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“And May won.”

“Of course.” Skye flipped down the visor to check her hair. Good. The humidity hadn’t turned the smooth style she’d achieved using hot rollers and massive quantities of hair spray into a mass of curls—at least not yet. “Mrs. Steiner decided to hold her own baby shower. Hers is next weekend at Everest in Chicago.” Skye stuck out her bottom lip. “I wish we were going to that party. Everest is rated as one of the country’s best restaurants. Chef Joho’s food is world-famous, and the view is supposed to be out of this world.”

“Darlin’, if you want to eat at Everest, we can go anytime, or to any other restaurant your little heart desires.” Wally reached over and took her hand. “We can celebrate being pregnant.”

“I’ve heard reservations at Everest are hard to get, so it will probably take a while,” Skye said. “But that would be amazing.”

“Consider it done.” Wally turned onto the road leading to the Denisons’ farm.

“Keep your eyes peeled for deer,” Skye warned. “Dad said the population is out of control, and there’ve been lots of cars running into them along this stretch.”

“Yeah, I heard that, too.” The corner of Wally’s mouth turned up. “In fact, we had a deer-vehicle incident late last night.”

“Was anyone hurt?”

“The driver of the pickup truck was fine, but the fiberglass whitetail buck in Mayor Leofanti’s front yard is resting in pieces.”

Skye laughed, then said, “Uncle Dante must be fuming.”

“He wanted the guy arrested for deerslaughter, but the best we could do was reckless driving and DUI.” Wally pulled into the Denisons’ already packed driveway. “Hey, it looks like the party is being held in the garage.”

“I figured as much.” Skye twitched her shoulders. “With all the relatives and friends, and then Vince insisting it be a coed shower, there wouldn’t be room in the house.” She frowned. “I sure hope Loretta is okay with the arrangements. She’s used to places like Spiaggia and Tru, not my parents’ garage—even if it is cleaner and nicer than a lot of people’s houses.”

“By now Loretta knows the drill.” Wally got out of the Ford, picked up the present from the backseat, and walked around to open Skye’s door.

“Yeah. You’re right.” Skye took Wally’s hand and allowed him to help her. Exiting the low-slung car in a skirt and heels was tricky. She’d chosen to wear a black-and-white dress with an A-line cut that hid her blossoming figure and black peep-toe pumps. “It’s not as if Loretta doesn’t have any idea of how we do things around here.”

As they navigated the white pea-gravel driveway, Skye admired the huge trees that surrounded her parents’ redbrick ranch. Because of the cool March, the yard wasn’t in its usual putting-green condition yet, but a few more weeks and her dad would have it up to his standards. Some folks speculated that Jed used manicure scissors instead of a mower to cut the lawn, but she knew he achieved the perfection through an obsessive devotion to every blade of grass, twig, and flower petal.

With the exception of May’s concrete goose, which
she had dressed in a diaper, baby bonnet, and pacifier, the scene looked like a picture from
Country Gardens
magazine
.
May tended to clothe the faux fowl according to her frame of mind, and Skye was relieved that this time the poultry’s outfit suited the occasion rather than containing an underlying message aimed at her.

Unless, of course, her mother had figured out Skye was pregnant.
Nope!
Not going there today.

Skye turned her attention to the open garage. She had talked May out of the Precious Moments theme and the Little Princess idea, but hadn’t been able to sway her mother from the Baby Love concept, so everything was pink. The whole shebang, from the giant banner that read
WELCOME TO THE FAMILY, BABY APRIL
to the plates, napkins, cups, plasticware, and favor bags, were a pale pink. As were the crepe paper streamers, bunches of balloons, and centerpieces of carnations in milk-glass vases.

It looked as if the entire space had been turned into an enormous cotton-candy machine. It could have been worse; a brighter hue would have felt like they were inside a gigantic Pepto-Bismol bottle. Skye snickered softly, envisioning all the family’s übermasculine men hunkered down in May’s pale pink world.

She glanced at Wally, who was staring into the garage with his mouth hanging open and a bemused expression on his face. Finally, he sniggered and said, “Your mom really goes all out, doesn’t she?”

“And then some.” She had a scary flash of what May would do for Skye’s baby shower. Images of a gigantic golden throne and life-size angels hanging from the ceiling zoomed through her head.

She must have whimpered, because Wally asked, “Are you okay?”

