Heart of Love Page 16

  Jake helped Anna through her to-do list, then went home with her to help where he could. He drove her car back to town with plans to meet her at the church.

  As they gathered at the church for the wedding, the sun continued to shine, which bode well for the reception planned later at the home of Lisa’s parents.

  Sam, as bridegrooms go, appeared calm and collected. Surrounded by his friends, they kept him entertained with jokes, stories, and good-natured ribbing up until it was time for the ceremony to begin.

  Lisa made a beautiful bride and brought tears to more than one eye when her father walked her down the aisle, beaming at her soon-to-be-husband.

  With a heart full of love for her brother and new sister-in-law, Anna witnessed the tender ceremony. She offered a silent prayer of thanks for the miracle of Sam’s walking and renewed health, adding a hasty plea that her dress would stay in place.

  The dress shop altered it as best they could, but Anna still worried she would explode out of her gown at any moment. The strapless foundation garment she purchased because it guaranteed to minimize at least a size wasn’t minimizing enough while the glue the dress shop recommended she use around the top of the dress made her skin itch.

  It was a fine mess to be in on her one and only sibling’s wedding day. Despite the misery she suffered, she feared breaking into laughter over her predicament and avoided eye contact with Jake. He stood directly across from her with the other groomsmen, looking more handsome than she’d ever seen, in a black tuxedo and polished black boots with his dark hair gleaming.

  The ceremony soon ended and the receiving line flowed out the door of the church into the parking lot. Anna shook so many hands, she thought her fingers would go numb, but at least she stood next to Jake the whole time.

  When she thought she couldn’t make it any longer, the end of the line came into sight. After the wedding party spent time in a variety of poses for the photographer, everyone gathered around to watch a horse and buggy whisk the bridal couple away to the reception.

  Unable to take his eyes off Anna since he arrived, Jake thought she was the prettiest girl there. She stood tall and regal in a green dress positively made for her curvy figure. As he considered her perfect posture, he realized she held herself rather stiffly. Without an opportunity to dwell on it, he planned to discover the reason later.

  “Are you ready to party?” he asked with a teasing smile, holding open the passenger door as she slid into her car, ready to follow the line of cars to the reception.

  “You bet, fancy boy,” she said, adjusting the skirt of her gown. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you dance before. Are you going to dazzle me with your moves?”

  “Probably astound you,” Jake replied as he pulled into the long line of slowly moving vehicles.

  When they arrived at the reception, cars lined both sides of the street.

  Jake left Anna in front of the house then drove a few blocks over to a parking lot where he left the car. He hurried back, grinning as he took in the sight of Anna. She looked so young and happy as she waited for him on the front walk, he wrapped her in his arms and kissed her.

  “What was that for?” she asked as a smile lit her whole face at his kiss.

  “Because I love you.” Hurriedly tucking her hand around his arm, he followed the rest of the guests to the backyard to the reception. Music drifted out to the street and the hum of conversation floated in the autumn air.

  Strategically placed outdoor heaters kept guests warm while strings of white lights, candles, and solar lamps illuminated the space. Tables loaded with food and beverages lined the perimeter along with a table to hold the gifts.

  “This appears to have the makings for a fine celebration,” Jake teased, grinning at Anna. “Are you hungry?”

  “Famished,” she said, as they walked toward the food. Before they got in line, the photographer pulled them away for more photos. Finally, they joined the food line that already stretched around the corner of the house.

  After eating dinner, resting her feet, and pulling a sweater around her shoulders that matched her dress, Anna gave in to Jake’s urgings to dance. Inexperienced and nervous, she hoped she could muddle through a slow dance.

  Despite their intense and titillating start to the day, Jake promised himself to be on his best behavior. He planned to do nothing more than simply enjoying spending the next few hours dancing and holding Anna. He marveled, once again, how perfectly she fit in his arms.

