Ever After (41 page)

She had to work to keep from frowning at Braden.

As the guests arrived, she said hello to everyone she'd met. Lainey and Paige told her the dress looked great on her. Adam asked her to save a dance for him. Ian said he wanted to introduce her to his parents. Raine looked at her and gave a little nod, letting her know he'd received her message, but he said nothing.

Twice Hallie turned around to see if Jamie was there, but he wasn't. Kit patted her hand. “Jamie is staying away until everyone is in their seats. He's taken care of, so you can quit worrying.”

Hallie fiddled with the ring, pulling at it, but it still didn't budge. Beside her, Braden was twisting around to look at the guests.

“May I?” Kit asked and lifted Hallie's left hand. He examined her finger, massaging it a bit. He pulled on the ring once, but it didn't move. “If I believed in such things, I'd say it was witchcraft.”

“I agree,” Hallie said. “But I don't understand
why
. Am I supposed to marry Braden?” She glanced at him. He was turned half around as he watched Kane and Cale walk down the aisle to their seats.

Kit bent toward her. “The family gossip is that you've been in love with this young man since you were a child.”

“And I'll bet that gossip came from Todd. I'd like to—” She gritted her teeth, unable to finish.

“Would you like me to give you some boxing lessons?” Kit was teasing.

“Oh, yes,” Hallie said. “I'd like to be strong enough to—Oh, well. What about you? Done any searching?”

He reached inside his suit jacket and withdrew the card
they'd found behind the dresser, the one that read F
IND THEM
in the same old-fashioned writing she'd seen on the envelope. “The only question remains
who
I am to find,” Kit said.

When the music began to play, Kit put the card back in his pocket and Hallie sat up straight.

Braden turned toward the front. “Who's the old guy next to you?” he whispered to Hallie.

“He's the man Ian Fleming modeled James Bond on and he can kill with a single blow, so behave yourself.”

Braden looked shocked at her words. “Who
are
you?” He was looking at her as though he'd never seen her before.

“I think the genuine me is coming out,” Hallie said, then turned her attention to the front of the church where a woman had started singing.

There was a bit of a lapse when the solo was finished, before the choir began. A man, tall, with brown hair and blue eyes, stopped by the pew.

“Are you Hallie?” he asked softly. “I just wanted to introduce myself. I'm—”

“Leland,” she said. “You look like my dad. Please sit with us.” She motioned for Braden to move aside, but he protested.

“Leland is my cousin,” Hallie said, and reluctantly, Braden moved so Leland could sit by Hallie. She couldn't help staring at him.

“And you look like my dad's sister,” he said. He saw the ring on her finger. “You're engaged.”

“Wow. More family. But, no, I'm not engaged,” Hallie said.

“Yes, she is,” Braden said from the other side of him.

Leland looked over her head to Kit.

“Our Hallie is a very popular young lady,” Kit said.

The music began again and there was no more talk.

Minutes later, the groom and Jared came from the side to stand at the front. As Jared looked around the audience, he smiled at Hallie.

Braden leaned across Leland. “You know the famous architect too? Who's next? The president?”

“Shhhh,” Hallie said and leaned back against the pew.

Leland was looking at her questioningly, but Hallie just shrugged. Kit's eyes were sparkling in amusement.

When the music for the bride began, everyone stood up. Jilly's dress was extremely simple: high necked, long sleeves. But the fabric was embellished with long rows of tiny silvery sequins. As she passed by, people gasped when they saw the back of the gown. It was covered with a transparent mesh and showed off Jilly's beautiful, toned back to well below her waist.

“Now,
that's
a gown!” Hallie said.

Kit smiled. “Our Jilly has always had a bit of fire in her.”

“When I—” Hallie cut herself off. She had an idea that if she even mentioned marriage, Braden would comment on it. What in the world was
wrong
with her?! Everything she'd ever dreamed of was happening, but all she felt was a sense of gloom.

She couldn't help it, but she yet again looked toward the back of the church. Sitting in the last pew, near the aisle, with Raine beside him, was Jamie. He was staring at her and frowning, but Hallie smiled at him, glad that he was safe. Suddenly, her feeling that something was missing disappeared.

She turned back to the front and looked up at Leland. When he smiled at her, it felt good. He was her family. All around were Jamie's relatives, but this man, Leland Hartley, was related to
her
.

He seemed to understand what she was thinking. He reached into his inside jacket pocket and pulled out a card. It was an old photograph, probably early 1900s, of a pretty woman wearing a costume with a tall lace collar. It looked like something Elizabeth I would have worn. Beneath it was printed E
MMELINE
W
ELLS
.

“Your great-grandmother,” Leland whispered.

If the pastor had not started speaking, Hallie would have bombarded him with questions. As it was, her hands held on to the card tightly. She'd never known anything about her father's family and there had been grandparents only on her mother's side. To suddenly see how she belonged in the world was touching something deep inside her.

“She's almost as pretty as you are,” Kit whispered, making Hallie smile.

She gave her attention to the beautiful ceremony.

“How are you doing?” Raine asked as he sat down beside Jamie, whose chair was up against the tent wall. After the ceremony, the guests had been transported to a piece of land owned by the Kingsleys, where Jilly's new husband's daughter had designed a beautiful chapel. Jilly had wanted to be married there, but it wouldn't hold even half of her big family. She'd settled on being married in the church, with the reception near the chapel.

