Marriage and Murder (Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery Book 4) (2 page)

Valentine’s Day dawned
with the sun gently shining on Cedar Bay, more like a typical summer day in
Southern California and totally unusual for a February day in Oregon.

“Mom,”
Julia said as they sipped their coffee, “Want to share what you’re thinking about
this morning?”

“It’s
kind of hard to believe the big day is finally here. Mike and I decided in
November that we’d get married today, and between the holidays and Scott’s
murder at the White Cloud Retreat Center, so much has happened it seems like
it’s been no time at all.”

“I
was sorry to hear about Scott’s death. I went to a yoga class once with you and
met him. Even though he was a Zen Master, he sure seemed like a down-to-earth
person.”

“He
was. To change the subject, I’ve only got a couple of hours before Cash comes
to the house to pick us up. I better start thinking about getting dressed. By
the way, Mike, Cash, and Doc decided to spend the night out at Doc’s ranchette
and have sort of a mini bachelor party since Doc’s going to be Mike’s best man
at the wedding. It was really nice of him to host it. It’s kind of strange, but
I was the one who suggested to Mike that it might be a fun thing for the three
of them to do. If I’m going to be ready in time, think I better shift into high
gear.”

“Mom,
let’s be honest,” Julie said, grinning broadly. “You just didn’t want Mike to
see you on your wedding day before you walked down the aisle, did you? That’s
kind of cute.”

“Yeah,
I know it’s kind of schmaltzy, but in today’s world, it’s probably wise to take
every precaution you can, so you don’t have problems later on.”

“Well,
schmaltzy or not, I think it’s utterly adorable. Now let’s turn you into a
beautiful bride-to-be.”

Promptly
at 9:30 Cash walked through the front door. “Mom, Julia,” he said in a loud
voice, “it’s time for the big show. I just dropped Mike and Doc off at the church
and Father Brown’s already there. From the number of cars in St. Patrick’s parking
lot, I think the church is going to be full.”

“You’re
kidding, right?” Kelly asked. “The wedding isn’t until 10:00.”

“No,
I am definitely not kidding. Everybody around here has been in Kelly’s Koffee
Shop at one time or another, and everybody knows the county sheriff. This is
probably the county’s wedding of the century. You may have a lot of people at
the wedding who weren’t even invited.”

“Bite
your tongue. It never occurred to me that people would just show up if they
hadn’t been invited. That’s pretty tacky.”

“Tacky
or not, from the looks of things in the parking lot I think it’s going to
happen. I may have to let you both off at the back door of the church and then
try and find a parking place. Ready?” he said, holding out his arms to both of
them. Julia and Kelly each put their arm through his and walked out the door to
the waiting car. The three of them made an attractive trio; a slender muscular
man with a military haircut and a lovely young woman who looked very much like
the beautiful older woman beside her.

“Mom,
this is exactly what I was afraid of,” Cash said, as he pulled the car around
to the back of the church, “I’ll let you out here, and I’ll be back after I
park the car. Hate to tell you this, but it already looks like it’s standing
room only in St. Pat’s.”

Kelly
visibly paled, as he spoke. “Mom, it’ll work out,” Julia said. “You have Cash,
me, Mike, and Doc. You’ll be fine. Remember, everyone is just happy for both of
you, and that’s why they’re here.”

“We
should have eloped,” Kelly said with a look of resignation in her eyes.

“Kelly,
Julia, I’m glad you’re here,” Father Brown said, greeting them, as they entered
the church. “Please follow me. There’s a long private corridor we can use to
get to the front of the church and avoid everyone. Cash is going to meet us
there, so he can walk you down the aisle. I do have one question I have to ask
you. Why did you invite so many people? Surely, you must know that St.
Patrick’s can’t seat this many people.”

“I
only invited one hundred people, Father. The rest of the people weren’t sent an
invitation.”

