Page 43 of Second Chances

Ignoring warning looks from everyone, Cait continued, “Okay, so? Not like he lied to her, or used her, or went behind her back and then stabbed her there⁠—”

“Stabbed who, where?” A deep voice behind her spoke. Grimacing, Cait put her face in her hands, unable to look at her brother. “Sounds a little personal, Caity.”

“Liam!” Effie smiled brightly, her voice a little too exuberant. “We weren’t sure you were coming.”

“Why wouldn’t I come? It’s a beautiful day outside, and I said I would be here.” Where had his upbeat attitude come from? He hadn’t been this way in months. “So, who were we gossiping about?” With an iced tea in one hand, he straddled a chair taken from a nearby table.

“Just somebody I work with.” Effie started.

Ruth said simultaneously, “Oh, someone Tess mentioned.”

Cait stared at him as Liam raised one of his chestnut-colored eyebrows, clearly not believing them but not challenging them either, thankfully. “Okay, now that Liam is here, let’s talk wedding.”

The group spent an hour discussing the order of the wedding, what readings and poems the bride and groom preferred, and what food they would serve for the reception. After Liam bought a round of beverages for the table, he surveyed the group. “Anyone going to the street dance tonight?”

“I think Sean and I will take the girls there for a bit, probably walk over with my parents.” Ruth stroked the bald head of her infant, who was sleeping soundly in the baby sling wrapped around her slight frame. “What about you guys?”

“My bride-to-be is insisting we go so we can practice our dance moves before the wedding.” Her cousin cupped Effie’s chin to kiss her, and Cait looked away from the intimate moment.

Effie laughed. “If I recall our conversation about the dance, you asked me if I had the dress and boots I wore two years ago.”

If Cait were romantic, the night Effie was referring to would have gone down as one of the most spectacular she had ever witnessed. Josh, after deciding to move back to South Dakota, surprised Effie with the news by decking out the gazebo in the town square with fairy lights, with the help of family and friends. In Cait’s opinion, it had been a bit over the top, but witnessing the couple so happy now almost made her believe in love.

“Is it me, or are the rodeo and dance early this summer?” Cait hadn’t gone to either since she was in high school.

Effie nodded. “According to the town council, it was too close to the state fair then, and they had been wanting to change the date for years. Thanks to the new mayor, she finally made it happen.”

“I think moving it up is good. Now it’s earlier than other towns. Sometimes people get burned out with street dances by August. Plus, it’s not too hot yet in June. The temperature is perfect today.” Ruth yawned. “Anyway, my mom has Eloisa and Arielle, so baby Jocelyn and I better hit the road.” Ruth hugged everyone before departing.

“Cait, what about you? Are you going?” Effie enquired.

“I’m not sure. I need to go and check out a house I’m thinking of renting.”

Liam glanced down at the phone in his hand, his expression unreadable to Cait. “The one over by the college?”

“Yeah. First, I have to stop by Uncle Henry’s shop. The realtor dropped the keys off over there. Why she couldn’t bring them here, I don’t know,” Cait grumbled.

Effie laughed. “Is this Carla we’re talking about?” At Cait’s nod, Effie continued, “She has a thing for Henry. Her major selling point as my realtor was the ‘attractive single man’ around the block. Never mind the age difference, or the fact that I had a crush on his son.”

“I shudder to think about that, actually.” Josh swiped a hand through his blond hair, and Effie’s own hand soon followed, but stayed at the back of his head, fingers playing with the hair resting on his collar. “And there’s no way Carla was ever Dad’s type.”

Effie nodded. “We all know his type now. Dark-haired English teacher.”

“What happened with Charlotte, anyway?” Liam crossed his arms over his chest, his biceps straining his sleeves. “It’s been a couple of months since their date, and I keep waiting to hear if they’re going on a second one.”

Josh shook his head. “I don’t know. The day after their date, I asked Dad how it went, and he said they had a great time at dinner, but wouldn’t go into any details. Said he wasn’t sure that Charlotte was ready to date. I told him to call her, but he said he wanted to give her time. I cautioned him not to wait too long. But as far as I know, he never reached out to her.”

“Charlotte told me they had a wonderful evening, but kind of hinted that something went awry.” Effie stroked her fiancé’s knee. “I wasn’t even divorced yet when Josh and I got together, but when I saw him, I knew he was the one for me. Even knowing that, it was scary to start something new. I’m sure that’s how Charlotte feels. And now Henry, bless him, is tied up again helping my mom since Burnie’s open-heart surgery last month. Remember last time she got her hooks into him? Took the jaws of life to pry him out.”

Josh crumpled a wrapper from a straw and tossed it into his empty cup. “You tried to warn him.”

“How’s your stepdad doing now?” Cait was familiar with Burnside’s health issues because her mom had been best friends with Diadema forever.

“He’s recovering, but slowly. I hope he’ll be well enough by the time our wedding rolls around. The thought of him not being there…” Effie sniffed, clearly holding back tears. “I resented him so much when I was growing up. It took a long time for us to have anything even resembling a father-daughter relationship, but the past couple of years he’s been so supportive of me.”

Josh held Effie close and put his lips to her ear while brushing his hand up and down her arm. “He will be. He’s seeing the best doctors in Sioux Falls.”

“I know.” Effie kissed Josh. “What would I do without you?”