The Werewolf Meets His Match (Nocturne Falls Book 2) (24 page)

For the first time in his life, Hank was slightly afraid of his aunt. “How many is a few?”

With the most challenging expression she’d ever given him, she answered, “Fifty. Ish.”

He held his hands up in defeat and walked toward his office. “As long as you’re handling it, fine.”

“I’ve already made you an appointment at Corette’s this afternoon for your tux. You’re welcome.”

He paused at the door. “Call her and tell her I’m going to need a second one.”

“No need. Titus got fitted for his this morning. I assumed you’d want him for your best man.”

“Good. Yes.” Actually, he hadn’t figured he needed a best man, but if anyone was going to fill that role, it would be Titus. “But I wasn’t talking about him. I need to get a tux for Charlie, Ivy’s son. And your soon-to-be great-nephew.”

A little gasp escaped Birdie and she lit up in the most female of ways. “He’s here?”

Hank nodded. “He’ll be coming in with Ivy for lunch.”

She clapped her hands together in front of her heart. “My first grandnephew. Oh my stars.”

He gestured at the phone. “Corette?”

“Yes! Right on it! How old is he?”

“Seven.”

Another gasp. “Seven. How precious.”

“Corette.”

“One more thing,” Birdie started. “I called Belinda.”

Hank eyed her suspiciously. “My parents already know I’m getting married. My father started it, remember?”

“Yes, but I invited them. I figured they had time to make it after all, so—”

“Where are they staying?” In theory, it wasn’t fair to Ivy that his parents were coming and hers weren’t, but he was certain she’d be fine with it.

“Bridget’s. They should be here just in time to make the ceremony.” She made a slightly apologetic face. Wasn’t one he was used to seeing. “I hope that was okay.”

“It’s fine.” He pointed at the phone again. “Corette.”

As soon as Birdie actually made contact with the receiver, Hank closed his office door and started going through the day’s paperwork. Sadly, his brain had been infected by Birdie, and he couldn’t stop feeling like he was forgetting something.

He went back out to the reception area.

Birdie frowned. “If you’re going to argue this wedding thing with me again, I swear I will quit.”

“Would that be your wedding gift to me, then?”

“You’re a horrible child.”

He sighed. “I feel like I’ve forgotten something. Is there anything the groom is supposed to be doing?”

“Yes, but we’ve opted to leave you out of the planning because of your
attitude
.”

He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to find the fortitude to get through this conversation. “Everything is done? You don’t need me to do anything? Pick anything up?”

“Get your tux this afternoon, and we’re good. Assuming you got the rings?”

“I got the engagement ring.”

“You need wedding
bands
, too.”

He groaned. “On it.”

He went back to his office and called Willa.

“Illusions, Willa speaking.”

“Hello, Willa. It’s Hank Merrow. Thanks again for delivering the ring to the station.”

“Hi, Sheriff. You’re welcome. Was she surprised?”

“Very. She loved it.”

“Wonderful. What can I do for you today?”

He stifled a sigh. “I need wedding bands.”

“I can fix you up with that no problem. I already know Ivy’s size, but you’ll have to come in so I can measure you. When do you need them?”

“By five.”

“Oh. In that case, you’d better come now in case I have to size yours.”

“I’ll be right down.” Wasn’t like he was going to get any work done today anyway. “Would you like to come to the reception? I know it’s short notice, but seeing as how you helped us with the rings and all…”

“I’d love to, but I have a meeting with a customer for a new custom piece this evening. I’d move the appointment, but they drove all the way up from Florida. I told Birdie it was sweet of her to ask.”

“Birdie already invited you?”

“Mm-hmm,” Willa answered.

“Of course she did.” The sigh slipped out. “I’ll be down in ten minutes.”

Getting rings took longer than Hank anticipated once Willa showed him all the different styles to choose from. He ended up with a plain one for himself and a diamond one for Ivy that Willa said would match her engagement ring nicely.

Then he asked Willa for one more very special thing, explaining the situation. Fortunately, she was happy to oblige and had just the thing whipped up for him in about ten minutes. He took that gift with him as well and headed back to work.

As he reached the station on his return, Ivy and Charlie were coming from the other direction. Charlie ran up to him, looking less than happy. “What’s wrong, kiddo?”

“I start school on Monday.”

Ivy laughed. “It’s not school, it’s camp. The receptionist at the clinic told me about a three day summer sports camp that starts on Monday, so I got him registered. She said it’s all the same kids Charlie will be going to school with so I thought it would be a good way for him to make some friends. Maybe meet some kids he can hang out with over the summer.”

“Good call. How was his check up?”

“Other than the bruise, he’s fine.”

“Even better.” Hank reached for the station door. “You ready for that tour, Charlie?”

Charlie’s face brightened. “Totally.”

“First, there’s someone who’s dying to meet you. Your new aunt, Birdie. C’mon.” Hank pulled the door open, and Charlie took a few tentative steps inside with Ivy and Hank right behind him.

Birdie looked up from her desk, saw Charlie and smiled. “Is this the new deputy you hired, Sheriff?”

“It is.”

Charlie grinned but stood close to Ivy’s leg. “I’m not a deputy.”

“Not yet,” Hank said. “We’ll get you that star and swear you in right after the tour.”

Birdie stuck her hand out to Charlie. “Hi, Charlie. I’m going to be your new aunt. It’s very nice to meet you. You’re very handsome.”

