Playing for Keeps (11 page)

They blinked at me before dismissing me completely.

“Have you given any thought to who you’d like to perform your ceremony? Because Leif and I have a friend who would be tickled to marry you and River.”

“Oh really? I should get his contact info so I can get a hold of him.”

Fawn shook her head. “He lives in the Black Rock desert, dear. The only way to reach him is to have him call you.”

I missed something there. “How does he know to call?”

“You send out energy into the universe and he picks up on it.” Her look said she couldn’t believe someone as ignorant as me made it this far in life.

“Right.” I nodded. “Silly me.”

They dismissed me again—I hated how easily everyone seemed to do that—and excitedly talked about holding the ceremony at the beach.

Why didn’t Nell see the folly in this idea? I mean, setting aside the obvious issue of getting permits, they was a ton of other problems. Like, where would we have the dinner? On a blanket, picnic-style? How would we insure safety? Someone could fall into the ocean and drift off. What if it rained? We lived in Oregon, not Southern California. We had weather here.

I slapped the table. “We can’t have the wedding at the beach.”

Nell and Fawn looked up at me in surprise.

To tell the truth, I was a little surprised myself. I didn’t mean to sound quite so… so… so much like Daddy.

But I held my ground. “How is the caterer going to do food on the beach?”

“Alternate ceremonies are all the rage now, Gracie. People do all kinds of weddings, like ceremonies while sky-diving.” Nell sounded like an expert.

I wanted to ask her what her source of information was. Probably Cosmo. “What happened to wanting a fairy tale wedding like Mom’s?”

I said the magic words. Her expression got dreamy and longing. “I
do
want that.” Then she glanced at Fawn. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t have a fairy tale at the beach.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Wow. Look at the time.” Nell pushed out of her chair. “I’ve got an appointment to keep. You guys decide. I trust your judgment.”

“This is
your
wedding, Nell. It’s supposed to be what you want, not what we do.”

“I want it all.” She pulled out a folder from her purse. I recognized it as the Wedding Folder.

“Since we settled the date, we thought we should order the invitations.” She flipped it open and shuffled through some loose pages. “I thought maybe you could handle that, Gracie, since you’re handling reserving the hall. Or beach.”

Invitations I could handle. How difficult could ordering them be? “Sure.”

Nell found what she was looking for and handed it to me. “Also, I thought maybe you could help with the guest list.”

“If you want. I’m not sure what I can do. Either you want someone to come or not, right?”

She looked at me like I was missing a couple screws. “I set the budget too. I’ll email all that to you.”

Something scratched at the kitchen door, but I couldn’t see anything through the window.

Then I realized what it was. I swung my gaze toward Nell and scowled. “
Nell
.”

She stuffed her folder back in her purse and bolted. “Gotta go. See you later.”

She opened and closed the door quickly, but not quick enough that I didn’t see the destruction George had wreaked in the backyard.

“Muzzle that dog next time or I’ll pull a Cruella on you,” I called after her. I turned and found Fawn looking at me disapprovingly. She was probably not only a pacifist but, based on the fact that she was vegetarian, I guessed she was against animal cruelty.

“Just a figure of speech,” I said.

She harrumphed and got up. Without a word she opened the door and retired to her room. Or rather, tent.

I was rinsing out my Coke bottle when I heard a shrill shriek from outside. I ran out the door to catch Fawn, two fists shaking in the air, cursing a blue streak.

“What happened?” I imagined someone hiding out in her tent and jumping her. Or worse—a snake in her sleeping bag.

“That damned dog chewed on my favorite pair of shoes.” She held up one gnarled purple Birkenstock. “I’ll
kill
that beast.”

So much for loving animals. Nell would say at least Fawn had her priorities straight: she was willing to kill for her favorite pair of shoes.

Chapter Nine

Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder and crush him.

—Sun Tzu, The Art of War

If someone would have told me the next few days would pass by not only in complete peace and harmony but in utter ecstasy, I would have laughed my butt off. Color me surprised that it went down exactly like that.

