Head Over Heels (The Bridesmaids Club Book 3) (22 page)

***

Todd rang Dylan’s doorbell and waited. He took a step back and stared at the home shrouded in darkness. A light turned on in an upstairs room. Another wait, then the front door opened.

“You look terrible,” Dylan said. “What’s wrong?”

Todd frowned at Dylan’s bare chest and rumpled hair. “You were asleep. I’ll come back tomorrow.” He turned to leave. He shouldn’t have come here tonight. Dylan had his own life to deal with, issues that were every bit as hard as the one Todd was facing.

“When did you leave the hospital?”

Todd stopped on the top step of the porch. He looked at his watch and sighed. “Two hours ago.”

Dylan grabbed a jacket off a peg on the wall and walked outside. “You want to tell me what’s going on?”

Talking was what Todd had come here to do. He needed to speak to someone, sort out the mess his life had become. Dylan was his friend, the one person in the world who knew him better than anyone else. But now that he was here, he didn’t know where to begin.

“I’ve got to leave Montana.”

Dylan didn’t say anything. He zipped his jacket to his chin, sat on the top stair, and looked at the night sky.

Todd sat beside him, glad of his company, worried about what he might say.

“You’ve thought this through?”

Todd nodded. “Sally could have been killed tonight. I can’t risk anything happening to her.”

“Mitch Zambezi’s a scumbag. He won’t be worried about her now. He’s got other issues he’s dealing with.”

“You don’t know that,” Todd said heavily. “Other men will take his place. They’ll try and stop me testifying against him.”

Todd leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Mitch Zambezi’s empire is falling apart. Two rough-necks from his ranks are vying for the top position. If he’s not careful, he’s going to lose everything.”

“How do you know that’s happening?”

Dylan looked uncomfortable. “I have my sources. Believe me, Mitch has other things on his mind. He can run his business from inside any prison, but he needs people he can trust. He hasn’t got that at the moment.”

Todd looked down and saw a cat coming toward them. It was Boxer, a boisterous, cheeky male kitten that ruled the roost in Dylan’s home.

“Blinky and Boots won’t be far away.” Dylan scratched under Boxer’s chin.

They listened to Boxer’s loud purr of contentment. Sally had convinced Dylan that he needed to fill his home with shelter animals. The three kittens had been a short-term fostering solution that had lasted longer than anyone expected. And now, with a fiancée who was smitten with him and his cats, there was no way Dylan would be sending them back to the shelter.

Blinky and Boots meowed their way across to their brother. With only two hands and three kittens to accommodate, Dylan’s services as a chin scratcher were in hot demand. Boots decided to try her luck with Todd. She patted Todd’s hands with her paw and he automatically reached down and rubbed her back. Within seconds he had a kitten on his lap, purring like a soloist in a choir.

“Come inside,” Dylan said softly. “I want to show you something.”

Todd lifted Boots off his lap and followed his friend into his home. They turned left down a short hallway that led to the garage.

“You’re not the only person that has doubts,” Dylan said as they walked into his garage. “Sometimes I worry that all of the good things in my life are going to end.” He pulled a wooden box off a shelf and handed it to Todd.

It was small, about the size of a child’s shoe box. Someone had carved a heart into the lid. Todd turned it around and read the inscription. “My love for you is a journey; starting at forever and ending at never.”

“Annie made it for me,” Dylan said. “When I need to remember the good things in life I find somewhere quiet and open the lid. It reminds me of what’s important.”

Todd looked down at the box. “You’re okay with me opening it?”

“You’ll probably understand what’s in there better than most.”

Todd opened the lid. He picked up a photo. Annie and Dylan were smiling at the camera, wrapped in each other’s arms.

“That was taken a couple of hours after I proposed to Annie,” Dylan said. “I was so scared she’d say no, that I hadn’t thought about what would happen if she said yes.”

Todd put the photo on the shelf beside him. The next thing he took out was a silver swimming medal.

“That belonged to Franky, from Pastor Steven’s youth group. He won the medal at a swim meet a few months after he nearly drowned. It meant a lot to him.”

It had taken Dylan years to get used to being around water. While he was in the Army, he’d been captured by the Taliban, tortured, and left for dead. A lot of the torture involved water. Most people wouldn’t have recovered, but Dylan had pushed himself into situations that involved getting wet. It didn’t matter whether it was swimming events, triathlons, or anything else he could find. He wanted to prove that what had happened hadn’t changed him. That theory had worked really well, until he’d had a panic attack in a lake. That hadn’t turned out too well.

But when Franky, a young boy who’d become their little shadow, nearly drowned, Dylan had been the first in the pool. He’d dragged Franky to safety, then paid for swimming lessons for all of the youth group.

Todd smiled as he pulled a one dollar note out of the box. “Tell me the story behind this.”

“It was the first dollar Annie earned in her new business. It’s to remind me that dreams come true.”

There was a dried flower that had been carefully pressed, a button that had come off someone’s clothes.

“Don’t ask about the button,” Dylan said. “That one’s a bit x-rated.”

Todd dropped the button back in the box and picked up a plastic star.

“It glows in the dark,” Dylan said with a grin. “And no, it’s not x-rated. When Annie and I hadn’t known each other very long, I had a panic attack.”

Todd stared at him.

“Yeah, I know. I’m a psychiatrist’s dream come true.”

“You and me both,” Todd muttered.

Dylan leaned against the shelving unit beside them. “Sally didn’t judge me. Afterward, we sat under a big oak tree and looked up at the stars. It was the first time I’d felt at peace in a long time.”

Todd turned the star over and ran his finger over the flat surface. “When did you know you loved her?”

Dylan looked at the star and frowned. “I don’t know. It kind of snuck up on me. A year ago I couldn’t touch anyone without hyperventilating. Now I’m in love with a woman I can’t stop touching.”

