The Promise of Rainbows (39 page)

The rest of the afternoon was a blur. Susannah talked him into setting their wedding date for the third Saturday in March, a little over three weeks away. She asked if her mama could marry them, and it made her laugh when he replied, “Who else would marry us? Rye?”

He called Garth and told him to move heaven and earth to make his wedding the best day of their lives. Without missing a beat, his manager said he was going to hire a couple extra assistants with event planning experience who’d help made it happen. It made it easier that they’d be using Jake’s home as the venue. Between Garth’s efforts and Susannah’s, Jake knew it would be a perfect day.

Before he knew it, Susannah was already showing him color combinations for their wedding.

He ended up liking a pairing of deep purple and hot pink the best, though he expected the guys would rag on him something fierce about having pink as a wedding color. Especially Darren, Monty, and Randy—whom he stepped out to call briefly to share his news. His old buddies were overjoyed for him, but not surprised after seeing Susannah and Jake together. All of them promised to make it to the wedding.

The family came over that night, and pretty much everyone walked in with a knowing smile. There were a few exaggerated nods in his direction, and he saw more than one person whisper in Susannah’s ear.

Jake saw to the drinks, and when every member of his expanding family had finally arrived, Susannah reached for his hand.

“So this won’t surprise most of you, but…Jake and I are getting married.”

A collective cheer went up, and some people even clapped their hands.

Annabelle and Rory jumped up and down like a couple of escaped ping pong balls, the little girl exclaiming, “Yay! Jake is going to be part of our family for real. Now he can be with us forever.”

When Annabelle ran over, Jake swept her up in his arms and swung her around. “Forever and ever.” He gave her a kiss on the cheek and set her down.

“I was tempted to send a hit man after you when you hung up on me this afternoon, Susannah,” Shelby said, bustling up to Susannah. Sadie was trailing only a foot behind her.

“Yeah,” Sadie said, wrapping Susannah into a hug. “And after all the help we gave Jake in picking out the proper ring and orchestrating a proper proposal.”

Jake felt a warm hand touch his arm, and he knew who it was before he even looked to the side. The power of Louisa’s touch was well known to him.

“Hey, sugar,” she said, embracing him. “I’m so happy for y’all. It’s the answer to one of my greatest prayers.”

Jake got all choked up. “You had a lot to do with it. Thank you. The words don’t seem like they’re enough, but they’re all I have.”

“Oh, they’re enough all right,” she said, and then stepped back to let the others offer their congratulations.

J.P. gave him a bear hug and said, “It’ll be nice to have someone else help with the McGuiness girls.”

Just then, Shelby and Sadie let out ear-piercing squeals.

“Three weeks!” Shelby yelled.

Amelia Ann, Tory, and Tammy all rushed over, and he watched as Susannah gestured with her hands, probably filling them in on the news.

“I like a man who doesn’t dither,” Rye said, slapping him on the back. “If you ask me, Tory and I did way too much of that. Sure, she was finishing her doctorate and all that jazz, but I would have whisked her off to Vegas in a heartbeat.”

“And been permanently prevented from ever having children,” Clayton said, shaking his hand. “Congratulations, Jake. I know you and Susannah are going to be very happy.”

He knew they were too, and as he made his way through the rest of the evening, he felt like his life was finally coming together.

Chapter 28

Finding a wedding dress for one woman was tough enough, but finding three wedding dresses in one
day
was the looniest notion ever, if you asked Shelby. And yet, somehow, Susannah, Tammy, and Amelia Ann managed to do just that on a blustery day in Nashville with all of the women from their extended family in tow.

Eight hours after their shopping trip had begun, Shelby’s feet were aching from all the bridal shops they’d visited. The restaurant they’d chosen to celebrate their shopping success was warmly lit, quiet, and it boasted some of the best drinks in Nashville.

“I love my dress,” Amelia Ann cooed out, awash in what Shelby termed “the bridal glow.” If she hadn’t suspected the others would judge her, she’d have said it rivaled afterglow.

“The organdy looks gorgeous on you, honey,” Tammy exclaimed, sipping her champagne cocktail. “Clayton will be a puddle on the ground when he sees you.”

“And J.P. too, sugar, when he sees you in that silk A-line,” Amelia Ann said, tapping their glasses together in a toast. “It’s classic.”

Shelby eyed Susannah, who was busy texting.

“Are you waxing poetic about your dress to your fiancé, honey?” Shelby drawled, trying to bring her sister back to the group. “If I weren’t so happy for you, I’d be tempted to put an ice cube down your shirt to help you focus.”

Usually Susannah stowed her phone when they got together, but she and Jake couldn’t bear to be apart without sending near-constant texts.

“Thank you for your restraint,” her sister said, her bridal glow only dimming a couple watts as she put her phone away. “I was seeing what he’s up to, is all. Why ever would I say anything about my dress? But he’ll go crazy when he sees what I’m wearing. Don’t you think I look like a fairy princess in it, Mama?”

“That and more,” Louisa said, holding a sleepy Annabelle against her side.

They hadn’t had the heart to make the little girl stay home with her brother, whom Dale was watching. Not when there was this much special shopping to do. Annabelle had been extra helpful picking out Tammy’s wedding dress, and she’d promised more than once not to tell anyone—including Rory—what any of the dresses looked like. Now she was all tuckered out, the poor thing.

“We should get this little one home,” Tammy said, rising and picking Annabelle up. “I feel like a bad mama, bringing her to a cocktail bar.”

“It’s a restaurant, Tammy,” Margaret informed her daughter. “Don’t worry your pretty little head about that.”

Shelby signaled for the check, but Margaret shook her head.

“This is on me,” she said, giving Tammy and Amelia Ann a warm smile. “I’m so grateful to be here to share in this special occasion with my two beautiful daughters. I’m…I love you both…so much.”

