“The lady might have something to say about that,” Ethan said.
Nate shrugged. “We’re having drinks tonight.”
Ethan put his hands up. “Fair enough. I was just saying she sure isn’t the girl who used to follow us around on horseback.”
“No, she isn’t,” Nate agreed. He thought of all the changes he’d seen in Kinley and how much he appreciated each one of them. She’d been a party girl once, but she’d matured past that and he could see that she was stronger now. She’d changed and he acknowledged that he hadn’t really, but one thing he knew for sure was that he still wanted her. And he was pretty sure they weren’t finished with each other yet.
There had been something in her eyes when he’d shaken her hand earlier, maybe attraction, maybe something more. Whatever it was, he was hungry to explore it.
* * *
Ferrin was a marked contrast to the bride Kinley had been working with that very morning. They were in the office at the bakery discussing a few details. Where a true bridezilla would never take any of the first things that Kinley offered, Ferrin pretty much did. Her mom was a professor at UT Austin and wasn’t able to make the cake tasting, so Ferrin did ask if Kinley would mind very much if they waited to finalize the cakes until her mom drove over on Saturday to give her opinion.
That was a very easy yes. Food was easy, Kinley thought, or it should be most of the time. It was a little bit funny to see all of the Caruthers brothers sitting around trying cake and pretending they cared what it tasted like, because even Ma Caruthers—as she’d always insisted Kinley call her—knew her boys weren’t interested in cake flavors. They were here because Ferrin had asked Hunter to give his opinion and had suggested his brothers might want a say as well.
It was sweet.
The bond between the Carutherses was one of the many things that Kinley had always envied about them. Being an only child hadn’t been a burden, but it had been lonely. Her parents both had demanding jobs that kept them away from home most of the time. She’d spent a lot of her childhood alone or tagging after the Carutherses. Now she was planning a wedding for Hunter... It was almost too much to be believed.
She made a few more notes. “Ferrin, what’s your schedule like for the rest of the week? I’d love to get your dress selected. I have some designers that I like to use who are in New York and Beverly Hills, but also I have a friend from London who is just starting out. Her dresses are exquisite and I think they would flatter you.”
“I’m teaching at Cole’s Hill Community College on Thursday and Friday morning. But I’m free in the afternoon,” Ferrin said.
“That’s fine,” Kinley said. “I can forward you the look books so you can go through the sketches and photos before you start narrowing down your choices.”
Hunter came in as they were talking, and Kinley was very aware that Ethan and Nate were right behind him. She wasn’t sure what they had been discussing, but given the way all three men stared at her...she guessed she’d been the topic.
“Hunter, y’all are free to go. We are going to be discussing the dress, and I want to surprise you on the big day,” Ferrin said.
“Sounds good to me,” Hunter said, coming over and giving her a kiss before leaving the room with his brothers behind him.
“Do you want my opinion?” Ma Caruthers asked. “I know you have your mother and you might want to make the decision with her.”
“I’d love your opinion,” Ferrin said, then turned to Kinley. “Tell me more about what will happen after I look at the designs in the books. Pretty much my entire bridal experience has been limited to episodes of Say Yes to the Dress. And I don’t know how much of that is real or not.”
“Well, once we have an idea of the type of dress you want, I’ll get samples in similar styles shipped to us and then we’ll arrange for you to try on all the different dresses until you narrow it down to a designer or a type of dress you like. Then someone from the designer you’ve chosen will be assigned to you to come out here and fit and measure the dress properly,” Kinley said. Finding the perfect dress was really Kinley’s favorite part of the wedding planning service. She was naturally organized, so the other parts of her job were easy and almost routine. Every wedding had food and cake and wine and music. But it was the dress and the theme that the bride selected that set each wedding apart.
“That sounds...exhausting,” Ferrin said. “Also a little daunting.”
Kinley walked over to the bride-to-be, who was a few years older than she, and put her arm around her shoulders. “Don’t worry about anything. I will be by your side the entire time and we are going to plan the wedding of your dreams.”
Ferrin turned and hugged her, and for the first time since she’d gotten off the plane in Texas, Kinley was glad she was here. Ferrin was the kind of bride that made her glad she was a wedding planner.
“Thank you.”
“Told you you’d be in good hands with this one,” Ma Caruthers said. “She’s always had a good head on her shoulders.”
“You’ve been wonderful to help me so much. I really appreciate it,” Ferrin said to her future mother-in-law.
“Well, I never had any daughters and am hoping that you are going to give me a granddaughter one day. Thank you for letting me help out,” Ma Caruthers said.
Kinley felt the heat in her chest and cheeks as she blushed. She hadn’t considered anyone besides herself and Nate when she’d made the decision to keep Penny a secret from him. He was wild and not ready to settle down—she wasn’t sure he ever would be—but his mother and father...they were nice people. People who wanted a grandchild.
And they already had one.
Kinley excused herself and left the bakery. Guilt weighed heavy on her shoulders as she walked to her car. It was hot on this summer afternoon, and she wished she could blame the heat for the feeling in the pit of her stomach. But she knew the truth. She’d let the secret of Penny go on for too long. There was no way to casually introduce her daughter to the Carutherses without them getting angry—justifiably so. She realized she might have bitten off more than she could chew by agreeing to come to Cole’s Hill.
Now she was stuck between a rock and a very hard place. She could either stay here and hope that no one noticed Penny and that the guilt that had started to grow inside her would be bearable, or she could quit her job and run away from life.
She knew which option she wanted to choose. But she’d never been a coward, and she didn’t want Penny to grow up thinking that she could run away from her problems. Kinley was going to have to figure out how to tell Nate he had a daughter, and she knew the sooner she did it the better it would be for everyone.
* * *
Nate had half expected Kinley to cancel on him and had gone to the Bull Pit with Ethan to have a drink while he was waiting for her to finish up with her afternoon appointments. What was it about Kinley that always made him feel on edge? With most of the women he dated he usually fell into a comfortable feeling pretty quickly. He knew what they liked and how to give it to them.
But not with her.
“Dad wants me to go to San Angelo to check on one of our mineral contracts. It’s set to renew, and he’s not sure if we should renew it or sell it,” Ethan said. He was the family lawyer but also worked for a big-time law firm. He used to work in Houston but now handled his clients from his home office here in Cole’s Hill. “Then I’m probably going to fly to LA and be back a few days later.”
Ethan had a woman in Los Angeles. They all knew it but he never mentioned her, so Nate had figured she was either casual or married. And since he didn’t want his brothers nipping in his own business, he’d never asked.
“Sure thing. We aren’t doing anything major this week. Mitzi