Kari Lee Townsend - Sunny Meadows 04 - Perish in the Palm (3 page)

A crash jarred me from my trance, and I looked at my captive audience, clearly back in the present. The maid was cleaning up the mess from a serving tray someone had knocked over.

“Sorry,” she muttered, looking red faced.

“What did you see?” Peirce grabbed my arms in a death grip, shaking me until my teeth rattled.

“Hey!” Mitch barked and stood by my side in a flash, grabbing Pierce’s arm with one hand and balling his fist with another.

A sense of peace and security washed over me, knowing Mitch would never let anything bad happen to me. No matter what our problems might be, I knew he was there for me, always. It was the most comforting feeling I’d ever had.

Pierce let go. “Sorry. I’m just a little excited I guess.”

Mitch’s look said,
you’re a little something, all right
. But he didn’t say a word, though a muscle in his jaw bulged. After a tense moment, he let go of Pierce’s arm.

“It’s okay,” I said, feeling calm and back in balance and in control. “Readings have a way of doing that to a person. I don’t know for sure exactly what I saw.”

“You must know something. How and where am I going to come into money? I need to know now.” He looked panicked and desperate, not at all like the composed distinguished innkeeper I’d come to know.

“Calm down, Mr. Theodore, before you give yourself a heart attack.” I squeezed his hand for a moment. “We’ll find your answers, I’m sure of it.”

He responded to my touch and reassurance by taking a big breath and striving for control. “How do you know?” He searched my eyes for an ounce of hope.

Focusing, I did my best to reassure him and do my job. “I might not know what the secret to your success is, but rest assured that I
do
know the secret lies within these very walls here at Divine Inspiration.”

T
he next morning, I couldn’t stop thinking about my reading for Pierce. The secret lay within the walls of Divine Inspiration. What secret? The saying went,
If only the walls could talk
. I was sure that was true with many establishments, but I would bet with a place this old, there were hidden secrets waiting to be discovered. I never could resist a good mystery.

But today wasn’t about my readings or secrets. It was about Jo and Cole’s wedding. They were so deserving, and I was ridiculously happy for them. If only the sun would shine. I glanced at the overcast sky. The weather hadn’t called for rain, but the sky was turning darker by the minute, and the very air had a chill in it.

My gut was telling me it was a sign of doom.

But that couldn’t be. I knew without a shadow of doubt that Jo and Cole were meant for each other. For once, I ignored my gut and refused to believe anything could put a damper on this day. Anything other than my mother and Pierce getting into another scuffle, that is. I pushed that anxious thought from my mind and focused on being a good maid-of-honor.

“Are the grounds set?” I stood before Jack Shepard the groundskeeper. He was a decent-looking, tall man with a ponytail, full beard, and even fuller muscles, who had worked for Pierce for over a decade. A tried and true salt-of-the-earth, likable kind of guy.

“Yes, ma’am.” He gave me a sharp nod, and a certain amount of pride reflected on his face. It was obvious he cared about this place and the work that he did.

I scanned the landscape. Everything had been groomed to perfection and the tent people appeared to have secured the reception covering to perfection, all under his watch. “Well done, Mr. Shepard. And thank you.”

“You’re very welcome, Miss Meadows. I’ll be around if you need anything.” He saluted and walked off as if there was always a purpose in his every stride.

I stopped the next man passing by. Frank Lalone, the maintenance man. “Miss Meadows, isn’t it?” he asked.

“Yes.” I smiled.

“What can I help you with?” He returned my smile with a pleasant one of his own. I couldn’t help liking him as well. It appeared as though Mr. Theodore had surrounded himself with a reliable, competent staff, which made me feel better since that feeling of doom deep in my gut still lingered.

“I’m just checking to make sure everything is okay.”

“All systems are a go at full capacity, and the backup generator is working if anything breaks.” He stood a bit straighter. “No worries, Miss Meadows. I’ve got your back. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to speak to Mr. Theodore.”

“Of course.” I tipped my head and watched him walk away, or more like waddle.

Frank was a short, stocky man with a pot belly, but his apple cheeks and rosy disposition made him somehow adorable. Like a cuddly teddy bear you wanted to curl up with every night. And it didn’t hurt that he was a genius when it came to fixing things, an admirable trait to say the least. Word around town was that the inn couldn’t run without him.

“We’re all set,” Zoe came up to me and said with pride and satisfaction. She was Jo’s cousin—a shorter, softer replica of her—and the only woman who had ever made Sean O’Malley tongue tied.

Sean was one of my best friends and Cole’s best man. He was the one used to flustering women with his blond movie star good looks and killer dimples, not the other way around. He’d gotten Zoe to agree to be his date to the wedding, but she still didn’t buy everything he was selling, which made me like her even more. I adored Sean, but Zoe was good for him, whether he realized it or not. He would soon, though. It was only a matter of time.

