Page 1 of Jon's Helter Skelter Cold Case

1

You know how on TV there’s always this big to-do when both sides of the family meet for wedding planning, and there’s all this tension, and it usually ends disastrously?

Had I mentioned how glad I was that I didn’t have to deal with any arguing? Seriously, this wedding business was stressful enough. I couldn’t imagine throwing family drama on top.

Fortunately for me, all my family loved each other, and I was including the Havilis because Kanye and Alani were already parents to me. With all the love, support, and time I’d received from their family, how could I not? I knew it made Donovan super happy we all cared deeply for each other. I was just relieved I didn’t have the stereotypical mother-in-law from hell.

I looked around the back deck of the Havili house, taking everyone in with a smile. Mom sat next to Kanye on the deck, laughing at something he’d said. Adjacent to them sat Alan and Grant, and Grant said something I didn’t quite catch, but it set Mom and Kanye off all over again. Eight months had passed since our crazy Tree Case, as everyone called it. During those eight months, a lot of positive things had happened. My mom had bonded properly to both Alani and Kanye, much to their mutual delight. She was better taken care of now than she’d ever been, and honestly? She looked ten years younger. She glowed with happiness and health in a way I’d never seen. She told me she’d lost twenty pounds, and I believed her. She looked trimmer.

Also joining the family was Grant Walker, since he and Alan were firmly a thing now. Sometimes, Grant seemed a little bewildered about how he’d come by Alan and been sucked into the Havili clan, but he wasn’t protesting either. Honestly, Grant was a very welcome addition. I’d always liked him; he was one of the best men I knew, so being able to call him cousin was fine by me. He and Alan maintained they were “trying this out first,” but I could see from their lines they were solid. I had no worries about them.

The divine scent of barbecue perfumed the air, and I breathed it in with a smile, even though my stomach was past the point of rupture. I had definitely overeaten. I felt a food coma coming on, especially while sitting in the shade on this fine sunny day. A nap sounded great. Skylar sat opposite me next to her parents andshot me the same sleepy grin, patting her belly in an exaggerated way. Yeah, kid, I’m with you. Food coma incoming.

Donovan slid in next to me on the bench, putting an arm around my waist and kissing my forehead. “Don’t fall asleep.”

“Just a little nap…” I murmured, mostly teasing.

“Nope, main event is coming up.”

Ah. Right. The reason we were all here today. We had to set a wedding date.

I loved Donovan to hell and back, and I trusted him absolutely, so I wasn’t nervous about marrying him. I figured everyone got butterflies in their stomach when setting their wedding date, though. The anticipation was like a siren’s song to my desires.

Alani clapped her hands, coming to stand at the head of the large picnic table. She still wore an apron over her jeans and white shirt, dark hair up in a loose bun, looking quite excited as she spoke. “All right, everyone, don’t fall asleep on me. We’ve got things to discuss. Time to set a date for these two. Now, who’s got any major plans in the upcoming year?”

Now there was a good place to start. I knew Alani would be good at marshaling the troops. (No, I hadn’t asked her to take charge. She’d volunteered and I wasn’t stupid enough to say no.)

Kanye was the first to stir from his seat, picking up and sipping the last of his hard lemonade while he reminded his wife of something later this year. Another wedding, in fact, in Hawaii for his cousin. That got the ball rolling. People threw out a few things—vacations they’d already booked, other weddings they were set to attend—and what dates those spanned. Alani wrote them all down diligently, nodded, then lifted her planner in front of her. “Okay, that leaves us with a few possible months. July—”

Donovan immediately lifted a hand. “We want an outside wedding. No July.”

Oh, hell no. Nashville’s heat and humidity would kill us all.

Alani blinked at her son, head canting to the side. “Oh, you did decide on that?”

“We’d pretty much decided when I talked to you last.”

“Well, I know, but you weren’t firm on it, either.”

“If at all possible, we want one outside, as the venues we like are outdoors. If it’s not possible, we’ll be flexible and open to change.” Mostly because outdoor weddings were a lot easier on me. Being in massive indoor venues usually came with risks, and I didn’t want to stress myself or Donovan on our wedding day if I could help it.

Alani consulted her list and calendar again. “In that case…end of August? Last two weeks are free. Possibly September, too.”

Hmm, that did sound better, weather-wise. My concern was my new apprentice, who definitely wanted to be there for the wedding. She’d be back in school by that point.

It was like Donovan read my mind. “Abby won’t mind missing a day of school.”

I snorted because yeah, teenagers never did. “True. Although we could do a weekend, too, but I’m not going to be strict on the exact date.”

“My vote’s September.”

I had to agree that was likely the better choice. The weather would be cooling down some, and the rainy season wouldn’t fully hit until October. We should be in a better position.

Grant leaned around Donovan to give me a questioning look. “Abby? As in the girl from the Tree Case who’s like you?”

“That’s the girl. Abigail Moore is her name. She’s a Reader and has all the potential to be very, very good. She doesn’t run quite as hot as me, although electronics still suffer around her.”

“Sho’s working on EMP-shielded stuff for her,” Donovan threw in.

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