Wildfire Wedding (6 page)

“Yes.” The boxes bore different labels. “All I want is something white, pretty, comfortable, with a low heel.”

“Luke’s tall enough for you to wear a higher heel than normal.” Sami reached for a box that said Stuart Weitzman. “Oh, wow. Krista, lookie!”

A customer entered the store, and Aunt Vangie seemed to sigh reluctantly as she moved to greet them. Good. Krista didn’t want an audience while she tried to manage the shoes. Served her right, for putting this off.

“I refuse to sacrifice comfort for shoes that nobody’s really going to see.”

Sami removed a medium-heeled elegant strappy sandal. “These will look gorgeous. You’ll find them more comfortable than you think.”

Krista took the shoe. “Well, even for elevens they might not make my feet look like flotation devices.”

“I thought it didn’t matter how they looked.” Sami leaned closer. “After all, no one sees them.”

Her singsong tone made Krista chuckle. “Ouch—you got me on that one.” Krista slipped her comfy flip-flops from her feet. The shoe slid onto her foot with the familiarity of a long-lost pal. Krista slipped its mate on the opposite foot and stood. Her ankles didn’t wobble. She didn’t feel like the Jolly Green Giant, either.

Her phone warbled from inside her purse, and she managed to reach down and retrieve it without hurting herself. “Sami, you won't believe this, but so far these feel just right. They're perfect.” She checked the number—Luke! She punched the button. “Hey!”

#

“Did you find your shoes?” Luke tilted his head back to study the branches of a live oak tree. Leafy, green. Not withered dry branches. This one would stay.

“Almost. We're still at Aunt Vangie’s shop. Where are you?”

“Finishing up at Nana's.” He braced himself for what he had to tell Krista. “I heard from Uncle Al. He said the mayor’s called a town meeting for tonight.”

“Oh, that’s just great,” Krista said as if it were anything but a great idea. “I’ll let Nana know so we can call our precinct list. What time?”

He hesitated. “About six o'clock.”

“But our rehearsal—”

“I know, I know. I already figured it out. We can have the rehearsal Friday afternoon. Al can stand in for your dad—”

“Oh. I’m not sure about that.”

“Meet me for a late lunch and we can talk about it?”

“I can’t.” Disappointment radiated from the phone. “Sami and I are going for her dress fitting.”

“Well, we should talk about these changes to schedule. We can squeeze in a rehearsal Friday before the dinner party your dad's throwing. How’s that list of yours coming along?” He grinned at the thought of her organized chaos.

“I forgot it at Nana’s. Did Jeff bring dress shoes? Because Aunt Vangie’s got a good supply here at the store. She wanted me to have you ask him.”

“I don’t know. I’ll have to ask him later. I think Nana put him to work.”

Krista’s throaty chuckle did his heart good. “I’m glad. A little hard work never hurt anyone.”

“Hey, I’ve got to go. Come by the house later. Bring Sami and we can all hang out. We can iron out some of the last-minute details you're so fond of. I was thinking of firing up the grill, having Barry come over and join us for burgers.”

“Okay, it’ll almost be like a party for the wedding party. Except Jana won’t be here until Friday.” Krista sounded a bit more cheerful.

“See you later then. I love you!”

“I love you too.”

Luke closed the phone. That had gone well. He knew Krista wanted things a certain way, and this town meeting tonight, while necessary, was throwing a kink into her plans. He put his Jeep into drive and squinted up the hill. Was that a wisp of smoke curling from the ridge beyond the lake? A sourness crept into the pit of his stomach.

#

Krista fidgeted where she sat on the bleachers in the Settler Lake High School gymnasium. The town meeting had been scheduled for the auditorium, but the number of attendees grew larger than the auditorium capacity.

At some point, from the time they'd shifted from the auditorium to the gymnasium, the air conditioning had given out. Sweat trickled down Krista's back. She wanted to lean against Luke, but fanned herself instead with an envelope from her purse. They'd found seats on the front row, where Nana didn't have to negotiate the steps.