For one, having Fawn and Leif around was not only a pleasure but a relief. Leif put on his French maid’s apron (literally—he had a frilly little white lace apron) and cleaned the house top to bottom. Fawn took over kitchen duties and whipped up the most amazing dinners. Sure, they were meatless but God were they delicious. She said since we were putting them up the least they could do was pitch in around the house. Having them sleep in the backyard hardly seemed like effort, but who was I to complain? Chloe and Daddy certainly weren’t as considerate, and they lived with me all the time.

The brief almost-clash between Fawn and me over the wedding location left me worried we’d have more skirmishes while planning. Surprisingly we didn’t. Of course, neither did we get anything accomplished.

Except for reserving The Pavilion. I jumped on that, especially when Letty Rodriguez, the mother of our kung fu student, told me they’d had a cancellation for the weekend Nell and Riley wanted to get married. I made an executive decision and reserved it. For all the talk of ceremonies while bungee diving and running through the frigid Pacific surf, I thought The Pavilion was the perfect choice.

That done, I could order the invitations.

Invitations. You’d think it’d be straightforward, right?

Wrong.

I went to a really nice stationary store downtown to look over their selection. Only they wouldn’t let me look at the wedding invitations without an appointment.

The conversation with the clerk went something like this:

Me: Excuse me. Where are your wedding invites?

Her, smiling: Upstairs. Could I have your name?

Me, frowning, wondering why she needs that: Grace Connors.

Her, tapping a few keys on the computer: I’m sorry Ms. Connors, I don’t show you having an appointment.

Me, blinking in confusion: An appointment?

Her: Yes, you need an appointment for wedding invitations.

Me, wondering why everything associated with weddings requires appointments: I didn’t know.

Her: I’m sorry. (looking anything but)

Me, deciding a little hyperbole isn’t a crime in this instance: But I drove over two hundred miles just to come to your store because I heard it not only had the best selection but that the staff was beyond compare. (crossing my fingers so I wasn’t struck down by lightning)

Her, again looking anything but: I’m sorry. I can make an appointment for you now though.

Me: My sister is the one getting married and she only has two months to live.

Her, raising her eyebrow in disbelief: …

Me, sighing in resignation: Okay, let’s make an appointment.

Her, typing furiously: The next available appointment is at the end of May.

Me, breaking out in a sweat: The end of May! Will that get us the invitations in time to send out in August?

Her, shrugging as though it’s not her concern, because it isn’t: For an extra fee we can expedite the order.

Me, nodding, not surprised that there was an extra fee: I see.

Her, waiting impatiently, completely unfazed: …

Me, with a sigh: Fine. Let’s make the appointment.

I made my appointment and then walked through the store, looking at the paper and pens. I quickly left the store lest I be tempted into buying a calligraphy set (I don’t know calligraphy) and strolled down the street.

Conveniently, the stationary store was close to my empty storefront. Who would have known? Eyes batting innocently.

Okay, I knew. That was the reason I picked that particular stationary store—so I could walk by and imagine my flower shop.

When I saw the familiar sight of the For Sale sign and the decrepit mannequins, something in me that I didn’t know was clenched relaxed. No one had bought the space. It was like another sign that I was meant to have it.

I snorted. I was beginning to sound like Celeste and Fawn.

Pressing my hands against the window, I closed my eyes and imagined. I pictured the store crammed with flowers, bursting with color. People milled all over, bending to sniff the aromatic scents and touch the textures of nature.

A smile on my lips, I opened my eyes. The first thing I saw was the chipped counter and the worn-out flooring.

Feeling let down, I sighed. All those people would have left fingerprints on the glass casings anyway, and I hated cleaning glass.

I went home, a little pouty with a niggling feeling like something wasn’t right. Like I needed something but I didn’t know what it was so I could do nothing about it.

Fawn and Leif were sitting at the kitchen table, drinking tea. Leif just smiled warmly but Fawn greeted me. “Hello, dear.”

“Hi.” I dropped my bag on the counter and opened the fridge for a beer.

“Isn’t it a little too early for that?”

