The Christmas Wedding Crashers
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Amy Vastine
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CHAPTER ONE
“IS IT TRUE? Did that old son of a gun strike it rich?”
Holly Hayward tipped the pint glass in her hand 45 degrees and pulled open the tap. Everyone’s disbelief was understandable. Even she was having a hard time wrapping her head around this one. She straightened the glass and shut off the tap as soon as the foam reached the rim. “Would I be handing you a free glass of beer if he didn’t?”
Thomas Maguire’s muddy brown eyes were as round as the lotto balls that had made her great-uncle Randall a millionaire. “I can’t believe it,” he said, putting the glass to his lips and taking a little sip. “Is he paying every night from now on?”
Holly shook her head and wiped her hands on the apron tied around her waist. “Dream on, Tommy Boy. This is a one-day-only event here at the Roadrunner. Enjoy it while it lasts.”
Thomas took another swig from his free drink and headed over to Uncle Randall’s table to offer his thanks and congratulations. Randall was surrounded by his crew—Howie, his brother-in-law; Frank, his nephew; and Old Red, his best friend. The four of them could often be found sitting at that back table several nights a week, playing cards and laughing at something one of them said. Today, Randall decided he was extending their Thursday afternoon happy hour by paying for everyone’s drinks the rest of the day.
“I don’t know, Holly. This could force you Haywards to clean up your act,” Josh Harvard said, bellying up to the bar. He was a regular and worked as a ranch hand at one of the largest ranches in town. “You’ll be hobnobbing with the Coyote elite in no time.”
There were two different kinds of people in Coyote, Colorado—the haves and the have-nots. Generation after generation, the Haywards had never been considered the former. They’d never been wealthy landowners or the kind of people who sought a vocation that required a college degree. Their bank accounts sometimes barely held enough to cover their expenses for the month. Randall’s windfall was definitely going to change that, but not who they were as people.
Holly pushed her dark hair behind her shoulders. “I don’t know about that. We Haywards prefer hanging out with the dregs of society like you,” she teased. “They’re so much more entertaining.”
Josh laughed and wagged a finger at her. “That’s not what you said when I asked you out last month.”
“There’s a big difference between hanging out with someone and dating that person. A woman has to have some standards, Josh. Did you even shower before coming out tonight? You look like you just finished mucking the stalls over there at the Starlight.”
Josh readjusted the cowboy hat on his head and stared down at his outfit. His jeans were filthy and there was a piece of hay stuck to his plaid flannel sleeve. “What? I changed my boots and hat. I also washed my hands,” he said, holding them up as proof.
Holly scrunched her face up in disgust. Shaking her head, she muttered, “Never in all my life...” She poured him a beer and shooed him away from the bar.
Finding love in this town wasn’t easy. Holly had pretty much given up. She was thirty years old and prepared to grow old alone. Her younger sister, Maisy, had a husband and two kids. Convincing herself that being the coolest aunt ever could be as satisfying as being someone’s mom had become Holly’s newest pastime. Uncle Randall had never married. He’d filled his life with his extended family and the friends he adored. Holly wouldn’t mind being just like him. There were worse things to be.
“Can I get two more pitchers for table seven?” Maisy also worked at the Roadrunner. Holly didn’t know how she did it. The woman stayed home all day with the kids while her husband worked his day job, then she came in and did an evening shift at the family bar and grill.
“Coming right up.”
Maisy tightened her honey-colored ponytail and glanced around the bar. The Roadrunner was quite the hole-in-the-wall. There was a small dance floor, one pool table and a dozen tables scattered around them. Now that Thanksgiving had passed, Holly had begun Christmastizing it. A crooked, half-decorated tree stood in the corner and garland was strung above the bar. Maisy had helped her hang some gold cardboard stars from the ceiling with fishing line and duct tape.
“You know once word gets out that drinks are on Randall, there are going to be a million people in here,” Maisy said.
“That means a million people will also be here to buy some food and that means more tips for you and me,” Holly replied, trying to focus on the positive.
