Dear Readers, Rachel
Hauck has been one of my favorite authors through all her books. When I grow
up, I want to write like her. She does modern-day royals, and this Wedding
series is totally awesome. If you missed The
Wedding Chapel, you need go get a copy to read. It is lyrically written,
and the depth of character emotions grabbed me in a deep place in my heart. I’m
sure The Wedding Shop will do the
same. I’ll find out when my copy arrives.
This post is a little longer than usual, but I'm sure you'll be glad when you read the prologue and first chapter of the book.
Welcome back, Rachel.
Do you have a favorite genre to write? If so, what is it?
I love romance. Starting out, I didn’t see myself as a romance author but those are the stories I gravitate to and love. Now I write slip-time romances and love it!
I love romance. Starting out, I didn’t see myself as a romance author but those are the stories I gravitate to and love. Now I write slip-time romances and love it!
If you didn’t live in
the part of the country where you do, where would you live?
I love living in Florida
but if I was forced to move, I’d like to live in northern California .
What foreign country
would you like to visit and why?
I’ve visited a lot of countries. Two of them were our
favorite – Australia and Ireland . But
I’d love to see Iceland and England .
Describe what you
think would be the most romantic vacation you could take.
Oh, I’d love to vacation in one of those huts out the water!
I think they’re in Bora Bora .
I’d like to do one of
the Ice Hotels, but not for a whole vacation. Only one or two nights. Where
would you like to set a story that you haven’t done yet?
Hmm, good question. Most of my stories are set in the south
but I think the Pacific Northwest is a great
place for a novel.
What is the main
theme of this novel?
Trusting your heart. Both the heroines, Cora and Haley,
struggle to trust themselves when it comes to love. They both loved men who
broke their hearts so when the right guy came along, they were skeptical.
There’s also a theme of family and community in The Wedding Shop.
Tell us about the
story.
The Wedding Shop is set outside Nashville
in fictional Heart’s Bend , Tennessee . The protagonists live in two
different eras—Cora in the 1930s and Haley in 2016. Then there’s the 120 year
old wedding shop … the glue to the story and the “thing” that brings two
different women, of different generations, together.
Please give us the
first page of the book.
Prologue
Haley
Summer 1996
Heart’s Bend , Tennessee
The scent of rain laced the afternoon breeze as it shoved
through summer-green trees, ramming ominous black clouds together like a craggy
mountain ridge. Haley scanned the heavens as she dropped her bike on the edge
of Gardenia Park , a swirled chocolate-vanilla cone
in her hand.
“Gonna rain, Tammy. Hurry!” Haley glanced over her shoul der
toward their “fort,” an abandoned building once known as The Wedding Shop.
The wind kicked up and a bass rumble thundered through the
park. Haley shivered, curling her toes against her flip-flops.
“Tammy!”
“Hold your horses. He’s making my dip cone.” Haley
liked Tammy, the prettiest girl in their class, from the moment she met her in
first grade.
“Just get regular chocolate.” A thunderclap approved Haley’s
words, adding a lick of lightning for effect.
“But I like the dipped ones.”
“We’re going to get wet.”
From the ice cream stand, Tammy shrugged, grinning, reaching
for her cone as Carter Adams finally handed it through the window. Haley
couldn’t stand Carter. He was friends with her oldest brother, Aaron, and every
time he came over to the house he teased and picked on her until she screamed.
Then Mama would burst into the room. “Haley, for crying out
loud, be quiet. What’s with all the screaming?”
Did Aaron defend her? Or Carter confess he’d been teasing
her? Noooo . . . That would be too much to ask. When she grew up, she was going
to defend people. Help others. Stand up for the picked on.
A girl learned a lot about self-defense when she was the
youngest of four brothers. She liked them all right, except when they were
being boys.
“Where do you want to go?” Tammy sat down on a bench, motioning
for Haley to join her, careful with her cone, catching the vanilla dripping
through chocolate cracks with the tip of her tongue.
“Your house? We can play
Mario.”
“Naw, we did that already. Besides, one of my brothers is
bound to be playing on it.” Haley glanced back at their fort, the old wedding
shop. “What about your house?”
Haley preferred the neat, quiet calm of the Easons’. An only
child, Tammy had the run of the place, including her own bathroom. Her very own
bathroom! Haley had to share with Seth, two years older, and Will, four years
older. They had what Mama called a Jack and Jill bathroom. More like a Jack and
Jack with no room for a Jill. One of these days Haley was going to defend
others, yep, and have her own bathroom. And that’s that.
