by Beth Alvarez
Table of Contents
EPILOGUE
Title Page
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Other Titles by Beth Alvarez
Her Midnight Wedding
Keeper’s Kin: Book Two
by Beth Alvarez
This is a work of fiction. All characters and events are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to real people or events is entirely coincidental.
HER MIDNIGHT WEDDING
Copyright © 2017 by Beth Alvarez.
All rights reserved.
Cover art by Beth Alvarez
This book is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without the express written permission of the author.
First Edition: December 2017
Table of Contents
Title Page
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Epilogue
Other Titles by Beth Alvarez
ONE
* * *
“FELICITY HAMMOND, YOU listen here! You are not making your own wedding cake!” Miss Gertie shook her cane and then thumped it against the floor. The silver bells on the door tinkled as it swung shut behind her, punctuating the statement with a protest of their own.
Felicity caught her tongue between her teeth, training her annoyance into a polite smile. “Now, Miss Gertie, you know for a fact I don’t have any other options. Do you see another bakery in Holly Hill?” She swiped her wrist across her forehead, moving a strand of brown hair out of her eyes before turning back to the tray of pastries on the countertop. She swirled icing onto the top of each pastry with an expert hand, finishing with an extra dollop.
Despite the years between them, she’d always considered Gertie one of her dearest friends, if not the grandmother she never had. Even so, there were times the old woman made her want to tear out her hair.
It wasn’t as if Felicity wanted to bake her own cake. Between planning the rest of the wedding, preparing to open the Hilltop House for the summer festivals, and managing Love Bites—her beloved bakery—she had more than enough on her plate. But Holly Hill was rural. Even if there was another bakery within an hour of the little town they called home, Felicity doubted a wedding cake would survive the trip in the Texan heat.
“Well, you’d better find someone else to make it. It’s bad luck.” Gertie huffed, shaking her cane again before hobbling toward the counter. “As bad as marrying in red, or-”
“What about marrying at night?” Felicity put aside the icing, wiping her hands clean on a towel. “Is that bad luck, too?”
“At night?” The old woman blinked, tapping her chin with a knobby finger. “Well, no. To marry under the full moon is good luck, as a matter of fact. You aren’t thinking about a night wedding, are you?”
Felicity rounded the glass display cases of sweets and pulled out a chair at a nearby bistro table. “Well, it seems like the best idea. Given how Kade rides nights at the ranch and all. Can you imagine how tired he’d be if he had to stay up all day for the wedding?”
“He’s getting a prize of a wife in you, dearie, that’s for certain.” Stubborn as ever, Gertie pulled out the other chair and seated herself. “Now let me have a look at that ring!”
Felicity sat down across the table and held out her left hand.
The diamond she wore was larger than what she would have chosen for herself, a glamorous piece surrounded by smaller stones. But she hadn’t picked it, and neither had Kade; she felt honored to wear his mother’s ring. Considering what she knew about his family and his father’s prestigious law career, the size of the thing wasn’t a surprise.
Gertie made a small sound of approval in her throat, tilting Felicity’s hand this way and that. The stone glittered in the late afternoon light, casting rainbow flashes across the table. “I still can’t believe it took you this long to have it sized to fit. I would’ve wanted something that pretty on my finger as soon as the man gave it to me.”
“I felt a little bad about having it cut,” Felicity admitted.
“Pshaw. If your man’s mother was anything like him, she wouldn’t have cared a lick. I’m sure she couldn’t be happier to have you wear it. Every mother wants her son to settle down with a good woman, and I’ve never seen anyone fit the description so well as you.” Gertie patted her arm with her free hand, but held on to Felicity’s fingers a moment too long for the words to be comforting.
Felicity frowned. “But?”
The old woman chuckled and sat back. “Oh, girlie, you always see right through me. I’m happy for you, you know I am, but don’t you think you’re rushing?”
Folding her hands against the edge of the table, Felicity caught herself before she could sigh. She’d endured the same speech from her father a dozen times, but the worst of it was that she couldn’t deny they were right. She’d met Kade in November. She’d agreed to marry him in January, and their wedding was slated at the end of the month, seeing them married in June.
But those were the parts of their relationship visible to outsiders. Missing were the heart-pounding, nerve-wracking days in December when they’d left Holly Hill together, chasing creatures most people thought were myths—creatures like Kade, himself. She’d come too close to losing him then. She wasn’t about to risk losing their chance to be together.
“There are some things you just can’t wait for, Gertie,” she said with a shrug.
Gertie’s eyes narrowed. “And what are you waiting for, missy?”
Felicity straightened. “Excuse me?”
“That man has been living with you in your father’s house for half a year. Are you making him wait? Or did you rush into that, too?”
