“If you’re talking about that hole Grayson dug looking for worms, then yes, I filled it in and smoothed it out,” Logan said with a curt nod.
“Good. Dan, have you found where you’re going to stand to take pictures of the wedding? I was thinking if you stood right there on the east corner of the deck that you’d have a nice overview of the decorations and the gazebo. You should take several, of course, but especially while Serena and Chris are facing each other reciting their vows, so their faces will be in the photos. I’ll be sure and send you some of the professional photos if you’ll leave me your email address, but I assume you’ll want to take a few of your own.”
“I’ll handle it,” he assured her. “You’ll never even know I’m here.”
Especially since he had no intention of staying for the whole ceremony. He could slip away after snapping a perfunctory shot or two and no one would be the wiser.
Leaving Logan to his preparations, he moved toward the inn, thinking he’d go up to his room and work on some notes for a while. Maybe concentrating on work would keep him from dwelling on thoughts of Kinley—or of unexplained visions in the woods surrounding her inn.
* * *
At four on the dot, Kinley and Bonnie opened the back doors to the inn for those inside who wanted to go on out and be seated. Later arrivals would be welcome to come through the inn or go around straight from the parking lot to be seated. Tables were already set up beneath the tent on the side lawn for the meal to follow the ceremony, and the catering crew bustled around in the kitchen, getting ready to serve.
The inn did not provide a specific dressing room for the groom and groomsmen; usually they made use of one of the suites, either reserved for the purpose or borrowed from a guest. The bride and her bridesmaids were allowed to use the downstairs guest restroom for dressing. It was a decent size, with a sink-and-dressing area separate from the enclosed toilet. It was one of Kinley’s goals to someday convert the unused part of the basement below the deck into restroom/dressing room areas accessible from outside, one for men and one for women.
Serena and her three bridesmaids bustled in and out of the restroom while Eva badgered them to hurry. The photographer had asked the wedding party to meet in the parlor promptly at four for a session of posed photos in front of the fireplace. Serena and Chris would join them there, since Serena had insisted she didn’t mind Chris seeing her in her gown prior to the ceremony. At ten past four, everyone was gathered in the parlor except Serena. With Eva hovering around the edges making suggestions, the long-suffering photographer, Anne Saxon, arranged the groom with his groomsmen for several poses, then took a few shots of the groom with the bridesmaids.
Serena sent out word that she needed a few minutes alone to calm herself for the wedding. Eva went to check on her, but was sent back to the parlor with a frown that she tried to smooth over. Eva fidgeted restlessly while the groom’s family was the center of the photographer’s focus as they waited for the bride to join them. Anne posed Chris with his parents, his brother and sister-in-law and their three boys, then took a couple of cute shots of Chris solemnly entrusting the rings into Grayson’s care. Kinley was relieved to note that the rings immediately went into Chris’s brother’s pocket afterward; as best man, he would guard the rings while Grayson served only as a symbolic ring bearer.
“The boy looks deceptively angelic in photos, doesn’t he?” a deep voice murmured into Kinley’s ear. For a heart-stopping moment, she was transported back into her darkened bedroom with that same husky voice whispering intimate encouragements to her. She shoved the memories immediately to the back of her mind, knowing she would pull them out later to replay in detail.
Smiling blandly up at Dan, she nodded and murmured, “He does. He’s been very well behaved today. I think he got quite a talking-to last night, and probably this morning.”
His hand brushed hers at her side. It was a fleeting touch that might have almost been accidental, but she knew it wasn’t. A little tingle of reaction coursed from that whisper of contact all the way through her. She moistened her lips and tried to concentrate on the wedding preparations.
At four-thirty, Serena still had not made an appearance. Eva started in that direction, but her forbidding expression made Kinley move quickly to block her.
“Would you like me to bring her?” she offered brightly, hoping to avoid what looked as if it could become a noisy confrontation. “Perhaps you’d like a photo of yourself with the ring bearer and flower girl? That would be a sweet memento.”
Reluctantly distracted, Eva nodded. “I would like that. Anne, maybe I could sit in that chair in front of the window with the lace curtains behind me while the children hand me flowers. That would be sweet, wouldn’t it? Someone bring us flowers to use.”
“I’ll find some,” Alicia said, giving Kinley a nod of approval as she passed her. “Tell Serena there’s going to be a maternal meltdown if she doesn’t get out here,” she murmured from the corner of her mouth on the way by.
Maybe Dan was reluctant to be left in the same room as Eva without Kinley there as a shield. He followed her, leaning against the hallway wall some distance away when she tapped lightly on the restroom door, not really eavesdropping but just waiting for her.
“Serena? It’s Kinley. How are you doing in there?”
“I just need some time, okay?”
Kinley winced a little at the edge she heard in the younger woman’s voice even through the wood door. Was that just a hint of hysteria? “Serena, your family is waiting for you. They’d like to take a few photos with you before the ceremony starts, and there’s not much time left.”
The door was jerked open and Serena stood framed in the opening, her furious expression a startling contrast to her angelic appearance. Her strapless dress was a poufy confection of ruffles and lace wrapped with a wide lavender ribbon tied in a big bow in back. Her stiffly upswept hair was framed by a full white veil anchored with a rhinestone-studded tiara. The ensemble was much too froufrou for Kinley’s personal taste, but she had to admit Serena looked very pretty— except for the streaks of tears through the makeup on her flushed cheeks.
“Why won’t you all just leave me alone?” she wailed, her fists clenched at her sides. “I said I needed some time to myself.”
Kinley had dealt with a couple of overwhelmed brides by now, and she’d found that a calm, soothing tone worked best. “I understand, Serena. I’m sure you’re exhausted from all the preparations. It’s almost over. If you’ll just—”
“You.” Serena almost spat out the word. “You’re as bad as my mother with your schedules and checklists and wanting everything to be just so. You’ll probably
be just like her in a few years. Telling everyone what to do, pushing them around.”
Kinley bit her lower lip, telling herself it was foolish to be hurt by Serena’s angry words. Obviously the bride wasn’t thinking clearly, was simply lashing out at the closest target. She sensed Dan moving slowly closer, but she held up a hand to warn him off as she spoke again.
“I’m not trying to tell you what to do, Serena. Why don’t you tell me what you want me to do? Should I inform everyone there will be a short delay, that the wedding will start a bit later than planned? You should take all the time you need to compose yourself, but I need to let them know not to start the ceremony until you’re ready.”
“I don’t know when I’ll be ready,” Serena snapped. “Maybe I don’t want to do this at all. Maybe I just want to call the whole thing off.”
Swallowing hard, Kinley shot a quick, rather panicked look at Dan before turning back to Serena. “That’s your call, too, of course,” she said evenly. “By all means, if you’ve changed your mind about marrying Chris, now is the time to say so.”