Cowboy After Dark (15 page)

“Good, because I love it, too.” But he couldn’t help wondering how loving this place fit in with ditching him at the end of the week. She’d effectively be cutting herself off from Thunder Mountain Ranch. Was she contemplating an extension of their relationship? He’d cautioned himself not to wish for that, but when she stood there smiling at him, her gray eyes filled with laughter, he did wish for it. Oh, yes, he definitely did.

16

T
HAT
BRIEF
EXCHANGE
of smiles was all Liam was able to share with Hope for the next few hours. Although the wedding wasn’t until four, guests started arriving early. Ty Slater, a former Thunder Mountain foster boy, drove up from Cheyenne with his fiancée, Whitney Jones. Liam and Grady hadn’t seen Ty in years and they’d never met Whitney, so they had plenty to talk about.

Close on Ty’s and Whitney’s heels came Brant Ellison, the gentle giant of the Thunder Mountain boys. He’d just finished training a new foal for a rancher up in Montana. On his way back through town, he’d stopped to pick up his girlfriend, Aria, and her brother Josh. Josh was recovering from a riding accident and used a cane to get around, but Liam didn’t think the guy would need it much longer.

Rosie had mentioned Aria because she owned Lucy and Linus, the mare and colt Rosie and Herb were boarding. Brant had spent a couple of weeks training Linus from birth, and clearly the big guy had fallen hard for Aria. Last Liam had heard, Brant was constantly on the move training foals, but Aria didn’t seem to mind his frequent absences, and she obviously adored him, too.

Liam could remember a time not so long ago when none of the guys from Thunder Mountain had been seriously involved. That seemed to be changing. It made sense, though. Most of them had reached an age when thoughts turned to settling down.

Even he’d started thinking about it. He and Grady had discussed what they’d do if one of them found the right woman. Their shared apartment in the barn above Grady’s workshop wouldn’t work anymore. But no use worrying about it yet. He’d be foolish to expect something real to develop with Hope.

In the middle of all the talk about weddings and engagements, Herb and Finn walked in with the vests, which everyone had to admire. Next Damon, Cade and Karl showed up with a plan to shoot pool until they had to get dressed for the ceremony.

Liam personally kept them from moving the cake, which they’d been fully prepared to do. Muttering “Over my dead body”
under his breath, he redirected the action by setting up a game of horseshoes in the side yard. Soon everyone drifted outside to play or cheer on the contestants.

After a quick buffet lunch with wine, beer and Baileys, the party was in full swing. Everyone was there except the bride and two of her attendants, who planned to arrive by three.

Liam wondered if he was the only one keeping an eye on the weather. Come to think of it, he was the most likely since weather was critical in his line of work. When Damon beat him at horseshoes and moved on to the next challenger, Liam rounded the house for a better view of the dark clouds hanging over the mountains.

A moment later Herb joined him. “What do you think?”

“Depends on whether they stay there or not. Chelsea said her weather app predicted Sheridan would be clear by four.”

“The guy on TV said the same thing.”

“I’ve learned to take those predictions as an educated guess.”

Herb chuckled. “Wise man.”

“Do you and Rosie have a plan B?”

“Sort of. Rosie has her heart set on this sentimental idea of seeing them married in front of the cabin they built last summer. The new rec building would have been a safer choice.”

“Yeah, it would.” Liam understood Rosie’s preference, though. The rec building had been built early last fall. It stood back behind the cabins and doubled as a classroom during the day and a place for the teenagers to hang out in the evening. Although it was extremely useful, no one would call it charming.

“That’s my plan B.” Herb scratched his jaw. “But we’d have to get it ready in the next hour if we had any chance of being done by four. I doubt Rosie would go for that. Damon and Phil wouldn’t be happy about it, either.”

Liam took another look at the thunderheads. Lighting flashed inside one of them, which was pretty but didn’t increase his confidence that the storm would pass by harmlessly. “How many guests are coming?”

“Should be a total of twenty. Eight are already here.”

“Any more of the Thunder Mountain guys?”

“No, unfortunately. We let them know about it, but they had issues of one sort or another and couldn’t make it. Phil had some people she wanted to invite, anyway, and apparently it’s nice if you have a good balance between the groom’s guests and the bride’s guests.”

“I wouldn’t know about that. Never studied wedding etiquette.”

“Not my area, either, but it’s Rosie’s for sure. Anyway, the others should start arriving around three-thirty or so.”

