"You'll survive. Now promise."
Savannah heaved a huge sigh and said, "All right, I promise. No playing with Sam, no matter how bored I am."
"Thank you. Now, look at this." Shelby pulled her dress out of the closet with a flourish. The sisters spent a few minutes oohing and aahing over the dress. Shelby asked, "Where's yours? Let's see it."
Savannah said, "The designer is shipping it directly here. I had a final fitting right before I left France, and they promised to have it here before the end of the week."
"Ooh, the designer, huh? You'll probably look better than I will. Let's go back downstairs before they start looking for us." Shelby tucked her arm through her sister's as they went back to the others, talking all the way.
Savannah entertained the little group with a story of her trip to Budapest the year before and kept them laughing at her descriptions of the people she had met. Maggie was in awe of the places where Savannah had travelled, and Carter smiled, watching her. He knew that in spite of her fascination with Savannah's travels, Maggie had no desire to explore the world herself. He had offered her a honeymoon trip to the location of her choice, and her choice had been their newly finished house right there in Boone, Indiana.
When GG noticed the time, she spoke up. "Hey, children, it's getting late. What are your plans for tonight? Should I order pizzas?"
Savannah said, "Well, I was planning to go see Carter and Maggie's house, but maybe I should wait until tomorrow."
Carter answered, "Tomorrow would be fine; we'll both be home by five."
Maggie smiled. "I'll make dinner; you're all welcome."
GG ordered pizzas, and they all had a second drink. By the time they had finished eating, they were all beginning to yawn. Even Savannah stifled one, though she told herself it was more out of boredom than fatigue. As GG locked the front door, the two women sighed in unison. Savannah gave her grandmother a hug.
"It was good to see everyone and meet everyone. And now I'm ready to try out that big, beautiful bed Carter bought. Good night, Gran, I love you."
"I love you too, darling. If you need anything, help yourself. This is your home as long as you want to stay."
Savannah went upstairs and closed herself into Carter's suite with another sigh. She stripped off her clothes and got ready for bed, switching on the TV set while she pampered her face and brushed her teeth. She looked out the window at the dark street and shook her head.
I've been here six hours, and it feels like six weeks. I'm never going to make it until this wedding is over. This place hasn't changed one bit since I was twelve! Shelby, if you weren't my twin, I would never do this; not in a million years!
Savannah flopped down on the bed, wishing for the hundredth time that day that she was boarding a plane to pretty much anywhere. She flipped through the channels without finding anything of interest and glanced at the time, laughing out loud when she realized that it was only a few minutes after ten. Finally, she opened her laptop and read some emails, only to realize that they were boring too. She turned everything off and settled down in bed among a pile of pillows and vowed to herself that she would find something to make her stay interesting if it was the last thing she ever did. When she finally drifted off to sleep, she dreamed of a tall, lean cowboy with hard, calloused hands.
Chapter 2
When Savannah woke the next morning, the house was empty and quiet. Pulling on a robe, she padded downstairs in her slippers to find a cheerful note from GG. She pushed the brew button on the coffeemaker, per her grandmother's instructions, and got a cup out for coffee as she read the note and waited impatiently for the fragrant brew. GG had considered inviting her to the bakery for breakfast, but she knew well that Savannah was no morning person.
Savannah curled up in the library with her coffee and watched the morning news for a while. Once she had fallen asleep, she had slept very well. She vaguely remembered dreaming about a man. A cowboy? She snorted out loud at herself. She loved men of all sorts, but a cowboy? That was one road she had never taken. Boone was getting to her already!
Two hours later, she was showered, dressed and ready to face the day. The fact that it was only eleven a.m. made her shake her head in disgust. In a civilized place, she would just be waking after a night of dancing or some other modern day entertainment. She wondered idly if there was a decent spa anywhere nearby; surely, there was. After all, Shelby had to prepare for her wedding day. Her hair and nails had looked good; there must be a place within a reasonable distance. She was pretty sure that Shelby wasn't travelling every week all the way to Indianapolis for hair and nails, not to mention facials. Savannah realized that she had a growing list of things to find out about.
She sent a text to her driver and told him to come pick her up. While she waited, she searched her phone for the nearest spa. She groaned out loud when the nearest actual spa was in Indianapolis. The only thing that came up in Boone was a hair salon called Tina's Cut 'n Curl. She groaned again when she read Walk-ins Welcome. Fortunately, by then, her driver was at the door.
"Good morning, Joey. I'm glad to see you haven't died of boredom yet."
"Good morning, Miss Savannah. It is a quiet place, isn't it?" Joey helped her into the limo, where he had a coffee waiting for her, sweet and light, just the way she liked it.
Savannah took a sip of the coffee, finding it to be excellent.
"Where did you get this coffee, Joey? It's really very good."
"I got it at the bakery that I brought you to yesterday. I had the best cinnamon roll I've ever tasted there, too. Your sister-in-law is the real deal."
Savannah mused, "We have quite the family here in little old Boone. A baker, a builder, a teacher and a shopkeeper. I'm not sure just how a world class party girl fits in."
Joey looked reprovingly at her in the rear view mirror. "Now, Miss Savannah, you know you're much more than a party girl."
Savannah laughed lightly. "Well, let's not let that get out just yet. There's not much call for a charity event planner in southern Indiana. We'll let it go as party girl for the time being."
Joey shook his head but said, "Whatever you say, Miss Savannah. You're the boss. Where are we headed?"
"Let's go back to the bakery for now. I want to ask Gran about a few things before I decide what I want to do today."
In just a few short minutes, they pulled up in front of the bakery. Joey's mouth fell open in disbelief when he saw the three horses tied up at the hitching post at the curb. Savannah laughed at him.
"See? You thought I was exaggerating about this place, didn't you?"
Her driver said weakly, "I've never seen anything like that in my life. I mean, I've seen horses pulling carriages, but people actually ride these horses into town and go do their business, like other people drive cars?"
"That's right. Before long, there'll be a lot of horse traffic in and out of Boone. Not only that, but those three horses were ridden here by three old women. Follow me; I'll show you."
Joey held the door for Savannah as they walked into The Artful Oven. He struggled to keep his face from showing his shock at the three ladies in boots and jeans, drinking coffee at one of the little tables. The ladies looked up in delight as Savannah made her entrance.