Wish Upon a Wedding (7 page)

Avery knew damned well that Uncle Easton was absolutely right about letting the past go and not letting pain get in the way of something good. He just hoped that someday he could muster up the courage to do it.

While he'd gotten past the pain of Ashley's betrayal, he didn't know if he'd ever trust someone enough to risk that kind of whiskey-drinking heartache again. Even though Sophia seemed so honest and so sweet, Avery just wasn't ready to completely let his guard down.

He liked her. He just wasn't going to let her know how much he wanted to date her for real.

At least not yet.

Let It Go

A
s much as she'd like to sleep in, Carrie Ann always woke up to the first bird chirping outside her bedroom window. “It's Monday. The salon is closed,” Carrie Ann mumbled. She rolled onto her side and refused to open her eyes. But her brain started ticking off all of the things she needed to do for White Lace and Promises and so falling back asleep wasn't remotely an option. Even though Sophia was going to run the creative end of the salon, Carrie Ann remained in charge of ordering products and keeping the books.

The early-to-rise habit dated way back to when she had to help her mama get Ava and Ellie ready for school. Ava insisted upon wearing outrageous outfits to kindergarten, causing quite a morning ruckus. Ellie, the little rascal, liked to sneak back into bed while Ava pitched her hissy fits leaving Carrie Ann almost no time for her own primping, usually resulting in a ponytail, jeans, and whatever top she could manage to round up. For a former cheerleader, this hasty morning ritual was far less time than she would have wanted.
But then again, primping became less of a priority when her social life waned.

Carrie Ann still lived on Oak Street in her family home where she grew up. Although the older house required a bit of maintenance, she never seriously considered moving, telling herself that the close proximity to the salon was the reason, but deep down she knew she didn't want to give up her ties to her childhood and to the father whom she still missed to this day.

Fingers of sunshine reached through the blinds into the bedroom, beckoning Carrie Ann to rise and make her coffee. But today, she resisted. Instead of immediately tossing back the covers and having her feet hit the cool hardwood floor, Carrie Ann stubbornly remained in bed, snuggled beneath the fluffy down comforter.

Sometimes, if Carrie Ann closed her eyes and remained very still, she could hear the echoes of the memories embedded in the walls. She did so now and smiled, remembering the giggles of her sisters coming from the bedroom across the hallway when they were supposed to be sleeping. Bedtime stories were a nightly ritual instilling a love of books in Carrie Ann and her sisters. When Carrie Ann was older she'd stay up past her bedtime and read with a flashlight, hiding beneath the covers until she dozed off.

Mary Spencer always cooked a big breakfast, even on school days, because their daddy enjoyed starting the morning with a hearty meal. Carrie Ann remembered the aroma of strong coffee and bacon tickling her nose. Pots and pans clanking always sounded cheerful and breakfast remained her favorite meal to this day. Her daddy, bless his heart, was a morning person, always singing and whistling, coming in every day to wake Carrie Ann up with a hug. He smelled of minty toothpaste and Irish Spring soap and even though she grumbled about getting out of bed there was nothing better than waking up to her father's smile.

Charley Spencer had laid carpet for a living and her
mama cut hair out of their home so she could be there when her girls got home from school. While they hadn't been wealthy, and they'd had their share of squabbles, love and laughter had filled the Spencer household.

And then, seemingly as fit as a fiddle, good-natured, hardworking Charley Spencer up and died of a sudden heart attack.

“Thirty-eight years old,” Carrie Ann whispered and inhaled with a little hitch. She ran her fingertips over the edge of the soft sheet, letting the memories wash over her, something she rarely allowed herself to do because she'd always end up crying. But for whatever reason, this morning she wanted to remember.

They'd lived in a small town, a simple life free from the stress of wanting modern-day extravagances. When something broke, her father fixed it. Clothes were mended and passed down. Vacations meant camping by the lake or a trip to the Smoky Mountains now and again where they would walk the main strip in Gatlinburg, eating saltwater taffy and funnel cakes while taking in the sights.

“Oh Lordy . . .” Carrie Ann swallowed the hot moisture gathering in her throat. As a child she'd rarely cried and if she had it was usually from the pain of a skinned knee or tumble from her bicycle. But emotional tears almost never happened until the day her daddy died. And on the morning they'd laid him to rest she'd shed more tears than she'd thought was even possible to create without drying up and blowing away. And then she'd stopped crying, knowing she had to be strong for her heartbroken mother and little sisters.

