I Do, I Do . . . Again Page 7

  She struggled to find something--anything--that might comfort him. "She's probably with the one friend we forgot to call," she offered, trying to control the tremor in her voice. "She probably didn't run away at all. She never has before, has she?"

  He shook his head. "She's threatened a time or two." He chuckled grimly. "Last time I told her she couldn't go somewhere she said she was going to run away to live with Christine's parents in Florida, but--" He looked over at Sunny as he stopped for a red light. "That's it. Florida."

  Sunny frowned. "How on earth could she get to the airport?"

  "She's a smart kid. She'd call for a cab. When she and Michael went to Florida last month, they took one of the radio cabs we use at work."

  "How would she pay for cab fare?"

  "Kids today have bigger allowances than your take-home pay when we were first married. She could scare up enough money to get to Philly International." The light changed and he stomped on the gas. "She knows the airport drill as well as I do. With that damn frequent flier card, she could go just about anywhere."

  "But she wouldn't, would she?" The pieces of the puzzle were beginning to fall into place. "Florida is probably the only place where she can escape the wedding," she said. "With her mother's family."

  ***

  Terminal C was practically deserted. A maintenance crew desultorily went about their business, cleaning and waxing the floors, while two security guards laughed with a pretty female colleague. "Come on," said Robert, taking Michael's hand. "This way."

  "Daddy!" Michael stopped dead in his tracks. "I have to go."

  Sunny knew a father's job when she saw it. "I'll run down to the ticket counter. You take Michael."

  "Careful, ma'am," called out one of the cleaning crew. "These floors are slippery. Don't want to break a leg or anything."

  Sunny was beyond caring. All she could think of was Jessi alone somewhere, feeling scared and abandoned. She raced down the endless corridor, heedless of the way her feet slid on the linoleum. The next plane to Florida was due to board in fifteen minutes. Please let me be on time, she prayed. Please, please, please....

  The TSA checkpoint loomed up ahead. The area was crowded with shoeless travelers, clutching cameras and carry-on luggage they would soon hand over to screeners. Babies in their mothers' arms. Toddlers. Servicemen in uniform and elderly couples and everything in between.

  Jessi...where are you...

  If she lived to be one thousand, Sunny was certain she would never know another moment of such pure, mindless relief. The sight of Jessi sitting on the bench, clutching her bag, was more beautiful to her than a Hawaiian sunset.

  Robert's footsteps sounded behind her and, smiling through her tears, she pointed toward the forlorn child. "Your daughter's over there."

  A moment later Robert was reading his daughter the riot act, but he hugged the girl while he did it. The look of relief on his face was profound.

  I love her, Sunny thought, in amazement. I love her as if she were my own! Loving Michael had been easy. She looked down at the little boy running circles around the small waiting room. She defied anyone to resist a six year old's charm. Jessi had been something else entirely. Prickly, self-conscious, protective of her place in the world, a little girl on the brink of adolescence, Jessi had made it hard for Sunny to get close to her--and Sunny had allowed it all to happen.

  Until now.

  Suddenly Jessi was no longer Robert's daughter, but a vital part of Sunny's own family. Not flesh of her flesh but something equally precious: a child of her heart.

  And so she did what she should have done two months ago--what she had wanted to do all along. She opened her arms to her daughter.

  Jessi hesitated...but only for a second.

  A moment later she was in Sunny's arms.

  "Don't you ever do that to us again!" Sunny cried, holding the child tight. "You scared the daylights out of us."

  Jessi hung her head. "I'm s-sorry," she mumbled.

  "Was it the wedding?"

  "Sort of."

  "And me?"

  Jessi's cheeks flamed bright red. "Yes."

  Sunny tilted her chin up so their eyes met. "And the house?"

  Jessi burst into fresh tears."I don't want to move."

  "...don't wanna move," repeated Michael as he stared longingly at the snack bar across the corridor.

  "But it's a great house," said Robert, looking befuddled.

