Kyle looked down at her in surprise. “What about your parents? Did you tell them what was going on?”
“I had to tell them what was going on when we had to cancel the wedding rehearsal. But I also told them I needed to think things through and work this out on my own. And yesterday, I told them that I would move to New York if that’s what you still wanted. They didn’t take it very well at first,” she quickly added. “Especially since you had done your disappearing act. But I think that they understand now. Or at least, they’re trying to. After all, it is our life and our decision to make.”
“Yes, it is,” he agreed wholeheartedly. “But are you sure, Jen? You seemed so much against it before. I don’t want you to have to move to New York if you really hate the idea. I sort of lost my head, but there will be other promotions. The most important thing is our relationship, our marriage.”
Jennifer felt something deep inside her relax. Kyle had just said the one thing she had desperately needed to hear, and it gave her the confidence to be totally honest with him.
“I can’t say I’m not nervous or even intimidated a bit by the idea. But maybe it is for the best. Maybe we should start off someplace new. Someplace that we’ll discover together. Maybe that will be good for our marriage. I can get used to New York.”
“I think you can, too,” Kyle said. “I think we can have a great time there. But I don’t want to force you to do something that will make you unhappy, something that will make you resent me. A job isn’t everything in life.”
“No, it’s not everything. I’m so glad you’ve seen the light,” Jennifer teased. Then her voice grew serious again. “But I understand that this job is the kind of opportunity that might not come along again for a long time. I don’t want to take that away from you. If you’re willing to take on a challenge, I should be willing, too. I was thinking about what Reverend Ben told us, about marriage not being a fifty-fifty deal all the time, just fifty-fifty when you average it out. Sometimes it’s seventy-five, twenty-five. And sometimes, one hundred percent, zero. There are going to be times in our life when I need you to take the smaller piece of the pie,” she said wisely. “But this is my turn. I’m willing to give New York a try if that’s what you want and you think it’s the right thing to do.”
The look on Kyle’s face was all the answer Jennifer needed.
He seemed speechless for a moment, looking surprised and relieved and full of love and gratitude.
“Two days ago, I never thought you’d be able to say that to me, Jen. I thought you might agree to go to New York, just to hold things together. Just so we could still get married. I never really expected that you would be totally all right with it. But what you just said . . . you really are coming from . . . well, a mature, independent place. This is really a miracle of some sort. At least, it is for me,” he admitted quietly.
“I don’t know about that,” Jennifer said with a small laugh. “You’ll need to check with Reverend Ben on what qualifies as a miracle. I will say that there have been an awful lot of people praying for us the last few days, myself included. But I am sure this is what I want,” she added with certainty. “And not just because you nearly left me at the altar, pal.”
He smiled down at her. “I didn’t leave you there, Jen. I never would have done that. But I did keep you waiting long enough.” He pulled her close and they finally kissed. A long, deep kiss full of forgiveness for past mistakes and longing for the future.
“I hope we never forget what we’ve learned the past few days,” Kyle said. “We have to talk to each other honestly. Our love is strong enough to stand up to the hard knocks, Jen. It’s a bedrock that we have to believe in. If we’d been more honest with each other from the start, this would have never happened.”
Jennifer looked around at the damp cave and grinned. “Somehow it’s easy to be so open and trusting out here on our beach. But we have to learn how to carry this place deep inside, and come here together whenever we need to.”
“You’re right, Jen. No matter where our life leads us.” They gazed out at the crashing waves, their arms around each other. Jen rested her head on Kyle’s chest.
“But we can come back here sometimes, too . . . right?” she asked quietly.
He laughed. “Anytime you want.” He kissed her again. “How about we make a pact now, that we’ll come back at least once a year. Maybe on our wedding anniversary?”
“That sounds like a plan,” Jennifer agreed. She leaned back and looked into his eyes. “Small detail. We just have to get married first.”
“Good point,” Kyle said with a self-conscious laugh. “Looks like the rain has almost stopped,” he said, gazing out at the beach. “Are you ready to face the music?”
