Nina’s smile broke free even as her eyes glossed. Without a word, she went inside – and came back out almost immediately carrying the throw blanket from the sofa. She draped it over Mav, sat beside him and rested her head on his shoulder.
Sierra thought they made quite the picture, the gorgeous Hollywood starlet with her hip-length, black hair and the rugged, denim-clad cowboy sitting on the steps together, looking out at the rolling hills. It was odd to think that they had only met that summer, barely six months prior, when Nina had come to Hunt Ranch to recuperate after she’d been attacked in her LA home. When Sierra looked at Nina and Mav, she didn’t see a new, shallow love. She saw an achingly beautiful connection that most people would have recognized as ‘fated’.
They were all quiet for a long moment, Mav and Nina in their own little world, Sierra and Benji hovering, both too concerned for Mav to avoid each other as they’d have preferred.
Nina was the one who broke the silence. ‘I wanna get married here, Mav.’
Mav angled his head to look down at her. ‘Not at the resort?’
‘No. Here. Home.’ She pointed to the huge oak tree. ‘Under the tree. Markus as my man of honour – and photographer, of course. Benji as your best man. Sierra as officiant. Poppy as the flower girl.’ Nina looked back at Sierra, her eyes twinkling. ‘You wouldn’t mind, right?’
Sierra shook her head even as that suffocating weight rose in her chest. There had been a time when she and Benji had made the exact same decision – to get married beneath the oak tree. She didn’t dare look at him, but she wondered if it even crossed his mind after all this time. ‘Of course not. I’ll get ordained online and then add it to our list of services for the resort,’ she teased.
Mav nodded slowly, thinking it through. ‘If you’re sure that’s what you want.’
‘I’m sure. I want simple. And I want to be yours. As soon as possible,’ Nina replied. ‘Time shouldn’t be wasted, Mav. I …’ Nina trailed off as she fought to compose herself. ‘I keep seeing you lying there, your blood everywhere …’
‘Hey, hey, what’s this?’ Mav crooned when Nina’s tears began to fall. ‘I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.’
‘I know.’ Nina waved away his concern. ‘I know. I’m just emotional. Having you home again …’
Didn’t Sierra understand that? Didn’t she feel that same anxiety burning in her chest, even though her brother was alive and sitting right in front of her?
‘How about Christmas Day?’ Mav suggested. ‘That way you’ll be mine by the new year.’
Nina, laughing through her tears, replied, ‘Perfect.’
But Sierra blanched. Her heart, built stoically on control and perfection, stuttered. Her panic reared. Not only wassixteen daysan unreasonable amount of time to plan a wedding, but the resort had taken a huge financial hit when they’d had to close to the public as news of Nina’s stay there had spread through the media.
News vans and Nina Keller fans had swamped the resort, exposing Nina’s location to her stalker and giving Sierra and Mav no choice but to close the gates to everyone who didn’t have a pre-existing reservation. Sierra didn’t begrudge the choice they’d made. Nina was family. So, the decision to close the resort had been an easy one. But the reality of the situation was that it would take them a full quarter to recover financially.
To take the pressure off and avoid having to lay off any of her staff, Sierra had cut her own salary and was living off her savings. But, unwilling to bring up that particular worry to Mav in his current state, she said, ‘Let’s just take a moment to think this through, guys. Christmas issixteen daysaway.’
‘It is.’ Nina gnawed on her lip. ‘Do you think that’s enough time?’
‘Yes,’ Mav replied.
At the same time that Sierra said, ‘No!’
‘As long as you’re truly fine with simple?’ Mav asked Nina, completely ignoring Sierra.
Nina nodded vigorously. ‘It’ll be small and intimate. Just the family and our close friends. If that’s okay with you?’
‘Nina, I don’t need anything but you,’ Mav affirmed.
Sierra rolled her eyes even though her panic was very real. ‘You guys, as adorable as you are, the weeks before Christmas are our busiest time of year at the resort—’
‘But Christmas Day is our quietest,’ Mav countered, still looking only at Nina. ‘And the next few weeks are going to be the only time in my entire life I can’t physically work. Hell, I can help you plan the entire thing.’
‘We can use the horses in our photos,’ Nina gushed, undeterred. ‘And we can get Poppy a dress that matches mine!’
‘Oh, my God.’ Sierra took one step away and then immediately spun back around. She could see by the looks on both of their faces that there was no point in arguing. Her frantic mind started making a list of everything they would need to make a wedding happenin just two weeks. The flowers and the cake – both of which they’d have to pay exorbitantly for given the short notice. Chairs, tables, and the dance floor they could borrow from the resort. Food and beverages. Décor. Suits! Dresses! And that was on top of her seasonal holiday work at the resort.
Her mind spun.
‘Oh, God. I need to sit down.’ Sierra plonked on the top step and pulled out her cell phone. She opened her Evernote app, started a new note and then simply dumped everything flying through her thoughts for later organizing. ‘We’ll have to find a dress that doesn’t need a ton of alterations. With your sizing that’s going to be difficult; wedding dress samples typically sit at an eight or ten – what are you, a two?’
‘Easy,’ Nina replied dreamily. ‘Hell, I’ll wear jeans if I have to.’
