Heartsong Cottage (4 page)

“We're getting there. We have a few last details to wrap up about the reception and one last meeting with the florist later today. Guests start arriving on Wednesday.”

“Except for the cousin with chicken pox,” Flynn observed.

“That's a disappointment,” Gabi admitted. “Mom is freaking out about it. She's afraid the whole family will begin spotting up like kindergarteners. Although, come to think of it, the cancellation does free up a room at Angel's Rest.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a leather planner and pencil. She flipped through the pages. “Hmm … maybe we could shift the Wilsons to her room, the Camerons to the Wilsons', and get Daniel Garrett off the sofa at my brother's house.”

“Daniel's on the sofa at Lucca and Hope's?” Flynn asked. “I thought your mother saved a room for him at her B and B.”

“She did, but he refused it. Said to give the rooms to families and couples.”

“Daniel is good people,” Flynn observed.

“He'd better not weenie out of coming to the wedding,” Gabi said. “He'd planned to visit last spring, but couldn't get away. Hope is worried about him. She says he works all the time.”

“If Daniel said he'll be here, he will be here,” Flynn said. “He's a man of his word.”

Shannon tried to recall what gossip she'd heard about the Romano family's friend. She knew that he was the private investigator who brought Hope's kidnapped daughter home to her, but there was something else. “What's the deal with him? Some sort of tragedy? His wife died?”

“Not just his wife,” Sage explained. “It's the most awful thing imaginable. Years ago, his young son was abducted and murdered by a stranger. It destroyed Daniel's wife. She committed suicide a few months later.”

Shannon covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh, that is horrible. I never heard the details.”

“It's the saddest thing.” Sage wrapped protective arms around the child she carried. “Just breaks your heart.”

“Did they catch the person who did it?”

“It took a few years, but yes, they got him,” Gabi said. “Daniel was a police detective when it happened. He went private, and now he runs his own agency and specializes in child abduction cases.”

“That has to be tough work,” Shannon said.

Gabi nodded. “I worked in law enforcement and I saw a lot of ugly things, but they pale in comparison to the evils that Daniel deals with on a daily basis. I don't know how he does it. My heart couldn't bear so much pain.”

“He's a hero,” Sage observed.

“He's certainly our family's hero. Which is why he deserves better than a bed on my brother's sofa when he comes to our wedding.”

“From the sound of it, your wedding will have Eternity Springs bursting at the seams.”

Flynn spoke in a glum tone. “We should have eloped. Six months ago.”

Sage gave Shannon a droll look. “If I've heard him say that once, I've heard it a thousand times.”

“I've heard it a million times.” Gabi gave him a playful punch on the arm. “Stop whining. It's going to be fun.”

“The honeymoon is going to be fun,” Flynn corrected. “It's the reward for bearing up through all these wedding plans.”

The lawn chair creaked as Sage shifted her weight. “So is the honeymoon destination still a surprise or has she wheedled it out of you?”

The bride and groom shared one of those secretive lovers' glances that could have made Shannon envious if she'd allowed it. Flynn said, “Both. We decided we'd break it up into two parts because we expect Cicero to win the Albritton Fellowship next month, and we'll want to go to California for the awards. Gabriella knows we're going to Bella Vita Isle on the first segment of the trip.”

“He's being stubbornly closed-lipped about part two,” Gabi complained. “All he'll tell me is that I need somebody to fill in for me at Whimsies until after Thanksgiving.”

“That's a long honeymoon,” Shannon said.

“Not long enough,” Flynn replied. “Personally, I think it's only fair that the honeymoon last as long as the wedding planning.”

Gabi gave an exaggerated roll of her eyes, and when Flynn looked like he might expand on the subject, she tugged his arm. “We need to be going. Our dog is at Nic's office and we need to pick him up.”

“Is Bismarck okay?” Sage asked.

“He's had a cough. We've been a little worried about him. He needs to be healthy for next Saturday.”

“Nic will get him fixed up. She's a wonderful vet.” Sage tipped her head and her wavy auburn hair spilled across her shoulder. “So the rumors are true? Your dog is in your wedding party?”

