RENEE DIDN’T EVER want to not like one of her brides, but Asia was really pushing her buttons. The tall, willowy blonde had been difficult from their very first meeting. Not mean so much as demanding in unexpected ways. She would want to start a meeting at 10:22 in the morning and she meant 10:22 a.m. Not 10:15 a.m. or 10:30 a.m. Nope, she would walk in precisely at 10:22 a.m. and things got going.
From Renee’s perspective, she overmonitored her fiancé, bossed around her parents and acted like the princess she wasn’t. But, Renee reminded herself as she tried to get everyone in place for the rehearsal the Thursday before their wedding, weddings were stressful and maybe Asia was a lovely person in her regular life.
“Jack is late,” Asia said, glaring at her parents, the Thursday evening before the Saturday wedding. “I told you he was too irresponsible to put in the wedding, but you said I had to.”
“He’s your brother, Asia.” Her mother’s voice was pleading.
“Come on, pumpkin,” her father added.
“Don’t call me that.” She glared at both of them before turning to Andrew, her fiancé. “Do something.”
“I’m going to take Buster for a walk.”
Buster was the gorgeous golden retriever who would be acting as best man. The dog belonged to Asia, but Andrew wanted him to participate in the wedding, so the dog wouldn’t feel he was replaced. From what Renee had been able to observe, Andrew and Buster were great friends and the new man of the house would be accepted with a wagging tail.
But instead of going with Andrew when called, Buster whined and retreated to a stack of folding chairs and huddled next to them.
“That’s the second time he’s done that,” Andrew said. “Is he feeling all right?”
“How would I know?” Asia snapped.
“He’s your dog. Did he eat his breakfast?”
Asia rubbed her temples. “I’m sure he did.”
“You can’t remember?”
She glared at him. “It was hours ago. Look, you just have to show up and put on a tux. I’m the one handling all the details for our three-hundred-person wedding. It’s been a lot, so forgive me if I can’t remember how much the dog ate for breakfast.”
Her voice rose with each word until she was shouting. Both sets of parents flinched. Out of the corner of her eye, Renee saw Jack, Asia’s younger brother, walk into the room, take one look at his sister, then turn on his heel and quickly escape before anyone saw him.
At times like this, Renee really wanted to take the groom aside so he could explain what it was he saw in his bride-to-be. What was she like when they were alone, because out in public, she was a bitch. But she’d never asked the question before and she wasn’t going to start now. To almost quote Shakespeare, that way lay madness.
“Why don’t we start without Jack?” Renee said, keeping her voice as soothing as possible. “All he has to do is seat the mothers, then take his place next to Andrew. I’ll go over everything with him later.”
“No matter how many times you tell him what to do, he’ll screw it up,” Asia grumbled.
“Asia!”
“You know I’m right, Mom.” Asia looked at Renee. “Fine. Let’s get going. Come on, Buster. Time to stand with Andrew.”
Buster whined, but didn’t budge from his place by the chairs.
“He’s been upset for a while now,” Andrew said.
Asia rolled her eyes. “How would you know? You see him for like five seconds when you come over.”
“That’s not true. I hang out with him while I’m waiting for you. I take him for walks every night I’m there. When you went away for your bachelorette party, I kept him for three days. I’m the one who took him to the vet for his last checkup.”
“Whatever.”
Renee realized that both sets of parents had followed Jack’s lead and darted out of the room. Great. Twenty minutes into the rehearsal and nearly everyone had disappeared.
“Did you want to take a break?” Renee asked quietly. “I could—”
“Take a break? We just got here. It’s a rehearsal. Let’s rehearse and be done with it.” Asia marched over to her dog. “Dammit, Buster, act right. Go with Andrew.”
The dog whimpered, crouching down. Andrew knelt next to him.
“Something’s wrong.”
“Do you want me to find a local vet?” Renee asked. She knew of a nice woman with a practice nearby. Renee had taken Fred in to make sure he was all right, but except for the spitting and hissing, he seemed to be in excellent health.
“I don’t think he’s sick,” Andrew said, stroking Buster’s head. “But he’s sure upset about something.”
Renee thought about how they still had the rehearsal to get through, not to mention an entire wedding, and at the rate they were going, nothing was going to happen. She might not be able to fix Asia’s attitude but she could help them learn what was wrong with the dog.