“I think your brothers are nice.”
“Nice? Try living with them.” Haley wrinkled her nose.
“They’re loud and they smell. Bad too.”
More thunder rocked overhead, this time with a sprinkle of rain.
From her bicycle basket, Tammy’s beeper went off.
“That’s Mama,” she said, working hard
on her ice cream to keep it from dripping down the sides and soaking the napkin
wrapped around the cone. She reached for her beeper. “It’s a three.”
Ah, a three. Which meant “Be safe.” Usually Mrs. Eason sent
a one, which meant “Get home.”
Darkness hovered over the large town-center park, over
Heart’s Bend ’s
center square, as the wind blew sprinkles of rain. Lightning whipped through
the black-and-blue sky.
Tammy shivered. “Better get someplace safe. Mama will ask me
later.”
“Want to go to the fort?” Haley motioned over her shoulder
toward the abandoned place.
As if on cue, the heavens burst open with buckets of rain.
Tammy dropped her ice cream as she skedaddled for her bike, screaming, laughing
as water poured from the clouds.
“Let’s go!”
“Wait for me.” Haley gripped her cone as she hopped on her
bike and pedaled down First Avenue
for all her life. “Wooooooo!” She ducked against the spiking rain, the water
cooling her hot, sticky skin.
Dashing across the avenue as the light turned red, she
bounced up on the Blossom Street curb, dropped her bike in the shade of the old
oak tree, and ran her hand under the dripping Spanish moss, racing Tammy for
the back porch.
The clouds crashed together, declaring war, wielding their
swords of light and showering Heart’s Bend
with their battle sweat as the girls tumbled onto the wide-board floor.
Haley jumped to her feet, hanging out of the door, her arm
hooked around the weak screen doorframe. “Ha-ha-ha, you can’t get us now!”
“Come on, let’s go inside.” Tammy slipped through the shop’s
back door by jiggling the doorknob, weakening the lock.
Haley followed, pausing just inside, next to what Mama
called a butler’s pantry, shaking the rain from her stick-straight blonde hair.
The shop’s stillness settled on her, speaking some- thing Haley couldn’t
understand but definitely felt. And like every time before, Haley felt as
though she’d walked into a place like home.
Daddy called it a sixth sense. Whatever that meant. But somehow
Haley understood time and space and anything that might be beyond the world she
could see. The notion excited her. And scared the living daylights out of her.
Let’s just be honest.
“Look, I can’t get it off.” Laughing, Tammy flicked her hand
in front of Haley’s face, pieces of the cone’s white paper napkin stuck to her
sticky fingers.
Reaching up, Haley yanked the piece free, wadding it up in
her pocket. She didn’t want to trash the place—like everyone who’d tried to run
a business here once it was no longer a wedding shop. A shame, a crying shame,
how folks could disrespect a building and all it stood for.
Haley may be only ten, but she’d heard the stories of the
shop’s brides, of Miss Cora, and all the good she’d done. The place needed
respect.
“Let’s play bride.” Tammy ran up the wide, thick grand staircase.
The carved and curved banister put Haley in mind of a great palace. That’s what
this shop was to Heart’s Bend .
A grand palace. For girls getting married. “You be the bride this time, Haley.
Walk down the steps from up there—”
“The mezzanine.”
“Yeah, that place.” Tammy licked the chocolate from her fingers
and wiped her hand on her shorts. “How do you know it’s a mezzanine again?”
“I heard Mama say it when we watched some documentary.”
Haley made a snoring sound. Mama was all about education, and just about
everything in the Morgan family had to be “educational.” Even Christmas gifts.
Praise be for Daddy who drew a line at Mama’s educational obsession during the
holidays.
See, Mama was a doctor and Daddy an engineer. They worked
long hours and employed a maid-slash-cook, Hilda, and a nanny, Tess. They were
all right. Kind of cranky. Last time Haley asked either one of them to help her
bake a cake, they tossed her out of the house.
“Go swim. Got that big ole pool out back and you kids all
hang around inside. Crying shame, I tell you, a crying shame. In my day we’d
have . . .”
Hilda’s “her day” stories shot Haley and her brothers out of
the house faster than a greased pig.
Anyway, that was routine around the Morgan house. Daddy and
Mama were home for dinner every night, though, because Mama believed in
families eating together. But they had to discuss something intelligent. Mama
always reiterated, “There’s nothing more important than education.”
Yeah? Except goal setting. That was Mama’s other bugaboo.
Everyone had to set goals come New Year’s Eve. She made the family sit and
write down what they wanted to accomplish. Even Daddy. So there was no way of
ever getting out of it.