Knowing how much animosity had existed between Margaret and her daughters for much of their lives, Shelby felt herself tear up a bit at the emotion in the woman’s voice.

After they paid the bill, they bundled into the two cars they’d taken for the excursion. When they arrived at Rye’s house—mission central—they said their goodbyes and took off for their separate cars.

Sadie stopped Shelby with a hand on her arm before she could open her BMW.

“What?”

Her sister heaved out a breath. “I’ve prayed on it some, and after hearing Susannah talk about having J.P. take her down the aisle, I’ve decided I want to talk to our brother about looking for Daddy.”

She’d also had thoughts of their daddy today. Tammy and Amelia Ann would be shepherded down the aisle by Hampton, but Susannah was going to have to have J.P. do the honors. If they had tried to make contact with him long ago, back when Shelby had first thought about it, maybe their daddy would have been the one…

“Did you see the look on Mama’s face when Susannah mentioned it?” Shelby asked.

“Yes,” Sadie answered with an emphatic nod. “I wanted to ask Mama what she knew right then and there. So much so I was afraid I’d scream.”

Okay, now she was being overdramatic, but that was Sadie. “Do we have to do this
now
?”

“J.P. is going to be in a good mood, what with knowing that Tammy bought her wedding dress today. He’s likely to be more receptive.”

She couldn’t disagree with her sister’s logic.

“All right,” Shelby said, “but you’re going to have to swear not to get too dramatic or maudlin. He hates that.”

“Me? I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

Her tone suggested she was truly clueless. “I’ll meet you at his house.”

“Dale was taking care of Rory, so he should be alone,” Sadie informed her. “Tammy took Annabelle home for a nap.”

“Unless one of the guys went over,” Shelby finished. “Let me text him.”

Since she was dreading this conversation, she rather hoped he might be hanging with the boys. But no, he fired a text right back with an invitation for them to swing on over.

“See you there,” she said.

“Drive slowly, so I can follow you,” Sadie called out. “I want to arrive with you.”

She got in her car, shaking her head. What did her sister think she was going to do? Spill the beans before she arrived?

They made it there five minutes later than Shelby normally would because Sadie was the most law-abiding citizen on the planet.

“You drive like an old maid,” Shelby informed her as they walked to J.P.’s front porch.

“Don’t call me an old maid,” Sadie said, nudging her in the ribs. “I’m already fit to be tied, thinking about talking to J.P. about this.”

“Me too,” she said, and they reached for each other’s hands as their brother answered the door.

“Somehow I expected to see more joy on your faces,” he said, kissing both their cheeks. “I take that to mean there was no luck in the dress department. Tammy only mentioned she was going with y’all to look.”

“Ah…” Shelby said, casting Sadie a glance. “Then mum’s the word on this end.”

“That’s not why we’re here,” her sister added.

J.P.’s brow knit as he studied them closer. “Best come on in. Can I get y’all something to drink?”

If Shelby hadn’t already consumed a cocktail, she would have asked for a glass of wine. “Sweet tea would be lovely.”

“For me too,” Sadie agreed, releasing their handhold to give Charleston a good rubbing behind the ears.

“I’ll fetch us some,” their brother said and headed to the kitchen.

“Do you want to tell him?” Sadie asked in a harsh whisper, “or shall I? I think you should start with Gail’s news. J.P. respects her.”

Gail had only asked her once if she’d come to a decision about contacting a private investigator. One of the many things Shelby valued about her was that she knew when to be pushy and when not. “I’ll kick it off. You add your two cents.”

“What are the two of you whispering about?” J.P. asked. “Y’all are worrying me.”

Their brother stood in the doorway, three glasses in hand, eyeing them with concern. Charleston must have sensed it because he went over and nudged J.P. in the leg.

Shelby and Sadie took their glasses from him, but suddenly the tea didn’t seem like a good idea. She set hers aside, and Sadie did the same.

J.P.’s eyes narrowed as he placed his glass on the end table by theirs. “If sweet tea can’t make this better, I’m beyond worried now. Let’s have it.”

Shelby offered up a silent prayer and then asked, “Have you ever thought about finding Daddy?” she blurted out.

His face blanched, and since he was the steadiest force on the planet, Shelby felt immediate regret.

“Where’s all this interest coming from?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

Considering the change in his body language, Shelby worried he was more closed to the conversation than Sadie had thought.

“We’ve been thinking about it a spell,” Sadie interjected, wringing her hands. “But truth be told, I’ve been wondering about Daddy my whole life. You were supposed to tell him about Gail first, Shelby.”

“I…forgot,” she said lamely. Somehow saying those words to her brother had shorted her brain.

Her brother took a moment to rub Charleston behind the ears. “Let’s sit a spell, shall we?”

They took up their sweet tea and walked into the music room. Shelby spotted one of Annabelle’s dolls sitting on the window seat. She clutched a pillow to her chest when she and Sadie sat on the couch. J.P. took an adjoining chair. All the sweet teas were arranged on the table, still untasted.

“Best start from the beginning,” he said calmly, but Shelby noticed his hands had fisted in his lap. “Let’s start with what Gail has to do with this.”

Shelby summarized her discussion with Gail, and then Sadie proceeded to tell him what Shelby would have called the long version of events, even going back to her high school genealogy project. Good heavens. Shelby let her talk, but each time she got a little dramatic, she’d put a hand on her thigh. Her sister took her cue and dialed it back.

J.P. listened the whole time, not interrupting once.

“And then there was all the talk about you walking Susannah down the aisle today…”

Sadie trailed off, and J.P. made a humming sound.

“I can see how that might have gotten you to thinking,” their brother said. “What about you, Shelby? How long have you been thinking about this?”

“For a long time as well,” she said simply.