“Give me two minutes,” she said and hurried out of the room.
“Great,” Asia yelled after her. “Now you’re leaving, too? What am I paying you for?”
Renee ignored her and quickly texted her mother. Verity replied immediately, saying she would be right over. Renee returned to the main room where Asia stood by herself while Andrew was still huddled by the dog.
“My mom’s going to stop by,” she began.
“Oh, really? Your mother?” Asia’s tone was sarcastic. “Did you forget your lunch or your schoolbooks?”
“Asia, stop it.”
Asia turned on him. “This is my wedding,” she screamed. “No one is taking it seriously.”
“Your wedding? Not our wedding?”
“Don’t you dare start your damn semantic games with me, Andrew. This is not the time.” She spun to face Renee. “What?”
Renee forced herself to relax. She might not be able to change Asia’s energy, but she didn’t have to feed it.
“My mom is something of an animal expert. I’m hoping she can tell us what’s wrong with Buster.”
“An expert? Do tell.”
Renee smiled. “She has a show on Animal Planet.”
“Oh.” Asia looked impressed. “Okay, that would be great. Once we get the damn dog fixed, we can move on to where everyone went to.”
The last few words were delivered at a shout.
Andrew shifted so he was sitting on the floor. Buster stretched across his lap and closed his eyes.
“We should never have had a dog in the wedding,” Asia muttered. “Not that my stupid brother is any better.”
Verity walked in. “I came as quickly as I could.”
“Thanks, Mom.” Renee made introductions, saving the golden retriever for last. “This handsome guy doesn’t want to cooperate. I thought maybe you could help us figure out why.”
“Of course.” Verity started toward Buster. Her warm smile quickly faded as she stumbled to stop. The color drained from her face and she immediately turned and ran from the room.
“This is ridiculous,” Asia snapped. “What is wrong with everyone tonight?”
Renee didn’t answer. Instead she said, “I’ll be right back,” and went after her mother.
While she didn’t know the details, she could guess the problem. Buster had told Verity something her mother didn’t want to hear or share.
She found Verity in the hallway, leaning against the wall. Her mother was still pale and her breathing was shallow.
“I won’t,” her mother said, closing her eyes. “I won’t ruin your life again. I love you and I want you to be happy.”
“Mom, what are you talking about?”
“Those people. The wedding. I can’t say it. Don’t make me say it.”
“Since when do you have a choice?”
Renee kept her tone gentle, but her words were true regardless. Eventually Verity would have to blurt out whatever she’d sensed. It was just a matter of time.
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
Renee hugged her mother. “Mom, you won’t. Nothing you’re going to say affects me. Even if it does, I love you.”
“What’s going on?” Andrew asked, hurrying up to them, Buster at his side. Asia trailed behind them.
“This is insane,” she said. “You’re ruining my wedding.”
Renee looked into her mother’s eyes. “It’s okay,” she said. “Just tell us what Buster told you.”
Verity looked at the dog. “He’s upset. He loves Andrew and knows how hurt he’s going to be. He wants to tell him, but he can’t, so he’s trying to deal with it as best he can.” She closed her eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, Mom.”
Verity looked at Asia. “He knows about your affair. I don’t know who the man is, but it’s not your fiancé. Buster doesn’t want to live with you anymore. He wants to live with Andrew.”
“What are you doing?” Asia screamed, rushing toward Verity. “You bitch! How could you do this? I’ll sue you. I swear to God, I’ll destroy you.”
Jack stepped into the hallway and grabbed his sister.
“Jesus, sis. An affair? I thought something was up but you told me I wrong. Is there anyone you won’t lie to?” He held on to her as she clawed at Verity. “Stop it. Act like a human for a change. It will be good for you.”
Andrew seemed more sad than stunned. He sank to the floor and held out his arms to Buster. The dog threw himself into the embrace.
“I guess I suspected,” Andrew said, his voice thick with emotion. “I didn’t want to believe it.” He looked at Renee. “Not her first time. It’s kind of her thing. I guess I was the idiot who thought he could change her.”
All Renee could think was to ask why on earth he’d proposed if his girlfriend was a chronic cheater, but that wouldn’t help anyone. Instead she offered a sympathetic, “I’m sorry,” grabbed her mother and headed out of the hallway.
