THE BEST MAN Read online

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  THE BEST MAN

  Linda Turner

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  Contents:

  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

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  Chapter 1

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  The church dressing room was in chaos. Street clothes were tossed aside and lavender bridesmaid dresses pulled on as the clock on the wall steadily marked off the time. The wedding should have started fifteen minutes ago, but no one was worried about that. They just all wanted to look their best when they finally got the chance to walk down the aisle.

  "Has anyone seen my makeup bag? I would have sworn I put it right here with my dress."

  "It's on the table with the purses. Lord, these shoes are tight! I knew I should have broken them in but I never could find the time. Now I'm going to have blisters. How am I going to dance? Has anyone got any Band-Aids?"

  "Oh, God, I can't believe this! I've got a run in my hose! I've got to get to the store!"

  "You'll never make it," Janey McBride told her sister's old school friend, Rose. "The second Thomas gets here, the minister said we could start the ceremony."

  "Can you believe Thomas had a flat on his wedding day?" her too-talkative cousin, Stella, said unthinkingly. "Talk about bad timing! It's almost as if fate was trying to tell him something."

  Wincing, Janey shot her a reproving look and hoped her words didn't carry to the adjoining room, where her mother and sisters-in-law were helping her sister, Merry, dress. "Since it was fate that brought Thomas back to town in the first place, I don't think we have to look for any hidden messages," she told her cousin quietly, frowning at her before turning back to Rose, who was staring in dismay at her ruined hose. "We can't take a chance on holding things up a second time. You'll just have to wear what you've got."

  "But—"

  From across the room, a package of hose came sailing right at Rose, who caught it with a laugh. "If you ruin those, I've got six other pairs," Merry said with a grin, her sapphire eyes dancing with happiness as she and her mother and two sisters-in-law, Lizzie and Angel, joined the crowd of bridesmaids. "Plus aspirin, Midol tablets, hive medicine, and every shade of lipstick known to man—and woman."

  Already dressed in her wedding dress, her dark hair swept up off her neck to reveal their grandmother's pearls, she was beautiful. With her oval face, fine, delicate features, and elegant looks, everyone had always said she was the prettiest girl in town, but as a bride, she was absolutely breathtaking.

  Just looking at her brought the sting of tears to Janey's eyes. Quickly, she blinked them away, but not before Merry saw and frowned in concern. "I'm okay," she assured her thickly, a crooked smile tilting her mouth.

  "I'm just getting sentimental. You look so pretty, and I don't want anything to ruin this day for you."

  Understanding, Merry smiled and hugged her. "It's not. It's going to be perfect. You'll see."

  Confident, she wasn't the least bit nervous. After all, what was there to be nervous about? She'd been a bridesmaid so many times, she'd lost count of the number of weddings she'd been in. But at every one, she'd watched and learned the ins and outs, what not to do, how to avoid a disaster. Today was her day. She'd been waiting for it for years, and she had everything planned right down to the smallest detail. Nothing was going to go wrong. She wouldn't let it. Not now that she had found Thomas again.

  She and Thomas Cooper had been friends in grade school, sweethearts in high school, then drifted apart when she'd gone to college and veterinary school in Texas and he'd headed east to Harvard for his undergraduate and law degrees. When she'd eventually returned to the family ranch in Liberty Hill, Colorado, to open her own clinic, she'd thought she'd never see Thomas again. He'd settled in Chicago and joined an old, established law firm there, which was just what he'd always wanted. She'd been happy for him, but deep inside, a part of her had longed to see him. Then, unexpectedly, his mother fell and broke her hip. His father had died years before, and he had no brothers or sisters, so it had been left to Thomas to come home to take care of her.

  Merry hadn't even known he was back until she ran into him in town. A slow smile curled the corners of her mouth at the memory. It had been just like old times—only better. They'd gone to Ed's Diner for coffee and had Ed's famous chocolate cream pie, and they'd ended up talking and laughing for hours. Just that easily, she'd fallen in love with him all over again, and it had been the same for him.