“That’s too much information.”

Dylan sighed. “I can’t imagine my life without her.”

Todd put everything back in the box and put it on the shelf. “Thank you. You didn’t need to tell me about any of that.”

“Did it help?”

Todd nodded.

“Leaving Montana won’t change what’s happened. It won’t change who you are.”

“But it might keep Sally safe.”

Dylan shrugged his shoulders. “You’re talking to someone who deals with security issues all of the time. Believe me, nowhere is safe if someone wants to hurt you.”

“Are you trying to make me feel better or worse?”

“Maybe I’m trying to make you
feel
. Life doesn’t come with guarantees and neither does Mitch Zambezi. Even if he’d put money on your head, which he hasn’t, it doesn’t mean your life is over. It means you need to be careful.”

“I can be careful in Wyoming.”

“You’re going home?”

Todd hadn’t thought of Wyoming as his home for so long that it felt uncomfortable. His parents owned a ranch near Worland. He’d been born and raised in the small rural community that ran alongside the Big Horn River. He’d met his wife at the local high school, married her, and buried her in the local cemetery beside her folks.

Todd looked blankly at the Corvette sitting in the garage, thinking about the rest of his family. “It’s my only option. I’ve got some things to sort out and then I’m leaving.”

Dylan pointed to the small box. “Remember what’s important. I didn’t think I had any options, either. I was wrong.”

***

A week after nearly being kidnapped, Sally was with her friends in The Bridesmaids Club headquarters. Her face still didn’t look great, but at least the swelling had gone down.

She pulled another dress out of the box in front of her. “How many dresses do you think they squeezed in here?”

Molly peered over her shoulder. “Maybe another two?”

Tess looked up from the spreadsheet she was working on. “You’re kidding? Six in one box must be a record.”

“It is, especially when the skirts are as puffy as these ones are,” Sally said. She held the pale pink dress in her hands and swung it around. “Does this go in the Cinderella Collection or the Winter Romance Collection?”

Molly tilted her head sideways. “If it had a little shawl or bolero jacket to go with it, I’d put it in the Winter Romance Collection. But as it is, I’d leave it with the other Cinderella dresses. Someone’s going to look amazing in it.”

“As long as they have a small waist,” Sally said critically. “A gathered waistband is murder on your figure.”

Molly reached into the box and pulled the next dress out. “And why would you be worried about your waistline, Sally Gray? You’ve lost so much weight over the last little while that I’m beginning to think you’ll be fading away to a shadow.”

Sally looked down at her black leggings and blue t-shirt. “I’ve got too many curves to be a shadow.”

“I don’t think you should lose any more weight,” Tess said. “Molly’s right. Skinny is not healthy.”

Sally raised her eyebrows. “You’re the tallest and skinniest person I know. There’s nothing unhealthy about you at all.”

“Yeah, but I eat like a horse. My weight has got absolutely nothing to do with what I eat, and everything to do with genetics. I come from a family of string beans.”

“Talking about string beans, where’s Max? I thought you were looking after him today?” Molly asked.

“I’m seeing him tomorrow. I thought it would be easier than bringing him here.”

“I wouldn’t worry about him in the loft,” Molly said. “There’s plenty of space here.”

Sally looked around at the spacious living area. Even with the racks of clothes, sofas, and chairs, there was plenty of room for an Irish wolfhound.

Tess closed the lid of her laptop. “That’s it. My monthly accounts are all paid and I can eat for another week.”

Molly laughed. “Or pay for the incredible wedding you’re planning.”

“Don’t remind me.” Tess flopped down on a sofa and stared at the box the bridesmaids’ dresses had arrived in. “I thought we’d remembered everyone on our guest list, but Logan’s grandma reminded us that we’d forgotten, Basil.”

Sally draped the pink Cinderella dress over the back of a chair. “Who’s Basil?”

“Grandma Allen’s poodle. He’s a sweetie, but a dog? At a wedding?”

Sally smiled. “I can tell you’re not a doggie person. It’s perfectly acceptable to have your favorite canine at your wedding.”

“But apart from Max, I don’t like dogs.”

“Max
is
special,” Molly said as she pulled the last dress out of the box. “Grace Kelly Collection?”

Tess and Sally nodded.

The cream silk dress was lovely. With some careful accessorizing, Sally imagined it could easily double as a wedding gown. “After you’ve photographed it, could we add another tag to the website for the Brides Collection?”

Molly nodded. “Good idea. So what are you going to do about Basil, Tess?”

“He’s coming to the wedding.”

“At least he can keep Logan’s grandma company,” Molly said. “That’s got to be a good thing?”

“It is,” Tess said. “Which is why I got over my doggy issues. You haven’t told us who you’re bringing to the wedding, Sally.”

“That’s because I’m not bringing anyone.”

Tess looked confused. “I thought you were going to ask Todd?”

“He’s been busy. I don’t think he’ll want to come anyway.” Sally glanced across the room at Special Agent Alastair McDonald. He was on guard duty today, and probably wondering what on earth he’d gotten himself into. She just hoped he wasn’t listening too hard to the conversation going on around him.

He glanced up from the book he was reading. The gleam in his eyes told her he’d been listening to every word.

Sally wished she had enough courage to ask him about Todd. Something had happened to him over the last week. He’d gone back to being the closed off, don’t-talk-to-me person that she’d met a few months ago.

The adult, mature thing to do, would be to talk to Todd. She’d tried, but the phone call on Tuesday had been short and not so sweet. It was difficult to have a conversation when only one person was talking. She’d hung up after a few minutes and hadn’t called him back.

Molly put a cup of hot chocolate in front of Sally. “Don’t worry about Todd. Men are fickle creatures of habit.”

Alastair cleared his throat.