I blinked a few times. When I could finally see straight, I spotted Rhonda …
… with her date!
It was him.
Topless insurance guy!
Although he was wearing a shirt tonight.
What was she thinking? Freddie was going to freak out! He might even flip a table. Granted, flipping a table at a formal event was on his bucket list of things to accomplish before he died, but—I waved a hand at her to come over.
“Hey,” Rhonda said, coming up, her hand in our target’s. “Erica, I want you to meet someone.” She put her hand on her date’s chest. “This is George.”
“I know who George is, Rhonda,” I said tightly then frowned. “Wait … I thought your name was Jake? Didn’t the file say Jake?”
Rhonda and George slash Jake laughed.
“Actually, we wanted to let you in on a little secret,” Rhonda said with a smile.
I raised my brow. “What little secret?”
“George works for the insurance agency,” she said, patting his chest again. “He’s quality control. They were testing us to see if we could get the job done.”
“What? How did you—”
“Well, after our little talk, I knew I had to go with my instincts about George here. So I started doing some checking. Like who owned the property we were scoping. If there was anything funny linked to his license plate. I still have my contacts from my police days, you know.”
“Then she followed me home one night,” George said. “To my real address. I just needed a change of clothes and—”
“I told him I knew what he was up to,” she said, gazing at him.
“I was impressed by her thoroughness,” he said, gazing right back.
Nobody was looking at me. Which was good. My jaw was hanging down.
“Anyway, he’s going to give us a great recommendation to the insurance company.”
“I think you should expect a lot of business to be coming your way,” he said with a nod before looking back at Rhonda. “Not a lot of investigators want to come out here. Certainly none as talented as Rhonda.”
“Wow, that’s … awesome!”
“I know,” Rhonda said, leaning in to give me a hug. Once her mouth was at my ear, she whispered, “George did his research on us ahead of time. I think that shirtless show was for my benefit. He likes the gingers.”
“And he is a ginger,” I whispered.
“I know. It’s a lot of spice.”
Rhonda leaned back and George asked, “Do you want to dance?”
“I’d love to,” Rhonda said, putting her hand in his.
Just then I noticed Freddie making a beeline through the crowd to get to us.
“Tell me that is not who I think it is,” Freddie said when he got to my side.
“It is,” I said, shaking my head, “but it isn’t.” I told him the story.
“Oh thank God,” Freddie said when I was through. “And holy crap! That’s awesome!”
I smiled. “I know.”
“It’s like my whole life is coming together all at once,” Freddie said, shaking his head. “I’ve got you. I’ve got Sean. I’ve got the business … with Rhonda as my star employee. No offense.”
“Not employees, Freddie. Partners.”
“Right. Right,” he said. He took a deep breath. “And I think the wedding’s a hit.”
“I agree.”
We both looked back to the dance floor. Everyone was getting in on the action now. Even Candace’s parents were dancing … and smiling.
“It wasn’t easy though.”
“No, it was not.” I looked over at him. “It almost broke us up.”
Freddie scoffed. “Like that’s ever going to happen.”
“Hey, you’re the one who said it. Our relationship caused trouble between me and Grady, and now it has caused trouble between you and Sean. We have to figure out a way to make room for other … significant others in our lives.”
“Totes,” he said with a nod. “We’ll put it on the whiteboard. You can write.”
“I’m being serious.”
Freddie shot me his most serious face. “I don’t joke about the whiteboard, Erica. We’ll make a list of things we can do to improve our other relationships. Tomorrow. Or the next day … I’ve got company,” he said, jabbing me in the ribs.
“Speaking of Sean, he does seem to be fitting in well,” I said, holding my champagne flute out in his direction. He was laughing and talking with a whole bunch of people. I was guessing everybody wanted to get the lowdown on Freddie’s boyfriend.
“He does, doesn’t he?” Freddie said, smiling. “But how are you doing with everything?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I know it’s a wedding, and you’re not a wedding person, so…?”
“Yeah, I’ve been giving that some thought,” I said. “I had a minor epiphany when I was meditating with Zaki.”
“You did?”
“Just before I figured out the whole thing with Mary.” I took a breath. Suddenly I was nervous. Like if I said this out loud it would become real.
“Well?”
“I kind of had this weird moment where I was picturing myself walking down the aisle—”
“And let me guess, Grady was waiting for you.”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “I didn’t see who was waiting for me. I just … more felt who was missing.”