If Carrie Ann had known how precious those early years were she would have savored the days and not taken one single moment for granted.

If she was honest, she supposed that one of the reasons she never married was that she didn't think she could capture the same kind of love her parents shared and would find her marriage somehow lacking. And of
course, she never wanted to suffer the same kind of tragic loss that her mother went through.

But lately she started wondering if she'd let life pass her by. She'd never know what it was like to have a baby or hold the hand of her grandchild. While she'd fancied herself being in love a time or two, as soon as marriage was mentioned, she'd shut down and ultimately walk—no,
run—
away.

Carrie Ann fisted her hands in the sheets and felt another wave of emotion clog her throat. “Damned change-of-life hormones,” she grumbled. For someone who had always managed to remain fairly stoic, nowadays Carrie Ann found herself blubbering at silly-ass commercials and if she watched a Hallmark movie, tears flowed like a damned waterfall.

Now as she brushed at a tear, she told herself that this was the very reason she rarely let herself travel down memory lane! Old photographs, hundreds of them, remained stored away in boxes because they were just too difficult to look at. “Get your sorry self up and start the day,” she said, but her body refused to move and her brain continued to toss memories at her like a slide show on a projector screen.

Ava and Ellie were ages seven and five at the time of their father's death and so their childhood recollection of him remained a bit fuzzy. But for Carrie Ann, losing her daddy at the age of fifteen was a sharp searing pain that still came out of nowhere now and then.

Her mama had carried on. After all, what else could she do? Mary Spencer was a steel magnolia through and through. She kept her chin up, worked hard, and managed to keep laughter under the Spencer roof, but Carrie Ann could see that the light in her mama's eyes had dimmed and sometimes late at night she could hear her mother weeping.

The loud ringing of the phone jolted Carrie Ann from her musings. She reached over and grabbed the receiver from her nightstand pretty much knowing
who would be on the other end of the line at this time of the day. She looked at the caller ID and nodded . . . yep.

“Mama!” Carrie Ann answered the phone brightly, somehow feeling guilty that she was still in bed after eight o'clock. She cleared her throat so she wouldn't sound groggy. Her mother was one of the few people who called her on her home line this early and often when Carrie Ann was thinking of her.

“Hey there, sugar pie, what's going on?” Mary Spencer asked innocently but the underlying tone in her soft Southern drawl suggested otherwise.

Carrie Ann sat up and propped a pillow behind her back. “You mean with White Lace and Promises?” Carrie Ann asked just as innocently. “Sophia has been working her tail off to get the salon ready to open in time for spring weddings. Her sister, Grace, is a marketing whiz. We have a Web site, a Facebook page, and gorgeous glossy pamphlets on display at all of the related shops in Wedding Row.”

“Oh, I cannot wait to see it,” Mary gushed.

“We're going to have an open house soon and have some models brought in to do some updos on. Some of the other shops are joining in with us for a day of festivities.”

“You were always good at fancy updos. I didn't have the patience for all that fluff.”

“Oh, thank you, Mama, but Sophia does absolutely stunning work. I'll send pictures, or better yet, you should come up for a visit.”

“I might just do that. Ava and Ellie are bringing the grandkids down for spring break. Maybe I'll fly back to Lexington with them and then rent a car and drive down to Cricket Creek for a spell.”

Carrie Ann wasn't too keen on her mother driving but her mama would not even dream of giving up her car keys. But even though years of standing on her feet behind the chair had taken its toll on her physically, Mary Spencer remained as sharp as a tack. Florida
sunshine and the abundance of friends kept her going at a fast social pace and even though Carrie Ann missed her mama dearly, she loved hearing the happiness in her voice. And while her mother had never come close to remarrying, she was still a stunning, vivacious woman and had her share of what she referred to as “gentlemen callers.”

“So . . . anything else going on?”

Carrie Ann rested her head against the pillow and grinned. “Hmmm, let me think. Well, I did Mabel Grammar's hair the other day. She brought me a dozen butter cookies from the bakery.”

“Oh, those are my favorites. How is Mabel doing these days?”

