Wedding Bell Blues (7 page)

Maybe that's why I looked a bit more closely at the shot.
Something
wasn't right about it. I could feel it. But, small as it was, it was
difficult to tell just what. It would be so much easier if this were on
the computer where I could blow it up and examine it more closely. But
I didn't want to take the time downloading it. Somehow I had to figure
out what was going on, reassure Maryanne everything was going to be all
right - and I hoped to God it would and that this was just another of
Janie's tricks - and then go deal with the little bitch who caused all
this heartache, and still have time to pick up my car from the police
and get home to grade papers.

Not much to do at all.

Just before I gave up and went to download the photo,
inspiration
struck. I clicked on the information tab, wanting to see what it could
tell me. A slow smile spread across my face, the pain from my cheek
ignored. It didn't matter. Not right now. Not when I could prove to my
sister that she had nothing to worry about.

I reached out and touched her hand, waiting until she looked
up at
me. Then, still grinning, I pushed the phone across the table toward
her. She moaned lowly and tried to look away.

"Maryanne, do you trust me?" I asked. If I could just get her
to think for a moment, we'd be all right.

At least I hoped so.

"Y-yes."

"Then look at the information on the screen and tell me what
you see."

"Jessie."

I knew the last thing she wanted was to see the
photo again and I couldn't blame her. But she needed to look at it,
really look at it and the information the phone registered about it.
Otherwise, she'd not get past this.

I was ready to despair that
she'd never do it when she finally nodded once and looked down. Still,
she didn't respond for a long time. Long enough for me to learn I
couldn't sit there holding my breath until she said something, not
unless I wanted to pass out. A quick glance at our mother showed that
she was looking over Maryanne's shoulder, her expression closed and her
eyes dark as she studied the display.

"I don't understand," Maryanne said finally, looking at me
with such
a lost expression I knew she truly didn't understand what she was
seeing.

"Tink, look at the date of the photo. It's more than three
years
old, long before you and Brett started going out this last time."

"But dates can be faked." Her lower lip trembled, and I knew
if I
didn't say something to convince her of Brett's innocence - at least of
being stupid enough to sleep with Janie Bickerstaff - we'd have another
crying jag on our hands.

"But not the rest of it, little sister. Look at Brett. See how
much
longer his hair is than it is now. Plus, where's that scar at his left
temple, the scar he got when he crashed his bike last year?" I held my
breath, praying she was listening.

She looked again and I could see realization dawning as her
shoulders stiffened and her breathing calmed. When she looked up, anger
danced in her blue eyes, a twin to the anger flashing in our mother's
eyes. Good. Maybe now Maryanne would realize just what a bitch Janie
really is.

"That bitch!" she spat. "That conniving, lying,
snake-in-the-grass
bitch."
Yep, she finally understood. My little sister might be slow on the
uptake sometimes, but when the facts slapped her in the face, she
accepted them.

"Yes," I agreed. "Now, I have a feeling Daddy's still on the
phone
with Brett. So go talk to your fiancé. Reassure him that everything's
all right."

"After I deal with that bitch. She's going to be sorry she
ever tried to mess with me."

"No. That can wait." Rebellion flared in Maryanne's eyes and I
held
up a hand to ward off her argument. "Maryanne, you've already let her
upset you and scare Brett. It's more important now that you reassure
Brett, tell him you aren't mad at him and explain what happened."

"Jessica's right, darling. You need to let Brett know
everything's
all right. You need to go see him to do it. He won't believe there's
nothing wrong until you do. You know that."

For a moment, it looked like Maryanne might argue. Then she
got to
her feet and hurried into the den. I blew out a deep breath and leaned
back, glad that much at least was over. Now all I had to do was make
sure Janie Bickerstaff understood not only that she'd failed in her
little attempt to spoil my sister's upcoming wedding but that I wasn't
going to let her try it again.

