Page 38 of The Wedding Toast
“I don’t know if you’ve heard this one yet,” said Jacob.“Slade told me earlier that John is now the quiet dragon.”
“That makes sense,” said Becca with a laugh.“If Slade’s the growly dragon who guards the empire from the front gate.Then when he’s not there, I can see John being the quiet dragon.I hope he likes it.”
“From what Slade said, I think he did,” said Jacob.
“Is she here yet this morning?”
“I haven’t seen anything of them,” said Becca.She narrowed her eyes at Jacob.“But then I’m not allowed near the garage for some reason, am I?”
He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers.“No, you’re not, Queen Cornflower.”
“Alara said that when they arrived this morning, she and Zia would go straight over there,” said Elena.As she picked up a plate of cookies, she added, “I was thinking I’d take these down for them.”
“If you see Chuck and Walt on your travels, ask them what they’re up to, would you?”said Darlene.
“Okay.I’ll be back.”
~ ~ ~
Chuck wandered back up toward the house from the greenhouse.Walt was a decent fella, but he’d managed the grounds here at the Jacobs place by himself for decades – he’d been good about it, but they both knew he didn’t need Chuck’s help.
As he followed the driveway, his gaze alternated between taking in the rolling hills covered in grapevines that went as far as the eye could see, and checking on the cornflowers that filled the borders along the drive.It was hard to believe that his Becca lived here now – that this was her home, and that when she had babies, his grandkids would grow up here.What wasn’t hard to believe was that Jacob loved her.That had been plain from the start.
Chuck would never have believed that a man like him – a businessman who had his own jet and wore a suit most of the time – would have it in him to go to all this trouble for Becca.But now he knew Jacob, he knew that man would go to the ends of the Earth for her.He’d be a good husband, and a good father when the time came.
He slowed as he got closer to the house.He’d be glad when the wedding was behind them – he’d hold his own with all these fancy folks who were coming.But he’d be able to relax after they all left again.
He walked more slowly, eyeing the cornflowers as he went.He crouched near a clump of them, not pulling weeds exactly – just fussing with the soil, making sure they were standing proud.He knew he wasn’t really needed here – Walt was the groundskeeper, and Jacob had paid someone to plant them.But Chuck’s hands couldn’t sit idle, and if he was honest, this was the only part of the estate that felt like his kind of place.
He muttered to himself: the soil didn’t smell right, wasn’t red enough.Although maybe the soil just reminded him that everything here was different – and that he was just unsure what to do in a place where people wore cufflinks before lunch.
He stilled when he sensed a presence behind him.It was small, not an animal like he was used to back home.He started to turn slowly, wondering if it might be the Dalmatian he’d seen around a time or two.
“Are these your friends?”
He had to turn all the way around before he saw her – the little girl they’d all been talking about.She stood barefoot in the grass, arms hanging loosely at her sides, big eyes watching him like she wasn’t looking at him but into him.
“What’s that, now?”
She pointed to the cornflowers.“These.You’re the one looking after them.”
He shrugged and wiped a palm on his jeans.“Not really.It’s Walt’s job.I’m just helping him a bit … Just … couldn’t walk by them all drooped over like that.”
She came and crouched beside him before he could get to his feet and touched the stem of a flower gently.“They stood up straighter when you came near.”
He just watched her, not knowing what to say.He couldn’t explain it, but it felt true.
“You’re Becca’s dad.”
“That’s right.”
“Your hands make beautiful things grow.”
He raised an eyebrow.“They do what now?”
“Your hands, they know how to do hard work, and how to tell stories.Your hands are like my mom’s.You work with flowers and growing things.You’re not like them.”She jerked her head toward the big house.“They’re nice, but the flowers don’t love them like they love you – you’re special.”
Chuck’s throat tightened unexpectedly.No one had ever said anything like that to him – especially not a child with big eyes and bare feet.
