The Runaway Bridesmaid. Kaitlyn Rice

      Isabel drove the two miles between Roger’s farm and the country house she’d inherited from her mother, then plunked the bouquet into a jug of water and changed out of the lilac georgette dress she’d designed and stitched expressly for this wedding.

      An evening alone sounded nice. She hadn’t ignored Roger’s unspoken expectations for a long time, but the thought of doing her own thing for change gave her a strange thrill.

      Maybe it was time for Isabel to wake up and seek out a little excitement on her own.

      She went into her kitchen and sorted through a stack of mail, searching for a heavy envelope—an invitation to another wedding. This one was for her friend Darla’s celebration, in late July.

      She had met Darla over the phone five years ago, when the Colorado office manager had called to order some of Blumecrafts’ nature-themed quilts to use at the vacation lodge where she worked.

      They’d become closer when Darla’s mother had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer about two years ago. Isabel knew the difficult length of that road. She’d nursed her own mother through the same illness.

      When she found the invitation, Isabel opened the outer envelope and read the casual script on the inner one: Isabel and Guest. A first-time bride at forty, Darla hadn’t planned a huge wedding. She and her live-together boyfriend, Sam, were gathering their families and close friends for a simple, outdoor ceremony at the lodge.

      Though she hadn’t found the heart to throw away the invitation, Isabel had already declined it. Roger hadn’t been interested in the idea of a weekend away from the farm, especially in July. He’d spoken of wheat he’d need to cut, alfalfa he’d need to bale. He’d mentioned his hogs and the unpredictable Kansas weather.

      Isabel had left a copy of the invitation on his rolltop desk, in case they both changed their minds, but she doubted that Roger would. He’d never ask his neighbors to look after the farm just so he could go to the wedding. He took his work seriously, and she respected the fact that he’d kept his farm going during a time when small operations were dying out.

      And Isabel, too, felt tied to Augusta. She had Blumecrafts to run, a garden to tend, a house to keep. People needed her here.

      But maybe she should go.

      Without Roger.

      He’d miss her if she was gone a week. Maybe he’d be singing a different tune when she returned—perhaps a wedding song. Even if he didn’t, Isabel’s sisters would be proud of her for breaking away for a while, and Roger’s kids might recognize that she was more than a fun babysitter.

      Darla was Isabel’s closest friend outside the family, and they’d met in person only once. Back when Isabel’s older sister, Callie, had lived in Denver, Isabel and her younger sister had visited Colorado for the holidays. Darla had met Isabel in the city and had taken her to lunch at a popular Mexican restaurant that boasted cliff divers. The two women had sat for hours, ordering rounds of chips and sopaipillas and chatting. Isabel would love to see Darla again, even if it meant traveling alone.

      Before she could think of a hundred reasons not to, Isabel picked up the kitchen phone. Darla and Sam were gearing up for their busy camp season at the lodge. They might be at the office, even late on a Saturday afternoon. She dialed and listened to the phone ring.

      “Burch Lodge.” The man spoke quickly, as if he answered the phone that way a hundred times a day.

      “Sam?”

      “This is Trevor.”

      Ah! That voice had sounded different. Deeper than Sam’s, but less growly. Sam’s buddy directed the summer boys’ camp at the lodge, but normally he was a law professor out in Boulder. Darla talked about Trevor all the time. He sounded like another great guy.

      “Hello, Trevor!” Isabel said, excited at the thought of meeting Darla’s friends.

      “I’m sorry, should I know you?”

      “No. This is Isabel, a friend of Darla’s. Is she there?”

      “Sure. Hang on.”

      After a moment, Darla came on the line, greeting Isabel with such patent pleasure that she found herself smiling into the phone, certain now that her decision to go was the right one.

      “Hi, Darla! I have great news.”

      “News?” Darla said. “Didn’t you go to a wedding with Roger today? What, did he finally get a clue?”

      “Uh, no,” Isabel said, “but I had fun and I…well, I’m feeling a need to escape home for a while. I’m coming out to Colorado, after all.”

      “You and Roger are coming here?” Darla asked.

      “Don’t sound so surprised,” Isabel said. “But no. Just me.”

      Darla was quiet for a moment. “Didn’t you say you’d never traveled this far on your own?”

      “Yes, I did. Since Mom died, I’ve always traveled with my sisters. Sounds funny, doesn’t it?”

      “Oh, I understand why you’d be nervous,” Darla said. “I’d be, if I’d had your childhood.”

      “Well, I’m ready to try something new. I’ll be at your wedding,” Isabel said. “I want to celebrate with you. Besides, it’s time I got away from Roger and let him miss me a little, don’t you think?”

      “Yeah.”

      Something in her friend’s tone caught Isabel’s attention. “What’s wrong, Darla?”

      “My mom’s going through a rough spell, Izzy. We thought the July date would be perfect, but I’ve been busy helping Mom. We haven’t had time to plan, and the camp’s starting soon.” Darla paused, then dropped the bomb. “We called off the wedding.”

      Disappointment welled up inside Isabel, and felt so heavy in her chest that she sank down onto a kitchen chair. “But that’s awful. And you must be busier still, contacting everyone to let them know.” She lowered her voice. “Do you mean to say you won’t be marrying Sam?”

      “We’re postponing the ceremony, not canceling it, and we hadn’t invited many people yet. I sent your invitation early because I wanted to give you time to consider coming. I knew it’d be hard for you to get away.”

      Darla had been so excited about her big day. Their conversations about mothers and sickness had been overtaken by more hopeful talk about how many guests to invite, how to decorate and which foods to serve at the reception. “I’m so sorry, Darla.”

      “I am, too. And I apologize for the mix-up. I should’ve called to tell you, even though you’d already declined.”

      Still shaken, Isabel remained quiet.

      After a moment Darla said, “You could still come for a visit, you know. I’d love to see you.”

      “I could help plan your wedding,” Isabel said, more as a vague, wouldn’t-this-be-great idea, rather than a true intention.

      But Darla responded, immediately and enthusiastically. “That’d be great!” she exclaimed. “I considered asking you to be my maid of honor, but I didn’t want to pressure you to come. We have plenty of room. You could stay as long as you like. Come for the summer!”

      A summer-long Colorado trip. What a dream!

      And then it struck Isabel: Why limit herself?

      Why not take a real vacation?

      Blumecrafts was doing well enough. And except for the flood last year, when three feet of muddy river water had rendered Isabel’s house and workshop temporarily unusable, she’d generally worked year-round without a break.

      If she caught up on her orders now, she could warn clients that new shipments would be delayed.

      Her sisters would watch her house—maybe