Dreaming in Dairyland (2 page)

He sighed happily.  There was no woman he'd ever cared for like he did that sweet-voiced woman, and he was going to make her happier than she'd ever dreamed of being.

*****

Cissie was ready to leave for work before Lachele called, because she wanted to give the matchmaker her full attention, rather than be running around finding a shirt while Lachele was talking to her.  She sat at the table in her kitchen with a notebook and pen, ready to take note.  Hopefully Lachele would let enough clues slip that she could figure out who her soon-to-be-husband was.

When the phone rang at exactly ten, Cissie snatched it up, her heart racing.  "Talk to me."  She'd been awake all night, dreaming of the man she'd marry.  In her mind he was tall, dark, handsome, and faceless.  She could not put a face on her mystery man no matter how hard she tried.

"Hey there, cupcake.  I found him." 

"Him?  What's his name?"

"That doesn't matter at all at this point, Cissie.  Stop trying to figure it out."  Lachele's voice was as sweet as ever but firm as she refused to give out any information.  "Wedding will be at the church where Cindy and Trey got married two weeks from Saturday."

Cissie blinked a few times.  Only two weeks?  That wasn't much time.  "I have to find a wedding dress!"

"Good gravy, girl!  You should have started wedding dress shopping the minute you contacted me that you were ready.  What were you thinking?"

Cissie sighed.  "That you'd give me a little more notice?"

"Your groom is extremely impatient.  He's ready to marry you yesterday."

"Sounds good to me.  Will you be here for the wedding?" Cissie had only known Lachele for a year and a half, but she wanted her to be there.  She wanted her to be there for her moral support, but also for her fun quirky self.  Even if Lachele hadn't been her matchmaker, she'd have wanted her there.

"Of course, I'm going to be there!  I told you last night I was bringing my new assistant to the wedding!"

Cissie closed her eyes for a moment.  It was all happening so fast her head was spinning.  "I wasn't sure if you were sending her in your place."

"Oh, gosh, no!  I might do that for a regular client in the future, but I like you too much to let you flounder.  Samara and I will come out the day before the wedding and we'll all have our own little bachelorette party.  Tell Cindy I've got it handled!   We'll drive wherever we need to drive for a quiet dinner, and maybe a little bit of rip-roaring fun.  You up for that?"

Cissie smiled, a bit concerned about what Lachele would consider rip roaring fun.  Whatever it was, though, she'd do it.  She was getting married.  She wouldn't have trusted anyone else in the world to find her a man, but Lachele had done such a good job for Cindy.  Surely she'd do just as well for her.  "Sounds wonderful!"

And it did.  Better than wonderful.

Cissie quickly called Cindy.  "I need a wedding dress!"

*****

Two weeks wasn't much time to plan a wedding, but Cindy and Cissie made it work with a little help from Cissie's mother, who wasn't exactly on board with the idea, but didn't try to talk her daughter out of it.

Lachele and her new assistant came with Cindy to the bowling alley at lunchtime on Friday.  Cissie hadn't expected them to be there yet, so she squealed when she saw the crazy purple-haired matchmaker.  "I suppose you're wanting a boobie bump again!" 

Lachele laughed, jumping up and throwing herself at Cissie, hugging her tightly.  "I need you to meet my new assistant.  She reads as much as the rest of us do!  This is Samara Royal."

Cissie smiled at the dark haired girl sitting in the booth.  "It's nice to meet you, Samara.  I'm surprised anyone can work with this crazy woman day after day."  Samara looked remarkably normal to work with Lachele.  She wondered how long it would be before the pretty woman would be sporting pink streaks in her hair.

Samara grinned.  "Oh, it's a trial—but I do love my work!"

Lachele put her hands on her hips, glaring at her assistant.  "She's helping me out with Matchrimony.  I can't believe how fast the business is taking off now that I have that beautiful website Trey made for me."

Cindy grinned.  "My husband is talented."

"Oh, quit bragging about your sex life, Cindy!" Lachele said with a grin.  "We were talking about his design skills."

