“Good call,” Maggie said.
The three of them left their shoes outside Pepper’s room and scurried down the winding stairs to the first floor. Stone, Jackson, and Stone’s brother, Kyle, were standing around the small bar just off the entrance. The rest of the Wolves were huddled together by the windows, looking helpless and worried. They were all drinking tumblers of scotch.
“Thank goodness it’s you,” Rafael said. “What do we do?”
“Should we wait it out?” Stone asked.
“It doesn’t look like it’s going to let up anytime soon.” Jackson held Lily on his hip. Wearing her white tulle dress and stockings and a tiara that matched the bride’s, she couldn’t look any cuter.
“We’re bringing this thing inside,” Lisa said. “We’ll use the big room there.” She pointed to the sitting room. “Start moving furniture against the walls. I’ll go down and tell the guests to come up here.”
“They’re all inside the restaurant,” Stone said. “Pepper’s dad directed them to go inside when the rain started.”
The men all went to work. Nico and Trey moved the couch against one wall as Lisa passed through to take the stairway down to the restaurant. She paused for a second and pointed to the fireplace. “Nico, make that the focal point for the vows. The guests will gather around here.” She gestured toward the spot in front of the fireplace.
“What about chairs?” Stone asked.
“We’re going to have to stand,” Maggie said. “Right, Lisa?”
“Yes, there’s not enough room for seating,” Lisa said.
“This is a disaster,” Stone said, sounding miserable. “I wanted it perfect for Pepper.”
Kyle exchanged a worried look with Lisa as he crossed over to stand next to Stone. Both solid and tall Hickman brothers looked close to tears.
“Your bride is a total trouper,” Maggie said. “She’s not in the least bothered.”
“All she wants is to be your wife,” Lisa said. “So put all your worries aside and enjoy this day, okay?”
“Yes ma’am,” Stone said, not sounding in the least convinced.
“The important thing is that we’re all here together,” Maggie said. “A wedding is about the people gathered, not the dress or anything else.”
Kyle lifted his tumbler toward his brother, tears in his dark blue eyes. “She’s right, bud. This day is already perfect because we’re here together. Mom and Violet are upstairs with the kids. Wait until you see them in their matching outfits.”
Stone turned to his brother. “I wanted Pepper to have everything she ever wanted.”
Kyle patted his shoulder. “Dude, she has that in you. I promise you, this day is going to be perfect.”
7
PEPPER
Pepper stood just outside the door to the parlor as the bridesmaids and groomsmen entered two by two. First, Maggie and Kyle, followed by Lisa and Rafael, then Trey and Autumn. Nico, ordained just for this occasion, stood in front of the fireplace. Her flower girl, Lily, had done her part and was now plopped down by her daddy in the front row, waiting to see what happened next.
Dack, her stepdad who was her true father, stood next to her adjusting her veil, his eyes soft. “You and your mom have always been my favorite people in the whole world, you know that, kid?”
“I know, Dack. Don’t make me cry.”
“I’ve been proud of you many times since I met you. All the times you stood up for the little guy or underdog. How brave you were to go to theater school and then kept at it when that idiot of a father made you feel like crap. And how you came back after what those monsters did to you.” He hesitated before speaking. “Like your mother, you’ve always loved clothes and glamour. I can still see you in your pink tutu with the glitter on it. I found that stuff for years. When I found out about your dress, my heart broke for you. But I shouldn’t have underestimated you. As usual, you’ve blown all my expectations clear through the roof.Here you are, getting married in a sheet, and I think my heart might burst.” His eyes welled with tears. “What you’ve done here tells me everything I need to know about how you feel for that young man in there.”
“I told you not to make me cry,” she said, swallowing the ache in the back of her throat. “It’s the man, not the wedding.”
The music started and she took a deep breath, suddenly scared. What if she disappointed Stone? Would he hate this?
It was too late now. Clutching her flowers, she placed her arm through her father’s and walked into the room. By the fireplace, her groom waited for her.
Stone took one look at her and started laughing, then crying. As she walked slowly toward him, the quartet playing Canon in B, the entire wedding party was also laughing through their tears. Two aisles of chairs, tied with the same blue ribbon around her waist, were taken up by the Dogs, Wags, and parents. They cheered so loudly as she came down the aisle, they nearly drowned out the quartet.
