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“Did you two plan this?” Birdie asked.
“Of course. If you won’t do coordinating, we thought we’d do it for you,” Nina said. “Now we need to sort your wedding dress and a few other things in case you have to go anywhere. Plus, I want to see what you’re flying in.”
“I have clothes for that.”
“Show us what you plan on wearing then.” Cill came in carrying her other bag. She dropped it on the ground and rummaged through the contents.
She tried on two more dresses. The one they picked for the wedding was strapless, in a soft rose, and came to her knees. The skirt flared from the waist.
“Sawyer will swallow his tongue when he sees you in that,” Cill added.
“It’s not like he uses it for talking,” Birdie said.
“That man has perfected the art of grunting,” Nina said. “Mind you, according to J.D. he wasn’t as moody in LA. No one really knows what happened with J Bitch, but it had to have been bad. I mean, the guy has her name tattooed on his arm, so it must have been serious.”
“I heard they were engaged, but she went off with his best friend who had more money,” Nina said. “Not that I know how much money the Dukes have.”
Birdie had asked Ryder once why Sawyer had gone to LA. She’d also asked about Jolena, because she, like everyone else in Lyntacky, was curious. All Ryder had said was Sawyer didn’t talk about Jolena and that he’d been working there with a friend.
Had this Jolena hurt him badly? The stabbing pain under her ribs told her that either she had indigestion, or she didn’t like the thought of anyone hurting Sawyer Duke. She convinced herself it was the indigestion.
Chapter15
Sawyer: I will be there in thirty minutes.
He looked at his phone, but no reply came. No dots saying she was typing something either.
“You all set?”
The tall lanky form of Bradford, Lyntacky’s square-dancing lab technician, wandered inside Sawyer’s house with the dogs on his heels.
Sawyer and Bradford had gone to school together, and neither of them were talkers, so they’d hit it off as much as two introverts could. Now, if Sawyer left town, Bradford came in to stay and watch his dogs, who loved him because he brought them bones.
“Yeah, good to go. Fridge is stocked, bud. See you Sunday.”
“Enjoy and maybe use some of your mom’s concealer on your face for the wedding pics.”
“Concealer?”
Bradford shrugged. “I had a girlfriend who used it once.”
“Yeah?”
“When you were in LA.”
“I missed a lot in those years,” Sawyer muttered.
He patted his dogs and left. Some of his family had already departed for Ryker Falls, but the rest would fly in with him and Birdie. Driving into Lyntacky, he took the main street out.
The day was cloudless, and it should be a good flight. He wondered what Birdie thought about flying.
Reaching the McAllister drive, he saw the stall outside filled with produce the family grew or made here. A new sign that said vegan dog treats had him stopping. Getting out, he picked up a brown bag that held biscuits. Green, and hard and shaped in a coil like a dog turd.
Snorting, Sawyer extracted his wallet, collected a handful of notes that added up to a lot more than was needed, and placed them into the honesty box. He then continued up the drive. A handful of goats and three cows kept the grass down. It was a nice piece of land, for all it looked like it needed some love. Taking the right fork, he drove up to Birdie’s house and parked. At least her car was still here. He released the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.
He hadn’t been sure she wouldn’t drive to Ryker Falls. The woman might have people thinking she was sweet and malleable. He knew better.
She came out her front door before he could open his. Her usual smile was nowhere in sight, and she was glaring at him. She wore a short denim skirt that showed off her legs and a pink fitted T-shirt. A vision of him sliding his hands up her legs and under that skirt had him wrenching open the car door.
