Accidental Bride and Groom Read online

  She showered, brushed her teeth, and then dressed before heading downstairs. She was becoming more and more anxious. Lynn and Bruce were due home anytime. Emma was excited about her friend’s return. She really wanted a chance to visit with Lynn and renew their friendship before she had to return to Georgia. Who knew how long it would be before she returned to Texas.

  If she dreaded anything, it was the coming talk she needed to have with Landon. She had always kept a special place in her heart for the ranch, probably from all the fond memories of college holidays spent there with Lynn. In the past several days, however, the ranch had started to feel like more. It felt like the home she’d always wanted when she’d been growing up. Emma knew it was going to just about destroy her to have to say goodbye, but even though they had made love twice now, Landon still hadn’t said anything about her not leaving. As a matter of fact, he had seemed even more distant, almost as if he wished she was already gone. And for all she knew, that was exactly how he felt about her and their romantic entanglement.

  There was also the wedding itself. There had been so many last minute problems and changes. Emma was worried Lynn wouldn’t even recognize her own wedding. The reception’s menu had been changed. Lynn’s wedding dress was missing in action. The main flower in the bouquets and table centerpieces had been replaced. Not even the wedding cake had survived unscathed. It had been altered too. The bride and groom were just about the only things unchanged. And if they didn’t return home soon, even that wasn’t a guarantee.

  Emma could hear voices as she descended the main staircase. She picked up speed as she realized one of the voices belonged to her best friend. She entered the foyer just in time to see Landon sweep Lynn into a huge bear hug. Emma ran forward and was there to embrace Lynn as soon as Landon let her go. That was when she noticed the ring.

  She held up her best friend’s left ring finger, “what is this? You are wearing a wedding band as well as an engagement ring. I know that second ring wasn’t there when I saw you at the airport a few days ago.”

  Lynn looked nervously at her best friend, and then her brother. Bruce stepped next to Lynn and wrapped his arm around her pulling her close. The love he felt for the woman in his arms was evident for everyone to see. Most men might be hesitant to stand up to someone as formidable as Landon, but not Bruce.

  Emma felt the sting of jealousy burn through her. She wanted to experience that deep burning love for herself. She would give anything for someone to look at her like that. No, she wouldn’t, she quickly corrected. She would give anything for Landon to look at her like that. Emma was brought out of her deep thoughts by Lynn’s explanation of the ring.

  “Landon,” she looked at her brother before she turned to her friend, Emma. “As you both know from my phone call yesterday, we had a layover in Las Vegas that became extended when our plane was grounded for mechanical reasons. With everything that has happened over the past several days, it was the final straw.”

  Emma felt guilty even though she knew she really wasn’t responsible for the changes in Lynn’s wedding plans. “I’m sorry Lynn,” she felt compelled to apologize. She just felt horrible about all the problems that had chipped away at her friend’s wedding plans until the event itself was no longer recognizable to the person it was meant for. “Landon and I both did the best we could to salvage your big day. I know we had to make substitutions, but I think you would have been happy with the changes we had to make.”

  Lynn embraced her longtime friend. “Oh, honey,” she crooned to put Emma at ease. “It had nothing to do with your changes at all,” she promised. “It’s just after all the death and suffering we witnessed in Mexico City I suddenly couldn’t wait another night or three to become Bruce’s wife. After all, we were stranded in the elopement capital of the country, and I didn’t want to spend another night as anything but Bruce’s wife. I suggested we elope and…”

  “And I gratefully took her up on the offer,” Bruce finished her explanation. “Neither of us really wanted a large wedding anyway. She just wanted to make our family and friends happy.”

  “You guys aren’t upset with us, are you?” Lynn asked, refusing to look her friend or brother in the eyes. “I know that both of you have gone to a lot of trouble on my behalf over the past week. I’ll understand if you’re miffed with me, especially you Emma. I all but begged you to come out here a couple of weeks early, and then I bailed on you. And if that wasn’t bad enough, you ended up practically having to rearrange my entire wedding day. And now it’s a moot point.”