“We can hope.”
Holly finished filling the pitchers and set them in front of her sister. She glanced over at their great-uncle. His eyes were glued to the entrance. There was a look of anticipation on his face as a large group entered. His face fell. Must not have seen whom he was hoping for. “I wonder who he’s waiting for. He’s been checking the door constantly.”
Maisy swung her head around to see what Holly was talking about. She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. Maybe he’s thinking what I’m thinking and realizes we’re going to be slammed soon. Not sure he thought this drinks-on-me-tonight thing all the way through.”
“Very true,” Holly said with a laugh. Uncle Randall was more of an act-now-think-about-the-consequences-later kind of guy.
Holly and Maisy’s dad pushed through the swinging door that led to the kitchen and his office in the back. Will Hayward was tall but wiry. What he lacked for hair on top of his head, he made up for with the bushiest beard on this side of the Rocky Mountains.
“How are things going out here?” he asked.
“So far so good,” Holly replied, adding the pitchers of beer to Randall’s tab. “Hope Uncle Randall is ready to become the most popular guy in town. Everyone wants to be a rich man’s friend. Especially if that rich man buys them things.”
“I’ve never met a rich and generous guy I didn’t like.” Her dad checked to make sure there were cut lemons for garnishes. “Of course, in this town, rich and generous are two adjectives that don’t usually go together.”
“Ain’t that the truth!” Maisy said as she walked away with the drinks for Table Seven.
Three new people bellied up to the bar. Holly shooed her dad back to the kitchen. “We’ve got things handled out here. You make sure things keep running smooth in the back.”
Will didn’t move. His gaze was fixed on the front door. “What in the world is she doing here?”
Holly sidestepped to see around the head of the new customer at the bar and spotted Clarissa Drake standing awkwardly up front. Clarissa was the matriarch of the Drake family. Drakes did not come to the Roadrunner. Ever.
Almost twenty years ago, Connor Drake, Clarissa’s husband, passed away, leaving behind his ranch for her to run. Their eldest son and daughter-in-law moved to Coyote to help, bringing along their son, Jonah. Jonah Drake was Holly’s age. They had been twelve years old when he’d come to town. He might have been a cute kid, but the Haywards and the Drakes had a long-standing family feud that started with Holly’s and Jonah’s great-grandfathers. There had been no chance Holly and Jonah could ever have been friends.
“She looks like she knows this is enemy territory,” Holly observed with a smirk. “You think she thought someone with the last name Drake could get a free drink today?”
“Uh-oh, guess Randall is going to take care of this,” Will replied.
Uncle Randall was headed right for her—he definitely appeared to be a man on a mission. Only, as soon as Clarissa spotted him, her entire face lit up. Holly was a bit taken aback.
“Can we get some drinks?” one of the men at the bar asked her.
She was quick to shush him as her brows pinched together. Uncle Randall hugged Clarissa Drake, then put his hand on the small of her back and ushered her to a private table.
“What is happening?” Will asked, clearly as flabbergasted as Holly.
“I... I don’t know.”
“Since when does Randall talk to Clarissa Drake?” Will put both hands on the bar as though he needed help keeping upright. “He hated Connor Drake. Connor Drake hated him.”
“We plan to tip even though the drinks are free,” the customer sitting across from them said.
Holly and her dad both hushed him. “Shh!”
Randall had hold of Clarissa’s hand, and whatever he said to her put a smile on her face that went from ear to ear. Holly’s gaze shifted from her uncle to her dad and back to her uncle. Randall was suddenly down on one knee.
“What is happening?” Will asked again.
“He’s... He can’t. What is he thinking?” Holly watched in utter horror as Randall pulled something out of his pocket that very much seemed to be a ring box. He opened it and Clarissa covered her mouth with her hand.
“Is he?” Will obviously couldn’t say it aloud.
Clarissa wiped what must have been tears as she nodded her head. Randall put the ring on her finger. Holly was living in an upside-down world where her uncle just asked a Drake to marry him.
