Quick-Draw Cowboy. Joanna Wayne
their socks while the band set up their instruments.
Happy. Surrounded by friends. Watched over by Sally’s mother, Crystal. Safe.
But for how long? Dani shuddered. She’d done a good job of keeping James Haggard out of her mind during the ceremony, but now he was back and tormenting her thoughts.
She’d found several labs in San Antonio that promised quick results with paternity testing.
She ordered a DNA collection kit online from Corinthian Court Labs and paid extra for overnight delivery. With luck, she’d have it in her hands by Monday morning.
The next time Haggard dropped by, she’d insist he cooperate. She seriously doubted she’d have to wait until Friday to see him again.
Having a plan helped but didn’t alleviate her apprehension.
“Are you okay, dear? You look like you’ve checked out of this hoopla.”
Esther’s words of concern jolted Dani back to the present. “I’m fine, but I’d best get back to the reception area and help control Constance.”
“I’ll walk with you. Jaci, why don’t you come with us and we’ll check out the party?”
Jaci clapped her hands and skipped over to join them.
As the photographer folded his tripod, several guests rushed up to congratulate the groom and hug the beaming bride. Riley and Tucker were quickly accosted, as well, by two very attractive young women. Dani had seen both of them in the bakery a few times, but didn’t actually know them. In their early twenties, she’d guess. Both thin as a blade of grass.
Not that Dani cared. She’d never expected any more from Riley than a dance and she wasn’t putting much faith in that. He certainly didn’t owe her anything.
Dani picked up her pace, determined not to be annoyed by the sound of Riley’s laughter, probably at something one of the flaunting flirts had whispered in his ear.
By the time she reached Constance, the little manipulator and Sally were swiping maraschino cherries from a tray on the portable bar in back of the tent.
“That’s enough,” Crystal said. “You’ll get a stomachache and no one else will get any cherries in their drinks.”
Dani tiptoed up and surprised Constance with a quick hug. “How about a glass of orange juice instead?”
“Or a couple of Shirley Temples,” the cute young cowboy behind the bar suggested.
Constance’s mouth flew open and she covered it with her hand, her eyes wide as she looked up at Dani and then back to the bartender. “My aunt would kill me if I drank that.”
Dani laughed. “You can have a Shirley Temple if you like.”
“I can?”
“Sure. It’s not alcohol.”
“What is it?”
“It’s sort of like a Sprite with a cherry.”
“Oh. Then I’ll just have a Sprite with a cherry in it.”
“Me, too,” Sally said.
Crystal stepped around the girls. “And I’ll have a white wine.”
“Coming right up.” The bartender took his time with them with little concern for a couple of guys waiting on service.
“My feet are killing me,” Crystal said, reaching down to make an adjustment on the strap. “And these shoes felt so good when I tried them on in the shop.”
“Have you guys eaten yet?” Dani asked.
“We have,” Crystal said. “Food is great, especially the brisket sliders and Esther’s fabulous creamed-corn casserole, but I controlled myself. Have to save room for wedding cake.”
“Your cake is beautiful,” Sally said. “When I get married, I want you to bake my cake and make it as tall as me.”
“Why don’t I just practice on a few birthday cakes shorter than you first?” Dani responded.
“I second that,” Crystal said. “We’re a long way from talking weddings.”
The bartender handed them their drinks.
“I’ll carry your drink,” Crystal said, reaching for Dani’s flute of champagne. “You can grab a plate of food while the girls and I snag seats—away from the band, so we can talk about how beautiful the wedding was and how smashing you look.”
“Thanks. I like smashing.” She had felt rather smashing until she’d compared herself to the two model-thin ladies hitting on Riley and Tucker. That had put things back into perspective pretty quickly.
Dani wasn’t hungry, but champagne on an empty stomach would make her giddy.
Several guests stopped to say hello and talk for a minute as she made her way to the food line. The band broke into their first number. Pierce and Grace stepped onto the dance floor that had been sprinkled with sawdust.
They looked incredibly happy. So perfect together that Dani’s eyes grew moist.
She blinked and then spotted Riley and Tucker standing near the dance floor surrounded by a different cluster of fawning women. No surprise there. It would be difficult to find three more hunky cowboys than the Lawrence brothers.
When she’d first spotted Riley in his tux, he literally took her breath away. Her pulse had gone into orbit as she walked the aisle. He looked even better now that he’d shed the stiff bow tie and donned his black Stetson.
She felt a touch to her arm and turned around. Millie Miles was standing at her elbow. Dani had met the woman while visiting Grace at the Double K Ranch a couple of months back and had run in to her in town and at the bakery several times since then.
The woman was always friendly, but there was no missing the sadness in her eyes. She’d recently lost her grandson, and her husband was in prison for manslaughter related to the tragic accident that had also claimed the toddler’s life.
It was the kind of story you expected to see on TV, but never in a town like Winding Creek.
“I just wanted to say what a beautiful maid of honor you were,” Millie said. “I love the dress. You should always wear that shade of green.”
“Thanks. I’ll certainly give that some consideration. Not sure how it would look with food-coloring stains, though,” Dani joked. Compliments always tended to make her uncomfortable—unless they were in reference to her pastries.
“This is probably not the best time for this, but may I ask a favor of you?”
“Sure,” Dani said.
“It’s my daughter, Angela. She’s the blonde in the red dress talking to Riley Lawrence.”
“Yes, I’ve seen Angela in the shop with you.”
Angela always dressed provocatively, but perhaps never looked as dynamite as she did tonight in the skintight dress with the revealing cutouts.
“What about Angela?”
“I don’t know how much you know about our situation, but Angela’s two-year-old son died in a freak accident last year. I won’t go in to all the tragic details, but it has been extremely hard on Angela, as you might guess.”
“I’m sure this is difficult for all of you.”
Dani had no idea where this was going, but it didn’t seem the time or place to discuss this.
“I’m increasingly worried about Angela,” Millie said. “She seems to be in a state of denial, as if she refuses to believe any of the past actually happened.”
Definitely not the time or place for this conversation. Dani had to agree that she didn’t look like a grieving mother of a dead child, but...