Blue Moon (15 page)

right—neither one of us is likely to budge on this. So the best we can do is agree to disagree. I’ll promise

not to do anything that might put me in danger, but that’s the best I can do. And you can worry all you

want to. Just don’t walk away from me.”

T.J. looked away for a moment. “Man, you’re a pain,” he said when he looked at her again.

“
That
sounds familiar,” Cooper said under her breath.

“Did Dylan put you up to this?” T.J. demanded.

“Not really,” answered Cooper. “Well, maybe a little. He’s a smart guy, you know.”

“Don’t tell him that,” T.J. replied. “He’s bad enough as it is.”

“So what do you say?” asked Cooper.

T.J. rubbed his head. “You’re the one who hung up on me, you know,” he said.

“Yeah,” said Cooper. “Because you were being a jerk.”

“I wouldn’t have been a jerk if you hadn’t been so mule-headed,” countered T.J.

“And I wouldn’t have been so mule-headed if you hadn’t been so bossy,” Cooper shot back.

T.J. broke into a grin. “I’ve missed this,” he said.

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“I take it that’s a yes, then,” Cooper said, refusing to smile back at him yet.

T.J. nodded. “I’ll
try
not to worry so much,” he said.

Cooper stood up. “And I’ll try not to give you anything to worry about,” she said. “So it looks like we

have a deal.”

“Let’s shake on it, then,” said T.J.

Cooper walked over to him. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close. “I have a better

idea,” she said as she kissed him.

“Is this a binding contract?” T.J. asked when they finally parted.

“In any court in the land,” Cooper answered. “And I should know. My father is a lawyer. Where do you

think I got my powers of persuasion?”

They walked to the door and went outside with Mac following them. Dylan was sitting in the front seat

of the Nash, looking at the instruments. When he saw them he looked up.

“So how’d it go?” he asked. “Did you do what I suggested?”

“Yes,” said Cooper and T.J. simultaneously. Then they looked at one another with expressions of

suspicion.

“What did he tell you?” Cooper asked T.J.

“What did he tell
you
?” T.J. replied.

“How about a spin?” Dylan suggested.

Cooper continued to look at T.J. for a moment. Then she turned to Dylan and grinned. “Sure,” she said,

tossing him the keys. “And you can drive.”

CHAPTER 15

“Are those shrimp ready?” Mrs. Morgan was scurrying around the kitchen of the museum, her white

apron stained with six different colors and a bowl of peaches in her hand.

“They sure are,” Kate said, placing the last of the curled pink shrimp on the bed of ice.

“Good,” her mother said, sighing. “Send them out there. These people are hungry.”

Kate handed the platter of shrimp to a waiting server, who whisked it out of the kitchen and down the

hall toward the museum’s garden. The Winter-Pershing wedding was
the
event of the summer, and nearly

three hundred members of Beecher Falls society were standing around among the sculpture and the

rosebushes, drinking wine and champagne and waiting to be fed.

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“Just pray those shrimp are fresh,” Kate’s mother said as she watched the tray go. “All we need is for

one of those people to wind up with food poisoning.”

“Relax,” Kate told her mother. “It’s all going really well.”

She was right. Everything
was
going well. The day of the wedding had dawned bright and clear. The

florist had arrived right on schedule to set up the table arrangements, and the jazz band hired to play was

serenading the arriving guests with beautiful music. Kate wished she could have seen the actual

ceremony, but she’d been helping her mother put together salads. She knew that Lily Winter—now Mrs.

Lily Winter-Pershing—would arrive soon in her wedding gown, though, and she planned on sneaking out

as soon as possible to get a glimpse of her.

Best of all, Cooper and Annie had arrived just as they’d said they would. They were both wearing

black, and although Annie’s dress was slightly more like what the guests were wearing than what the

servers were wearing, Mrs. Morgan had been so relieved to see them that she hadn’t said a word. Sasha

had come, too, and now the three of them were carrying trays of hors d’oeuvres around the garden,

offering them to the guests. Everything was going smoothly, and Kate couldn’t have been happier.

“Are there any more little meatballs?” Cooper asked, appearing in the doorway. “Some assistant district

attorney ate all mine, and everyone wants them.”

“Right here,” Kate said, opening a container of the meatballs and spooning some onto Cooper’s tray.

“Are you having fun out there?”

“Loads,” said Cooper. “My
parents
are here.”

Kate giggled. “Well, your dad is one of the movers and shakers in town,” she said.

Cooper grinned. “I have to admit, it is fun to walk up to him and say ‘Cheese ball?’ ”

“How are Annie and Sasha doing?” asked Kate.

