“Okay,” Freddie said, coming up to me as I was doing a walk around the tent. “I know this morning was…”
I nodded. “It was.”
“But we need to rally. I can hardly believe it myself, but this wedding is actually coming together.”
I nodded.
“So we have to show a little … joy,” he said, punching me on the shoulder.
“Ow.”
“For Candace.”
“I know. You’re right. I’m trying.”
“No you’re not.”
“Well, I will try. It’s just…” I stopped walking and put my sunglasses on my head. “How is it possible that someone’s life can go so wrong? I mean, if two people love each other, shouldn’t they be together?”
“Are you asking me or Grady?”
I frowned at him. “Grady’s not here.”
“Indeed.”
I shook my head and started walking again. “Life’s just too short, you know. I mean, everything would have turned out so differently if Mary had just told Frank how she felt twenty years ago.”
“That’s no guarantee that they would have worked out.”
“But that’s my point exactly. Life is short. We need to…” I grabbed my forehead. “I don’t know what I’m trying to say.”
Suddenly Freddie was shaking his fists in the air. “Carpe diem!”
“Are you seizing the day or strangling it?”
“Whatever works.” He dropped his hands. “The point is we get to be part of something tomorrow. Two people who are really, really in love are getting married. And we get to witness that. And what’s more, it’s going to be beautiful, and everyone at that ceremony will know that it was me who—”
Suddenly we heard someone very angry shout, “That’s it! I’ve had it!”
I blinked at Freddie. “Was that…?”
“It sounded like…”
We looked at each other. “Candace.”
Chapter Forty-five
Freddie and I scurried over to the reception tent, waving and smiling at all the retreatgoers and volunteers who were helping out.
“It’s okay,” Freddie called out. “Everything’s fine. The bride’s just…”
“Practicing a dramatic reading,” I called out.
“A dramatic reading?” Freddie whispered.
“I didn’t hear you coming up with anything better.”
We hurried into the tent. The entire wedding party was inside except for Joey. They were supposed to be practicing their entrances after the ceremony. Candace was standing in the middle of the group in jeans and T-shirt and a veil. Antonia and Candace’s parents had backed up to give her some distance. Nonna was there too but she was wandering around in the back corner of the tent, and it looked like she had trapped herself in some chairs again.
“Candace,” Antonia said, putting her hands up. “I just meant—”
“I know exactly what you meant!” Candace snapped. “And I am not having it, do you hear me? I am not having it!”
“What do you think is happening?” I whispered to Freddie.
He shook his head. “I could be wrong, but I think we might be witnessing the birth of a bridezilla.”
“You know what?” Candace shouted. “I love you all. I really, really do.”
“I sense a but coming on,” Freddie whispered.
“But I have so had it!” Oh wow, Candace was getting very … red. “I’ve had it with you,” she said, pointing at her father. “I’ve have it with you,” she said, pointing at her mother. “And I’ve really had it with you!” she shouted, pointing at Antonia.
“Hey,” Freddie whispered. “It’s like You get a car! And you get a car! And you get—” He stopped when he caught my look. “But you know, really messed up.”
“This wedding has faced a lot of setbacks,” Candace announced in the fake calm voice people use when they are really, really upset.
“That’s because it’s cursed,” Antonia muttered.
Candace turned her head exorcist-style to look at her future sister-in-law—who finally had the good sense to keep her mouth shut.
“Cursed or not, this wedding is happening.”
“Candace, sweetheart—”
“Mom,” Candace said, whipping around to face her. “Stop talking now.”
“But—”
“Stop talking!” she barked.
Everybody froze.
“And you know what? This wedding is not cursed. You know how I know that?”
I shook my head quickly side to side, but she wasn’t really looking at me. I kind of had the feeling we all might be in trouble though.
“Because Joey and I love each other. Mom? Dad? Do you hear me? We love each other,” she said, pounding her chest. “Antonia? Your brother loves me. And I will cherish him the rest of my life.”
“He’s her home!” I called out.
Everyone turned to look at me.
“What?” Freddie whispered. “What does that even mean?”
“It means … just never mind,” I muttered. “It was really sweet the way she explained it.”
“So listen up, people,” Candace shouted. “My friends,” she said, waving a hand in our direction, “have been busting their asses…”
“Oh no, she swore,” Freddie said with a gasp. “Somebody’s gonna die.”
“… to give me and Joey our special day.”
“That’s right!” Freddie shouted with a general point.
“Even if they did come a little late to the game.”
Freddie’s hand dropped. “Kind of stings when she turns it directly at you.”
I nodded.
“So this day is happening!”
“You know,” Freddie whispered. “I haven’t seen this side of Candace since—”
“Oh! That’s the story I was trying to remember,” I said, flapping my hands. “Hey Antonia—sorry to interrupt, Candace—remember when I was saying that Candace knows how to take care of herself? But I couldn’t think of an example?”
Antonia—and everybody else for that matter—just looked at me like I was crazy.
“Well, Candace almost flattened the entire town with a giant billboard raspberry once.”
No reaction. Just the crazy eyes.
