Wedding Bell Blues (34 page)

"Be careful, love."

"You, too. Be there soon," he said and rang off.

I closed the cell phone and replaced it in my briefcase. Then
I went downstairs to let Mama know the latest.

Somehow, I managed to put Janie Bickerstaff out of my mind for
the
next few hours. Well, not really. But I did manage to push all thought
of her back and put on a good face for my sister. She didn't need to
know someone she'd considered a friend as recently as just a few days
ago was responsible for everything that had happened. Maryanne already
felt bad enough simply because Manny's family had insisted on
fulfilling their contract with her. If she suddenly realized Manny had
died because Janie wanted to make sure she didn't marry Brett … well,
it might be too much for my little sister.

So, I forced myself to go downstairs and act as if nothing
were
wrong. At least I didn't have to try on, yet again, my maid of honor
dress. Stressed as I was, I didn't dare risk Maryanne realizing just
how badly I hated that dress and I wasn't sure I could hide it from her
just then. Instead, I sat off to one side, watching as Mom finished
checking the bridesmaid dresses, laughing and doing my best not to
think about the last week, much less the last hour.

By five, Maryanne and the others left for the church, Maryanne
to
meet one last time with the florist and Mr. Henri, the others to give
moral support. When she asked if I wasn't coming with them, I promised
to be along shortly, just as soon as Colton got there. She grinned at
my response and gave a sly wink that had me laughing at what I knew she
was thinking. Well, if she wanted to think I'd grab him for a quick
round of hot, sweaty sex, who was I to disagree? Unfortunately, that
wasn't what I had planned.

Although, if we had time after he told me if they'd managed to
arrest Janie or

not….

Well, so much for being able to hide my feelings. Not that I'd
ever
been able to from her. Still, I'd thought her involved enough in the
wedding preparations not to have noticed. Silly me.

"Do you think Maryanne noticed?" I asked in return.

"No. And you didn't answer my question."

She crossed her
arms and waited, the message clear. She wasn't going to let me avoid
the question. Whether I wanted to or not, I'd have to tell her
something. There was no sense in denying it or trying to hide the
truth. She'd know if I did. I swear there must be a gene that activates
when you become a mother that allows you to know when your kids are
trying to hide something.

"All right, but you have to promise not to say anything to
Maryanne.
At least not until after the wedding and honeymoon." Now it was my turn
to pin her with a firm look, letting her know I wasn't going to tell
her anything until she promised. Finally, conceding victory, she nodded
once and then tilted her head, as if inviting me to continue. "We know
who hired the boys to trash Manny's store."

For a moment, the room was so silent you could have heard a
pin
drop. Mom sat motionless on the sofa across from me. She blinked once,
twice and then drew a long, shuddering breath. As shock turned to
understanding, she leaned forward, her expression serious.

"So, are you going to tell me?"

"You won't believe it."

"Jessica."

"Janie Bickerstaff," I said simply and leaned back, waiting
for the explosion. I didn't have long to wait.

"What?" She shoved off the sofa and stalked up and down the
length
of the room. Anger radiated off of her as she turned and stared at me,
wordlessly demanding confirmation.

"You heard me." I waited as she returned to the sofa and sat.
"I
started asking myself who would have had any reason to hurt us through
Manny, because my gut kept telling me it came back to one of us. That
we were the targets all along. Finally, the only person who fit the
bill was Janie, especially when you consider all the shit she's pulled
this week.

"So, I called Colton and told him, figuring he'd think I'd
lost my
mind. Instead, he wanted to know how I worked it out and, after I told
him, confirmed that Joey had finally said Janie's the one who hired the
two of them to trash Manny's place. He'd already put in a call to the
assistant DA for an arrest warrant and had issued a BOLO for Janie."

"Which is why you're waiting for him," Mom said, and I nodded
in
agreement. "All right. I see why you don't want to say anything to your
sister, and I agree. We'll keep this between us. I'll tell your father
when we're alone later."

