Page 4 of Husband Missing

“Yes, but you turned off?—”

“We never got to dance at our wedding.”

That was true. Their wedding, which they’d planned in such detail and spent so much money on, had been hijacked by a murderer. Instead of exchanging vows and dancing the night away with all their loved ones, Josie had spent the day pursuing a suspect in her wedding dress while Noah ran down other leads. They’d forfeited everything to bring justice to a little girl who’d lost her mother and sister in one horrific act of violence. A few days later, they’d wed in Denton Memorial Hospital, at the bedside of Josie’s grandmother, Lisette, with only their closest family members and colleagues present. It had been a somber affair since Lisette was only hours away from her last breath. The killer had taken her, too.

Josie leaned in and rested her cheek against Noah’s broad chest. The happiest day of her life was also the worst day of her life.

“We never danced to the song we chose,” Noah added, his warm breath caressing her forehead. “Ever.”

Oddly enough, they’d roller-skated to it, but he was right. They’d never danced to their own wedding song.

“We should change it,” he said. “The first one has a lot of trauma attached to it.”

Josie let him guide her around the small room as they spun slowly over dirty drop cloths, content to listen to his heartbeat while the memories of her grandmother’s death washed over her. It had been Lisette’s final request that they get married. She knew Josie well enough to foresee that if they didn’t do it before her death, Josie would never feel right doing it. Lisette also knew that Noah was—more than any other person on the planet—Josie’s North Star.

“All My Love” was a perfect fit for their relationship, without the painful reminders of their tragic wedding day. Lisette would never want Josie to associate her marriage to Noah with one of the most horrific memories of her life.

“Let’s do it,” Josie agreed. “This song is perfect.”

“Good.” He kissed the top of her head. “I had another idea.”

“You’re just full of them.” She laughed. “Let’s hear it.”

“We should renew our vows.”

Josie lifted her face and met his eyes. “What?”

He gave her a little smile before dipping her, quite gracefully given their surroundings, and bringing her back, flush against him. “Renew our vows. Our fifth wedding anniversary is coming up this spring. Plenty of time to plan something. Nothing big. Just the usual suspects.”

“Isn’t renewing vows for couples who’ve been together for decades?” Josie asked but she was already warming to the idea. A lot.

Noah kissed her lightly, continuing to lead her in a slow dance. “I’m pretty sure it’s for anyone who wants to do it. Fiveyears is a good milestone. We can make it whatever we want. I think it would be fun.”

“The wedding we never had,” Josie murmured. “Sort of.”

“Exactly.”

Their new wedding song concluded. A more up-tempo tune came on, but Noah held her close, their bodies still slow dancing. Trout pawed at the baby gate.

“Was it Trinity’s engagement that made you think of this?” Josie asked. “Because I don’t want to steal her thunder.”

Josie’s twin sister, Trinity Payne, a famous television journalist, had just gotten engaged to her FBI boyfriend, Drake Nally. The elaborate proposal that Drake had planned and pulled off—with a lot of help from them and the rest of Josie’s family—had gotten under Noah’s skin. Though thrilled for Trinity and Drake, he’d expressed regret that he hadn’t given Josie something so thoughtful or beautiful. His own planned proposal had taken a back seat to a series of homicides. He’d almost died during that case. Afterward, while in the hospital recovering, he’d declared that plans were stupid and proposed to her while they were both crammed into his bed. Their Chief had held off the aggressive nursing staff long enough for Josie to say yes.

Josie hadn’t cared all that much about their plans continually being thwarted in the worst possible ways. She’d gotten what she wanted. Noah was hers forever.

“Trinity and Drake aren’t getting married for eighteen months,” he said. “There’s no way we’d be stealing their thunder. The real issue is going to be stopping your sister from taking over planning every detail.”

Josie laughed again. Her sneakered foot slid on a still-wet streak of primer, and she almost fell but Noah caught her expertly.

“Is that a yes?” he asked.

The song on her phone went silent as the ring tone took over. She was close enough to see Detective Gretchen Palmer’s name and face flash across the screen. Of all the days to be on call, it had to be the day her husband asked her to marry him again.

Josie looked meaningfully into his eyes. “Yes. Let’s renew our vows.”

Another quick kiss and he released her. A joyful buzz filled her body as she stabbed at the answer icon on her phone, not even caring about the sticky white fingerprint she left behind.

“Shouldn’t Douchebag be on right now?” Josie said without preamble.

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