“What?”
“My father,” I said, looking at Freddie. “I think I really want to know who my father is.”
“Your father?” Freddie shook his head. “Whoa. That’s … big.”
I nodded. It was big. I had always acted as though not knowing who my father was wasn’t that big of a deal. But it was. I had a story to me that I knew nothing about. I hadn’t pressed my mother hard on it in years, mainly because even a mere mention of the topic caused her pain, but … I had a right to know, didn’t I? And the more I thought about it, the more I was starting to think that that whole issue was the answer to my question. Of why I was still single. Or at least part of it. Not that I needed to know who my father was to complete me. No, it was more like I couldn’t believe that I deserved all those traditional things like a husband, a wedding, a white picket fence … a baby, if I didn’t think I was worth it enough to demand answers.
“But in answer to your question,” I said. “I’m happy. Really happy seeing that.” I pointed to Candace and Joey. “I think she really liked your tribute to Lyssa by the way.”
We both looked over to the far side of the property—the spot right where the stairs led down to the lake—at the mechanical bull.
Yup, it had taken some doing, but we had rented the same mechanical bull that Lyssa had gotten for the bachelorette party and placed it on the lawn surrounded by pictures of Lyssa.
“Yeah,” Freddie said, rocking on his heels. “Lycra might not have been the best person but—”
I slapped him on the chest. “You have to stop doing that.”
“What?”
“Lycra.”
Freddie looked at me miserably. “I can’t. Because if I do, that will be like admitting I’m a really bad person, and”—he dropped his voice to a whisper—“I don’t want Sean to know what a bad person I am. So I decided just to roll with it and act all tough like it didn’t bother me, and then maybe other people wouldn’t think it was so bad if I was like … owning it.”
“That doesn’t make any sense, Freddie.”
“Do you know how bad I felt when I found out she died? Out of all the people who had to die, why did it have to be the one person whose name I made fun of?”
I blinked. “Now I think you might be a bad person.”
“I’m so ashamed.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “I think you made up for it with the tribute, but no more Lycra.”
Freddie nodded. “Anyway, she may have done crappy things, but she didn’t deserve … what happened to her.”
I nodded.
<
br /> We turned back to the dance floor.
“Well,” Freddie said. “All in all I think we’ve learned a lot these two weeks about love, and relationships— Oh! There he is! Grady!” Freddie was waving his hand in the air.
“What are you doing?” I hissed, yanking it down. “What about the boundaries we talked about?”
“I thought we weren’t doing that yet. Whiteboard, remember?” He looked back to the dance floor and shouted, “Erica wants to dance!”
Grady didn’t move from his chair.
“I hate you. I hate you. I hate—”
“He’s getting up.”
He was getting up.
I swallowed hard.
“Okay,” Freddie said, turning to me and leaning in close, “And I’ve decided this whole not telling you what Grady’s been doing is stupid. You two don’t know how to communicate. You never have. So here it is. He’s trying to like change and grow as a person in hopes that maybe you two could actually get together. When he found out you kissed Matthew, he was upset, but he also realized he could lose you forever, and he doesn’t want that. He’s even been talking to your mother, and—oh! He read Zaki’s book.”
“Are you serious?”
He whacked me on the arm. “Of course I’m serious. Stop interrupting. He’s also been doing stuff like yoga and knitting to cope with the stress of being this wackadoo town’s sheriff. And he’s trying to remember what it was like to be the guy he was before he was this wackadoo town’s sheriff. But here’s the thing, he’s not entirely sure that people can change—or that you two can change how you are together—but he’s trying really hard, so don’t screw this up. Any questions?”
“I … um…” That was a lot of news to digest. “How … how do my bangs look?”
Freddie’s eyes flicked up to my brow. “Awful.” He then licked his fingers and smoothed them to the side. “Now they look cute, young Audrey Hepburn.”
“I…”
“No time for that. You’re welcome. Gotta go.” Freddie zipped away. Not that I really noticed. I suddenly had tunnel vision. All I could see was Grady walking across the dance floor.
He held out a hand to me.
I put mine in his.
His hand was so warm. Chills raced up my sides.
“Sorry,” I said quickly. “It was Freddie’s idea to call you over.”
He stopped his lead of me to the dance floor. “So you don’t want to … dance?”
“No. No. I totally do.”
“Oh, okay.” He smiled. “Good.”