“I’m not sure the musicians are still there. And I’m a total wreck. But ready as I’ll ever be,” Jennifer replied. “I wonder if anyone is still waiting for us.”
“As long as Reverend Ben stayed, I think we’ll be fine. Let’s go find out.”
The couple ran out to the beach again, hand in hand, and made their way up the steep path to the inn. Jennifer felt as if she could have just floated up the sandy hill, her heart was so light and full of love. But she felt different somehow, too. Closer to Kyle, bonded with him in a new way, even though they were not yet officially married. She knew their love had faced a test and had come out on the other side, even stronger. She felt joined with Kyle deep in her soul, as if neither of them could ever take a step now without the other.
CLAIRE was the first to spot Jennifer and Kyle, emerging from the path to the beach on the other side of the main road.
“There they are. They’re coming back,” she told Liza.
Liza quickly looked up to see for herself. She and Claire had just come out to the porch and begun clearing up the mess the storm had made of the little bistro tables where guests had been congregating and enjoying refreshments.
“Yes, it’s them, and they’re heading for the inn. Thank goodness,” Liza replied. “I’d better tell someone.”
“Reverend Ben,” Claire suggested. “Perhaps he should be the first to speak to them.”
“Right. I’ll go find him.” Liza went inside and looked around for the minister. She knew he’d been sitting with Jennifer and Kyle’s parents, offering his support.
Liza spotted him coming out of the dining room with a cup of tea. Everyone was so chilled from the rain, Molly had to suddenly switch from cold drinks to hot. But she’d pulled it off smoothly.
“Reverend Ben, the runaway bride and groom have returned,” Liza told him. “Claire and I just saw them walking up to the inn. Maybe you should be the first to talk to them.”
Reverend Ben’s expression brightened. “Good. I’ll go right out to meet them.” He put his cup down and headed out the front door.
Liza saw him intercept Kyle and Jennifer on the front lawn and then they walked to the side of the building, heading up the drive to the back of the property. She closed the door and let out a long breath.
She was glad to see them back. They looked happy and were holding hands. But that still didn’t mean they were ready to get married today. Liza just hoped they were at peace with their decision, whatever it was. And at least there would be a final answer soon.
Just about everyone who had remained at the wedding—or the almost-wedding—was inside, gathered in the front parlor and the dining room. Only about a third of the guests were still there. Ironically, it was about the same number that Jennifer and Kyle had originally planned for, their closest friends and the immediate relatives of the two families. The others had made their apologies and slipped off, either unwilling to wait to see if the couple would come back or simply feeling too uncomfortable in their wet clothes.
Molly had been kind enough to sit and wait in the kitchen with her crew, though Liza knew she didn’t have to.
“Not a problem. We’re booked to stay until at least eight o’clock. And I want to see how the story turns out,” she told Liza.
Liza found the Bennets and the McGuires in the sitting room, talking together. She was glad to see that the two families had no animosity toward each other. Reverend Ben had brought them together the last hour or so and had helped with that, Liza was sure.
She took a breath, preparing herself to tell the families that the couple had returned. But just as she approached the group, all eyes turned to the entrance of the sitting room.
Jen and Kyle stood there beside Reverend Ben.
“We’re sorry to keep everyone waiting and to cause so much confusion,” Kyle began. “This isn’t the wedding day we had planned or dreamed of. But the way things worked out, we really had no other choice.”
“But we are ready to get married, finally,” Jen added. “And we love you all and hope you will take part and celebrate with us.”
“All I can say, is ‘Amen,’” Reverend Ben said, making everyone laugh.
“Oh, Jen . . . I’m so happy . . . ” Sylvia burst into tears, then walked up to her daughter and hugged her close. “Your beautiful gown . . . it’s a mess. It’s ruined,” she said with a sigh.
“Don’t worry, Mom. Let’s go upstairs and make some repairs. I know you can help me,” Jennifer said in a gentle tone. Then she turned to Kyle with a smile. “I’ll be right back.”
