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Scottlyn Rich should have listened to what her stomach tried to tell her that morning. She jolted to consciousness when the mattress convulsed around her, and giggles split the silence. Keeping her eyes closed for a second, she tried to capture the remnants of the dream that had troubled her sleep. Not really a nightmare, but—
"Mommy, wake up!"
Tiny hands framed Scottlyn's face, and a perfect rosebud mouth pressed a kiss to her lips. "You need to get up. We're getting weddinged today."
Scottlyn rolled to her side and tucked her three-year-old daughter close. She frowned and peered into tiny sky-blue eyes. "Weddinged?"
Mercie shook her head. "You told Gramma Diana that you had to get dressed for our wedding today 'cause Grant is marrying us."
"Silly girl." Scottlyn walked her fingers from the bottom of Mercies ribs to her collarbone, grinning when the child squirmed beneath the tickling. "We aren't getting weddinged today. I'm going to go look for our dresses, and you're spending the day with Grandma Penny."
Mercie's grin went to a scowl. "I want to marry Grant today."
Scottlyn pointed to the calendar on the wall across the room. The first five days in June were covered over with bright red Xs. "Just sixty-seven more days, if you'll go cross off today."
The three-year-old scrambled out of the bed. "Yay!"
Scottlyn moved a little slower, still unable to explain the uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach that continued to prick at the edges of a much-anticipated day.
In the kitchen, Diana Kensington, surrogate mother and grandmother, flipped pancakes onto plates. Mercie pulled free of her mother's hand and ran to attach herself to Diana's leg.
"I get to marry Grant in just sixty-seben more days!"
Diana reached down and gave the child a quick hug. "He's a lucky guy. Hop into your chair, missy. Breakfast is ready."
Mercie raced to the table and climbed into the pub style chair like a monkey. Scottlyn shook her head. Her daughter had entered the world with all the aplomb of a freight train. She continued to have only two speeds, asleep or wired.
Diana brought the pancakes to the table with a bit more dignity while Scottlyn poured coffee and milk. "I wish I had that much energy."
"You and me both," Scottlyn said.
Diana sat and studied Scottlyn over her coffee cup. "You need energy? I thought you'd be bouncing off the walls today."
Scottlyn frowned. "I didn't sleep well."
"Bad dream?"
"Not that I can remember." She drizzled syrup onto Mercie's breakfast. "I can't put my finger on it. But I'm still a little twitchy."
Diana patted her hand. "You're shopping for your wedding dress today and having dinner with..." She paused, cutting her eyes to the little girl struggling to cut up a pancake. She reached across to help.
Mercie pushed Diana's hand away and flashed a syrupy smile. "I do it."
"Yes ma'am, miss independent." She looked back to Scottlyn. "You're shopping for your wedding dress and having dinner with your F.A.T.H.E.R. That's enough to twist anyone's stomach into knots."
"I guess." Scottlyn thought about the man who'd tossed her out of his home almost four years earlier when she'd refused to abort the baby planted in her by a rapist. They'd not spoken since before Mercie was born, until he'd called last week. She closed her eyes. Father, please let this mean that he's ready for us to be a family again. I'd love for him to have a relationship with Mercie. You gave me Diana when I needed her most. I love her and I'm grateful, but I long to have Dad back in my life. If only I knew where my mother was... Scottlyn allowed the prayer to trail off. My mother? Where did that come from?
"Scottlyn?"
Scottlyn jerked back to the present. "Sorry. I'm trying to be hopeful without getting my hopes up." She forked a bite of pancake and smeared it around in the syrup on her plate. "He sounded...different when we talked. If I knew for sure he'd called to make peace, I'd call him right now and offer to have lunch instead of dinner." She glanced at Mercie. "But I have to go slowly. I have more than just me to consider."
Diana sipped her coffee. "I hope he's come to his senses for your sake, but let's deal with first things first. You've been looking at dresses online and in magazines for months. Do you have any idea what you want?"
Scottlyn swallowed back the remains of her nerves. Diana was right. There was a lot on her plate today and taking one thing at a time was the best advice. "Not a clue, but between you, me, and Grant's mother, I'm sure we'll come up with something."
