THE SHEER NUMBER of guests was staggering.
There were probably paw prints on the train of her dress, but it was impossible to rein in Ace, Joker and King, so Bex let it go. Wearing it was a one-time deal, anyway. The dogs were excited with all the extra people around and they went a little wild.
And when it came to the wedding preparation, so had Mrs. A. and Tate’s father. Flowers everywhere. Bouquets overflowing the tents they’d rented and set up next to the house. The horses, more than curious, watched the festivities over the pasture fence.
Babies, children, dogs. Hadleigh, Mel and Tara beaming. Tripp and Spence holding their son and daughter respectively, Tara and the rest of her fitness-center staff. Her parents. And of course, Tate waiting for her by the preacher, with Ben, Adam and Josh at his side.
The afternoon was a blur, but she suspected every wedding was like that for the bride. Her dress, selected with the able assistance of Hadleigh and Mel, wasn’t strapless, after all. It was sleeveless, and full skirted—and it managed to be both elegant and summery.
Champagne toasts, which Tate only participated in once since he’d be driving to the cabin. Mel and Hadleigh were still breastfeeding, so they didn’t take more than a sip, either. In solidarity with her friends and fellow members of the marriage pact, Bex did the same. Then she tossed the bouquet—caught by Junie McFarlane, of all people—and they were out of there.
In her opinion, the reception was more for Tate’s father and Mrs. A. anyhow. Three months ago, they’d taken off for someplace tropical and gotten married and then invited practically the entire state of Wyoming to the reception. This reception.
Now, she, Tate and the boys were on their way north, to the cabin on the lake. And the dogs. Tara had offered to watch them for the week, but the boys had voted that down.
Bex wished she’d changed clothes before they took off, but on the other hand, she wanted to get to the cabin as quickly as possible. Tate did, too. But he’d somehow found an opportunity to change into casual clothes.
“For once, my shoes are the only comfortable thing I’m wearing.” She slipped one off, anyway. “There’s a pair of jeans and sweatshirt in my very near future.”
“If it is any consolation at all, you look beautiful.” Tate had that half smile hovering on his face.
“I notice you managed to sneak into the house and change.” Her tone was accusing. He was wearing jeans, boots and a denim shirt, and she resented how comfortable he looked.
“I wasn’t the glowing bride. No one missed me.”
She took off the other shoe and considered removing her hose. “Well, this is my one and only rodeo. I’m not doing that again.”
“I sure hope so, Mrs. Calder.”
She was Mrs. Tate Calder. She really was. Becca Stuart Calder. Her throat tightened at that realization. She swallowed and then said, “So now both Mrs. A. and I are Mrs. Calder. That’s awkward. What am I supposed to call her?”
“Lettie?”
“Oh, no way.” The boys weren’t paying any attention from the backseat, so she figured that with her long skirt, the hose could go. Why she’d ever worn panty hose in the first place was a mystery to her. “Are you going to call her that? She’s technically your stepmother.”
“And your mother-in-law.”
He had a point there.
It was difficult to grasp. Mrs. A. was her mother-in-law. Hadleigh and Mel thought it was hilarious.
Wriggling discreetly out of her panty hose, she said hopefully, “Why don’t we play a game of Old Maid and the loser gets to decide how to handle it?”
Her husband made a comical face. “In other words, you’d be leaving it up to me? Bex, you’re so cute when you’re trying to be funny. If you want my suggestion, we ask her what she wants to be called, and that’ll settle it. Problem solved.”
The sign for the cabin must have been a casualty of the winter, and at first she assumed Tate had missed the drive, but when he pulled in, she recognized the same quaint little place nestled by the lake. The boys started cheering from the backseat, which launched an excited chorus from the dogs. How they’d crammed themselves in the back, everyone belted in, dogs beneath and between them, was beyond her. But the very idea of Tara keeping those critters had been met with a firm refusal—from Tate, as well.
Boys wanted dogs, dogs wanted boys, argument over.
Josh was thrilled at the prospect of a week with his dog—Joker—who lived at Tate’s ranch. Tara had made it clear that although she couldn’t cope with a dog herself, she appreciated everything Bex and Tate did for her son. Greg was out of the picture finally, having left the state, so their household was calm. Josh had Tate as an honorary father, a responsibility Tate took very seriously.
All three boys were chattering about the fish they expected to catch. How they were going to fish with five people and three large dogs in a boat was another interesting question. It would be a miracle if they didn’t all end up in the lake, but she didn’t trust the dogs alone in someone else’s house yet, so they certainly couldn’t be left outside on their own and the boys didn’t want to stray two steps away from them.
Once Tate had parked, doors opened, dogs and boys tumbled out and scattered, and Bex, in her wedding dress, practically fell out of the truck, no shoes...
But Tate caught her, easily lifting her up. “I’ve got a small surprise.”
“I’m still nervous about surprises,” she warned him, looping an arm around his neck.
“You love the hot tub.”
