You're Busting My Nuptials (Tizzy/Ridge Trilogy Book 2) (2 page)

She cut him off and looked him in the eye. “Be honest with me, Daddy. Do you think Ridge jilted me?”

“Honestly, Baby Girl, I don’t understand any of this.”

Tizzy looked to Pattiecake for comfort. Her mother looked miserable. “What about you, Momma?”

Pattiecake sucked in a gasp of air. “I agree with your daddy. I don’t know what to believe, but why wouldn’t he call?”

“I don’t know, Momma, but I‘m going to find out.”

Ridge’s mother, Hazel, along with his sister, Erica, approached and Tizzy rose to face them while her stomach somersaulted.

Hazel adjusted her green wool jacket. She smoothed her auburn hair, pushed her bangs to the side, and plastered a self-satisfied smile across her face. All the anger Tizzy had been feeling bubbled up.

“This is not like Ridge. I suppose he needed a longer engagement.” Hazel’s voice came out with the same a
mount of concern as the Grinch.

It took all the determination Tizzy could muster to keep a civil tongue because of Hazel’s obvious happiness.

Erica gathered Tizzy in a warm embrace. “The next time I lay eyes on him, he’s going to get a piece of my mind. He should at least be man enough to face you. I’m so sorry, Tizzy.”

Erica’s sincere words calmed Tizzy a bit. When all this was over, regardless of the outcome, she planned a serious conversation with Hazel. The woman needed an attitude adjustment. “I’m okay. Y’all go on back to Waco. I’m sure at some point you’ll hear from him. Once you do, please tell him to call me.”

As they walked away, Tizzy rubbed her palms down her wedding gown again, and smoothed out the wrinkles. “This really is the most beautiful dress in the world,” she said to no one in particular.

Pattiecake got up and took a step toward her. “Tizzy, are you sure you’re okay? Sweetie, it’s not necessary to put on a brave face for us. Cry if you need to.”

Tizzy tapped her chest with her fingers. “For some reason, I can’t. I feel like all my tears are stuck right here and they won’t budge.” She took an unsteady breath and faced her two best friends, Rayann and Synola. “C’mon, let’s go find Ridge.”

“How do you propose to do that?” Her brother’s voice boomed from the doorway. Quiet until now, Dan McAlister, stepped forward until they were toe to toe. His big frame towered over his sister by more than a foot.

“I’ll start with the last place I saw him. I’m going to Browning House.”

Before Dan could say another word, Tizzy twirled away from him and flew out the door. Everyone in the room rushed to catch up to her. Rayann slid behind the wheel of the car and Tizzy got in the passenger side. Bridesmaid, Synola Harper, jumped in the backseat and dangled Tizzy’s shoes in mid-air. “You may want to put these on.”

Tizzy, numb from shock, didn’t realize she was still shoeless. She accepted the heels and slipped them on. “Did you see the expression on Hazel’s face? She’s glad Ridge didn’t show up. The woman hates me.”

“C’mon, Tizzy. You’ve had what—two conversations with her? I don’t think that’s enough evidence to prove she hates you,” Rayann said.

“Yes, she does. I’m sure of it.”

Rayann cut her eyes over at Tizzy and thinned her lips. “Not the dress again.”

“Yes, Rayann, the dress. I wore that slutty dress the first time I met her, and she’s hated me ever since. Totally Ridge’s fault, of course. He didn’t tell me I was going to meet his family. If he had, I would have worn something different.”

Synola leaned forward. “Are you talking about the little black, form-fitting, backless dress?”

“Yes.”

“Girl, you rock that dress. I love that dress. If I looked as good in that dress as you do, I’d wear that dress everywhere. I’d shop at Wal-Mart in that dress.”

Rayann nodded then glanced over at Tizzy. “Well, if you’re not convinced Ridge jilted you, why let his mother and sister think so?”

“I don’t need them here. They’ll be in the way. Better for them to believe what they want and go home.” Tizzy sighed. It was going to be hard enough to find Ridge. She couldn’t deal with his mother.

