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Jasper Gulch Welcomes You To the World's Largest Old Tyme Wedding. The banner was stretched across one wall of the Jasper Gulch, Montana, festival hall at the fairgrounds. The town was celebrating its centennial and for some reason, a hundred years meant a hundred brides and grooms. Or at least that was someone's opinion. Katie Archer wasn't one of the brides. Instead, she stood on the sidelines, the sister of a bride, as well as a potential bridesmaid. It was the place where she felt comfortable and where she'd spent most of her life—standing in the shadow of her older sister, Gwen.
Gwen was beautiful, intelligent, gifted and so many other positive adjectives, but she was also unfailingly kind. And Katie was loyal. When Gwen had asked her to make this trip, Katie hadn't been able to refuse, even though she knew Gwen would have to leave at times. Katie had taken vacation from her job in Missoula, packed a bag and climbed into the backseat of Jeffrey's Land Rover, Jeffrey behind the wheel, Gwen in the passenger seat. Jeffrey Parker, the groom, was an orthopedic surgeon originally from Denver but now practicing in Missoula. The two had met when Gwen started her residency.
They had arrived in the small town of Jasper Gulch, Montana, earlier in the day. There had been time to take a tour of the town, find the Shaw ranch where they would be staying during the month of October while they prepared for the wedding, and then they'd headed for the fairgrounds where the engaged couples would be treated to a prewedding reception.
Since arriving at the cavernous, slightly drafty building, Katie had watched as Gwen and her fiancé, better known as Dr. Jeff, got the royal treatment. Even from a distance Katie could see that her sister and Jeff were in love. And they looked beautiful together, like the power couple they were. Gwen looked stunning with her dark hair in a jeweled clip, a shimmering red dress that suited her slim frame and her makeup applied perfectly.
Gwen and Katie were complete opposites in every way.
After a lifetime of being compared to Gwen, somewhere along the way Katie had learned to smile and let it go. She would never be the honors student. She would never be the perfect daughter. She would always be Katie, the redhead with a penchant for flirting just to get noticed.
Anything to get noticed.
At least she had been that person. In the last two years she had learned to accept herself, the person God had created. She'd stopped the continuous race to find someone to love and to love her. She'd learned to love herself.
She shifted from foot to high-heeled foot and watched the crowds, the couples and the townspeople. The Shaws, their hosts while in Jasper Gulch, were interesting. Jackson Shaw and his wife, Nadine, were the patriarch and matriarch of the family and the community. Mayor Jackson Shaw, tall and distinguished and definitely a Montana rancher, was in charge. His wife stayed close to his side.
But there was tension. Katie had watched the couple share a few looks that she thought meant a lot more than "isn't this a great event." Having survived her parents' rocky marriage, she knew the signs of a couple not in agreement. She didn't think the tension was limited to the Shaw family, either. She got the feeling the community of Jasper Gulch was packing a lot of hope into this six-month centennial celebration.
It seemed a few people wanted to keep the community just the way it was, cut off from the rest of Montana with just one road in and out.
Katie stopped to look at a bulletin board with old photos of the town and a few new photographs, as well as schedules for coming events and plans for improvement. There was a picture of the Beaver Creek bridge as it stood today and a photograph from the town's heyday. There were pictures of the main street through town with old automobiles parked in front of stores that were no longer in business. Jasper Gulch was like so many towns around the country. It had served its purpose years ago, long before airlines, technology and chain stores. Now it struggled to stay alive. Being secluded as it was probably worked in favor of the businesses that were still in operation.
Even with its struggles, it would have been nice to grow up in a town like this, with a family that went to church, with people who knew your name. But she hadn't. She slipped away from the memorabilia, some of which would be put in the new museum, if it ever got built.
Katie had spent her younger years in San Diego but had grown up in Missoula in a subdivision with neighbors she barely knew. Her parents had both worked long hours. Sunday had been the day of rest, but not a day for church. The four Archers had spent little time together.