“It’s never too early for Miller time,” I kidded as I popped the top. It was a joke. I’d
never
drink Miller. I had better taste than that.

But they didn’t get it. Fawn tsked like only mothers can. I could ignore that, but I couldn’t ignore the drooping disappointment on Leif’s face. That slayed me.

I hid my beer behind my back. “So what’d you guys do today?”

“We wandered around the city. Portland is very beautiful. We hadn’t been here in years. Since before River. A lot more traffic though.”

I didn’t bother to mention the traffic was nothing compared to Los Angeles.

“What are your plans for tonight, dear? Hot date?” Her eyes sparkled in mischief.

“I’m hanging out with my best friend tonight.”

“Leif and I have a date tonight.” She gave him a smoldering look that outlined her plans for him in great detail.

Too much information. The last thing I needed was to picture Riley’s parents getting freaky. “Well, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to work out.” I hadn’t planned on working out today but I couldn’t think of any other way to get away without seeming too rude. “Have a good time tonight.”

Realizing I still had the beer in my hand, I poured it down the drain and went upstairs to change. Once I was in an athletic bra and workout pants I went downstairs to our gym.

Years ago, Daddy converted the basement into a workout room for us. It has everything you need for a complete workout: an elliptical machine for cardio, free weights and a bench, a hanging bag, and a large matted area for fighting.

I did a couple stretches to limber up before I wrapped my wrists, slipped on boxing gloves, and attacked the bag. I went slowly, falling into a rhythm of punch, punch, kick.

Picking up the pace, I worked myself into a good sweat. After half an hour, I felt invigorated without being exhausted so I stopped. I turned around for my workout towel and froze.

Pete leaned against the doorway, arms crossed, watching me with the barest smile tipping his lips. “Hey, Grace.”

“What are you doing here?” I grabbed the towel and mopped my face.

“I came to say hi to Leif and Fawn. They told me you were down here.”

“I was working out.”

He was hidden in shadows so I couldn’t see him well, but I could feel his amusement. “Yeah, I can see that.”

A bead of sweat dripped down my neck and into my athletic bra. I blotted my neck and took a sip of water. “It must be nice seeing them. Has it been awhile?”

“A couple years. They drive through on their adventures. It was nice of you to let them stay here. They’re good people.”

I felt a twinge of guilt. I didn’t bother to correct him by saying I had no choice in the matter. “So you’re close to them, huh?”

“They practically raised me.” He stepped into the room and looked around.

Pete didn’t talk about his childhood often but from what he’d told me I’d gleaned it wasn’t happy. Not that it was unhappy, but his parents sounded like they were too busy to bother with him and his brother.

If I had a child, especially one as bright and loving as Pete, I’d shower him with love. It pissed me off that his parents didn’t do that. I pushed at my gloves to get them off.

“Here, let me help.” Pete stepped up to me, quickly unfastened the Velcro, and pulled off each glove before he unwound my wrist wraps. He dropped them on the ground and frowned at my hands.

“What is it?”

He brushed his thumb across my reddened knuckles. “You shouldn’t hit so hard.”

“It’s not bad.”

He lifted my hand to his lips and kissed it.

My breath caught in my chest. “What was that for?”

“Someone should kiss your hurts better.” He dropped my hand and stepped back. “So how’s the wedding going?”

I blinked. Was it me or did the subject change really abruptly? “Um, okay I guess. I reserved The Pavilion for the ceremony and reception.”

“Is that where Nell decided she wanted the wedding?”

“Nell’s too busy to decide anything.”

“Grace.”

I held my hand up. “No recriminations, okay? I promise I won’t let her sucker me into doing things I don’t want to do.”

He didn’t look like he believed me, but I knew he couldn’t see that my fingers were crossed.

“Can we just drop it, Pete? I promise tonight I’m going to do something for myself.”

“What are you doing?”

“Celeste and I are going out.”

“Have the police been notified?”

“Ha ha.” Celeste and I didn’t get into trouble when we went out. Not too often. I mean, that time Pete had to pick me up from cop central was a fluke—we’d been framed. “We’re just having a drink or two. Maybe dancing a little.”