Page 30 of Vows of Murder

Another reason I loved thisman. He got me.

* * * *

I didn’t sleep well that night. I blamed the book, but I thought it was more likely the upcoming ceremony this weekend. My first marriage had lasted maybe a year, and mostly that long because neither one of us cared enough to file the divorce papers. He’d been nice, but he wasn’t Greg. I’d known from the second time I met Greg that he was the one. Or at least could be the one. I’d thought he was still married when I worked with him to solve Miss Emily’s murder. Although I wasn’t sure he’d see it like that. We were a match made in heaven from the first case. I wish I’d ordered some sort of sleuthing decorations for his groom’s cake. Of course, we were in the middle of a case, so maybe it wasa little tacky.

I went over and picked up a framed picture of Miss Emily that I kept on a hallway table. She and her dog, Monet, had been my first friends in South Cove. She’d basically challenged me to change my life for the better by moving here and opening a bookstore and coffeehouse. I’d taken a leap of faith then, and now, years later, I was taking another one.

I heard voices downstairs, so I hurried to get ready. I’d shower closer to the rehearsal time. For now, it was packing for the night away and getting my outfits ready. And my aunt was coming over to chat later today.

The smell of pancakes filled the room, but when I got closer I realized it was waffles. Waffles with hot maple syrup and bacon. Greg was frying eggs at the stove and Amanda was finishing setting the table. She looked up and smiled at me as I came into the kitchen. “I was about to go upand wake you.”

“My alarm didn’t go off.” I’d turned off all my alarms for this week, probably not the wisest thing. I might sleep through my wedding tomorrow.

“No worries. I’m just an up-with-the-chickens kind of girl lately.” She poured me a coffee and motioned me to sit. “I wanted to thank you for being so nice to Beth yesterday. She was so worried about meeting you.”

“Me? Why?” I took my coffee and took a long sip. The cobwebs started to fade immediately. Thank you, coffee.

“She and Jim ran into Sherry a few months ago. I tried to tell her that you were nothing like Greg’s first wife, but she worried that you two wouldn’t have anything in common.” Amanda pulled a baking sheet filled with waffles and bacon out of the oven. “Greg, arethe eggs done?”

“Yes, and I don’t think it’s fair to compare Jill with Sherry. I was young and an idiot when I got married the first time. Then I kept trying to fix the marriage. But I was the only one trying. She just wanted to fix me.” He walked over to where I sat and put an egg on my plate. “Good morning, sweetheart. When’s your aunt getting here so we can talk about your failed relationships too?”

“Hopefully, not until after you leave for work.” I grabbed a waffle and smeared butter on it as the other two sat down at the table. “Which is good for me, since my aunt hasa long memory.”

“Great, I get all the fun.” He grabbed a waffle and several slices of bacon. “So what time am I expected at the mission?”

“Three p.m. sharp. Bill has a men’s group meeting at five so he won’t be able to come to the dinner, but Sadie’s coming.” I’d gotten a text message from Sadie this morning on the change in plans.

“I think he’s avoiding me.” Greg sighed. “It’s hard to be the head detective in a town where a lot of your suspects are alsoyour friends.”

“You could take that job with the state,” I reminded him. “You never did tell me what was wrong with that resume Imade for you.”

He didn’t say anything, and when I looked up, he and his mom were staring at each other. Finally, he sighed and turned toward me. “The resume was fine. The problem is that years ago Sherry got me hired at a station in the city without me knowing that I’d even applied. I thought I was just going in for an interview to see if I’d like the transfer, and they thought I’d already accepted the job.”

“Didn’t you have to leave South Cove in two weeks?” his mom added. “Sherry had already turned in their notice at the apartment and rented something new. Hehad no choice.”

“Marvin was so mad.” Greg ate a piece of bacon. “He’d hired me over the guy he’d wanted. I told Sherry that she got this one. If she ever did it again, we were done. Five years later, I got a call from the head of security at LAX. He’d gotten my resume and wanted to talk to me about the job. I hadn’t turned in a resume.”

“That’s why you were so mad when I made up your resume. I thought you were just dragging your feet. You thought I wanted you at a better job.” I grabbed another slice of bacon. “You thought I was being a Sherry.”

“Look, we were getting married. I was stressed about that. Then out of the blue, you make me a resume. It felt suspicious.”

“I thought I was doing you a favor,” I said, then consumed the bacon. “I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to do. I thought you were dragging your feet because you didn’t want me to have to close the store. I was being thoughtful.”

“Now, isn’t this nice? You’re communicating instead of assuming what the other person thinks or feels.” Amanda took another waffle. “It’s aGift of the Magisituation. I think you two should do fine as a couple.”

Greg went to work shortly after breakfast, and left that conversation with his packed suitcase. He needed to make sure everything was okay at the station before he signed out to be at the rehearsal at three. After that, he was off the clock. If anything big happened in South Cove that couldn’t be pushed off until Greg cameback, the police chief in Bakerstown would deal with it until nine o’clock on Sunday night when we returned to South Cove. I’d argued for Monday morning, but Greg didn’t want to impose on his friend. I might have been able to talk him into it if Kane hadn’t gone and got himself killed. I kissed him goodbye and took Emma for a run. We both had nervous energy to get rid of beforethe rehearsal.

Later that morning, Aunt Jackie parked in front of the house. She brought wrist corsages for all the women in the wedding party. “I called your florist and had these made up for the rehearsal tonight. I thought it might be a nice touch. The Wooden Bench is all confirmed and they will be expecting us at five. Then at eight, you and your girlfriends can go and playat the winery.”

“You have it all timed out. Are you coming to the after-party?” I glanced at the flowers. They matched my colors and the flowers for Saturday’s festivities.

“No, I’m going home and putting my feet up. I can’t be in heels that long anymore.” She smiled at Amanda. “Nice to see you again, Amanda. What are you workingon over there?”

“Birdseed bundles for the exit from the ceremony. I’ve got enough for the guests, but I wanted a few extra, just in case.” She pushed the large tan basket filled with ribbon-tied bundles of tulle. “What do you think? We need someone to hand them out as the guests enter the area reserved forthe ceremony.”

“I’m sure Deek and maybe Evie would love to help.” I just hoped Toby would be able to make the wedding since he was one of Greg’s groomsmen. We had too many friends entwined with our livelihoods. Toby was a deputy for Greg as well as a part-time barista for my coffee shop. Sasha was coming with Olivia, so I knew he’d want to spend some time with them. We still hadn’t been told what the chance was of a rekindled relationship between him and Sasha, but at least they would be together for the wedding.

“Jill? Did you hear what I said?” Aunt Jackie asked. She and Amanda were watching me.

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