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“Uh-huh. It was real good. Does this mean you’ll be myrealgramma?”
Vidalia’s tight expression eased into a smile. “Son, you can consider me your real gramma now. How’s that?”
“Cool!”
“Now why don’t you take the twins to play in the toy room, hmm?”
“Okay!” He got out of the chair, put his crutches under his arms, then made his way through the house to the giant play room off the living room, calling the twins to come with him on the way.
“I’ll go keep an eye on them,” Caleb said, taking each of the twins by the hand and leading them after Tyler. He paused beside Kara, gave her a “hang tough” kind of a look, then nodded to Jimmy. “Welcome to the family, Jim.”
“Thanks, Caleb.”
Vidalia drew a deep breath and pressed her palms to the table. “All right then, let’s dispense with the nonsense and get to the truth here. What’s the big hurry?”
“Mom—” Kara began.
“No, no,” Jim said. “It’s a legitimate question. Vidalia, I promise you, there’s nothing shady or sneaky going on.”
“No?” She shot a look at Kara. “You can’t be pregnant. He hasn’t been in town long enough so you’d even know if you were.”
“Mother!” It was Maya this time, reprimanding her mother in a tone usually only heard from Vidalia herself.
“I’m not pregnant. We haven’t even—” Kara bit her lip, shook her head. “It’s nothing like that. Mom, Tyler needs me. We’re living in the same house anyway, and he’s facing surgery in a couple of weeks. We don’t want anything big or fancy. A simple ceremony on the back lawn is fine. I don’t need anyone here other than my family. We can call the justice of the peace—that’s still Hugh Matthews, isn’t it?”
“We will call Reverend Jackson, young lady. Not the justice of the peace. And you’ll be married in the church, assuming it’s not already booked for Saturday. You’re a foot too tall to wear my wedding gown—”
“She can wear mine,” Edie said, jumping to her feet. “Oh, we’ll play with it a little, make it different enough so it’s your own. Maybe run into town and pick you up a new veil and tiara.”
“I’ve still got my tux in the closet,” Wade put in. “God knows I’ll never find another use for it.”
Vidalia sighed. “Are you absolutely sure this is what you want?” she asked, her eyes probing Kara’s.
Kara felt as if her mother could see things no one else could. And she was not comfortable with the probing, searching stare. “I am. I’m sure, Mom.”
Vi held her gaze for a long moment, then finally lowered her head. “All right,” she said. “If it’s what you want, we’ll make it happen!” She lifted her head again, and this time she pinned Jimmy with a steely stare. “You’d better make my daughter happy, young man. Or you’ll have me to answer to.”
“I promise to do my best,” he said. Then he pushed away from the table. “We should get cracking. We need to get the license before we take Ty in for his PT today.”
“Once that’s done, bring Kara to our place, Jim,” Edie said. “We’ll get to work on the dress tonight.”
“I’ll phone Reverend Jackson,” Vi said. “My goodness. You girls are going to be the death of me.”
* * *
The time flew past. Kara made time to spend with Tyler but found herself so busy there was almost no time for her to spend with Jimmy. Especiallyalonewith Jimmy. And there was just as little time for her to wallow in her doubts and worries. Thankfully other worries faded rapidly, as well.
There had been no further trouble from Vinnie or Ang, no sign of them still being anywhere near Big Falls. Colby improved, but not fast enough. He’d be spending the weekend in the hospital, but might be out by Monday. She could tell Jimmy was relieved that things were going as well as they were—he was relaxing more and more. And the more relaxed he became, the more attentive he grew.
He smiled whenever he looked at her. He treated her as if she was made of rare and fragile crystal. He was thoughtful and kind and seemed to love spending time with her. Why was she looking for trouble where there was none?
But dammit, why hadn’t he said he loved her?
She spent Friday night at her mother’s to keep to the custom of the groom not seeing the bride on the day of the wedding. And she awoke Saturday morning with such a nervous stomach that even the smell of breakfast made her ill.
“Lookin’ a little green around the gills, sunshine,” Vidalia said. “Perk up, girl, it’s your wedding day.”
Kara smiled in response to her mother’s teasing. Vi had set her worries aside, determined, it seemed, to embrace events and celebrate them rather than fighting the inevitable. If Jimmy screwed up, that would be soon enough for Vi to wreak vengeance. Until then, Kara thought he was safe from his mother-in-law’s wrath.