“Uh-huh.” Skye took a deep breath. “I just spaced out for a sec.”

“Well, you sure had a funny expression on your face.” He tilted his head.

“I was just trying to decide what shade the tablecloths
were.” Skye pointed. “What do you think? Dusky rose or cameo?”

“Darlin’, most men see only a dozen or so basic colors. For example, peach is a fruit not a color. Same goes for plum, and celery is a vegetable.” He scratched his head. “And no red-blooded male knows what in the hell constitutes mauve.”

“Your Texas is showing.” Smiling, Skye poked him in the biceps.

“And that’s a bad thing?” Wally wiggled his eyebrows. “I thought you enjoyed a little ride with a cowboy now and then.”

“Anytime, sweetie. Anytime.”

“I’ll remind you of that when I get you alone.” Wally kissed her, then asked, “Where is everyone?” He gestured behind them. “There’s at least a half-dozen cars parked in the driveway, so we can’t be the first ones to arrive.”

He was right. The scene was set, but all the chairs were empty. She’d forgotten that he was unaware of the preparty protocol.

“The shower doesn’t actually start until four thirty.” Skye explained the empty garage. “But the aunts and cousins come early to help get everything ready for the ‘real’ guests.”

Before Wally could respond, Skye heard the back door open and May yell, “What are you two standing around outside for? Come in and give us a hand. Vince and Loretta will be here any minute.”

“Coming.” Skye entwined her fingers with Wally’s and led him inside. She felt sorry for him. The poor man had no idea what was in store for him.

As Skye put her purse on top of the dryer in the utility room and indicated that Wally should leave the gift there as well, she spotted a new decoration on the wall. It was a plaque bearing the image of a woman wearing a 1950s-style dress and apron with the words:
LIFE IS MADE UP OF MANY CHOICES. YOURS IS TO REMOVE YOUR SHOES OR MOP THE FLOOR.

After she and Wally complied with the sign’s instructions, they followed May through the swinging louvered doors. The green-and-white-striped walls of the large kitchen/dinette had recently been repainted dark beige, and the peninsula now sported a deep brown granite top. Usually stools edged the counter, but today a group of women ranging in age from midtwenties to late seventies was around it. They all looked up as Skye and Wally entered, waved their hellos, and then went back to their conversations.

“Come give Grandma a hug.” Skye’s grandmother greeted them from the round glass and rattan table—another new addition from May’s latest redecoration binge. When she had Skye enfolded in her arms, Cora said, “As usual, you look pretty as a picture. Marriage seems to be agreeing with you. You’re absolutely glowing.”

“Thank you.” Skye kissed her grandmother’s cheek. “Being married to Wally is totally amazing.”

Wally hugged Cora, too, and then said, “Skye’s made me the happiest man alive.”

“When I watched you two making your vows, I could tell that this was a marriage that would last.” Cora’s voice cracked as she said, “I’m just glad that I was still here to see Skye find her soul mate.”

Skye had leaned down to give Cora another kiss when May ordered, “Wally, go keep Jed company in the living room.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Wally saluted and whispered to Skye, “Call me if you need me.”

“Get cracking, Skye. Food isn’t going to get out on the table by itself.” May glared at her daughter. “Don’t make me put my hands on my hips.”

Skye replicated her husband’s salute and complied with her mother’s order. Her assignment at these affairs was always the relish trays, so she automatically opened the refrigerator and started grabbing jars of gherkins and pickled beets, plastic bins of cherry tomatoes, and bags of cauliflower florets, sliced bell peppers, and cucumber rounds. Several compartmentalized crystal
platters were stacked on the nearby countertop, and she filled each section with a different ingredient.

While Skye completed the trays, she saw one of her second cousins glance both ways and then pop a cookie into her mouth. Before she could swallow, May pounced on her and said, “What do you think you’re doing, eating instead of working?”

“I thought this was a come-as-you-are party.” The twentysomething woman giggled. “I came hungry.”

“Well, stop it.” May shook her finger and moved on to scrutinize the next person on her list.

Finishing up with the relishes, Skye stepped over to help Ilene Denison, who was married to Skye’s cousin Kevin. Ilene was in charge of putting Saran Wrap on the trays of chicken-salad-, tuna-salad-, and ham-salad-filled cream puffs, which were another family party staple.