  Emma’s heart went out to her friend. She had to fight back the tears she was afraid would spill over any minute. She had to get her feelings under control and concentrate on Lynn. This wedding was supposed to be about her friend.

  “It’s all right, Lynn,” Emma reassured her best friend with a hug. “I have an idea for Saturday that should make everyone happy. We can cancel the minister and expand the reception into a party celebrating your marriage. That way the food, flowers, and decorations won’t go to waste, and the people that have already made travel and hotel arrangements won’t be negatively affected either.”

  Bruce looked thankful for Emma’s suggestion. “That’s a great idea. I’ll never hear the end of it from my family if they travel all the way from northwest Texas for nothing.”

  Emma smiled at his praise. She couldn’t help but notice that it didn’t have the same effect on her as a compliment from Landon. “Thanks, but I’m sure one of you would have thought of a similar idea on your own given a little more time.”

  She glanced toward Landon to see his reaction. He hadn’t said anything since Lynn had dropped the bombshell of her elopement. She could almost see the gears turning in his brain, and she wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. He wasn’t the kind to begrudge his sister anything that would make her happy. And no doubt this marriage regardless of the type of ceremony made her happy. She waited a few seconds when he didn’t say anything she remembered that Lynn didn’t know what had happened with her wedding gown. Now she wouldn’t even need it. Maybe that mishap had turned out for the best after all. They could return the gown that had been sent to the ranch by mistake and Landon could get his money back. There was no need to waste money on a gown no one was over going to wear.

  “By the way, the wedding boutique accidentally sold your gown and has been looking for a replacement. I’ll call them right away to cancel. I will also have someone pick up the gown they delivered here by mistake.” Emma kissed Lynn on the cheek. “Congratulations. I hope that the two of you have a long and wonderful life together.” Her voice broke into a sob on the last word. Suddenly she had to escape. She wanted nothing more than to be alone. She turned and ran up the stairs and back to her guest bedroom.

  Lynn watched her friend retreat in shock. “I know she worked really hard on salvaging my wedding when everything started falling apart, but I didn’t think she would take the change in plans this hard.” She looked at her brother and husband. Then a sudden thought occurred to her and she glared at her brother. “What the hell did you do to my best friend while I was in Mexico?” she demanded with hands on her hips. “She has been half in love with you ever since she started spending school holidays with us here at the ranch.” She gave her brother an indignant stare. “You had better not be taking advantage of her feelings for you Landon, or so help me you’ll wish I’d never returned home from Mexico.”

  Lynn sent one more glare toward her brother. Bruce just backed away. He might not have been a member of the James family long, but he knew better than to interfere when the two siblings had a face off. “I should go talk to her and make sure she’s all right.” Lynn started up the stairs only to be stopped by her brother.

  Landon took a deep breath. He had hoped he would have a couple of more days at least to convince Emma to stay in Texas. Now things were happening way too fast. “No wait,” he looked his sister right in the eyes. “There is more going on here than you know about. This is about Em
ma and me, not your unscheduled elopement. I should be the one to take care of it. Emma’s my responsibility now.”

  “I knew it,” a smug Lynn muttered. “Didn’t I tell you, Bruce? There’s always been something between those two. They were just too stubborn to see what I knew all along. They were made for each other. Now maybe they will stop wasting time and finally admit it to themselves and everyone else.”

  Landon heard his sister going on about him and Emma, but he couldn’t take the time to contradict or verify her thoughts. He had something more important to deal with. His future happiness was hanging in the balance here. He was running out of time to make a move. He had to put everything on the line and see how Emma responded.

  Emma had her head buried in her pillow as the tears fell. Why did love have to hurt so much? She was lost in misery and didn’t hear the bedroom door open. She had no idea she wasn’t alone until she felt the mattress next to her dip from the extra weight of her visitor. She instantly recognized Landon’s clean, crisp cedar scent.

