Gulf Coast Wedding by Maggie Miller

Chapter Twenty-seven

Sam was beat when she got home. Not only had the day been incredibly busy, meaning she’d been on her feet almost all day, but then they’d had a client in the salon who’d brought her four-year-old son in with her due to circumstances beyond her control.

As a mom, Sam completely understood the situation. Things happened. Schedules changed. Life went on.

But the kid had run wild and the woman hadn’t said a word to stop him. He’d pulled the magazines off the tables, climbed on the chairs at the sinks, then as a final act of rambunctiousness, he’d knocked over a shampoo display and the top had popped off one of the bottles. Naturally, it had to be a bottle of the purple shampoo made especially for blond and gray hair.

The hooligan had proceeded to run through the spilled shampoo, slipped, and slid halfway across the waiting area while laughing hysterically about the purple nightmare he’d left behind.

Sam hadn’t thought it one bit funny.

She’d also never thought about how hard it might be to clean up shampoo, especially the purple variety, but now she knew. She never wanted that experience again. And she was extraordinarily grateful that Clayton was past that age.

On a more positive note, the waiting room floor had never been so clean or smelled so good. And at least the purple had made it easy to see what spots she’d missed.

She flopped down on the couch and realized her own hooligan was nowhere to be seen. And from the sound of the shower running, her dad was otherwise occupied. “Clayton? You here?”

She hadn’t seen him outside. Who’d picked him up from school? She’d thought today was her dad’s day, but maybe it had been Levi’s. She was too tired to remember.

She was about to text Levi when she heard the shower shut off. She waited a minute, in no mood to get off the couch anyway. “Dad? I’m home.”

“Hey Sam,” he called back.

“Who picked Clayton up?”

“Denise.”

Sam let out a little sigh of remembrance. “And that’s where Clayton is.” She really wanted to get up and get a big glass of ice water, but the couch was really comfortable.

In a few minutes, her dad walked out, dressed in pajama pants and a T-shirt.

She snorted softly. “You look comfy. Long day?”

He nodded, his hair still damp. “Worked on your house today. I forgot how hard demo can be on the body. But we got a lot done.”

She sat up a little. “That’s awesome.”

He settled into his recliner. “We got all of the carpet and padding pulled up. Still need to finish removing the rest of the tack strips but we’ll get there. Denise got almost all the kitchen cabinet doors removed before she left to pick up Clayton.”

“Wasn’t it Levi’s day?”

“Yep, but she went to get him so we could work longer. They’re making banana bread for Reverend Bartholomew. Denise, Mia, Levi, and me are all going over to his house for a workday tomorrow.”

“A workday?” Sam felt like she’d missed out on something. “Why’s that? How did that come about?”

“Mia went to see him about the wedding details and realized he needs some help with his landscaping and a little bit of house cleaning. So we’re going to take care of it.”

“Aw, that’s really nice. I wish I wasn’t working so I could help too.”

“I’ll let him know you wanted to be there.”

“Thanks.”

His eyes narrowed. “You look worn out.”

“Client’s kid spilled shampoo all over the waiting room. Purple shampoo.”

Her dad’s brows lifted. “I don’t know why the salon sells purple shampoo, but that sounds like fun to clean up.”

“It’s to keep the brassiness out of blond and gray hair. And it was a bear to clean up.” She flopped back against the cushion. “What leftovers do we have? Anything good? I don’t have the energy to cook.”

“Neither do I. And the fridge is a little empty. How do you feel about ordering take out? We haven’t done Chinese in a while.”

“That sounds fab. Chicken with mixed veggies, please. And an egg roll.”

He pulled out his phone. “Levi will be bringing Clayton home soon, but you could text him and tell him to keep Clayton until after dinner if you need a break.”

“Only if he gets his homework done.” Letting Levi handle that sounded like a good idea to her, but she knew he’d had a long day of hard work, too. Far more physical than hers. He might be just as tired as she was. Maybe more. “I can text and ask. He might not have the energy.”

Her dad made an amused face. “Not having the energy doesn’t give you a night off from parenting.”

“Except that’s what I’m trying to do.”

He laughed as he put the phone to his ear. “So you are. But Levi has lost time to make up for. Ask him.”

She nodded. “I will.” While her dad placed the food order, she texted Levi.

