Page 38 of A Dead End Wedding

“I’m glad you’re coming, even though I know you’re going to be barraged with people wanting to talk about the fight,” she said.

“It’s fine. Everything’s great.”

She gave me a suspicious look. “Why are you in such a good mood? What did you do to Braumsh?”

I laughed. “Hey. I gave him his breakfast. Nothing else. I’m in a good mood because I love the sight of you in that purple dress, and in less than a week, I’ll be married to the most beautiful woman in the world.”

She scoffed, but took my hand. “In the entire world? I don’t think so. Not even in all of Dead End, especially now that we have Fae dropping in all the time.”

“Trust me, the Fae don’t count. That beauty is cold and hard; nothing I’d want to sit next to on the couch watching Star Wars.”

“Can you imagine watching Star Wars with Queen Viviette?” Tess shook her head and then put on a fake, haughty voice. “How dare those furry creatures touch the princess? I will have my warriors cut them down where they stand!”

She wasn’t wrong. I doubted the queen would understand Ewoks.

“What’s on the agenda today? Any wedding stuff we need to do?”

Tess sighed. “I feel like more than my fair share of ‘wedding stuff’ is on my plate, especially when you ask me if we need to do any ‘wedding stuff.’”

Somehow, I understood what she meant. Dead End was soaking into mybones.

Or at least my twisted-logic comprehension center.

“I promise to step up more.”

She squeezed my hand.

An hour and ten minutes of singing, sermons, and friendly chat later, church was over. Pastor Nash asked us to stay for a minute after everyone else left, so we hung back. Ruby and Mike invited us to lunch at their place, and Shelley told us we Had! To! Come!

I was half afraid Pastor Nash would voice some previously unspoken prejudice against the idea of a shapeshifter marrying a “normal” human, Tess’s gift aside, but he only wanted to talk about last-minute details.

“Tess, Jack, welcome, welcome. A few things,” he said, giving us a warm smile. “Are you writing your own vows?”

“Nooo,” Tess said doubtfully.

I realized she was trying to protect me from having to do it, and then I wondered why we hadn’t talked about it.

“Yes,” I said firmly.

“Yes? Are you sure?” She studied my face. “Jack, you don’t have to?—”

“I know.” I took her hand. “I want to.”

“Vows, check,” the pastor said. “Lorraine, Eleanor, and Ruby have the reception well in hand. It will take up the entire town square, since everybody in Dead End is invited.”

“Hopefully, all this stuff with the Fae will be resolved by then,” Tess said.

“Did you invite the Fae?” he asked.

Tess’s eyes widened. “It never occurred to me. I know they won’t come into a Christian church because their beliefs are different. But I didn’t think about inviting them to the reception.”

“They don’t deserve an invitation after what they’re putting us through,” I growled.

Pastor Nash smiled. “Ah, but that’s where forgiveness comes in. If we turn the other cheek?—”

“We’re likely to get punched in the face,” I said, but without heat. “Okay, let’s invite the queen and tell her she’s welcome to bring her retinue. Maybe it will earn us some goodwill.”

“I know,” Tess said. “I’ll bring her one of our invitations tonight. It’s on fancy card stock, like the cards they keep sending us. Maybe it will make her happy.”

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