Nine discarded dresses later, the something she'd been so certain of still eluded her. She stepped out of the dressing room wearing number ten, arms held out to her sides, her bottom lip clenched in her teeth.
Diana and Melissa Weber, mother of the groom, both gasped.
"Wow," Diana said. "Simple but elegant."
Melissa moved her finger in a circular motion prompting Scottlyn to turn around.
Scottlyn obliged, trying to look in all of the mirrors at the same time. The dress left her arms bare and fell to the floor in drapes of sheer fabric that floated when she moved. The back featured a row of tiny buttons that marched up from her hips to the base of her neck. The front of the dress transitioned from a rounded neck to a fitted waist and fell to the floor in delicate waves.
"You look like a princess," Diana said.
"It's a gorgeous dress." The sales clerk nodded to a display of colorful scarves. "It's designed to be belted to match the groom's cummerbund."
"What a wonderful way to accent," Melissa said.
"Do you like it?" Diana asked. "Because I think it's stunning."
Scottlyn relaxed her arms and smoothed her hands down the skirt. "It took the clerk twenty minutes to button me into it."
"Worth every second," Melissa told her. "Women only get to be a new bride once. Something so momentous should be a thoughtful and time consuming process."
Scottlyn faced the bank of mirrors a second time. She stood on her tiptoes, bundled up her long blonde hair, and imagined it clasped back with the combs that belonged to her mother. It is beautiful.
She remembered the price tag hanging on a hook in the fitting room and closed her eyes while her stomach sank. Beautiful but hardly practical. Surely there was something in this store just as lovely with a more attractive price tag.
She smiled at the clerk. "Thanks for your help. I don't mean to waste your time. But let's try the next one."
Diana took a few steps forward and cupped Scottlyn's chin in her hand. "You didn't answer my question. Do you like it?"
Scottlyn looked into the eyes of the woman who'd rescued her three-and-a-half years ago. The woman who'd made a home for her and her unborn child. The woman who'd become the mother she'd never had and a grandmother to Mercie. The woman who'd done way too much for her already.
The dress was perfect.
The dress was too much to ask for.
"This is an awesome dress. Grant and I have been saving for our wedding for two years. I have a generous dress budget, but this one is way over the limit."
Diana stared at Scottlyn before looking over her shoulder and addressing Melissa. "Did you hear anyone in this room mention money?"
"Nope," Melissa said.
"May I?" Diana asked.
"Be my guest." Melissa stepped to Diana's side and reached out to finger the sheer fabric.
Scottlyn frowned and looked from one woman to the other.
"Melissa and I have been saving as well." Diana began. "We knew that you and Grant planned to fund this wedding on your own. We think that's a great plan, and you've worked really hard, but—"
"I hope you don't think we're trying to meddle." Melissa twisted her hands at her waist.
"But," Diana continued. "We want you to have this dress, if it's the one you want."
Scottlyn studied the hopeful expressions of the two most important women in her life. I can't let them... "Thanks, you two, but Grant and I promised each other...
Diana held up a finger. "Melissa, I believe this is your cue."
Melissa dug deep into her bag, extracted her cell phone, and swiped the screen. She turned it to face Scottlyn and touched the play icon on the video. Grant's face popped to life, his dark eyes crinkled with laughter, his perfect mouth formed a wide grin.
"Hi, sweetheart. Buy the dress."
Melissa grinned. "We had a talk with Grant last night. We convinced him to let us help with this one thing. That's why we insisted that you try it on despite the price tag that you almost fainted over."
"We also videoed his answer so you'd believe us." Diana put her hands on Scottlyn's shoulders and turned her back to face the mirrors. "When you walk down the aisle in sixty-seben days, you'll be the most beautiful bride Sabor, Oklahoma, has ever seen. Grant's good with it. Will you let us help?"
Diana's mimicking of Mercie's excitement lightened the mood and drew a burst of laughter from Scottlyn. She wrapped an arm around each woman and hugged them to her sides. Before she could answer, a ringtone sounded from Scottlyn's purse in a chair across the room.
