Page 5

As the crowd near the altar started to break up, Misty turned to Ralf and gave him a shaky smile. “That was nice.”

“Sure was.” He indicated her chair, and Misty sat. Only a few minutes later, salads and bread started arriving, and Misty focused on eating, even when Link and Mitch and the women returned to the table.

They all chatted excitedly with one another, and Misty didn’t dare look over to Link. He wanted what Alex had just achieved; Misty knew that. He didn’t date casually, and Misty suddenly didn’t want to either.

She didn’t know if she could just tell him she’d had a change of heart, maybe ask him out, and see if they could try again. Thankfully, it didn’t take long to eat, and then the dancing was announced.

Misty looked over to Link before she could stop herself. But Mitch met her eyes, not the gorgeous cowboy she’d spent all of her free time with for a few months.

Wanna dance? he signed and then he pushed back from the table.

Link tilted his head slightly to look at her out of the corner of his eye, no smile in sight.

“Sure.” Misty signed as she spoke, and she got to her feet too. She flashed Mitch a smile that felt fake and forced, but he wore an easy-going grin as he took her hand and led her away from the table. From Link.

They couldn’t talk while they danced, and Misty’s heart pounded. Too many eyes watched her, and when the song ended, Alex’s father said, “We’re going to have Alex and Nicki’s first dance now.”

The music changed dramatically, and surprise shot through Misty as a rambunctious country music song filled the apple orchard. The crowd cheered and parted, and Misty went with the others to the sidelines.

Smiling, she watched Alex and Nicki do a lively country line dance for several counts, their joy practically a being on the floor with them.

Cowboys and ladies clapped along, with an occasionally “Yeehaw!” thrown in, and Misty found herself enjoying this immensely. It felt like a perfect small-town, country-cowboy celebration, and like she belonged here.

These were her friends, and she’d rather be here than anywhere else. So she clapped with everyone else, and when a man said, “All right, ladies and gents, join ‘em out there,” the floor got flooded with those willing to dance, and the man with the mic continued to call the moves.

Misty loved a good country line dance as much as the next Texan, and she laughed as Ralf grabbed her arm and said, “Let’s do this.”

They joined the other dancers, and Misty finally felt herself relaxing completely. She’d been invited to this wedding. She could dance with everyone. With abandon.

And she did.

When the song ended, Misty’s breath came in pants, and she’d lost Ralf somewhere. She found herself retreating to the sidelines again and someone said, “You must be Misty.”

She turned toward a blonde woman who wore the prettiest flowered dress Misty had ever seen.

She took a big breath, trying to calm her beating heart and said, “Yes.”

“Momma,” Link said in the next moment, appearing at her side. He didn’t look at her, but kept his eyes trained on his mother. Misty remembered her name to be Sammy—and her husband and Link’s daddy, was Bear.

“Do you want to dance?”

The music had gone back to the subdued, flowery wedding music, and several cowboys and their women swayed back and forth on the dance floor.

“Not with you,” his momma said with a smile. She tucked her arm into the tall, bearded, glaring cowboy at her side. “Daddy and I are going to take a breather after that line dance.”

Link frowned, and he looked over to Misty. She stood there with him and his parents, no one talking, no introductions being made, for two breaths before he drew one and opened his mouth.

Before he could say anything, another blonde woman joined them. Breathlessly, she grabbed onto Link’s arm. “Link, I need you.”

“I—” he said, but she towed him away.

“Wonder what’s got Hailey worked up.” Link’s daddy glared around, as if his gaze alone would scare off anyone daring to hurt Hailey.

“Her ex is here,” Sammy said.

Misty watched as Link took Hailey into his arms and they started dancing. She spoke with him rapidly, and Link simply wore his gruff cowboy face as he nodded a couple of times.

“She’s his cousin,” his momma said.