She did. “So you scored once. Don’t get too confident.”
He carried her to the front door. “You’ll love this one, too, if I can manage this romantic moment first. Here are the keys, mind unlocking?”
She did it, although they were both laughing by the end. The boys had bounded in, pushing her unwieldy long skirt aside, and were arguing about their bunks already, the dogs hopping around.
But when he set her down, she saw her surprise in the tiny kitchen. “Oh, I can’t believe it! Mel made a clock for this place?”
It was designed with the usual artistic genius—a silhouette of the cabin surrounded by trees, the lake represented by tinted glass, the rustic framing... Bex went over to look at it more closely and found herself choking up. “The owners must love it.”
“I’m hoping your expression means the owners do love it.”
She swung around. “What?”
“My friend Russ was interested in selling for the right price. He doesn’t use it often. I thought I’d buy you an outhouse for a wedding present,” he joked, “but he wouldn’t sell just the outhouse, so I had to buy the whole thing. Thanks to the insane competition between Mrs. A. and my father over the stable, I had the money leftover to do it.”
“You bought this cabin?”
“The fish in this lake staged an uprising at the idea of you owning this place, but I went ahead with it, anyway. Anything with fins moved to a different county. And to be precise, I did buy you the outhouse. The cabin happens to come with it.”
“Tate.” She was back in his arms. He really couldn’t have given her a more perfect gift...
A moment later she heard Ben in the background, “Yuck. They’re kissing again.”
“They do that a lot.” Josh also sounded disgusted.
Adam said, “I never want to kiss a girl.”
Tate broke it off, but his hands lingered at Bex’s waist. “You three settle your argument about where you’re going to sleep or do I have to make the decision for you?”
Ben was, as ever, the spokesman. “We got it figured out. Now we want to go down to the lake with the dogs. Can we?”
“With vests, okay? It’s getting dark, though, so make it fast. We’ll go fishing in the morning.”
The congestion at the front door didn’t bode well for the outcome of this excursion as they all tried to exit at once, shoving and elbowing each other. Bex predicted, “I’m going to say two dogs and one boy, minimum, will end up in the lake.”
“I’ll call and raise you another boy.”
“This isn’t a poker game. At least it’s warm out.”
“There’s no question someone’s going to fall.” He was watching her intently. “I sure did.”
She didn’t think they were talking about the boys anymore...
“I love this place.” She was definitely the barefoot bride of Bliss County—although she loved those shoes—and couldn’t wait to shed her bra.
“So do I.”
“I love you.”
“And I love you right back.”
“Help me out of this dress?”
Tate didn’t move a muscle. “We don’t have much time before they come streaming back in, asking for popcorn—I blame you for that—and who knows what else. Plus, I’ll have to feed the mutts so they can grow even bigger, although they rival small calves already. So I don’t have the self-control to help you off with your dress right now.”
“I’m going to be stuck in this forever?”
He consulted the cabin clock. “Stop worrying about that. I might be willing as soon as the boys are settled and the puppies are asleep. You have another hour or so.”
“Might be willing?”
“Let me amend that. You can count on it.” He traced the curve of her breast with a fingertip, his eyes holding a sexy promise for the night ahead. “You were the one who wanted to bring the kids on our honeymoon. Live with the consequences.”
“Like you wouldn’t worry about them if they weren’t right here!”
Tate didn’t deny it. “I have a hard time leaving them.”
“I know.”
“Plus, they love it here. This isn’t just a present to you, but to our family.”
Bex knew that, too. Josh included. “My wedding present to you,” she teased, “is that I accept your gift of the outhouse. I’ve actually always wanted one.”
“Any woman who does that is a keeper.” He displayed that sexy smile.
“I have another gift for you, as well. A surprise. Maybe even better than yours.”
“You hate surprises.”
“I love this one.” She gestured at the cabin, deliberately revealing her wrist. “And I’m sure you will, too.”
The extra charm Melody had made for her bracelet sparkled in the light. He hadn’t noticed it earlier—but it had been an eventful day. Tate grabbed her hand and touched the motherhood charm—a baby’s shoe. “Does this mean what I think it means?”
She nodded. “I know that once we got engaged, we agreed to wait until after the wedding...but I might’ve decided to stop using birth control once I was sure I could still fit into my dress if it happened. And...it happened.”
The joy on his face was worth the trouble she’d had keeping the secret for the past month. Just as he started to speak, there was some sort of commotion down by the water. Tate gave her a swift kiss and hurried to the window that looked out on the lake.
“Whoops, kid overboard. We called that one.”
She’d already guessed. “How many wet dogs will come charging through the door?” she asked, laughing.
“I see at least two in the water. This isn’t going to be the most restful honeymoon on record. Let me go address the situation. The dogs can swim and the kid’s head is above water, but I should probably fish them out.”
“Have fun. I’d help, but remember, I’m wearing a wedding dress.”
There was a sensual promise in her husband’s eyes when he whispered, “Not for long.”
* * * * *