Cissie choked on a laugh as Cindy blushed.  "Yeah, don't brag about your sex life, Cindy!"  She turned back to Lachele.  "I plan on having a sex life soon too!  Please tell me this guy isn't shy.  I've waited my whole life to get married and pounce on a man, and I'm not putting it off!"  Since she'd been told her ideal man was found, she'd daydreamed a lot about what he would be like.  And how her wedding night would go.

Lachele laughed.  "He doesn't seem shy to me at all."

"Oh, good!  What's his name?" Cissie knew she wasn't allowed to ask, but she had to.  She wanted to find this man and see what he was all about.  Knowing nothing was going to make her crazy.

"You know I'm not telling you his name!  Go put our food order in and behave yourself!  I want my usual." Lachele laughed.  "Why do I have a usual at a bowling alley in the middle of nowhere, Wisconsin?  I mean, really!  This is my fourth trip in as many months.  No one flies to
Wisconsin
that often, do they?"

Cissie laughed, turning to Samara.  "What do you want?"  She couldn't take offense at Lachele's comment about Wisconsin.  She loved the place, but she knew it wasn't exactly the number one tourist destination in the world.

"I have no idea.  What do you recommend?"

"Burger and fried cheese curds," Cindy, Cissie, and Lachele all said at the same time.

Samara blinked for a moment.  "I guess I'll have a burger and fried cheese curds."  She waited until Cissie had rushed off toward the kitchen before leaning forward to ask softly, "What on earth is a fried cheese curd?"

Lachele patted Samara's shoulder.  "It's a tiny piece of deep-fried heaven.  You'll love it."

"How long have you been working for Lachele?" Cindy asked.

"Only about a month.  It's a fascinating business.  You wouldn't believe what goes into making a match."

"I don't know what goes into it, but I know whatever it is, it's worth it.  My match was just right for me.  Trey is an amazing husband."  Cindy smiled, her face lighting up when she mentioned her husband.

"And a great lover too, I take it," Samara said with a grin.

Cindy blushed.  "No comment."

Lachele leaned forward to talk to Cindy.  "How's Cissie doing?  Is she nervous?"

Cindy shook her head.  "It's amazing.  She was getting mad at the world, and you called and said the wedding was happening, and suddenly she was the happiest woman alive.  No nerves, just pure excitement."

Lachele smiled.  "Great.  He's going to be good for her."

"I hope so.  She's a sweet, loving woman.  She needs someone who can match her excitement about life."

*****

Bob had to pull a double shift on Friday to get the sheriff to agree to let him off for a week for his honeymoon.  Not that he planned to go anywhere, but he wanted time off for assorted newlywed activities. 

Unfortunately, that meant he was on traffic duty that night.  He hated Friday night traffic duty, because it always meant one thing.  Drunk drivers. 

He still was having a hard time believing he was going to get to marry the girl of his dreams.  He just hoped it didn't come back to bite him in the butt the way he'd gone about it.  Truly, he knew he should have found some way to approach her, but hopefully she'd understand when she found out and let it slide.

He was pulled off to the side of the road, his radar gun pointed toward the two lane highway between Shady Hills and Blevins.  He saw a Yukon weaving from one lane to the other, and turned on his lights, pulling out behind it.  Obviously a drunk driver. He hated traffic duty, but he told himself it was worth the honeymoon time as he pulled over to the side of the road behind the SUV.

He had his hand on the gun at his side when he walked up beside the car.  The woman had already rolled her window down.  His eyes widened as he realized it was Lachele, and Cissie was in the back of the car.  Holy cow.  How was he supposed to do his job with Cissie looking at him from the backseat, her eyes wide, a huge grin on her face.  She obviously thought it was amusing Lachele had been pulled over.

Lachele jumped out of the truck, running around behind it with him.  Normally, he'd have stopped her, but the situation was strange. 

When they reached the back of the vehicle he frowned at her.  "Have you been drinking?"  He could think of no other reason for the woman to have been weaving in and out of the lanes as she was. 