Katie had dreamed of a place like this, a small town situated in a valley surrounded by mountains and with a deep blue sky that seemed to go on forever. The acres of ranch land, the surrounding mountains and the sparkling, clear streams. Who wouldn't want to call this home and preserve it for future generations?
With a cup of hot cider from the refreshment table, she sank onto a folding chair and watched the crowds. From across the room an elderly man smiled her way. She smiled back and he tipped his hat. She had been introduced to him earlier and thought his name might be Rusty. He'd played baseball as a youngster and he was nearly as old as Jasper Gulch, he'd informed her.
Her gaze moved from the aging ball player and landed on Cord Shaw, son of Jackson and Nadine. She'd met him at the Shaw ranch, but briefly. The tall, sun-tanned cowboy with the dark wavy hair hadn't stayed long at the main ranch house. He'd greeted their guests, thanked them for participating in the wedding and then he'd made excuses about work at his own place.
Typical of most of the men here, Cord wore jeans and a dark sport coat over a button-down shirt. His cowboy hat was black, matching his jacket. He turned and smiled. Maybe at her. Probably not. Gwen had moved into the spotlight and men always smiled at Gwen. Men, women, babies and the elderly. They couldn't help it. Gwen was the flame and everyone around her a moth.
"Those Shaw men, they sure are hot, aren't they?"
The statement took her by surprise. She turned and smiled at the young woman who had taken the seat next to hers. The girl was pretty, maybe late teens, and definitely too made up. Her clothes were too loud, her hair too sleek. Katie smiled at her and refrained from commenting on the Shaw men.
"I'm sorry?" What else could a woman say when caught staring at a man?
The younger woman nodded in the direction of Cord S haw.
"Cord Shaw, he's the older brother. By the way, I'm Lilibeth Shoemaker." She held out a well-manicured hand. "I've lived here my whole life, so I know everyone."
"I see." Katie continued to watch Cord Shaw. He was a gentleman. It was obvious in the way he moved through the crowd, the respect he showed, the way he stopped to listen to his mother.
She didn't meet men like him in Missoula. They probably existed, but they didn't run in her circle. She wished they did. No, she took that back. She'd given up on romance. Men wanted her for a friend because she was fun and easy to be around. She wasn't the woman they dated or thought about marrying. She was too tall, too opinionated, too much.
"That's his brother Austin." Lilibeth Shoemaker broke in to Katie's thoughts once more with her sharp-edged observations and pointed to another cowboy threading his way through the crowd. She didn't remember meeting him.
"I don't think I've met him." Katie didn't know what else to say. The young woman at her side didn't seem to care.
"It's a shame that Cord won't ever get married. Burn him once, shame on you. Burn him twice, well, I don't know the rest of that, but I guess being burned makes a man a little nervous around the fire."
"Gotcha." Katie smiled at the teenager. She got the feeling Lilibeth needed friends.
She remembered now, meeting another young woman named Shoemaker, but that one had been a little older than Lilibeth and maybe a little more polished around the edges. She and Lilibeth had something in common. They lived in the shadows of older siblings.
"Where are you from?"
Katie smiled at the girl. "I'm from Missoula."
"I'd love to live in the city. All the lights and noise and people. What do you do?"
People always wanted what they didn't have. Katie glanced around the crowd, not really looking for a way out, just looking. "I'm an assistant manager of a clothing store."
"Oh." Lilibeth looked down at her spiky-heeled, bright red pumps. "I've always wanted to do something in fashion. I'd like to be a model. But I can't even win a beauty pageant in Jasper Gulch, so figure the odds."
"Maybe someday," Katie offered with what she hoped was an encouraging tone. "You know, modeling and beauty pageants aren't really the same."
Lilibeth shrugged. "Yeah, maybe. I don't know. I'd probably leave tomorrow if I could. People always think I'm up to something."