“Just fine and dandy. She asked about you. Wanted to send you some cookies but we wondered if they would be cookie crumbs by the time they made it to Naples, Florida.”

“Carrie Ann Spencer!” She cut to the chase. “Are you going to make me come right out and ask?”

“Okay, Mama, I've been . . . seeing Easton Fisher.”

“Well, I know this very fact and I got this information via a group text message from my circle of friends in Cricket Creek. The two of you were spotted at Wine and Diner all lovey-dovey. Arrived together rather than your usual just-so-happened-to-be-at-the-same-place-at-the-same-time shenanigans you two like to pull. As if we all didn't see right through that nonsense.”

“A group text message?”

“Hey, I know how to use my newfangled smartphone, thank you very much,” she said, but then chuckled. “Well, I know some of the features. I do have a habit of sending texts to the wrong person, which can end up in some pretty sticky social situations, especially involving my gentlemen callers, but that's another story best saved for another time.”

Carrie Ann rolled her eyes. “I won't ask.”

“Let's get back to the subject at hand. Of course, I acted as if I was already privy to this vital information about you and Easton dating, but mercy me, Carrie Ann, why am I always the last one to know things?”

“Mama, I'd say you're usually the first to know and start spreading the news.”

“Well, yes! I mean, being a hairdresser in the heart of town made me the queen bee at gossip central. You know as much. Not that I spread gossip, mind you.”

“Seriously, Mama?”

A low chuckle reverberated through the phone. “Well, at least not
much
anyway. And I didn't ever repeat anything that I didn't know to be factual. As you know, being a good listener is part of a hairdresser's job.”

“I'll give you that.” She knew about affairs, lovers' spats, babies on the way, and any other news both big and small. Like her mother, Carrie Ann was much more of a listener than a talker, but being the first to know things was something she'd grown used to. And truth be known, she rather enjoyed it. “Well, yes, Mama, to answer your question, Easton and I are . . .” What were they really?

“He's your boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend sounds so silly for someone my age.”

“It's not silly at all.” Her mother became silent for a few seconds and Carrie Ann could feel the emotion coming through the phone. “It's about time, sugar pie,” she finally said with a slight tremble in her voice.

“Oh, Mama.” Carrie Ann felt moisture gather in her throat. “I've been friends with Easton for so long that I didn't want to ruin it by doing something stupid.”

“Falling in love is never stupid, even if it ends badly. You know all too well that I wouldn't have changed a thing in my life, even knowing what was going to happen. I treasure every moment I had with Charley even though he was taken from us way too soon.”

“I know, Mama. I still miss Daddy every single day.”

“Yeah, the old time-heals-all-wounds notion is a big bunch of bull feathers.”

Carrie Ann was surprised by her mother's candor about a subject that they rarely discussed.

“But the sharp pain has dulled over the years. My big regret is that I didn't get a chance to say good-bye. It happened so suddenly without any warning. I mean, your daddy was a fit man and so young.” She paused as if to regain her composure, and then chuckled softly. “And that morning I'd run out of his favorite lunch meat so I had to pack a peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich instead. Just to be funny I added a strawberry Fruit Roll-Up and a juice box like I did for you kids. Put a little note sayin' I was sorry and that I loved him. You know, I never put notes in his lunch. Funny how it happened that way.”

Carrie Ann closed her eyes and inhaled a shaky breath.

“Used to bother me that a peanut butter and jelly sandwich was the last meal I gave your daddy but I just knew he found the whole thing amusing. He was so good-natured. Wasn't a mean bone in that man's body. He was just . . . good, you know?”

“Oh, I know. Shame I didn't get his laid-back disposition.”

“You're a feisty one like me. But you know what? Your daddy could calm me down with a gentle kiss on the forehead. Or sometimes he'd just grab my hand and squeeze. He just seemed to have that power. Oh, but he wouldn't tolerate anyone disrespecting me—or anyone else for that matter. You didn't want to cross that line, let me tell ya.”

“He stood up for what he believed in.” Carrie Ann smiled because she knew all of this to be true. They didn't come any better than Charley Spencer. And it wasn't too difficult to understand that she'd never
found anyone who could measure up to her father. Carrie Ann knew all too well why she had so many issues with commitment.