"Take my car, child." Mom got to her feet and crossed to the
far
counter. On the corner rested a small basket, the same basket where,
for as long as I could remember, we'd tossed our keys whenever we came
home.

"Mama?"

"I know you, Jessica. You're going to have a talk with that
bitch. Do it now, before your sister decides she needs to."

Well, well, that surprised me. Usually Mom does her best to
keep me
from going off half-cocked to deal with someone. Still, this was
different and we both knew it.

Besides, I'd wanted to deal with Janie-the-bitch for a long
time, and this was my chance.

"All right. Tell Daddy I'll be back as soon as I can. Maybe
then we can go get my car."

She nodded, watching as I climbed to my feet. Then, to my
surprise,
she pulled me close and hugged me tightly. I clung to her for a moment
before stepping back.

"I'll be back."

"Jessie."

I turned, my hand on the knob to the back door. "Mama?"

"Don't go overboard."

"Mama, when have I ever?"

I left before she could answer, knowing she could name any
number of
times. But this wouldn't be one of them. Not that I wasn't tempted. I
was. But Maryanne wouldn't thank me for it. So, I'd satisfy myself with
making sure Janie understood her little trick hadn't worked and that
she'd best make other plans for the day of the wedding because she
wouldn't be taking part.

At least I wasn't worrying about my own problems any longer. I
guess I ought to thank her for that at least.

Nah. Why ruin a good mad?

"What do you want?" Janie demanded as she opened the door just
wide enough to look outside.

I stood on the small stoop, so small it really couldn't be
called a
porch. A quick glance around confirmed several neighbors were outside,
working in their yards. Kids rode their bikes up and down the street. A
normal, peaceful Sunday afternoon in Fort Worth. Well, peaceful so far.
It might not stay that way for long.

At least I'd had time to think on the drive over. And I'd had
time
to calm down - some. So I wasn't going to do anything foolish. But I
did intend to make sure Janie knew she'd been caught this time. That
meant I needed her outside, where we'd have witnesses if necessary in
case things got out of hand.

Which, considering the way we felt about one another, was
quite possible.

"We need to have a little chat."

I opened the storm door and
reached inside. Before she could figure out what I meant to do, I
grabbed the front of her shirt and hauled her outside, the storm door
banging shut behind her. Her squeak of protest, not to mention the fear
that suddenly lit her expression, brought a smile to my lips. Good. She
deserved to be scared and more for that stunt she'd pulled with my
sister.

"Let go of me!" She slapped at my hand and then staggered back
as I
did as she said. The next-door neighbor paused in weeding her front bed
and looked over to see what was going on. "You bitch! I'll call the
cops on you."

"Oh, please do," I said, raising my voice just enough to be
heard
by those neighbors closest to us. "But you might want to wait until you
find out why I'm here. After all, there are laws about what you can
send via a cell phone."

"I don't give a fuck about why you're here. You can get off
my property before I have you arrested for trespassing."

"My, my, but you're scared." I shook my head, my expression
sorrowful. "Very well. I'll leave. But when I do, I'm heading straight
for McIvor's, where I will make sure the usual crowd there knows what
you tried to do to my sister and Brett. How long do you think it will
be before word manages to get around town? And how do you think that
will affect your business?"

The blood drained from her face as she realized not only that
I
meant every word, but just how effective my threat would be. McIvor's
was one of the hottest clubs in town, and her favorite haunt. If I told
the bartenders, servers and a few choice customers, it would put a very
big crimp in her social life. More than that, she knew what kind of
impact it would have on her business, especially since she'd only
opened her investment firm less than six months earlier. That's not
enough time to truly build up enough good will to weather that sort of
scandal. If word got around that she was actively working to break up
her "best friend's" wedding, people wouldn't trust her, and people who
don't trust an investment advisor don't give her their business.

