Wildfire Wedding (5 page)

Nana smiled at the exchange and then at Jeff. “I am glad you two could make it for breakfast. Now, we just need the maid of honor to arrive to make the immediate bridal party complete.”

Krista's phone warbled as if on cue. She noted the caller ID on the way to the coffee mugs. She leaned against the counter and watched Luke pile his plate with breakfast.

“Sami! Where are you?”

“I just left the airport. Tell me again how I get to Settler Lake.”

Jeff let out a guffaw at something Luke said. Krista shot him a look and put a finger in her free ear. “Hang on a second.” She moved to the hall. It was going to be a long day.

After giving the directions to Sami—twice, after a dropped call—another caller buzzed in. Queenie's Cakes.

Krista's mouth watered at the recollection of the cake tasting months ago, when she and Luke had decided on white cake, with raspberry filling and a layer of white chocolate ganache inside.

“Krista, I know you have a million things you're thinking about this week, but I wanted to let you know. Your cake topper broke.”

Not just
her
cake topper—but Nana's. It was irreplaceable, a family heirloom that Krista had admired since childhood. Nana had kept it in her china cabinet, safe and a visible reminder of her own day of joy half a century ago.

“I see. How. . .how did it happen?” Krista's throat hurt and her eyes stung.
Stop it
. There were far, far worse things that could happen besides a cake topper breaking.

Luke stood beside her now. He could read her face like no one else.

“Cake topper broke,” she mouthed silently. Did Nana see her? She forced herself to listen to the baker's explanation while she stared at the coffee mug on the counter in front of her.

“I had Eileen remove it from the box to make sure we had a good match on the base color, compared to the icing. And, it slipped out of her hands, and onto the floor. I'm horribly sorry, Krista. I have something similar you can use, and keep. I know it's not the same. . .”

“No, it's not.” The knot in her throat untied itself. “Go ahead. . .put flowers on the top. Like on the other cake tiers. Whatever you do will be fine.”

She ended the call after assuring Sadie, the baker, that the cake would still be beautiful.

“What's wrong, Sweetheart?” Nana poured coffee into Krista's cup.

“Ah, your cake topper. It, ah, broke.” The tears flowed. What was wrong with her? She dared not look at Jeff, but glimpsed a slight eye roll as she averted her eyes. Luke rubbed her shoulder.

Nana shook her head. “It's a wonder the thing lasted so long. Your papaw glued it back together once, even after I told him to toss it out.”

“What?” Krista wiped the tears away. “But you always took good care of it.”

“Your grandfather liked it more, I think. I just never had the heart to get rid of it.” She pushed the coffee cup closer to Krista. “So dry those tears.”

She nodded. “Yes. It's just plastic. Anyway, we should get through breakfast so we can start working on those bushes.”

“Yes, ma'am.” Luke gave her a salute, and winked.

FOUR

Luke watched Krista swing the ax, connecting it with the roots of the dried-out cedar bush. She had the grace of a dancer. Good thing she hadn’t applied to train for the fire department. He would probably spend his time watching her instead of fighting fires. He turned his attention back to the stubborn bush at his feet and hacked at it with his Pulaski. The blade caught hold, and he tugged the roots to the surface.

“Am I doing this right?” Jeff called across the space between them. He was wrestling a young cedar to the edge of the clearing near Nana’s house.

“You’re doing fine. We need to clear at least a hundred feet from the edge of the house.”

“All in one day?”

“No, Krista and I have actually been working on clearing the land since early spring. We should have finished already, but. . .” Luke heaved the stump across to the pile of brush destined to go to the wood chipper. “We’ve been a little busy.”

He stopped to watch Krista again. She leaned over and picked up a bush she’d just cut down. “Hey, beautiful, you doing okay?” Just as he’d hoped, Krista turned in his direction and a smile lit her face along with the glow of perspiration.

“Just great.” She tugged the bush alongside her and joined him at the brush pile.

“C’mere.” He reached for her with gloved hands and she moved into the circle of his arms.