Melissa motioned with her head. "I'll bet that's my son now, calling to give you personal permission."
Scottlyn hiked up the skirt of the dress, stepped across to the row of chairs, and pulled out her phone. She swiped it open without looking. "We found the perfect dress."
"Is this Scottlyn Rich?"
She blinked her eyes at the unfamiliar voice. "I'm sorry" She glanced at her screen, saw a number she didn't recognize, and lifted the phone to her ear again. "Yes, this is Scottlyn Rich."
"Ms. Rich, My name is Arnold Lewis. I'm calling from Bridge Park Hospital."
Scottlyn sank into the chair. The skirt rustled and billowed around her. Mercie...Grant... "What...?"
"I'm sorry to deliver this news over the phone, but your father's neighbor found him unconscious this morning. He was transported here by ambulance. We believe he's suffered an aneurysm."
The phone slipped from her fingers as the uneasiness in her stomach solidified into a cold block of panic. It hit the carpeted floor with a muffled thud. She left it there as she sprang up and tried to reach the row of tiny buttons on the back of the dress.
"Help me get out of this dress."
The older women hurried to her side. "Scottlyn, what...?"
The buttons eluded Scottlyn's trembling fingers. "Please. That was someone at Bridge Park Hospital. They just admitted Dad."
"Oh, sweetheart." Diana stepped behind her, and Scottlyn felt the older woman's fingers moving down the row of buttons. Melissa stepped away, her phone pressed to her ear. Hopefully Grant was on the other end.
Imprisoned by the dress, Scottlyn twisted her fingers at her waist and closed her eyes. Jesus, please. Touch Daddy. The moment she felt the dress sag from her shoulders, Scottlyn gathered up the skirt and rushed back to the fitting room. When she came out a few minutes later, clad in jeans and a T-shirt, Diana and Melissa were waiting by the door with their bags.
"Did someone call Grant?"
"He'll meet us at Bridge Park." Melissa said.
Diana pressed Scottlyn's phone into her hand as they left the bridal shop behind. "Did they say what happened?"
Scottlyn slid into the back seat of Melissa's car. "A neighbor found him unconscious and called an ambulance, that's all I know." She looked up at Diana through a film of tears. "He has to be OK." She drew in a shuddering breath. "I should have called him this morning."
***
GRANT TOOK THE CHILLED hands of his fiancé and tried to rub some warmth into them. "Tell me what you need me to do."
Scottlyn pulled one of her hands free and swiped at her nose. When she responded, her voice was no more than a despondent whisper. "I don't know."
Grant pulled her close and dropped a kiss on the crown of her head. His heart ached to see Scottlyn so lost and hurt. Jesus, please comfort her right now. Please show me how to help her.
Scottlyn turned into his chest. "I just wish...I wish I'd called him this morning when I thought about it. What if I could have been there for him when he needed someone? If I'd been there, maybe help would have reached him in time to save him."
Grant's lips flattened into a thin line. Like he was there for you when you needed someone? He bit back the thought. Instead, he shifted on the leather couch in the lobby of the funeral home and held her away from him so that he could look into her tear-stained blue eyes. "Sweetheart, there is always something we think we could have, would have, or should have done differently. Dwelling on those things right now will make you crazy." He shuffled through the feelings in his head and tried to dredge up something that would comfort and help. "Would you have been there if he'd asked you to be?"
Scottlyn nodded.
"Then that's what you need to hang on to. He asked to have dinner with you tonight, and you were willing to do that." He wiped a tear from her cheek with a thumb. "We don't get to see the future, babe." He pulled her close again. "That's God's job, and right now, we just have to trust that He has a plan." The words sounded lame coming out of his mouth, but it was the best he could do under the circumstances. The man hadn't done Scottlyn any favors. Father or not, other than concern over Scottlyn's obvious grief, Grant couldn't seem to work up any genuine sorrow over someone who'd yanked Scottlyn's world out from under her when she'd needed stability the most. Maybe, if Grant could distract her with the necessities, she'd get her feet under her.
