Conflicted (Everlasting Love)(43)

“I love you, too, Mama.” Willow pulled away, looked her straight in the eye. “I don’t blame you for anything. No matter what you say, no matter what happens, I want you to know that what you gave us was more than good enough.”

Choking back her own sobs now, Desiree dropped her arms and moved away. “That’s enough. We’re getting maudlin, and your wedding day should be happy, not bittersweet.”

“Absolutely,” said Tori, as she locked an arm around Willow and began herding her toward the door. “Now let’s go before James thinks he’s been left at the altar. You’re already five minutes late.”

“Have you got everything?” Sam asked, looking around the room critically.

Willow’s hand closed over the journal Desiree held out for her. Willow’s eyes shone with so much hope that Desiree felt her own heart lift just a little. “Where’s your bouquet?” she asked huskily.

“I’ve got it,” Anna said briskly as she opened the door, her arms full of the poinsettias Willow would carry. “Are you ready for this?”

Willow’s smile was brilliant, her former doubts completely gone. “You bet.”

“Then let’s go find your dad,” Anna said. “And remember, once you get through this, everything else is a cakewalk. In twenty-five years we’ll all be sitting here celebrating your silver wedding anniversary and you’ll wonder why you were ever nervous.”

Willow faltered at the words, her gaze seeking her mother’s. “Don’t go there, baby. This day is about you and James, no one else,” Desiree said.

But as she watched her daughter nod, watched her smile as she turned to walk down the wide, circular staircase, Desiree’s smile faded as she remembered her own silver anniversary—less than two years before.

*

WILLOW GLANCED AT THE clock on the wall for the tenth time in as many minutes. “What should we do, Mom? It’s close to nine and people are getting restless.”

Desiree shrugged, but couldn’t keep an embarrassed heat from blossoming in her cheeks. “I don’t know what to do. Your father arranged to meet me here no later than seven forty-five. I’ve called his cell, tried the walkie-talkie but he’s not answering.”

“Do you want Rio and me to go look for him?” asked Dakota. “We can run over to the Cherokee and see if he’s around.”

Desiree stiffened at the mention of the small stable her husband had started independent of the Triple H. If he was over there instead of here, at the surprise party she’d thrown for him to celebrate their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, she didn’t know what she’d do. It was bad enough that the Triple H could no longer hold his attention; she couldn’t bear to think that the same could be said about her.

“I don’t think that’s necessary,” she demurred as she forced a smile onto her face. “We’ll just forget the surprise, get the party into full swing and—”

“Without Dad?” Rio asked incredulously.

“But, Mom, we’re celebrating your anniversary,” Willow wailed.

“I know that!” Desiree snapped, then struggled for control. “But I don’t know what else to do. When your father shows up, he can join the party. Until then, we’ll just make his excuses and hope that everyone has a good time.”

Looking unconvinced, her children set off to do her bidding—turning up the music, mingling with the guests while she made sure that the bar was still well stocked and that the hors d’eouvres were circulating.

The next hour and a half passed with excruciating slowness as Desiree kept her smile painted on through sheer determination. If she saw one more person staring at her with pity, she would loose her mind completely. As it was, her cheeks ached, her head throbbed and her vision kept blurring at the most inopportune times.

“Excuse me, Desiree?”

She turned at the familiar voice. “Can I get you something, Edna?” she asked, forcing a brightness into her voice and smile that she was far from feeling.

“We’re going to take off,” Edna replied. “I’ve got an early morning tomorrow. But thank you for inviting us.”

“You don’t have to go. Jesse will—”

Edna’s smile was kind. “I’m sure he’ll be here any minute and I am sorry that I’ll miss him. But 4:00 a.m. comes quickly.”

“Of course it does.” Desiree smiled graciously, though she was screaming inside. Anger was slowly giving way to fear, and she was beginning to wonder if she should start calling the local hospitals. But wouldn’t someone have called her if Jesse had been in an accident?

That first departing couple launched a mass exodus. All too soon, Desiree was left alone, staring at her children and daughter-in-law in consternation. “Well, that was a bust,” she commented with a forced smile.

“I’m going to go look for him,” Dakota said furiously. “He can’t do this to you.”

“No one’s going anywhere,” answered Desiree. “Your father will get home when he gets home.”

“What if something’s wrong?” Willow asked.

“I’ll call over to Cherokee. See if he’s still there,” Rio volunteered.

“I’ll call,” Desiree insisted firmly. “Go on to bed.”