A Very Married Christmas: A Silver Bell Falls Holiday Novella(22)
Laughing, Melanie said, “One thing at a time, Dani, please. Let me get through this wedding and then we can talk about babies, okay?”
Danielle let out a happy little squeal and danced in place. “This is just so exciting!! My brother’s getting married at Christmas! It’s like the greatest thing ever!”
“So weird,” Melanie mumbled.
“You’re doing it again.”
“Doing what?”
“Being an angry elf,” Danielle deadpanned. “So stop it. You’re not allowed to pout when you’re in a wedding gown.”
“Somehow I don’t think that’s a rule…”
“You know…you better not pout, you better not cry, you better not…”
“That’s a Christmas song,” Melanie said wearily. “And it has nothing to do with weddings.”
“Rules still apply.” With a smug look of satisfaction, she took a step back as Hannah came back with several options for wintery wraps. “And when we’re done here, we are going to go and have a glass of wine to celebrate!”
“As long as it comes with room service so I can be in my yoga pants, a t-shirt, and no bra, I’m in!”
****
Josiah was in his own kind of hell that had nothing to do with wedding planning.
He was at his third doctor appointment since the shooting and his doctor refused to sign off on letting him go back to work. It didn’t matter how much he explained how he was strictly going to be doing desk work and wouldn’t be doing any kind of patrolling or active duty. As he sat on the exam table, he did his best not to let his frustration show.
“Doc, I’m hardly wearing the sling and you said yourself how my arm is healing nicely. We’re in full holiday swing here in town and my guys need me. They’re all working overtime to coordinate the parade and all the festivities. I don’t see what the harm is in sitting at my desk.”
To his credit, Dr. Bailey—his longtime physician—barely reacted to his speech. “Josiah, I’m doing this for your own good. Melanie would kill me if I let you go back to work and something happened before your wedding.”
“Melanie knows how much I want to go back to work.” He sighed. “The wedding is two weeks away. And we all know the most activity we have around here is directing traffic. I promise not to leave my desk.”
But Dr. Bailey wasn’t listening; he was making notes in Josiah’s chart. “I’m sorry, Josiah, but I think it’s best if you wait until after you come back from your honeymoon and simply start fresh in the new year.” He closed the chart and smiled. “Personally, I wouldn’t want to do anything to upset the bride—especially since she’s been stressed out enough with this last-minute wedding.”
For a moment, Josiah studied him. It wasn’t that he was saying anything odd but…it kind of was. For starters, while it was pretty much public knowledge around town that he and Melanie were getting married, Dr. Bailey had never taken such an interest in his personal life before. And while he had met Melanie several times, he seemed to be awfully concerned with her feelings right now.
Something was off here but for the life of him, Josiah couldn’t put his finger on what it was.
“I really wish you’d reconsider,” he said finally, as he stood and put his shirt back on.
With a patient smile, Dr. Bailey collected his things and made his way to the exam room door. “Trust me on this one, Josiah. It will be better for everyone for you to rest a bit longer.”
Once Josiah was alone in the room, he wanted to howl with frustration. How could his being miserable be better for everyone? His town needed him! His deputies needed him! But more than that, he needed to get back to business as usual before he lost his damn mind! This was too much down time and it would be one thing if he were seriously injured, but he wasn’t. There was some tightness as the wounds healed but that was normal. He had almost complete range of motion and he felt fine. Why was Dr. Bailey being so damn cautious?
The whole way home he grumbled and his mind raced with how he was going to get around the restrictions and get back to work. Distractedly, he waved to the people he passed and by the time he turned off the main road and his house came into view, he felt mildly better. He knew he could walk through the door and commiserate with Melanie and she’d make him feel better. She always did.
John’s car was in the driveway but that wasn’t anything new. He had been amazing with all of his help with the wedding plans and keeping Melanie from freaking out too much. As he pulled up and then climbed from his truck, he racked his brain on why John might be here today. Were they supposed to go over anything specific for the wedding that he’d forgotten about?
“Hey!” Melanie said as she walked over to kiss him. “How’d the appointment go?”
Closing the door behind him, Josiah frowned.
“That good, huh?” she asked, stepping aside and then following him into the living room where he greeted John.
Taking a seat on the sofa, he rested his head against the cushions and sighed. “I still can’t go back to work.”
John sat down beside him and frowned. “Why not? You said you were feeling better and everything was looking good.”
“That’s what I thought,” Josiah said wearily. “But all Dr. Bailey would talk about is how I should wait until after the new year and not add any more stress to all the wedding plans.” He looked directly at Melanie. “Apparently he thinks my going back to work will freak you out.”