We carved our own little space in between all the couples. I suspected a lot of them were watching us, but I only had eyes for one thing … and I stepped into its arms … his arms … whatever.
Once my hand rested on his shoulder with my other hand in his, every part of me sighed. It had been so long.
“So,” he said, moving his palm from the side of my waist to the small of my back. “I thought you might be interested to know I went over to see Tommy today.”
I leaned my head back a little so that I could look him in the eye. “You did?”
He nodded. “I heard you guys were going over there tomorrow to help him clean up.”
“Yeah, it’s no big deal.”
“I wanted to come and help,” he said, looking down at me with those blue eyes that were even prettier up close. “I think my family needs to keep a closer eye on him, and I’ve got one last day of vac—” He stopped himself short.
I laughed. “It’s okay. You can say vacation. I won’t freak out. I’m not sure why I was so…” I just shook my head and closed my eyes.
“I get it,” Grady said. “I mean, from your perspective it was a big change. It must have seemed—”
“Change is good,” I said quickly—while nodding quickly. “I’m a big believer in change.”
He cocked his head a little and smiled. “I’m also sorry for the other night with all the stretching and … whatever that was.”
I looked up at him. He was blushing! Oh my God, Grady was blushing. “You never have to apologize for stretching without your shirt on. There is absolutely nothing to be sorry for.”
He laughed. “Yeah, but I’m kind of embarrassed. I’ve just been trying to figure some things out … about me. And us…”
Oh boy. Oh boy. Oh boy. Don’t screw this up, Erica.
I cleared my throat just to make sure I had a voice. “Us?”
“Erica,” he said, locking eyes with me. “I don’t want to be done.”
I shook my head then switched directions and nodded up and down. “Me neither. I’m not done. Not even a little bit. I’m still rare. Like so rare, I’m still bloody and—I think you know what I mean.”
“I don’t care anymore if everyone in this town thinks we’re crazy,” he said. “I just … don’t want to be done.”
“Me neither.” I keep my mouth firmly shut after saying those two words this time.
“We have to do things differently though.”
“I know. I know. I was thinking the same thing.”
“Maybe take things really slow.”
“Exactly,” I said. “Like we’ve never even really dated.”
He frowned. “I was thinking even slower than that.”
“There is slower than dating?”
“Friends.”
“Oh.” I nodded. “Friends?”
“Well,” he said, tipping his head side to side, “friends who maybe don’t date other people.”
I nodded. “I think … I think I’d like that.”
“Good,” Grady said, pulling me in closer.
We danced in silence for a little then Grady put his mouth close to my ear and whispered, “Have you noticed all of the music so far has been from the seventies?”
I nodded. “It’s a long story.”
“This is town is so weird sometimes,” he said, leaning back to look me in the eyes. “But I love it.”
“I love it too.”
Also by Auralee Wallace
Skinny Dipping with Murder
Pumpkin Picking with Murder
Snowed In with Murder
Ring in the Year with Murder
Praise for the Otter Lake mystery series
“Delightful … with laugh-out-loud moments, a touch of romance, and a fun, sassy style. Readers will enjoy every moment spent in Otter Lake.”
—Diane Kelly, award-winning author of Death, Taxes, and a Shotgun Wedding
“A frolicking good time … with a heroine who challenges Stephanie Plum for the title of funniest sleuth.”
—New York Times bestselling author Denise Swanson
“Time spent with the folks in Otter Lake is well worthwhile, with writing that is witty, contemporary, and winning.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Wonderfully entertaining!”
—RT Book Reviews
About the Author
Auralee Wallace is the author of the Otter Lake Mystery series which includes Skinny Dipping with Murder and Pumpkin Picking with Murder. She has played many roles in her life, including college professor, balloon seller, and collections agent. When this semi-natural blonde mother of three children (and psychiatric nurse to two rescue cats) isn't writing humorous novels about quirky characters, she can often be found pontificating about the Golden Age of soap operas or warring with a family of peregrine falcons for the rights to her backyard. You can sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
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
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Also by Auralee Wallace
Praise for the Otter Lake mystery series
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
DOWN THE AISLE WITH MURDER
Copyright © 2018 by Auralee Wallace.
All rights reserved.
For information address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
ISBN: 978-1-250-15147-6
Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact your local bookseller or the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, ext. 5442, or by e-mail at [email protected].
Down the Aisle with Murder Page 24
