Judy Christenberry - The Bride's Best Man

“Dan! I’m so happy to see you!”

Dan replied in kind, then kissed Kay on the cheek. In Shelby’s judgment, Dan seemed a bit more intense than an old friend.

Then his gaze shifted to Shelby. Much to her surprise, he stepped closer, as if he was going to hug her, too. But she immediately held out her hand, stopping him in midstep.

“How do you do?” she said stiffly.

He took her hand with a rueful grin. “I’m fine. Sorry, but I knew you when you were very little. I’m pleased to say you’re just as pretty today as you were a little over twenty years ago.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t remember you.”

“Not a problem.” He turned toward his dark-haired, brown-eyed companion. “Allow me to introduce Peter Campbell, a friend of mine and an officer in my company.”

Shelby nodded but said nothing.

Dan continued the introductions. “Pete, this is Shelby Cook, Kay’s niece. And, of course, this is Kay Cook.”

Shelby knew she hadn’t been gracious, but Pete barely returned her nod. He did, however, take Kay’s hand and kiss it with a big smile on his face. Was Pete the one Kay was interested in? Shelby estimated his age to be around thirty, a little younger than Kay. Still, Pete would be better for Kay than Dan who, with graying at the temples, looked about fifty.

“Shall we go, ladies?” Dan asked.

Shelby wanted to say no. For some reason she wanted to hurry to the airport and get out of Hawaii in spite of the lovely sunshine and gentle breezes.

Kay, on the other hand, happily took Dan’s arm and sailed out of the hotel.

“Miss Cook?”

Shelby looked at the younger man who’d called her. He was offering her his arm, as Dan had done to Kay, albeit more reluctantly. She moved forward, but she didn’t take his arm.

Dan and Kay weren’t walking fast, so they caught up with them quickly.

“Where are we going?” Shelby asked.

“To the hotel next door. Its restaurant is known worldwide,” Dan answered. The man beside Shelby said nothing.

Shelby was wearing flats because she was five-nine, so walking to another hotel wasn’t a problem. Kay, though, had on high heels. Maybe it was good that she was clinging to Dan’s arm. Shelby supposed she wore heels because she knew Dan was so tall.

Pete was tall, also, which was nice for Shelby. She didn’t go out with short men. Of course, she seldom went out at all, so it wasn’t difficult to eliminate one segment of the male population.

Neither, she reminded herself, was she going out with Pete. He was simply tagging along with Dan, as she was with Kay.

In the restaurant, the maître d’ asked if they wanted to dine on the beach or in the dining room.

“On the beach? We can do that?” Kay asked.

Dan smiled. “I believe the lady has chosen.”

“Very well, sir. If you’ll follow me?”

Shelby wouldn’t deny Kay’s desire to eat on the beach, so she didn’t voice her doubts about an enjoyable dinner. Of course, she had doubts about the dinner for other reasons, too.

Once she stepped outside, however, she had to admit dining on the beach was a wonderful choice. Their table for four was set on a silken tarp, with the long tablecloth fluttering in the ocean breeze. Once they were seated, Shelby looked up and saw a moon rising in the sky over Pete’s shoulder.

“Look, Kay. Do you see the moon?” Shelby asked, gesturing toward Pete.

Pete looked at Shelby. “You don’t call her Aunt Kay?”

Shelby stared at the man before saying briefly, “No, not always. She’s only ten years older than me.”

“Really?” Pete asked, staring at Kay.

“Yes, really,” Shelby returned. She didn’t like the way the man was looking at Kay, as if sizing her up.

“Most people think I’m her mother,” Kay said with a chuckle.

“You are more my mother than my real mother ever was,” Shelby said softly, taking Kay’s hand.

Dan took her other hand. “She’s right, Kay, and we all know it.”

Shelby looked at Dan. “How do you know?”

“Kay wrote me about what happened.”

“You knew my mother?”

“We met,” he said briefly, shrugging his shoulders.

“And my father? Did you know him?”

“About as much as I knew your mother. I was more Kay’s friend.”

“So why did you move to Hawaii?” Shelby asked.

“I was in a bad situation and I needed to get away.”

Since Kay would’ve been only in her midteens, Shelby guessed she couldn’t blame him for leaving. “What does your company do, Dan?”

“Oh, a mixture of things. I import cars and sporting equipment, and I export Hawaiian items, such as macadamia nuts, leis, muumuus, most anything we think will sell on the mainland.”

“How interesting.” Shelby looked at Kay, to see if what he did was a surprise to her.

“Doesn’t that sound exciting, Shelby?” Kay asked.

“Yes, exciting,” Shelby agreed.

“What do you do, Shelby?” Dan asked.

“I just finished law school.” With a bright smile, she added, “But I guess you and Kay have more in common.”

Dan and Kay smiled at each other.

Pete needed more details. “Why do you say that?”

“They’re both in retail.”

Pete looked at Kay. “What do you sell?”

“Oh, I have a secondhand furniture store,” Kay said in a deprecating manner.

“Really,” Pete said. “Maybe we should start one of those here on the island. It certainly wouldn’t be worth shipping anything back to the mainland.”

Dan frowned. “I don’t know much about furniture, but it does sound like a good idea.”

“Maybe I should look into it. I’ll make some calls tomorrow and do some research to see if there are secondhand stores on the island.”

