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“Right,” the deputy said and laughed. “This is going to be good.”
Not in any way was this going to be good, Stuart thought as he waited for Dodson to arrive at the well for babysitting duty. He’d already seen several pickups drive past on the county road. Word had gotten out. Speculation would run rampant. Most everyone would come up with the same conclusion he and Dodson had. Not that Stuart would ever admit it. He was just covering his ass in case this skeleton belonged to Dixon Malone, husband of one of the most powerful ranchers in Montana.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
OAKLEYHADNEVERseen Tilly so nervous. “You look beautiful,” she told her sister as she joined her in front of the full-length mirror at the church. “It’s going to be a wonderful wedding.”
Tilly looked over at her, tears in her eyes. “Nothing is going to spoil it, is it?”
“Nothing. Our brothers are ushers. They will be watching the door. Duffy will also be making sure that nothing is going to spoil this day, and the sheriff is Cooper’s best man. I’m sure he’s ready for anything. Trust me. It’s going to be the best wedding ever, I promise, because you’re marrying the man you love.”
“I do love Coop so much.”
“I know,” she said, handing Tilly a tissue. “My sister, soon to be an old married woman.”
“I suspect you won’t be far behind. I’m surprised Pickett hasn’t already asked you to marry him,” her sister said, turning back into the older, bossier sister. “Wait, has he?”
Oakley pretended to turn an invisible key on her lips, sealing them. She suspected he was waiting until after Tilly’s wedding, not wanting to take away from it. “Right now we’re dating. It’s fun and interesting. I’ve known him for so long and it feels as if I’ve never known this man. Does that make sense?”
“No,” Tilly said. “Except for the fact that you didn’t really know him.”
“I didn’t know his background or his birth name, but Iknewhim from the time we were teenagers. I just didn’t know him as a man. I realize that I’ve always thought of him and Duffy as the boys.”
“Duffy is still a boy,” her sister said. “He is never going to grow up. Why are we talking about Duffy on my wedding day? If you even mention Treyton—”
Oakley laughed. “At least now you’re not crying and ruining your makeup.”
“Cooper said his entire family was warned about what would happen if they misbehaved at this wedding,” Tilly said. “Treyton especially. Cooper said Treyton’s been skating on thin ice as it is with his father. He doesn’t expect any trouble out of him. Now, all I have to worry about is Mother.”
Elaine stuck her head in the door to announce that it was time. Her sister grabbed Oakley’s hand, squeezing it hard. “Tell me Mother isn’t going to try to stop the wedding.”
“She’s not. She wouldn’t be caught dead at this wedding. Mother in a church? Never going to happen unless she gets married again.”
“That’s not funny,” her sister said with a shake of her head, but she was smiling. “Let’s do this. Try not to trip.”
Oakley looked at her, aghast. “Now you know I’ll trip and fall on my face.”
Tilly quickly hugged her. “I love you.”
“I love you,” she whispered back.
PICKETTHADSATclose to the church door so he could see Oakley the minute she started down the aisle. Also so he would be close by in case there was any trouble. He’d promised Oakley that he wouldn’t let anything—or anyone—spoil her sister’s wedding day.
As she appeared, his heart took off at a gallop. She was so beautiful. Her ash-blond hair was worn up and adorned by tiny white roses. Her emerald green dress matched her eyes and fell like a waterfall over her curves. She was breathtaking.
She gave him a smile and a wink as she passed, making a few people nearby chuckle.This woman,he thought, heart swelling. She was everything. He’d never been so excited about the future. He felt the small velvet box in his pocket.
Nothing could stop him now from asking her to marry him. He’d waited because he didn’t want to take anything away from Tilly’s big day. He was waiting for the right time to pop the question.
The two of them had been officially dating. It had felt strange and awkward at first. They’d known each other for years. But their dates had been fun, some formal dinners at nice restaurants in Billings, others picnics by the river after a horseback ride. They had been getting to really know each other. It felt as if he’d been peeling away layers, piercing the protective shell Oakley had built around her because of her mother and brother. He’d fallen more in love as each layer had fallen away, each of them opening up to the other.
As the music played, Tilly came out, looking beautiful as well, and followed Oakley to where Cooper and the sheriff were waiting. He saw the look on Cooper’s face. He knew that kind of love, he thought as Oakley took her sister’s bouquet and the preacher cleared his voice and the music stopped.
That was when Pickett heard the church door open and turned to find Charlotte Stafford standing there.
OAKLEYKNEWTHATshe must have gasped at the sight of her mother. Charlotte hesitated, silhouetted against the brighter daylight behind her. For a moment she looked lost. A cool spring breeze blew in. At first, only a few people turned to see who had come in.
Then, within seconds, whispers began to circulate, and more heads turned until the whole church was staring at the figure standing in the doorway.