“So what is it, now? About three?”

Herb glanced at his watch. “On the dot.” He turned as an SUV swung into the circular drive in front of the house. “And here comes the bride.”

Herb wasn’t the only one who’d noticed the SUV with Edie at the wheel and Phil and Lexi inside. As they got out, Rosie ran over with Hope, Chelsea, Whitney and Aria close behind. In a flurry of bags, boxes and laughter, the women unloaded the SUV. Then they all headed for the house.

Herb smiled. “Rosie’s waited so long for one of her boys to get married here. It’s great to see her so excited.”

“They all seem pretty excited.” Even Hope, he thought. Good. She seemed to be having fun, so maybe she was keeping her demons at bay.

“Guess that means it’s time for the rest of us to put on our party duds.” Herb glanced at the clouds again. “Do they look closer to you?”

“Yep. They’re moving this way.” The wind picked up. “Wow. They’re coming in fast, Herb.”

“Damn.”

“Look, before we change clothes, we could all work together and get the chairs into the rec building. We might have time to add some greenery and flowers to make it look a little nicer.”

Herb rubbed the back of his neck. “Rosie would hate the idea of moving the venue.”

Lightning zigzagged across the sky, and Liam automatically counted the seconds before he heard the crackle and boom that followed. “She might hate it, but we don’t have a choice. Even if we could hold the ceremony this very minute, I wouldn’t like our chances of finishing before it hits. And lightning is damned unpredictable.”

“Then let’s get Damon and go talk with Rosie and Phil. I want a consensus before we move anything.”

“Okay. It can’t be a long debate, though. We don’t have much time.”

“I realize that. But when you’ve been married as long as I have, you don’t make this kind of decision without consulting your spouse. You’ll understand that better someday.” He started toward the side lawn at a rapid pace.

“Assuming I find somebody as perfect for me as Rosie is for you.”

Herb didn’t break stride. “Rosie thinks you already have.”

“She’s wrong.”

“Son, have you forgotten the number one rule around here?”

Liam grinned. “Rosie’s never wrong?”

“That’s the one.”

“I haven’t forgotten. I’ll keep my opinion to myself.”

“Doesn’t matter if you do or not. And I should warn you, she has a sixth sense about these things.”

“Hmm.”

They reached the group playing horseshoes, and Herb paused to allow Damon to finish his throw. Another ringer. The guy was deadly at this game, but Liam had known that when he’d set it up. The groom should be allowed to dominate the competition on his wedding day. Besides, the cake was safe.

“I hate to break this up, Damon,” Herb said, “but I need you to come with me into the house.”

“We should all go and get changed,” Cade said.

“I volunteer my cabin for any of you who want to avoid the chaos in the house,” Finn said. “Chelsea told me she’d be getting dressed with the rest of the women, so there’s only me in there.”

“Don’t any of you change clothes yet,” Liam said. “Let’s wait and see whether we have to move chairs into the rec building.”

Damon groaned.

“Look at the sky, bro.”

He glanced up and swore. “I was hoping this wouldn’t happen.”

“Sorry.” Liam squeezed his shoulder.

“Damon and I are going in to consult with Rosie and Phil,” Herb said. “Everybody else hang tight until we have a plan. Except for you, Liam. You’re the weather expert. Come in with us and make your case.”

So he’d get to be the Voice of Doom. Great. But Herb needed backup, and keeping people safe was what Liam did.

Herb headed down the hall to summon Phil and Rosie to the living room. The sound of a muted argument drifted from the hall to the living room.

Liam glanced at Damon. “You’re with me on this, right? It would be a mistake to try and hold it outside as planned.”

“I’m with you,” Damon said, “but I hate that the original idea is ruined. That cabin really is special to us.”

“Didn’t you and Phil work on the rec building together, too?”

“Yeah, sure. But it’s not nearly as significant. Although I’m proud of it, there’s nothing about it that makes you go, ‘Wow, that’s awesome.’ So I—” He stopped speaking as Herb came into the room with Rosie. “Where’s Phil?”

“Half-dressed.” Rosie didn’t look happy. She wore a lacy, high-necked outfit, and her feet were bare. “She didn’t want you to see her like that.”

Damon laughed. “It’s not like I’ve never—”

“That’s not the point. How’s she supposed to blow you away if you don’t get the full effect?”

Damon sobered. “She blows me away every single time I look at her.”

