Page 160 of Banter & Blushes

Alyce laughed. “Don’t worry, Wyn. We’ve got this. I’ll fly someone in to conduct the ceremony if I have to.” She patted Arwyn on the shoulder, then checked her watch. “I should go check into my room. We have an appointment with the wedding planner in an hour.”

“In an hour?” Arwyn squeaked.

“In the conference room,” I supplied. “Can we drive you back to the lodge, Alyce?”

She shook her head and gestured to the steps at the other end of the beach. “I’ll walk back. It’s a beautiful day.”

Arwyn stepped out from my embrace to hug her mother. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

“Me too, sweetie.”

We hurried back up the steps to the golf cart. I’d underestimated how long it would take to get from the beach to the diner and back to our cabin. I left Arwyn in the vehicle while I ran into the RV to retrieve the folder that had all the plans and a brand-new legal pad for Arwyn to write notes and make lists.

We made it to the conference room with five minutes to spare. Alyce was already there, chatting with JC and a woman with curly blond hair.

“There they are! The happy couple!” JC grinned. “Arwyn, Zaki, this is my sister and our event planner, Molly Dalton.”

“Of the blueberry tea!” Arwyn’s face lit up. “I’m going to need to buy a crate of that before we go.”

Molly grinned. “Thanks!” She gestured to the table. “Shall we get started?” We sat down, Molly and JC across from Arwyn and I, with Alyce at the end. “All right. I’ve confirmed with the church, and the assistant pastor, Ryan Engstrom, will marry you at 11a.m. on Sunday, on the beach. He’ll meet you today at camp pickup. His daughter, Nicki, is in camp with your girls. I’ll need the guest count by Thursday so we can plan food and chair setup. Here’s the catering menu and…”

The meeting flew by in a blur, but when we left, Arwyn looked relieved.

“So all I really have to do now is finish my dress? They’re taking care of everything else?”

“That’s all,” I said, as we walked into the dining room. “I need to run out and do a few things. I’ll meet you at camp pickup, okay?”

“Okay. Wait—you need to eat, too.”

“I ordered my food to go. Enjoy this time with your mom.” I kissed her and said goodbye. “I’ll walk the dogs while I’m at the cottage, so no need to rush back.”

I had a bunch of phone calls to make. But first, the lobster roll on the toasted split hot dog bun was calling my name.

Pickup today wasat the stables, and as I rounded the corner of the barn, I saw that Arwyn was already there, speaking to a tall blond man holding a towheaded toddler. I checked my phone. I was ten minutes early. When had she gotten here?

I stopped for a minute to take in the full scene. A few feet from them, a teenage boy with Down syndrome was instructing Isla and Amelie as they helped brush down a dappled gray with a black mane. The rest of their agegroup was standing at the fence of the pen while another teen boy held the reins of a brown horse with a white diamond on its muzzle and he took their questions. A ponytailed girl sat primly in the saddle as the boy pointed to her helmet.

I walked toward the girls slowly with a finger over my lips so they wouldn’t shout a greeting when they saw me and startle the horse. They grinned and waved, causing Arwyn to turn around. Her face was glowing with happiness, and I wanted to think I was the reason—or at least part of the reason—for it.

“Zaki!” I gave her a kiss, then turned to the man as she introduced us. “This is Dr. Ryan Engstrom, local pediatrician and the assistant pastor at Crane’s Cove Congregational Church.”

Ryan shifted the boy to his left side and shook my hand. He was a beefy guy, built like an offensive lineman. “This is Ned.”

“Nice to meet you, little guy.” I shook the toddler’s hand.

“Zaki hockey!”

“Yes, sir, are you a fan?”

Ned smiled again, then buried his face in Ryan’s chest. “He’s shy, but he loves to skate and shoot pucks. I thought he’d play baseball like me and his older brother—that’s Noah out there in the pen with the kids. And his sister Nicki plays softball—she’s the one on the horse. But Ned has zero interest.”

“Maybe it’ll come later,” I replied.

“Maybe.” He shrugged good-naturedly. “So, Sunday morning is a go, I hear. I was just telling Arwyn about the procedure. We don’t need to do a rehearsal, unless you want to. With a wedding the night before, you’d have to do it a few days prior, but we can figure that out if you want to do it.”

I shook my head. “We can skip it. My girls know what to do with flower petals. We won’t have a formal wedding party, just them and the dogs. We’ll write our own vows. What do you think, Wynna-bun?”

She nodded. “I agree. We’re here this week for Flynn and Meggie. I don’t want to take any time or attention from them or their events.”

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