Page 109 of Summer Weddings
A second later Bethany was in his arms. The water seeped through her blouse, but she couldn’t have cared less. Whatdidmatter was sharing this important day with the people she loved. And those who loved her.
* * *
John Henderson wanted to do the right thing by Sally. He loved her—more than he’d thought possible. Proof of that was his willingness to delay asking her to marry him. He was determined to wait until he’d talked to her father.
He’d been carrying the engagement ring with him for weeks now. Every once in a while he’d draw it out and rub the gold band between his index finger and thumb. He figured that his patience—difficult though he found it to be patient—was a measure of his love for Sally. Still, he cursed himself a dozen times a day for listening to Duke.
John told himself that the other pilot didn’t know any more about love than he did. But it wasn’t true; Duke had given him good, sensible advice. John desperately wanted everything to be right between Sally and him, especially after her recent heartbreak.
It would’ve been selfish to rush her into an engagement and then a wedding without first knowing that she shared his feelings—and was sure of her own. He had to be certain she wasn’t marrying him on the rebound. Duke was right about her family, too. Her parents were traditional, old-fashioned, even, and it was important to meet them, give them a chance to know him. Important—but the waiting had become harder with every week that passed.
Now he was ready to make his move. And ask his questions…
Naturally, John would rather have delayed this initial awkwardness. No man likes to be scrutinized by strangers, especially when he’s about to ask these very people for permission to marry the most precious, beautiful woman God ever made. Their daughter.
If he were Sally’s father, John thought, he wouldn’t blame the man for booting him out of the house. He hoped, however, that it wouldn’t come to that.
He’d bought a new suit for the occasion. It wasn’t a waste of money, he’d decided, seeing he’d probably need it for the wedding and all.IfSally agreed to marry him, and he hoped and prayed she would.
Sally’s true feelings for him seemed to be the only real question. They’d been seeing each other on a regular basis, but John had noticed certain things about her that left him wondering. Her eyes didn’t light up when she saw him, the way they had in the beginning. If he didn’t know better, he’d think she was avoiding him lately.
Mariah Douglas had recently moved into the house with her, and Sally seemed almost relieved to have an excuse not to invite him over so often. Of course, he’d been busy at Midnight Sons, with the holiday rush and all.
Other signs baffled him, as well. These puzzling changes in Sally’s behavior had started after he’d spent the night with her.It wasn’t like they’dplannedto make love; it had just happened.
John regretted not waiting to initiate their lovemaking until after the wedding. He’d known for a long time how he felt about Sally. Immediately following their one night together, he’d gone out and bought the engagement ring, but then Duke had talked him out of proposing until he could meet her family.
It might not be such a good idea to show up unannounced on Christmas Day, but John didn’t have a lot of spare time. Midnight Sons was shorthanded in the wintertime as it was. The holidays had offered him the opportunity to make the trip. That was why he was here in British Columbia, in a small town with an Indian name he couldn’t pronounce, dropping in on Sally’s family uninvited and clutching a somewhat travel-worn bouquet of roses.
John checked the address on the back of the Christmas card envelope and walked up to the white house with the dark green shutters and the large fir wreath on the door. He pressed the doorbell, swallowed nervously and waited.
His relief was great when Sally answered the door herself. Her eyes grew huge with surprise and, he hoped, with happiness when she saw who it was.
“John? What are you doing here?”
He thrust the flowers into her hand, grateful to be rid of them. “I’ve come to talk to your father,” he told her.
“My dad?” she asked, clearly puzzled. “Why?”
“That’s between him and me.” He found it difficult not to stare at her, seeing she was as pretty as a model for one of those fashion magazines. They’d made love only that once, and although he cursed himself for his lack of self-control, he couldn’t regret loving Sally. He looked forward to making love to her again. Only this time it would be when his ring was around her finger and they’d said theirI do’s.
“John?” She closed the door and stepped onto the small porch steps, hugging herself with both arms. Her eyes questioned his. “What’s this all about?”
“I need to talk to your father,” he repeated.
“You already said that. Is it because I’ve decided not to return to Hard Luck? Who told you? Not Mariah, she wouldn’t do that, I know she wouldn’t.”
John felt as if someone had punched him. For one shocking moment, he thought he might be sick. “You…you didn’t plan on coming back after Christmas?”
“No.” She lowered her gaze, avoiding his.
“But I thought… I hoped—” He snapped his mouth shut before he acted like an even bigger fool. He was about to humble himself before her father and request Sally’s hand in marriage. Yet she’d walked out of his life without so much as a word of farewell.
“You mean you didn’t know?”
He shook his head. “You weren’t planning on telling me?”
“No.” She tucked her chin against her chest. “I… I couldn’t see the point. You got what you wanted, didn’t you?”