  When a fast song began, Anna turned to leave the dance floor. Jake tugged her back into his arms with a wicked grin. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  “I don’t do fast,” Anna said, panicked. Jake was outgoing and probably knew how to do fifteen different kinds of dances at one time. She had one speed and it was slow. There was no way Jake could talk her into a fast dance. No way.

  “Sure you do.” Jake held her hands in his, refusing to let her escape.

  “Jake, I don’t know how.” She looked around at other couples dancing. “Please, let me sit this one out.”

  “I can’t do that.” He shook his head, maintaining his gentle hold on her hands. “I like to dance. I want to dance, but only with you, so you’re going to learn. Besides, since when did you turn into a coward?”

  Anna frowned and accepted Jake’s challenge. “I’m not a coward, just embarrassed. You know I don’t like people watching me.”

  “Nobody’s watching, Anna, and if they are it’s only because they see a beautiful girl having a good time.” Jake gave her one of his smiles that made her knees weak and thoughts scrambled.

  “Fine.” She stood in front of him without a speck of enthusiasm. “Let’s get it over with.”

  Jake chuckled. “You make it sound like I’m leading you to the gallows, not showing you how to dance.” He placed his hands on her shoulders and massaged them a few times. He felt her let go a little while the top of her dress dropped a smidgen. “Just relax, we’ll have fun.”

  Anna did have fun once she got over her initial state of awkwardness. Jake taught her to two-step, swing, and a few other dances. A fast learner, Jake was impressed with her natural rhythm. In between the fast dances, they swayed in each other’s arms to the slow songs.

  Before they started another slow dance, Anna discarded her sweater. While they moved slowly across the dance floor, Jake glanced down and realized her dress had slipped to a point of near disaster. If it dropped any further, Anna would be mortified. Casually leading her off the dance floor, he led her around the side of the house and behind the shelter of a weeping willow. It was almost dark out and no one was in the side yard.

  “Jake, what are you doing?” Anna asked, adjusting her eyes to fading light.

  Using his body as a shield, he turned her toward the tree and bent over, near her good ear. “You, my lovely Anna, are perilously close to sharing more of yourself with the wedding guests than I think you had planned.”

  “What?” Confused, Anna glanced at Jake and realized he stared over her shoulder at her chest. She looked down and sucked in a gulp of air. As she gave the top of her dress a viscous yank upward, she didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry.

  She gave it one more tug before turning around. “Does it look okay now?”

  Jake grinned. “I think I preferred it before the adjustment, but I’m pretty sure you’ll be much happier with where it is now.”

  Determined not to cry, Anna released a nervous laugh. “This stupid dress is going to be my ruination. You wouldn’t believe what it’s put me through.” She explained why she stood so straight and stiff all during the ceremony and through the receiving line. Anna told him about the last-minute alteration that didn’t go well, her failed attempts to minimize her assets, and the glue.

  Jake laughed so hard, he could barely stand up. He placed one hand against the tree and gasped for breath.

  “You’re seriously wearing glue? Like Elmer’s glue?” he asked when he could talk again.

  “Not El
mer’s. It’s a type of fabric glue, but same concept. It’s making me itch like crazy.” Anna straightened her shoulders, attempting to scrape together what little was left of her dignity.

  Jake took a step forward and Anna took a step back, right into the trunk of the tree. He braced a hand on either side of her and bent his head next to ear. “If you need me to scratch anywhere, just let me know,” he offered in a husky voice.

  Tingles raced through her while her stomach fluttered. As she gazed at Jake, she didn’t even try to resist her need for him.

  She pulled his head toward hers and kissed him deeply, thoroughly. He kissed her back and soon the passion they’d kept tightly bridled broke free and ran wild.

  Jake trailed his hands up and down her arms and across her back, kissing her until she grew dizzy and breathless. His breath came hard and fast, creating a glow of warmth on her neck where he rested his lips.

  “Jake,” Anna whispered in the smooth, sultry voice he loved.