She sniffed. “You stink.”

“Well, that killed the moment.” He grinned, then glanced over his shoulder at Jeff.

Jeff dragged the young pine to the other brush. “Like spending the morning hacking through the brush is romantic. Maybe having a private picnic in the woods—”

“
Jeff
.” The last thing Luke needed was Jeff shooting off his mouth. He was thanking God for the truce between Krista and his old friend. Luke focused on Krista again. “We need to have an uninterrupted date before the frenzy sets in.”

“I’d like that." She gave him a quick kiss. He would never tire of the feeling of her lips. Their softness covered her strength like a satin glove. All too soon the kiss was over. Well, come Saturday. . .

Jeff's voice intruded. “Why are you doing this the week of your wedding, anyway?”

Krista spoke. “It's been so dry, we don't know when a fire will pop up. Anytime between now and September or even October is fair game. Any time of year during a drought, really. The bigger trees are pretty hardy—we had the larger dead oak trees cut down after a drought a few years ago, but the newer underbrush goes up like that.” She snapped her fingers.

“I need to check on a job this afternoon,” Luke said, “and today's the best day for me to clear Nana’s brush. So, here we are.”

“All I can say is I'm glad I live in a gated community. We don't worry about stuff like this.”

“Right, but you have HOA fees.”

Luke’s cell phone buzzed. Krista formed a smile on her face, but Luke saw through her bravery.

“I should clean up. Sami's going to be here soon. I don't think I’ll have to twist Sami’s arm very hard to have her take me shoe shopping.”

“Jeff, you mind hanging out?” Luke took off his gloves and laced his fingers through Krista’s as the three of then walked to the house. “Uncle Al should be along later with the wood chipper, so he can get rid of all this brush.”

“Not a problem.” Jeff nodded. “Hey, I need a list of names, of your friends here locally.”

“For what?”

Jeff punched him in the arm. “A bachelor party, of course.”

Luke felt Krista's hand stiffen. “I don’t want one.”

“You don’t want one? No last hurrah as a single guy?”

“I wouldn't mind relaxing evening hanging out with my friends.” From the corner of his eye, Luke saw a range of emotions pass over Krista's face. “Besides, I don’t think we can fit it in the schedule this week.”

Jeff shrugged. “Well, I tried. You want pizza and soda, that’s fine. I can make it boring.” He beat them to the patio.

“Go inside, we’ll catch up.” Luke paused and pulled Krista's hand to his lips. “You handled that well.”

Krista pulled her hand free. “What did he want to do? Have a girl jump out a cake or something?”

“Or something.” Luke put his arm around her. “You did great, not letting him get to you.”

“Thanks. I’m glad you can’t read my mind right now.” She gave a sheepish grin.

“I love you anyway.” He hated to leave her, especially now. “I have to go, though.”

“A job?”

“The McLean's kitchen. A subcontractor hasn't shown up, so I need to go put out another kind of fire.” He glanced at the clearing behind them. They’d done the best they could, but he still felt as though they were in an open dry field holding a lit torch. The whole thing could go up in a flash. But he wouldn’t worry Krista, not with the wedding only days away.

#

“I can’t believe you forgot to buy shoes,” Sami hollered over the noise of the open convertible she’d driven from the airport.

“Don’t you remember? I always left style to you.”

“I should have guessed. I would’ve brought some shoes, accessories—something, had I known.” Which is why Sami insisted on going shopping right away. Krista could have sent Sami to buy her something white in a size eleven with a low heel while she finished clearing brush, but she didn’t trust Sami to pick the right style. Sami was well-intentioned, but her taste didn’t usually match Krista’s.

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Where am I driving?”

“Seconds Please. It’s a little consignment store in town. My aunt and uncle run it.”

Sami shook her head. “Oh, I can't wait to see it. You sure you don't want to go to Austin?”

Krista held up her hand. She still loved the sunlight sparkling off her diamond. “Of course not. You were just there. Plus I don’t care to drive to Austin just for shoes. Not today, anyway.”

