“Tandy,” Zam barked, gun still aimed at Cash to prevent his escape. “Call Deputy Romero.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Tandy stuffed a warm bite of crumpet into her mouth. It was a little rubbery and a little spongy but comforting in a weird sort of way. And the homemade blackberry jam gave it good flavor. Definitely not as bad as she’d expected.
She’d been so glad to have a new oven in the shop that she’d happily agreed to eat whatever Marissa baked. And Greg was so happy to have her safe and sound after he found out what Cash had done, that he’d only left her side so she could sleep.
He sat next to her in the shop at that moment, but after fireworks and police paperwork the night before, he’d invited both Connor and Marissa over to join them for a soak in his hot tub that overlooked the river. This was one of the joys of having a successful boyfriend, though knowing Cash was behind bars is what truly helped them relax.
Connor seemed to be just as relieved as Greg, following Marissa around on her new knee cart so he could carry trays to and from the oven and such.
Greg watched with an amused smile. “Connor makes really good crumpets.”
“I heard that,” Connor yelled from the kitchen. “If you like those, you’ll love seeing me in my new apron.”
Tandy chuckled.
Zam hadn’t overheard Greg’s comment but he smiled at her from behind the counter. He juggled mugs for Joseph and Billie as part of preparing their drinks, and Tandy had a feeling the townsfolk would never want to see him go.
Greg sipped his coffee. “I can’t thank that guy enough.”
Tandy scooted closer to snuggle against his side. “Who would have thought learning to juggle would save my life?”
“Only our loving Creator could have orchestrated such events.”
Tandy was still in awe. “In God we trust.”
Marissa rolled out of the kitchen on her knee cart and crashed into their display rack. Bags of coffee beans plunged to the floor. Connor followed behind to pick them up.
Tandy cringed. “I’m pretty sure giving Marissa a scooter was not a good idea.”
“I’m already preparing to defend her against future lawsuits.”
“Do the benefits of dating you never end?”
Greg kissed her nose.
Marissa rolled to a hard stop in front of them. “Ready to go visit Randon?”
Tandy took a deep breath. It had been days now since his attack. It didn’t seem fair that they should make it out alive if he didn’t. “Yes.”
Greg stood and helped her to her feet then checked on Zam. “You got this?”
Zam waved them out. “I ran my own business for years. This is a piece of cake—the kind that doesn’t start a fire in your oven.”
Tandy followed Greg toward the door, but on her way, she faced Zam, opened her mouth in a wide O shape and holding up three fingers on each side of her face to look like Ws. WOW.
He winked like a wise old bartender turned barista should.
She was going to enjoy having someone to take over for her when she wanted to get away from time to time. Though visiting a patient in the ICU wasn’t her idea of a getaway.
At the hospital, the receptionist buzzed them through without even looking up from his baseball game, and there was no security guard at the door to show their IDs anymore. They entered the room silently. Except for Marissa, of course, who crashed into a tray table.
Moria looked up from a seat in front of the bed, her sapphire eyes surrounded by puffy skin. Romero stood above her, a hand on her shoulder. He’d probably been thrilled to explain to her how her “boyfriend” had only used her as a cover for being in town. Whether Cash had told her the lies about Randon in order to get revenge on the guy for dating Susan or whether Cash had needed the rumors started to get away with the crime he’d planned, Tandy couldn’t be sure.
Romero nodded a greeting, which was friendly for him. Perhaps he’d forgiven them for accusing him of murder since they were the ones who’d freed Moria to date again.
Tandy followed Greg around to the other side of Randon’s bed. Connor and Marissa followed.
“Wouldn’t he be surprised if he woke up right now?” Marissa asked.
Moria gave a small smile. “He woke up this morning.”
Tandy’s heart expanded in surprise. “Really?”
Greg wrapped an arm around her shoulders, joy written all over his handsome face. “He could have saved us a lot of trouble if he’d woken up a few days sooner. I’m going to have to have a talk with him when he wakes up again.”