Ilene glanced up and said, “So how’s Loretta enjoying parenthood?”

“Fine, I guess.” Skye felt a twinge of guilt. She’d been so busy at school the past week, she hadn’t had time to stop by or call her sister-in-law. “Why?”

“Well, with her being such a rich, fancy lawyer, I just wondered how she was handling the glamorous duties of being a mother.” Ilene arched a brow. “I mean, once you’ve applauded a bowel movement, it’s pretty much downhill from there.”

“Well, I—”

“And I need to warn her,” Ilene cut off Skye. “DVRs do not eject peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, despite what the TV commercials show.”

“I take it Kevin Junior has been giving you a hard time,” Skye guessed.

“That’s one way of putting it.” Ilene closed her eyes. “This morning he decided to invent a new form of baseball that he calls fanball. You throw a baseball into the ceiling fan. Apparently, whichever player gets it to go the farthest wins. Kevin hit a home run, and now the picture window in our living room has a huge crack.”

“Yikes.” Skye patted Ilene’s arm sympathetically. “Does insurance cover that?”

“Not with our deductible. You know what they say about the shoemaker’s son going barefoot? Same goes for the insurance agent’s family.” Ilene rolled her eyes, then said, “That reminds me. Has Wally said anything about the rash of fires we’ve been having around Scumble River?”

“Not too much,” Skye said cautiously, surprised Ilene had brought up the arsons instead of Blair’s murder. “I know Wally talked to some guy who he thought might be the pyromaniac, but I didn’t hear the results of that interrogation.”

“Well, Kevin says the insurance claims are killing his company, and his boss is super ticked off at him.” Ilene’s teeth worried her bottom lip. “Kevin said it’s starting to add up higher than the damage from the last tornado.”

“Really?” Skye tore a piece of cellophane from the cardboard cylinder and struggled to get it onto the dish without turning it into a useless ball of plastic. “How many fires have there been?”

“Let’s see. I think it was four— No, wait. I’m pretty sure it was five. I almost forgot the first one because there was a long time between it and the rest of them,” Ilene answered. “But because they’ve all been businesses, the claims are for a lot more than when it’s just a residence.”

“Why’s that?” Skye asked absently, concentrating on what she was doing.

“Not only are the buildings and contents more expensive, but the insurance company also has to pay for the owner’s lost income.”

Before Skye could comment, her mother interrupted. “Aren’t you girls done with that yet? Vince, Loretta, and Baby April just pulled into the driveway, and everyone else is already in the garage.”

Skye hid a smile, recalling when Vince and Loretta had announced their daughter’s name. Vince had joked
that they chose April because it came before May. His mother had not been amused.

“Sorry, Aunt May,” Ilene said, hurrying out of the kitchen juggling several wrapped trays. Over her shoulder, she added, “I was finished with mine a long time ago, but Skye was distracting me.”

Skye gritted her teeth, finished her last platter, and after slipping her shoes back on, followed her cousin-in-law outside with the remaining plates of cream puffs. She’d have to remember to ask Wally if that guy he’d questioned had been the arsonist or not. The murder investigation had pushed the fires out of her mind.

Rushing into the garage, Skye noticed that it had been scrubbed cleaner than an operating room before surgery performed on the doctor himself. Jed’s workbench and cabinets were covered in white sheets, and the concrete floor was pristine.

Skye put her tray on the buffet table, then greeted Trixie and Owen, who were admiring Jed’s model tractor collection. The Farmall red, Caterpillar yellow, and John Deere green glowed like the lights of a traffic signal.

Owen gestured to the long narrow shelf circling three of the four walls and said, “It looks like your dad’s been busy polishing up his toys.”

Before Skye could respond, Loretta, Vince, and the baby entered the garage and were immediately surrounded by aunts and cousins fighting over who got to hold the newborn. The three of them made a striking family portrait. At six feet tall, with obsidian black hair and mahogany skin, Loretta looked like royalty from some exotic African country, a queen wearing Ferragamo patent-leather sandals and carrying a Tory Burch clutch.

Vince was a few inches taller than his dazzling wife and handsome enough to be featured on the cover of
Cosmo
magazine’s hot-men-of-the-year supplement. His finely carved features, perfectly styled butterscotch-blond hair, and the green Leofanti eyes made most women catch their breath and dampen their panties.