I took my place in line, right before Jo, and stared out at the audience. They stood and faced us as the music began to play. Between Jo’s guest list and Cole’s, pretty much everyone in town was there. The groom and his men were beneath the tent at the makeshift altar, waiting for the bride and her maids. We walked down the aisle one by one, smiling and nodding to our friends and loved ones. When it was my turn, my parents beamed. My father looked proud, my mother had hope in her eyes, and Granny Gert was a blubbering mess. But I only had eyes for one person.

Detective Mitch Stone.

The men all wore gray tuxedoes, the women wore burgundy dresses, and the bride and groom were adorned in white. Mitch had such a fierce, possessive look on his face. When his gaze settled on my eyes, a secret thrill shot through me. I smiled tenderly at him, and everything about him softened, giving me hope that this too could one day be mine.

Father Moody performed the ceremony, with several readings by friends and family, and when the bride and groom read their vows, not a dry eye was left beneath the tent. Finally Cole and Jo were pronounced man and wife. He didn’t have to be asked to kiss his bride as he bent her over backward and planted a big one on her. I swiped a tear away, so happy for them. Cheers broke out, and the reception was underway.

“Hey,” Mitch said, as he came to a stop beside me, standing tall and strong and oh-so-handsome.

“Hey there, yourself.” I smiled up at him, my heart skipping a beat. “You clean up nice.” His thick black wavy hair had been tamed, his face clean-shaven but shadowed already from his heavy beard, his tux precisely cut, he smelled amazing, and…

He was all mine.

“You look beautiful.” He stared down at me with equally dark eyes, and a muscle in his square jaw bulged, pulsing the jagged scar that ran across it.

“Rough, rugged, and oh so right,” I mumbled more to myself, but he heard judging from the twitch of his lips.

The DJ began to play, and Jo and Cole danced their first dance as husband and wife. My mother had suggested a string quartet from the city that was all the rage, but I knew Jo. I’d overruled my mother on that one and gave Jo the name of a fantastic DJ I had heard of when I still lived in the Big Apple. Luckily he had been available, and Jo had sided with me on this one, much to my mother’s displeasure and my glee.

“So, um, do you want to dance? You don’t have to or anything, it’s just, you know, I mean, we’re here,” Mitch said, and I found my lips twitching at him this time. Mr. Tall, Dark, and Dangerous so wasn’t good at the whole courting/romance thing, but I had to give him credit. At least he was trying, and it was adorable.

“Sure.” I took his hand, letting him lead me onto the dance floor. I slipped into his waiting arms, and it was like coming home. We fit together so perfectly, it brought out my longing for something more.

“I’m proud of you.” His soft tone broke into my thoughts.

I couldn’t stop the warmth from spreading through me over his words of praise, especially having grown up without much of it in my life. My gaze met his as I breathlessly asked, “For what?”

“You did it.” Pride and something more filled the deep timber of his voice. “You pulled off Jo’s wedding in record time.”

“Well, Zoe planned it, and my mother butted her nose in every step of the way, so I can’t really take much credit.”

He stilled me with his intense gaze and his big hand tipping up my jaw until I looked at him. “Don’t sell yourself short, Tink.” I loved when he referred to me by the nickname he’d chosen after we’d first met. Tink for Tinkerbell since he said I was a petite little pixie with way too much attitude and gumption for my own good.

“What you did was much more important,” he went on. “You helped Jo keep it together, and as one of her best friends, I know for a fact that’s not easy. Not to mention you entertained everyone at the rehearsal dinner. And you kept your mother and Theodore from killing each other, which was no easy feat. All in all, I’d say you’re the real hero of the day.”

I felt my smile before I even realized I was doing it. “Thank you.” I filled those two words with all the tenderness I felt. “That means more than you know.”

“So do you.” His voice came across soft and husky.

My heart skipped a beat. “So do I what?” I knew what he meant, but I needed to hear the words.

He stared at me for an intense beat. “Mean more than you know.”

My lips parted in pleasure. He’d only said he loved me once when he’d asked me to marry him, and of course I’d freaked out. After getting him to compromise on taking a step back, slowing things down, and trying living together first, he hadn’t said the words since. I hadn’t realized how much I wanted to hear those words again until this very moment.

He stared at my mouth, groaned, and then tore his gaze back up to mine as if what he had to say was more important than any desire to kiss me that he might be feeling. I tamped down my disappointment and smiled at him in an encouraging way.

“Sunny, I’m sorry for the way I’ve been behaving lately. I love living with you, but it’s not easy. I mean, living with
you
is easy, but living with you in that house is damned hard. I’m trying, but the other ‘man’ in your life isn’t making things easy on me.”

