"Weddings always make me cry."
Autumn Maxwell turned to the tall, dark-haired man who'd
just whispered that slightly sarcastic statement,
apparently for her ears only. He wasn't what she'd call
handsome. But he wasn't hard to look at, either. He had
brown, almost black eyes and hair about the same color. He
wore an impeccably tailored gray lightweight suit with
dark gray suede lace-up shoes that could only be described
as sneakers.
Wondering why he'd decided to bother her, Autumn gave him
a once-over then said, "I don't see any tears."
He slanted his head sideways, causing his thick hair to
ruffle across his forehead, then held a hand to his
heart. "In here. I'm crying in here."
"Oh, well, that explains it then."Autumn tuned out his
pleasant drawling accent, then turned to stare out at the
crowd of people mingling by the shimmering swimming pool
at the Big M Ranch in Paris, Texas.
They were celebrating the wedding of Autumn's cousin,
April Maxwell, to Reed Garrison. Reed had been April's
high school sweetheart and the man she'd fallen in love
with all over again when she'd come home earlier this
year. Autumn knew this had been an emotional day for
April. Her father, Stuart, had passed away back in the
spring, and her mother had died years ago in a plane
crash. But today, April looked joyful as she mingled with
her guests in the soft late-September sunshine. She loved
Reed, and they were happy together at last, in spite of
how much April missed her parents. April and Reed had a
strong faith that would see them through. And they'd have
a good marriage.Autumn sent up thanks for that, even while
her own heart hurt with loneliness.
"Explains what?" the man beside Autumn asked, leaning
toward her, his broad shoulders blocking her view.
Autumn looked up at him, a tired kind of reluctance
pulling at her very bones as she refocused on him. Giving
him a weak smile, she asked, "Are you still here?"
"Ouch, that hurt." He grinned then extended a
hand. "Campbell Dupree, invited guest."
Autumn took his hand, shook it, then drew back, the jolt
of awareness his touch had brought knocking her off
balance for only an instant. "Autumn Maxwell, cousin of
the bride."
He stood straight up, his eyebrows slanting as he
grinned. "I know who you are."
That smug admission caused Autumn to step back. She didn't
like the intimate way he was looking at her. "And how do
you know who I am?"
He drew his head back, his eyes locked on her face. "I saw
you in the wedding party, but I had no idea โ"
"Second bridesmaid to the left," Autumn retorted, a wry
smile on her face.
His gaze moved over her face. "As I was trying to explain,
I was told before the wedding that you and your cousin
Summer would be attendants, but I had no idea how pretty
you'd both be. Especially you."
Autumn let out a laugh. "Okay, you should just can the
sweet talk. We all know Summer is the pretty one. April is
the stylish one, and me, well, I'm the plain one."
He shook his head. "Depends on your definition of plain.
Right now, you don't look plain at all. You look radiant."
She hid her unladylike snort behind her hand. "Are you for
real?"
He looked down at himself, patted his chest and
shoulders. "I feel real."
Autumn could attest to that. He looked solid, as if he
worked out on a regular basis. Nice biceps aside, she
really wished he'd just go away. She wanted to stand here
and enjoy watching April and Reed laughing with their
guests. This was their day, so Autumn refused to think any
negative thoughts. Except this annoying man with the
strange shoes and the dark, mysterious eyes was making
that difficult.
"Is there something else you'd like to say?" she asked the
man, since he was still watching, make that ogling her.
"So you're Richard Maxwell's daughter?"
She mimicked his earlier moves, slapping her hands against
her bare arms. "Yes, last time I checked." Then she made a
face to discourage any more questions. "And it was really
nice to meet you, but I'm going to walk away now, okay?"
"Why?" He followed her back toward the punch table on the
long patio of the Big M's ranch house.
"Why are you walking away?"
Autumn fingered the delicate strand of pearls April had
given her for being a bridesmaid, then pushed at the
smooth chignon she'd been forced to endure in order to
please the bride's sense of style. "Because I'm not a very
social person, and because you're beginning to get on my
last nerve."
He stepped in front of the punch bowl, a beseeching grin
splitting his face. "But you hardly know me."
"My point exactly," Autumn said, trying to scoot around
him. Suddenly, she was very thirsty and that almond tea
punch was looking better and better.
Campbell Dupree headed her off by coming around to the
back of the table. He stood staring over the crystal bowl
at her while he ladled her some punch. Handing her the
cup, he asked, "So you attend weddings, even participate
in them, but you don't enjoy being around other people at
the receptions?"
"Something like that," Autumn replied, her smile practiced
and efficient. She downed the whole cup of punch, hoping
he'd be gone by the time she got to the bottom.
He wasn't. "And just why aren't you a social person?"
Giving him a shrug of impatience that caused her blush-
colored sleeveless bridesmaid dress to shimmer, she
replied, "I deal in numbers. I'm an accountant. Or at
least I was."
"In New York," he said, admiration flickering in his
eyes. "I've heard all about that."
"You have?" Curious now, Autumn stopped thinking about how
to get away. "How do you know all about me? Are you one of
my father's clients or business buddies, or are you a
friend of Reed's?"
Before he could answer, her father came barreling up to
them. "There you are," he said to Autumn. "I've been
looking for you. I see you've met Campbell."
"Yes," Autumn said, wondering with renewed interest how
her father knew Campbell Dupree, and wondering why her
father seemed so nervous and flushed. "He was just about
to tell me โ"
"I was just about to tell her yet again how very lovely
she looks," Campbell said, his smoky gaze moving from her
father to Autumn. "As I said earlier, you and your cousin
make a lovely pair of bridesmaids."
"Thanks," Autumn said, thinking the man was surely
repetitive and just a bit too charming. Glancing back at
her perspiring father she asked, "Daddy, are you okay?"
Richard Maxwell looked as handsome as ever in his dark
suit and shiny cowboy boots, but a fine sheen of moisture
glowed across his forehead. "I'm fine, honey. But we need
to talk. In private."
"Is something wrong?" Autumn said, glancing around. "Is
April okay?"
"April is one happy bride," Richard replied. "And Summer
is inside with little Michael. Poor little fellow โ tough
about him losing his mother last month. But Summer and
Mack are doing a fine job of surrounding him with love. I
reckon they'll be having their own wedding soon."
Autumn nodded. Her father was sandbagging for some reason.
Apparently, he had something he really wanted to say, but
he was talking about everything but that, whatever it was.
She watched as his glance bounced back and forth between
Campbell Dupree and her. "What's the matter, Daddy?"
"Let's go inside," Richard said, giving Campbell a warning
look. "You don't mind, do you?"
"Not at all, sir," Campbell said, backing away. "It was
nice to meet you, Autumn."
"You, too," Autumn said, not exactly sure if the word nice
would describe this particular meeting.
She did need to talk to her father, however. Wondering how
she was going to break the news that her company in New
York had downsized and she'd been laid off, Autumn
followed Richard into the cool interior of the house.
She'd arrived home for the wedding three days ago, but she
hadn't been able to find the right time to tell her father
that she might have to move back to Atlanta, Texas, and
work at his financial firm for a while. Just until she
could figure out what to do with the rest of her life.
Maybe this layoff had been a blessing in disguise. April
was now married and back at the Big
M. Summer had moved back to Athens, Texas, to work as a
counselor at the Golden Vista Retirement Village, and to
be with her new love, Mack Riley. That had left Autumn all
alone in New York. All alone and now without a job. Maybe
God was testing her.
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