“But you might find something great if we took a quick trip. Um, where do I turn?”

“Take a right at the first stoplight at the bottom of the hill.”

Sami downshifted and grinned at Krista. The wind teased at Sami’s dark hair held in place by a scarf. If Krista tried tying a scarf like that over her head, everyone would wonder if she was getting ready to start housecleaning. Sami turned right at the light.

“Okay, Seconds is up on the left. There should be parking on the side street,” Krista said. Oh, why couldn’t she be the kind of woman who could lose herself in shopping?

Sami found the side street and slowed the car to a crawl. “Ooh, I hate parallel parking. Is there a lot somewhere?”

“A block over.” Krista imagined Sami’s ears perking up like a hound picking up a scent.

Sami whipped the convertible into a narrow space in the side lot. Krista let Sami’s enthusiasm carry her along. She clutched her bag tightly to her side as they left the car.

“Wow, what a lake view.” Sami studied the limestone cliffs rising beyond the lake. “And the breeze!”

“Yes, it’s gorgeous.” She followed Sami’s gaze. A few wispy clouds drifted overhead.

“Hot, though. I feel like I'm still in California.”

“Sorry the weather isn't better. It hasn't rained here since the first week of May. Even if it rains on Saturday, I'd love it.”

“Even if it does rain, you're going to have the perfect wedding. You deserve it.” They continued down the sidewalk toward the main street.

“I don’t think it has to be perfect. Crazy things always happen at weddings. I don’t want anything to spoil it, though.”

“Jeff?”

Krista paused in front of the consignment shop. “Hold that thought—we’ll pick it up later.” Aunt Vangie, her mother's older sister, waved from the display window. She was wrestling a blouse onto a mannequin.

“Here comes the bride!” Aunt Vangie sang out as they entered the store. She swept Krista into an immediate hug.

“I’m a barefoot bride at the moment. I need shoes.” Krista grinned. “Aunt Vangie, this is my maid of honor, Sami Chen.”

“Nice to meet you.” Sami extended her hand, and Vangie hugged her instead. “You’ve a cute store here.” Sami’s eyes widened over Vangie’s shoulder.

Krista scanned the shelves. “Like I said, I’m looking for some shoes. I’ll only wear them once, but—”

Aunt Vangie released Sami and whirled in Krista’s direction. “Why don’t you take a seat at the bench and I’ll be right back.” She moved on high heels behind the counter and into a back room. “I know just the ones—I went on a buying trip last weekend and found some adorable shoes in larger sizes—got them for next to nothing. Your momma's going to be here soon, I think. She said she was picking up a few things at the store. I can only imagine. . .” Vangie’s voice competed with the blare of the radio on her desk.

“Wow, she’s enthusiastic.” Sami smiled. They moved to a bench covered with a pink chintz cushion.

“Yes, that she is. She and my mom take turns doing circles around the rest of us when we’re all together. It runs in the family.”

Speaking of which, she hadn't heard a peep from Mom since saying goodbye to her in the parking lot at Jody's place last night.

The local announcer at KSET broke in at the close of the song. “A beautiful sunny day today in Settler Lake. We’ll see highs in the mid nineties to near one-hundred and dry, dry, dry conditions through the weekend with highs again near the century mark. Chance of rain slim to none, folks. So be sure to clear out that underbrush from your wooded areas and watch for those sparks from barbecues. No open burning. If you need the wood chipper to come by, schedule an appointment with the Code Compliance office at City Hall.” Then came an ad for Seconds Please, complete with a seventies retro sound track.

Her aunt clattered out from the back room. Shoe boxes rose in a stack above her head. Krista tried not to groan. New Balance, Nike, K-Swiss—athletic shoes, she knew. The names she read on the shoe boxes read like another language.

“Here we are. Did you like the radio spot? Al said it was a good idea. We're all over Facebook, too.” Aunt Vangie placed the boxes onto the floor. Without waiting for a response, she continued. “You’re an eleven, right?”