It only took five minutes to reach Browning House. A quick glance in the side mirror showed Tizzy’s family and friends following close behind like a procession. The only things missing were the tin cans
and the groom.
Rayann angled the car into the drive. Tizzy’s chest ached more. She wanted to cry, but reminded herself tears wouldn’t help the situation. She had to stay focused. Take one step at a time, and this was the first step.

Browning House was one of the oldest homes in the city and where Ridge had been staying since coming to town. Tizzy owned it and lived next door. Expansive porches framed the front of the big cream colored home. As with some bungalows built in the twenties, the house had two front doors, one which entered the parlor and the other opening into the master bedroom.

Tizzy got out of the Chevy and rushed to the entry before any of the others. She pulled open the screen, turned the knob on the door leading into his room, and found it unlocked.

She stepped inside and scanned everything. Members of the wedding party huddled behind her, while some curious onlookers gathered o
n the lawn.

The antique wardrobe, with its doors swung wide open, was empty. On the end of the bed were Ridge
’s tuxedo and several pieces of paper stapled together. She walked over and picked them up. “What the hell is this?” She spun around and came face to face with her brother.

Over six feet five and two-hundred forty pounds, the spittin’ image of their daddy with dark hair and blue eyes, Sheriff Dan McAlister’s massive bulk filled the doorway. Tizzy noticed him bristle, but his voice remained smooth and calm. “A prenuptial agreement.”

Tizzy sat on the unmade bed. She stared down at the document, then glared back at him. “Did you do this?”

“Listen Tizzy, it’s for your own protection. You’ve only known him a few months. You may not be
Oprah-rich
, but the man is a
state
employee, for God’s sake. You’re co-owner of the bank.”

Tizzy shook the agreement at him. “What did you think, Dan? Ridge couldn’t love me for me? You decided he only wanted my money? When did this happen? Did you tell him this was my idea?”

“No, but I allowed him to believe you weren’t opposed. I gave it to him last night when I picked him up for the bachelor party. Is it signed?”

She flipped to the back page. The signature line was blank. She shook her head.

Dan wagged his finger at her. “Before you bite my head off, just think for a minute. He didn’t show up today. I’d say that proves I’m right.”

Tizzy swallowed hard. “From the beginning you’ve thought all I was to him was boobs, ass, and cash. Apparently, you don’t think I deserve to be loved for myself.”

“Now wait,” he said. “Your money is your future. Yours and Gracie’s. I wasn’t about to let him get it. If he truly loves you, he should be willing to sign. But, he’s gone, Tizzy. You need to face the facts.”

“You wait a minute,” she hissed, and pointed her finger at him. “Just so you know,
he
was
my future. I wouldn’t even have money if I hadn’t inherited it from Boone. When he died, I made sure Gracie would be taken care of, no matter what. She’ll never know her daddy, but she’ll know he provided for her. No one can ever touch her money.” She looked away because at the moment, she couldn’t stand the sight of him. “Maybe you have my interest at heart, but you’ve overstepped the line. You’ve put your nose where it doesn’t belong. I’d like for you to leave now.”

Tizzy balled her fists and her anger rose quicker than Texas temperature in July.

When he took a step toward her, she slapped the papers against his chest. “I want you to leave! Right now!”

Dan started to speak, but she shoved the agreement harder against him. “NO! Not another word out of your mouth. GO! Get out!”

She walked to the window and watched Dan drive away. An Ash tree across the street got her attention, its leaves the color of Delicious Apples. She loved autumn. It was always a welcome relief after a Texas summer. She collapsed onto the edge of the bed, all her energy gone from the questions running through her mind.
Would Ridge leave because of the pre-nup?
If she wanted to or not, she needed to consider the possibility, everyone else was.

No, she told herself. Not one single sign he was getting cold feet. He
’d never expressed an interest in her money. Never even seemed to be threatened by it. He had not jilted her, and that was that. With her mind made up, she crossed the room and stretched out where Ridge slept and random thoughts flooded her mind.

