Page 23 of One-of-a-Kind Bride (Home to Texas #1)

C oop and his dad stood on the sidewalk as the Bluebonnet Parade made its way down Main Street.

Warm spring air and a cloudless sky made for a perfect day in Last Stand.

If Coop had his way though, it’d be ten degrees cooler, but he wasn’t complaining.

No, not when Cassie was so excited about the festival.

“Look, there she is,” his dad pointed out ten minutes into the parade.

Cassie was in line with the other children.

Her kindness display was one of seven chosen from Mrs. Marquez’s second grade classroom that best depicted the theme, and the children had taped their posters together to make one large banner.

The children beamed, their smiles bright, but no one beamed as long or as hard as Cassie.

And as soon as she spotted them, she lifted her hand to wave.

They waved back, Coop so proud of his daughter for her accomplishments.

“That girl’s poster kicked butt,” his dad said, unabashed pride in his tone.

“I wonder why?”

“What? You think those other kids didn’t have help from their folks?”

Coop pursed his lips, keeping his mouth shut.

He knew better than to get between Grandpa Joe and his granddaughter.

Cassie’s poster was all about her friendship with Taylor.

His dad had encouraged her to draw out the scene and label it, “Kindness is when friends make you feel better when you are sad.” It was picture of a small figure of Cassie and a grown-up figure of Taylor holding hands and wearing their heart-shaped necklaces with big smiles on their faces.

Coop took his eyes off Cassie just long enough to see Taylor watching along, standing beside Julie and Miguel on the sidewalk.

Their eyes connected for a split second and in that flash, he was taken back to holding her in his arms and kissing her.

The kiss that shouldn’t have happened. The one that had kept him up half the night.

He was beginning to fall for Taylor again and that just couldn’t be.

Raw pain gnawed at him. He was doing his very best with Cassie, but he didn’t deserve another chance at love.

Underlying guilt surfaced and the heartbreak of losing Francine still beat close to his heart.

After he’d kissed Taylor, it had all come crashing down on him again.

So, he’d minimized it in his head, pretended it meant nothing, and made sure Taylor didn’t read too much into it.

He’d driven her back to Julie’s house, thanking her again for the dress, for her help with Cassie, and making sure Taylor understood the date was really one big thank-you.

And then he’d rushed off, leaving her alone on the doorstep.

How unfair of him.

Cassie’s class moved on, heading toward the park in the center of town and after the Creekbend High School marching band and the Last Stand Fire Department Engine 105 followed behind with hand-waving firefighters atop the shining apple red truck, the parade ended.

All the spectators remaining on the streets headed to the park, where the Bluebonnet Festival was just beginning.

*

“This is great,” Taylor said to Julie and Miguel.

“All these years I’ve heard about the festival and now I’m getting to experience it myself.

” Around her, open air tents and makeshift booths lined the entire perimeter of the park.

Balloons flew, banners waved and children ran by with wide-eyed joy in their eyes.

Smoke billowed up at one corner of the park where barbeques were set up, cooking burgers and dogs, chicken and brisket.

Fried foods were offered in abundance. Some booths housed games where adults and children alike could win prizes.

Every kind of dessert was represented—rainbow snow cones, blue cotton candy, funnel cakes and five flavors of ice cream.

This was the most people she’d ever seen congregate in town. Had the entire population of Last Stand come out for the festival?

“It’s a lot of fun,” Julie said. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me too,” Miguel said. “Small-town life has a way of creeping up on you.”

“Why do I get the feeling you’re trying to tell me something?”

Miguel smiled wide. “Just stating a fact, Taye.”

“You two are so darn calm. Next week at this time, you’ll be saying your vows. And look at you, neither one of you have a care in the world.”

“That’s because we have you to worry for us,” Miguel teased.

“Seriously, you’ve been such a big help to us that it’s made it easy,” Julie added.

Taylor was just about to comment when Julie and Miguel glanced over her shoulder. She swiveled around and found Blake Charles approaching, a smile on his face.

“Hello, Taylor. Julie, Miguel.”

They greeted him politely and as Blake was shaking Miguel’s hand, Julie sent her a questioning look, her brows gathered.

“Enjoying your first Bluebonnet Festival, Taylor?” Blake asked.

