“That means it has to get here by tomorrow, for the wedding on Sunday.” Yvonne frowned. “That’s not good. Do you want me to call the wedding place and see if there is anything they can do?”
“I’ve already left them about a hundred messages, but no one is picking up.” Sam tried to stay positive. “January offered me her dress if I get stuck, and it fits me pretty well.”
“So much for them being ready to alter anything and get it to you in time.” Yvonne pulled out her cell phone and started typing furiously. “I’ll see if there is anything I can do.”
Sam was almost glad for the distraction provided by the arrival of the Morgan Ranch ladies, Avery, Jenna, and January, who had left the baby with his great-grandma Ruth. By the time Sonali and Marley turned up, the limo was full to bursting.
Nancy decided to sit up front with Ian and poked her head through the glass divider to grin at them all. “First stop, the laser tag place in Bridgeport!”
* * *
“Can I take the blindfold off now?” HW inquired as his brother’s private jet landed at some unknown destination.
When he’d gotten back from helping Sam clear out her spare bedroom, he’d been ambushed by his groomsmen, hogtied, and put on the plane. He hadn’t struggled. Even though he knew they were going to make him sweat, he trusted them to get him back home by the end of the night.
Well, he hoped they would....
“Not yet.” That was his twin, Ry’s voice.
“You wait until your bachelor party, Bro,” HW said. “You’ll get yours.”
Ry chuckled. “Yeah, right.” He took hold of HW’s elbow. “Come on. We’ve got stuff to do.”
As soon as his feet hit solid ground, the tinkling and clattering of slot machines reverberated around him. Las Vegas had a sound all its own, and HW knew it well from his days as a professional saddle bronc rider. He wasn’t allowed to linger, his brothers and friends sweeping him along, and into a waiting limo. He considered trying to take his blindfold off, but decided it was more fun to just go along for the ride.
He wondered what Sam was getting up to at her bachelorette party. Nancy had promised him that they weren’t going far, and that she would make sure Sam got back safely. But Nancy and Sam out together was a slightly terrifying proposition. He’d once watched them take down a biker in the Red Dragon Bar. He reminded himself that Sam was retired military police and could take care of herself.
“Here we are,” his older brother Chase spoke up for the first time. “Let’s get into the elevator.”
The next thing HW knew, he was being marched out into the open. Wind battered at his Stetson, and someone took it off his head, making him feel vulnerable.
“Stay there, Bro. Let the man do his job,” Ry advised.
HW stiffened as he was stuffed into some kind of body harness. What the hell had his brothers come up with? Was he about to be picked up by a crane and dangled over the Strip?
“Walk forward, please.” Someone new with a very calm voice spoke in his ear. “You’d better remove his blindfold now.”
HW blinked as his sight was restored, and then looked down, and frantically tried to back up.
“What the hell?” he said hoarsely. He was literally standing on the edge of an extremely tall building looking down at the city. “I’m not—”
He didn’t even get to finish the thought as he was eased over the edge. He plummeted downward until the harness creaked and gathered him up again. He might have screamed. He hoped no one was videoing it, but suspected he was going to be disappointed.
Eventually, he was hauled back up and set on his feet surrounded by a circle of his guffawing friends. He scowled at each of them in turn, and none of them stopped laughing even for a second.
“Welcome to Sky Jump,” said the guy with the quiet voice who was busy unhooking HW from the harness. “Did you enjoy that?”
HW found his famous smile somewhere. “It was great. Thanks.”
“Wanna do it again?” Ry wheezed. “You screamed like a baby.”
HW shot him a death look, which made his twin laugh even harder.
“Come on, HW.” Chase patted his arm. “Let’s get you a drink. You look as though you need one.”
* * *
“Hi!” Sam wiped the sweat from her brow and counted her tokens before presenting herself to the bored teenager at the desk. She’d beaten everyone at laser tag and was feeling pretty good about herself. “What can I get for these?”
The boy pointed silently at some hideous stuffed animals.
“I’ll take the blue monkey.” Sam handed over her tokens, collected the googly-eyed, badly stuffed limp monkey, and tied it to her belt by its tail.
She walked back over to where her posse awaited her and grinned at Nancy. “What’s next?”
“Dinner and a show.” Nancy winked at her. “Come on.”
* * *
Three hours later, they were back in Morgantown. Well, Sam thought they were, although her vision was a little blurry, and she had hiccups from the spiced tequila shots at the bar they’d ended up in. She climbed out of the limo on her hands and knees, and was assisted to her feet by an anxious-looking Avery.
“Are you okay, Sam?”
“I’m great!” Sam beamed at Avery and flung her arms wide. “This is the best night out I’ve ever had!”
Marley, who was something of a Dudley Do-Right, frowned at her. “You need to drink lots of water and go to bed.”
“But I don’t feel like going to bed,” Sam countered. “Unless HW is there all naked and pleased to see me and everything.” She winked lasciviously, making Marley blush, and looked around the silent street. “Where is he?”
“I believe he’s in Vegas.” January chuckled. “But don’t worry, Chase promised me they’d bring him home safely.”
Sam pouted. “But I want him to be here.” She dug her phone out of her pocket and started texting.
Avery looked over her shoulder and cleared her throat. “Er, Sam, you’re texting your mother. You probably don’t want to send her that.”
Sam blinked at the screen and giggled before deleting the text. “Oops! Sorry, Mom.”
“I don’t think HW has his phone on him anyway,” Avery said. “They were planning on a lot of physical activities so Ry thought he might drop it.”
“Physical?” Sam frowned. “I hope he’s not stripping or anything.”
Avery grinned at her. “Nope, just some mechanical bull riding, craft beers, and jumping off a building.”
“Wow . . .” Sam put her phone away. “I really wish he was here though.”
“I can text Ry, and see whether they are on their way back if you like?” Avery offered.
“Thanks. That would be awesome.”
Sonali, Yvonne, Lizzie, and Marley came up to wish Sam good night, and Avery went to speak to January and Jenna, leaving Sam by herself. Cam and Nancy were chatting up the limo driver while settling the bill.
She really missed HW . . . . Sam started walking, her gaze on the recently erected water feature in the center of the street, which commemorated the first Morgan who had founded the town. It had a circular stone base filled with about six inches of water that flowed down from a rocky-type pedestal on which stood the figure of a cowboy, which the Morgans insisted looked nothing like their ancestor William. He stood, booted feet wide apart, one hand shielding his eyes, and a pickax in the other.