Chapter 30
CHAPTER
THIRTY
Lark McClellan rode in the passenger seat of her mother’s SUV and pointed across the cab. “It’s this right right here, Momma.”
Her mother immediately put on her blinker and then turned onto Cousins Creek Ranch. Lark had been here when it had been filled with dumpsters, boxes, trash, and piles of vintage clothing and shoes.
Boston and Cash had been working on the property for almost a full year, and Lark had come with Cash many times in the last six months as he ripped out walls, floors, doors, and landscaping, replacing it all into the glorious sight that bloomed before her eyes.
The two-story blue farmhouse had been weathered and peeling when Lark had first seen it.
She remembered having the distinct thought that it would never be fit for habitation.
Now it rose boldly into the bright blue summer sky and had been repainted a deeper blue that made her heart happy and her smile widen.
Cash had put stark white shutters around the windows to brighten the dark blue, and he’d chosen a cheery yellow-gold for the door that made it seem like the house was smiling.
The road had been repaired, leveled, and covered with fresh gravel with a bluish-gray undertone that seemed to match the house.
Sod had been brought in, and Cash had preserved as many of the mature trees as possible, which lent shade to the property.
Her mother came to a stop in front of the house, and Lark got out.
She also heard the soul-soothing sound of the breeze tickling through the leaves of the trees.
She loved that sound almost more than anything, and she couldn’t believe that after today she’d be Cash’s wife and living here with him.
She looked east, where Cash had already cleared the land and started putting in pastures for his horses.
He wanted to start and run a cutting horse operation, and Lark had no doubt that it would be wildly successful.
He and Boston had split Cousins Creek Ranch according to how much they’d paid for it.
Boston would keep working at Silver Sage Lodge as an excursion guide, but he wanted twenty acres to farm, pasture cows and horses—“and maybe even some turkeys,” he’d said with a laugh.
Lark smiled just thinking about it. Cash wanted a farm too, with the cattle, the horses, the chickens, and even goats. He commissioned a brand new stable to be built, and the twenty-stall building had been finished last week.
Everything about this place filled Lark with joy, and she switched her gaze to the front door as it opened and the sound of her fiancé’s laughter filled the air. Fine, it wasn’t the ranch that filled her with joy, but the man who owned it.
Cash in all his dark hair, dark-eyed, white-teeth-smiling glory jogged down the front steps of a porch Lark had once barely trusted to hold her. “Hey, Songbird.”
Cash gathered her into his arms and held her firmly against her pulse. “Are you ready for this?”
“Yes,” she said decisively, because she wanted to be Cash’s wife and finally move into the next phase of her life.
She’d dropped out of college with only one semester to go, and she worked at a veterinary clinic on the south side of Coral Canyon, where she was able to put her animal science and nutrition knowledge to work despite not having the piece of paper that said she’d finished the program.
She’d been toying with the idea of getting her veterinary technician certificate, but she and Cash had also talked plenty of times about her being in charge of the animal care and nutrition at the cutting horse operation.
He’d started taking some farrier classes, but the nearest school was several hundred miles away, and he wouldn’t actually be able to finish a program.
No, he was simply learning from some of the best horseshoers around town, as he wanted to be able to care for his horses in an emergency.
Lark pulled away and glanced down the front of his house. “There isn’t anyone else here yet,” she said, a small frown forming between her eyes.
“Cora had to run up to the lodge real quick,” Cash said. “She said it would take ten minutes, and then she’ll be here.”
Lark nodded, because she’d also brought along her mother to help her get ready for the wedding. Cash had promised her a bedroom upstairs for the bridal suite, while he stayed downstairs and made sure that the backyard got set up when the party rental company showed up.
He’d get ready in the master suite with his family and friends, and Lark shivered, though the temperatures that morning had already started climbing.
The sound of tires crunching over gravel met her ears, and she turned back to find Theresa’s red SUV advancing toward them.
Her mother opened the back of her car, and Lark and Cash moved to start getting out the things she needed.
Cash picked up her teal suitcase and asked, “Is this for our honeymoon?”
“Yes,” she said, a slash of heat moving through her at the thought of vacationing with Cash. He’d planned two weeks at a luxury resort in Cancun, and Lark had been glad for the long engagement when she realized she’d never been out of the country and needed a passport.
Cash took the suitcase inside, and her mother followed with Lark’s dress bag, leaving the bin of makeup and accessories for Lark to carry in. She waited while Theresa parked next to her, and then she moved to hug her brother’s fiancée.
“Thank you so much for coming,” she said.
“Of course.” Theresa beamed down at her, as she stood a couple of inches taller than Lark. “This place is beautiful.” She gazed around as she took it all in, and then finally nodded west. “Where does that road go?”
“That side over there is Boston’s property,” she said. “I think that barn on the corner is his, and if you follow the road around, you’ll run into his and Cora’s house. It’s over off the other road.”