“It’s true,” I said, nodding big. “Plowed right into it with a truck.”
Antonia’s disbelief transformed into concern.
“Oh, don’t worry,” I said, waving a hand in the air. “We totally deserved it.”
“Maybe it’s not Candace,” Antonia said to … herself really. “Maybe it’s this town.”
“Who’s getting married?” Nonna asked, suddenly coming up to the group.
“Joey!” Candace shouted. “To me.”
The woman turned her watery eyes up to me. “Does he know she yells like that? What happened to that sweet girl he was going to marry?”
“Same girl,” I said with a nod.
“Do you like squirrels?”
I shook my head no.
She patted my arm. “That’s good.”
“So here’s what’s going to happen,” Candace shouted. “The wedding train is leaving the station whether you all like or not.”
“All aboard!” Freddie called out.
“So if you can’t be happy for us, then there’s the door,” she said, pointing at the tent flap.
Just then Joey walked into the tent carrying a long ladder tucked under his arm. “Hey guys, sorry I’m late. Someone said a string of lights was … what’s going on?”
Nobody answered.
“Is everything okay in here?”
Antonia stepped forward. “Yeah … everything’s okay.”
“Really?”
She nodded.
“Well … good,” he said, dropping the feet of the ladder onto the ground and unfolding the top.
“Uh, Joey,” I called out. “Maybe you shouldn’t be the one working on the ladder. The wedding’s tomorrow and—”
“Oh,
it’s no big deal,” Joey said, gripping the sides and putting a foot on the bottom rung. “I’ll just—”
“She said no ladder!” Candace shouted.
Joey’s eyes went wide. “No … ladder?”
“No ladder,” Candace said more quietly but just as firmly.
“Okay then.” He quickly picked it back up again. “Right.” He looked back at Candace. “Are you sure everything is…?”
“Everything’s great,” Antonia called out. “Candace is … great.”
“Really?” he asked with a hopeful smile.
She smiled back and nodded.
Joey, looking happier than he had in weeks, turned around and left the way he came.
“Love you, baby,” Candace shouted after him.
“Love you too!”
We all turned back to see Candace smiling and clutching her hands together. “Okay, now that that’s all settled…”
“You’re getting married!” I shouted.
“I’m getting married!”
Chapter Forty-six
Otter Lake woke up to a perfect day.
I was really getting the whole thing of why people had weddings in late spring. It was warm but not hot. Sunny without a cloud in the sky. The water was sparkling on the lake. It was the kind of weather that made you think that happy endings were possible.
Rhonda, Antonia, and I were all in my bedroom at the lodge getting Candace ready.
“You look beautiful,” Rhonda said, putting one last dab of pink gloss on Candace’s lower lip. “You look just like one of those brides on top of a wedding cake.”
“Thank you,” Candace said, her smile deepening her dimples. “It’s almost time to go though, isn’t it?”
I checked the time and nodded.
“Yeah,” Rhonda said, hurrying to the door. “I’d better get going. My date’s probably wondering where I am. I’ll send your dad to come get you in ten.”
I hurried after her. “Um … Rhonda?”
She turned around.
I scratched the back of my neck. “You didn’t tell me you had a date. What date are we talking about? Is it anyone I know?”
She put up her hands. “It’s not what you think, Erica.”
I dropped my voice. “Tell me right now that you did not bring the tree rat—I mean, tree man—to the wedding.”
“It’s not what you think. Don’t worry. Everything’s cool,” she said, backstepping quickly.
“Rhonda,” I growled through my teeth. “Don’t you—”
“Bye!”
I closed the door and turned back around, smiling at Candace.
“Hey, Erica, my mom isn’t out there, is she? I was kind of hoping she’d get to see me before, you know…”
“Um, not right this second she’s not, but…” I grabbed my phone off my dresser and typed a quick message. “I’ll go get her for you in just a moment. But before I do…”
Candace’s eyes darted over my face. “Is something wrong?”
“Well,” I said, looking up from my phone. “I’m not exactly sure how to say this…”
“What? What is it?” She brought her hand to her chest. “Just tell me.”
I sighed. “I’ve been thinking about it, and I know I said I would … but I don’t think I should be your maid of honor.”
Candace’s hand dropped to her side. “What? Why?”
I looked down at the floor and shook my head. “Well, like I was trying to tell you before, it’s hard to put into words exactly, but I’m not really a wedding person and—”
“Erica,” Candace said, voice tightening. “Please tell me you’re not saying this right now. You don’t mean it, right? You’re just—”
“You know what?” I said, looking up at her. “I think it might be better if I just showed you what I’m trying to say.”
I walked back over to my bedroom door and swung it open.
Nobody was there.
“Show me what? Why—”
“Freddie!” I hissed into the hallway.
Just then Candace’s mother came to the door, beautiful smile on her face … with Candace’s sister.
“Bethanny?” Candace whispered. “Bethanny!”
Suddenly the two sisters were hugging and jumping up and down in that excited way women wearing heels do.
“But how?” Candace asked.