“Well,
we’ll make do, and just consider it a huge compliment to you and Mike. In all the
years of my time conducting weddings here at St. Patrick’s, nothing like this
has ever happened. Here we are. You can wait in this little ante room, and
remain out of sight until the music starts. I’m going back now, but I’ll meet
you in front of the altar where Mike will be waiting for you to come down the
aisle. The two of you have about ten minutes until we begin.”

“Mom,
I have the ring you’re giving to Mike, and here’s the box with your bouquet of
orchids.”

Kelly
took the box from her and opened it. “Oh my gosh! That’s the most beautiful
thing I’ve ever seen. Amanda really outdid herself,” she said, looking at the
spray of delicate pink, lavender, and cream-colored orchids mixed with baby’s
breath. “I told her I’d be wearing a cream-colored dress, and this bouquet will
be perfect with it.”

“Well,
it’s a good thing you’re getting married today and not in the fifteenth
century.”

“Why?”
Kelly asked, taking her eyes off of her wedding bouquet and looking at Julia.

“Because
I read once that people who lived in the fifteenth century only took one bath a
year and that was in May, so everyone got married in June, but they always carried
flowers hoping the scent of the flowers would freshen the air, because it had
been a month since their bath, and they were a little worried they might smell.
That’s how the whole carrying flowers thing started.”

“Julia,
that’s the most disgusting thing I’ve ever heard,” Kelly said, laughing. “Where
did you come up with that, and why would you even remember it?”

“I
don’t know,” Julia said. “It’s probably what makes me good at crossword puzzles
and Jeopardy. The shrink I was seeing told me I have what’s called an eidetic
memory. I can remember all kinds of things, like what I was wearing when I had
a conversation with someone, or what I was doing before I talked to them. All
kinds of things no one else ever remembers. She told me that kind of memory is
unusual in children, but it’s almost unheard of in adults. Guess that makes me
special. You should be proud of me!”

“You
know I’m proud of you, but you must have gotten that from your father. I
certainly don’t have a memory like that.”

The
door opened, and Cash walked in. “Sorry, Mom, but I had trouble finding a place
to park. I was about ready to go back to the house, leave the car in the
driveway, and just walk over. Where did all these people come from?”

“I
have no idea. Uh-oh, I hear music. Is that our cue?”

“Almost.
Father Brown said we should get ready to walk down the aisle when we heard the
first song. There will be a slight pause, and then it’s show time. Julia goes
first, and you and I will follow her. Are you okay?” he said noticing the tears
that were starting to well up in her eyes.

“Mother,
please don’t cry” Julia said. “I repeat, do not cry. Your makeup will spread
all over your face, and you’ll look like a clown in the wedding photos.” Julia
quickly dabbed at the corners of Kelly’s eyes with a tissue and said, “Cash did
not come all the way from Afghanistan to escort a sobbing woman down the aisle.
Am I making myself perfectly clear?”

“Yes.
I’m fine now.” She turned to Cash. “Sounds like it’s time, honey. Let’s do it.”

He
opened the door and Julia, her mother’s maid of honor, began to walk down the
aisle towards Doc and Mike, who were both smiling broadly. Kelly and Cash
followed her. Every eye in the church was on the handsome young man and the
beautiful older woman.

Kelly
smiled lovingly at Mike and Doc and then noticed that Mike was wiping his eyes.
She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. It was completely out of character
for the attractive middle aged man who wore the mantle of the power of his
office as sheriff as if it was a second skin. She realized she’d never seen
Mike cry or even come close to it.

W
hatever
god that’s out there and is in charge of crying, please listen up. I can’t cry.
I don’t care if Mike and everyone else is crying, I can’t. Julia’s right. I’ll
look like a mess. I promise to never tell a white lie to Mike again if you can
get me through this without crying. Honest.

The
ceremony was beautiful and while almost everyone in the audience was quietly or
openly weeping with joy and happiness for the couple, the bride remained free
from tears. Evidently the gods had listened to her urgent plea.

