AllFreeNovel
Share Us
At the time, they didn’t have much money of their own, so there were a total of six of them that each owned a share.
Now that many of the owners were getting married and starting to think about children – or in the case of Jack and Kelly who had just announced they already had children on the way – they had plans for each of the owners to build their own ski cabin on the property in the next few years. They’d leave the original cabin as a place for guests to stay. To that end, they had bought up additional property on the mountain and now owned the upper two thirds.
One of the group, an architect, had begun to work on plans for the new cabins.
Most weekends in the winter months, all or some of the six and their significant others could be found there. Jill loved the weekends at the cabin. She trekked through the woods on snowshoes with her cameras while Andrew skied.
They spent the evenings surrounded by good friends and laughter. She felt wonderful enveloped by so much love and couldn’t believe the way Andrew’s friends all opened up to her instantly. She felt content and happy there.
In fact, Jill felt content and happy all the time now. When she was with Andrew, things just felt right. She felt cherished and appreciated and valued in a way she hadn’t in her marriage.
She also felt good because he seemed happy and content too – and how he felt mattered to her. She felt as though she and Andrew were more in sync with their goals and what they wanted from each other, what they wanted in life than she and Jake had ever been. There was a unique synchronicity to the life they were building together.
During her marriage, Jill had told herself it was okay when her husband didn’t want to try to have another baby. Now she realized it wasn’t okay withher. She’d been fooling herself to try to make their marriage work.
Now she could admit, she wanted to have a baby. More than one, in fact, and Andrew wanted that too. She wanted to be able to give that to him, to share that together.
Today, Jill and Kelly planned to spend the day shopping for wedding dresses before she met up with Andrew to make the drive to the ski cabin after work.
She heard Kelly honk her horn outside and grabbed her purse and her bag for the weekend before heading out the front door and climbing into her friend’s car.
Since Jill and Andrew were leaving right from the appointment at the dress boutique, Kelly and Jack were going to grab Rev later. They would keep Rev overnight then bring him up when they came to the cabin tomorrow.
“Hi, Kels,” Jill said as she climbed into the passenger seat of Kelly’s little red BMW.
“Hi! I can’t wait to get to the store. It’s so exciting to be looking for a wedding dress,” Kelly gushed as she pulled out of the drive.
“I know. I’m more excited than I thought I’d be. I kind of thought it wouldn’t be a big deal since it’s my second time around. Jake and I did the whole giant wedding thing the first time, so I don’t want anything big this time, but I really can’t wait to find the perfect dress.”
Jill and Kelly would need to look for bridesmaids’ dresses as well. Jill’s best friend from college, Amy, would be her maid of honor and Kelly would be her bridesmaid. She and Andrew had decided to keep the number of attendants small, with Jack and Chad standing with Andrew.
Kelly pulled into the parking lot of the small bridal boutique where she had found her dress and she and Jill went inside. Kelly spent a few minutes catching up with Bria, the owner of the shop, before they got down to business.
“I have a bit of a different process than most bridal boutiques. I like to get to know a bit about you and the groom so I can help steer you toward the right dress for your connection. Most people think the wedding gown should only be about what the bride likes, what looks good on her, what will fit well. I promise I’ll take all of that into consideration, but it should be so much more than that, don’t you think?” Bria asked, expecting Jill to agree with her.
“Uh, I…” started Jill, but Bria just continued on and Kelly sat nodding encouragement.
“So, tell me about Andrew. Tell me why you love him,” Bria ordered.
Jill swallowed. How could she tell them that this marriage wasn’t about love? It was about safety, security, and never having to wonder if one day love would fade or passion would fizzle.
Jill couldn’t tell them that. She would be mortified. She would just tell them the thingsaboutAndrew she loved. There were many of those, even though she couldn’t ever let herself fall in love with the whole.
“Um, I love the way he thinks of my needs first, I guess?” she started, a little weakly.
Kelly and Bria both nodded and looked as though they were waiting for more.
“Um, I uh, I love the way he cares about my opinions and feelings.” It was getting easier now. She was on a roll. “I love the way he calls or texts me throughout the day to see how I am. And, I love the way he sometimes just knows when I’m in a bad mood and then knows how to get me out of it before I even realize what he’s doing. I love his kisses and the way it feels when he holds me.”
Jill was blushing now so she stopped and stared at Bria, hoping that would be enough. Bria smiled and jumped to her feet. “Strong and steady. I know the perfect dress for such strong, steady love!” she said.
Bria ran to the back of the room, leaving Jill with only one thought.Yes, strong and steady, that’s what Andrew is.
Jill had never seen such a crazy method for choosing a wedding dress, but the dress was perfect. A floor-length, simple sheath with tiny pearls sewn around the bodice. It was classic, abiding and endless, in a style that would never fade. It draped beautifully on Jill, accentuating her tall, slim build but still showing the curve of her hips and breasts. It was simple enough to be just right for a second marriage, but it was elegant with enough flair to make Jill feel beautiful and desirable.
As Jill and Kelly left the bridal shop, Jill continued to fight the nagging feeling that she was falling much further than she should allow herself to fall for Andrew. In fact, fighting that feeling was becoming an exhausting and hopeless endeavor.
The weekend at the cabin was a particularly fun one because all the owners were up at the same time. In addition to Chad, Jack, Kelly, Andrew, and Jill, the three other men who co-owned the cabin arrived over the course of Friday evening and Saturday morning. Cade Jeffers arrived with his girlfriend, Sylvia. Those two had arrived first and got the heat turned up and a fire burning. Cade was an architect in New York City and Sylvia was an interior designer.
