Wedding Mints and Witnesses

by Kelsey Browning

  “Seriously?” Abby Ruth tried to shove it back into Sera’s hands. “No way. A dress once worn by a famous actress has to be worth a fortune.”

  “I didn’t know it at the time of Jessie’s funeral, but when Marcus and I returned to California, I was contacted by her attorney. Jessie left me all her clothes.”

  “Goodness.” Maggie blinked. “Will you have to rent a storage unit to hold them all?”

  Sera chuckled. “Marcus is having a room added to our house. I might set up a museum for Jesse out at the Gypsy Cotton Gallery. Could be good for tourism around here. I don’t know, but I do know that dress is perfect for this occasion. Consider it yours, Abby Ruth.”

  Abby Ruth couldn’t imagine living like that. Adding on a room for more clothes seemed cuckoo. Her horse trailer had served her just fine before she’d landed in Summer Shoals. Sometimes Summer Haven felt too big.

  Which made her think of Red living in Teague’s small house. It was snug, with enough room for two. Maybe Red’s choice made more sense than she’d realized, because small and cozy was her style too. What would it feel like to live there with him, to wake up beside him every day? Not that he’d ever asked.

  Abby Ruth quickly tabled that thought for later consideration. “Thank you, Sera. But I’ll be giving this back right after the wedding.”

  “Whatever makes you happy,” Sera said.

  “I’ll tell you what makes me happy,” Lil said. “That Jenny and Teague worked all this out.”

  She would never tell a soul, but Abby Ruth was slightly disappointed that she and Red wouldn’t have to playact at being the bride and groom. Still, right now she was the happiest a mother could be. Her daughter was finally marrying the man Abby Ruth had always considered family, and more importantly, he made Jenny happy. And Jenny’s happiness was all Abby Ruth had ever wanted.

  “Perfect,” Maggie said. “Because we may need you to run down these cons. That might be a little harder if you and he were playing wedding couple.”

  “Uh-uh,” Abby Ruth said, pouring on the stern tone she’d used with men in the sports industry her entire career. “If the real wedding is back on, then the sting is off.”

  “Wow,” Sera said. “Never thought I’d hear you say something like that.”

  “Things are entirely too dicey for me to risk upsetting Jenny again so soon after our complete family meltdown.”

  “Have you forgotten that one of those swindlers took Lil’s rings?” Maggie asked, her hands going to her hips. “We can’t let someone get away with that.”

  “You know as well as I do those things have probably already been pawned.” Abby Ruth caught Lil’s wince. “Sorry about that, but you know it’s true.”

  “Abby Ruth is right. My rings are probably long gone. Not just my rings, but Virginia’s jewels too. The only way to prevent anything from going wrong during this wedding is to cancel every vendor. There’s no time for that.”

  Maggie squared off with Abby Ruth. “Don’t you want justice for the women you claim to care about?”

  “Whoa, what has you so riled up today?”

  Maggie’s feisty posture relaxed. “It’s just that we worked so hard to get Lil’s rings back when we took down our very first bad guy. Not only do those rings represent Lil’s marriage, but they’re a symbol of the G Team. Our unity. It’s part of where all this began.”

  “She has a point.” Sera wrapped her arm around Abby Ruth. “And we already have a plan. In fact, you don’t have to be involved at all, Abby Ruth. You just forget all about the case and enjoy your moment as mother of the bride.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  On June fifteenth, the sun was shining brightly, and Georgia had finally received a bit of a break from the recent heat wave. The perfect day for a wedding.

  Abby Ruth headed to the carriage house to see if Maggie had heard from the florist yet. Time was ticking, and not one arrangement had arrived. And as if that weren’t bad enough, Winnie hadn’t brought the bride’s bouquet yet. Wasn’t like her daughter could carry flowers plucked out of the garden.

  “Mags? Are you out here?”

  “Over here.”

  Abby Ruth spun toward Maggie’s voice, where she saw just the top of her dark-haired head poking up like a gopher in a pea patch. But instead of a pea patch there were flowers galore.

  “So this is where the flowers are. That’s why I was looking for you. I was getting worried.”

  Bruce waved. “Hi, Abby Ruth. We have it all under control.”

