Page 15 (1/2)

Author: Robyn Carr

"That would be great Consider yourself invited"

Devon had become a familiar face at the thrift shop in town She was very careful with her earnings, but she was able to pick up sorew out of clothes so fast that secondhand iteood condition

She didn’t worry s for herself--she had her work uniform of scrubs and she was very happy with them For the weekends she had her shorts and jeans and a few other casual things But there was a wedding coh the wo suitable

And there, hanging all wonky and kind of tied on to a hanger, was a sundress She untied the straps and held it upand fell dead in love It was navy blue with pink flowers, along with a bit of white and yellow It tied over the shoulders She hadn’t worn anything like that in years and without even looking at the price tag, she hugged it

"I guess that means you like it," said the woman who ran the thrift shop

"If I can afford it, it’sand se fifteen dollars?"

Devon let out a breath "I can"

She was so excited about her "find" that she went straight to the diner to show Gina "But of course I don’t have shoes I guess I can wear my tennis shoes--that won’t look completely dorky down on the beach"

"You can," Gina said "It’s a beach party--anything ork But you can also wear flip-flops--that’s what the bride’s wearing"

"Seriously?"

She nodded "You’re going to love it We’re wearing strapless, breezy su Tommy Bahamas island shirts and sandals I predict we’ll all be barefoot in no tiets chilly at night, even in su too fancy I can loan you one I have a yellorap that I think o with this dress"

"That would be so wonderful, thank you How’s Sarah doing? Is she getting nervous and excited?"

"Nervous, yes, but not about the nuptials Cooper told his fa All of thehter-in-law and sister-in-law they’ve never met, they haven’tto be raining Coopers!"

Sarah had to take a week of leave to be available for Cooper’s visiting fa on the Thursday before the Saturday wedding and she met them all except a couple of nieces and nepheho had been unable to attend But there were proain

Cooper’s fa not to overwhelot out to the beach and on the water, the adults began to relax

Sophie and Hank, Cooper’s parents, not only brought gifts but a cooler packed with Sophie’s lasagna, homemade bread, extra sauce and meatballs Apparently she was afraid Cooper wouldn’t be able to make sure they were all fed As the Cooper clan arrived in Thunder Point, things loosened up considerably Cooper got a lot of teasing about falling into this fabulous property when everyone had always considered him just a wanderer who couldn’t put down roots

On Friday the preparations began in earnest; the Cooper fahts around the beach, attached to poles that were stuck in the ground Sophie brought out the lasagna and Rawley added a huge green salad and compared recipe details with Sophie Rawley tried to excuse hio find Devon and Mercy and room’s dinner Anyone else who happened to be at the bar or on the beach was invited to partake The McCain clan was there in force, and the place was ju with kids and teens and adults everywhere

"How ?" Cooper’s sister, Rochelle, asked

"No one knows," Sarah said "We had a very loud disagreement about that I wanted to write out some invitations and Cooper said no He wanted to tell our friends--both from town and from the Coast Guard station--and anyone else andered by would be welco it We obviously didn’t have any RSVPs"

"It’s a beach wedding," Cooper said "If they coet a party"

"I hope we don’t run out of food," Sarah said

"We won’t," he said "Carrie knowsin this town than any other person The only thing we have to worry about is rain"

"It wouldn’t dare rain," Sarah said

It was quite early on Saturdaywhen Sarah heard a vehicle on the beach and took her coffee outside to the deck It was Carrie, delivering so and the party As she surveyed the scene below she saw the bandstand that had been positioned at the base of the hill with reels of extension cords that would be run up to the bar to power the speakers and electric instru tables for food and drink set up near the staircase to the beach And finally, an arch covered with fresh flowers Sarah put a hand to her chest and sighed deeply, feeling a rush of tears come to her eyes It was beautiful

She heard a sound and, thinking ita cup of coffee