Her Unexpected Family by Ruth Logan Herne Read Free Book Online

We’d love to have you there.”
    Grant grimaced. “I’d like to, but I’m walking around with way too much guilt for leaving Tim and Dolly as much as I do already. It seems like I’m not home nearly as much as I’d like to be.”
    â€œBring them along,” Kimberly said. Grant gave her a blank stare.
    â€œYou didn’t just say that. Did you?”
    â€œI did, and I meant it. It’s not a huge affair. We actually like kids, and I’d rather have you come and bring the kids than not come,” Kimberly told him. “Call it good town relations or whatever, but I think the kids will have fun, there will be all kinds of people there to spoil them and how can that be a bad thing?”
    It wasn’t a bad thing, but Grant’s hesitation indicated he might not agree.
    â€œI know they’re little,” Emily offered. “And they probably get overwhelmed easily, but if you’d like to bring them, there’s a whole crew of Gallaghers who will be happy to help with them.”
    â€œDolly actually has a bunch of cute dresses she’s never worn because we don’t do fancy all that often,” he admitted.
    â€œNothing like a wedding to put on the dog,” Drew drawled, as if getting dressed up for anything—even his own wedding—was cruel and unusual punishment.
    â€œThink about it.” Kimberly reached out a hand to Drew and tugged. “I expect you and Emily have things to talk about, so I’m going to drag my fiancé out to the front room and we’re going to give the to-do list one last look.”
    â€œIt’s beyond crazy how even a small family wedding can need this much attention.” Rory tipped her glasses down and peered up at Kimberly from her spot across the room. “Although in this case it might be because we have experts running their own show.”
    â€œHush.” Kimberly leaned down and gazed hard into Rory’s laughing eyes. “You don’t want to bite the hand that feeds you. And this is a somewhat important day in my life, brat.”
    â€œGood point.”
    Rory grinned and ducked back to her laptop, while Emily pulled her chair a little closer to Grant’s and brought up the online contracts. “I know you need to get home, so if we can go over the major points here, I’ll print things up and we’re good to go. Unless you’d rather have me email it to you so you can examine the details back at your place.”
    â€œHere’s good. Ditches and roads are my forte, not party planning. Which is why I came to the best.”
    When he said it, he looked straight at Emily, as if assured she could do the job without her mother or big sister looking over her shoulder. His vote of confidence felt good, if a bit surprising after his initial reaction to her. “I’ll contact Christa about the other things. Dress, attendants, flowers. Whatever else she has in mind, I’ll be happy to run interference for her.”
    â€œYou don’t mind?”
    â€œNot in the least. That’s my favorite part of the process.” She tapped a few keys as she spoke, filled in a few more spots and hit Print. “I’m happy to do it. Let’s not forget that Kate & Company managed to put together a star-studded wedding for the president’s daughter, while her whole family was stomping the campaign trail two months ago. Ninety percent of that was in absentia.”
    â€œAnd it was amazing,” Drew called from the other room. “Not that I’m listening to you guys or anything.”
    Drew’s words seemed to bolster Grant. “If you could talk to Christa, and make everything flow for her, I don’t think there’s enough money in the world to show my thanks. She asked me to stand with her, so that’s a little weird already.”
    â€œAs her witness? What a perfectly lovely thing to do, brother and sister, standing before God