AllFreeNovel
Share Us
They’d held hands. And he’d kissed her.
They’d started having sex when they were way too young, but hey, she’d been certain she’d marry him so the moral risk had seemed worth the reward.
And she’d been right.
She’d married Chuck pretty much as soon as high school had ended. She’d been so ready for that life. She’d loved him. Deep and uncomplicated.
And if she’d sometimes... If she’d been unable to keep herself from thinking of the man who’d first created a shiver of awareness inside her before she’d known what it was, she’d just blamed it on having been with only one man. Dismiss it as adventures she’d chosen not to have.
There had been moments in her marriage when she’d wondered if they’d done it too soon. If not dating other people had been a mistake.
When Chuck had died, she’d been so glad they’d had that life. That whole brilliant life.
From twelve to twenty-six. Thank God for all those years, because they hadn’t gotten to grow old together. Just older.
She really didn’t need to be thinking about any of this now.
But it was a wedding, so it was unavoidable.
And it was her sister’s wedding, which made it more poignant.
Her sister’s wedding to a Carson. That’s what tipped it over into improbable.
“Who would have thought you’d be a bridezilla,” Shelby groused.
Juniper was an EMT, and in general a very practical and nonsentimental soul. Before her engagement to Chance, anyway. Now suddenly it was all sentiment and fluffy dresses and ribbon curls.
“I haven’t even begun to bridezilla,” Juniper declared from her end of the table, which had all the Carson men looking worried.
The lone Carson girl—Callie, who had gotten married a while back and moved to Gold Valley, Oregon, a few hours away—was grinning. “I love this! I need more women in the family. To cause chaos and mayhem.”
“You don’t need any help with that, sis,” Boone Carson said.
“I’m happy to contribute to family chaos!” Juniper said.
And Shelby couldn’t help but feel just a little bit outside of all of this. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. Especially not Juniper’s. Her sister deserved happiness. So much happiness. She had been there for Shelby in a profound way when Shelby had lost Chuck. And in all the time since. Juniper was her best friend.
But that didn’t mean that Shelby couldn’t find a way to have complicated feelings about this.
It made her think about her own wedding. And the terrible thing was... She didn’t have a very clear memory of that day.
Which had seemed fine in the decade since it had occurred, when Chuck was still with her. She’d had the marriage. She hadn’t needed more than good feelings and a few photos of the day.
She couldn’t remember if they had sat around making wedding favors. She didn’t think they had. Nobody should get married when they were eighteen. That was a whole fashion disaster. Shelby had worn a princess dress and a tiara. The entire thing had been a debacle. But of course, when you were eighteen, what you wanted out of the wedding was to be a princess. You thought a lot more about the wedding than you did the marriage. Not that her marriage hadn’t been good. It had been. It had been great. Chuck had been her best friend, well, her other best friend, apart from her sister.
It was just, when you were eighteen you didn’t really know what the rest of your life meant.
You still don’t.
No. She didn’t. Because her husband had gone and died and made her a widow in her midtwenties. But what the hell was she supposed to do with that?
Make ribbon curls, she supposed.
“We need to have all the wedding favors ready by tonight,” Juniper said.
“Or heads will roll,” said Chance, looking at Juniper as if seeking approval.
“That’s right,” Juniper said. “Heads will roll.”