Just as quickly as she'd paled, a flush crept across her
cheeks and
anger replaced fear. She drew herself up to her full height - all five
feet three inches of it - and tried to stand nose to nose with me. Of
course, it's hard to do when the other person has almost seven inches
on you. And I wasn't about to be helpful by stepping off the stoop so
we'd basically be eye to eye. Not this time, and most especially not
with her.

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about. And if you
keep
threatening my livelihood, I'll be forced to call the police and file
charges against you." I had to give it to her. She was doing a good job
of trying to portray injured innocence, not that it would fool anyone
for long.

"Like I said, go ahead. I don't think anything I've said can
be
taken as a threat. It's more like a warning to others who might fall
prey to you." Now it was my turn to sneer. "I know what you did today.
And, just for the record, so does my sister. You're as stupid as you
are vindictive. You forgot to strip the date off that photo. So
Maryanne knows exactly what you tried to do."

For a moment, Janie didn't move, didn't speak. I'm not sure
she
even breathed. "So I sent her a photo of Brett and me. What of it? If
she really loved him and knew he loved her, it wouldn't have bothered
her."

"And butter won't melt in your mouth, will it?" I leaned in,
letting her see just how serious I was. If I scared her, all the
better. "Let me make sure you understand this. You will not try to
communicate with either my sister or Brett again. You will not be a
part of the wedding party. You won't try to attend the wedding or any
of the pre-wedding festivities. You will not contact any other members
of the wedding party. If I find out you have, I will make sure they
know the truth about what you did." I pinned her with a firm look. "Am
I making myself clear?"

"You always were a bitch, Jessica."

"It takes one to know one." Damn, that sounded so junior
high, but
it was the truth. "Do yourself a favor, Janie, and don't push your luck
any further than you have already." I turned to leave, satisfied I'd
gotten the message across. But, I had to be sure, so I pivoted to face
her once more. "Janie, if you're afraid of what I might do, you'd
better think about what Brett can do. He's a regional vice president
for the bank. How many of his clients could he suggest not invest with
your firm? Beyond that, his father is a very influential attorney. I'm
sure he could think of a few laws, criminal or civil, you've broken
today.

"But let's not leave out Brett's mother. She moves in those
social
circles you'd love to be included in. Then there are my parents.
Believe me, you really don't want them coming after you. So, all in
all, having to deal with me is probably the lesser of all evils."

"God, it's a real shame those idiots who killed that liquor
store
owner didn't finish the job with you," she spat. Before I could
respond, she'd disappeared inside, locking the door behind her.

Bitch.

BITCH.

BITCH
.

Fuming, unable to believe she'd actually said it, I turned
and
stalked across the small front yard to where Mom's car was parked at
the curb. If I didn't get out of there now, I'd go back up to the
house, kick the door open and throttle Janie. After all, she deserved
nothing less. Especially after her little trick. But I didn't want to
spend even a moment having to explain my actions to the cops. So, I
hurried to the car and the safety it offered from my own sometimes
too-quick-to-flare temper.

As I slid inside, my cell phone rang. Figuring it was Mama
checking
to make sure I hadn't done anything foolish, I dragged the phone out of
my pocket and flipped it open.

"Hello?"

"Jess?"

Colton. Great. Just what I did not need.

I slid the key in the ignition and started the engine. A
quick
check of the rear view mirror and I eased away from the curb. Might as
well get away from there before Janie decided to call the cops and
complain that I was stalking her or something.

"Yeah. What?"

"Jess, I need you to get to your place right away."

What? That wasn't what I expected him to say. "Why? What's
going on, Colton?"

"Jess, just do it. I'll meet you there."

With that, the line went dead. Damn. That was just like him.
Give
me an ultimatum and ignore my request for an explanation. He hadn't
changed. He still thought he could just snap his fingers and I'd come
running. I ought to show him how wrong he was. But then, I'd never
dropped everything and come running, and that had been one of our
problems. He'd believed I wasn't committed enough to him, and I wasn't
about to give up my independence just to soothe his male ego.