  Still, she hadn't dare let herself even think of a future with him. Her life, her family, her business—everything that was dear to her was in Liberty Hill. And Thomas had only come back to town to see after his mother. It was understood that as soon as she was well and back on her feet, he would return to his law firm in Chicago.

  But a month passed, and then another, and even after his mother recovered, Thomas showed no signs of leaving. Then one day, he surprised Merry with the announcement that he didn't intend to return to Chicago. He'd made arrangements with his partners there to resign from the firm. He wanted to set up practice in Liberty Hill and spend the rest of his life with her. He proposed and gave her six months to plan a wedding.

  Just thinking about it made her want to laugh, to dance, to sing with happiness. Thomas had wanted a big wedding to show off his new bride, and it had taken six months to get everything ready, but all the work was about to pay off. The big day had arrived, and in less than an hour, she would be Mrs. Thomas Cooper. Finally!

  "It's going to be fantastic," Rose chimed in. "The sun's shining, the birds are singing, and there isn't a rain cloud in sight. What could go wrong? The church is full to the rafters, and Thomas is nuts about Merry. If I could find a man who'd look at me the way he looks at her, I'd be walking down the aisle myself. You're very lucky, Mer."

  Touched, Merry found her own eyes welling with tears. "I know," she choked. "Sometimes, I have to pinch myself just to make sure I'm not dreaming."

  "And this is just the beginning," Angel said, grinning at her. Newly married herself to Merry and Janey's brother, Joe, she knew from personal experience just how wonderful it could be. "You'll settle in together, become a family, have babies—"

  "Diapers, colic—"

  At her sister-in-law, Lizzie's, droll comment, they all laughed and the tears that threatened to ruin their makeup disappeared. "I can hardly wait," Merry said with a chuckle. "It's going to be wonderful!"

  The others had to agree, and as they finished dressing and the clock ticked toward five o'clock, the rescheduled time of the wedding, they talked about Merry's future with the man of her dreams. Some things were just meant to be, and they all agreed that she and Thomas were one of those things. You only had to see them together to know that they were totally devoted to each other.

  Lost in the talk of babies and the nursery she planned to start as soon as possible, Merry didn't notice the passage of time until she suddenly glanced at her watch and gasped. "It's nearly five! Thomas should be here by now."

  "He was coming straight to the church as soon as he changed the flat, wasn't he?" Stella asked. "He does know how to work a jack, doesn't he?"

  She hadn't thought of that and blanched at the idea of setting back the wedding again. Everyone knew Thomas wasn't mechanically inclined. She should have insisted that one of her brothers go pick him up, but he'd assured her he had everything under control.

  "Maybe I'd better call him," she said, stepping over to the phone. "Something must have happened."

  She punched in the number of his cell phone, only to get his voice mail when he didn't answer. Surprised, she told herself there had to be a logical explanation. If his cell phone was in the car and he was outside loading the flat tire into the trunk, he wouldn't even hear the ph
one ringing. Or he'd left the phone on the side of the road and driven off without it. He'd been so absentminded lately that she wouldn't have put that past him.

  Or right this minute, he could be lying on the side of the road, sick from the same bug that had upset his stomach last night at the rehearsal dinner.

  She went pale at the thought. Worried, she turned to her sister. "Janey, what if he's sick? You saw how he was last night. He was green as a gourd. He said it was nothing, but what if he's got one of those nasty stomach viruses that won't go away? He wouldn't have told me because he wouldn't have wanted to upset me, but he could be in trouble. Maybe the guys should go look for him."

  Somber, Janey had to agree that her concern was legitimate. They'd all seen how uncomfortable Thomas was last night, and he was just the type to keep his illness to himself so he wouldn't ruin their wedding day. "I'm sure there's nothing to worry about," she assured her, "but I'll go talk to the guys. Who knows? He may have called Nick so he wouldn't have to worry you. I'll find out and be right back."

