Zane smiled. Dancing was harmless, lasted less than four minutes, and wouldn’t leave her with the wrong impression. Perfect. “By the end of the night I’ll have gotten McKenna to dance. Everyone in?”
His friends nodded.
“Watching you go down in flames is going to be more fun than we’ve had in a long time,” Cooper said.
“All right, enough of you men being holed up in the corner,” Grace said, cutting off Cooper’s comment when she, Cassie, and Cheyenne joined them.
“I was fixin’ to come find you to dance,” AJ said as he linked hands with Grace and kissed his fiancée’s cheek. “But none of this line dancing. I want a slow song so I can hold you.”
Zane rolled his eyes at his friend’s besotted voice and lovestruck look.
“Great idea,” Cooper said, wearing a similarly enamored grin, as he slid his arm around Cheyenne’s shoulder.
Cooper dancing? Mr. Two Left Feet? In the ten-plus years Zane had known his best friend, he’d never seen him dance. Not even to a slow ballad. Zane shook his head. He’d known men to do ridiculous things when in love, but he never thought his best friend would act that way.
“You should join us on the dance floor,” Cassie said.
“The three of us dancing would be a little awkward.”
Ty’s beautiful blonde wife laughed.
“Get your own girl. This one’s taken,” Ty said.
“From the looks you’ve gotten since you arrived, that shouldn’t be difficult. You’ve caused quite a stir,” Cassie said.
Zane smiled. “And I’m fixin’ to cause more.”
*
Bloom where you’replanted. McKenna Stinson lived by that philosophy and a set of rules, but sometimes it was hard, especially when life dumped a massive pile of manure on her the way it had this last year.
A year and a half ago, she’d been a wedding planner with one of Houston’s most prestigious wedding venues. Now she found her savings drained, her credit card maxed out, and her career back at square one. No longer a wedding planner, instead, she worked as the personal assistant-glorified gopher-track down vendor estimates-do whatever needs being done gal to Ginny Logan, owner of Lucky Stars Weddings in Wishing, Texas, and was grateful for the job.
Lightning repeatedly flashed, followed by the rumbling thunder. When she’d checked the weather before the guests arrived, the consensus was the storms would roll in around ten. Looked as if they were moving faster than anticipated. Having learned early on that bad weather or sometimes a strong breeze could knock out the ranch’s power, McKenna made her way across the barn’s ballroom-dining area to check the generator again.
Nothing could go wrong with tonight’s engagement party for Wishing’s chief of police and the manager of the Bluebonnet Inn bed and breakfast. For a small town such as Wishing, population slightly under eleven thousand, tonight’s gathering was a major event.
More importantly with Ginny out for at least six weeks, tonight was McKenna’s first opportunity to prove herself. This party coming off seamlessly would instill confidence in people with upcoming weddings and reassure them Ginny had made the right decision leaving her in charge.
For McKenna, personally, tonight was the first step to getting her career back on track. When her boss saw what a fabulous job she did as manager, surely she’d promote McKenna to wedding planner. From there, hopefully, Ginny would listen to her ideas to expand Lucky Stars to host end of life celebrations and corporate retreats, further proving her value. Who knew, from there, maybe years down the road she could manage the business or become a partner.
Not that she wanted to push Ginny out of her own business, the one the woman had launched when her husband died. But McKenna needed to control her destiny and have the security she craved. She’d never face her father’s uncertainty of worrying about losing a job when a company was sold or downsized. No more moving unless she wanted to. Then she could put down roots and finally have a real home.
After checking the generator, the cell phone in her skirt pocket vibrated. Wanting to ensure the call wasn’t from another client or Ginny, McKenna checked the screen and froze seeing her sister’s name.
Don’t answer. Tonight’s too important, and you can’t afford to deal with Erin’s drama. Let her call go to voice mail.
As McKenna slipped her phone back in her pocket, an odd tingle shot up her spine and her big sister instincts kicked in. Erin’s problems were rarely trivial. What if she didn’t take the call and something happened she could’ve prevented? She grabbed her phone and answered.
“McKenna, I’m hurt, and I don’t know what to do.”
Erin’s trembling voice pounded in McKenna’s ears. Her hand clutching her phone tightened, and her fingers tingled. Her chin dropped to her chest as she tried to calm her racing heart.
She’d been right. Erin was in trouble. Again.
Not tonight. McKenna’s mind spun. Boots clicked in rhythm against the wooden dance floor as guests line danced. The buzz of conversations rang in her ears. Her vision clouded. How could she deal with another of Erin’s crises? McKenna inhaled deeply. Unable to concentrate, she stumbled outside onto the empty patio.
Lightning flashed across the sky and thunder rolled around her. The wind whipped at her hair as if the weather mirrored her inner volatility.