For the past three years, Haley wrote, “Get a puppy.” So
far, she never got one. What was the point of a goal if her parents never
helped her achieve it?
“Are you going to be the bride or not?” Tammy said. “I was
the bride last time. It’s my turn to be the shopkeeper.”
Haley jogged up the stairs. She preferred shopkeeper to
bride. “Okay, but who am I going to marry?”
“Who do you want to marry?”
“No one. I told you, boys smell.”
Tammy made a face. “Pretend they don’t. Now who?” She twisted
the knob on the closet door under the dormer eaves. They liked to pretend the
wedding dresses were inside.
But the door was locked. Like always.
Haley could only think of one boy at school who didn’t annoy
the heck out of her. She peered over at her friend through the light falling
through the mezzanine windows. “Cole Danner?”
“Cole?” Tammy sighed, making a face and planting her hand on
her hip. “He’s mine.”
“I don’t really want him. Geez. This is just pretend. He’s
the cutest boy in class and, as far as I can tell, stinks the least.”
“Okay, I guess it’s all right since it’s just pretend. But
when we grow up, I got dibs.”
“On Cole? You can have him. I’m not getting married until
I’m old, like thirty, maybe even forty.”
Tammy laughed. “But you have to be my maid of honor,
promise?”
“Promise.” Of course she’d do anything for her bestie Tammy.
Overhead, the thunder rumbled. But the old wedding shop
walls remained steady. Haley’s Grandma Morgan and her friend Mrs. Peabody
bought their wedding dresses here. Mama was in medical school in Boston when she met
Daddy, who was at MIT. They got married in a courthouse or she’d have bought
her dress from Miss Cora too.
At least Haley liked to think so. Even at ten, she had a
strong sense of tradition. Daddy and Mama moved back to Heart’s Bend when Haley was two,
wanting to be near family, wanting out of the cold. And Mama started her own
sports medicine clinic. She was pretty famous as far as Haley could tell.
Athletes from all over came to see her.
“You need a veil.” Tammy claimed a discarded piece of newspaper,
smoothed it out on the floor, and folded it over Haley’s head. Haley laughed,
ducking away, the black-and-white veil slipping from her head. “If I come home
with lice, Mama will have a cow.” She inched toward the third-floor stairs.
“Let’s explore up here. Maybe we can find something to use.”
But the third floor was cluttered, full of boxes and old computer
equipment. Paint peeled from the walls, the floor was covered with rotting
carpet, and the bathroom was torn apart.
Tammy shivered. “This creeps me out. Let’s go back to the
mezzanine.”
But Haley spied something peeking out from the edge of the
carpet. She stooped, pinching the edge of a black-and-white photograph.
Tammy squatted next to her. “Hey, that’s Miss Cora. I saw
her picture in the paper.”
“I know. I remember.” Haley looked up at the dank quarters.
“Do you think she lived here?”
“I hope not. It’s gross.”
Haley stared at the haunting reflection in the woman’s eyes,
like she longed for something. A strange twist knotted up Haley’s middle. Taut
prickles ran down her arms. Her sixth sense again. Running into something she
could feel but not see.
“Look, clothespins. And a piece of tulle. This can be your
veil.” Standing next to a bookshelf, Tammy held up her treasures.
“Let’s just pretend I have a dress and a veil.” Haley stared
at the face in the picture. Miss Cora was not very pretty, but kind looking
with old-fashioned hair, like in Granny’s pictures, a curiosity in her
expression. And sadness. She was definitely sad.
But she’d heard only happy things about Miss Cora. Did she
like running a wedding shop? Did she have lots of brothers like Haley? That can
make a girl sad. Or was she an only child, like Tammy?
“Hal, come on before Mama beeps me home.”
Thunder let loose a boom of agreement. Haley tucked the picture
in her shorts pocket and hustled down the stairs.
“I changed my mind. You be the bride. I’ll be the shop
owner, Miss Cora.”
“Miss Cora?”
“Why not? It’s pretend, right? Besides, if Cole’s the groom,
it’s best you be the bride. You’ll marry him before I ever will.”
Back on the mezzanine, Haley hurriedly moved into pretend mode
jogging down the stairs to the foyer. “Oh, hello, Mrs. Eason. Your daughter is
putting on her veil right now.” She mimed opening the shop’s front door because
the real one was dead bolted. “Please, have a seat.”
