Page 94 of With This Ring
“One sec.” Dakota rushed to the back to fetch the photo and brought it back to Layla in the dressing area. “What do you think?”
Layla nodded. “It’s perfect. Thank you.”
Dakota moved around the platform, making sure the hem and train were right.
As Dakota finished her inspection of the gown, Layla’s joy seemed to diminish. “Hud is really getting on my last nerve,” she said. “Shane and I took him and my aunt to see the house on Saturday, and Hud just offered to buy us a bigger house. Shane was furious. I’ve never seen him that angry. I was afraid they were going to come to blows.”
Dakota began pinning the train where it needed a slight adjustment. “That’s terrible.”
“Oh, that’s not the worst of it. He said he’d pay cash for the house and let us take over the taxes, insurance, and maintenance. He’s always bossed me around, but I can’t take it anymore. I keep asking him to just let me grow up, but he thinks I’m too immature to make my own decisions.”
“I can relate.”
Layla’s gaze snapped to Dakota’s. “How?”
“My brother, Nick, is twelve years older than me, and he used to boss me around too.” Dakota slipped another pin in the train, and Layla shifted her weight on the podium. “Don’t move, okay? I might accidentally stick you.”
Layla grimaced. “Sorry. But what were you saying about Nick?”
“When I was a kid, he’d come home from college and bark orders at me. He used to check my homework, grill me about my friends, tell me I filled the dishwasher wrong—things like that.”
“How’d you get him to stop?” Layla seemed fascinated.
“My folks finally said it wasn’t his job to be my third parent.” Dakota put the last pin in the train and began adjusting the bustle.
Layla rested her hand on her hip. “I appreciate all Hud has done for me. He’s bought me cars, paid for my college, sent me money for clothes and books, and even started a savings account for me.”
“Wow.” Dakota stopped working and peered up at her again. “I had no idea he did all of that for you.”
“I know, I know. I sound like a brat,” Layla said. “I do appreciate it all. Really, I do, Dakota, but I’m old enough to decide what’s right for me and my future, and if I want to buy a small house with my future husband, then I should be able to do that without him telling me I need something better or different.”
“That’s very true.”
“With Hud, everything comes down to money. But that’s not what it’s all about. It’s about living. I want a family of my own. I want to raise kids. I want to have everything I never had.” She sniffed and wiped her eyes.
Dakota stood and patted Layla’s shoulder. “I know you do, sweetie, and you’re entitled to that.”
“I love my aunt. She’s the mom I never had. But I want to raise my own family with two parents.”
Dakota took Layla’s hand in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. This was exactly what she’d feared—that Hudson would overstep and cause major problems for Layla and possibly risk ruining his relationship with her.
Layla’s eyes glimmered. “He’s just so stubborn.” Her words came out in a croak. “It’s like he’s not listening, and he doesn’t respect me. He thinks I’m still a lost teenager even though I’ve grown up.”
“I’m sorry he has you so upset.” She handed Layla a tissue from a nearby box, then stood back and admired the gown. “Layla, you look like a princess. I can’t wait to see you walking down that aisle toward your sweetheart.”
Layla dabbed her nose with the tissue, then swished the dress back and forth. “Thank you so much, Dakota.”
“You’re welcome.”
Layla stepped down from the platform. “You know, Huddoesn’t have a date for the wedding...” She shook her head. “Never mind.”
“I’m sure he’ll find one,” Dakota said, ignoring the pang in her heart as she spoke the words.
“I don’t care if he does or doesn’t.” Layla harrumphed, then lifted the front of her gown and disappeared into a dressing room.
As Layla changed, Dakota’s attention turned back toward the pressing problem she had in the back. Once Layla was out of the store, she’d try to figure out what to do about her plumbing issue—again!
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