Fire lit her cheeks and she turned red up to her ears. Felicity shoved herself up from the table. “Miss Gertie, that is none of your business!”
“The whole town’s thinking it, Miss Felicity, I’m just saying it.” A wry smirk twisted the old woman’s mouth and she turned in her chair, watching Felicity return to the unfinished sweets. “You ought to thank your lucky stars he works nights, or their mouths would be running faster than a leaky faucet.”
“Well, let them talk. People ought to keep their noses wh
ere they belong. We’re respectful of my father, you know that. Kade keeps his room and I keep mine.” And if they tip-toed back and forth between them on the rare nights Kade wasn’t at the ranch, what difference did it make? Their wedding was coming quick and Felicity had bigger things to worry about. “But all that wedding talk reminds me, Gertie. I still have to get my dress made, and I know I can’t do that one by myself.”
“Making your dress, too?” The old woman clucked in disapproval. “Girlie, you’re going to work yourself to the bone.”
“Well, my mother was supposed to help me with it.” Felicity didn’t want to think about her mother’s absence, especially not in conjunction with weddings. They’d planned to start her wedding dress just before Helen Hammond’s cancer returned. Just before Michael—Felicity’s first fiancé—abandoned her in favor of a job. She squeezed her eyes closed, putting it out of her head. It didn’t matter now. She had Kade.
“Anyway,” she continued, “I’ve already gotten the things for it. Sewing wasn’t one of the skills my mother gave me, though. I just need a little extra help. Someone I could hire to do the hard parts, then I could finish it by myself.”
“You know I would help you, but my arthritis is too bad for me to be any use with a needle and thread,” Gertie grumbled. “But if you want someone to do the sewing, you could ask Regina Foster. She did a fair bit of it when her girls were little. Gave it up around the time Nick was born. I suppose she didn’t have the time anymore. That, or she only wanted to make dresses in the first place.”
“I didn’t know she did anything like that. Maybe I don’t know everyone in Holly Hill so well as I think.” Felicity added a little extra icing to one of the pastries, then piled her decorating tools into the empty icing bowl. “Do you want something to eat while you’re here? I’m about to close up and run deliveries for the evening, but you’re welcome to stay while I close.”
Gertie studied the nearby display case as if she hadn’t put any thought toward the sweets. “You can’t know everybody, missy. No matter how hard you try, some people will always stay a mystery. Some of us feel the same way about your sweetheart, you know.”
Felicity stifled a laugh. “About Kade? Have you tried talking to him? The man’s an open book. I think he gave me half his life story in the first week I knew him.” It wasn’t exactly a lie. Kade was perfectly forthcoming with information about his family and his former life in Nashville. It was everything after his death that he kept from people. Like how he’d made his living killing creatures like Bigfoot and the Jersey Devil. How he’d taken a whole magazine full of bullets to the stomach to protect her. How he worked midnights because the sun spelled trouble for vampires.
“Is that so?” Gertie squinted at her with a frown. “If that’s the case, then how old is he?”
“I’ll be forty-one next month, and I’ll have you know I’m sensitive about it. S’why I make Filly share her expensive buttermilk face lotions with me.” Kade stepped from the kitchen with his thumbs hooked in the pockets of his jeans, smirking beneath the shadow of his black Stetson.
Grinning, Felicity hurried to the doorway to plant a peck on his dimpled cheek.
“Forty-one!” Gertie exclaimed, slapping the table. “Kade Colton, you’re a dirty liar.”
“I ain’t in the practice of lyin’, Miss Gertie.” He gave Felicity a wink, a sparkle of mischief in his hazel eyes.
Her heart fluttered.
Kade was the cowboy of her dreams, aside from the small catch of him being dead. He was the very definition of tall, dark, and handsome, six-foot-two and built like the ideal Hollywood version of a cowboy. With that troublesome grin and the glint in his eyes, he’d all but swept her off her feet when he’d first arrived at the bed-and-breakfast. Clad in jeans and blue plaid, he didn’t look anything like what Felicity pictured when she thought of a vampire. It was the perfect cover, really; no one would ever suspect a cowboy.
“If you’re forty-one, then I must be two hundred!” Gertie reached for her cane, just so she could shake it at him.
“I’m tellin’ you, I ain’t lyin’!” Kade strode toward the old woman’s table as he dug his wallet out of his back pocket. He presented his driver’s license with a flourish.
Gertie sneered. Then she produced reading glasses from her purse and settled them on her nose for a closer inspection. She stared at his license for a long time, her eyes flicking up to his face and then back to the card. “Well, for Pete’s sake! You’re a dirty old cradle robber!”
Felicity burst into laughter, covering her mouth.
“I sure am, ma’am, and I ain’t sorry for it, either.” He stuffed his ID back into his wallet, returning it to his pocket.