  “Why is it the more y’all tell me that, the more I worry?” She rounded the end of the table and looked at the beautiful arrangement of flowers. Something glossy seemed to look back at her. She stepped closer to the arrangement and poked at it, disturbing the greenery. “What the heck is that thing?”

  “They’re cameras.” Maggie rushed over and rearranged a couple of glossy leaves, which camouflaged the beady eyes that had been staring at Abby Ruth.

  “Like a nanny cam?” Abby Ruth picked up the arrangement and eyed the furry thing with a ringed tail. “Is that a lemur?”

  “Yep. We have stuffed monkeys, bears, and all kinds of stuff.”

  “What kid wants a lemur staring out at him? You ask me, there’s something shifty about them.”

  “Bruce got us a heckuva deal on these nanny cams, so I couldn’t be picky. Most important thing is we’ll have everything under surveillance. Every table. Every angle.”

  “You don’t think people will notice? Jenny will kill me.”

  Maggie tucked the leaves into place, using a piece of green camo duct tape to secure them to the stuffed animal housing the camera. Only one shiny black eye was left unconcealed. “It’s fine. Trust me. We had to get creative, but we could guarantee the safety of the Hope Diamond with all the security I have in place today.”

  Bruce cleared his throat.

  “With Bruce’s help.” Maggie gave Bruce an ooey-gooey grin.

  Bruce beamed. “I’ll take these out to the tables.”

  “Thanks, Bruce,” Maggie said.

  He grabbed two arrangements and hurried out.

  “You two are adorable together,” Abby Ruth said. “Bruce and Maggie sitting in a tree—”

  “Oh, stop it.” Maggie swatted her hand. “Like you have much room to talk with the way you flutter your eyelashes at Red.”

  Ignoring the potential truth of that statement, Abby Ruth strolled over to a white box sitting on another table. She traced her fingers across the intricate scrolling that had the look of leather tooling. “Did you make this?”

  “I did. Don’t go trying to change the subject.”

  Abby Ruth turned to hide the flush on her cheeks.

  Maggie swatted at her arm. “You’d better scoot, or you’ll be wearing jeans to this wedding…and you know Sera and Lil would have a fit if that happened.”

  “I’m just feeling a little nervous.”

  “I understand, but don’t be.”

  Bruce came back in and dragged a lawn chair out and set it in front of Maggie’s workbench. With the touch of a button, the dusty old television flickered to life, then a grid of images filled the screen.

  “Yes!” Bruce fist-pumped then turned to Maggie for a high-five.

  “It works!” Maggie gave him a hug.

  Abby Ruth’s heart filled at seeing those two enjoying this project together. Dang it, this wedding stuff had her as emotional as one of those women who cried during Hallmark movies. She sniffled to gather herself. Maggie was right. Probably best if she went and got ready.

  “Thanks for working on this with us, Bruce.” Abby Ruth waved as she turned to leave. Maybe a nice brisk walk around the grounds would give her enough time to get her head on right.

  She’d made an awful lot of memories here at Summer Haven since Teague coerced her into spying on Lil and Maggie. Who would’ve thunk she’d still be here, and as thick as thieves with them. The grass had finally grown in over the swampy septic tank fiasco, and right there in
the curve of the driveway was where Red had beaned that baddie with a fastball as impressive as any he’d thrown in the pros.

  Summer Haven really was a beautiful place for a wedding. The gazebo had been beautifully restored, even Maggie couldn’t argue that. Today it was draped with twinkle lights and white tulle flecked with glitter. Girly, yes. But Jenny deserved a fairytale today.

  Assuming a greedy ogre didn’t mess up the whole thing.

  Put on your suit of optimism today, Abby Ruth.

  She would not let a single thing ruin this day.

  Inside the gazebo, a handsome young man was setting up the cake. When they’d said a six-layer cake she’d thought it sounded like it would be too large for the small wedding, but it was what Hannah and Brandon had ordered. No one had mentioned that the bottom layer was a good twenty-four-inches wide—from here it looked more like a kitten condo than a cake. They’d be eating cake for a year.

  Good thing she was a fan of the stuff.

  She spotted Teague—handsome in his tux—standing near the crazy fountain at the front of the property. Probably wishing he was already on his honeymoon, if she knew him.