"Thanks." Now it was my turn to pause and listen as the sound
of a
car parking out front reached us. "That should be Colton. I'll go let
him in."

"Just remember you don't have time for any fun and games,
Jessie."
She grinned evilly and I felt my face heat once again. "Save those for
later."

There was only one way to answer that. I stuck my tongue out
at her
and then fled before she could think of anything else to say.

"Well,
I have to admit, I like this kind of greeting." Colton gave a laugh as
I met him at the front door and all but launched myself into his arms.

"Tell me," I said, linking my fingers with his and looking him
square in the eye. "Did you get her?"

I knew the answer before he said anything. The laughter
disappeared
from his face, replaced by something between frustration and anger.
Before I could pull away, his hands tightened on mine and he pulled me
close.

"She wasn't at work or at her apartment. No one's seen her
since
last night. There's a good chance she's left the area." With his arm
around my waist, he led me into the den where my mother still waited.
He gave a nod and seated me on the sofa next to her before squatting on
his heels before us. "The ADA got warrants to check her credit cards
and bank account, as well as the toll tag for the car. If she's left
the area, we'll find out. If she's still here, we'll find her."

"You don't think she'd try anything tonight, do you?" Mom
asked, her fear clear.

"Faith, I don't think she's that stupid. However, I've already
talked to Father Jacob and explained the situation to him, and he gave
permission for a team to go over the church to make sure Bickerstaff
hasn't left any unwanted surprises. Since the rehearsal dinner is here,
I don't think we need worry. But, to be on the safe side, I've arranged
for a couple of off-duty detectives to keep an eye on the place while
we're gone."

"Thank you." Mom reached over and lightly touched his knee.
"Colton, I mean it. Thank you for looking after both my daughters."

"Faith, I won't insult either of us by saying it's my job. It
is,
but that's not why I've done it. Your family has always been special to
me, and I think you know it. I know you're aware of what's happening
between Jess and me right now. Even if we weren't back together, I
wouldn't have been able to sit back after what happened to her at
Manny's. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I wanted to do it."

She nodded and patted his knee one more time before getting to
her
feet. Then she bent and kissed his cheek before smiling at me. "You two
go upstairs and get ready for the rehearsal. I'm going to call Matt and
see how much longer he's going to be. I may need to grab a ride to the
church with the two of you, if you don't mind."

"We don't mind at all, Faith," Colton assured her as he helped
me to
my feet. "We'll be back down in just a few minutes," he added before
leading me upstairs.

The rest of the evening is nothing but a blur of images and
sounds.
Maryanne once more turned into the nervous bride the moment the
rehearsal began. Nothing Father Jacob could say seemed to calm her.
When Brett tried, she burst into tears and would have raced from the
chapel if Mom hadn't stepped in her way. Finally, after more tears and
even more laughter, the rehearsal was over. Everyone knew what they had
to do the next day, who walked with whom, who stood where and did what
when.

Even better, with Brett at her side, Maryanne seemed to
finally
settle down. She'd look at him, and the love she felt for him made her
glow. Sure, he'd had that really serious lapse in judgment several
years ago when he'd dated Janie. It hadn't lasted long and he'd come
back to Maryanne, begging for a second chance. She'd only made him
suffer for a little while, which she had every right to do, as far as I
was concerned. Then she'd welcomed him back into her life. Now, seeing
how much he loved her, I knew it everything would be all right. He'd
see to it.

Just then, I had one of those mental finger-snap
moments as the last of the pieces of this particular puzzle fell into
place. Brett's retuning to Maryanne was the reason all this had
happened. He'd walked away from Janie. He'd been the one to end the
relationship. I couldn't remember another instance when the guy had
been the one to break things off with her. Janie was the one with the
reputation of loving and leaving, of getting all she could out of a man
and then dumping him without a backward glance. Brett hadn't played by
her rules. Worse, he'd gone back to the woman she'd tried to steal him
from. That had to be a slap in the face, one Janie couldn't let go
unpunished.
I simply hadn't expected her to wait this long or to be so cold-blooded
about it.