“Aww.” Rosie’s expression softened, and she padded over to pat Damon on the cheek. “I’m going to tell her you said that.”

“Please do.”

“Okay, but we have something more important to discuss,” Herb said. “Liam thinks—”

“I’ve appointed myself as Phil’s representative.” Hope came down the hall wearing a Winnie-the-Pooh bathrobe. She was barefoot, and her hair looked as if someone had been pinning it up but made it only halfway around. She held up her phone. “I’m supposed to text her the details of this discussion as it happens.”

Until that moment, Liam had convinced himself he could walk away from her when the time came. But as he looked at her standing there in that bathrobe with her hair partly fixed because she’d offered to relay information to her friend, he lost his heart.

Rosie was right. He’d found a woman he could love for the rest of his days. He’d probably known that from the first time he’d walked into the hotel lobby in Cody and spied her behind the concierge desk. She might shoot him down at the end of the week, but until then, he’d give her all he had and pray it was enough.

Herb took a breath and looked squarely at Rosie. The man was not a coward. “We can’t have the ceremony outside at four. It’s too dangerous.”

“It can’t be that bad!” Rosie hurried to the window and looked out. “Oh.”

“If we move fast,” Liam said, “the guys and I can have the chairs in the rec building before the storm hits. Then, if everyone gets changed quickly, we should all be able to make it in there before it starts raining, and we can have the ceremony when it was scheduled. Somebody would need to be stationed on the porch to direct the other guests to drive straight to the rec building, but—”

“Hold it.” Hope held up her hand. “Let me text all that to Phil.”

“And add that I’m not in favor of Liam’s plan, although I don’t have a better one.” Rosie turned from the window. “Damn it. I knew we had the potential for a storm, but I was convinced that by some magical intervention, this wouldn’t happen.”

“Well, it has,” Herb said. “I’m sorry, Rosie, but I don’t see an alternative.”

“I don’t like the alternative.” Rosie folded her arms. “I don’t want us all throwing ourselves together and then running into the rec building like we’re racing to a storm cellar. That’s not elegant, and I—”

“Slow down,” Hope said. “I’m texting as fast as I can.”

“I don’t like it, either,” Damon said. “Could we possibly have it here, in the living room?”

“It’d be better than the rec building.” Rosie glanced around. “But we’d be packed in like sardines. That’s not elegant, either.” She turned to Hope. “Has Phil texted back?”

“Nothing I can repeat in mixed company.”

Damon laughed. “That’s my girl.” He glanced around. “The rec room in the house?”

“That’s not much better than the living room,” Liam said. “We’d still be crammed in there, and I don’t think you’re supposed to have the ceremony while everyone’s staring at the cake.”

Rosie shook her head. “None of this sounds right to me. I’m not sure what to do.”

“I have an idea.” Hope glanced up from her phone. “It might not be any good, but—”

“We’re looking for every possible alternative.” Liam held her gaze and smiled. He could see the wheels turning, and it thrilled him that she was using that creative brain of hers.

“Okay. I think we need to let go of the idea that the wedding will take place at four o’clock. Nobody really cares about that. It’s what’s printed on the invitation, but that doesn’t matter.”

Rosie nodded. “I see where you’re going. What about the ten people who aren’t here yet?”

“We text them right now and tell them to wait for our signal.”

Rosie brightened. “I doubt they’ve left yet, and they wouldn’t want to drive through a thunderstorm, anyway. And we can take our time getting ready.”

“Exactly.” Hope smiled at her. “When the storm’s over, we’ll go out to the meadow. It might be a little wet and muddy, but the air will be fresh, and you know how wonderful everything smells after a good rain.”

Rosie came over and gave her a hug. “I love this idea.”

“Me, too.” Damon smiled. “Eliminates all the stress. We can work with Mother Nature instead of against her. But we should find out what Phil thinks.”

Hope’s thumbs moved rapidly over her phone. Then she waited. Finally she looked up and smiled. “She loves it.”

“So we have a plan.” Herb looked relieved. “I’ll tell the guys. We should get a move on if we want everyone back in the house before the storm hits.”

“We’ll make it,” Liam said.

Herb nodded. “Yeah, guys, don’t take long.”

“And the women are nearly ready,” Rosie said.

Hope gestured to her bathrobe and hair. “Contrary to what it looks like.”

“Great bathrobe, by the way,” Liam said.

“Thanks. How do you like my hair?”