Heard you got a lot done at the house. That’s awesome! If you’d like to keep Clayton for dinner, that’s ok with me. He just needs to get his homework done.

Levi’s response came shortly. We made good progress. Happy to keep him for dinner. Homework is already done.

Sam blinked at her phone. Already?

He wanted to throw the football. I said not until his math was done.

She smiled. Good job. Levi was killing it in the dad department. She was proud of him. And impressed by how well he’d taken to the role.

Thanks. Did you hear about tomorrow?

About working at the reverend’s house? Yes. Wish I could help.

No worries. And then tomorrow night… He added three smiley faces.

Cake, right? Lol

Yeah, cake. A winking face emoji followed. Love you. See you after supper.

Love you too. She glanced over at her dad. “Clayton’s staying for dinner.”

“Very good. Ours will be here in forty-five minutes. But with China Garden, that really means half an hour. I don’t know how they cook and deliver food that fast.”

“I’d better hit the shower and start a load of laundry then. Back in a bit.”

“Take your time, if they get here before you’re done, I’ll wait on you.”

“Thanks.” She headed off to shower and change into clean, comfortable clothes. She’d definitely sweated in the ones she was wearing. They went into the basket with the rest of her work clothes, which all pretty much needed to be washed.

But as she stripped down and stepped under the hot spray, laundry was quickly becoming the furthest thing on her mind.

She was getting married tomorrow. A mix of giddiness and nerves and sheer disbelief swirled through her as the water coursed over her body. Married. To Levi, of all people. Her first love. How was that even possible?

Once again, there was really no explanation except that this was all because she’d taken the leap to move to Blackbird Beach.

Otherwise, would any of this be happening? She couldn’t imagine it would be. There weren’t enough words to express how amazed she was by the path her life had taken. It didn’t seem real.

And yet, it was.

With no appreciation for the moment, her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten since lunch and dinner was on the way.

She rinsed off, hopped out, and got dressed. She threw a load of laundry in, then headed back to the living room, her phone in hand. She rounded the couch when it vibrated with a notification.

Mia had texted her. I have your dress!!!

Sam froze, staring at the words on her screen.

“What’s wrong?” her dad asked.

She shook her head as a smile crept over her face. She looked up at him. “Mia just texted that she has my dress.”

He smiled. “Well. Go try it on. Dinner will wait.”

“Thanks.” She couldn’t stop grinning as she sent a quick text back. On my way.

Door’s open.

Sam slipped her feet into sneakers and practically ran next door to the inn. Mia was waiting by the foyer as Sam went inside. “You have it?”

Mia nodded. “I do. It’s in a garment bag so I haven’t seen it with my own eyes yet, but it’s here. Faith texted me since she knew you’d be at work. I hope you don’t mind that I picked it up for you. I was out anyway.”

“I don’t mind at all. I really appreciate it, actually.” Sam couldn’t wait to try it on.

Georgia appeared from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel. “Are we going to get a peek?”

Sam nodded, biting her lip to keep from laughing. “Yes.”

Mia pointed down the hall. “Use my room. The dress is in there anyway, hanging on the closet door.”

“Thanks.” Sam almost ran back.

A white garment bag hung off the closet door. Sam stared at it for a moment, then slowly unzipped it.

The lace was as beautiful as she remembered. She shut the bedroom door and quickly but carefully, shed her clothes and put the dress on.

Mia had a full-length mirror in her bedroom, but Sam avoided it until the dress was on and the ribbon belt was tied at the back. Only then did she turn to have a look.

Her breath caught in her throat. It was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. Faith had done an amazing job. The sleeves were gone, the waist cinched in, and it now looked like it had been made for Sam.

She looked at it for another few seconds, trying to take it all in, then made her way back to Mia and Georgia in the hall.

Georgia gasped, covering her mouth with her hands, and Mia’s eyes rounded.

Georgia shook her head. “Oh, Sam. You’re stunning.”

“Thank you. I love it. I’m not sure I’ve ever loved a dress more.”

Mia nodded. “I don’t blame you. That dress is perfect. If Levi doesn’t tear up when he sees you, he’s a dork.”

That made them all laugh. Sam was glad about that because she was on the verge of tears herself.

Suddenly, the fact that she was getting married tomorrow had become very, very real.