The Trouble with Tulip (10 page)

Still, she could practically feel the tension radiating from Bradford. He was breathing heavily, little huffs that kept getting stuck in his throat. She opened one eye to steal a glance at his face, half expecting him to be crying. But, no, he was just standing there with his head bowed and his eyes closed, his lips puffing together, opening and closing, like a fish. Were he not such an incredibly handsome man, the mannerism would have looked ridiculous. As it was, Jo couldn't help thinking how very much she wanted to comfort him. He needed to relax and enjoy the ceremony.

She reached out to slip a calming hand into the crook of Bradford's elbow, but as she touched him he jerked away, almost as if he had been electrocuted. Jo quickly retreated, placing her hand back on the stem of her bouquet and feeling her face flush with heat. As the prayer ended, she kept her eyes on the minister, blinking back tears. While he proceeded with the ceremony, Jo could hear Bradford softly clear his throat repeatedly, his breathing even more rapid than before.

Deep in her heart, then, she wasn't really surprised when everything fell apart. They were at the point in the ceremony where the minister asked Bradford if he took this woman to be his lawfully wedded wife. Bradford hesitated in his answer long enough to earn gasps from some of the bridesmaids.

“Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?” the minister prodded a second time, his eyebrows lifting just a bit.

Biting her lip, Jo turned to look directly at Bradford, and the expression on his face told her all she needed to know. He looked first at her, and then he turned and directed his gaze toward her father.

“I'm sorry,” he whispered, shaking his head. “But I don't.”

Then he dashed out the side door of the church, the same way he had come in.

Danny wanted to deck the guy! This whole event had been a nightmare, from pulling on a monkey suit to keeping his mouth shut about the wedding to watching Bradford slowly decompress at the altar. Now, as two of the groomsmen ran out after Bradford, Jo just stood there with her big green eyes full of tears. And though Danny was thrilled the guy was gone and the wedding obviously wasn't going to take place after all, he was enraged that Bradford had let things get this far.

Had he actually just dumped her at the altar?

Danny looked at Jo, having no idea how to comfort her. He hesitated, trying to decide whether to go after Bradford or stay there with her. The pastor seemed similarly torn, and a buzz was starting up among the congregation. Finally, Danny knew someone had to take action.

“I'll go see what's up,” he said. Then he ran from the sanctuary.

Danny had been a member of Trinity Church for most of his life, so he knew the intricate hallways of the old building like the back of his hand. He ran first to the room next to the pastor's study where the groomsmen had been stationed prior to the wedding. It was dark and empty. Danny thought of the parking lot, so he ran down the hall and out the back door just in time to see Bradford speeding away in his Corvette. The best man, Bradford's younger brother, was standing there watching him go.

“Did he say why he ran out?” Danny asked, trying to catch his breath.

“No,” the kid replied, shaking his head. “He just kept saying ‘I gotta go. I gotta go.' ”

“Go where?” Danny demanded. “He's got the most perfect woman in the world standing there waiting to marry him and he takes a powder? Is he crazy?”

“Cold feet, I guess. Better he figure it out now than after the deed is done, you know?”

“What an idiot!”

Danny took his anger out on a discarded soda can, kicking it as hard as he could. It struck a nearby stone wall, bouncing back toward the two men and splashing their legs with the cola that was left in the can.

“Aw, man, I'm sorry,” Danny said, feeling the anger inside him evaporate like the fizz from the can. The anger was replaced by despair and a heavy heart. He had known all along that this relationship was doomed—had hoped for it, in fact. Now that this had happened, though, all he could feel was Jo's pain and embarrassment.

“Don't worry about it,” the fellow said, shaking out his legs. “The suit's just a rental.” He ambled back toward the building.

“Wait,” Danny called after him. “What do we tell Jo?”

He held out both hands and shrugged.

“She's your friend, Danny,” he said. “I'm sure you'll think of something.”

Simon settled back against the seat of the bus, gazing out of the window as they crossed into Virginia. He was glad to have the wad of cash in his pocket—both the money he'd stolen from the lady's house and the bills he received from selling her gold—but mostly he lamented the fortune he might never be able to get out of Mulberry Glen. Four hundred thousand dollars!

All of it gone. All of it wasted. All of his hard work shot to pot.

All because of Edna.