“Oh yeah?” A raspy voice whispered from the bed. Randon opened dark eyes underneath a white bandage circling his head. Tubes of oxygen still stuck out from his nose, but for the first time since Tandy had known him, he hadn’t seemed too concerned with his appearance.
She clasped her hands together. She’d never imagined she’d be so happy to hear the hipster millionaire speak. “Randon.”
Marissa waved Greg off. She owed Randon big time. “Don’t listen to him. The boys are upset they left us alone to get into trouble again. But if not for you, Randon, I wouldn’t have been around to get into trouble. You saved my life.”
“I wish I could claim to be a hero, but I can’t.” Randon focused droopy eyes on Marissa. “I’m responsible for Cash trying to hurt you.”
Marissa blinked. She hadn’t expected either Randon’s confession or his humility. “What do you mean?”
“When Susan told me her ex used to hack into the Department of Transportation to help her dad steal cars to impress her, I told her that I’d once shut down the Ohio Power grid to win a bet. She wanted to know if I’d asked for a ransom, which I hadn’t. That’s when she said I probably wouldn’t have been able to anyway. I designed the ransomware virus just to prove I could.”
Marissa’s lips parted. What a crazy way to try to get a girl. Though he probably knew that now.
“It wasn’t until my bar fight with Zam that I realized my code had been used. I planted a bug in it to keep it from being used again. And that’s when Cash came after me.” He gave a sad smile then turned toward Greg. “I’m sure there will be legal repercussions, but I’m simply glad to be alive.”
As long as Randon had learned from his mistakes, Marissa had compassion to offer. “I’m glad you’re alive too.”
“Um...” Moria spoke softly. “You’re not the only one who believed the lies of the person you were dating.”
All eyes turned her way.
“I’m really sorry I believed the worst about you, Randon.” Her chin puckered and her eyes brimmed with tears. “I’d already lost so much time with my brother, I can’t believe I willingly gave up more.”
Randon’s hand slid slowly across the top of his thin blanket. Moria’s hand met his halfway and clasped it.
He shrugged then grimaced before looking up into her eyes. “I’m sorry I didn’t listen to your warning. If I had, I would have avoided all this.”
The unlikely pair didn’t look anything alike, but they were twins in more ways than one. Hopefully they’d continue to call each other on their faults and grow together like only they could. Marissa’s heart softened toward them both. Plus, she could really use a wedding coordinator.
“Hey, Moria.” She quirked her lips to one side and waited for the woman who should have been her twin to look up. “I found a new wedding dress, but it’s going to need some repair. I figured with the way you got the blood out of my last dress, you might be able to help with it. Is my wedding date still open on your calendar?”
Moria’s eyes widened in surprise. She looked Marissa over from head to scooter, a small smile playing on her lips. “You’re definitely going to need my help.”
Marissa stood in front of the gilded oval mirror at As You Wish Weddings. The gown still fit beautifully, but there were some rips in the lace and scorch marks from ash. It obviously needed work, but she wasn’t going to back down no matter what Moria said.
Tan
dy stood next to her for the fitting of her black dress, which turned out was the exact color Marissa had accidentally ordered. And it really wasn’t that bad. Marissa could picture her maid-of-honor holding sunflowers and standing in front of a red barn. The image was so perfect that she didn’t know what she’d complained about.
As for Moria, she circled Marissa, lips pursed in thought. She was probably trying to think of a tactful way to sell Marissa a new dress. She stepped back, dropped her arms, and shook her head. “It’s you.”
“Wh…what?” Marissa blinked. Did they actually agree on something?
Tandy grinned at Marissa’s reflection in the mirror. “It’s you,” she repeated.
Moria motioned toward the mirror, as if that should say it all. “It’s beautiful, and I can’t think of another style that would complement you more.”
Marissa lifted the hem off the ground, revealing her walking boot. “I might trip since it’s not tea length.”
Moria laughed. “I’m sure Connor will catch you.”