“I know, and I appreciate that, but you are both so important to me. I can’t imagine my life without either of you in it.” I stroked his cheeks with my fingertips, studying every inch of his face, realizing just how much I absolutely loved this man. “Please don’t make me choose,” I whispered.

“Baby, I would never make you choose.” He cupped my face in his palms and stared deep into my eyes, the gray surrounding his pupils swirling into thunderous storm clouds that matched the ever darkening sky. “Whatever it takes. I will do whatever it takes to make this work.”

“Why?” I sucked in a breath, realizing I’d spoken out loud and now terrified of what his response might be.

“Because you’re that important to me,” he said. It wasn’t,
I love you
, but it was a definite step in the right direction.

I exhaled a huge sigh of relief. “You’re important to me too, Mitch. More than you know.”

Finally, blessedly, his head lowered until his lips claimed mine.

I was in heaven, feeling him, tasting him, reveling in just
being
with him…until voices raised and shouts rang out over by the buffet line. With reluctance, Mitch and I broke apart, and I groaned. Back to reality.

“Duty calls,” I said.

“You get her, I’ll get him,” Mitch responded.

“Deal.” I led the way over to the food table where my mother was wielding a kitchen knife over the fruit tray.

Peirce held the plastic serving spoon as if it were a sword and he were about to shout,
En garde
! “Back off, Mrs. Meadows. The fruit is perfectly fine,” he growled.

“Perfectly fine isn’t good enough,” she snapped back. “Kind of like your inn. It has the potential to be spectacular, but you won’t allow it to be. You settle, and today settling isn’t good enough. Jo and Cole deserve spectacular, and spectacular is what they are going to get so long as I live and breathe.”

“Over my dead body!” he shouted.

“Don’t tempt me,” she ground out.

“Mother!” I stepped forward and placed myself between them. “I do believe Jo needs you. She’s about to cut the cake.”

My mother brightened just like I knew she would. “Oh, well then, I mustn’t keep her waiting. That cake isn’t just any cake, you know. It’s from Cake Masters in the city, upon my recommendation, of course. One of their best bakers even personally volunteered to deliver it all the way here. Now that’s class. A certain someone could take lessons. Did you try the punch? It’s downright awful.” With one final glare at Peirce, she set the knife on the table and scurried away.

I let out a sigh of relief as Mitch started talking to Pierce about the fish in the river that fed the lake behind the inn. The fruit looked fine to me. I tried the punch and puckered my face. She was right about the punch, though. Setting down my glass, I hurried after her before she stirred up any more trouble. I wound up watching as she stole the show with Jo once more, pulling off the perfect assistant in cutting the cake, which was pretty spectacular, I had to admit. It was a replica of Smokey Jo’s with Cole on his Harley right out front, their Great Dane puppy Biff standing by his side, and Jo welcoming them both to cross the threshold through her open door.

Sam, our local baker, wasn’t too pleased Jo hadn’t gone with him, but even he grudgingly admitted he couldn’t create a theme cake the likes of that one. I did my part by telling each table they could help themselves.

“Nicely done, Cat Woman.” Mitch came to a stop beside me a while later.

I grinned up at him. “Ditto, Batman.”

“Not sure how much longer we can keep the peace in Tent City.”

“I’d settle for just keeping dry.” I stared out at the now black clouds as a streak of lightning lit up the evening sky, and the first fat raindrops began to fall.

“Good thing this tent comes with sides. You go left, I’ll go right.”

“My thoughts exactly.”

He winked. “See, I knew we would make a pretty good team.”

“There was never any doubt.” I winked back.

Ten minutes later, we’d lowered the sides and the entire wedding reception and staff were enclosed inside the confines of the tent. The wind howled and pushed against the canvas, causing the ropes to strain. Seconds later, the loudest crack of thunder I’d ever heard boomed overhead, shaking the ground beneath our feet. Tables toppled, dishes crashed, and guests screamed and suddenly the tent tumbled to the ground.

Tent City was dark, and all chaos broke out.

After much scuffling and panicked conversations and what felt like forever, the yard flooded with spotlights powered from a generator operated by the maintenance man while the groundskeeper and staff pitched in to help raise the tent once more. Tables were righted as people scurried about to pick up broken dishes and make sure everyone was okay.

“What’s going on?” someone asked.

“Yeah, what happened?” someone else chimed in.

“Sounded like lightning hit,” a third person responded.

“Knocked the power right out,” a fourth person added. “Funny thing is, the forecast didn’t call for rain.”

“This can’t be happening.” Jo looked like an Amazon queen who’d just lost the most important battle of her life.

“I was afraid that something would go wrong.” Cole stood proud and tall with his tattoos covered by an immaculate tux—except for the chain link fence around his neck peeking above his collar defiantly—but his buzz cut and five-o’clock shadow remained firmly in place.