“That’s really great,” Theresa said. “Who used to own this?”
“The Wickers?” Lark made it sound like she was guessing. “I guess they’ve owned it for generations, but they’ve all scattered now and finally decided to sell it last year.”
Theresa’s expression changed, turning soulful and sad for just a moment. Lark instantly knew why, and she juggled the bin as she linked her arm through Theresa’s and then grabbed the handle again. “Are you sad to be moving to Texas?” she asked quietly.
Theresa jerked her attention toward her and then looked forward again as they slowly moved toward the steps and up to the porch.
“Yes,” she said simply. “I’ve lived here for a long time, and I love Coral Canyon.
” She gave a sigh that Lark didn’t quite know how to categorize.
“But I’m helplessly in love with Wade too, and he’s got a good thing going in Stevensville. ”
“I’ve been there,” Lark said. “It’s a lot like here—without the snow.”
Theresa gave her a smile, unhooked her arm from Lark’s, and moved to open the front door so Lark could enter without bobbling the bin again. “I’ve been there too, and I liked it.”
“You can come visit me and Cash anytime.” Lark moved into the house. “As you can see, this place is huge, and I think it has six bedrooms.”
Theresa pulled the door closed behind her, then stopped in the foyer of the house. The sight line extended all the way to the back wall, where the kitchen waited among a row of windows that looked out over the backyard and then the ranch.
Lark had been here so many times and really seen its transformation, but she too took a moment to drink in the hardwood floors and the pale yellow walls, barely a step above white, with the white crown molding and trim.
A few paces in front of her, stairs went up to the second floor, with the living room opening up to her left and holding beautiful, dark red, leather furniture and a couple of armchairs that all faced a gorgeously renovated stone fireplace.
A TV hung on the wall above the mantel, and then a dining room table that would seat six broke up the room before the kitchen began.
Cash had relocated the hallway that used to run along the side of the stairs and over to the bedrooms and bathrooms on the east side of the house, and now Lark could turn immediately right when she entered the front door and go into a formal sitting room that a hallway branched off of and led to the two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and full laundry room on this level.
It dead-ended at the very back of the house into a mudroom, where double-wide sliding doors then took people out onto a brand new, beautiful deck that spanned the width of the house.
Cash had extended the roof over it as well, and his hot tub had been built right into it the way her parents’ was in Dog Valley.
“Lark,” her momma called from the top of the stairs. “Are you coming?”
“Sure thing,” Lark said, and she started up the stairs with her bin.
Momma led her into the room just at the top of the stairs, and Theresa entered as well.
Lark moved to the windows as this room had not been furnished yet, save for a vanity and two love seats Cash had brought in specifically for Lark’s use on their wedding day.
“Oh, the rental company is here,” she said to her wavy reflection as she looked out the window and found at least a half-dozen people setting up the big tent that would provide shade for the wedding.
“Sorry, I’m late.” Cora’s voice came from behind her, and Lark turned, not quite sure why so much relief suddenly filled her. She moved to hug Cora, who’d quickly become her best friend here in Coral Canyon. “It’s fine,” she said. “We haven’t started yet.”
“Faith and Dani just got here too,” Cora said. “They’re going to be doing the flowers out front, and then leading along the sidewalk to the back—for the guests to follow.”
“Perfect,” Lark said. “I’ll text them that they can come up when they’re done.”
Lark had done quite a bit of wedding planning with Faith, Cash’s stepmom, as they lived at the base of the canyon, and her mother had been in Costa Rica until a month ago.
“Sit down, dear,” her momma said, and Lark dutifully obeyed. “I’ll get started on your makeup.”
Lark’s stomach swooped, though she’d eaten lunch and arrived in plenty of time to be ready for the five o’clock nuptials.
She and Cash would then be serving dinner to their guests before moving the party to the big red barn down by the veterinary clinic for a two-hour reception, where more food would be served and Cash had his uncles and cousins providing the music for dancing.
Everything was supposed to be done by nine p.m., when Lark had planned a spur send-off for her and Cash. They’d then make the hour-long drive to Jackson Hole, where Cash had booked them into a luxury lodge tonight ahead of their international travel tomorrow.
Lark looked at her phone and told herself, Seven hours. She had to be completely ready, do first-look pictures with Cash and the photographer, walk down the aisle, pledge herself to Cash, and make it through dinner and dancing before it would just be her and Cash—finally alone together.
Seven hours, she told herself again as she closed her eyes. You can do anything for seven hours.
Then her eyes flew open, and she met her momma’s. “Remember, Momma,” she said. “Not too heavy on the makeup.” She looked over to Cora with volumes being spoken there before she smiled at her momma again. “I’m twenty-three, Momma, not fifty-three.”
Her mother blinked like Lark had just thrown ice water in her face. Then her very proper mother shook it away and said, “I know exactly what to do, Larky. Your only job is to hold still.”