She found both sets of parents huddled in the parking lot. “You need to go inside,” she told them. “There’s been a development.” When they’d disappeared into the building, she looked at her mother.
“Thank you.”
Verity’s eyes widened. “I ruined everything.”
“You’re not the bitch who cheated, Mom. You just told the truth.”
“You’re not upset?”
“No. I like Andrew. Hopefully he’ll grow a pair and dump Asia. I figure the odds of there being a wedding on Saturday are slim to none, so I get a day off.” She hugged her mom. “I swear, it’s totally fine.”
“I’m glad. I was afraid you were upset.”
“Not even a little. But I do have a favor.”
“Anything.”
“I need you to come by my apartment. I adopted a cat and there’s something going on with him. I’d like you to tell me what.”
Her mother looked at her. “You’re not cheating on Jasper, are you?”
Renee laughed. “I’m not. I promise.”
“All right then. How about after you get this mess cleared up?”
“Perfect.”
“OPEN, OPEN, OPEN,” Renee chanted the next morning as she waited outside the animal shelter. She was on a mission to heal Fred’s kitty heart and she didn’t know if she was too late.
A volunteer unlocked the front door and smiled at her. “You’re eager. How can we help?”
“I need to adopt a cat.”
“Excellent. We have lots of cats.”
“No. A specific cat. Her name is Lucille.” Renee held in a groan. “Not that you’ll know that’s her name. She’s gray and white and she came in with Fred nearly four weeks ago. She was surrendered by her owner. She was really sick. Skinny and throwing up.”
The woman stared at her. “Was she your cat?”
“No.” Renee had no idea how to explain what was going on without sounding insane. “Look, my mom has the ability to know what animals are thinking. It sounds crazy, but it’s true. She has a show on Animal Planet.” Credentials she was tossing around these days. Thank goodness for the network and its shows!
“I adopted Fred earlier this week. He’s obviously upset about something, so I asked my mom to talk to him.”
“Because she can talk to cats?” the volunteer sounded doubtful.
“Yes. Look, just hear me out. Fred and Lucille were brought in together. They’re a bonded pair and he misses her and he’s worried about her. She was really sick. I need to know if she’s okay and if she’s been adopted or not. If she’s still here, I’d like to adopt her for Fred.”
Another volunteer, an older woman, walked over. “I know who you’re talking about. She’s a sweet little thing. We’re calling her Misty.” The woman smiled sadly. “She had a hernia in her diaphragm. It was keeping her from eating. She had surgery and now she’s healing nicely. We were going to release her to be adopted in a day or so. Would you like to see her?”
Renee nodded. She was led back into the cat area, then through doors marked Staff and Volunteers Only where there were a dozen or so cats in various stages of recovery. Misty—aka Lucille, or so Renee hoped—was a pretty gray-and-white cat with an inquisitive expression and a soft meow.
“Hey, pretty girl,” the volunteer said. “You have a visitor.” She pointed to Misty. “Is this her?”
“I don’t know. I think so.”
Misty rolled onto her back, exposing her shaved belly and a long scar.
“That was a serious surgery,” Renee said. “Is she okay?”
“She should be fine. She’s eating well and putting on weight. Do you want to take her home and see if she’s the cat you’re looking for?”
Renee nodded and went to fill out the paperwork. Less than an hour later, she was back at her apartment, the recovering Lucille with her.
“Fred, I’ve got her. At least I hope I do.”
She opened the carrier. Lucille took a tentative step into the living room, offering a soft meow as she walked. Fred raced in from the bedroom. He skittered to a stop and stared at her. Lucille stared back. At first there was nothing, then they hurried to each other. There was lots of sniffing and then they started to groom each other.
The movements were frantic, but loving. Fred sniffed at Lucille’s healing incision, then returned his attention to grooming her face. She tucked her head into his chest. Renee could hear they were both purring.
“SO NOW YOU have two cats,” Jasper said.
“I do. Fred and Lucille. He had a different name before but he told my mom he likes Fred, so we’re keeping that.”
They were out to dinner, on a Saturday night. Something Renee couldn’t remember happening for years. She was never free on Saturday night. There was always a wedding. But perhaps not shockingly, the Halloween wedding had been canceled.
“Is he any more friendly?”