“Good idea, Pete. I bet Kay could give you advice.”

“Would you mind, Kay?” Pete asked.

“I would enjoy it.”

“And I’ll take you to lunch, Shelby, so you won’t feel left out,” Dan said with an easy smile.

“That’s quite all right. I’ll be fine lying at the pool and studying. I’ve planned to do that, but I was worried about Kay being entertained. That will work out just fine.”

Kay protested. “But, Shelby—”

“You promised me I could study if I felt the urge, Kay, and I do.” She gave her aunt a serious look.

“I know I did, but I was hoping you wouldn’t want to.”

It was Dan who eased the situation. “Don’t worry about it, Kay. Let Shelby study all day. Then, tomorrow night, we’ll all four go out to dinner.”

“But, Dan, you bought dinner tonight. I can’t let you take us out again.”

“Actually, he hasn’t paid for dinner tonight yet,” Shelby said. “Maybe it would be better if we split the cost tonight.” Shelby caught the look of outrage on Pete’s face. Dan didn’t seem upset at all.

“Nice try, young lady,” Dan said with a chuckle, “but I extended the invitation, so I’ll pay the bill.”

“Then you’d better save your money tomorrow night.”

“Shelby!” Kay said in an admonishing tone. “There’s no need to insult Dan. He’s been a wonderful host.”

“I didn’t mean to insult him. But I don’t know him. If he wants to take you out, he shouldn’t feel he has to drag me along. You’re old enough. You don’t need a chaperone.”

Dan laughed. “You’re a straight shooter, aren’t you, Shelby?”

“I try to be.”

“Okay, we’ll negotiate. I feel I owe Kay another dinner if she works all day with Pete tomorrow. But my chances of repaying Kay while abandoning you are nil. You know her. Am I right?”

“Yes, Dan, you’re right. I didn’t know if you knew Kay that well.”

“Even when she was young, she kept her dolls all together because she didn’t want any of them to think she was the favorite.”

Kay blushed and looked away from the table.

“Kay! You never told me that!”

“That wasn’t anything you needed to know,” her aunt said sheepishly.

Dan smiled at her. “Sorry to spill the beans on you, sweetheart. But it was something that had stuck in my memory.”

Shelby was beginning to see why Kay had remembered him for so long.

Kay managed to change the subject back to Pete’s original suggestion. Shelby allowed the three-sided conversation to flow for the rest of dinner without interruption. When they’d finished their meal, Dan leaned over and whispered something in Kay’s ear. Shelby noticed Pete’s complete attention was on Kay’s face.

“Oh, I’d love to,” Kay exclaimed.

Dan looked at Shelby. “I suggested to Kay that we take off our shoes and walk back to your hotel along the beach, instead of the way we came.”

Shelby frowned, unsure what her answer should be. What did Kay want her to do?

“Oh, Shelby, let’s! We can even wade a little bit. That would be heavenly,” Kay enthused.

“Of course, if that’s what you want.”

“Good!” Kay jumped up from her chair and stepped out of one shoe, then the other. Shelby did the same.

“You might as well sit down, ladies. Our shoes don’t come off as easily as yours,” Dan said with a smile.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” Kay apologized. “I’m just so excited!”

“I don’t mind your excitement. It makes me feel young again.”

“You are young, Dan,” Kay said.

Dan grinned and shook his head. “Maybe you need your eyesight checked, sweetheart.” Then he stood with his shoes in one hand and offered his other hand to Kay. “Ready to go?”

“Oh, yes!” Kay exclaimed, seizing his hand.

Before Shelby could even think of moving, they were walking along the beach.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized to Pete. “I didn’t mean to hold you up.”

“Are you sure about that?”

Shelby stared at the young man. “I beg your pardon?”

“I haven’t been able to decide if you approve of Dan for Kay. You want to clue me in?”

Shelby gave him a look. “And I was trying to decide if you wanted Kay for Dan or for yourself! Want to clue me in?” she said, echoing his words.

“Lady, I don’t want to tell you anything!”

“Same here!”

With each retort they stepped closer to each other, until they were a foot apart. When she realized it, Shelby turned away, giving him her back in a wordless gesture that spoke volumes.

Neither said anything for a few moments, until Pete broke the icy silence. “Come on. We’re losing sight of them.”

He didn’t bother offering his hand, which was good because Shelby wouldn’t have accepted anything from him.

Shelby and Pete marched down the beach as if they had no knowledge of the other’s presence. Dan and Kay, on the other hand, drifted along the beach, hands linked, through the waves.

After the men had bade them good-night, the two ladies rode the elevator to their floor in silence. But as they entered their room, Kay exclaimed, “Wasn’t that a wonderful evening?”

“I assume that’s a rhetorical question,” Shelby said.

Kay came to an abrupt halt and stared at her niece. “You didn’t have a good time?”

“Dinner on the beach was nice. That certainly doesn’t happen in Cleveland.” Shelby avoided any comment about the men.

“Yes, that was lovely, wasn’t it?” Kay sat down on her bed. “What did you think of Dan?”

“He’s quite charming.”

“Yes, he always has been.” She had a faraway look in her eyes. “It almost seems like yesterday that I’d seen him.”

Unable to hold back any longer, Shelby blurted, “He must be twenty years older than you, Kay!” She hadn’t meant to say anything negative, but she couldn’t help it.