Momma had begged off attending the meeting.

“I'm meeting some old friends for supper tonight,” she'd told Krista. Interesting, the old friends weren't going to the town meeting either. But then, some people figured they'd find out the information in other ways. Sami was busy with work she'd brought with her from the office and said she'd prefer going to the meeting than a night of keeping up with her accounts.

“I do hope this isn't too long of a meeting,” Nana said at her seat beside Krista.

“Me too.” Krista scanned the crowd. There were Aunt Vangie and Uncle Al. Her uncle was chatting with the mayor, then stepped over to sit down on one of five empty chairs reserved for Settler Lake city council members.

A solitary microphone stand stood in front of the five chairs, waiting for the mayor to address the community.

Krista turned her attention to the man beside her. “So, where's Jeff? I'm sure he had no interest in being here tonight.”

“You're right.” Luke smiled at her. “He said he was planning to catch the Dodgers and Rockies game at Jody's.”

“Ah, okay.” So far, they'd all managed to get along fine, even after the awkwardness while they were chopping brush this morning. Then, tomorrow, she'd be busy with her friends, Dad and Agnes were arriving from Austin for the rehearsal, and she'd have fun catching up with them at the dinner party Dad was throwing after rehearsal.

Her phone buzzed in her purse as Mayor Jenks called the meeting to order, his voice making the microphone squeal with feedback. Krista snatched up her purse and pulled out her phone.

Mom? She knew Krista was at the town meeting. Krista sent a message, rejecting the call with the text:
I'm in a meeting. Will call you when I'm done.

The phone buzzed again. Voice mail. Whatever it was, it could wait.

“Thank you all for coming,” said Mayor Jenks. “I'll skip to the important part, from Mr. D.J. Travers, the county fire marshal and chief of the Settler Lake VFD.”

Applause rippled across the gymnasium as Krista's phone buzzed again, this time with a message.

KRISTA. CALL ME. NOW.

She couldn't think of what pressing issue had come up that she needed to call Momma about right at this particular moment. Although, likely Momma was more than a little miffed about Dad and his wife arriving tomorrow, and the fact he'd invited her to the pre-wedding bash they were throwing.

Momma, Aunt Vangie had told Krista more than once, was happiest when she “had her back up about something,” as her aunt put it.

“Krista, honey, your mother just can't settle herself. I've prayed for her for years, but she's bound and determined to find whatever controversy she can sniff out,” she'd told her.

Krista sent a message back:
At the town meeting. I'll call you as soon as we're done.

“Good evening, everyone,” D.J. said. “I know you all have a lot going on in your lives, but I wanted to take a moment to remind y'all about fire safety, especially now. Our county is one of a number of Texas counties that's on the brink of entering an extreme drought situation. And, it's only mid June.”

He turned to face a screen, which displayed a graphic of the state of Texas, in varying shades of yellow, orange, and brown. D.J. continued, explaining about the drought conditions in different counties, coming back to their county.

Krista's phone buzzed again.

THIS CAN'T WAIT. YOU NEED TO KNOW.

She tried not to sigh. Luke nudged her elbow. He must've seen her expression.

“You okay?” he whispered.

She nodded. “Just Mom, being Mom.”

A grin made the corners of his lips twitch. “This too shall pass.”

Krista typed back.
I'll call you. I promise.

The buzzing stopped for a full five minutes. Krista kept her focus on the anecdotes D.J. shared, some of them frightening, about wildfires that spread faster than someone could run. She had no idea why anyone would stay so close to a wildfire. But then, if the winds picked up, entire communities could be in grave danger. Like Bastrop.

Krista closed her eyes and pictured the neighboring community, with over 1,000 homes consumed by fire that swept through and devoured faster than fire fighting crews could work, even aided by the state helicopters dumping water on the blazes.

Her phone buzzed again.

Honestly, Momma wouldn't quit.

