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Avery tried to adjust enough to keep the sleeping baby on top of her comfortable but allow her movement to drink. The evening was sublime with the roaring fire surrounded by friends. Just enough crispness in the fall air tonight, to make a jacket necessary.
“You found the dresses for the attendants,” Mary said to Margaret, just a few seats down.
“We did. They are this deep red and have muffs,” Margaret said with this dreamy look.
“And the ones for our side are hunter green,” Belle noted.
“They were gorgeous,” Stormi said, “I was torn about which I like better, but since I’m standing with Belle, I have to go green,” she said with a sorry expression Margaret’s direction.
“No worries,” she said, but did suddenly look directly at Avery. “I do have a couple of sorority sisters standing with me, and my best friend being married alongside me,” she said, reaching over to squeeze Belle’s hand.
“I can’t wait,” Avery said. She had been there when they found the dresses and could attest; they were the prettiest things she had ever seen.
“I would hope not,” Margaret said, as she glanced at Belle with a grin, “because we would like to know if you could stand on Belle’s side?”
“At the wedding?” Avery was shocked.
She had not been at the ranch all that long, and so had been grateful for the blossoming friendships. This was too much, though, and made her tear up.
“We want everyone important to us involved,” she added.
“I would be honored.”
She tried to wipe the tear away casually.
“Good, because the sample you tried on, we ordered it in your size,” Belle said, with the biggest smile on her face.
“Oh, my goodness! That off the shoulder look is divine,” Avery said with true shock. “Thank you both so much, I would hug you, but,” she looked down at Jayne, splayed across her chest asleep.
“We get it,” they said in unison.
The wedding of Margaret and Belle on Christmas Eve was going to be the event of the year. The excitement and planning were in full gear.
“They have me doing some additional work in the big old barn on the back half of the hayfield,” Scout interjected as he sat down in the empty chair to Avery’s left. “I think it will be perfect for the wedding and reception afterward.”
“We are hoping that if it works well as a venue, we are going to maybe add event planning as a supplement to our offerings here in the future in that space,” Margaret replied.
“I think with the snow on the ground, and that setting,” Avery could visualize this chic yet country wedding, and it made her heart ache a bit for the lack of memories of her wedding.
“Penny for your thoughts,” Scout said, quietly.
“I was just thinking about my wedding,” she sighed. “Michael was getting deployed, and it was just like any other Wednesday except we stopped in at the courthouse for lunch, said our vows, and I was back to work by1pm. He shipped out the next day.”
“Ouch, not very romantic,” he replied with a grimace.
“Had you dated a long time?”
“We had been friends since elementary school and then dated beginning our sophomore year of high school. He did basic training right after we graduated, and then he moved for additional training a long-distance away. We took four-day weekends and trips to see each other, but after a time, the marriage thing was more convenient for privileges and insurance, so we decided to tie the knot. It was just a progressive thing, not this big romantic gesture like a wedding entails.”
“I know a lot of guys in the service that had to sneak in a wedding between deployments or missions,” he said, sitting back and looking up at the stars.
“Have you ever been engaged or married?”
He let out a breath heavily, “nope. It was not fair to ask someone always to be waiting, expecting the worst. Besides, I was always on the move and did not have time for the commitment a relationship would take. I purposefully tried to keep things professional because I did not want to leave anyone with the wrong impression. It worked for close to a decade, but it can be a lonely existence. So here I am now, trying to put down new roots.”
“Margaret told me you agreed to stay on.”
“I did. There is nowhere else I would rather be, and I kind of shock myself with that thought. I loved the travel, meeting new people, and being part of the larger world. Now I realize the importance of grounding myself to one place, and maybe,” he turned just slightly to capture her gaze, “I might stand still long enough to find that special someone.”
Avery found herself unable to look away for the longest moment, but her mind finally won. “I hope you do. Everyone deserves to be happy, and Little Bend has quite a number of eligible sweet women.”
“You’re not going to throw your hat in the ring?”
“No. I had my chance at love, and it didn’t end as well as I would have liked. With my work, Jayne, and everything else going on, I’m certain you can find a lot of less baggage laden women around.”
“Hmmm, I don’t think Jayne is as big a deterrent as you think. I mean, I love vertically challenged, slobbering, sweet humans.”
“Jayne doesn’t slobber as much as Bobo,” Matthew joined in the conversation.
Bobo was a black Labrador that had free rein of the ranch and loved all humans. Loved licking them to death, that is.
“You are right, Matthew,” Scout said. “You are so right.”
“I helped Scout down at the barn make steps so that little kids can see horses and animals,” Matthew said to Avery with pride in his puffed-out chest and eyes.
“He sure did. Matthew is great at carving and made cute hearts and other cutouts on the stools.”
“I thought kids would like that,” Matthew said. “Babe climbed up and tested them out for me, and she didn’t fall, so I think they will be good.”
Avery watched the interaction between Scout and Matthew, and once again found her heart constricting. Her words may be telling this sweet man she was not interested, but her heart kept trying to talk her into another direction. As Jayne stirred and looked up at her, she realized she had drooled all over the front of her jacket, Avery found herself remembering his words about slobbering humans. Man, she might need to find out if they offered vaccines for all the sweet things he fed her; if not, she was afraid she might become afflicted with a bad case of being in love with the man.
