She had no idea what that meant. They were good. They’d dated forever ago and come out as far better friends than lovers. “Okay…” If he needed someone to just listen, though, she could do that.
She put the phone on speaker, gathered her hair to tie in a knot on top of her head, and closed her eyes.
“Wedding’s in seven days?” he said. It sounded like a question, even though she knew it wasn’t. Saturday, August fourteenth, in the evening, a weeklong destination wedding on a ranch up north. That’s what Reed had told her, along with apologies for not inviting her because 1) they were keeping it fairly small, and 2) his fiancée wasn’t all that comfortable with it. Kennedy was bummed she wouldn’t get to share in his special day but hadn’t let on. Her sister’s upcoming wedding supplied more than enough drama.
“Yes,” Kennedy said, covering a yawn with her hand.
“Not sure it’s a good idea,” he said softly.
“What are you talking about?”
“I don’t want to get mare-eed.”
Kennedy brought the phone back to her ear. “You don’t want to get married?” she asked gently. She didn’t know Elle, but Reed had only great things to say about her. “Did something happen between you two?”
“It’s too late,” he slurred.
No. No. No. It wasn’t too late. But… “It’s normal to feel nervous, you know. Are your feet cold?” she joked, hoping he’d laugh and tell her that’s all this was.
The sounds of a busy bar punctured their silence before a guy said, “Dude, get back out here. We can’t celebrate without the man of the hour.”
“Wish you were here,” Reed said.
“Is that Elle again?” the guy asked. “Tell her I’ve got you, bro.”
“One sec,” Reed said, and Kennedy pictured him holding up his finger. The background noise ceased, the only sound a deep breath from her friend. “I gotta go. Sorry to bother you.”
“You didn’t bother me. Reed—”
“S’okay. Forget I called.”
“But Reed—”
He disconnected, leaving her with unanswered questions that made her heart pound and her mind race with worry. She called him right back. He didn’t pick up. She tried again. No luck.
An uneasy knot lodged in her stomach. Did Reed have cold feet or was it something more? In med school he’d dated a lot, gaining a reputation as fickle, so when he got engaged, Kennedy knew Elle had to be special. They’d been together less than a year—had his feelings suddenly changed so drastically that he didn’t want to get married at all now?
She lay back and stared up at the ceiling. Reed was one of the few people she could count on for anything and who she’d drop everything for in return. Spending four years of medical school and three years of residency together, they had each other’s backs. Blinking repeatedly, she recalled the time he’d saved her from an addict who pulled a knife on her in the ER. Reed’s arm took the brunt of the weapon and required stitches to repair.
Then there were her mom and dad. They’d divorced during her teenage years, and the repercussions had been painful. Still were, since her parents barely tolerated each other. While there were never any guarantees in marriage, she hated the idea of divorce possibly happening to Reed. His parents had been happily married forever, so he had no idea what divorce did to a person, let alone a family.
Which meant if he had doubts about marrying Elle, she owed it to him to talk this through before it was too late. She could help him see he had found the woman of his dreams. The glaze to his doughnut.
Wish you were here.
Lucky for him, she could make that happen.
Chapter Three
Six days until the wedding
Maverick Owens hefted another bale of hay off the back of his pickup. The stack inside the barn tilted slightly to the right, enough so that Magnolia poked her head through her stall and touched her nose to the golden straw. She did it to nudge the stack back into alignment. Swear to God, his horse was a genius.
She had a treat coming her way in thanks.
He continued to unload and, when he got to the last bale, that’s when his younger brother Hunter showed up. Some might say that meant his brother was also a genius. Maverick liked to call him lots of other names instead—troublemaker, nuisance, mini-me. Completely out of love, mind you.
“Need any help?” Hunter asked.
Maverick didn’t bother answering. Instead he gave him a look that said, What do you think, dumbass?
Hunter let the look roll off his shoulders as usual, and seated himself on the edge of the open tailgate. Great. He wanted to talk. “You should have come out with us last night. Guess who was at Sutter’s?”
This time of year, with tourists and college kids home from school, the local bar in town packed in more than the usual crowd. Maverick leaned against the tailgate. Lifted his hat and wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand.
“Who?” he asked, even though he already knew the answer. His brother was about as transparent as the side of a barn.
“Callie.” Cue the floating hearts above Hunter’s head. He’d had a crush on their sister’s best friend for as long as Maverick could remember.
“Did you talk to her?”
“No.”
Maverick hated hearing the sound of defeat in his brother’s voice. Plain old love was hard enough, but unrequited love sucked a hundred times worse.
“But,” he said, his tone leveling up to its normal buoyancy, “there was a bridesmaid there who decided I was the guy.”
“The guy?”
“To show her around when there weren’t any wedding obligations. She’s from back east and this is her first time in California.”
“The wedding at the ranch this week?” Maverick’s family owned and operated The Owens House Inn and Guest Ranch in the small town of Windsong, California. They ran the property with the help of a dozen or so part-time staff, and in the past few years, weddings had become a popular event, most notably in December, but other months were booking up as well.
“None other.”
“Bad idea, Hunt.”
“Why is that? You jealous I’ve got the attention of a beautiful woman and you don’t?” This ridiculous question was accompanied by a smirk.
“It’s best not to break any guests’ hearts.”
“I’m not going to do anything to upset her.”