Epilogue
PAT LOVED WEDDINGS about as much as she loved getting a root canal treatment. Without anesthesia.
But she adored her best friend, Diana, which meant Pat had dragged herself shopping for invitations, centerpieces, decorations, and, of course, shoes that looked impossible to wear.
Today, she’d put on the brightest smile, a long, slender emerald-colored dress she could barely breathe in, and the high-heeled shoes that made her feet itch and nearly tripped her—twice. Probably scraped off some of her skin, as well.
Well, compared to crawling through a forest, aching, bleeding, and not remembering who she was or why’d she’d been so badly beaten up, this was a picnic. Correction: a wedding dinner.
Going through this for Diana’s sake should be a slice of cake: wedding cake. One she was missing out on at the backyard reception that smelled of barbecue ribs, fresh grass, and happiness. After saying a toast in the newlyweds’ honor while holding iced tea—there was no alcohol at this wedding—she’d escaped to the ranch house kitchen. The place housed freshly baked goods and a mouthwatering aroma.
She didn’t expect tears to well in her eyes. One escaped, tasting salty.
Why was she feeling this way? She’d never been sentimental. Or weepy. Not even when she’d broken bones and bruised pretty much everything else. After weeks of healing at the Lawrence ranch, she was back to being lighthearted and easygoing. Or at least, that was the part she’d shown other people. Her arm was no longer in a cast, though her heart still was. No bandage on her wrist, either, the wound healing with Diana’s attentive care.
Now her best friend was married, and while thrilled for her, Pat swallowed down the sharp, metallic taste of loneliness. It tasted like blood and despair.
Her hand moved toward the sugar-covered cookies she’d helped bake, but she likely couldn’t push even a delicious buttery bite past the lump in her throat. She walked to the window overlooking the backyard. She just needed a minute to gather herself. Then she’d go outside and be the cheerful maid of honor she needed to be. She’d had a lot of practice at being cheerful.
Outside, Laredo started singing on a makeshift stage. Diana looked at him with stars in her eyes.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Harris’s voice made Pat wince.
She whirled around so fast it nearly made her lightheaded. Or maybe the cowboy in front of her did that.
Her heart skipped a beat. Today was the first time she’d seen him in a tuxedo, though he still wore the black cowboy hat she began to associate with him. If Harris in cowboy boots and jeans made her swoon, he flat-out took her breath away in a tuxedo. But then she’d always gotten attracted to men easily. Even fallen in love with them. Yet her interest never lasted. She still didn’t remember everything before getting hit on her head, but she remembered this.
No doubt, he was a forever kind of guy. What they called marriage material. Meanwhile, she was far from either forever or marriage material. An ocean away.
So as much as her heart craved to see him, she’d done her best to avoid him while she’d recuperated at the ranch. She didn’t always succeed.
Oh. He asked her a question, and she needed to answer instead of getting lost in his baby-blue eyes. “Beautiful... what?”
“The wedding.”
“Yeah. Spectacular.” Pat tried to say it like she meant it. She failed. What was wrong with her? She was happy for Diana. “When I crawled through the damp forest, when I bled on the log cabin floor, I knew something in my life was worth surviving for. Now I know it was my friendship with Diana. I’m so glad she found Laredo. Your brother will make her happy. He already does.”
Unlike Pat, Diana was totally marriage material, and after her first mistake, Diana had gotten a fabulous second chance. Diana was sweet, wholesome, and reliable. All the things Pat could never be. No surprise with Pat’s genes and upbringing, but she had to take accountability for her character traits, too.
“Diana makes him happy, too. We’re blessed to welcome her into the family.” Harris smiled. That smile made her weak in the knees, but then again, it had happened to her before. The longest it ever lasted had been about a month. A far cry from a lifetime. Then his eyes darkened. “I’m sorry about all that happened to you.”
She stiffened her spine. Above all else, she would not be pitied. “I...” She glanced around for an excuse to be here. “I came here to bring cookies.”
“I can help.” He stepped forward. His large, muscular frame filled the kitchen, taking the air out of her lungs.
Something needled the back of her brain, and a shiver traveled down her arms. Why? She was safe here. And the person who’d attacked and nearly murdered her had been arrested.
