A Family of Their Own - By Gail Gaymer Martin Page 0,2

opened the box and drew out a bouquet of white orchids mingled with stephanotis and ivy. She handed it to Lexie. Corsages of orchids and ivy remained in the box, one for each mother and one for her. She pinned one on Mrs. Carlson, attached her own, then lifted the four boutonnieres from the florist’s box. “I’ll take these to the men.” She looked at Lexie’s mother. “Will you bring the other corsage?”

Mrs. Carlson nodded, and Kelsey slipped out the door with the stephanotis and sprigs of ivy, allowing mother and daughter a moment alone.

She descended the stairs and returned to the living room, where she attached the fathers’ and Ethan’s boutonnieres. When she faced Ross, her fingers trembled as she ran the long pin through his lapel.

“Thanks.” He gave her a warm smile.

Mrs. Carlson returned with the corsage for Ethan’s mother, and once she’d pinned it on her, she turned to Ethan. “It’s time.”

Ethan’s anxious gaze flew to the staircase as Pastor Tom motioned Ross and Kelsey to join him in front of the fireplace. The candles blurred as tears welled in Kelsey’s eyes. She bit the inside of her lip and turned to face the archway.

Lexie floated down the staircase, and Ethan’s eyes never left her as he moved toward her. They walked forward hand-in-hand, and the ceremony began.

Kelsey tuned in to the message, but the words took her back to her own marriage fourteen years earlier. The hurt and sadness of the bitter deceit, the loss of a friend and a husband swept over her. When she heard an amen, she forced her mind away from her dark thoughts.

Pastor Tom rested his palm on Lexie and Ethan’s entwined hands. “By their promises to God and to all of you present, Alexandria and Ethan have bound themselves to one another as husband and wife.” He looked from Ethan to Lexie and back, then grinned and shook his head. “What’s keeping you? Kiss your bride.”

Ethan drew Lexie into his arms, sealing their bond with a kiss, as chuckles and applause dotted the room, but Kelsey didn’t laugh. Her chest ached with a longing. The love in Ethan’s eyes and the glow in Lexie’s attested to the true meaning of marriage, the kind of marriage God wanted for His children. Her own marriage had missed the mark by miles.

Envy flickered through her when Ross’s palm touched her arm.

He tilted his head toward the dining room. “Want to?”

Her heart rose to her throat as she tried to decipher his meaning.

He chuckled. “I’m hungry.”

She caught on. “You want to help get the meal ready?”

“Definitely.”

She moved to his side, and he placed his palm on her back as they strode through the archway. The warmth of his hand rifled down Kelsey’s spine. She pressed her lips together and gathered her wits. “Can you carve a pork roast?”

“Sure can. Let me show you what I can do.”

Kelsey already knew what he could do to her emotions, and she wasn’t ready for that. She hoped he was as deft cutting a roast.

Ross leaned back in his chair, barraged by multiple conversations surging around the dining-room table. But he wasn’t really listening. He’d been able to cover his addled thoughts as he and Kelsey worked in the kitchen for a few short minutes before Mrs. Carlson followed them to take over her job as chef for the celebration dinner.

Meeting Kelsey in person tossed his original concept out the window. He’d pictured her as a nose-in-the-air woman who ruled the Mothers of Special Kids with an iron hand, but he’d been very mistaken. He’d witnessed her uneasy apology attempts and realized that she’d tried to be fair by putting it to a vote.

What did bother him was the women’s attitude about men. Stereotypical attitude, he could add. Yes, some men couldn’t talk about their feelings. Some wanted to take care of things and not deal with emotions. But he’d learned that emotions were real whether he wanted to feel them or not, and when it came to his daughter, the pain of her struggle wrenched his heart. Why would mothers assume that fathers didn’t hurt and didn’t wrestle with decisions?

But today wasn’t the day to deal with that issue. Maybe no day was right. He had questions for Kelsey, but they were more personal. How was her daughter’s health now? Ethan had told him once that her daughter had a brain tumor, but what kind of tumor? Where was Kelsey’s husband? Gone, yes. She’d mentioned being alone,