“Freddie’s got about two million frequent flyer miles,” I said just as he walked into the room. “It’s his family’s card.”
“What?” Candace shrieked happily.
“It was nothing,” Freddie said. “Consider it your wedding present.”
“Freddie!” Candace shouted, still jumping. “You are the best wedding planner ever!”
“I know,” he said happily. I elbowed him in the ribs. “Erica helped.”
A couple of minutes of excited chatter passed when a knock sounded on the door.
“All right. All right,” Freddie said, holding out his hands. “Everybody stop crying. You’re going to wreck your makeup.” He then clapped his hands in the air. “Places!”
I came up behind him and whispered, “You did good.”
He looked back at me. “We did good.”
I smiled.
“But especially me.”
I nodded.
“Okay, everyone! Let’s get this girl married!”
Chapter Forty-seven
The wedding was beautiful. I know everyone says the wedding was beautiful … kind of like everyone says all newborns are beautiful … even when they aren’t … because only terrible, terrible people think otherwise … but Candace’s wedding really was beautiful.
My mom really did a wonderful job. She had a lot of nice things to say about love. I didn’t know she could be such a sentimentalist. And I was only a little disconcerted by how often she looked over to Zaki during the ceremony. I mean, I liked Zaki … but the whole thing was still weird.
The reception looked like it was going to go off without a hitch too. As the sun set, we tied back the sides of the tent to let the night air rush across the dance floor. The inside glowed with warm yellow lanterns and twinkly lights.
I found a spot just outside the tent to get a clear view of the dance floor. Doug was just about to get the music started, and I wanted to be sure I had a good view of Candace and Joey. I took a sip of champagne. I didn’t think we were going to be able to pull it off, but—
Just then a dog let out a howl from one of the tables and the crowd laughed.
“Carmen!” Mrs. Roy snapped.
Yup, Mrs. Roy had brought Carmen to the wedding. She was wearing a lovely corsage on her collar. Mrs. Roy had brought a boutonniere for Stanley too.
She caught me looking at her, so I shot her a thumbs-up.
It turned out the tree branch bouquets were gorgeous. Mrs. Roy had tied fat white satin ribbons around small evergreen branches, ferns, and just enough white roses and lily of the valley to make it work. She even made the pinecone accents look pretty. I never should have doubted her for a moment.
Yup, everything had turned out pretty perfec—
Just then I noticed a woman in a lovely lavender dress headed my way. I didn’t recognize her at first all dressed up, but … Sheriff Bigly?
I was kind of surprised Candace had invited her, but then again, no I wasn’t. Candace liked everybody. She just couldn’t help herself.
“Erica,” Sheriff Bigly said with a nod.
“Sheriff,” I said.
“It was a beautiful ceremony,” she said, coming to stand beside me.
“It was,” I said with a nod. “They’re a great couple.”
A moment passed before she added, “And who would have thought you and Freddie would make such a good team?”
I met her eye.
She smiled. “Well, Grady did try to tell me that actually. It was just hard to listen given all the stories.”
I frowned at her. “Grady told you that?”
She nodded. “We talked most nights.
He wanted to be kept apprised of the investigation. Mentioned several times that…” She frowned. “How did he put it?” She wagged a finger in the air. “That you and Freddie had a way of shaking evidence free.”
I smiled. I knew Grady never would have abandoned the town.
“He also said that you two would drive me nuts, so he was right about that too.”
“I am sorry that—”
She waved a hand out and cleared her throat. “I thought you’d be interested to know that we have Mary’s confession. She’s being transported upstate.”
“Oh.”
She nodded. “And Justin has been released. Said he’s headed down to the Keys.”
“Well, I’m glad it’s over.” I took a deep breath. “I’ve been wondering though, what’s going to happen to the money? Is it going to Justin?” I was kind of thinking that was a bad idea if it turned out to be the case. He didn’t seem to be the type to do well with that much money upfront, and I kind of got the impression that he had some sort of substance-abuse problem.
She shook her head. “No. I don’t think so.”
I frowned. “Lyssa had family after all? Candace thought—”
“None that I could find,” she said, looking up at the stars. “The way I see it, the money was given freely to Lyssa, so it was legally hers. Lyssa then put that money into Candace’s gift box. Sounds like a wedding present to me.”
My eyes darted over her face.
“Candace being the sweet girl that she is, well, she’s already asked for the name of Frank’s daughter.”
“She has?”
“She has.” Sheriff Bigly smiled again. She was a really nice-looking woman when she didn’t look like she wanted to throttle you.
We stood watching the dancing for a while longer in silence before Sheriff Bigly said, “Well, I think I’m going to head down to the dock, and see if I can catch Red’s next trip to the mainland. You have a nice night, Erica.”
“Sleep well, Sheriff.”
She smiled. “I think I just may do that.” She nodded and ambled away.
“Oh! Don’t forget to say bye to Don!”
She shot me look and wagged a finger.
I shrugged. What? They were both widowers.
I turned my attention back to Candace and Joey dancing. She was so little in his big werewolf arms … and the way they were looking at each other? It was enough to make a girl tear up.
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