  Just hearing his name on her lips made him lose himself in another ardent kiss. His hands found their way to the small of her back, pressing her closer to him until their two bodies melded into nearly one. Jake rained scorching kisses down her neck and across her neckline, grateful for her ill-fitting dress. Her skin felt so soft and smooth beneath his hands, tasted so sweet beneath his lips.

  With her hands buried in his hair, Anna sighed then gave Jake’s head a gentle tug upward. “Jake, no more. I mean it.”

  Jake waited for his eyes to regain their focus as the cloud of passion dissipated. He stepped back, creating a breath of space between them, then touched his forehead to hers while her chest heaved in an effort to calm down.

  “I’m sorry, Anna. I didn’t plan to get so caught up in the moment. You’re just so beautiful, I lost my head.”

  Anna offered him a sassy smile, hoping to lighten the mood. “You don’t look so bad yourself. Some might even go so far as to call you handsome.”

  “Some?” Jake asked, recovering his sense of humor. “Only some?”

  “A few,” Anna teased, tilting her head to study him while battling the urge to kiss him again. “And one or two might even say drop-dead gorgeous.”

  She stepped away from him, adjusted her hair, then dabbed at her face with the handkerchief Jake handed her. She glanced down at her dress and sighed. The situation appeared to teeter on the edge of disaster.

  Jake followed her gaze. “May I?” he asked.

  Not entirely sure she should grant permission, Anna decided whatever Jake had in mind couldn’t make things any worse, so she nodded her head.

  He turned her around, reached in front of her, and gave the top of her dress a firm tug, managing to get it a bit higher than Anna’s efforts. He pulled the ribbon straps down snugly in the back then spun her around and surveyed his handiwork.

  “I think that will hold you for a while.” Even though he couldn’t see it in the dark, he pictured Anna’s cheeks pink with embarrassment.

  After settling her hand into the crook of his arm, they walked back to the party. “You seriously have on glue?”

  “This topic has already been discussed to the full extent I’ll allow,” Anna stated in her authoritative, no-nonsense stern librarian voice.

  “Just wanted to make sure you aren’t willing to show me.” Jake smiled at her and wiggled his eyebrows. “I’d be happy to put some more on for you.”

  Anna popped him on the arm, making him laugh.

  The rest of the evening flew by, Anna’s dress stayed in place with the help of her sweater and a few well-placed safety pins, and the newlyweds finally prepared to say goodbye.

  They would drive to Portland, stay in the honeymoon suite of one the boutique hotels downtown, then leave in the morning for a week in Hawaii.

  Lisa stood in the back of Sam’s pickup, bedecked with streamers, ribbon, and the customary string of cans, and prepared to toss her bouquet. She knew who she wanted to catch it and hoped her aim would cooperate. Lisa tossed the bouquet high over her shoulder, and watched it fly straight into Anna’s arms.

  Ken turned to Sue and smiled. “You know what this means, Susie-Q.” Those standing around them laughed.

  Sam swept Lisa out of the truck bed and back onto her feet as they received a final round of hugs from well-wishers.

  “I’m so, so happy to finally have a sister,” Anna said as she gave Lisa a hug.

  “I’m happy to be part of your family, officially, too.” Lisa offered her a smug look. “Don’t waste catching the bouquet. It’s tradition, you know, for the catcher to wed soon. I’m pretty sure Jake would be a willing participant in a wedding.”

  Anna blushed as she hugged Sam and wished him a lifetime of happiness. “I’m so proud of you, Sam. Enjoy the time with your new bride.”

  “Thanks, Anna. Thanks for everything.” Sam returned her hug and spoke into her ear. “You and Jake might want to think about giving this a try.”

  Anna smiled at her brother’s teasing and joined the others waving them off, tossing rose petals and blowing bubbles. When solid warmth settled behind her, she turned to smile into Jake’s familiar blue eyes. Perhaps Sam didn’t have such a bad idea.