He closed his eyes, thinking of his buddies down in Jacksonville. If he could round up the gang, there was no limit to the games they could get going. They might even try the same one he'd had running in Mulberry Glen, but using the lessons he'd learned this time to get it right.

Four hundred thousand dollars, probably out of his reach forever.

The very thought of it made him sick.

8

J
o sat on a stool in front of the mirror, her mind racing in a million different directions. Just beside the sanctuary, this was the room where she and her bridesmaids had worked so furiously to fix her dress before the wedding began. Now it looked as though the wedding might be over before it had barely started. What on earth had gone so wrong?

“Here's some water,” Marie said, handing her a paper cup, as if that would somehow help to save the situation.

Jo took it from her absently just as organ music swelled from the other side of the wall. A moment later the pastor appeared in the doorway.

“Jo, I asked the organist to play a few songs. I'm going to talk to Bradford and see what's going on.”

“What did you say to the congregation?”

“I just asked for their patience and suggested that they enjoy the special music.”

Jo nodded, wondering how she was ever going to live this down. She was an idiot, a complete and utter fool who had been humiliated at the altar. With an inner groan, she thought of her column from the last few months, all of those handy wedding tips. Here was a handy wedding tip she obviously forgot to mention:
Pick a groom who won't bolt when it's time to say the vows
.

“Uh, Jo?” She looked up to see Danny in the doorway. “I'm sorry,” he told her, “but Bradford left. He's gone.”

“Are you sure?”

“I watched him drive away.”

Jo stood, setting the cup of water on the table in front of her, spilling a bit of it into an open tray of face powder.

“Everyone out, please,” she said. “I need a moment. Danny, you come in.”

The bridesmaids silently filed out of the room. Danny stepped inside and pulled the door shut. He sat awkwardly on a nearby stool, looking as if he'd rather be anywhere else in the world.

“What did he say?” she asked quietly.

“I didn't talk to him. His brother is under the impression that Bradford had cold feet. All he said was ‘I gotta go, I gotta go.' And then he left.”

The room was silent between them. On the other side of the wall, the music swelled to a crescendo.

“Maybe he just needed a bathroom,” Jo said.

Danny smiled in spite of himself.

“I'm afraid that's not what he meant.”

As Jo closed her eyes, twin tears spilled down her cheeks.

“Ah, Danny,” she whispered, “It's not like you didn't warn me…”

There was a soft knock at the door. It opened and the pastor leaned into the room.

“I guess you've heard from Danny. Bradford's gone.”

“Yes.”

He stepped into the room and looked about for a chair. Danny surrendered the stool he was sitting on and leaned uncomfortably against the wall.

“Here is how I suggest we proceed,” the pastor said. “I'll say a few words to the congregation and try to minimize the embarrassment of what has happened as much as possible.”

“Oh, gee,” Jo said, swiping at her wet face, “that'll be simple.”

“It will,” he insisted gently. “I'll just say we need to be respectful of the bride's feelings and trust that we can bring some resolution to the relationship one way or the other very soon. In the meantime, let us not condemn or throw stones or place blame. The kindest thing everyone can do is offer encouraging words and leave the whys and hows to the couple involved. Sometimes these things just happen.”

“Has it ever?”

“What?”

“Happened. To you. While you were performing a wedding for someone.”

Pastor Beacon ran one finger under the tight collar at his neck.

“No, not really. But there's a first time for—”

“Where is he?” Jo's father demanded, swinging open the door. “I'm gonna kill him.”

Jo stood, her full gown knocking over the stool behind her.

“Daddy, no,” she said, reaching out to touch her father's arm. He jerked away, which only served to remind her of Bradford's similar gesture at the altar. He was furious, the vein along his temple bulging out the way it did whenever he got worked up. He usually saved his temper for his coworkers and associates, yelling into the phone about market shares and shipping problems. Jo had no doubt that if Bradford were here right now, her father would pulverize him on the spot. Maybe it was best he had driven away.

“This isn't helping anything, Mr. Tulip,” Pastor Beacon said. “Let's speak in the hall.” With a firm hand he pulled Kent from the room, shutting the door behind them.

It just figures
, Danny thought,
that Jo's dad is acting this way. For a man who doesn't seem to care about his daughter any other time, suddenly he's trying to pull the concerned father act? Give it a rest!
Mr. Tulip would bluster and fume for a while, sure, but Danny would take bets that the man would be on a plane by nightfall, flying off to his next business appointment whether the situation was resolved or not.