Luckily, nobody else has shown up since Darcy joined us in my room. My mom, Tia Lisa, and Lala are all sitting at the table, coffee mugs in hand, talking. “Hey Mom.” I make my rounds and hug everyone. “Can you keep an eye on Layla? We have to run to the church to finish some stuff up.”
“Finally,” she throws her hands in the air. “She asks for help.” Smiling, she answers, “Of course, I’ll watch her. You don’t even have to ask. She’s in capable hands between the three of us.”
“That’s what you think.” I smirk. “You forget she’s mobile now, and will get intoeverythingin a blink of the eye.”
“I raised you, didn’t I?” One of her eyebrows quirks up. Damn, I wish I could master that. “I think we can manage.”
“Okay. Have fun, but don’t let her sleep for too much longer or she’ll never go to bed tonight.”
She ignores me and continues her conversation. “Well,” I say to the girls. “Looks like it’s time for us to go.” This is one of the last big tasks we have to take of and then it should be smooth sailing.
* * *
“What do you mean we can’t use the church?” My voice is almost a screech. I’m sure glass is breaking somewhere. “I’m getting married this weekend. How are we going to get married now?”
The lady on the other end of the phone is panicking. I can hear it in the small tremble in her voice. “I’m sorry, ma’am. But the church flooded over the weekend and we won’t have the carpets replaced until early next week.”
What am I supposed to do now? We don’t have a backup plan. My family is huge and there’s no way we can find something else on such short notice. The receptionist for the church is still talking but I don’t hear a word she says. Instead, I pass the phone to Cami. She can deal with it. Because, right now...I can’t. All this planning was for nothing. We’re going to have to push the wedding back, and my family is going to be out all the money they spent to stay here for the week.
I thought it was odd when the doors to the church were locked. For as long as I can remember the doors have always been wide open. The sunlight hitting the stained-glass windows throwing color patterns on the floor. I should have known then that something was wrong. Maybe it’s an omen, and we’re rushing into this too soon. There’s absolutely no way so much could go so wrong without it having a meaning.
Behind me, I hear Darcy say, “Thank you.” They must have been on speaker phone so they wouldn’t have to repeat everything.
Cami sits on the steps next to me, pulling me into an embrace. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll figure something out.”
“How?” I croak. Tears are streaming down my face. When did I start crying? “I can’t think of one place that will have availability for this weekend.”
“You never know. Darcy and I will make some calls when we get back to the house. What do you say we stop by Brew’s Clues, grab some coffee to refuel, and attack this problem with fresh eyes?”
My face is buried in my hands. “What’s the point? It’s not going to happen.” Shaking my head, I look up at my best friend. “It’s a sign. First my dress didn’t fit, then the dresses for you and Darcy were completely wrong, and now this?” I wave my hand toward the church behind me. “It’s not meant to be. At least, not right now. It’s too soon for us.”
Cami grabs my face until I’m looking directly into her eyes. “Hey, don’t talk like that. You two are meant for each other. I’ve never seen a couple more in love or in sync with each other. Y’all are those ridiculous, sickly sweet couples that make other people cringe. But youaremeant for each other. I don’t want you to doubt that for a second.”
I’m about to say something, but she’s not done. “Give Darcy and me a chance to fix this. Don’t let cold feet freak you out, and ruin a good thing.”
I consider what she’s saying, but fear gnaws at my insides, making me second guess everything. All the problems I’ve faced in the past week add up, and I have my doubts. In the end, I nod. “Okay, but if we don’t have a solution by noon tomorrow, I’m calling it off.”
Cami and Darcy both wince at my decision. “Okay.” Cami squeezes me closer to her. “Just give us a little bit of time. We still have a few days to pull off a beautiful wedding that you and Reaf deserve. I swear to you, I will make it happen.”
I don’t argue with her. Once her mind is set on something, she does everything in her power to make it happen. I’ll let her try, but I’m also going to be realistic.
Six
Reaf
What in theworld does “code red” mean? Travis text me those two words and I can’t keep the feeling of dread from bubbling up inside me. I wish he would have elaborated, but he didn’t. He also hasn’t replied to the message I sent him fifteen minutes ago. Yep, whatever it is, it’s definitely ominous. With over an hour left in my shift, there isn’t much I can do about it right now.
Business has been slow at the shop now that most families are well into their Spring Break vacations. The only person consistently coming by is Jake’s mom, Diane. The last time she walked in, my boss told her to leave or he would file harassment charges. She still drives by, but she doesn’t stop anymore. This is becoming a problem, and I’m going to have to tell Tonya. I’m going to talk to Jake first. Maybe he can put a stop to it. I just wish I could understand why she’s so adamant about stopping the wedding.
“I don’t think the phone is going to magically ring if you stare at it.” Rick’s voice startles me. I almost drop said phone.
“You scared the crap out of me.” I slide the phone into my back pocket. “I didn’t even hear you open the door.”
“That’s because I’m very stealthy.” He nods toward the phone I just shoved in my pocket. “What has you so focused on that thing?”
It’s sort of odd that he’s asking. We’ve never had any conversations like this. Mostly because he’s my boss and I can’t imagine opening up to him like that. But maybe an outsider’s opinion would help. “Code red never means anything good, does it?”
He shakes his head. “Not in any circumstance I’ve ever been in. Why?”