  Jake didn’t know what it was about weddings that made people so emotional. He experienced an uncharacteristic sappy, sentimental feeling. It probably didn’t help that he was wild about Anna and already knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. When he saw Lisa looking at Anna before she tossed the bouquet, he was ready to tackle anyone that got in the way of her catching it.

  He gazed down at the lovely girl that captured his heart, rested his hands on her soft shoulders, and kissed her cheek.

  Eager to ask her if the wedding made her think about their future, he’d bide his time. Eventually, he’d find out what she thought about catching the bouquet, and he’d definitely find out more about that glue.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Jake pulled off the highway and drove a few miles until the road made a sharp curve. Instead of taking the curve, he turned onto a nearly hidden gravel road that wound around to what used to be one of the prettiest little places he’d ever seen.

  In his mother’s family since the 1930s, everyone referred to the small farm as Grammy’s place. Although Jake’s grandfather passed away before he was born, he remembered visiting his grandmother there many times as a young boy. When she died, his mom and Aunt Bobbi inherited the place, and Bobbi insisted Maggie keep it for Jake. When he turned twenty-one, Jake inherited eighty acres of pasture and orchards, a large barn with an attached corral, a shop, tool shed, green house, a rose arbor, and a cottage-style home, complete with a wrap-around porch and three dormered windows.

  Not ready to be responsible for all that, Jake had leased out the property, rented the house, and enjoyed the additional income. His renters moved out in July and now, in the middle of September, Jake worked to return Grammy’s place from rack and ruin.

  The first time he went out after the renter’s left, he stood and looked around for a while, envisioning what the place must have looked like new, what it could look like again with some tender loving care.

  He wanted to make it a home he could share with Anna. With all the fuss going on about Sam and Lisa’s wedding, Jake couldn’t stop thinking about making Anna his bride.

  Those particular thoughts had little to do with how much passion she stirred in him and much more to do with how much he truly loved her. The way she laughed, the way she teased him and talked to him, made him feel like he was the most important person in her world. She’d become his best friend, he dreamed about being her lover, and he couldn’t imagine a future without her in it.

  Jake walked up the steps, noting a few boards that needed to be replaced, and unlocked the front door. A blast of hot, putrid air smacked him in the face as he pushed it open. He had all he could do not to gag.

  Obviously, when he’d told the renters no pets, they chose not to follow that directive. He held his handkerchief ove
r his nose, left the front door wide open, and stepped inside.

  Garbage littered the corners, droppings gave evidence of a problem with mice, and the carpets held horrid stains. Scratches marred the doors, holes dotted several walls, and it appeared there’d been a small kitchen fire with some of the cupboards bearing scorched marks.

  Jake opened all the windows and stepped outside to get a fresh breath of air.

  After finding a number for the county garbage service on his phone, he called and asked them to deliver a commercial-sized dumpster as soon as possible. Although he hoped the house would only need a few minor repairs, it would be a bigger project than he imagined.

  He walked over to his truck, pulled out a notepad and pen, and started making a list of everything that needed to be repaired, replaced, or restored.

  In the weeks that followed, if Jake wasn’t working or with Anna, he spent every spare minute at the house. Determined to turn it into a haven Anna would love, he began playing a game with her called, “If I had a home...” and let her fill in the blanks. Sometimes they wandered around the home improvement store, looking at paint colors or tile, doors or windows, or tubs and sinks.

  It was easy to fool her when they’d run so many errands for Sam and Lisa as they remodeled Sam’s apartment. She thought it was a fun game and had no idea Jake carefully recorded all the information she shared.

  Before he got too carried away, he had an inspector come out to make sure there wasn’t termite or water damage, that the foundation was still solid, and other architectural aspects of the house were safe. Jake tested the well water himself and had the septic tank pumped.

  The house was roomy and he hoped it could be homey again. After yanking out all the rugs, he discovered beautiful hardwood floors he could strip and refinish.

  He trapped the mice, pulled out the cabinets and counters, stripped down the woodwork and scraped off years of wallpaper and paint. Although the outbuildings also needed attention, his focused remained on the house.