Bryce laughed.
“I would have,” he said, “but she wanted nothing to do with me back then.”
Barbara gave a content little hum, like she’d just confirmed something she already knew. “Smart girl.”
“I’ve been praying for you,” she added, quieter this time. Her eyes misted, but not in a fragile way. “You’re the one who brought my oldest boy back into the bosom of the Lord. I couldn’t love you more if I’d raised you myself.”
Behind them, Bryce muttered, “Would’ve made for a pretty weird marriage if you had.”
Without missing a beat, Barbara swatted at him behind her.
“Don’t be fresh,” she said, already turning back to Beth like it hadn’t happened. Bryce just laughed and hoisted her bags, muttering something about how she packed like she was staying a month.
“As I was saying…” Barbara clasped her hands together, like she was about to deliver a short devotional. “When he called and told me he’d gotten married—and that he’d come home…” She dabbed at her eyes with a tissue pulled from somewhere in her sleeve. “Well. I haven’t stopped praising the Lord since.”
Beth didn’t know what to say, so she just smiled and let herself be hugged again.
“He asked if I wanted to know all the details,” Barbara
continued, “but I told him—I don’t care about the hows. Just the nows.”
Something inside Beth relaxed. She hadn’t been sure how she felt about Bryce not telling his mom their full story… but now? Seeing her in person, hearing those words, watching Bryce laugh with her and look so at ease, it filled Beth with a peace that settled in and stayed.
The rest of the morning unfolded with laughter and stories—and maybe a few stolen kisses when Barbara wasn’t looking.
That afternoon, they made their way to her parents’ house for the rehearsal dinner. It was to be a small, joy-filled gathering—just close family, the Ambrose’s, Kim, and Beth’s cousin with his wife and their five kids (one of them making their mother’s belly grow quickly). The two older ones would be stealing hearts the next day as the ring bearer and flower girl.
CHAPTER 36
They’d kept the rehearsal simple. No extra fuss. Just good food, plenty of laughter, and everyone pitching in to make the evening feel like home. It had gone smoother than Beth expected, and now—with dinner in full swing—everyone was relaxed and laughing as the sun dipped low over the backyard. Plates were being filled for seconds, drinks clinked over retold stories, and kids ran barefoot through the grass while the adults kicked back in lawn chairs. It was the kind of evening Beth had always imagined for this moment—simple, full of warmth, with people she loved all in one place.
That’s when Bryce leaned over to Brock, his words too soft for Beth to hear.
She tilted her head. “What’s that about?”
“Brotherly stuff,” Bryce said with a grin, pressing a kiss to her temple before slipping off.
She let it go—but a moment later, she noticed Lynn was missing too. Her coffee cup was still next to her chair, half-full, but her seat was empty.
Beth stood, brushing her hands on her jeans. “Anyone seen Lynn?” she asked, but no one had. A quiet flicker of apprehension stirred in her chest. Not worry—not exactly—but something.
As she stepped in through the back door, she caught sight of Pastor Ambrose at the front entry, clapping a hand on Brock’s shoulder.
“I want to talk shop with you in a minute,” he said. “But first—my wife would never forgive me if I didn’t hydrate properly.”
Brock laughed, letting the screen door fall shut behind him. Beth followed the pastor through the house, her footsteps soft against the hardwood. Then she heard Lynn cry out.
“Oh… oh my… No. No no no—you motherless, sugar-crusted hellspawn! Don’t you dare fall off that counter like a buttercream lemming. Don’t you—”
Lynn lunged forward, arms out, trying to steady the five-tier cake while carefully avoiding the delicate buttercream flowers.
“I spent a week talking to you like you were my frosting-coated baby!”
Just as her hands reached the sides, her fingers slipped between the soft layers and collided with their mirror images. The cake imploded. All over Lynn. All over the counter.
She froze for one breath.
Then the rant began.
