Page 78 of Rebel Moon

She reached down into the box again, coming up with two packets of ibuprofen. “These might come in handy too.”

“God bless you,” I said.

Grant lumbered over to the door. “Any word on the others? Is Luci safe?”

“Yes, just talked to her,” Finley said. “She said she slept through most of it. Took a sleeping pill.”

“And everyone else?” I asked, unable to stop myself from glancing toward Madeleine’s cabin. Was I still clinging to hope that there was an explanation for why she hadn’t answered the door? Had she somehow gone to someone else’s cabin and I hadn’t see her?

“Yes, everyone’s accounted for,” Finley said. “Madeleine said she was scared to death. Poor thing hid in the bathroom all night with her noise cancelling earbuds in.”

“She mention hearing anyone at her door?” Grant asked.

Finley shook her head. “No. No one would have been foolish enough to go out in that blizzard. Right?”

Grant gave me a sideways glance.

Had she not heard me? A sliver of hope entered my heart. Was Grant right?

“The rehearsal dinner’s still on for tonight,” Finley said. “But instead of outside where the wedding will be tomorrow, we have to do it in the lodge. Our entire staff will do whatever it takes to make sure it’s a special evening. And now, I have to go. You guys stay put until we’ve got everything cleared, okay?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Grant said.

“Are cell phones working yet?” I asked.

“No. Sounds like the towers are out but they should be back up by late tonight if all goes well.” Finley smiled. “Off I go. Enjoy your breakfast.”

I shut the door behind her. Grant raised the shade on the window that looked into Madeleine’s cabin. Her shade was still down.

Typical.

By evening, the Moons had performed a miracle. You’d never have known, walking up to the lodge that night, that a storm had darn near taken the whole ranch off the map twelve hours before. The paths were plowed clean and lined with luminaries, little bags with candles glowing gold in the blue dark. Every window of the lodge was lit, making the snow appear silver-blue under a clear sky, the first stars out bright over the mountains. And the moon. I clocked it before I could stop myself—fat and swelling, most of the way there, a night shy of full.

Tomorrow, I thought. Full tomorrow. No, I was not allowed to think about that ever again. I’d be kissing no one but the bottom of a whiskey glass tomorrow.

But what if she hadn’t heard me knocking? Even if that was true, she’d still walked past me that afternoon, leaving me to stand waving like I expected her to come back to me. She’d walked away. That much I knew and maybe that was all I needed to know.

I arrived at the wedding rehearsal right on time, despite wishing I could skip the whole thing. Sammie Moon already had the rehearsal running like a drill sergeant with a clipboard and a smile.

“Okay, okay, listen up, my beautiful people—” she said in her soft voice, clapping her hands, herding us all into the big front room of the lodge where chairs set up in rows now with an aisle down the middle. “We’re gonna walk it once, maybe twice, and then you’ll be rewarded with a delicious wedding party dinner. Knox and Beck, we’re going to skip the music today since Ivy wants it to be fresh. But I’ll walk you through what you’re to do and when.”

Sammie had me sit on a stool, just like the one tomorrow, and went through when I would play each of the songs Ivy had chosen for the ceremony. I tuned my guitar to distract myself from watching Madeleine. Regardless, my gaze drifted her way without permission, like touching a bruise to see if it still hurt. It still hurt. She had on jeans that hugged her just right and a soft cream-colored sweater. Her hair was down. Make-up perfect. Still, there was something different about her tonight. Deep smudges of purple under her eyes that makeup couldn’t fully hide. And she looked sad and nervous. Jittery. In the ten years I’d known her, I’d never seen her nervous.

Don’t forget, I reminded myself. She walked away from you and quite possibly sent you into a storm where you nearly died. Don’t go soft now.

Sammie walked everyone through the ceremony. Jasper Moon would officiate the real thing, but for now he just said a few words. Sammie told Jack where to stand and where the bride would enter from. Rhett walked Madeleine down the aisle, best man and maid of honor, her hand tucked in his elbow.

When they reached the front, Rhett handed her off to her spot opposite where the groom would stand. And for just a second, Madeleine looked my way and held my gaze. One second. Two. I looked at the floor. When I looked back up, she’d turned away.

For the rehearsal dinner supper, Ivy had asked for chicken and dumplings. Apparently Jack had tried to make it for her on their first date and it had been a disaster. Just the meal, not the date. Obviously. There were great steaming pans of it, plus a green salad and collard greens.

The cocktail of the night was a Spicy Cowboy Cider, which was essentially bourbon, hot cider, and cinnamon. It went down easy and warmed me from the inside, all memories of my headache from that morning already forgotten.

Everyone was in a festive mood. We’d survived a storm and were now safe and warm, surrounded by friends to celebrate the marriage of two of our own. Normally, I would have loved every minute of it. Tonight, however, my heart was too bruised and bloodied. All I could think about was Madeleine.

There were two tables tonight, an extra added now that Ivy’s brothers had arrived. My assigned seat was the same one I’d occupied all month. Next to Madeleine. Ivy had been forcing the two of us together since the first night. I’d not minded before now. In fact, I’d been happy to have an excuse to sit next to her. But this evening, I couldn’t stand the thought of being that close to her for an entire supper. So I snatched my card up and walked over to the other table. Ivy’s brothers were already into the Spicy Cowboy Cider and loudly discussing a football game. I set my card down at the empty spot next to Beau and sat myself down.

“Can I crash the party?” I asked.