At least nothing out of the ordinary happened either at the
rehearsal or at the house afterwards. It didn't take long for everyone
to fill up on the barbeque the caterers brought in. By ten, most of the
wedding party had left for a quick round of clubbing. Maryanne would
return here in the company of the other bridesmaids, and Brett would go
home with his best man. Colton and I bowed out of the clubbing,
enduring the knowing looks and smirks. Let them think what they wanted.
I really was tired and wanted nothing more than an early evening.
Morning would come all too quickly.

"Come here," Colton said softly as he closed the bedroom door
behind us.

I turned and looked at him, shaking my head slightly. Sure,
we'd had
some very satisfying sex in here just the other day. But that had been
after a roaring argument and not by plan. Now, with my mother's voice
still echoing in my mind as she told us she assumed we intended on
sharing a room, it seemed almost surreal. This was the bedroom I grew
up in. The bedroom where boys weren't allowed once I hit puberty. The
shrine to my virginity.

Intellectually, I knew Mom knew I had sex. There had even been
a few
rather uncomfortable discussions about it. I mean, you simply aren't
supposed to talk about sex outside of
The Talk
with your
mother. Now, having her encourage it while I was under her roof was
almost too much to take in.

Still, who was I to argue when Colton stood there, his tie
loosened
and his collar open? His grin left no doubt what he wanted and I wasn't
foolish enough to try to deny him, especially not when I wanted the
same thing.

"Am I the only one who thinks this is just a little weird?" I
asked softly a few minutes later as we undressed.

"
A little weird
?"
he
repeated. "Babe, it's a lot weird." Now he chuckled softly. But his
amusement didn't quite hide his uneasiness. "Jess, I spent months
trying to get you in bed with me and then longer trying to make sure
your mother didn't know I'd succeeded. She may be small, but she's
scary, and you just don't go around having sex with one of her
daughters unless you've convinced her your intentions are pure."

Now I laughed. I couldn't help it. Even though I knew exactly
what
he meant, the idea of him being scared of my mother struck me as funny.
He was bigger than she was. He had a gun. But she had one weapon he'd
never have. She was a mother dedicated to protecting her daughters and
making sure they weren't taken advantage of. No way he could defeat
that.

"So why is she suddenly doing all she can to make sure we have
time together?" He lay back and pulled me down beside him.

"Colton, you're the detective. Figure it out." I ran my hand
across
his chest and then sat back up. If he was going to be in my bed, I
wanted us both to be naked. Of course, the old warning bells rang with
a vengeance the moment the thought formed. Maybe I wasn't as sanguine
about the situation as I wanted to be.

Who was I kidding? I was as baffled by it as was Colton.

He lay there, watching as I finished undressing. A smile, more
than
a little mocking, touched his lips as I pulled an oversized tee shirt
over my head. The smile turned to a look of surprise as I launched a
pillow at his head. I'd gladly sleep with him and even do my best to be
quiet so we could enjoy one another, but I simply couldn't go nude.

Silly,
I know. Unreasonable, even, given that my mother had all but told us to
have sex. But what can I say? Years of conditioning not to be caught in
anything that might even remotely be considered compromising prevented
me from bearing it all, so to speak.

Nor was I the only one. Colton stripped down to his boxers and
then
shrugged slightly. What a pair we were. Both of us intimidated by the
woman who had just given us her approval to do whatever we wanted.

"Colton," I whispered as we slid between the sheets a few
minutes later.

"Hmm?" He pulled me close, his hands gentle as they settled me
against him.

"Nothing. Just wanted to make sure this isn't all a dream."

I felt his chuckle more than heard it. Then he shifted
slightly so
we lay face to face. One hand gently cupped my injured cheek before his
lips followed it.

"Jess, it's no dream. Or, if it is, I hope we never wake up."