He shook her hand and retreated to Ivy’s leg, hiding his face against her jeans.

Hank put his hand on the boy’s shoulders. “Birdie, would you mind taking the rest of the day to help Ivy with—”

Birdie was out of her seat, purse in hand. “Wedding things? I’m on it. But you have an appointment at Corette’s. There won’t be anyone on duty.”

“Blythe and Cruz are coming in.”

Deputy Blythe stuck her head out from the back room. “I’m already here. And Cruz is right behind me clocking in.”

Hank gave Ivy’s hand a squeeze. “I guess I’ll see you at the J.O.P’s office. Five o’clock. Don’t be late.”

She laughed and kissed his cheek. “Same goes for you and Charlie.”

“We’ll be there. So will my parents.”

Ivy smiled and nodded, the slightest bit of shock and stiffness in her face. “I have to meet them sometime.”

“They’ll love you. Don’t worry about it.”

“Let’s hope.”

Before Hank could say anything else, Birdie took Ivy’s arm and led her out of the station, keeping up a constant buzz of wedding conversation that Hank was happy not to be a part of.

He introduced Charlie to Blythe and Cruz, then took him for a tour of the station, which didn’t take long because there wasn’t that much to it. From there, they walked down to Corette’s, where she worked her magic, literally and figuratively, to get them fitted for their suits and out the door in less than thirty minutes.

Hank carried the garment bags back to the patrol car. “You ready to go home? We have a little time before we have to get ready.”

Charlie pointed eagerly at the car. “We’re gonna ride in that?”

“Yep. And we’re going to play the second part of our game when we get there.” Hank had a theory about Charlie’s shifting that he wanted to test. If he was right, and he had a pretty good feeling he was, then Charlie was about to have a very interesting afternoon.

Ivy wanted to sink through the floor of Howler’s and disappear. With each person Hank’s aunt ticked off the guest list to Bridget, Ivy cringed. Birdie had apparently invited everyone she knew to the reception. It was worth repeating that that included Hank’s parents. No pressure there.

What had started as a simple reception was becoming a party for at least seventy-five people. Maybe a hundred with the plus ones. It was asking a lot for Bridget to accommodate all of them, not to mention the costs they were incurring. Her gaze settled on her ring, a beautiful reminder that Hank didn’t seem worried about money, but still. Asking for so much always left her feeling guilty.

And undeserving.

That was her father’s doing, and Ivy hated it. She took a breath and tried to remember the Merrows weren’t like that.

To her credit, Bridget seemed to be taking it in stride. The woman had a clipboard, for Pete’s sake.

“Are you sure this is all okay?” Ivy asked for the third time.

Bridget grinned. “It’s great. Let me show you what we’ve done so far.”

Then she nudged them toward the back room. The entrance was shielded with white drapes. As Ivy stepped through, she understood why the woman was so calm. Some kind of magic had been worked, and the whole place had been draped in white tulle, fairy lights and strands of silk ivy. The pub tables and chairs were covered with white damask. The three pool tables had tops on them and pristine white tablecloths.

Bridget pointed at the three. “These will be the food islands with all kinds of hot and cold dishes, but the prime rib carving station will be closer to the kitchen.”

“Prime rib?” Ivy chewed on her lip. “That sounds expensive.”

“It’s not nearly as pricey as you think. Plus, it’s one of Hank’s favorites.”

Birdie smiled. “Men like their steak, don’t they?”

Bridget nodded. “Name a shifter who doesn’t. Now, the guys will be bringing the cake table out any minute. That will go in that corner. There’s a spotlight I’ll put on over it, really makes it look nice.”

Birdie put a hand on Ivy’s arm. “I know you ordered a small cake, but I bumped it up a bit.”

Ivy was too overwhelmed by how much these two women had done for her to be anything but practical. “That’s good. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have enough.”

Bridget waved a hand. “I do at least a wedding a month in here. Nocturne Falls is a very popular place to get married. Mostly with the Goth crowd, but even that’s changing. Delaney’s done a few cakes for us now, and she’s always generous when it comes to serving sizes. You should have plenty.”

Bridget glanced at her clipboard. “I forgot about the bar. Forgot to tell you about it, that is. We’ll set that up on this wall. There’s three cases of champagne so the toast is covered.” She looked up at Ivy. “Is there anything specific you like to drink? I know Hank’s a beer guy, but if you want something special…”

“No, I’m good. Great, actually. I can’t believe how much you’ve done. You’ve really got this under control.”

Hank’s very capable sister smiled while Birdie preened. Bridget scanned her list one more time. “Like I said, we do at least a wedding a month here. It’s a well-oiled machine now.”

“It still seems like a lot of work.”

“Nah, not that much.” Bridget hugged the clipboard to her chest. “You know my parents are coming, right?”

“I do.” Ivy tried not to look freaked out.

Bridget smiled. “They’ll love you. Don’t panic.”

The back door opened, and a pretty brunette peeked in, giving Ivy a break from that line of thought. “Y’all ready for flowers?”

Bridget and Birdie both turned and said, “Hi, Marigold.”

Birdie leaned in toward Ivy. “That’s Marigold Williams. She’s one of Corette’s girls. She’s a witch just like her mother. All the girls are. Marigold’s got a girl about Charlie’s age. Saffron. They’ll probably be in the same grade.”

Ivy looked at Birdie. “Well, that’s…good.”

Birdie put her hand on Ivy’s arm. “Feeling a little overwhelmed, dear?”