“Fine. But don’t keep me waiting too long,” he teased her. Even Frank Bennet had to laugh with relief, hearing that.
THE rain had stopped and the sun was breaking through the clouds when Liza ran out the back door to survey the damage from the storm. She would have cried—if there weren’t so many people around.
The folded chairs were a jumble, the beautiful little arbor had blown apart and sat in a heap, like a pile of large pick-up sticks. But the worst was the tent, which had come loose on one side and was now half-collapsed, folded over on itself like a deflated balloon.
Where could she even begin? The wedding would have to be inside now, she thought frantically. But though two-thirds of the guests had gone, there were still too many to fit comfortably inside the inn to eat and dance and generally enjoy themselves.
Molly had come out along with the catering crew, and now they began to do what they could, turning chairs upright and wiping them dry. Liza headed toward the tent, wondering what disastrous sights awaited her under the folded canvas. But she turned when she heard the sound of a truck coming up the drive.
She looked over and saw it was Daniel’s truck. She felt her heart catch as he parked and got out. He walked up to the gate, then toward the tent, looking around at the property.
Liza came out from behind the tent and faced him. She was unbelievably happy to see him but didn’t know how to react.
“Wow, looks like a tornado touched down back here,” he greeted her.
“You might say that. Things have been turned upside down today, in more ways than one,” she said cryptically.
“I was working nearby and thought you might need some help. To tell the truth, I wasn’t sure some of those quickie repairs would hold up with that wind,” he admitted.
“I think your repairs held up fine. It’s the rest of the place that fell apart.”
Liza sighed and stared at him. So he was here to help. She wasn’t going to make too much of that, she promised herself. That must mean he still wanted to be friends. After all, they had started off as friends. No reason they couldn’t go backward, was there?
She would take her cue from him and try. And she was certainly grateful for his help right now. Just having him here made her feel better about everything.
“If you want to help us clean up, I’d really appreciate it,” Liza said honestly. “I don’t know how we can get that tent up again. Maybe we’ll just have to get some of the tables out from under it?”
He glanced at the tent that looked like a broken umbrella. “I think we can give it a try. Let me nab some helpers. Some of the groom’s buddies maybe? By the way, how did it go? Did the storm interrupt the ceremony?”
“Not at all. The ceremony hadn’t even begun. The groom made a late appearance. A very late appearance,” she added.
She started picking up paper cocktail napkins and plastic glasses that littered the lawn, and Daniel automatically helped her.
Liza quickly told him Jen and Kyle’s story and how they were finally going to walk up the aisle in a little while.
“Man plans, God laughs,” Daniel reminded her.
“Wedding planners plan, God laughs,” Liza added with a smile.
“Let’s hope this wedding planner will have the last laugh today. We can get that tent back up pretty quickly—and even the arbor for the ceremony,” he added. “As long as there’s plenty of food and drink, the party will be fine. And a very memorable one, at that.”
“It will be for me,” she promised.
A tall, brawny member of the catering crew walked past and Daniel went after him, to enlist his help with the heavy work.
She watched as Daniel headed for the tent with his new recruit. Despite their serious talk and all her heartache and disappointment, somehow she and Daniel just slipped right back into their easy banter, she noticed. They had put aside romantic hopes but still maintained an effortless understanding of each other. It seemed they couldn’t wish away, or talk away, their special connection.
Liza couldn’t figure it out. She didn’t even feel particularly upset with him anymore. Still a little wounded maybe. But there wasn’t anything to be angry about except for fate or destiny or timing in life—whatever you wanted to call it. She could be mad at that, maybe.
And a lot of good that will do you.
She had no time now to figure it out. She still had a wedding to pull together, one that had been blown apart at the seams.
The strong winds that had brought the storm blew away the clouds just as quickly. The radiant sun beamed down on the garden while a fresh breeze helped Liza’s efforts to prepare for the ceremony and party.