“That’s what he said.” Marissa grinned. Maybe Moria wasn’t that bad.
The bell on the door rang behind her.
Moria’s smile slipped. “I want your big day to be perfect. That’s why I invited your mom to join us. Every bride deserves to have her mother here for her.”
Moria was pure evil.
Marissa bugged her eyes at Tandy for help.
Tandy shrugged, not shocked at all. She’d known about this? “I’m going to help Moria get some refreshments from the back,” she said before disappearing.
Marissa closed her eyes. When she opened them, her mom’s reflection appeared over her shoulder. Though it held a strange expression that she couldn’t quite place.
Mom looked her daughter up and down. “Oh, Marissa. You’re exquisite.”
Marissa cocked her head. She’d never heard those words from Mom before. And she especially hadn’t expected them when she was wearing an old dress that needed a lot of cleaning.
Mom circled to her front and reached out to lift a floaty lace sleeve. “Where did you find your grandmother’s dress?”
Marissa sucked in a breath, tightening the bodice across her chest. Why did Mom think this was Grandmother’s dress? “I found the dress in the safehouse where I had to stay.”
Mom’s hands snapped back to cover her mouth. Her wide eyes studied Marissa’s face in alarm. “You were in a safehouse?”
Why did Mom care now? “Yeah. I told you my life was threatened.”
“I thought you were simply being dramatic.” Mom shook her head. “I didn’t realize your life was in danger. Did they catch the person after you?”
“Yeah.” Marissa had figured her parents had at least read about it in the newspaper.
Mom lowered her hands to clasp over her heart. “What would have happened if they hadn’t?”
Marissa glanced at her mom. Was this some kind of act so Mom could reclaim her role as mother of the bride? “I would have had to go into the witness protection program with Connor.”
Mom’s face crinkled despite all her many Botox sessions. “I would have lost you.”
Marissa studied the strange expression and even stranger behavior. “You didn’t seem to mind losing me the last time you walked out of here.”
“I…” Mom motioned to Marissa. “I…” She covered her mouth with her hands. “I was afraid of someone seeing me as less than the respectable woman I’ve worked so hard to become.”
Marissa barely refrained from snorting. What was respectable about trying to control her only daughter with money?
“See…” Mom fingered her sleeve again. “My own mother went into the witness protection program before I was born. But it was because her dad was part of a biker gang. When he went to jail, he became an informant, and her life was threatened.”
Numbness washed over Marissa. How was this information supposed to make her feel? Because it only felt unreal. Mom was supposedly all about proper breeding. “Your grandfather was in a biker gang?”
Mom looked down, nodding in shame. “Yes, though I never met him. I never met any family beyond my mother. I was a nobody.” Her eyes lifted, brimming with years of pain and fear. “So I worked really hard to become a somebody. I competed in beauty pageants. I married into the Alexander family. And I’m so afraid I’m going to mess it up.”
The protective shell around Marissa’s heart melted away. Her mom had made poor choices out of fear. But now she had a greater fear. The fear of losing Marissa.
Perfect love casts out fear. Marissa had the chance to join God in loving her mother despite her selfishness and the heartache she’d caused. She reached for her mom’s hand.
“Sometimes I’m afraid of messing up too,” she said. “But then I mess up anyway, and the people who love me just keep loving me.”
A smile cracked her mother’s face, releasing tears to rain onto their clasped fingers, warm and wet. “Really?”
Marissa mentally scrolled through numerous examples. Her eyes caught Tandy in the back room. “Yeah. For example, I accidentally ordered Tandy’s dress in black then I blamed her for trying to sabotage my wedding.”
Mom blinked rapidly, her lashes drying the tears like a fan. “Your maid of honor is wearing black?”
Marissa laughed. “Yeah.” This would be a good test as to whether Mom really meant her apology or not.
“Oh, baby,” Mom hugged her like she really was a child she wanted to protect. “I’ll keep loving you in spite of that mistake if you can love me even though I haven’t been here for you the way a mother should.”