That was never happening. Only who was going to tell Uncle Randall that?
“OH, SHE’S SPITTING. She’s spitting!” Dr. Jonah Drake announced.
“Sally’s spitting!” Regina Butters and her daughter hugged as they hopped up and down in celebration. “We’re going to have a baby!” they chanted in unison.
Baby llamas were actually called cria, but he wasn’t going to correct them. They were finally going to have a cria. Jonah had been out to the Butters Farm three times since they had introduced a male into the harem in hopes that he could confirm at least one of their female llamas had been impregnated. Sally was the first one to pass the spit test, which was the inexpensive way for them to find out if they had a pregnant female. A spitting female meant she wasn’t interested in mating anymore because she was already expecting.
“Congratulations,” Jonah said, checking his watch. The sun was setting and this was his last stop of the day. He was ready to go home, clean up and feed his empty stomach.
He was about to enter some notes into his phone when it began to ring with a call from the office. He answered it, concerned that it was an emergency call. An emergency meant his day could be far from finished.
“Hey, Jonah.” It was Mandy, his receptionist. “I just got a strange call from Holly Hayward.”
“Holly Hayward?” That didn’t make sense. Holly had never called him. Drakes and Haywards didn’t associate. It was the rule here in Coyote.
“She would like you to call her immediately. I have the number—should I text it to you?”
“Did she say what this is about? I don’t recall the Haywards having any kind of animal they’d need my help with. You sure she didn’t want Dr. Lang to call back?” Dr. Lang was Jonah’s partner at the clinic and was in charge of the companion animals—the dogs and cats of Coyote.
“All she said was it was an emergency and she needs you to call her immediately. She was very specific about it being you.”
As much as Jonah felt like blowing her off and going home, he was mildly curious about what would prompt Holly to reach out to him of all people during an emergency.
Mandy texted him the number and Jonah waited to call until he was finished up with Mrs. Butters. Once he was in his truck, he dialed Holly’s number. She picked up almost immediately.
“Hello?”
“Um.” Jonah was caught off guard with how promptly she’d answered. “Hey, this is Jonah... Jonah Drake. I got a message that you called...”
“You need to come to the Roadrunner right now and pick up your grandmother. I don’t know what is going on, but if you all think that for one second my family and I are going to let your grandmother just weasel her way into my uncle’s fortune, you are kidding yourself.”
Jonah had absolutely no idea what she was talking about. Gran had a very tight group of friends who did things like play bridge at the social club. It did not include the likes of Randall Hayward or anyone in his circle. “My grandmother is at your bar right now?”
“Why else would I ask you to come pick her up?”
He ignored her lack of manners. “How did she get there?”
“She probably drove herself. I don’t know!” Holly sounded exasperated. She should’ve tried being on his side of the call.
“Is she intoxicated? Can she not drive herself home?”
“I’m not serving your grandmother! I just need you to come get her. This is not happening. I don’t know if you’re in on this or what, but it is not happening.”
Jonah’s head began to hurt more than his stomach. He had basically lived under his grandmother’s roof since he was twelve. Never in all those years had she ever gone out to a bar and she’d never associated with anyone from the Hayward family. Drakes and Haywards had a rivalry that had begun long before Jonah’s father was even born.
“I don’t understand what you’re saying, Holly. Is my grandma okay?” A bit of worry began to creep into the back of his mind. He put the call on speaker and started to text his mother. Maybe she knew why Gran was hanging out at the Roadrunner, causing Holly to melt down.
Jonah had felt responsible for taking care of his mother and his grandmother after his father had passed away the same year Jonah finished veterinary school. He had thought he was about to start a new life away from Coyote, Colorado, but instead he was dragged right back to the ranch.
“Let’s just say it’s a bit suspicious that as soon as my uncle Randall hits it big in the lottery, your grandmother is over here trying to get her piece.”
Trying to get her piece? There was no reason for Gran to want a piece of his winnings. The ranch provided for her just fine.