Overhead, Tammy shuffled across the mezzanine, then hummed
the wedding song as she descended the staircase, one slow step at a time. Haley
breathed out, blowing her bangs from her forehead, the stale, hot air of the
shop making her sweat, causing dust to stick to her skin.
“Isn’t she beautiful, Mrs. Eason?” Haley jumped an imaginary
line and pressed her hands to her cheeks to play the role of Tammy’s mother.
“Oh my stars, I’m going to cry. I’m going to cry.” She
fanned her face with her fingers. “Darling, you are beautiful, so beautiful.”
Tammy modeled her newspaper veil, held out the skirt of her
imaginary gown, and cooed how she couldn’t “wait to marry Cole Danner.”
Upon her words, lightning cracked, so bold, so loud this
time the windows rattled. Tammy jumped into Haley’s arms.
Then they fell to the floor laughing, hooting, popping their
hands on the splintered hardwood.
When they quieted down, Haley stared at the high ceiling.
“Let’s own this shop one day, okay?” She gripped Tammy’s
hand in her own. “We’ll go to college, then maybe join the Marines or
something—”
“The Marines! I’m not joining the Marines.” Tammy’s protest
was sure. “But I’ll run this shop with you.”
“But first we go places, see people, visit Hawaii , then buy this shop.”
“Best friends forever.” Tammy hooked her pinky finger around
Haley’s.
“Best friends forever.”
“We’ll come back here one day and own this wedding shop.”
“Pinky promise.”
“Pinky promise.”
The lightning flickered, kissing the front window again.
Haley jumped up and ran screaming around the shop with Tammy in pursuit. Because
make-believe was what best friends did. But make-believe ended.
Best friends were forever. And pinky promises could never be
broken.
Chapter One
Cora
April 1930
Heart’s Bend , Tennessee
The morning began like every other weekday, with Cora making
her way up the back walk to the shop, unlocking the door, and clicking on the
lights.
But today the spring sun’s brightness drifting through the
trees stirred a sense of hope. A vibrant anticipation.
Let today be the day.
Hanging her sweater and hat on hooks in the mudroom, Cora
entered the small salon and stood at the nearest window, pushing the lace sheer
aside. She gazed toward the cut of the Cumberland River
visible through the trees and wished for him.
While she treasured spring’s green and gardenia perfume, she
missed the unobstructed view provided by leafless limbs. In the winter, she
could see for miles from her shop’s perch on the hill. Despite the cold gray
days of winter, its barrenness enhanced her perspective.
But now spring had arrived and, still, he had not. She so
ached for a glimpse of his long, lean stride coming up from the port, boldly
taking the avenue with his broad physique, his mass of blond hair tangling
about his face while the loose sleeves of his white blouse billowed about his
thick arms.
Come today, darling.
“Cora?” The back door slammed, drawing her away from her
post. “I’m here.” Odelia, Cora’s shop assistant and seamstress, entered with a
gust of cold wind and the scent of cinnamon. “Sorry to be late. The buns were still in the oven.” She
chuckled, shifting the weight of the garments in her arms. “The buns . . . get
it? I should’ve been in vaudeville. Anyways, couldn’t get the old car started
so Lloyd drove me in on the wagon.”
Cora leaned over her shoulder. “Hmmm, those smell divine.
And no rush. We’ve an hour before they arrive. Mama’s on her way.”
“Good, good. Ain’t no hostess like your mama.” Odelia set
the hot buns in the first-floor pantry, where Mama would set up a service of
tea and coffee along with pastries from Haven’s bakery. She’d have to
delicately decide what to do with Odelia’s buns.
“Even your Aunt Jane said she couldn’t out hostess Esmé.
Now, let me get the rest of the dresses out from the wagon. Lloyd has work back
at the farm and he don’t cotton none to being held up.”
“I’ll help you.” Cora followed Odelia out of the shop and
down the walk to Blossom Street .
“Morning, Lloyd.”
“Cora.” He jutted his chin her way, then lowered his hat
over his eyes, handing her several dresses swinging from hangers. “Got work to
do.”
“Now, shush. What do you think we’re doing here all day,
playing tiddlywinks?” Odelia anchored her toe on the wagon wheel and lighted
into the bed, taking the dresses from her man. “Don’t hold them against you.
They’ll go smelling like horses and pigs.”
“Odelia, here, hand them to me.” Cora reached for three more
dresses.
The woman was a backbone to the shop with her seamstress
skills, yet a constant mystery. Part Irish, part Cherokee, she was a workhorse
with smooth brown skin that defied her age. Mama said she’d stick a needle in
her eye if Odelia was a day under sixty.