  "Thank you! If something has happened to him—"

  "Don't look for trouble," her mother advised her calmly. Always the voice of reason when everyone else was falling apart, Sara McBride was as calm and self-possessed as a saint as she quietly took charge. "Everything will be fine. You'll see. While we're waiting, Lizzie and Angel and I will talk to the guests and assure them everything's okay. You just stay here and relax and think of how wonderful your life with Thomas is going to be. I know you'll be very happy together."

  On the verge of panic, that was just what Merry needed to hear. Tears glistening in her eyes, she took her mother's hand and squeezed it in appreciation. "Thanks, Mom. How did you know I needed to hear that?"

  "Because I know my children. Don't have a meltdown, dear. Everything's going to work out just fine. You'll see."

  * * *

  The room reserved for Thomas and his groomsmen to dress was off the choir room and much smaller than that allotted to the women. Knocking on the door, Janey wouldn't have been surprised to find Thomas inside, scrambling into his tux and cursing the flat tire that had delayed him.

  But when her brother, Joe, answered the door and she looked past him into the room, all she saw was their younger brother, Zeke, and the rest of the groomsmen. Already decked out in their wedding finery and standing around with their hands in their pockets, there was something about their somber expressions that had her heart jumping in alarm. "What's wrong? Where's Thomas? He is here, isn't he?"

  "Not exactly," Zeke replied grimly.

  "What?!"

  "He's having trouble getting here," Joe told her tersely. "Nick's on the phone with him in the church office right now."

  Confused, Janey frowned. Nick Kincaid was not only the local sheriff, but Thomas's best man. "I don't understand. If he's still having car trouble, why doesn't Nick just send one of his deputies to pick him up?"

  "Because Thomas won't tell any of us where he is."

  The color drained out of Janey's face at Zeke's curt announcement, and suddenly she understood why her brothers looked so serious. "He's backing out of the wedding?"

  "I don't know, but I'm tired of cooling my heels in here," Joe retorted. "C'mon. Let's go see what's going on."

  Jerking open the door, he ushered Janey and Zeke out into the hall, only to discover that a number of the guests had grown restless and escaped to the foyer of the church, where they stood in groups of twos and threes, gossiping.

  At the sight of the three McBrides, they immediately stiffened and nearly choked on what they were saying. It didn't take a genius to figure out that they were whispering about the delay in the ceremony and the fact that no one had seen the groom all day.

  Joe couldn't say he blamed them for speculating among themselves. Thomas's behavior was damned odd, and he intended to tell him that the second he finally showed his face. For now, however, he and the rest of the family would, for Merry's sake, act as if everything were fine.

  Nodding to the guests, he forced a smile and said, "Sorry about the delay, folks. There've been a few glitches, but we're getting them straightened out and should start the ceremony any minute."

  Not giving anyone time to ask what the glitches were, he led the way to the church office and shut the door as soon as Janey and Zeke followed him inside. Nick, Thomas's closest friend for most of his life, was on the phone and prowling the length of the phone cord. Joe took one look at his scowling face and swore. Whatever break-down Thomas was going through, Nick had obviously made little progress with him.

  Furious, Nick, in fact, wanted to string him up by his thumbs. "Dammit, man, this is just prewedding jitters!" he growled into the phone. "Calm down and think about what you're doing. Think about Merry. I know you love her. You always have. And she loves you. The two of you belong together. Give yourself a chance and talk to her—"

  "There's nothing to talk about," Thomas retorted. "I thought I could do this, but I can't. I can't marry her. It would be the biggest mistake of my life."

  "You don't mean that. Talk to her—"

  "You talk to her. Tell her whatever you like. Tell her I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt her. But I can't marry her. I can't make her happy. I can't be the person she needs me to be. So I'm going back to Chicago where I belong."

  "No!"

  "Goodbye, Nick."

  The phone went dead in his hands, and with a muttered curse, Nick quickly punched in the number to Thomas's cell phone, but he'd turned it off and the call couldn't be completed. Swearing, he slammed the receiver down on its base, and completely forgot he was in church. "Damn him, I can't believe he's doing this!"

  Her brown eyes wide in her pale face, Janey was the first to break the ominous silence that had fallen. "What exactly is he doing?"