Jonah had heard that Randall Hayward had won himself some money. It was big news in town. He’d bought a lottery ticket at the little gas station on the corner of Main and Hilton Street. It was a big deal for a guy who had spent his life working in the rodeo. He had been some kind of rodeo clown. Another reason it didn’t make sense that his grandmother was there. She hated the rodeo.
“I’ll be there in ten minutes. Whatever you think she’s doing, she’s probably not doing. Please don’t be mean to her.”
Holly had the audacity to sound offended. “I’m not going to be mean to her. And she is definitely doing what I think she is doing. I want you to get her out of my bar.”
Holly had been mean to Jonah since the moment she met him. It didn’t matter that he had no idea who she was or who her family was when he first got to town. She had been rude from the get-go. On his first day of school, she’d kicked him in the shin for no reason and stuck bubble gum on his chair, which, thankfully, he noticed before he had sat down.
“Trust me, I don’t want her anywhere near you or yours. I’ll be there in...nine minutes.”
Eight minutes later, Jonah pulled up to the Roadrunner. The small parking lot was crammed full of cars. There wasn’t one open spot. Since he had no intention of staying longer than it would take to get his grandmother out of the place, he parked his truck right out front.
His mother had been completely unaware of what Gran was up to. She had told her she was dropping off a cross-stitch to a friend. Jonah feared the worst. Gran had always been so proud of the fact that her age may have slowed down her body, but it hadn’t gotten her mind. She was sharp as a tack. He prayed time wasn’t taking its toll on that as well.
When he stepped inside the Haywards’ establishment, it was loud and crowded. The smell of beer was in the air and the floor was a little sticky. Jonah was glad he had on his work boots and not his good shoes. This place was sure to leave its mark.
Jonah finally spotted his grandmother sitting at a table in the corner, holding a champagne flute. So much for Holly’s assertion that she wasn’t going to serve her.
“Good, you’re here.” Speak of the devil, there was Holly Hayward standing right in front of him. It bothered him that every time he saw her, she seemed to get more beautiful. It didn’t take long, however, for that to be overshadowed by her caustic personality. “Now, go over there and get your grandmother.”
“That’s what I’m trying to do if you’d please get out of my way so I can continue moving in that direction.” He waited for her to move.
“Jeez, you don’t have to be rude about it,” she huffed but stepped aside.
“Rude? I’m being rude? You are the blackest kettle in all of Pot Land, Hayward.”
Her forehead creased. “What does that mean? You know what, I don’t care. Just go over there and get her out of here.”
Jonah tried taking a deep breath and counting to five. He was not going to let this woman get under his skin with her abrasiveness. He calmed his temper and weaved his way over to his grandmother.
“Gran,” he said when he got close enough.
His grandmother’s eyes went wide with surprise. She quickly set down her champagne and stood. “Jonah, what are you doing here?”
“What am I doing here? What are you doing here? This bar is owned by the Haywards, Gran. We shouldn’t be here. Let me take you home, okay?”
Gran didn’t move, however. She actually sat back down and glanced across the table at the man seated there. Jonah quickly realized it was Randall Hayward. The old man turned his body and looked up at Jonah.
“Hey, why don’t you sit with us for a minute?” he suggested. “Can I buy you a drink? I’m buying everyone a drink. What would you like? Anything at all, it’s on the house.”
“I don’t want a drink, Mr. Hayward. I want to take my grandmother home. She is clearly unaware of what is going on here. I need to get her home.”
“I am fully aware of what is going on, Jonah,” his grandmother asserted. “Sit down.”
Jonah had been born a rule follower. When his grandmother told him to do something, he did it. He took the seat next to her.
“I’ve wanted to talk to you about something for a little bit now,” Gran said. “I just couldn’t figure out how to start the conversation, but things have changed in a way that makes it impossible for me to hide things from you or the rest of the family any longer.”
“Wouldn’t it be better if you, me and Mom had this conversation together back at home, then?”
“I think it’s best if you hear it now. Then you can help me break the news to your mom and your uncle. Oliver is not going to take this news well.”
