date Disaster (Harbor City 4)

“That’s right, Louise.” PawPaw cheered, raising his arms in the air Rocky style. “I gotcha.”

Aunt Louise rolled her eyes. “Only until next time.”

It was the usual post-family-game-night smack talk, but Hadley barely noticed because Will was right there, his face so close to hers, as he held her up even though they’d stopped spinning. Instead, the room had spun away and it was just them. Awareness crackled between them, electric and enticing as he lowered his mouth—

“Hey, Holt,” Weston said, his voice low.

The shock of her brother’s voice was enough to make her jolt. Slowly, Will lowered her until her feet touched the floor, but he didn’t step away from her.

“Winner has to clean up,” her brother said, his perma-glare around Will on full display before he turned and walked away.

Really, this was ridiculous. She was a grown woman. If she wanted to have a vacation fling or whatever, it was her decision. Not that she was having a fling with Will. It was just a strange mixing of circumstances and didn’t mean anything and—

Still rationalizing, she caught movement in her peripheral vision. Adalyn, her smile wobbly and her nose bright red, stood in the doorway leading to the back stairs, angled so she was hidden from most of the family’s view.

“I’ll be right back,” Hadley said, tilting her head toward the doorway.

Will squeezed her hand. “Go on—I got this.”

Using the cover of the general rambunctiousness that followed a family game night, Hadley made her way over to the doorway and snuck into the hall. She wrapped her arms around her sister and pulled her in tight.

“Adalyn, I’m sorry. I—”

“No,” her sister said, returning the hug. “I’m the one who should be apologizing. This wedding and everything with Derek just has me spinning. It was a stupid idea to try to impress you with the wedding. It all just sort of happened, and I guess I just never outgrew that eight-year-old girl always trying to impress her big sister.”

Hadley stepped back, needing her sister to see her face and understand the truth of it all. “I’m your sister. I’m not judging you. Ever.”

“Of course you’d say that.” Her sister wiped her cheek with the back of her hand. “Everything for you is perfect. You have the ideal big-city life.”

A punch to the gut by Godzilla wouldn’t have hurt as much as realizing how her inability to admit to failure had unintentionally hurt the people she loved most. “Is that what you think?”

Adalyn nodded. “It’s what you tell us.”

“Come on,” she said, grabbing her sister’s hand and leading her down the hall toward Gabe’s office. “We need to talk.”

Chapter Sixteen

Will watched Hadley disappear down the hall with her sister, and the foreign urge to go with her and offer her support had him taking a step forward before he realized what he was doing. However, Gabe’s hand on his arm stopped him, making him look around at the fast emptying living room as all the family members said good night and went to their rooms.

“How about we go have a beer under the stars?” Gabe asked.

It might have been stated as a question, but Will knew better. “Sounds perfect.”

Will followed Hadley’s stepdad out the back door, expecting there to be more family on the patio because there were always people everywhere, it seemed, but they were alone. A rock settled in the bottom of his stomach as he took the beer that Gabe had pulled from the cooler by the picnic table. There was no way this was going to be a friendly little chat.

Gabe took a long pull from his beer and stared out at the land that seemed to go on forever and was held in only by star-filled sky. “My grandfather bought this ranch to give his family a safe place to call their own. Some people thought a guy like him wouldn’t be able to pull it off. They figured he just wasn’t the right shade of person to do that. He proved them wrong.”

Small towns hadn’t cornered the market on small thinking, but it had to be harder out here where a person’s neighbors could be a lifeline or an anchor when things got tough.

Looking out into the dark, Will pictured the ranch as he’d seen it in the day and imagined building it from nothing. “It’s quite a spread.”

“That it is.” Gabe nodded and took another drink, still looking out at all that great open space, shrouded in darkness that didn’t seem to inhibit the man’s ability to see it all. “Not everyone can appreciate its beauty and strength. It’s easy to pass by this country and think there’s nothing here but a moment’s distraction. But for those who take the chance and open themselves up to the possibilities, well, it can change their life. I know it did mine.”

“I can see how that could happen,” Will said, trying to translate the undercurrents in the conversation that obviously was leading somewhere.

“It’s a lot of work,” Gabe continued, finally turning to look at Will. “Sometimes it feels like it’s you against the world, but a place like this makes a man remember what’s important and he vows to love it, help it realize its full potential, and do whatever is needed to protect it from those who would take advantage.”

The man was about as subtle as a midtown bus during rush hour in Harbor City. “We aren’t just talking about the ranch anymore, are we?”