Since childhood, she’d kept a running list of all her pivotal moments. In first grade, she found out the Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny and Santa Claus weren’t real. At the time, she refused to believe it. A world-wide hoax of that magnitude would require phone calls, mass mailings, group meetings, and
her
mother simply didn’t have the time.

At eleven, she learned sex was when a boy put his do-diddle into your do-da. In her mind, she’d hoped for lots of kissing, some magic words, and perhaps a secret handshake to seal the deal, because the do-diddle-do-da thing sounded gross. Then she thought of her own parents do-diddling and do-da-ing.
Double gross.

In the following years, she added to her list: falling in love; losing her virginity; wedding day; death of a husband; birth of a child; finding a dead body in the cemetery; kissing Ridge Cooper.

He had a dynamite kiss. It could spin her brain around, set it on fire and in a split second send all that heat straight to Do-Da City.

She slid her hand beneath Ridge
’s pillow and breathed in his scent. She touched something. Her fingers gripped tight, her heart gripped even tighter.
Her wedding band.
She clutched the symbol of never ending love to her chest, and whispered into thin air. “Wherever you are Ridge, I’m coming to find you.”

She didn
’t know how long she laid there clutching the ring to her chest. With so much confusion, she couldn’t have a clear thought. Think
, she told herself. That’s what she needed to do. Think and put everything in order. Try to make sense of the situation. She hated to admit it, but some of what Dan said was true. She
had
only known Ridge for six months. Reflecting on her history, she wasn’t so good at knowing what the men in her life would do in certain situations. Her first husband, Boone, after all, joined the Marines, something she never considered. They’d known each other since childhood, and she’d been wrong about him, so could she be wrong about Ridge, too?

The ring easily slipped onto her finger. She twirled it around and around as if it possessed the same power as Dorothy clicking her heels together. But instead of chanting, ‘
there’s no place like home,’
she found herself repeating, ‘
come back to me, Ridge.’

Out on the porch, members of the wedding party talked in whispers. Tizzy needed to get up but for some reason couldn
’t move. She felt drained. The rush of adrenaline she’d experienced earlier in the day was now gone, and the effect of the tequila had worn off.
I need a plan
.
When I face my family and friends I need a solid strategy in place.

She pressed her fingertips to her temples and made small circles.
Think,
think, think, dammit!
In one motion, she launched her body upright. Dizzy from the sudden move, she leaned forward and placed her head between her knees. Her skin caught fire from emotion. She fanned her face with both hands.
Don’t throw up, don’t throw up, not on your wedding dress.

You need to face the facts, Tizzy.
Wasn’t that what Dan said? Slowly, she lifted her head.
He’s right
. She needed to face the facts: Ridge was gone. There was the unsigned pre-nup. Ridge loved her. In her mind, none of it made sense, except the last part. She wasn’t wrong about that. If so, he was the world’s best liar. An idea flickered in her mind. What if point one and point two had nothing to do with each other?

A new emotion washed over her, something between anger and fear. She swallowed the lump in her throat and stuck her head back between her knees. Why? How? Who? She brought the wedding band into focus. Getting to her feet, she moved
to the door and pushed it open.

“Regardless of what y’all think, Ridge hasn’t jilted me. Dan’s right. I haven’t known him long. But he’s a man of his word, and if he’d changed his mind about marrying me, he would have told me. He wouldn’t leave in the middle of the night like a coward.”

Rayann widened her eyes. “Oh my Lord. Is that your wedding band?”

Tizzy stopped twirling it and dropped her hands to her sides. “Yes.”

“You need to take that off. It’s bad luck to wear your wedding ring before you’re married.”

Tizzy cocked her head to one side. “Really, Rayann? Let’s think about that a minute. I marry my high school sweetheart, three months later he gets killed in Iraq. I have a baby without the benefit of a daddy. Today, I get left at the altar. Bad luck’s all over me like spandex on a hooker. I can’t see how this ring could make it any worse.”