Chapter 27
ZINA
“It’s going to be okay.” If I said it enough times, it was bound to come true.
That’s what I kept telling myself as I muttered those five little words over and over again.
We were in the emergency room, waiting to see if Izzy’s arm was broken or just sprained.
After Chyna’s hat had been rescued from Shiner Bock and returned, the woman had retreated to her rental car and sped out of Ido so fast she left skid marks on the pavement.
Lacey had been admitted for observation due to high blood pressure, and Alex paced the small waiting room while we waited for news about poor Izzy. The bird had disappeared. Morty and the other girls had stayed at the scene to try to find him. How could things get any worse?
A few moments later I remembered why I never, ever asked that question. Lacey’s face appeared on my phone wanting to video-chat. How the hell was that possible seeing as how Lacey was supposed to be under medical observation in a room upstairs?
“I thought you were admitted for high blood pressure,” I said as the video call connected.
“I was. I’m still here. But I just got a call from Chyna, and I had to tell someone.”
I braced myself for the news. The wedding planner had probably called the whole thing off. Alex’s penguins would go back to the aquarium, the roof of the shelter would never get repaired . . . in a blink of an eye my entire future dissolved right before my eyes.
“Zina?” Lacey barked into the phone.
“What?”
Alex shifted on the orange vinyl bench next to me. He’d been sick with worry over his niece. I stood and moved toward the door in an attempt to give him some space and also gain a little privacy. I didn’t want my world to crash in on me in the waiting room of the Swynton Memorial Hospital.
“She said she’d never been more humiliated or mistreated in her entire life.” Lacey’s furrowed brow told me everything I needed to know. She may as well hang up now and not put herself through hearing the rundown of how we’d all failed. “Zina? Are you paying attention?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry. Alex had no idea his niece brought the bird to the rehearsal. He’s sorry. I’m sorry. Everyone is so sorry.”
“Listen. She was pissed. So incredibly pissed. I mean, I’ve been mayor now for over a year and have dealt with some pretty angry constituents, but this woman could put all of them to shame. She used four-letter words I’ve never even heard of.”
If Lacey was trying to make me feel even worse than I already did, it was working. A weight like a ton of bricks, no, make that a ton of bricks encased in a ton of concrete, wedged in my chest. “I wish it had gone differently, I really do.”
“But that’s just it. She said despite all of the issues with the penguins being too waddly, the dirt being too dirty, and the bird being too damn birdy, she absolutely loves the venue.”
“Huh?” My heart skipped a beat. Then another. “Did you just say she loves it here?”
“Yes.” Lacey’s head bobbed up and down. “She said she’s going to recommend us to another wedding she’s got coming up. But this one’s a bride who wants a western theme. Can you imagine? Horses and a chuck wagon dinner for five hundred guests.”
The weight pressing down on my chest doubled, then tripled as I imagined trying to talk everyone in town into loaning their horses to a fake western wedding setup. “I don’t know about that, Lacey. How far away is that wedding?”
“Oh, it’s not until next spring. But we’re getting there. Ido is really creating a name for itself in the destination wedding business. Isn’t it fabulous?”
“Fabulous,” I agreed. What else could I do?
I wasn’t about to argue with Lacey that I was in over my head.
Wouldn’t do any good. The most I could hope for was that when the western wedding world descended upon Ido, I’d be squared away in my newly repaired building, far away from what surely would become another incredible fiasco.
“I’ve got to go. We’re still waiting to hear if Izzy’s arm is broken. ”
“Oh, that poor sweet little girl. Find out what her favorite kind of ice cream is. I’m going to send over a care package later, okay?”
“Will do.” I disconnected and made my way back to Alex. Char had taken the seat next to him. She must have news.
Alex reached for my hand as I joined them on the bench. “Izzy’s arm is broken but it’s a clean break.”
“How’s she doing?” I asked.
Char smiled, a welcome change from the worry and fear she’d been carrying with her since we arrived at the hospital. “She’s asking for a pink cast and wants to know if the penguins can somehow sign it for her.”
“That must mean she’s not in too much pain.” I relaxed against Alex’s chest. One less thing to worry about.
“She’ll be okay. I don’t know what she was thinking trying to have that bird with her,” Char said.