  "We know it is, and maybe someday we'll be ready to appreciate it, but for now I think we should stay where we are."

  "You too?" Robert asked, shaking his head in bewilderment.

  "Afraid so. The house you have feels right to me."

  "It's home, Daddy," said Jessi, "and we want to stay there."

  Sunny reached for Robert's hand. "We'll have plenty of time later on to go house-hunting." She looked down at the kids and grinned. "As a family."

  He ruffled his daughter's hair. "So you left because of the house?"

  "I didn't think anyone would notice," Jessi said. "All anyone thinks about is the wedding."

  "Wedding, wedding, wedding," Michael piped up.

  Sunny met Robert's eyes over the girl's head. "There hasn't been a lot of time for anything else, has there?"

  "All you do is try on dresses and plan menus and fool around with computer programs," Jessi continued. "What does that have to do with love?"

  Robert didn't take his eyes from Sunny. "I've been asking myself the same thing."

  "Ice cream," said Michael, jumping up and down as he pointed toward the snack bar. "Can I, Daddy? Please!"

  Jessi met Sunny's eyes and they exchanged a look that only a woman would understand.

  "I think we can bend the rules this once, don't you?" asked Sunny.

  Jessi nodded and smiled up at her father. "I think I'd like some ice cream, too."

  Robert knew when he'd been bested. He shrugged his shoulders and handed them a ten dollar bill. "The snack bar and no place else. Understood?"

  Jessi raised up on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. "Understood." Shyly she turned to Sunny. "I'm glad you found me."

  Sunny gave her another hug. "Me too."

  They watched as Jessi and Michael ran to the snack bar and placed their orders.

  "Out of the mouths of babes," said Sunny.

  "The house?" asked Robert.

  "The wedding," said Sunny. "They said everything we've been thinking for weeks now. I haven't had time to breathe since the night you asked me to marry you." Fittings and menus were the least of it. She'd been eating, breathing, and sleeping weddings for over two months and not once had she stopped long enough to appreciate the miracle that had happened that first afternoon in her art gallery when Robert walked in the door and changed her life.

  It wasn't about flowers or The Wedding March or a white lace dress with a cathedral train. Lost in the thousands of details surrounding the wedding was the reason for the celebration, the miracle that had brought them together in the first place: the renewal of love. The commitment to be a family.

  The certainty that the future was theirs for the asking.

  "Too late to back out on it now," said Robert, his expression grave.

  "It would break our mothers' hearts," said Sunny.

  "Not to mention your dad's bank account."

  Sunny chuckled grimly. "There's that, too. Sometimes I feel as if the wedding has nothing to do with either one of us."

  A grin began to play at the corners of Robert's mouth. "There is something we can do that would mean a lot to us." The woman he loved looked up at him, realization dawning.

  "We couldn't," said Sunny slowly. Then: "Could we?"

  "They wouldn't have to know."

  "You mean--?"

  "You got it."

  A ripple of excitement moved its way along Sunny's spine. "History repeating itself?"

  He kissed her mouth. "More like getting it right the second time."

  "That's crazy!"

  "No, it's not.
It's the first sane thing I've come up with since I proposed to you."

  "I have the license at home," said Sunny.

  "And I have the rings."

  "Could we find a judge on such short notice?"

  "I'm a hotshot lawyer," Robert said, his grin widening. "I guarantee I can find us a judge before daybreak."

  "What about the kids?"

  He took her hand. "Let's ask them."

  Jessi and Michael looked up from their hot fudge sundaes as Robert and Sunny approached.

  "I asked for tofu ice cream," said Jessi sheepishly, "but they didn't have any."

  "You only live once," said Sunny. "You can splurge now and then."

  "We have something we want to tell you," said Robert, eyes twinkling.

  "I'm grounded," said Jessi. "I guess I deserve it."

  "We'll talk about that later," said Robert. "Right now we want to talk about the wedding."

  "There's something we can do as a family that would mean a lot to your dad and me."