  She tensed when he smoothed his hands up and down her back. “Landon, just go away. I want to be alone. Please,” she almost begged. She was desperate to be alone in her misery. “I need some time to myself. “Please Landon,” she begged. “If you ever felt even just a little speck of anything for me leave me alone for right now.”

  It went against everything Landon felt to leave Emma when she was in so much pain. He didn’t think he had much of a choice. She wasn’t going to be receptive to anything he had to say right then, and he certainly didn’t want to make her cry any harder. Maybe it would be better for them to discuss their future in the morning after some of the drama of Lynn’s return and elopement had died down. “I will give you some space Emma, but we need to have this conversation soon, and you know it. The time for you to leave is drawing near.”

  That just made Emma cry with even more intensity. Landon couldn’t stand to hear her sobs. They were tearing a Texas-size hole in his heart. He wanted to comfort her, but he was afraid of making things worse. Could she make herself sick from crying so hard he wondered? That thought was enough to propel him to his feet. “Until tomorrow then, try to get some sleep, sweetheart.”

  Lynn was waiting in the hall. She glared at her brother. “It doesn’t sound like you fixed things, Landon.”

  He shrugged, trying not to let his sister see how torn up he was inside. “I tried. She doesn’t want to talk to me right now, and I’m not going to force her to do something she doesn’t want to do. I’ll talk to her in the morning after she’s had a good night’s sleep.”

  The sobs coming from inside Emma’s bedroom were slowly dying. “Maybe you’re right this time big brother. We’ll play it your way and see how things go. I just hope you aren’t making the mistake of your life. Emma is fragile, she always has been.” A worried frown marred Lynn’s normally placid features.

  Landon ruffled his hair with agitated fingers. “Don’t you think I know that? It’s the only reason I’m not in there right now trying to make her listen to me.” Landon heaved a heavy sigh and wondered just when his life had become so complicated. “I’ll be in my office trying to catch up on some of the work that I’ve been ignoring the past few days.” He turned and left his sister in the hall staring after him and wondering what exactly happened while she was out of touch.

  THIRTEEN

  Emma jerked awake to the sound of a ringing phone. She was glad she had turned the ringtone volume to the lowest setting possible. She grabbed the phone off the nightstand and pressed the talk button. She answered the call without bothering to check the caller id. She just wanted to stop the noise before it woke up the rest of the house. “Hello,” she whispered into the phone.

  “Hello Emma, this is Mike Parsons,” a curt voice responded from the other end of the phone.

  Emma hadn’t heard from her former pastor for several months now. She usually called him three or four times a year to check on her mom. She had planned to call him as soon as she returned to Georgia. She hated the fact she had to find out how her mom was faring from someone else. It always left a bitterness that was hard for her to shake. She hadn’t wanted any ugliness from her past to interfere with the happy occasion of Lynn’s wedding.

  She had given Mr. Parsons her mobile phone number several years ago just in case of an emergency. The fact that he was using it in the middle of the night could not be a good sign. She felt dread work its way through her body. Something was terribly wrong. She could sense it. She needed to face things head on.

  “I know something’s horribly wrong or you wouldn’t have called. If you’re trying to figure out a way to sugarcoat it, don’t. Just give it to me straight please, Mr. Parsons. I can handle it. Remember I’m tough. I’ve had to be.”

  The man on the other end of the phone line let out a heavy sigh. He recognized the sad truth in what she was saying. “I’m calling from Community General Hospital. Your father was apparently drunk again. This time he hit your mother one too many times. A neighbor new to the area heard the disturbance and called the police. They responded fast enough to take in the scene for themselves and file charges of domestic abuse. They don’t need your mother’s cooperation this time since there are two policemen to act as witnesses to what happened.”