  The fountain was made from ornate mosaic designs, twelve in all, and had the reputation for granting wishes. One of Lil’s ancestors had taken the once understated and lovely architecture and decorated it with ornate mosaics that told stories. Some of them rather risqué.

  “Well, Tadpole, this is it,” Abby Ruth said as she strolled up to him.

  He turned, hands shoved in his pockets, wearing a lopsided grin. “Been waiting for it long enough.”

  “That you have. You look like a groom model in the glossy bride’s magazines.” She gave a long, low wolf whistle.

  “Okay, that’s a little weird,” Teague said.

  “Oh come on, sugar. I’m so happy you and Jenny are finally together. This is a special day.” She reached up and tugged on his bow tie. “You clean up nice, too. I’m proud to have you as my son-in-law.”

  “I was just thinking about when you first moved here.”

  “Feels like a million years ago now, doesn’t it?”

  “It does.” He pointed toward the fountain. “I can’t tell you how many coins I’ve tossed into that fountain wishing for Jenny and me to finally be together forever.”

  “Never hurts to hedge your bets.” Abby Ruth wondered if she should toss a coin or two in that fountain and wish for love too. Butterflies tickled inside her at the thought of a second-chance romance with Red. “But your dreams are coming true today, and nothing’s gonna ruin that.”

  Teague glanced at his watch. “I have to go check on some of our guests and make sure everything is covered with my deputies.”

  “It’s time for me to get dressed too.” She reached up and gave Teague a hug. “I’m so glad we’ll officially be family now.”

  Once inside the house, Abby Ruth dressed and admired herself in the full-length mirror in the Sweet Vidalia Room. Jessie Wyatt’s dress couldn’t have fit better if it had been made for her. Funny, since Jessie was a good six inches shorter than Abby Ruth, but the skirt hit at tea length, which showed off her favorite boots, and that was okay by her. Besides, that meant she could tuck her Glock in her boot and no one would be the wiser.

  Cars had been filing into Summer Haven’s grounds for the past twenty minutes. A special day. And what made it even more special would be Red and her, side-by-side, giving away the bride. The thought overwhelmed her, making her hands unsteady. There’d been a time when she’d dreamed of a day like this for herself. But she’d come to terms with Red being out of her life forever. Never say never echoed in her mind.

  All the craziness that had cast a dark cloud over them lately had seemed to lift. She went downstairs and knocked on Lil’s bedroom door before entering.

  When she poked her head inside, Jenny smiled. “Hi, Mom.”

  Sera tucked a bobby pin into Jenny’s up-do, which left her neck bare. “Isn’t her hair perfect?”

  A wave of emotion rolled over Abby Ruth as she took in the sight of her only daughter in the wedding gown she’d picked out for her. She held her hands to her nose, which tickled at the threat of tears. “You look beautiful.”

  Jenny stood and walked over, her flowing skirt swishing with every step and the beads on her dress sparkling and flashing.

  A piece of lint on Jenny’s gorgeous dress caught Abby Ruth’s attention, and she reached out to flick it off. But the darn thing was stubborn and clung to the lace. She used her short nails to pick it out and realized another half dozen pieces of “lint” were clinging to Jenny’s bodice.

  “What is it?” Jenny asked.

  Abby Ruth peered closer. “Where has this dress been?”

  “Right here in Lil’s room. Sera pulled it out of the bag twenty minutes ago.”

  Abby Ruth turned in a circle, checking each corner of the room. Why in the world would Jenny’s dress have Ritter’s fur embroidered into it?

  “Where is he?”

  “Who?” Sera asked.

  “Hollis Dooley’s dog.”

  “Don’t you mean your dog?” Jenny asked dryly.

  “I have a sneaking suspicion that ol’ hound dog’s been unfaithful.” Then she spotted it, a corner of something that looked like a red pillow sticking out from under the dust ruffle around Lil’s bed. She stalked over and yanked it out. Sure enough, it was a velvet dog bed big enough for a mastodon. And wouldn’t you know it, tiny pieces of lint matching the ones on Jenny’s dress were scattered all over it. “Sera, did you know Lil was letting that dog sleep in here?”