Renee smiled. “He’ll never be a lap cat, but he’s stopped hissing at me. This morning, he let me pet him without grumbling about it. Lucille is a total lovebug. She slept curled up next to me all night. She’s sweet and I adore them both.”
“Are you stopping with two cats, or do you want an even dozen?”
She laughed. “I’m happy with my two.”
“I heard about the wedding drama. Was the bride really taken away by the police?”
“Who said that? No. There was just a lot of screaming. She threatened to sue us for I’m not sure what. Andrew said he would make sure that didn’t happen, but I’m thinking he has a lot less influence with her now. He ended things with her and he kept the dog.”
“Do you think they’ll get back together?”
“I hope not for his sake, but he already knew what she was like when he proposed, so I don’t know.”
Jasper frowned. “Why would he do that? Was she really beautiful?”
“She’s lovely but she has the personality of a viper. I don’t know what he saw in her. At least Buster has a good home now.”
“Buster is the dog?”
“Uh-huh.” She picked up her drink. “Enough about the wedding or nonwedding disaster. What’s going on with you? How’s the book?”
“I’m nearly done. I’m working on the ending. It’s not going well. I can’t figure out what is supposed to happen.”
She leaned toward him and lowered her voice. “Isn’t your hero supposed to stop the bad guy?”
“Is that it?” He smiled at her. “It’s adding the emotional element that’s more challenging. I’m still figuring it all out.”
“Want me to help you block out the final action scene?”
“Could you?”
“Sure. I’m going to see my mom in the morning, but I could come by after that.”
“That works. Thank you.”
She smiled in anticipation. She liked helping him with his books. Not that she did any of the actual writing, but blocking out scenes was a lot of fun. Maybe Vidar and Mandy would have sex and Jasper would want to act that out, as well.
She held in a laugh. A girl could only hope!
“I CAN’T BELIEVE it’s already time for you to go back to San Diego,” Renee said, folding the T-shirts her mother put on her bed.
“I know. The time has gone by so quickly. I’m just glad everything worked out for us.”
“Me, too.”
Renee thought about how upset she’d been when her mother had first arrived, how she’d been convinced having Verity around would ruin everything, but that wasn’t true at all. If anything, having her mother around had been a positive experience. She was closer with her friends, Jasper understood Koda better, Carol knew what was going on with her giraffes and Renee had two cats. It was kind of a miracle.
“I hope you can come to the show’s premiere,” Verity said. “It won’t be for a couple of months. They want to film the first few episodes before rolling out the big reveal.” She smiled. “I’m sure they call it something different, but that’s what I call it.”
“I’d love to be there, Mom.” Maybe she could bring Jasper. Oh! She was going to have find a cat sitter for Fred and Lucille. She smiled. Responsibility in her personal life. It felt good.
“The premiere will be in Los Angeles,” Verity said. “It’s not that far. You could drive out with Ed.”
Renee started to ask why she would do that when she realized her mother was avoiding her gaze as she busied herself rolling socks into neat little bundles. Suddenly several pieces of information fit together. How her mother had been so busy in the past few weeks. The late arrivals, the flushed cheeks, the vague answers to “What’s new?”
“You’re dating Ed?” Renee’s voice was a squeak. She cleared her throat. “When did this happen?”
“You were there when we met. At the animal preserve.”
“Yes, he gave you a tour but I didn’t think...” Renee shook her head. The meeting wasn’t the point. “Is it serious?”
Her mother looked at her. “I think it might be. He’s a very nice man.”
Renee held up both hands in a gesture of surrender. “Mom, I’m not judging at all. I’m surprised because you’ve never mentioned a guy in your life. Not since Dad left and that’s been decades.” She smiled. “I’m happy if you’re happy. I don’t know him that well, but he’s always seemed nice. Carol’s my friend and I adore her.” She wasn’t sure what else to say. Her mother had a boyfriend. While it was good news, it was going to take some getting used to.
“It was unexpected,” Verity admitted with a shy smile. “But I couldn’t help myself. He’s very—”
Renee winced. “No sex talk, Mom. Please.”
“But we’re both adults.”
“Technically, but in my mind, I’m still the kid, so no.”
Her mother laughed. “All right. I’ll just say things are going very well and we’re going to continue to see each other.”
“I’m glad. Any other bombshells?”
“I think that’s it.”
Renee hugged her. “I love you, Mom.”
“I love you, too, sweetie. Always.”