When they’d unloaded the dresses, Lloyd took off. Odelia
called after him, “Come get me, you old coot, or there won’t be no supper.”
“How long have you two been married again?” Cora said, falling
in step with her assistant. Odelia was an Aunt Jane find. Hired her when she
first opened the shop in 1890.
“Since Jesus was a baby.” She examined one of the white
satiny dresses. “If Lloyd’s old blanket left a mark, I’ll crown him.”
But in the light of the mezzanine, the dresses were perfect,
the white skirts shimmering with purity and beauty. No one in Heart’s Bend could work a needle
and sewing machine like Odelia.
“I’ll get the display cases set up.” Cora headed down the
stairs. The grand staircase with the carved, glossy, wooden spindles divided
the shop in two—the grand salon on the left, the small salon on the right.
The grand salon Cora treated like a Hollywood
living room, at least from what she could tell from the movies and magazines,
covering the hardwood with plush carpet and the walls with bold paper.
In the light
of the front display window, she positioned ornate chairs around the long,
curved davenport made of a polished wood and covered with heavy gold
upholstery. Here she sat her clients and their mothers, grandmothers, sisters,
cousins, friends, aunts, and nieces. Here they waited for the bride to descend
the staircase in her wedding gown.
If the bride
was so inclined, the bridesmaids also descended the stairs, modeling their
gowns for the other women. Once in a while, a father insisted on joining the
party. After all, they protested, weren’t they the ones footing the bill?
In the small
salon, the display cases housed a variety of veils, gloves, sachets, clutches,
stockings, and every other sundry a bride might desire. Dress forms and
mannequins modeled wedding gowns, going-away dresses, and a very modest style
of lingerie.
At the bottom
of the stairs, Cora paused. What was she setting out to do? Oh yes, the display
cases. And she needed to run and get the pastries from the bakery. But she
paused at the front door, peering through the etched glass, unable to quell the
stirring in her heart. It moved from taut anticipation to a burning
restlessness.
Rufus, where are you?
In his last letter, he said he’d be on the Cumberland this spring. “Look for me in
March.” But it was already the first week of April, when the dogwoods bloomed
in Gardenia Park and down First Avenue .
She feared he’d been hurt, or fallen ill. Or worse, his boat
had hit the snags and sank, a swift current trapping him beneath the surface.
“Do we have time to dawdle at the window?”
Cora turned to see her mother crossing the small salon,
patting her hand against her hair, then smoothing her hand down the front of
her skirt. “I was just checking the temperature.” Cora rapped her knuckle on
the cool glass in the direction of the thermometer. A blessed coincidence.
“Checking the temperature? Or watching the river?”
Mama liked to think Cora was an open book. One she could
read well.
“I’m fixing the display cases before going to the bakery.
Can you open the top panes of the windows, let in the fresh air? When the
Dunlaps arrive it will get warm in here. They are a large party.”
“You know, staring out the window pining for him won’t make
him arrive any faster, Cora. Or make him a man of his word.” Mama unlocked the
window next to the door and pulled open the pane.
“You’re being unfair. He is a man of his word.”
“Well, when he can change it at will and convince you it’s
the truth, then I suppose you’re right. Did you say something about the bakery
order? I glanced in the pantry and only saw Odelia’s cinnamon buns.”
“Yes, after I set up the cases I’ll head over to Haven’s.
Will you start the coffee and tea at five till?”
“I’ve been hosting this shop since before you were born. I
know when to start the coffee and tea. What I don’t know is what to do with
Odelia’s buns. The woman can sew dry grass into a beautiful gown, but her
baking leaves much to be desired. No wonder Lloyd never smiles.”
Cora bit back her laugh. “Shh, Mama. She’ll hear you. You
can’t deny they smell wonderful.”
“They do, but I’ve told her to her face her sweet buns are
like rocks.” Mama moved to the bottom of the stairs. “Isn’t that right,
Odelia?”
“What’s that, Esmé?”
“Your baking could break the strongest teeth.”
“That’s what you’ve been telling me for twenty years, but
Lloyd don’t seem no worse for the wear.”
“Except he never smiles.” Mama turned to Cora, whispering behind
her hand. “’Cause he ain’t got no teeth.”
“Mama, stop.” Cora muted the laugh in her chest. “You taught
me better. Now act like a kind Christian.”
“Telling the truth is being a kind Christian.” Mama moved to
the remaining windows, slipping down the top panes. In the grand salon the
grandfather clock chimed the hour.