  Both Jenny’s and Sera’s eyes widened. “I…uh…well…”

  A tap came at the bedroom door. “It’s time,” Maggie said from the doorway.

  Sera picked up the bridal bouquet, a cascade of long-stemmed white roses bundled with satin ribbons that Winnie had made for Jenny. It was gorgeous, Abby Ruth had to admit. And should be for the moolah she’d shelled out for it.

  Jenny took the flowers from Sera with a smile, then her brows drew together. “Is that a polar bear in my bouquet?”

  Maggie ran to her side, tweaking the flowers to camouflage the stuffed animal nanny cam. Easy to hide in a pile of toys, a little harder in a bouquet. “It’s an old Irish good luck symbol. Just keep it tucked inside.”

  Jenny shrugged. “Okay.”

  “Umm, and you might not want to toss that bouquet. I have a smaller one for you to throw when the time comes.”

  “You really have thought of everything.”

  Jenny was none the wiser to all that was going on right under her and Teague’s noses.

  Abby Ruth handed Jenny a long, thin blue box. “Sugar, I know your dress is new, and the something borrowed and blue can be my dress, but I wanted you to have this for the old.”

  “The borrowed and blue is for me, not you, but don’t worry, I have that covered.” She did a booty shake that probably meant she’d bought some undies that would later make Teague’s eyeballs pop out. “What’s in the box, Mom?”

  “Open it.” Abby Ruth bit her bottom lip.

  Jenny opened the small velvety box. She lifted the shimmery bracelet out of the box. “It’s beautiful.”

  “It was your great-grandmother’s. My mom’s mom. She left it to me, and I want you to have it now.”

  She draped the delicate row of pearls nestled into the center of filigree flowers across her wrist. “Are you sure?”

  “Positive.” Abby Ruth took the bracelet and unhooked the latch. “Let me help you.” She fastened the bracelet around Jenny’s wrist.

  “It’s so pretty.”

  “Your great-grandfather gave this to her on their wedding day. She always said it was what brought them so many good years together. They’d been married sixty-three years when she passed away.”

  “Thank you.”

  Maggie placed a hand on each of their shoulders. “It’s time to get things rolling, girls.”

  “Are you ready?” Abby Ruth took Jenny�
�s hand.

  “So ready.”

  They walked out into the hallway, and Maggie leaned forward, peering past them into Lil’s bedroom. “Where’s Grayson?”

  “I thought he was with you,” Jenny said. “Grayson?” She hurried down the hall, looking in the empty rooms.

  Maggie ran up the stairs, with Abby Ruth and Jenny right behind her.

  “Grayson, where are you?” Jenny called.

  Abby Ruth turned to Maggie to keep Jenny from hearing. “Where is Honey?” So help her, if that girl had anything to do with Grayson being out of pocket, she would pay.

  “She called earlier saying she’d blown a tire on the way down from Atlanta and wouldn’t arrive until right before the ceremony.”

  Relief whooshed through Abby Ruth. “Y’all wait here, and I’ll go look for him.”

  Jenny nodded.

  “I’ll check the whole house,” Maggie said.

  Abby Ruth strode across the front porch and into the yard.

  Daisies in jewel tones had transformed Summer Haven’s lawn into a fun yet elegant wedding venue. The flowers Hannah Huckleberry had ordered made everything look so bright and cheerful, but Abby Ruth was a long way from cheerful with her grandson currently MIA.

  The processional music began. Everyone turned expecting the ceremony to start, but rather than the ring bearer coming down the aisle, Abby Ruth stalked between the rows of folding chairs to the gazebo stairs.

  She gave a polite wave and homed in on Teague, who was talking to Red.

  As she approached, she watched Teague’s expression go from happy to worried. She was certain he thought Jenny had called things off. Again. “Don’t worry, Tadpole. It’s not what you think.”

  “Then what?”

  “Come with me.” She hooked a finger and headed back toward the house, stopping only to ask the justice of the peace to make an announcement that they needed ten minutes.

  “What’s going on?” Teague asked when they were out of earshot of their guests.

  “Grayson got off to somewhere. We just need a minute or two to track him down.”

  He tucked his fingers into his collar and pulled it away from his neck. “I told him to stay put.”