Gabi's smile bloomed big and bright like a sunflower. “He saved our lives. I think it's only right that he be our ring bearer. Of course, my mother thinks I'm crazy—the rest of the wedding is supertraditional—but he's our family and we want him there.”

“Then you should have him there,” Shannon agreed.

The couple took their leave, and Sage and Shannon finished their iced tea and cookies. Sage levered herself to her feet. “After making a pig of myself on the sweets, I better take the long route home. I need the exercise.”

“If you want to take a route past the lumber yard, I'll walk with you. I need to get my paint ordered.”

“The spicy red?”

“Yes.”

“Nail polish companies have such clever names for their polishes. Are house paint companies the same way? What's this color called?”

“Actually, the spicy red is a color I had mixed to match the tile I'm considering for the kitchen. The tile is listed simply as red. But as of this moment, I'm declaring that shade Heartsong Red,” she announced. “And this will be Heartsong Cottage.”

Sage's face brightened with pleasure. “Oh, that's perfect, Shannon. Simply perfect. It sounds like a place where special memories happen.”

In her mind's eye, Shannon saw Heartsong Cottage as it would appear when she finished it. “And you just gave me my marketing tagline. ‘Heartsong Cottage: Where special memories happen.'”

“Bet it sells the first day it's on the—” Sage paused mid-sentence and grabbed the edge of the plywood workbench for balance. “Market. Hey, Shannon? Does your house have a functioning bathroom at the moment?”

“Yes. I'm living here during the remodel.”

“Good. Because I need it. Heartsong Cottage is working its memory magic already.” Sage looked down at the ground, her smile fluttering between dismay and excitement. “My water just broke.”

 

Chapter Three

Daniel drove the winding road over Sinner's Prayer Pass like a stunt driver in a James Bond movie. A missed connection had put him behind schedule, which served as his excuse for splurging on the rental car that handled speed and the mountain roads like a dream. Mainly, he wanted to drive hard and fast and run away from the mental images haunting him in the wake of the particularly brutal case he'd just closed.

He was exhausted. Disheartened. Discouraged by the total depravity and inhumanity of soulless monsters walking this earth. He needed a break.

The job was weighing on him. In the past ten years he'd seen too many things he wished he could
un
see and discovered a whole lot of truths he wished he could unlearn. He'd stood before way too many grieving, heartbroken parents with the grim message that he had terrible news to share, or, worse in a way, no news at all.

Gabi's wedding came at an opportune time. For a little while, he needed to get away from the darkness and the ugliness. He wanted light and bright and positive. He needed a little fun and fellowship.

He needed a dose of Eternity Springs.

Especially now with the ten-year anniversary of Justin's death looming in November like an ominous storm cloud.

He goosed the gas and the Porsche surged forward. Rounding a hairpin curve, he caught his first glimpse of his destination. As always, at this point in the journey, upon seeing the rooftops nestled in the valley below and the sapphire waters of Hummingbird Lake, he sensed an easing of tension within him. On his first visit to town a couple of years ago, he'd discovered what a gem of a hometown his friend Hope had found here. Eternity Springs truly was a little piece of heaven in the Colorado Rockies, and coming here never failed to soothe his soul.

Although today could put an end to that streak. If he was late to Gabi's wedding, the Romano women would have his guts for garters.

He made it to the church with five minutes to spare and found a standing-room-only crowd. A tuxedo-clad usher who bore a startling resemblance to the Romano brothers motioned him forward to a spot along the wall between a pair of stained-glass windows. Four pews back from the church's altar, the space gave him an excellent view of the proceedings. He no sooner took his spot than one of Gabi's brothers escorted her mother up the aisle to take her seat in the front row. Maggie Romano beamed with happiness, and her gaze warmed with pleasure when she saw him. Then the music changed and the groom and his groomsmen took their places.

The bridesmaids all looked like a million bucks in short forest-green dresses and stiletto heels. A smattering of laughter drifted through the congregation when the flower girl, Holly Montgomery, started up the aisle with a basket of rose petals in one hand and a dog lead in the other. Bismarck, the solid black Newfoundland, sported a smart white bow tie on his collar.