“Fine,” Cooper replied. “Sasha is on sparkling water duty and Annie is doing shrimp patrol.”

“I really appreciate you guys doing this,” Kate told her. “I’m getting
big
points with Mom. So are you

guys. I may even tell her about the class if we pull this off.”

“Wait until she’s had some of the champagne,” Cooper suggested. She winked at Kate and left with the

tray of meatballs.

Kate looked around to see what needed doing next. Mrs. Morgan and the three cooks she’d hired to

help her were checking the ovens to make sure the chicken dinners were all cooking nicely. The

strawberries for dessert were all washed and sitting in silver bowls. For the moment, everything seemed

to be totally under control, so Kate decided to run out for a quick look around.

She removed her apron, smoothed the wrinkles out of the black dress she was wearing, and slipped

down the hallway. Pushing open the doors, she walked into the garden. It had been transformed since

she’d last seen it at ten that morning. The little tables were covered in white cloths, and pink and white

roses were everywhere. The band was sitting on a raised platform at one end, and the wedding cake was

displayed on a table surrounded by more flowers. It was gorgeous, and Kate felt like she’d never been

to an event as perfect as the wedding.

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The guests all seemed to be enjoying themselves, too, laughing and talking merrily. Best of all, they were

eating, and they seemed to love Kate’s mother’s creations. As she walked around she heard several

people comment on how delicious the food was, and two or three mentioned that they wanted to know

who had done the catering so they could hire the same cook. Kate beamed as she looked around her.

Her mother was going to be thrilled.

“Have you ever seen so many cute guys in one place?” Sasha asked, coming up to Kate with several

empty water bottles in her hands. “I think I’ve died and gone to heaven.”

“And they’re rich, too,” Kate said, raising her eyebrows as Sasha laughed.

There was a commotion behind them, and the girls turned to see Lily and Jack walking into the garden.

Everyone applauded, and Kate gasped as she saw Lily. She was stunning. The gown had turned out

wonderfully, and Lily looked like something straight out of a fairy tale. Her hair was pinned up on her

head with roses tucked into the curls, and she was wearing a string of pearls around her throat. Jack’s

classic tuxedo was simple and elegant, and as they held hands they looked like the two happiest people

in the entire world.

“I want my wedding to be just like this,” Sasha said dreamily.

“You never know,” Kate said. “Jack does have a younger brother. Ryan. He’s around here

somewhere.”

“Where?” Sasha said, looking around.

Kate scanned the garden, looking for Ryan Pershing. “He’s not much older than we are,” she said as she

looked. “But he goes to boarding school so you’ve probably never seen him.”

“If he’s as studly as his brother is I’m all over it,” Sasha said.

“Found him,” Kate said.

“Where?” Sasha asked.

“He’s over by the fountain,” Kate said, pointing. “He’s taking a shrimp from Annie.”

Ryan Pershing was lifting a shrimp off the tray Annie was holding out to him. As he did, Kate saw Annie

say something that made Ryan laugh. He put a hand on her arm and she laughed, too.

“What a hunk,” Sasha said. “I can’t believe Annie is really talking to him.”

Annie left Ryan and walked toward Kate and Sasha. When she reached them she put down her tray.

“I’m having the best time,” she said cheerfully. “Kate, I’m so glad you asked me to do this. I’ve met

some really cool people.”

“Just make sure you’re not
too
friendly,” Kate said. “Remember, we’re the hired help around here.”

“Don’t worry,” Annie said, pushing her hair behind her ears. “I’m just making conversation.”

“You seemed to be doing a good job with young Mr. Pershing over there,” Sasha said.

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“Is that who he is?” Annie said. “Isn’t he a cutie? And really nice.”

“Kate, I think we could use some more hors d’oeuvres out here.”

Kate looked up to see Mrs. Winter standing beside them. “And perhaps some more water?” the woman

suggested. “I see a lot of empty glasses.”

“Sure,” Kate said. “We’ll be right back.”

She walked into the hallway with Annie and Sasha in tow. “That woman has been a royal pain,” she told

her friends as they walked back to the kitchen. “First she changes her mind once every six seconds and

then she watches me like a hawk. She’s the one bad thing about this wedding. You should have seen

how miserable she was making Lily during the preparations.”

“She looks happy now, though,” Sasha said. “A real blushing bride.”

“She’s probably just glad that it’s over,” Kate mused.

“Maybe someone should teach her mother a lesson,” Annie suggested.

Kate snorted. “I’d pay to see that, but I don’t think it’s going to happen.”

