“You can’t do this. You just can’t.” Bella stood up and paced the floor.
“I am doing it. I’d love your support, but if you can’t give it to me… well, I’m still getting married on Saturday.”
~ * ~
“Sometimes a person has to make really hard decisions to protect someone.” Greta looked over at Jenny. Jenny sighed because she knew ever so well the lengths she’d gone to keep her son Daniel’s father a secret. And she hadn’t been in love with Joseph when she married him to help hide her secret. How could she argue with Becky Lee, when she was just trying to protect a child, too?
“If this is something you think you have to do, then I’m one hundred percent behind you. Just be sure, Bec.” Jenny got up and gave her friend a hug.
“I am sure. I want to do this.”
“But all your dreams about getting married.” Bella still paced back and forth.
“I’m okay with this, really.”
“But if Theresa Jean wakes up, she’ll get custody back and then what?” Bella slipped back into her chair.
“We’ll figure it out then. But for now, this is what we need to do. And it needs to look legitimate to everyone. Cal’s father will be looking at us closely, I’m sure. So the reasons need to be kept a secret.”
“Of course, dear.” Greta nodded.
Bella let out a long, drawn-out sigh. “Well, if you’re sure, then a wedding on Saturday it is. Where are you going to get married?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe at the cottage. I’m going to ask Luke Zuckerman if he’ll marry us. I heard he’s a marriage officiant now.”
“We are going to make this a real wedding. That much is for sure. I’m going to take over planning it. We’ll have it at the carriage house, I still have the arbor there from Jenny and my weddings. We can get a cake from Sylvia’s.” Bella jumped up and grabbed a notebook from her purse. “We’ll need to find you a dress.”
“How about the dress I wore in my wedding? The vintage one Izzy found?” Jenny thought that with a bit of alteration the dress would fit Becky Lee.
“That would be nice to be married in the same dress you wore.”
“Hey, that could be your something borrowed.” Bella jotted some more notes. “I’ll order your bouquet. It will be beautiful, I promise.”
“You guys don’t need to go to a lot of fuss.”
“Nonsense. If you’re going to have a wedding, it’s going to be a nice one. Besides, you said you wanted it to look legitimate.” Bella tapped her pencil.
“Bec, there is no way to stop Izzy when she gets her mind made up about planning something. I’d just let her run with it.” Jenny smiled. Bella was at her best when planning an event. She thrived on it.
“I’ll be glad to help you girls in any way I can,” Greta offered.
“All right then. We have a busy week. Let’s get started.” Bella dug out her cell phone. “I have calls to make.”
Jenny looked over at Becky Lee. Her friend looked a bit overwhelmed. One thing was certain, if Becky Lee needed to do this, to marry Cal, they were darn well going to make sure she had a nice wedding.
~ * ~
Greta left the girls to work out plans for Becky Lee’s wedding. She took the pathway between her house and Jenny’s. The walk was less than a mile and wove among a grove of trees. Clay had put in a gate in the fence between their properties and cleared the pathway. She often walked over to visit, or the kids would come over to her house after school for snacks.
She walked along thinking about Becky Lee and her reason for marrying Cal. She, better than most people, knew that sometimes people got married for all sorts of reasons.
Like Ellie and Martin.
A pang of hurt jangled her nerves, a pain she hadn’t let reach her in a long time.
As she crossed into her yard, she looked over at the swing in the live oak tree. That’s where Martin had told her. Right there. So many, many years ago.
Where he’d told her that he was in love with her.
She still remembered every detail. The way her heart had fluttered in her chest and her breath had caught in her lungs. The way his lips had felt when he leaned down to kiss her.
Then he’d taken her hand and told her that even though he loved her, he had to go away with Ellie. He was going to marry Ellie. It was the right thing to do.
Yes, she remembered every detail of the day her world had been turned upside down.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Becky Lee hurried down Main Street. She’d spent fifteen minutes looking for her cell phone before she found it, and now she was late meeting Cal and Scotty at the park. She looked down the street and saw Camille. She quickly glanced to the side, wondering if she could make a quick detour down the side street.