  Nick hesitated, wondering how the hell he was supposed to tell Merry's family that the man she loved with all her heart was going to leave her standing at the altar. What could he say that would possibly make sense of this? Nothing, dammit. Nothing at all.

  "He's jilting her, isn't he?" Zeke snarled as Nick struggled to find the words. "And he's too much of a coward to come here and tell her to her face."

  Nick winced. Like it or not, that pretty much summed it up. "He's got it in his head that he can't be the man Merry needs him to be, and getting married now would be nothing but a mistake. He's going back to Chicago."

  "The hell he is!" Joe growled, and headed for the door. "C'mon, Zeke. You and I are going to have a talk with Mr. Cooper about the proper way a man treats the woman he claims to love."

  Nick wouldn't have blamed them if they'd wanted to do a hell of a lot more than talk to Thomas. If it hadn't been his responsibility as sheriff to enforce the law, he wouldn't have minded popping his old friend a few times himself. It was no more than he deserved. But beating the tar out of him wouldn't change anything, and at the moment, they had a much more serious problem to deal with. Merry still didn't know she wasn't getting married today.

  Quickly stepping in front of the door, he blocked Joe's path and didn't so much as blink when the oldest McBride gave him a look that could have blistered paint. "You're forgetting Merry," he said quietly. "Somebody has to tell her."

  That stopped both brothers in their tracks. Swearing, Zeke tugged off the tie that threatened to choke him and threw it across the room. "This is going to kill her, Nick. She's nuts about the bastard."

  No one knew that better than Nick. Best friends with both Merry and Thomas since first grade, he'd watched them fall in love in high school, then again, just last November when Thomas came back to town to take care of his ailing mother. For as long as Nick could remember, Merry had never had eyes for anyone else but Thomas.

  "I'll tell her," Joe said grimly. "Something like this needs to come from family."

  Nick knew he was probably right. When a woman heard this kind of news, she needed her loved ones around her to cushion the blow. But he loved her, too, dammit! And he'd never been so frus
trated in his life. He'd have given his right arm to protect her from this kind of hurt, but it was too late for that. All he could do for her now was break the news as gently as possible and be there for her when she needed a friend.

  "I'd like to do it, if you don't mind," he said huskily. "I was the only one who talked to Thomas, and as the best man, I feel like it's my responsibility. I should have seen this coming. I knew something was troubling him, but I thought it was something to do with work and having to reschedule everything so he and Merry could have a month for their honeymoon. If I'd just cornered him and made him talk to me, all of this could have been prevented."

  Her brown eyes kind, Janey patted his arm in sympathy.

  "This isn't your fault, Nick. None of us could have predicted this, so don't beat yourself up over it."

  "We all know who the bad guy is here," Zeke added, "and it isn't you."

  "I'd still like to be the one to tell her," he insisted. "She's going to blame herself, and she's not the one who did anything wrong. Thomas is the one with the hang-up, not her. I don't know how I'm going to make her understand that, but I'd like all of you to be there. And your mother, too, of course. She's going to take this hard."

  The three McBrides exchanged glances and came to a decision without saying a word. "All right," Joe said. "We'll do it your way. Janey, where's Mom?"

  "She and Angel and Lizzie were helping everyone get dressed, but Mom said something about talking to some of the guests. They're getting restless."

  "I don't blame them," he muttered, pulling open the door. "I'm a little testy myself. C'mon. Let's go find everyone."

  * * *

  Pacing nervously, Merry glanced at her watch for the third time in a single minute, worry eating her stomach. What was taking Janey so long? She'd promised she'd be right back ten minutes ago, and she was nowhere in sight. Something was wrong with Thomas, she thought, swallowing a sob. He'd collapsed somewhere and was in the hospital and nobody wanted to tell her. That had to be it. Nothing else but some kind of horrible illness would keep him from her at a time like this. Dear God, what if instead of a stomach virus, he had appendicitis and his appendix had burst? Right this minute, he could be lying on the side of the road somewhere, dying. She had to go to him!