A Match Made in Montana

“Holy crap, Jo! I’m getting married!” Jordan shook her head in disbelief.

“You’re getting married.” Josephine smiled, her eyes starting to tear from a mixture of happiness for her sister and sadness for the changes that would inevitably follow. Nothing ever stayed the same.

“OMG, don’t start crying already!” Jordan hugged her again. “I swear, between Mom and you, there’s not gonna be one tissue left in the entire state of Montana.”

Josephine laughed and brushed the tears out of her eyelashes. “I’ll do my best to keep the waterworks to a minimum...at least until the ceremony. After that, no deal.”

“Well, of course you have to cry at the ceremony,” her twin said as Josephine rolled her large suitcase over to the cargo area for the pilot to load.

“Hey, you got my message that Brice won’t be joining us, right?” Josephine asked.

“Yeah, what’s up with that?” Jordan put her hands on her slender hips. “Is everything okay with the two of you?”

“Well, actually, that’s why I was...” Josephine started to say.

Jordan got distracted by a man walking through the airplane hangar.

“Captain Stern!” her sister yelled and waved her hand in the air. To her, she said, “Hold that thought, Jo. That’s our pilot and I need to tell him something before I forget.”

“Okay.” Maybe she shouldn’t tell her sister about the fight with Brice anyway. Her family, especially Jordan, had never really been fond of him.

Jordan started the walk over to the waiting pilot; she turned around and walked backward for a few steps.

“Why don’t you go get settled?” her sister suggested. “Ian’ll tell you where to find the booze. He only stocks the best.”

Josephine lugged the carry-on bag loaded with textbooks up the small flight of stairs that led up to the main cabin of the jet. She’d seen pictures of the jet, of course, but to see it in person was an entirely different experience. The cabin was decked out in sophisticated grays and blacks and accented with polished mahogany. There was a long leather couch on one side, while the other had two separate seating areas with oversize recliners and a small table in between. In the back, there was a narrow hallway that led back to a bedroom and en-suite bathroom.

Ian Sterling, Jordan’s fiancé, was sitting on the couch. Next to Ian’s left leg sat a muscular black Labrador retriever.

“It’s me, Ian,” Josephine said to her soon-to-be brother-in-law.

“I thought I heard your voice.” Ian stood up to greet her. He was a model-handsome man and world-famous for his photography. But a rare eye disease had recently destroyed his central vision, rendering him legally blind and sidetracking his career as a professional photographer.

Josephine hugged Ian; it made her feel really good that Jordan had found her perfect match in Ian Sterling. She had never seen two people as crazy for each other as they were.

“And who’s your friend?” Jordan had finally managed, after nearly a year of trying, to convince Ian to get a service dog.

“Shadow.” Ian rested his hand proudly on the dog’s head.

“Is it okay if I pet him?”

“At ease, Shadow,” Ian commanded gently.

Shadow’s body language changed on the command and he started to wag his tail.

“Shake, Shadow.” Ian gave the Lab a second command.

Shadow immediately extended his right paw to her. Josephine took the paw, smiled, and gave it a shake.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Shadow.”

Josephine had already set up her computer and unloaded her books in the short time it took for her sister to appear. Jordan plopped down next to her fiancé, tucked her long legs to the side of her body, and frowned at her.

“I hope it’s not going to be like this our entire trip, Jo,” Jordan complained.

“I’m not going to spend all of my time studying, but I can’t just pretend like I’m not in school for two months. The third year is a make-it-or-break-it year. That’s when they really try to thin out the herd.”

“You always say that about everything and then you always end up on top.” Jordan rolled her eyes.

“Quit bugging her about it.” Ian put his arm around Jordan’s shoulder and pulled her tightly to his side. “Not everyone waits to the last minute to get things done like you do, beautiful.”

Josephine smiled triumphantly at Jordan. She finished arranging her collection of items in an orderly and precise way: a book stand held a thick constitutional law book upright, her laptop and tablet were both charging, three differently colored highlighter pens were situated in a perfectly even row.

“There...” She surveyed her work. “This is perfect.”

“I need a drink.” Jordan stood up. “Anyone care to join me?”

“I’m good.” Josephine sat down in the large recliner and used the controls to adjust it perfectly to her body. “Shouldn’t we be getting ready to take off soon?”

“We’ll leave as soon as our fourth arrives,” Ian told her.

Josephine glanced at her sister. “Didn’t Jordy tell you that Brice couldn’t make it?”

“I told him.” Jordan poured herself a scotch on the rocks.

“Then who are we waiting for?” she asked.

“My best man is catching a ride with us,” Ian explained.

Josephine turned the swiveling recliner toward the couch. “Wait a minute. Dylan is coming with us? I can’t believe he agreed to come without Mackenzie and Hope.”

“Oh! That’s right! You don’t know...” Jordan returned to her spot next to Ian.

“Know what?”

“Mackenzie has been having some issues with her pregnancy and her doctors don’t want her to fly.”

“I didn’t know that,” Josephine said, concerned.

Ian’s best friend, Dylan Axel, was married to their cousin, Mackenzie, and they were expecting their second child together.

“So, Dylan had to beg off being Ian’s best man.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that. I had no idea that Mackenzie was having a rough pregnancy.”

Sometimes law school was like living in a bubble. There were a lot of times that she just didn’t have contact with the world outside of school. She would turn off her phone, ignore all forms of social media, and she would focus all of her energy on studying.

“I’ll have to call her,” Josephine said aloud to herself before she asked, “Who’s going to stand in for Dylan?”