Katie only nodded because the conversation seemed too personal for strangers. She sympathized, though, because she knew how it felt to be the younger sister, always in trouble. Words of wisdom evaded her. What did she tell a young woman that even a newcomer like herself had heard whispers about? Small talk at the party had included a discussion of the time capsule that seemed to be missing.
And then Gwen was heading her way, waving and smiling. Katie shot a look past her sister to Jeffrey and the man at his side. She got a tangled feeling in the pit of her stomach. What had made her think this trip with Gwen would be a good idea? Had she really thought it would be easy, to come here and watch her sister get married, to be the bridesmaid again?
At least this time she didn't have feelings, other than the brotherly kind, for the groom.
Cord Shaw listened to the doctor, groom to one of their brides, tell him about his practice in Missoula. As he listened to Dr. Jeff, Cord's attention wandered through the crowd. He was looking for Helen Avery, the wedding coordinator. She should have been here by now, seeing to the needs of their couples, tying up loose ends, making sure everyone had what they needed to go forward with the wedding. Instead, she was missing in action. Again. It wasn't the first time she'd been late or a no-show.
And that left this mess of a wedding on his shoulders. He was the last guy who wanted to plan weddings. He loved his parents and would do anything for his dad, but maybe this had gone too far.
Finally.
He caught sight of his little sister Julie and her fiancé, Ryan Travers. His sister's auburn curls framed her face. And even though this event was supposedly evening dress, or the Jasper Gulch version of evening attire, Julie wore a long sweater made with her wool, leggings, boots and a scarf around her neck. He shook his head and refo-cused on Dr. Jeff, who was still talking about his practice.
"Oh, Gwen wants you to meet her sister." Dr. Jeff took a break to indicate his fiancée and the woman she was dragging toward them.
The woman didn't look at all like Gwen Archer. The sister was tall, with brilliant red hair held in a clasp at the back of her head. A few stray curls had come loose and framed her face. A porcelain-doll face was his first thought. One of his sisters had collected those dolls and she'd had one with a perky nose, high cheekbones and creamy skin. But then he realized the sister of Gwen Archer had somewhat more defined features than those dolls. She was the exact opposite of her dark-haired, petite sister. Rose Red and Snow White came to mind as he looked at the Archers.
The bride's sister wore a black dress with a flimsy black sweater that shouldn't even have been called a sweater in his opinion. She said something to her sister and then she looked up, smiling at him, her green eyes flashing a warning. She had No Trespassing written all over her face. This was not a woman wanting to be fixed up, introduced or paired off.
He breathed a sigh of relief.
"Cord Shaw, this is my sister, Katie Archer." Gwen held her sister's arm and he noticed the firm set of the younger woman's back. With her green eyes she could have been a cat about to scratch someone.
"Pleased to meet you, Miss Archer." He held out a hand, forcing her to make the next move even if she didn't want to. She hesitated and he felt a little bit guilty for forcing her hand, so to speak.
After the moment of hesitation, she reached and he took her hand in his. His attention focused on the jangle of silver bracelets around her wrist. When he looked up, she was watching him, her smile soft but genuine.
"Mr. Shaw, I believe we were already introduced."
Had they been? He tried to remember but couldn't. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be." But the look in her eyes bothered him. Something about that look said she expected to be forgotten. And Cord couldn't imagine anyone forgetting this woman. Even a confirmed bachelor like himself wasn't immune to a beautiful woman. He just knew to avoid them for all he was worth.
Gwen Archer had an arm around her sister's waist, but her dark eyes were on him. It would have been a good time to walk away, but curiosity kept him standing in front of them.
"I'm afraid Jeff and I are going to have to leave tonight. We were planning to stay at the ranch until Monday or Tuesday, but Jeffrey got a call and they need him in Missoula. I have to ride back with him so I can be at work Wednesday. I'm a resident at the same hospital. Your parents would have given Katie a ride, but their truck is full. Your dad said to see if you could give her a ride."