Lachele laughed.  "Sure.  I've had four Cokes with extra ice.  Bachelorette parties make me thirsty!"

Bob frowned, looking toward the truck.  "People drink at bachelorette parties."  What had they done?  He hoped Cissie hadn't been forced into the type of debauched activities he'd read about happening at bachelorette parties.

"Not at this one!  Really, we only had soft drinks."  She shrugged as if she didn't care if he believed her.

"Are you willing to take a breathalyzer?"  He didn't want to give her a ticket.  What if she told Cissie that she'd set everything up, and Cissie refused to marry him as a result?  He didn't think she would do it, but he didn't really know her either.

"Yip.  Of course, I am!  I wouldn't drink and drive, Deputy Bob."

Bob frowned.  "Deputy Bob?  You make me sound like a bad cartoon character."  He certainly hoped that name never caught on.

Lachele's laugh filled up the night.  "Get the breathalyzer out so we can be on our merry way."

"You were driving recklessly no matter what your intoxication level is.  I don't want you driving any more tonight." 
Or with Cissie in your vehicle ever again.

"Oh, that?  I was telling one of my stories, and I got to giggling, and then we were all laughing.  I just swerved a little, and I didn't hit anyone."  She shrugged.  "I haven't hit anyone in over a month!"

"A month?"  Bob felt his eyelid twitching a bit.  "Do you hit people often?"  What had Cissie been thinking getting into a vehicle with this crazed woman?  He was going to have to take her to task as soon as they married, and he was not looking forward to it.

"Oh yeah!  They should have taken my license away years ago." 

Bob leaned over, trying to keep his voice down.  "You've got my future wife in that car.  I want someone else driving.  Now."  He knew he was acting overbearing, and at that moment he didn't care.  The woman he loved was in danger, and it needed to stop.

Lachele sighed.  "Fine.  We'll let SamiSunflower drive.  She's better at it than me anyway."

"Who on earth is SamiSunflower?  Why am I even asking this?"  He couldn't keep the exasperation out of his voice.  He wanted to force this SamiSunflower to take a driving test before he would let her drive Cissie, but he knew that would look terribly suspicious.

"Oh, that's my nickname for my assistant, Samara.  She was in the passenger seat.  Do you want me to introduce you?"

It was all Bob could do not to reach out his hands and shake the woman.  "No, I don't need to meet her.  Just give her the car keys."

"I thought you were going to give me a breathalyzer."

Bob closed his eyes and counted to ten.  "Just give her the keys and drive away.  I'll see you at the wedding tomorrow."  Cissie was worth dealing with the eccentric matchmaker she'd chosen to marry them.   

Lachele smiled.  "Cissie is going to love you!  I'll remind her after the wedding that you didn't give me a ticket!"

Bob just nodded as Lachele rushed away, giving her keys to a slender woman with dark hair, who waved at him as she ran around the car and got behind the steering wheel.

"I'll drive safe!  I promise!" she called back.

Bob watched them drive off, hoping his bride was still in once piece for the wedding.  He could just see her face all bruised and broken from hitting a tree.  Lachele should not be allowed to drive on public roads.  Ever.

*****

Cissie watched the exchange out the back window of the truck with a wistful expression on her face.  "I sure do love a man in uniform.  And that one is sexy!"  She put her hand over her mouth.  "I guess I shouldn't say that since I'll be married tomorrow."

Lachele turned around and grinned at Cissie.  "I have a feeling your future husband won't mind a bit."

Cissie's eyes widened.  What kind of man wouldn't mind if his wife was lusting after another man?  "You're not fixing me up with a gay man, are you?"  She needed a man interested in women. 

Lachele had to hold her sides as her guffaws filled the car.  "No, he's not gay," she choked out between peals of laughter. 

Cissie breathed a sigh of relief.  It would be just her luck to marry a gay man.  She wanted love, companionship, and sex.  Was that too much to ask for?