“I don’t know if a crowded public place is the best setting for a serious conversation,” Jonah said, hoping she’d concede.
“Jonah, I’ve asked your grandmother to marry me and she said yes,” Randall said matter-of-factly.
It was as if every other person in this sticky, smelly, noisy place disappeared. The only ones Jonah could see were his grandmother and Randall.
“You did what?”
“I know this seems a little strange since you had no idea that Randall and I were dating, but we have been together now for over a month.” Gran’s hands were moving at lightning speed. She always talked with her hands when she was nervous.
“You’ve been dating for over a month? You and Randall Hayward?”
“My family is just as surprised as you are. They had no idea either, and I am sure my nephew is in the kitchen trying to figure out how to kick all these people out so he can read me the riot act.”
Jonah didn’t know about Will Hayward but Holly was hot enough for both of them. This was the emergency. How had she failed to tell him that her scoundrel of an uncle was trying to seduce his poor grandmother? That seemed like an important detail she left out of their phone conversation.
“Can you two excuse me for a second? I think I need that drink.” Jonah rose to his feet and made a beeline for the bar, where Holly was watching intently.
“What are you doing? I asked you to take your grandmother home, not sit down and have a chat with them,” she snapped as soon as he sat on an empty stool.
“Maybe you could have mentioned the whole engagement thing when you called me.” It felt like he had steam coming out of his ears.
Again, she seemed offended. “I’m pretty sure I did.”
“Uh, no, you did not.”
“I told you that we weren’t going to allow your grandmother to take advantage of my uncle just because she wants his money.”
Jonah’s hackles were raised. “Take advantage of your uncle? You think this is about my sweet grandmother taking advantage of your con man of an uncle? Are you kidding me right now?”
“Con man? Uncle Randall is a respected member of this community.”
Jonah couldn’t help but laugh.
Holly narrowed her eyes and her jaw was tight. “He has more friends than everyone in your family combined.”
“Friends? I couldn’t care less about how many friends someone has. Maybe he should go ask one of those friends of his to marry him. Not my grandmother. He needs to forget about my gran and stick with the friends he’s had longer than a month!”
“They’ve been dating for a month?”
“Only a month.” Jonah pinched the bridge of his nose. How in the world could this have been going on under his nose for the last month?
“My family is not going to be in support of this wedding.”
“As if my family will be? My grandfather and your uncle were not friends. Your uncle over there and your grandfather used to make trouble on our ranch. My dad used to tell me stories about how you Haywards only knew how to wreck things. Vandals and thieves. That’s what he used to call you all.”
“Funny, I heard your grandfather was a real stick-in-the-mud. I also heard he was a big-time liar and don’t get me started on how arrogant he was.”
She wasn’t going to goad him into a fight. It wasn’t worth his time to try to argue with her. “Well, I guess we both feel very strongly about the fact that our two families should never mingle. I will handle things with my grandmother and you need to make sure you keep your uncle and all his money away from her.”
Holly had her arms crossed in front of her chest and a scowl on that pretty face of hers. “Fine. I don’t want to see her in my bar again.”
“I don’t know why she would ever want to be here. This place needs to be sprayed down with a few gallons of bleach. I can’t believe you aren’t violating some health codes.”
“Oh, I’m sorry this isn’t a prim-and-proper place where you can canoodle with your fancy friends.”
“Canoodle. That’s a big word for you.”
“You can leave now.” She pointed at the door.
Jonah stood up. That was a low blow and he knew it. “I’m leaving. I just need to know one thing. Why did you call me?”
Holly scratched the back of her head and her gaze dropped to the floor. “You’re smart, Jonah. You’ve always been the smartest guy in the room. I figured if anyone could stop this from happening, it was you.”
That was...unexpected. Did Holly Hayward just compliment him? It seemed to pain her to admit it, so maybe it was for real.
“I’m going to do my best.”
Holly gave him a nod. Now, he had to figure out how to convince his gran to leave with him.