When Gabi started up the aisle on her brother Zach's arm, Daniel couldn't help but smile. For a tough, no-nonsense former cop, she was such a girly-girl.

Her dress made him think of the antebellum South—or of a Disney princess—with its big skirt and crystal beads. She wore her gorgeous auburn hair piled high and crowned with a sparkling tiara and little whiff of a veil. Flynn Brogan was a lucky man, Daniel thought. Almost as lucky as Lucca Romano, who had married the woman Daniel admired most in this world.

Daniel and Hope Romano shared a very special friendship. Nothing romantic—even before she'd met Lucca, that hadn't been part of it. But from the day he'd begun working her daughter's kidnapping case, the two of them had clicked. They understood each other. They'd come to love each other in a way that only those who've been through the fires of hell can manage. Being able to reunite Holly with her mother had been his greatest success.

Not that he'd had a huge amount of them competing for the top spot, he thought bleakly. In fact, since bringing Holly to Eternity Springs, he had not reunited another child with his parents. Not one who could smile and run into her mother's arms, anyway. In the past two years, Daniel had found only bodies. He knew more than most that such finds were not insignificant. Nevertheless, he was weary of it. Heartsick from it.

Memories of his most recent case threatened to blow into the church like a devil wind, and Daniel determinedly closed his mind against them. This was a wedding, not a funeral.
Get a grip, Garrett. The ugliness in your head has no place here.

Deliberately, he tuned in to the service just as a young man with café-au-lait skin, Rastafarian braids, and the lilt of the Caribbean in his voice began a reading from 1 Corinthians. Daniel listened as much to the music of the man's voice as to the words he read—until his gaze drifted toward a familiar face seated near the church's baptismal font. Smiling benevolently toward the bride and groom, Celeste Blessing wore a smart tailored jacket and skirt in gold brocade. Her snowy hair was cut in a classic bob and accentuated her earrings—dangling gold and diamond angel's wings. She must have sensed the weight of his gaze because she turned her head and gave him an impish wink. Daniel grinned in response, and he thought he must have made a sound of some kind because the woman dressed in a bright summer-yellow sundress seated at the end of the pew beside him turned her head and looked at him.

Daniel instinctively straightened away from the wall.
Well now, isn't she lovely?

Dressed in yellow, she looked like a sunbeam and her big brown doe eyes packed a punch. Set against an angular face, they were framed by thick, long lashes. Her chestnut-colored hair was cut short and sassy, and with her long, graceful neck and sharp features, she had that elegant Audrey Hepburn look that had always appealed to Daniel. As their gazes met and held, a shiver of recognition climbed up his spine, though he was certain that he'd never met her before.

He didn't think he breathed again until she returned her attention to the altar where Gabi handed her bouquet of white roses to Savannah Turner and faced her groom. Flynn took his bride's hands in his and they exchanged their vows.

In the solemn aftermath of the moment, the flower girl leaned toward her bridesmaid mother. Holly's whispered “When's he going to kiss her, Mom?” floated audibly through the church and the congregation laughed.

When the service ended, Flynn kissed his wife, the church erupted in applause, and the mother of the bride rested her head on her oldest son's shoulder and allowed her tears to flow.

The dog barked. The woman didn't look Daniel's way again.

He couldn't stop himself from stealing glances her way. Wonder who she was? Wonder why he had such a visceral reaction to her? Could he have met her somewhere before and just not remembered her?

No, I'd remember her.

Mr. and Mrs. Flynn Brogan led the way back up the aisle followed by the bridal party. The wedding guests exchanged greetings and discussed the service as they filed slowly from the church. Daniel's gaze surveyed the crowd that now spilled out into the street, and he realized with a bit of embarrassment that he was looking for a particular yellow dress.

Maybe that was it. Dressed in yellow, she was the very picture of a summer day. A light, bright, warm Eternity Springs afternoon. Of course that appealed to him.