Eight o’clock. Cora must get herself together. At the
display cases, she retrieved the head forms from the bottom drawers and adorned
them with veils, curving the long tulle around the glass and splaying it across
the polished hardwood. On another set of heads, she stuck ornate combs into the
coarse, fake hair.
Next she set out long, silky white gloves with pearl buttons
and arranged a pearl set on a blue velvet runner.
The shop had an important client this morning. A Miss Ruth
Dunlap from Birmingham ,
a society bride who also happened to be a shop legacy. Her mother, Mrs. Laurel
Schroder Dunlap, born and raised in Heart’s Bend , bought her gown and trousseau from Aunt
Jane in 1905. She would expect the royal treatment for her daughter. As well
she should.
Jane Scott cut her bridal fashion chops in Milan
and Paris in the late 1880s, bringing them back
home to Tennessee
when her mama, Granny Scott, died. Never in all their born days had the women
of Heart’s Bend —farmers’
wives, mountain women, half-breeds, and former slaves—seen the likes of what
Aunt Jane brought to town.
But they loved it. Aunt Jane’s elegant style made the small-town
shop a legend in middle Tennessee and northern
Alabama , launching an unlikely small-town
tradition and becoming Heart’s Bend ’s
darling.
“Cora, I know you don’t like me nosing into your business,”
Mama said, returning to the small salon. “But—”
“No, I don’t. I’m not a child.” Cora examined the last
display case. Everything seemed to be in order.
With a smile at Mama, she headed up to the mezzanine and her
desk. She shuffled the papers, shoving aside a large box of mail. All work for
tomorrow after Miss Dunlap returned to Alabama .
Mama followed her up.
“You are not a child. Which is precisely my point.” Mama
anchored her hands on the side of the desk and leaned over Cora. “You’re thirty
years old, darling. I’d been married, given birth to two children, and become
president of the local Tennessee Equal Suffrage Association by the time I was
twenty-eight.”
“Cora, you want to choose a veil for Miss Dunlap?” Odelia
popped out of the wide, long storage room. “I think gloves would go well with
her gown too.”
“I set out the veils and gloves on the display cases in the
small salon. She can choose when she tries on the dress.”
Aunt Jane skimped on nothing when she hired Nashville architect Hugh
Cathcart Thompson to design The Wedding Shop. It was the height
of high class. A place of business and a place of residence. Though Cora had
yet to occupy the third floor for herself, Aunt Jane had lived atop her beloved
business for thirty years.
“What about a leaving dress? Casual wear? We have the
samples from Elsa Schiaparelli’s knit collection.”
“Yes, of course, let her choose. We can order what she
wants. The knitwear is still popular.”
Cora liked Schiaparelli’s styles. As if she knew women were
real people, with real work to do.
“Odelia, help me out here. Tell Cora not to close off her
heart.” Mama brushed her hand over Cora’s dark hair. “That’s all I’m saying.
Walk out with another man. Don’t just stand at the window waiting for the
captain. You run a wedding shop, yet have never been the bride.”
“Thank you, Mama. I hadn’t noticed.” Everyone in a town the
size of Heart’s Bend
noticed the thirty-year-old wedding shop owner had never been a bride. “Weren’t
you the one who taught me to follow my heart?”
“Yes, but I sure didn’t know it’d lead to a dead end.” Mama
started down the stairs. “I’ll say no more. I don’t want you upset when the
Dunlaps arrive. Shall I go for the pastries? I have time before the coffee and
tea.”
“No, Mama. I said I’ll go.” She needed the escape, the fresh
air, the walk to straighten out her thoughts, to dream of him for a moment
without Mama invading.
In the four years she’d known and loved Rufus St. Claire,
he’d never lied to her. Ever. He’d been delayed, hampered by shipping
schedules, and hindered by the rule of the river, but he always kept his word,
walking up First Avenue
with his rogue smile, his arms laden with gifts, his kisses more sweet and
passionate than the time before.
Then he’d press his silky lips against her ear. One day
you’re going to marry me.
Cora shivered, collapsing in her chair. She missed him so
much she ached. She’d been fine all winter and spring, satisfied with his letters,
until this week, until she saw the back end of March but not the face of the
man she loved.
Leaving the mezzanine, with its three oval, cherry-framed
mirrors used to dress and style the brides, Cora felt nothing like the brides
she loved and served. But oh, she longed to walk where they walked.
She’d dreamt of her day in this shop since she was a girl.
Of descending the grand staircase to the musical ooh’s and ahh’s of Mama and
Odelia, her groom’s mother—if she was alive—her friends and family.