  Emma was relieved that finally, her mom might be able to get help and break away from her abusive husband. She was also worried about her mom. She must have been hurt pretty bad, or Mr. Parsons wouldn’t be calling her. “How’s my mom?” Emma asked, even though she dreaded the answer.

  “She almost died this time Emma. A broken rib punctured a lung, and she was having difficulty breathing, but the paramedics were able to stabilize her on the way to the hospital.”

  Emma released a pent-up sigh. “If she’s stable she must be doing better,” Emma asked, the hope in her voice clear.

  “She’s in surgery now. The doctor is trying to repair her lung. She’s not out of the woods yet by any means. That’s why I’m calling. Emma, the paramedics said she was asking for you. I think you need to come home right away, tonight if possible.”

  Emma closed her eyes and squeezed them tight. She had tried several times over the years to reestablish contact with her mom without any luck. Why now? It was the worst possible time ever. She was supposed to be celebrating her best friend’s marriage in a little over three days. And then there was Landon. Would he even care if she told him she had to leave town a few days ahead of schedule? Worse yet Emma agonized, would he be turned off by the sordid secret of her home life if he found out about it?

  “Emma! Emma, are you still there?” she heard her name being called. “I need to know what you’re going to do, so I can inform your mother’s doctor and the nurses here in the hospital.”

  “I’m in Texas, Mr. Parsons. I’m supposed to be the maid of honor in a wedding three days from now.” Emma thought about all the times she’d prayed to be able to see her mother again. She was going to have to go home. There was absolutely no doubt about that. “I’m on my way,” she promised her old friend. “I’ll drive to the airport and take the first flight to Atlanta. It may take several hours though. I’ll call you from the airport when I land in Georgia.”

  She hung up the phone and looked around the room. She frantically searched for the personal items she would need for the trip. She planned to be back before the wedding celebration, there was no doubt of that. She owed Lynn for her love and support the past several years. She wouldn’t need a suitcase. She stuffed a couple of changes of underwear and a sundress into her large laptop bag. She filled her makeup bag with travel size toiletry items, her toothbrush, and hairbrush. That was really all she needed for this trip.

  She’d go to the hospital to see her mom. Then she’d come back to Texas for Lynn and Bruce’s celebration. She would be heading back to Georgia after the wedding reception turned celebration was over. There would be plenty of time to become reacquainted with her mother then. That is if her mom wanted her to come back.r />
  Emma took a few minutes to write both Landon and Lynn a note to explain her absence. She thought about waking Landon to tell him in person, but she didn’t want to spare the extra time that would take. They would have to sort out their relationship or lack thereof when she returned. Her first priority right now had to be her mother. She had called the airport and used a credit card to purchase a ticket on the next flight out to Atlanta. She didn’t have time to waste. She would be cutting it close as it was, luckily traffic should be light this late at night, and she didn’t have any baggage to check. She spied the paperweight she’d bought for Landon in San Antonio. She used it to anchor the note to the top of a pillow. Someone would be sure to find it there.

  ****

  Landon woke with a start. Something was wrong, dreadfully wrong. He could feel it in his gut. That gut instinct had never let him down before, and it was screaming now. He thought he heard the distant sound of a car motor. That might have been what woke him up. It was too late for anyone to be visiting the ranch. Something was definitely wrong. He pulled on a pair of jeans and headed down the hall to Emma’s guestroom. He would check on her first. Make sure she had gotten over her crying jag and was sleeping away her troubles.

  He lightly knocked on her door but got no response. Maybe she was sound asleep, and he was worried for nothing, but his gut was really starting to churn. He quietly opened the bedroom door and walked into the room. Her bed was empty he realized a few seconds later. He didn’t see a light or hear any noise coming from the bathroom. He figured he’d check it out anyway. He peered into the room and found it empty as well. Maybe she couldn’t sleep and went downstairs for a warm glass of milk. Maybe that’s what woke him up instead of the car.