PLEASE. YOU CAN'T MARRY LUKE. IT'S A MISTAKE.

Now, Krista rolled her eyes and typed:
I'll call you later. I promise.

She sent the message and waited.

HE HAS A GIRLFRIEND IN CALIFORNIA, WHO HAS A TWO YEAR OLD CHILD. I THINK IT'S HIS.

Krista didn't reply. Instead, she glanced at Luke. He sat, his chin on his hand as he listened to D.J. and nodded occasionally.

That Jennifer, the one he'd dated when he'd broken up with Krista? Was it even true?

He'd never mentioned Jennifer having a child, or being pregnant.

Now he glanced back at her, his brow furrowed as he asked the unspoken question: What is it?

She kept her voice low as she spoke. “I need to call my mom.”

“Can't it wait?”

Krista bit her lip. No, she wouldn't turn into a Bridezilla, not here in front of the cross-section of the town. She was hormonal, tired. The florist had called right before the meeting began—Krista's lilies were delayed from the grower in South America. 

To top it all, her father’s and Luke's tuxes were delayed. Now, how did that happen when the shop had ordered all of them at once. She'd shoved all those things out of her head, at Luke's urging.

Yes, she'd expected wedding craziness. But this. . .

“Some things can't wait.” Krista picked up her purse and attempted her best scurry from the gymnasium. Jitters, butterflies, you name it. That, and her mother's words about Jennifer having a child, old enough to be conceived when she and Luke had dated.

Krista skittered into the hallway and dialed her mother's number.

“Oh, thank goodness you called.” Momma's voice held a breathy tone. “I'm serious, Krista. I'm not making it up. That child could be Luke's. And before you ask you I know about this child, the Internet is a vast source of information. Cheri and Madge helped me look some things up tonight online. They're worried too.”

“He would have told me something like this.” She believed the words as she spoke them. Past was past, but children. . .

Footsteps in the hallway made her turn around.
Luke
.

“Mom, I need to go. Okay? We'll talk about this later.”

She ended the call, even as her mother continued speaking on the other end.

“What's going on? Dramatics from your mother?”

“No, Luke. But she told me Jennifer has a child, and Mom's under the impression the child's yours. Jennifer, the one you were seeing. . . ”

“Yes. I remember Jennifer. But that's not my child. I, ah, insisted on a paternity test.”

“I see.” It did make sense. She nodded.

“I didn't think about mentioning this to you because it's over and done with.” His face flamed. “She cheated on me. And, you were right. Cheaters cheat.”

Krista nodded again. She inhaled, filling her lungs as best she could.
A soft answer turns away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger
. Lord knew she didn't need any more anger stirred up than she already felt.

It had to be the hormones. She opened her eyes. Luke hadn't gone anywhere. The old Luke would have stormed off, told her to get over herself and come back only when she did.

He pulled her into his arms. “I wasn't trying to keep this a secret from you. When we said the past was past—”

“It's the past.” She leaned on him. Another hurdle crossed. Now, to get through the rest of the days until the wedding—day after tomorrow.

FIVE

Luke didn't know why they needed to rehearse for the wedding. He already knew the drill. It didn't matter to him if they had one hundred guests, or if it was only them, Pastor Mike, and their witnesses.

But still, his throat caught when he saw Krista on her father's arm. Music swelled from the chapel sound system. Krista wore a white flowy sundress that came to her knees, but he tried to imagine her in a white wedding gown. He knew she planned to wear her grandmother's dress, and he couldn't recall what it looked like. Other than the white.

White, the symbol of purity. His sweet, faithful, funny Krista was also pure, despite their mutual past. He had a few major regrets in his life. The biggest was realizing the woman he loved stood before him with a heart that had taken a long time to heal. Jeff, who stood at his elbow, was a reminder of the damaged witness Luke’s life had been. His weak faith had been a sputtering candle that he had long snuffed out, with Jeff watching. When would he forget?