  Robert's eyes met Sunny's and she nodded. "What would you guys think of going to a wedding tonight?" he asked.

  "A wedding?" Jessi looked from her father to Sunny then back again. "Tonight?" The happiness in the girl's voice warmed Sunny's heart. "Just for us?"

  "Just for us," said Sunny.

  "Can you?" asked Jessi, wide-eyed.

  "We have the license," he said, smiling broadly. "We have the rings. We have our two favorite people to share it with us. What more do we need?"

  Epilogue

  Judge Hansell was a friendly sort, a man who understood that love and romance didn't always follow a timetable.

  "Damned irregular," he said, knotting the belt on his red plaid robe as he inspected the marriage license, "but everything seems to be in order."

  "You're going to marry my daddy?" Michael asked.

  The judge laughed and patted the boy on his head. "No, I'm going to marry your dad and Sunny to each other. I'm just the middle man."

  "They were married before," said Jessi, clutching the nosegay of daisies the judge's wife and daughter had plucked from their backyard garden for the occasion.

  "Lots of second marriages these days," said the judge.

  "We were married to each other," Sunny explained. "When we were teenagers."

  Poor Judge Hansell looked terribly confused. "Well," he said. "Well, well, well."

  "They fell in love when they were about my age," Jessi confided, "but it didn't work out that time."

  "We made a lot of mistakes," said Robert, taking Sunny's hand in his, "but we're older and wiser this time around."

  "Not every couple is lucky enough to be given a second chance," said Sunny. "We intend to make the most of it."

  The judge's brow furrowed. "Wouldn't you like a big fancy wedding with all the trimmings?"

  "We're having one on Saturday," said Robert, anxious to get on with the ceremony. "White carpets, limos, and weeping relatives. The whole deal."

  "That one is for our families," said Sunny. She looked over at Jessi and Michael and felt a rush of emotion unlike anything she'd ever known. "This one is for us."

  "Modern life," said the judge with a shake of his head. "I don't know if I'll ever understand it."

  They took their places in front of the fireplace. The judge's wife stood next to Robert while his eldest daughter stood next to Sunny. Jessi and Michael flanked the judge, their eyes wide with excitement. Sunny closed her eyes for an instant, trying to imprint the scene on her heart forever.

  Later on both Sunny and Robert swore that they'd caught the scent of orange blossoms in the air, but they were the only ones in the room who noticed it. Judge Hansell intoned the sweetly familiar words of the wedding ceremony, words that held special meaning now that they understood how miraculous a thing happily-ever-after truly was.

  "What are you waiting for, man?" Judge Hansell boomed as his wife and daughter applauded. "Kiss your bride!"

  "Ugh," said Michael, his voice high and piping. "They're kissing!"

  "Of course they are, silly," Jessi said through happy tears. "That's what newlyweds do."

  "I love you," said Robert to his brand new bride. "More than I thought possible."

  "You've always been the one," Sunny said, her voice clear and strong. "My only love."

  "Are we a family now?" asked Michael, tugging at his father's sleeve.

  Robert scooped him up into his arms then looked at Sunny. "What do you think, Mrs. Holland?"

  "Almost," she said, "but not quite." She looked at the man she'd always loved, at the little boy who made the sun shine. Jessi stood a few feet away from them, eyes wet with happy tears. Sunny smiled. The girl grinned. Sunny opened her arms wide and Jessi ran to her and the four of them stood there laughing and hugging and talking all at once.

  "Now," said Sunny, looking at her husband and children. "Now we're a family."

  "Forever?" asked Jessi as Michael looked on.

  Robert met Sunny's eyes and in them she saw their past, present, and future intertwined, each link forging a chain of love and commitment that nothing could ever break. "Forever," said Robert.

  "Yes," said Sunny, heart soaring with love. "This time it's for keeps."

  Author's Note

  Readers are everything.

  Seeing your name in print is terrific. Good reviews put a smile on an author's face. Royalties help keep the wolf from the door.