“Great,” Jamie said, his leg stuck out before him, his crutches in his hand as though he were ready to leave at a moment's notice. “The woman I love is wearing another man's ring and dancing with every man here.”

“Interesting description of her,” Raine said. “Have you told her how you feel?”

“Hallie's so nice she'd probably marry me out of sympathy.”

“I don't think you're right,” Raine said. “Hallie has a mind of her own and she doesn't do things she doesn't want to. She won't dance with me.”

Jamie snorted. “She tends to like those skinny ones. Every Montgomery here has whirled her around.”

“And so have the Taggerts,” Raine said. “It's just
me
she
refuses. I thought she and I were becoming friends, but today she won't even look at me. I wanted to tell her that our secret is out, but she turned away before I could say it.”

“What secret?”

“Aunt Jilly is expecting. All the women knew, but the men were in the dark.”

“I knew,” Jamie said.

“Yeah, well, you don't count.”

“Todd said you two had a secret between you, but you wouldn't tell him what it was.”

“You know Todd. If he'd known, he would have gone to Aunt Jilly and asked her if she was taking her prenatal vitamins. Jilly wanted to tell Ken first. Anyway, did you meet Hallie's cousin?”

“She brought him over. Seems like an okay guy, and he's making Hallie happy, so that's good.”

“But what about the other one? The childhood sweetheart?”

Jamie turned a face of fury to his cousin. “He's not that! He's just…”

“Just what?” Raine asked. “That ring Hallie has on looks pretty real to me. Did you know she and this guy were so serious?”

“No!” Jamie said so loudly that several people turned to look at him in concern. “I have to get out of here before everyone starts whispering in fear of upsetting the damaged soldier.” He stood up with his crutches.

“I'll drive you,” Raine said.

“I can drive! I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”

“You're not getting behind a wheel when you're as angry as you are.” When Jamie looked like he was going to balk, Raine said, “I'd hate to have to knock you out and carry you over my shoulder.”

“Try it.” Jamie spoke with such challenge that Raine laughed.

Three kids ran past them, one of them nearly knocking Jamie's crutches out from under him. Raine grabbed a bag from one of them, who kept on running.

“Have some candy,” Raine said and held out the bag. “Maybe it'll sweeten your temper.”

Jamie knew when he was being ridiculous. He reached into the bag, withdrew a handful of lavender M&Ms with tiny pictures of the bride and groom on them, and popped them into his mouth. “Okay, you drive.”

“Good choice,” Raine said and minutes later they were at Hallie's house.

The quiet was wonderful to Jamie and he sat down at the kitchen table, while Raine rummaged in the fridge for sandwich makings. Raine put jars and bags on the table and got Jamie a knife and some plates so he could sit and make the sandwiches.

“Maybe I've been around Aunt Cale too much, but this thing with Hallie is a bit of a mystery,” Raine said. “What made her go from liking me one day to refusing to look at me the next?”

“I don't know. I leave solving mysteries to Mom and Todd,” Jamie said.

“By the way, where is your brother?”

“He was called back to work to handle one of his cases. He flew out early this morning.”

Raine dished coleslaw onto plates. “So I'm on my own in trying to figure this out. Maybe Hallie's had enough of our family and wants to get away from them. Remember Adam's last girlfriend? She said being around our family was like living in the middle of a sports team. She wanted nothing to do with us. Maybe Hallie's starting the breakaway with me.”

Jamie put pickles on top of slices of turkey. “Todd thinks Hallie likes our family more than she does me. He thinks Hallie is so desperate to have a family that she'll take any of us so she can have all of us.”

“What else does Todd think?” Raine asked, an eyebrow raised.

“He worries that I like her but that she doesn't like me—except as her patient.”

“I think your brother is full of crap,” Raine said as he sliced a tomato. “When Todd said all of this about Hallie, did he say anything about me?”

“Yeah. He said you two were flirting so hard during Graydon's wedding that he wanted to throw a bucket of water on you, and also that you two had some secret. I guess that was about Aunt Jilly.”

“And now I know why Hallie wouldn't dance with me.”

Jamie looked at Raine. “But that would mean she knew what Todd said. You don't think the Tea Ladies told her, do you?”

“Ghosts told her?” Raine said. “You've been here too long! I think Hallie overheard your idiot brother spouting off. Where were you when this happened?”

Jamie's eyes widened. “The clothes!” he whispered, then grabbed his crutches and went through the pantry. The new clothes that Hallie had chosen for him—his mother had told him the whole story—were still on the couch.

Raine was holding something out to Jamie. “I found this on the floor by the door to the kitchen.” It was Hallie's set of keys to the house and the car Jared had lent her. The key ring had a charm on it with 1776 and the word B
OSTON
.

Jamie dropped down on the couch. “She
did
hear. She must have heard every word Todd said.”

Raine picked up a stack of sweaters, moved them to the end of the couch, and sat down next to Jamie. “This is bad. Someone has to tell Hallie the truth. Personally, I think Todd should apologize to her. As for me, I'm going to tell her—Where are you going?”