Page 59 of With This Ring
“Layla, you don’t seem like yourself today,” Dakota hedged. “Is everything all right?”
When Layla sniffed and shook her head, Dakota came around the counter. “What can I do to help?”
“Can you tell my brother to stop being such a jerk?” Layla wiped her eyes.
Trudy kneaded her niece’s shoulder, her expression grave. “I can’t stand seeing you two on the outs.”
“What happened?” Dakota asked.
“Hud has always bossed me around, but this time he’s taken it too far.” Her expression darkened while she explained that he had been against the wedding from the start. Then she detailed how he’d grilled her and Shane at dinner in front of Shane’s family. “He refuses to admit that he’s in the wrong. He thinks he’s better than Shane. He looks down on him, and I’m over it. He refuses to acknowledge that I’m happy and I know what I’m doing. All he wants is to talk me out of it.” Her lower lip trembled, and Dakota’s heart wrenched.
“I’m so sorry to hear this,” Dakota said. “I know how much you mean to your brother, so he may not realize how bullheaded he’s being.”
“That’s no excuse. I can’t let him come between my fiancé and me.”
Trudy shouldered her purse. “You and Hudson need to work thisout, Layla. He’s your only brother.” Then she fixed a smile on her face. “Thank you, Dakota.” She addressed her niece again. “Honey, time to get back to work.”
“Call me when you’re ready for me to come back in for another fitting,” Layla said. “The gown is my dream come true. Thank you.”
The boutique phone started to ring, and Layla waved goodbye. “I’ll let you get that,” she called before she and Trudy walked out to the street.
Dakota picked up the phone. “Thank you for calling Fairytale Bridal. This is Dakota. How may I help you?”
As the caller spoke, Dakota glanced down at the counter and realized that Layla had forgotten to take the cufflinks. After she spoke with the customer and made an appointment for the woman, she pulled out her cell phone and shot off a text to Layla.
Hi! You forgot Shane’s cufflinks.
A moment later, text bubbles appeared.
Oh no. I’ll have to come back for them later this week. I’ll see when I can get off work early one day. Thanks!
Dakota studied the cufflinks and contemplated Layla’s story about her disagreement with Hudson. Maybe Dakota could find a way to help them work through their differences. They were siblings, after all, and she knew how much Layla meant to Hudson. He always said he was determined to find a successful career so he could take care of her and Trudy. It had to be killing him that they weren’t talking, but she also knew how stubborn he was.
She grew more and more determined to fix this. She just wasn’t sure how to do it.
She set the cufflinks under the counter just as Skye danced into the boutique.
“Auntie! Gunner asked me to the prom!” She swept across the room and hugged Dakota.
“Sweetie, that’s fantastic.” Dakota steered her niece over to the bridesmaids’ gowns. “Why don’t you pick out a dress?”
Skye grinned. “You know I want pink.”
“I bet I have the perfect one.”
***
“I need to head out a little early this afternoon,” Hudson told Gavin as they stood in what would become the large dining area of the restaurant. The framing had been completed over a week ago, and now the plumbers and electricians were busy at the site. He enjoyed the work. It felt good to use his hands. As a bonus, he was proving to his sister that he wasn’t too good for a blue-collar job. On the other hand, he couldn’t help but think about how he could improve the company’s software and make their processes easier. He was going to keep pondering that in his spare time. “I need to take care of some business.”
Gavin tapped his pen on his clipboard. “Sounds good to me. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Hudson nodded to the crew members on his way to his SUV. He’d been planning this for days. He’d called Robertsons’ Landscaping to find out where Shane was working, and he was going there to talk to Shane alone, man to man.
He merged his SUV onto Main Street and checked the clock on the dashboard. It was almost five o’clock. Shane should get off work soon.
Hudson drove over to Glenn Avenue and then turned onto Hillcrest Avenue. His thoughts raced with what he would say to his future brother-in-law. Surely Shane knew how he and Layla were rushing into marriage, and he would agree that it was time to slow down. They could postpone the wedding for a year or possibly three.
When he reached the end of Hillcrest, he turned onto Van Dien and saw Shane’s faded gray and red Dodge pickup. Another older maroon Ford pickup truck was parked next to it in front of one of the sprawling colonials on the ritzier side of town.