  But the absolute best thing about being a writer is being read.Knowing that your words are making someone you're not even related to happy. Knowing that your story is helping to make a bad day better for a stranger who needed to escape for a few hours. Knowing that the imaginary friends you've spent the last few months with are out there in the world becoming just as real to a reader you'll never meet but know and love just the same.

  See what I mean?

  Readers are everything.

  So this one is for the wonderful readers (and knitters) who have taken time over the last few years to let me know how much they enjoy my books.

  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

  And if you're new to my work, welcome. I hope you'll check out the other titles and let me know what you think.

  Happy reading!

  Barbara Bretton

  Other books by Barbara Bretton that you might like

  Historical Romances

  MIDNIGHT LOVER

  Jesse Reardon was the king of Silver Spur, a rough Nevada boomtown where he called all the shots. But then one hot and dusty afternoon, beautiful Boston socialite Caroline Bennett stepped off the stagecoach determined to avenge her father's death and claim what's rightfully hers: the Crazy Arrow saloon and Jesse Reardon's untamed heart.

  Find a sample here.

  FIRE'S LADY

  Beautiful, young Alexandra Glenn has been sent across the ocean to East Hampton to help restore the early paintings of renowned American Impressionist Andrew Lowell. Her excitement at the prospect of working with the aging master is quickly dimmed when she is confronted by Matthew McKenna, Lowell's mysterious houseguest and protector, who seems determined to drive her away.

  Danger lurks everywhere in the cottage by the sea, fueled by dark secrets and a need for revenge that reaches from beyond the grave and threatens Alexandra's very life. Is Matthew McKenna her sworn enemy or the only person she can trust?

  But on a starry night on a desert beach in her enemy's arms, Alexandra's suspicion turns into a fiery passion that not even danger can extinguish.

  From the golden meadows of Provence to the moonswept beach of East Hampton to the glittering mansions of San Francisco, Alexandra follows her heart to claim her destiny in the arms of the man she loves.

  See the video teaser at eBook Discovery or find a sample here:

  ***

  The Sugar Maple Chronicles

  Paranormal romance with mystery . . . and knitting!

  CASTING SPELLS

  USA Today bestselling author Barbara Bretton has always
enchanted readers. But this time, she really casts a spell in a new series of magic and murder weaving its way into the lives of New England's most unusual town--and most unique knitting store . . .

  Sugar Maple looks like any bucolic Vermont town, but when the tourists go home it's a different story–inhabited as it is with warlocks, sprites, vampires, witches, and an ancient secret. And I know all about secrets. I'm Chloe Hobbs, owner of Sticks & String, a popular knit shop where your yarn never tangles, you always get gauge . . . and the knitter sitting next to you comes out only after dark.

  I'm also the sorcerer's daughter--a single sorcerer's daughter with Sugar Maple's future in her hands which means the whole town is casting spells meant to help me find Mr. Right. Who'd have guessed I'd find him in Luke MacKenzie, a cop investigating Sugar Maple's very first murder? Bad news is he's 100% human which could spell disaster for a normal future with a paranormal woman like me--in love, in danger, and in way over my head.

  Click here to read Chapter One.

  LACED WITH MAGIC

  From "a master storyteller" (Booklist (starred review) comes more magic, knitting, and love in the delightful follow-up to Casting Spells.

  Knit shop owner and sorcerer's daughter Chloe Hobbs felt the Fates finally got it right when she met Luke MacKenzie. And no one could have convinced her otherwise—including the trolls, selkies, or spirits who also call Sugar Maple, Vermont, home. But then out of nowhere Luke's ex-wife suddenly shows up, claiming to see the spirit of their daughter, Steffie—a daughter Chloe knows nothing about.

  Steffie's spirit is being held hostage by a certain Fae leader. And if Chloe weaves a spell to free her spirit, her nemesis will also be free—free to destroy her yarn shop and all of Sugar Maple. But if she doesn't, Steffie won't be the only one spending eternity in hell. Chloe'll be joining her, cursed with a broken heart.