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“Yeah.”
“It seems that everything they’ve booked through a wedding planner has now fallen apart. At first we thought the places were still booked even though the wedding planner copped out. We found out last night that nothing was ever booked.”
“Oh wow. What are you going to do?”
“We’re holding a backyard wedding at the Kanes’ house.” Ian paused. “Austin and I are going to take care of a few things ourselves today. We heard you’re in town and wondered if you could help us out.”
Cal’s mind raced. He’d have to bring Pops along to whatever they had in mind. “What’s the plan?”
“We’re building a gazebo in the Kanes’ backyard—where the marriage ceremony will take place,” Ian said. “Austin and I will be picking up the lumber soon, but we’ll need help with the construction if we want to get it done in one day.”
“I have no problem with that,” Cal said. “I should check with Pops first—see if he’s up for this.”
“Sure thing.”
Cal headed down the hallway and tapped on Pops’s bedroom door. It opened a moment later. Once he told him about the gazebo, the old man’s eyes lit up. “Count me in. I’m a whiz at delegating to a crew of workers.”
“He’s in,” Cal said into the phone to Ian. “What time should we meet you at the Kanes’?”
“About an hour?” he said. “We’ve also roped Lydia’s new man, Jorge, into helping us. He’s been a good sport about this, plus he’s helping with Lydia’s craft booth for the fall festival in a couple of weeks.”
“Sounds like a good man,” Cal said. “Pops and I will meet you in an hour.”
Cal wondered if he should text Steph an update, but between getting Pops out of the house and a couple of surprise errands Pops wanted to do, which included buying his favorite brand of black licorice and grabbing a stack of newspapers, it all slipped his mind.
The day was busy, filled with work, laughter, and a couple breaks when Lydia brought out food and drinks for everyone.
“You men are lifesavers,” she crooned, her adoring gaze on Jorge.
The man was talkative and friendly. His dark hair and complexion contrasted nicely with Lydia’s blonde hair and lighter skin. Cal noticed them stealing a couple of moments away in private.
It was an interesting observation to see a widowed woman find love again. Cal had wondered more than once what might have happened if his dad had remarried. Would he have turned to such self-destruction and loneliness?
Pops was true to his word and sat in a padded lawn chair, reading aloud the newspaper headlines, and doling out helpful advice. Well, most of it was helpful. Apparently, he had worked in construction a number of summers as a younger man, so he did know what he was talking about.
Before Cal knew it, the day had sped by, the gazebo was up, and the painting had begun. With four men working, it was going by quickly. The sun was setting, splashing the sky with late September orange, when he heard the new arrivals.
Women’s voices.
And that’s when he remembered. He hadn’t updated Steph on anything.
STEPH COULD HARDLY BELIEVE THE news about Cal and Pops helping at the Kanes’ house when Brandy told her what the men were up to. But when she hurried home after work to change before wedding dress shopping, Cal’s car was gone, and the house was empty.
She’d sent him a text, just to confirm and make sure Pops was all right and not getting too tired out. But that had been three hours ago, and she hadn’t received any reply from Cal.
While Everly tried on white dress after white dress, Steph wondered if she was obsessed with worrying. One side of her brain was telling her that Cal and Pops were perfectly fine. If there was some issue, then Cal would call her. He was probably caught up in the gazebo work and wasn’t checking his phone.
Pops was likely having the time of his life.
There was nothing to worry about, right?
Steph should be able to relax, enjoy the time with her friends as Everly picked out a gorgeous wedding dress. What was there to stress about?
But her thoughts had continued to race and jump to all sorts of conclusions. Somehow, though, she managed to smile and banter her way through the afternoon, and no one seemed to notice that she felt panicky inside.
So it wasn’t until Steph walked into the Kanes’ backyard and physically saw Pops sitting in a lawn chair, a bottle of juice in his hand, and Cal crouching at the base of the gazebo, adding a layer of paint, did she finally breathe easy. That, and berate herself for spending the last few hours on pins and needles. Worrying. Needlessly.
“How did it go, ladies?” Lydia rose from the chair she sat in. “Find something?”