Maybe she’d sensed a threat because of that weird email she’d received. Or maybe something else hid in her past, something she couldn’t recall, which made it even more dangerous.
She’d have to figure it out on her own. And no reason to endanger this kind, wonderful family who had embraced her friend and even Pat so easily. “It’s okay. I can do it.”
“Why do I have the impression you’re avoiding me?” He frowned.
Maybe because she was? That wasn’t the best answer. She needed to push him away, but a large part of her—a veeeery large part—didn’t want to. “It’s not you.” She cringed. Did she sound like she was about to deliver the dreaded it’s-not-you-it’s-me speech? “It’s just... I don’t intend to stay.”
“You’re not comfortable here?”
She was too comfortable here. That was a problem. This place was a safe haven, and she’d learned young that safe havens, be it places or people, were an illusion for people like her and her mother. “You all have been amazing. I appreciate it beyond words. But I... I never stay in one place long.” Or with one person, for that matter.
Any men she’d seen before understood the rules of the game and didn’t intend anything long-term themselves. And if they were about to change their minds, she’d always gotten out just in time. She’d hoped.
She made the mistake of looking into his eyes, and his attentive gaze gave her a rapid heartbeat. “I do enjoy your company,” she blurted out. Way too much.
She ran her fingertips over the raised scar left on her arm by some sharp twig. She was used to speaking her mind, which had nearly gotten her killed. It was high time she got a mental filter.
“Me, too. I mean, I enjoy your company. A lot.” His lopsided grin widened, giving her a view of dimples.
That charming grin and the contrast of the broad shoulders and muscular frame hardened by outdoor labor with those adorable dimples gave her a new set of heart palpitations. She was on a slippery slope, and she knew it. She couldn’t afford to fall for him, and she’d never want to break his heart. So she’d best remove herself from the situation as soon as possible.
In a hurry, she snatched the large sugar cookie platter. “I’ve got to go. Gotta get these cookies to the guests.”
“Let me help.” He extended his hand.
“It’s okay.” She clutched the platter and walked past him. But she couldn’t resist glancing back.
With her attention elsewhere, her unusually high-for-her heel slipped on the hardwood floor, and her arms flailed as she tried to regain her balance. Tried but failed. The cookies flew in one direction, and the platter in the other while her feet flew out from under her. Her stomach dipped, joining the cookies.
Second concussion, here I come.
“Are you all right?” Harris caught her before her derriere and long-suffering skull hit the floor.
Her heart fluttered as he steadied her, his hands on her shoulders sending delicious tingles over her skin. Then footfalls made her flinch.
“Pat, are you...?” Diana’s voice trailed off when she saw him holding her. “Um, never mind. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. My husband—wow, I can’t get used to that fact yet—told me you went inside. But I didn’t mean to interrupt you two.” Her friend’s lips crept up. Her elegant vintage wedding dress suited her, and she beamed, looking spectacular and a million times happier than Pat had ever seen her.
Heat rose up Pat’s neck, and she eased out of Harris’s embrace, albeit reluctantly. “You didn’t interrupt anything.”
No matter Pat’s protests, Diana had done her best to play matchmaker between Pat and Harris during Pat’s time on the ranch. It might’ve been slightly—only slightly—Pat’s fault because she’d blabbed that she liked him. Another reminder to stop saying everything on her mind. Wasn’t it bad enough that she’d let her attraction to him make her stay at the ranch under false pretenses while investigating Adam’s infidelity? Only such an incredible family wouldn’t hold a grudge.
“I came here to get cookies for the guests.” Pat’s gaze tracked the crumbles on the hardwood. “Well, before they became acquainted with the floor.”
“I’ll clean it up.” Harris went to get the broom and the dustpan from the closet.
“Thank you.”
“Pat, don’t worry about the cookies.” Diana waved, beckoning her along. “You don’t have to bring anything. I want you to have fun. Lots of fun.”
Fun was the furthest thing from Pat’s mind right now.
Should she tell her best friend about the threatening email? She always told Diana everything. But no. Pat wouldn’t risk dimming her friend’s happiness with worry. Ha. Maybe she was finally learning to think before she acted.
Harris swept the floor.
And she scowled at the debris. What a mess she’d created. And she didn’t mean the crumbled cookies and broken platter.
THE END