Alex hung his head. “Yeah, that might be partly my fault. She said she missed Shiner Bock, so I told her she could visit him if she helped with the wedding run-through.”
“Did you tell her she should stuff him in that bag and make him part of the wedding party?” Char asked.
“Well, no. But I still feel a bit responsible.”
“Good,” Char said. “It wasn’t your fault, and you have nothing to apologize for.”
“Then why’s that good?” Alex looked up.
“It’s good because that’s the first time I’ve ever heard you say you feel responsible for something.
” Char stood while Alex appeared to let that statement settle in.
“Now why don’t the two of you get out of here?
I’m sure Gramps could use some help finding the bird.
And you know the pain of a broken arm won’t be anything compared to a broken heart if Shiner Bock doesn’t come back. ”
“Way to make a guy feel good.” Alex reached out and pulled me to my feet next to him. “Let’s head back to party central, shall we?”
The last thing I wanted to do was go back to the warehouse.
All I wanted was a few moments alone to figure out how to get through this wedding once and for all.
Playing bride and groom had stirred up something inside me.
Something not altogether unpleasant, but something I wasn’t prepared for or interested in dealing with now.
Maybe not ever. But I pasted a happy-go-lucky smile on my face anyway. Alex needed me.
“I’ve got to get back and check on the dogs before I help you look for the bird.
” That would give me time to catch my breath and provide a much-needed break from Alex.
He wasn’t the problem so much as what he represented.
Walking down the aisle earlier had brought possibilities into focus.
Crystal clear focus. And Alex was in the center of it all.
I’d never imagined myself getting married, tying my fate to someone else’s for the rest of my life.
Especially not someone like Alex, who seemed to crave adventure. He never stayed in one place long enough to make any kind of promise or see anything through. But maybe he was changing. If his sister thought so, it might be happening.
The last thing I wanted to do was get my hopes up, but that’s exactly what I’d been doing all along.
Ever since that night we found the puppies.
I’d been unintentionally letting my guard down, letting Alex in, little by little until it hit me smack-dab in the center of my chest. I liked him.
Really, really liked him. Maybe even loved him.
As we walked into the early afternoon heat, I turned slightly so I could take a good look at the man who’d stolen my heart.
The afternoon sun glinted off the scruff on his chin.
He’d slid his shades in place when we walked outside, so I couldn’t get a read on what he might be thinking.
He tightened his grip on my hand when he caught me staring.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, just thinking.”
“Oh, don’t do that.” His lips parted into a teasing grin.
“What? Think?”
Alex nodded. “Yeah, isn’t that what got everyone into trouble in the first place?
Lacey thinking about how she could change Ido, then me thinking about how I could fix your roof, then you thinking about .
. .” He stopped and turned slightly toward me.
“Well, damn, I don’t know what you’ve been thinking about. ”
I tapped on his chest with my pointer finger. “I think plenty, I just don’t need to share my thoughts with the world.”
“What are you thinking about now?” He gripped my finger and brought it to his lips.
My stomach twisted and turned like a wet dishrag being wrung out to dry. I’d never be able to tell him what I’d actually been thinking. “I’m just wondering if we’re still on for that early night tonight.”
“Of course. Right after we find Shiner Bock and de-waddle the penguins.”
I took a step toward the truck and he followed. “Lacey said Chyna loved everything. I expected her to cancel the whole wedding, but it sounds like we’re officially a go.”
“Shoot. I forgot I’ve got to run Gramps over to Water’s Edge today. They had an opening come up so I scheduled a tour.”
I took in a slow, calming breath. Morty and I had talked about this. He didn’t want to go to a home and I didn’t blame him. “You know he’s really been bonding with Herbie. I noticed working with the dogs has made a difference in his attitude. Have you picked up on that at all?”
“If you mean have I noticed he’s not as grumpy and eager to bite my head off every day, then the answer is yes.” He twined his fingers with mine and let our hands swing between us as we crossed the lot.
“When my brother came home from his last tour, he wasn’t the same.
I tried everything to help him: therapy, meds, trying to talk to him about it, giving him space .
. .” My heart twinged as I remembered how hollow my brother had seemed when he returned.
Like a shell of the man I’d grown up with, he wasn’t the same.
“That’s too bad. I remember him as being a total baller on the football field.”