Tommy laughed heartily. Shrugging his shoulders as he allowed a wide grin to grow upon his face. “Just tryin’ to lighten the mood a little,” Tommy explained. “You,” he said as he pointed to his sister. “Seem a bit… umm…stressed. And you,” Tommy said as he met eyes with Cole in the rear-view mirror. “Well, you seem frazzled.”
Tristan rolled her eyes as she diverted her attention from her brother’s face and stared out the passenger side window.
“Dude, it’s two days til the wedding…” Cole began as he ran his fingers through his dark hair.
“And our relatives. Ugh!” Tristan vented as a rush of air swept over her lips.
Tommy continued to laugh as images of Bridgette, Olivia and Moira driving Tristan mad with wedding ideas. From color swatches for dresses to decoration ideas, bright hues of fancy tulle, wedding bells, and crepe paper hearts. All of Cole and Tristan’s relatives were well-meaning, and even though they might have a billion and one totally unique and amazing ideas, each and every one had fallen on deaf ears. It wasn’t that Cole and Tristan didn’t care what their family thought. The truth of the matter was that Tristan and Cole had quietly planned their wedding to match their own tastes and personalities. Before anyone had spoken up about a single idea, Cole had already paid the vendors with the money he and Tristan had saved up. Despite Tristan’s father, Jack’s offering to pay for the wedding, Cole insisted upon footing the bill.
Jack had already done so much for them, Cole thought. From letting me stay on his land in Tristan’s house before the wedding, to gifting a new house to my Dad and Jenna after our home in Elkhart was torched to ashes. Jack Morrow had done more than his fair share of giving. It’s my turn to earn my keep. I fully intend to give Tristan the wedding she wants… The wedding she deserves.
Cole Piedmonte was not a stupid man. He figured Jack would put up a fuss. But when Tristan told him that Cole was going to pay for everything, Jack gave them a bewildering expression. His lips curled up into a wild grin. He then winked at his future son-in-law, and said, “Mmmhmm. Okay.” Cole remembers vividly as he attempted to continue the conversation. He intended to ask Jack what his reaction meant. But as Jack walked away with a song whistling from his lips, Tristan shook her head as a nonplussed expression formed upon her face. “Stubborn ol’ goat, I swear.”
Cole laughed as the memory crossed his mind. “They know that all the planning is done, and everything is paid and accounted for.”
“Ahhh,” Tommy exclaimed. “Let them have their fun. They’ve been waiting for this day for a long time.”
“They have,” Tristan agreed. “I know they mean well. I’m just excited for the day to get here. I hope everything goes well.”
“It wouldn’t be a Morrow affair without a little drama…” Tommy commented.
Tristan shrugged her shoulders. Even she had to admit that her brother had a valid point.
Morrow Manor was a flurry of activity. With just hours to go until Tristan and Cole were to be married, their united family was more than a little bit excited. Their level of anticipation was to be expected, though. Despite all of the odds that the pair had faced, all of the turmoil and tragedy, threats and catastrophe, Tristan and Cole remained rock solid. When the adults panicked at the challenges and devastation that they had faced, Tristan and Cole remained two of the calmest at the homestead. It didn’t mean that they didn’t have fear. Their courage under fire was evidence that they would survive, and they did so together, always looking out for each other, and their family members. The lines between friend and family between the Piedmontes and the Morrows had been blurred for years. Now, Cole and Tristan were finally making it official.
Bridgette, Moira, Olivia and Jenna sat around the long dining room table as excited expressions danced in all of their eyes. You don’t need a crystal ball to be able to guess what the topic of conversation was. Frank and Jack, who were normally knee deep in the conversation around the dining room table, were suddenly nowhere to be found. In fact, all of the male occupants of Morrow Manor were giving the dining room a wide berth, as much as possible, until the wedding was over. There were only so many conversations about flowers and ruffles and lace that the fellas could stomach. The ladies, however, had not had their fill yet and appeared to be plotting something.
Suddenly, the door of the dining room swung open, and Frank swept through. He kept his eyes diverted to the floor, hoping to avoid making eye contact with any of the ladies.
“Don’t mind me. Coming through. I just need coffee…”
But suddenly, his wife and his mother-in-law narrowed their eyes upon his face.
“Frank,” Moira called.
“Francis!” Bridgette cried out. She had a ginger haired baby on her lap. Her expression seemed to be pleading with her husband.
Stopping dead in his tracks, Frank winced at the sound of his name being called.
“What do you think of this pattern?” Bridgette asked as she held up a delicate piece of fabric.
“Oh, no you don’t!” Frank said as he rushed out of the room. “Nope! Nope! Nope!”
Quickly, the look on Bridgette and Moira’s faces changed from ones of muted concern to expressions of outright amusement.
“That’ll keep him out of our hair for the rest of the evening,” Moira whispered.
“Good. Then maybe we can get this finished in time,” Bridgette added with a chuckle.
“And what if Frank or Jack or one of the others come back in?” Jenna asked with a laugh.
“Trust me,” Bridgette said. “The guys are terrified that we will make them help us do whatever it is they think were doing in here.”
“What exactly do they think we are doing?” Olivia asked as she took a swig of her coffee.
“Lord only knows!” Moira said as she tossed her hands up into the air. “That’s not important. What is important is that they stay out of our hair so we can get this done.”
“And what about Tristan?” Jenna asked.