own—Pax wasn’t sure how he felt about that idea, but this marriage wasn’t real, so he didn’t have to worry about it. Yet, the idea kept nagging at him, and he figured if he had one like Laela, that would be great.
Matt used present tense when he talked about Joy, and he’d teased them about already having sex. That wasn’t the quiet, solemn Matt Carey that Pax had always known. Whatever was in his brain had to be already affecting him, but by golly he could still grill a mighty fine steak.
“This is really good,” Pax said between bites.
“Good Carey beef,” Matt said. “Before I forget, and I’ll do a lot of that in the days ahead according to the doctor, the wedding planner is coming over tomorrow night at seven. She’ll need your guest list, Pax, since we’re short on time.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll bring it with me.” Pax made a mental note to call his grandmother the next morning and ask her to help him with that.
“Good, and Alana, you need to choose your bridesmaids because Saturday, you’ve got an appointment at that fancy bridal shop in Amarillo to pick out dresses for you and them,” Matt said. “When I called Trudy to tell her to put us on the charge calendar, she told me about the shop and offered to make an appointment for you. She said that she’d be getting in touch with you to set up a wedding shower. Several ladies have already offered to be hostesses with her.”
“Thank you so much for taking all this on,” Pax said.
“But, Daddy, we really don’t need all this fuss,” she said.
Matt shook his head. “No, ma’am. This is going to be the biggest, prettiest wedding the Panhandle has ever seen. I insist on it. And same with your honeymoon.”
Alana reached under the table and squeezed Pax’s knee. The gesture and the fact that Matt had mentioned a honeymoon startled him so badly that he dropped a bite of steak off his fork back onto his plate.
“I forgot to tell you that Daddy wants to give us a honeymoon.” Alana locked gazes with him. “I’ve picked a beach in Florida, maybe Destin. What do you think?”
“That sounds wonderful, and I’d love to spend a few days with Alana on the beach, with our toes in the sand, but Matt, I believe the groom takes care of the honeymoon. I’ll make all the arrangements for that. You take care of this big ranch wedding,” Pax told him.
Thank you, Alana mouthed when her father wasn’t looking.
Pax gave her a brief nod and went back to eating.
Chapter Five
While other little girls were playing with dolls and having play dates that involved tea parties, Alana had been tagging along after her father on the ranch. She was helping round up cattle on a four-wheeler at the age of six and roping calves before she went to school. She had been the tallest kid in her kindergarten class and had held that position until ninth grade, when Pax finally matched her in height. She’d always preferred to sit with the guys at lunch or play football with them on the playground. Alana liked getting dressed up for church on Sunday, but when she got home, she was more than ready to get back into her jeans and work shirts.
“So who do I ask to be my bridesmaids, since I didn’t form those kind of friendships when I was growing up?” she asked herself as she climbed the stairs to her room that night. “Maybe Rose, Emily, and Bridget?”
She thought about those three as she undressed, hung her clothing back in the closet, and adjusted the water in the shower. She and Emily had known each other through their family’s ranching businesses. Bridget was Pax’s sister-in-law. Rose had gone to school with her here in Daisy back when they were in junior high school, and she’d been nice to Alana.
“But then there’s Retta, Claire, and Nikki over at Longhorn Ranch. They’re all kind of like extended family.” Alana peeled off her bikini underpants and tossed them into the hamper. “I guess if Daddy wants a big wedding, then by damn, he can have one. I’ll ask all six of them.”
She showered and dried off, shrugged into nightclothes and climbed into bed. Thoughts swirled through her mind so much that she couldn’t sleep. Finally, she slipped out of bed, picked up her phone, and tiptoed downstairs. She took a cold beer from the refrigerator and carried