He wore a button-down blue shirt open at the collar and dark slacks. He looked every bit the businessman, even in this casual setting. He was tall and nice-looking and any shyness he’d had years ago had washed clean away through time.

“I am. This is such a wonderful display of community.”

“It is. We have a booth over there.” He pointed toward his Charles Realty sign across the way. “We’re sponsoring a game this year. Ring toss. Lots of good prizes for the kids. Be sure to come on by.”

“We definitely will,” Julie said.

Taylor found the booth and nodded. “Yes, I’ll give it a try too.” But just as she was turning away, her gaze landed on Coop.

He stood next to Cassie and Grandpa Joe in line at the cotton candy booth.

He eyed her and then shifted to Blake, who was standing directly next to her.

Coop’s mouth became a rigid line of disapproval.

Every nerve in Taylor’s body pinched tight.

She didn’t need Coop’s approval to speak with a friend. The man couldn’t have it both ways.

“I wonder if I could steal you away for a few minutes?” Blake was asking.

“What?” She gave him her attention. “I’m sorry,” she said to him, shaking her head.

“I have a few questions for you and thought we could take a minute to talk?”

She glanced at Coop again and then nodded sweetly. “Of course, I’d love to speak with you. Why don’t we take a little walk? Julie, Miguel, I’ll meet up with you a little later, okay?”

“Sure,” Julie said.

“See you in a few,” Miguel offered.

And when Blake smiled at her, she smiled back, sensing Coop’s eyes were shooting flaming arrows at her back.

Blake bought her a waffle ice cream cone, strawberry with sprinkles on top, and they moved through the festival, looking at the booths.

She tried her hand at ring toss at his realty booth with Blake cheering her on.

They moved on, both enjoying their cones, but the noise was a bit much, so when Blake suggested they stroll down the street, she immediately agreed.

“Did you have questions about your sister’s wedding gown?” she asked, a bit curious about why he’d sought her out in the first place.

“I do, but I also wanted to spend a little time with you. If you don’t mind.”

“I, uh, oh, that’s nice.” And it was. He was a good distraction from Coop.

Just thinking about him and his sour puss, annoyed her no end.

“Of course I don’t mind.” She licked her cone, the strawberry sliding down her throat easily.

The combination of strawberry and chocolate sprinkles, too good to be legal. “This is so yummy.”

Blake took a bite from of his plain vanilla cone.

Somehow, she knew he’d be a vanilla kind of guy.

But she wasn’t judging him. He was nice and had kind brown eyes.

Finally, he got to asking about the wedding gown, but she got the feeling he was just making questions up.

At least he was forthcoming and honest about wanting to spend time with her.

Unlike a certain cowboy contractor she knew.

They found themselves on the corner of Bluebonnet and Laurel, several blocks from the park.

It was quieter now, the buzz of festivities a tiny hum in her ears.

They stopped, waiting for traffic, and Taylor saw her reflection in the glass window, then realized she was looking into an empty space that used to be The Purple Pansy.

“What happened to Jo Beth’s dress shop?”

“Jo Beth’s husband retired and they decided to move closer to her daughter in Arizona. She closed up shop about two months ago.”

“Really?”

He gave her a solemn nod. “Jo Beth had mixed feelings about leaving. She loved her shop. Had a big close-out sale and practically everything sold. Now the place is for sale.”

“Oh, well…good for her. It must’ve been a tough decision. She always seemed to enjoy her shop. Sometimes, Julie and I would wander in here and browse around. Her clothes were distinct. She had good taste.”

“So do you,” Blake said. “My sister is quite taken with your designs. I think she’ll be calling you soon about one of the gowns. How long are you planning on staying in Last Stand?”

“I’m supposed to leave right after Julie’s wedding.”

“That soon?” Blake seemed disappointed.

“But anytime Connie wants to speak to me, I’ll be available to her.”

“Thanks, I appreciate that. I’ll let her know.”

“Maybe we should head back to the festival now?” She’d eaten her last bite of ice cream, gobbling up the very bottom tip of the waffle cone, her favorite part.

Once they reached the park, she thanked Blake again for the ice cream. “I should probably get back to Miguel and Julie.”

“Sure, okay. Thanks for the walk. Uh, I guess I’ll be talking to you,” he said, lingering awkwardly as if he wanted to say more.

She wasn’t sure she wanted to hear what he had to say. “Bye, Blake, thanks again.”