Marissa closed her eyes and held on. Love conquered fear once again. “My dress is the one that really matters. Do you think it actually belonged to Grandma?”
Mom slid back to look her up and down again, radiating a kind of beauty she’d never had before. “I’ve only ever seen it in photographs, but my mother said it was specially designed for her grandmother and passed down through generations. She lost it when she went into hiding. This has to be it.”
Marissa turned to stand side by side with her mother and look into the mirror with even more awe. Somehow they both looked more beautiful than before.
Tandy strolled in and leaned against the glass counter. She popped a grape in her mouth. “Did I overhear that your great-grandfather was in a biker gang?”
Marissa sighed with contentment. This was a fact she’d never expected to find out about herself, yet it didn’t affect her the way it once would have. Knowing she was loved unconditionally had that kind of effect. “Yes, but don’t offer to let me borrow your biker boots to wear with this dress.”
Tandy grinned. “You said it, not me.”
Marissa shook her head. “Urban pirate.”
“Hey.” Tandy held out the edges of her skirt. “My dress is the color of coffee, which is perfect for a wedding.”
Mom shuddered. She still had a ways to go, but at least they were going to go together.
Marissa lifted her chin to challenge her best friend. Her wedding was going to be perfect in spite of Tandy’s dress. “How can you possibly think a coffee colored dress is perfect for my wedding?”
“Because.” Tandy smirked. “Love is brewing.”
Marissa wanted to hate it, but she couldn’t. Not after the week they’d been through. Love covered a multitude of sins.
As Moria returned with a silver tea tray, Marissa plucked a porcelain cup and held it high. The wedding planner was proving to be useful at more than simply fixing the wedding gowns Marissa had ruined. She waited for the shop owner, her mother, and her maid of honor to all pick up their own teacups. One day soon, Tandy would be toasting her and Connor. For now, she wanted to savor the moment and the women who stood beside her through all life’s difficulties.
“I’ll drink to that.”
Author Note
Dear Reader,
I hope the town of Grace Springs is starting to feel familiar to you the way it is to me. I love bringi
ng together all the crazy characters for local events, and I especially enjoyed creating the Americana Fest as I got to write it during the month of July.
I had fun researching everything from pet costume contests to bartending tricks to ransomware. My husband, Jim, works in IT, so he helped me with the ransomware.
He also inspired the beginning scene where Marissa tracks the attempted killer from the top of the roof, relaying his location over the phone to Sheriff Griffin. Jim and his coworkers did this very thing when there was a bank robbery next to his office. They were able to watch from their window and direct law enforcement officers to where the suspect was hiding.
The other story of real-life inspiration comes from my brother-in-law’s dog, Baby, who has experience with Happy Tail Syndrome. We returned to his house during a visit to find blood splattered everywhere, and my imagination ran wild. How could I NOT put it in a mystery novel?
As much fun as I had, I wanted my mystery to include a message as well. In my own life, I’ve been wrestling with understanding the idea of the fear of the Lord, so I looked at it from a writer’s perspective. It’s an author’s job to give our main character a fear at the beginning of the book that they must overcome by the end of the story, and the way we do that is to give them a bigger fear. This idea affected me powerfully.
For example, Marissa is terrified of not having her mom’s approval at the beginning of the story, but in the end, she overcomes by replacing that fear of displeasing her mother with the bigger fear of settling for an unhealthy relationship. And that’s how I think the Author of Life designed for us to fear Him. All our other fears can be overcome when our greatest fear is separation from His presence.
Learning this lesson can benefit our lives, and it will definitely benefit our spunky heroines in the next book when Marissa’s wedding takes them to Connor’s family corn maze in the middle of what my daughter calls “spooky season.”
If you want to join me in the creation of such mayhem, join my Facebook fan page, write a review on my books, and sign up for my newsletter at www.angelaruthstrong.com. You won’t want to miss the party because, I’m tellin’ ya, we party like librarians on coffee beans.
A Latte Difficulty Page 21