“Kade,” Felicity prompted, struggling to regain her composure. “Don’t torment her. She’ll get you back.”
“I will, too!” Gertie harrumphed. “You’d better believe that’s going into the paper’s gossip column this week. Felicity, get me a couple of those cinnamon rolls and a turnover for the editor. I’m going straight over there!”
“Hey, now, no need to punish me for lookin’ good.” Smirking, Kade rejoined Felicity behind the counter. He pulled a box from beneath the storage case, folding it closed and holding it steady while Felicity piled in the sweets.
“There’s looking good, and then there’s the fountain of youth. Whatever buttermilk lotions you’re talking about, boy, you’d better let me know.” Gertie ticked a finger at him, then plucked a few bills from her purse to deposit on the counter. “Thank you, Miss Felicity. Tell your father I said hello.”
“I will. You tell everybody at the paper I said hello, too, when you get over there.” Felicity passed the box across the countertop, sweeping the money into her palm and sorting it into the till. “Thank you, Miss Gertie.”
“My pleasure.” The old woman paused, giving Kade a suspicious look. “The two of you best behave.”
“No promises,” Kade said, and Felicity nudged him in the ribs with her elbow.
“Ow.” He rubbed his side as Gertie left, the bells on the door tinkling in her wake. “What was that for?”
“For sneaking up on us like that.” She crinkled her nose at him, turning to box up the decorated pastries. A number of boxes were stacked and ready to deliver, just waiting for her to complete the last order. “What are you doing here, anyway?”
He checked his watch and shrugged. “Headed to work. Thought I’d leave a couple minutes early and see if you needed help with anything. Lend a hand with cleanin’ up or runnin’ deliveries.”
“You could start by locking the front door and turning over the sign,” Felicity said.
Kade turned toward the front of the bakery, staring at the patches of evening sunlight that still spilled through the glass. “Aw, now that’s just mean.”
“I’m also not serious.” She smirked at him over her shoulder. “That’s part of why I’m surprised to see you, though.” He wore long sleeves all year round and used a bandana to shelter his neck when he went to work in the evenings, but he never went out earlier than necessary.
“Maybe I just missed you.” He sidled close behind her, sliding his arms around her middle. His nose brushed the fine hairs at the nape of her neck, and they prickled with the little thrill that rolled down her spine. She wore her brown hair up when she worked in the bakery, though a few strands always escaped before the end of the day. He played with one now, twisting it around his finger.
“You want some pastries?” she teased, slipping out of his grasp and walking away. She flipped the sign on the door before turning the lock.
“Very funny.”
Felicity grinned. “I’ll get you to try them, one of these days.”
“Pastries ain’t what I’m hungry for.” He growled softly, catching hold of her as she tried to slip by. He twirled her close, dipping her as if in a dance, leaning in to let his fangs graze the side of her neck.
She planted a hand on his face and pushed him away. “Quiet, you. Are
you going to help me close up the shop or not?”
“All right, all right.” Kade sighed, lifting his hat to sweep a hand through his inky black hair. “Let me wash my hands, I’ll be right out.”
“Thank you.” Sliding open one of the glass display cases, she set up a small handful of boxes to hold the leftover goods. They’d be sold at a discount in the morning, and whatever wasn’t sold by lunch would be taken around to some of her customers as gifts. It was a cheap method of advertising and always seemed to work in her favor. Not that she did it often. After the first few months, she’d gotten a good idea of how many sweets she’d sell each day. In the rare instances she did have leftovers, they were usually quick to sell.
Kade reappeared in the kitchen doorway a moment later, drying his hands on a paper towel. “In full honesty, I did miss you. That’s why I came by.”
“Oh, and not because you were hungry?” Felicity raised a brow, sealing each box with a black-and-white striped sticker that matched the walls of the bakery’s front room. The shop’s name decorated the front in gold lettering, just like what she’d painted on the window.
“I’m bein’ serious, Filly. Now that it’s summertime, I feel like I never get to see you.” He joined her by the display case. “It was different when it got dark at four o’clock. Now you’re out here until six, and I can’t hardly get over here to see you before I head for the ranch.”
She shrugged. “I can’t do much about the hours I have to keep. I could ask Daddy to take over some afternoons. Maybe I could see you then.”
“It’d be a start.” Kade pressed a kiss to her temple.
“Or,” she said with a smirk, “you could always join us for dinner before you head out to the ranch.”
The frown he gave her was so stern she couldn’t help but laugh.
He stifled a sigh, closing the display case and stepping out of the way. “You know I can’t do that.”
“You said you couldn’t come see me in the evening, either, but here you are.” She stuck out her tongue, then put stickers on the last of the boxes and carried them to the discount rack against the wall. “Which I appreciate, for the record. I wanted to talk to you for a minute.”
