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Music from the quartet floated through the air and the scent of lavender and roses followed it. Wade stood in front of several people seated on high-end folding chairs. Thankfully no one was looking at him because if they were, they might realize just how nervous he was. Elijah clapped him on the back and let out a laugh.
“I thought this was what you wanted. Don’t you love her?”
“Of course I love her,” Wade said through gritted teeth. “But until she shows up at the altar, I’m going to wonder if she’s leaving me here to fend off her family and the rest of the town.”
“You don’t think she’d actually run, do you?” Elijah laughed again. “She’s been married before. She’s—”
“And she left.”
His brother grew silent.
Of course Wade didn’t think Brielle would leave him high and dry. They had only gotten closer over the last few weeks. They’d pulled this wedding together without much difficulty. All they needed to do was make it official.
The wedding for Shane and Eloise was still a few months out, and Brielle didn’t want to wait.
Now he was wondering if he should have forced her to. From the moment Clark left town, Brielle had seemed more anxious than usual to get hitched. He wouldn’t be complaining if it weren’t for the fact that Brielle was as headstrong as ever.
He shifted uncomfortably. Brielle was supposed to walk down that aisle any moment now. She would be here and then everything would go off without a hitch. Wade just needed to get his eyes on her.
The crowd around him seemed just as antsy as he was. He could already hear some of the murmurings. Brielle wasn’t cut out for marriage. He was a fool for agreeing to this wedding. The engagement and wedding happened too fast and there must be a reason for it.
He couldn’t take the comments anymore. He had to find out where she was.
Wade hurried off the platform and down the aisle, shutting out the gasps and additional whispers. Something wasn’t right.
The walk from the back of the house where the ceremony was to take place toward the front porch seemed longer than he’d expected. Without knocking, he entered the house. There wasn’t a person in sight. He stood there in the foyer, listening. Not a sound.
If he were more secure in his standing, he might have charged right up the stairs and sought out her room. But that wasn’t going to happen.
His heart thrummed with the beats of a thousand questions. What had he done wrong? Was she okay? Had she actually run out on him?
“Wade? What are you doing here?”
Wade spun toward the voice, finding Eloise, dressed in a pretty yellow dress, standing near an entrance he assumed led to the kitchen. He hadn’t actually entered this house this far. Most of his visits had been on horseback or out in the pastures.
He swallowed hard, praying his voice would sound a great deal more confident than he knew it to be. “The music is playing.”
“I know.”
“You… know?”
She tilted her head, her eyes delving into him.
He continued, “If you know, then where is she? Why didn’t you tell her it was time?”
Eloise offered him a smile that only added to his trepidation. “I did tell her. She said she needed a minute.”
“She needed a… minute.”
Nodding, Eloise moved toward him. “She’s fine. I promise. I think the day just got to her a little, that’s all.”
“This is supposed to be the happiest day of her life. You’re not really instilling a great deal of confidence in me.”
“We lost our mother when we were young. Today was supposed to be shared with her. Brielle might be dealing with a lot more than you realize.”
“Where is she?” His voice broke just a little when he asked the question. “I need to see her.”
Eloise hesitated. Her eyes darted away, and Wade got a glimpse of what Brielle might be experiencing. His own parents were gone, and yet he didn’t have the same reaction. They had chosen to leave him. Brielle’s mother had been taken.