Kelly
and Mike had opted for a celebration of marriage which didn’t include Mass,
because he wasn’t Catholic. Given the fact it was a second marriage, and that
he was divorced, even though his ex-wife was now deceased, Father Brown thought
it would be a good idea to not have Mass at the wedding. It seemed like only a
few minutes had gone by when Father Brown said, “You may now kiss the bride,”
and Mike did, heartily, to the amusement of everyone in the church. At the
conclusion of the ceremony, Mike and Kelly, along with Doc, Julia, and Cash
walked up the aisle. In an unheard of deviance from the norm, as the five of
them made their way to the rear of the church, the well-wishers broke out in
applause and whistles. Clearly, the couple was well-loved by all of the people
in the church. Phil, the town photographer, hoped they’d keep smiling like that
for the photographs that were to follow the ceremony.

*****

“Mike, if all those people
who were at the wedding come to the house, we’re in trouble,” Kelly said as
Cash drove them home from St. Patrick’s. “There’s not enough food, and I told
Jesse to only plan on about one hundred people. I also told him a lot of them
probably wouldn’t have any wine. I don’t know what to do.”

“You’re
not going to do anything. We’re going to enjoy the reception, and if they’re rude
enough to show up when they weren’t invited, they just won’t get anything to
eat or drink,” he said, bringing her hand up to his lips and kissing it.
“Nothing is going to ruin this day, okay?”

“Yes,
but…”

“No.
No buts. This is not our problem. We’re going to enjoy the afternoon with
friends and family, and that’s it. Do we have a deal?”

“Deal,”
Kelly said.

Cash
turned and gave Mike a thumbs up. “Glad someone can get her attention. I was
never very good at it.”

“Wish
I could say she was this amenable all the time.”

“Hey
guys, it’s my wedding day,” Kelly said, laughing. “That’s enough.”

When
they got back to the house, Jesse’s big white refrigerated truck with the words
“The Crush” prominently displayed in large letters on the side was already in
the driveway. He’d left directly after the service while the wedding party had
to remain for photographs. Roxie and her two friends were in the kitchen,
setting up. They had opted to miss the wedding, so they could get ready for the
reception.

“How’s
everything going, Roxie?” Kelly asked.

“We’re
fine. Just need some people, but from what I heard from Jesse, that’s not going
to be a problem. He said the church was ready to split apart from the number of
people who were there. I thought you limited the guest list to one hundred.”

“I
did. I don’t know where they came from, and I hope they don’t come here.”

“They
won’t. They were probably just happy to see the two of you get married and
wanted to share your joyous day. By the way, since I missed the wedding in
order to get this reception set up, and you know how I love photography, I
claim first look at Phil’s photos after you get them from him.”

“That’s
a promise, and Roxie, thanks for everything.”

Jesse
stood behind the large table that had been set up for wine and soft drinks.
White wines were chilling in glass ice buckets, the red wines had been opened
so they could breathe, and there was an ice chest filled with Pellegrino, soft
drinks, and water behind the table. Kelly looked over at him, surprised to see
that he was sweating and seemed to be on edge.

Wonder
what’s up with Jesse?
She thought.
I’ve never seen him look anything but
unflappable.

Mike
clapped his hands in order to get everyone’s attention. “Would everyone please
come over to where Jesse is?” Kelly, Roxie, her two friends, Doc, Cash, Julia,
and Liz, Doc’s fiancée, joined Mike and Jesse. “Jesse, would you open the two
bottles of champagne I asked you to bring?”

“Mike,
we didn’t say anything about champagne,” Kelly said, looking confused.

“I
want to propose a toast before the guests arrive. Jesse, would you hand
everyone a glass?” A few moments later he said, “To Kelly, without whom my life
would have been meaningless. You fill my soul in a way that nothing else ever
has or ever will, and I’ve never been happier than at this moment. I love you.
Please, everyone, raise your glasses to Kelly, the woman of my dreams.”

Julia
turned to Kelly and whispered, “Mom, don’t even think about letting those tears
spill down your cheeks. I guess I have one job to do today and that’s keeping
you from crying and making a mess of yourself.”  Once again she wiped away the
tears gathering in the corners of Kelly’s eyes.