In the kitchen, they loaded the trays up again, and Kate sent Annie and Sasha back out to the party

while she helped her mother. It was time for the dinners to start going out, and with almost three hundred

plates to take care of, there was a lot to do. Within minutes there were people rushing back and forth

with trays of salad, chicken, and vegetables.

“Go! Go! Go!” Mrs. Morgan said, hustling servers and cooks around as if she were conducting military

maneuvers. “Watch the dressing! Careful with the orange sauce!”

Kate jumped into the fray, helping spoon sauce over chicken and arranging asparagus on plates. For the

next half hour she barely had time to breathe, and when the last plate went out the door she felt like

collapsing. But she was also excited, and she turned to her mother with a big smile on her face.

“You did it!” she said. “Two hundred and seventy-whatever dinners, and they all looked great.”

“Let’s hope they taste as good as they looked,” her mother replied. “And we still have dessert to go.

Ready to put whipped cream on top of those strawberries?”

“Whenever you are,” Kate said, holding up a spoon.

They got to work, spooning freshly whipped cream over the little silver bowls of strawberries, which

they loaded onto trays. When they were all done they got several of the helpers and carried the trays out

to the garden. People were finishing up their dinners, and Kate and the others were able to put the bowls

of berries on the cake table while the servers helped clear away the dishes.

“Can you ask Cooper, Annie, and Sasha to help hand out bowls?” Mrs. Morgan asked Kate. “They’re

going to cut the cake soon.”

“I’ll go get them,” said Kate, walking off into the crowd to look for her friends.

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She found Sasha and Cooper clearing plates. It took longer to find Annie, but finally she did. Annie was

talking to Ryan Pershing. They were sitting together at a table, laughing and having a good time.

“Excuse me,” Kate said, annoyed. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but could I borrow Annie for a minute?”

“As long as you send her back when you’re done with her,” Ryan said.

Annie laughed as she stood up and followed Kate.

“What are you doing?” Kate asked. “You’re supposed to be serving the guests, not flirting with them.”

“I wasn’t flirting,” Annie said. “Relax.”

There was no time to argue with her, so Kate ignored the comment. “They’re about to cut the cake,”

she said. “My mother needs us to hand out strawberries.”

As they walked back to the cake table, Annie kept talking. “Ryan was telling me all the awful things his

mother and Mrs. Winter have been doing to Lily and Jack,” she said. “Did you know they didn’t even

want
to get married here? They wanted a small ceremony with just their friends. But the mayor and Mrs.

Winter wanted to turn this into a political thing.”

“There’s a shock,” Kate said.

“Can you imagine ruining your own children’s wedding just because you’re selfish?” asked Annie.

“Those two have some nerve.”

“Lily and Jack seem to be enjoying themselves,” said Kate.

Annie sniffed. “That’s not the point,” she said.

“Maybe not,” Kate told her. “But right now all we’re worried about is strawberries and cake.”

“But—” Annie said.

“Strawberries and
cake
,” Kate repeated firmly.

Annie pouted but didn’t say anything as they reached the table. Kate’s mother gathered them around

and explained what she wanted done.

“When people get their cake you hand them a bowl of berries with cream on it,” she said. “It’s very

easy. But we’re going to have a lot of people coming up here all at once so it’s going to be busy. Got it?”

Everybody nodded. A moment later Mr. Winter approached them. “Ready?” he asked Mrs. Morgan,

who nodded.

Mr. Winter turned around. He held up his champagne glass and tapped on it with his fork. “May I have

your attention, please,” he called out.

All around the garden conversation ceased as people turned to look at Mr. Winter. He cleared his throat

and said, “I’m delighted that you could all come to my museum today for our little party. I can’t tell you

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how delighted Mrs. Winter and I are to have Jack as a son, and I believe the mayor and Mr. Pershing

feel the same way. Now, if the bride and groom will come up here, we can make this all official with

some wedding cake.”

Lily and Jack walked over and stood beside Mr. Winter, who raised his glass to them. “I want to offer a

toast,” he said. “To the most beautiful bride in the world and her lucky husband.”

Everyone laughed at his comment and raised their own glasses to toast the newlyweds. Then Jack and

Lily took the knife that was sitting next to the cake and, holding it together, cut out a big piece. The

people in the garden applauded, and Lily smiled as Jack picked up a piece of the cake and held it to her

mouth. She took a bite and then did the same for him.

“And now that we’re sure it isn’t poisoned, the rest of you can have some,” Jack called out jokingly.

“Come and get it.”

The table was quickly surrounded by people who wanted cake and strawberries. Kate and the others

were busy handing out bowls and spoons, and it wasn’t until she looked up twenty minutes later that