Breaking Through to Sue (4th in Breaking Series)

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

Susie barely slept at all that night, it was the first night that she had spent without Ryder in a week and she had found herself tossing and turning all night and missing his strong arms. When dawn finally came she got out of bed, pulled on her robe and made her way to the kitchen, surprised to find Elizabeth, Ellie and Sally already hard at work.

"Elizabeth, why don't you go make sure the men are putting the tables and chairs where we want them?" Ellie offered.

Elizabeth frowned, "Why?"

"Because we'd all like to have the wedding food be edible," Sally replied with a laugh and Elizabeth stuck her tongue out at the other women.

"Mommy, that's not nice," Lexi scolded as she rocked her baby doll and little Eli together in the cradle.

"Yeah, Elizabeth, that's not nice." Susie agreed.

The women all turned around and let out different degrees of happy shouts before attacking Susie with hugs.

"It's your wedding day today!" Sally exclaimed.

"Mine too," Liza announced sleepily as she walked into the room. Susie smiled when Liza was attacked by the group of hug crazy women just the same as she had been.

"Today is going to be a great day!" Ellie said happily.

"What do you need me to do?' Susie asked, eager to have something to keep herself busy and occupied. Her stomach was full of nerves. What if Ryder changed his mind? What if Ryder realized how wrong he'd been to want to marry her? What if she tripped and fell on her face walking down the aisle? So many what ifs and no possible way to ease them. Only after she and Ryder had shared the kiss and sealed themselves as husband and wife would her mind finally be at ease.

"We don't need you to do anything," Sally replied sternly, "You both just need to relax and take it easy. Pamper yourselves."

"Yes ma'am," Liza sighed with delight.

"Pamper myself?" Susie asked. Never once in her life had she spent any time pampering herself. That was a concept so foreign to her that it might as well have been on the moon.

"Yes," Elizabeth insisted, "There is a tub of hot water in the spare room and another upstairs in Ellie's room because we knew you'd both be up soon. Go get a bath and relax for a while."

"Are you sure?" Susie frowned, "Aren't there a lot of things to get done?"

"We'll worry about them," Sally exclaimed with exasperation. She grabbed Susie's arm and turned her toward the door, "Go take a bath!" she ordered, pointing toward the stairs.

Susie sighed with defeat and nodded before leaving the room. She went up to Jacob and Ellie's room and slipped off her robe and nightdress.

She walked to the tub and stuck her finger in the water to find that it was still rather hot, just the way she liked it. One of her family members had snuck into her room while she'd been asleep and laid her wildflower scented bath salts beside the tub. She put a few of them into the water and used Ellie's brush to get the tangles out of her long blond hair.

Susie moaned with pleasure as she sank into the hot water up to her neck. She loved this tub. She knew it was Brody's tub. He had had it specially made for him so he could sink all the way down and stretch out. He had to take hot baths especially during the cold winter months because his body ached from the many times he'd been shot and the hard way he had lived for so long.