A Wedding on Lilac Lane by Hope Ramsay (best book clubs .txt) 📕

Now that her child had come home, Brenda would move heaven and earth to keep her here in Magnolia Harbor. But Momma had made things a bit more difficult by deciding to downsize.

This was a disaster, and she didn’t know how to solve it. She took a couple of deep breaths, but her heart continued to run amok inside her rib cage as she met Jim’s twinkly gaze.

“I need to talk to you about something difficult.”

As usual, Jim gave her his undivided attention. Jim was a good listener as she filled him in on her mother’s fateful decision to sell the house in town and move into a one-bedroom condo. “And to make matters worse, Dylan told Ella all about our post-wedding plan for you to come live at the beach. And I feel as if he may have purposefully tried to make Ella feel unwanted.”

“What?” Jim’s casual posture evaporated. Dylan was an emotional hot button for him. But Brenda could hardly expect otherwise. Jim loved his son as fiercely as Brenda loved her daughter.

“Jim, honey, I hate to say it, but right now Dylan is behaving like a spoiled brat. In addition to making Ella feel unwanted, he refused to help her with the engagement party. So our plans to help them get to know each other through planning this party have failed. And now I’m afraid that his behavior might drive her away.”

“We never intended to make Ella feel unwanted.”

“I know, honey. But that didn’t stop Dylan from doing so. I think it’s because she heard about our plans from him instead of from me. Why on earth did you tell him you were planning on moving to Cloud Nine?”

“It seemed like the honest thing to do. I didn’t make a big deal about it. I just—”

“Oh, Jim. Dylan is probably hurt by that too.” She shook her head.

“You think?”

“Yes. Did you tell him you planned to give him the house?”

“Uh, well, maybe not. It was just something said in passing.”

“Okay. It’s coming clear to me. You need to tell him you’re not selling the house out from under him, okay?”

“Fine. But what do we do about Ella? Maybe, since your mother is moving into the condo, we should reconsider. There’s plenty of room at my house. You could move in with me. Dylan can still have his space, and Ella could have Cloud Nine.”

Brenda reached across the table and interlaced her fingers with Jim’s. “Do you think Dylan would be okay with me moving into his mother’s domain?”

“I don’t know. But to be honest, I don’t really care.”

“Well, you should care, Jim. I mean, that house is where he grew up. He doesn’t need me intruding. The situation with Ella is different. We never owned a house in Indiana. I never could quite afford one. We moved around a lot. Cloud Nine isn’t Ella’s childhood home, so you moving in doesn’t feel like such a violation. It’s just a bit cramped is all.”

“I guess so. But you said she feels pushed away.”

Brenda nodded. “I don’t know for certain. But I’m afraid of that. No matter what we do, even moving into your house, isn’t going to make her feel better. And it doesn’t help that Dylan flat-out refused to help her with the party. So she’s going to feel dumped on from every corner.”

“God, what a mess. Maybe we shouldn’t have asked them to work together in the first place.” Jim’s support encouraged Brenda. He wasn’t minimizing her worries. He was actually trying to understand them. This was why she loved him so much.

“Maybe we shouldn’t have. But I was hoping…”

“Me too. It would be so much easier if they were friends.”

She nodded. “Well, I guess we can’t force them to like each other, can we?”

“No.”

“I’m so glad you understand my concerns. I was afraid you’d be angry about this.”

“Angry? At what? You’re raising an important family dynamic that we’ve got to negotiate.”

Brenda shrugged. “Bear with me. I’m new at this thing we’re doing. My ex wasn’t all that sensitive to things like this.”

He squeezed her hand. “We’ll get through this. But…you know we could cut through a lot of drama by running away together.” His earnest gaze warmed her heart. His suggestion not so much.

She let go of his hand and stared across the dining room, filled tonight with locals who were avoiding the crowded tourist spots in town.

“Why can’t my family be happy?” she asked, her eyes suddenly filling.

“Aww, sweetie, it’s not your family. It’s mine. Dylan is the problem.”

She brushed a tear away. “It shouldn’t matter that much, but I want a wedding where I’ve got my family with me. All of us. And I want this party so that Ella and Dylan can get to know each other. I want your son and my daughter to get with the program. Is that selfish?”

“No.”

“What are we going to do?”

“I’m going to talk to Dylan and read him the riot act.”

“No, I don’t think that’s a good plan.” She paused a moment, getting a grip on her emotions. “Maybe it would be best if we eloped.”

“No!” Jim’s chin firmed.

“But—”

“I said no. We’re going to have a wedding. A real one. I want you and Ella to go off to Charleston or Atlanta or wherever to shop for a super-expensive wedding dress. I want flowers and champagne because it’s what you want.”

“I don’t need—”

“Of course you don’t. But you want a wedding, and you should have it. And I’ll be damned if my overprotective son stops that from happening. There is no excuse for him trying to make Ella feel as if we wanted to push her out of the beach house. No excuse at all. And he was raised better than that.”

“Please don’t tell Dylan this is because of something Ella said. Or that I tattled. It will only make matters worse.”

“No, I think the time has come for a father-son conversation.”

“Please don’t be too hard on him