"Did you call his lawyer? Right now you need access to insurance paperwork and the house." Something she'd have if the man had been the father she deserved. Grant swallowed the thought and willed the negative aside. Some of that was going to spill past his lips if he wasn't careful. He wanted to help Scottlyn, not cause her more pain.
Scottlyn's breath shuddered against his chest. "I left a message with the lawyer's secretary. Harold Cole is an old family friend. I know he'll get back with us as soon as he can."
She sat up, and Grant followed her gaze to a somber man dressed in black seated at the desk in the next room. "The staff has been so kind, I just...I don't know what to do until I talk to Mr. Cole."
As if conjured by Scottlyn's words, the outside door opened, and a short, balding man sporting a handlebar moustache and wearing a dark suit stepped through. He looked around, spotted Scottlyn, and hurried in their direction.
Scottlyn scrambled from the couch and met him halfway. The man put his hands on her shoulders and whispered something Grant couldn't hear before pulling Scottlyn into his arms for a quick embrace. When he stepped away, Scottlyn caught his hand and led him to the couch.
"Mr. Cole, I want you to meet Grant Weber, my fiancé. Grant, this is Daddy's lawyer, Harold Cole."
The portly older gentleman held out a hand. "Good to meet you." He studied Grant with shrewd brown eyes. "You're Brent Weber's son, aren't you?"
Grant returned the handshake. "Yes, sir. You know my dad?"
"Sabor's law community is a small pool, young man. Your father and I have been legal opponents as well as allies more than once over the years. He's a good man. Please give him my regards."
Grant nodded.
"Well." The lawyer turned his attention back to Scottlyn. "This is an unexpected and sorry business. I know you have questions. Tell me how I can help."
Scottlyn sat down and motioned to the chair next to the sofa. "I guess you know about the...problems between me and my dad?"
The older man nodded.
Scottlyn tilted her head at the gentleman still seated at the desk in the next room. "I don't know how to answer any of their questions. They need information about Dad's life insurance policy. Did he have burial arrangements made someplace? The hospital is looking for health insurance info. I need..."
Her voice broke, and Grant took her hand.
"I need to get a suit out of his closet. The next door neighbor locked the door behind the EMTs this morning, and I know Daddy changed the locks on the house right after..." Scottlyn leaned forward and put her face in her hands. "This wasn't supposed to happen. We were scheduled to have dinner tonight. I hoped he'd forgiven me..."
The lawyer leaned forward and stopped Scottlyn's flow of words with a hand on her knee. "Forgiven you? Dear child, it was your father who needed forgiveness."
Grant raised his eyebrows. He couldn't speak the truth to Scottlyn, but maybe Harold Cole could.
Scottlyn raised her head, and the old lawyer continued. "Your father was my friend since before you were born, but I never agreed with the way he handled the...your...situation. There is nothing I can say to make it better, but I can say that your mother's desertion made William Rich bitter in ways even he didn't even understand. Your father was a man of deep feelings. He never quite got over losing Jocelyn. I can't believe he pushed you and his grandchild out of his life but never divorced the woman who left you both behind without a word."
"Wait a minute." Grant frowned. "They're still married...after all these years?"
Harold nodded. "I drew up divorce papers a dozen times over the years. William refused to sign them every time. Deep down, I think he hoped she'd come back to him. I never understood it."
He sat back. "Now, on to business. As for insurance, I have copies of your father's health and life insurance policies at the office. I'll forward those to the appropriate parties first thing in the morning. Rest easy, he had more than enough to give him a proper send off." He slipped a hand in his pocket and pulled out a key ring with two keys. He held them out to Scottlyn. "This is a key to the house and one to his safe deposit box. The house is yours now to do with as you please—"
"How...? I thought..."
The lawyer looked from Scottlyn to Grant and back. "Scottlyn, you are his sole heir and beneficiary. Despite his rash actions, I know your father loved you very much. Just like he could never sign divorce papers, he never revised his will. The mortgage is paid, and in your mother's continued absence, the house belongs to you.”