She’d sip sweet tea and nibble on a butter cookie with sugar
sprinkles, full of joy and life over her coming day.
She fought feeling dull, old, and left behind. But he’d
promised. And until she knew otherwise, she’d follow her heart, believing and
waiting.
“Esmé, help me out here, will you?” Odelia said, motioning
to the mannequin she styled with the dress Miss Dunlap chose during her first
trip to the shop a month ago. Miss Ruth Dunlap had selected a dress from a
Butterick pattern, and Odelia worked her magic.
Cora anticipated Ruth’s first glance at her gown. It was
always a thrill, the bride’s face a sight to behold. It’s happening. I’m truly
getting married.
When the clock chimed eight thirty, Cora fluffed the sofa
pillows in the grand salon and made sure the curtains were opened wide. The
shop was ready.
“Miss Dunlap is going to be swept off her feet,” Cora said,
heading to the stairs. “Mama, Odelia, I’m off to get the pastries. Mama, remind
me to put a record on the Victrola when the Dunlaps drive up.” Aunt Jane always
liked the brides to enter with music playing, and Cora wanted to carry on the
tradition. Because, after all, wasn’t love the truest song of all?
Collecting her hat and sweater, Cora ducked into the
first-floor powder room to fix on her hat. Seeing her reflection, she paused.
Thirty. She was thirty years old. Not a girl. Nor even a
young woman. But a grown woman, a working woman. Where had the years gone?
Where had she spent her youth?
She had been in love with her high school sweetheart, Rand
Davis, until the war. Then he returned home and married Elizabeth White.
Good luck to them. May they be blessed. Cora had been so
grieved over the death of her big brother, Ernest Junior, at Somme that she
never found the heart to pine for Rand .
She leaned closer to the mirror, gently touching the corner
of her eyes where one thin line drew toward her cheek.
In the twenties it seemed everyone was marrying. The shop
was busy. But the door just never opened for her.
Because, she liked to believe, she was waiting for Rufus.
Oh, seeing him the first time . . . He walked into the shop bold as you please
to personally deliver a shipment. “This was left behind on the Wayfarer.
Thought I’d deliver it myself.”
His blue eyes locked on her and never let go. She yielded
without hesitation to their beckoning. His voice nailed her feet to the floor,
and for the life of her, she couldn’t utter one intelligible word. Aunt Jane
had to step in, direct him where to drop the bolts of cloth, and apologize for
Cora.
Now she angled away from her reflection, smoothing her hand
over her bobbed hair. She wasn’t a beautiful woman. Handsome, Mama liked to
say. Tall and lean, with the figure of a teen girl rather than a mature woman
of thirty. But she kept herself dressed in the latest fashions and managed to
keep what little shape she possessed without the aid of cigarettes or dieting.
Stepping out of the shop, down the front walk, Cora headed
toward the center of Heart’s Bend .
The small but affluent town in the shadow of Nashville was alive with morning commerce.
Shop owners swept their front walks, calling to one another.
And she was one of them.
No one counted on Aunt Jane dying five years ago, at
seventy, from a malaria outbreak the authorities claimed was contained. Robust
Aunt Jane never saw it coming. No one did.
So Cora took over the reins of the shop. Proudly.
Down the avenue, the air twisted with the aroma of baking
bread along with the sour odor of horse droppings. Rosie, the milk cart mare,
swished her tail at the biting flies.
Cora crossed Blossom
Street , heading along First Avenue , trying to take in the
beauty of the day to break free of Mama’s comments. She spotted Constable
O’Shannon across the wide avenue, at the entrance of Gardenia Park ,
talking to a giant of a man with blue leggings tucked into black leather knee
boots and a loose blouse billowing about his arms, the breeze shifting his wild
golden hair about his face.
Rufus?
“Rufus!” She shouted his name through her cupped hands,
forgetting decorum, forgetting the gossips with their ears to the ground.
“Darling! You’re here.”
Running into the avenue, Cora avoided a passing car. The
driver sounded his horn, but she didn’t care. Her Rufus was here.
The breeze kicked up as she ran to greet him, her heart
racing with love.
So her morning tingle of anticipation was correct. He had
returned. Just like he said. “Rufus, darling! You’re here.”
You can’t leave us
here. What happens next? How can readers find you on the Internet?
My web stie at www.rachelhauck.com.
From there you can connect with me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Thanks Lena !
My pleasure, Rachel.
Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
The Wedding Shop - Christianbook.comThe Wedding Shop - Amazon
The Wedding Shop - Kindle
The Wedding Shop - Audio
Comment Question - Have you read any of Rachel's books? Do you like time-slip stories? (Not all of Rachel's have been time-slip stories.)
Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory or country if outside North America. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)
Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.
The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.
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32 comments:
Great, great interview! LOVE Rachel's books!! Thank you!
This sounds like an interesting story. I love what I have read so far.
Linda in CA
lkish77123 at gmail dot com
Becky, thanks so much!
Linda, I'm biased but it really is an interesting, fun story! :)
Rachel
Lena, thank you for this blog time and for your very kind introduction. Love you friend! Rachel
I haven't read very many of Rachel's books, but I've loved the ones I've read! This one sounds wonderful, too! Thanks for the fun interview!
Winnie T from Utah
A generous & wonderful read through thank you.
Mary P
QLD AUSTRALIA
I would love to win a copy of Rachel's book. Thank you for the chance,
Smiles & Blessings,
Cindy W.
from Indiana
Loved reading your chat with Rachel H. and then getting to read the intro & first chapter. It is always a pleasure to reach Rachel's beautiful writing. She has a wonderful talent. I've previously reviewed her books and would love a chance to read The Wedding shop. I'm not a big fan of time-slip books, but I can enjoy them.
Vera G. in the middle of North Carolina just a state away from the Tennessee setting of this story.
What a fascinating story. Can't wait to read the rest.
Sandy Q TX
You've got me hooked. I can't wait to read this book! Rachel is one of my favorite authors! Thanks for the chance to win!
Beth in Montana
I love the idea of the story being of two time frames, particularly with one being in the 1930's, which was such a fascinating and tragic time in our history....with the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. That adds even more interest to the overall story line. Appreciate the very interesting interview and the opportunity to connect with other readers. Cathy - TX
I love Rachel's books!! I can't wait to read this one!!
Abby B from Michigan
Love Rachel's books. North Platte Nebraska.
Love this beginning! I have read The Wedding Dress, and of course i'd love a copy of all of Rachel's books! I'm in upstate of South Carolina
Great interview - love Rachel's books! Elaine in Wisconsin
I really like Rachel's books, especially The Wedding Dress and the Royal Wedding series. I do like time slip novels. Besides Rachel's, Susan Meissner writes some really great time slip stories. Thanks for this excerpt from The Wedding Shop. I want to read more!
pmkellogg56[at]gmail[dot]com
Kansas
I am looking forward to reading The Wedding Shop. I like Rachel's books.PA. Thank you for the opportunity to win.
"The Wedding Shop" sounds like a delightful read. I really like reading wedding themed books. Love the cover.
"The Wedding Shop" sounds like a delightful read. I really like reading wedding themed books. Love the cover.
Though I've not read any of Rachel's books yet, I've read a lot of great reviews on her writing! This one sounds delightful, thanks for the chance!
Trixi in OR
I haven't read any of Rachel Hauck's books yet, but I'm very interested in her wedding collection. I'll be buying The Wedding Dress sometime next week. :)
Thank you for the giveaway opportunity.
Melody from the province of Quebec, Canada
Loved The Wedding Chapel, I'm sure The Wedding Shop will be just as good!
Patty in SC
I adore Rachel's stories and can't wait to read this one! Thanks so much for sharing the wonderful interview and giveaway!
Britney Adams, TX
I have to be honest here and say that I did not read the above excerpt. I am one of those readers that doesn't want any preview or information prior to reading a book, especially since your books are a given read for me. It's kind of like putting your hands over your ears and humming when someone is trying to tell you how a movie ends. That's me! :) Also, I'm a bit perplexed how I missed this one, yet I've already pre-ordered A Royal Christmas Wedding. Sometimes it's so hard to keep on top of it all. Congrats on this new release and trust that I will be reading this one, as well.
Terrill - WA
I don't often read time-slip novels but this sounds very intriguing. Thanks for shating.
Connie from KY
cps1950(at)mail(dot)com
Sounds like a great read! Thanks!
Melissa O from NC
I'm anxious to find out the what how the two women come together. The area around Nashville is a beautiful area and this should make a great setting for the book.
Beth from Iowa
Looks fabulous! Enter me. I'm getting married in 6 days!
Blanch NC
Enter me in your awesome giveaway!!
Conway SC.
I have never read any books by this author. The Wedding Shop sounds really interesting. Thank you for the chance to win a copy.
Karen G., NY
Hi Rachel & Lena! Looks like another awesome RH book to read, love, and add to my growing collection of Rachel Hauck novels!
Kristen in OK
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