Page 28 of The Girl from Devil’s Lake (Joanna Brady Mysteries #21)

Bisbee, Arizona

Chief Deputy Tom Hadlock was off that weekend, so Joanna was on call.

Unbelievably, nothing happened, at least not at work.

Joanna was looking forward to having some relaxing downtime.

Then Jenny called between breakfast and church asking if it would be possible for her to stop by for a while that afternoon to discuss wedding plans.

“Absolutely,” Joanna said. “That way we’ll at least be able to get a start on things.”

After church, Sage, a perpetual tomboy who had zero interest in wedding planning, opted to spend the afternoon in town playing video games with a friend.

Dennis had invited Jeffy Daniels, Jeff and Marianne’s son and Dennis’s best friend, to spend the afternoon taking Kiddo and Spot on a leisurely horseback ride up High Lonesome Road.

As for Butch? He bailed, too, saying he was just getting to the crashing climax of his book and needed to stay focused.

As soon as Sunday lunch was over, he retreated to his den.

Happy to have something to think about other than the Xavier Delgado homicide, Joanna turned her attention to the wedding.

During her years as sheriff, she had learned that the best way to mow through a complicated group of tasks was to make a list of them and check them off once completed.

To that end, between lunchtime and Jenny’s ETA, Joanna used her iPad to create what she hoped would be a comprehensive list of what needed to be accomplished in that initial planning session.

Jenny arrived at half past two. As soon as greetings were out of the way, Joanna wanted to get down to business. “Shall we start with the dress?” she asked, leading the way to the master bedroom.

“Sounds good to me,” Jenny said with a shrug.

Joanna had already removed the wedding outfit from the dry cleaner’s plastic wrapper and laid it out on the bed.

Once Jenny slipped into the sheath, it fit perfectly.

Years earlier when Joanna had worn the dress, the hemlines of both the dress and the matching full-length satin jacket had fallen just below her knees.

On Jenny they landed an inch or two above.

Naturally Jenny hadn’t thought to bring along a pair of heels for trying on the dress, so what she saw in the mirror probably wasn’t the most flattering.

Even so, she seemed pleased with the result.

“It’s perfect, Mom,” she said. “And don’t worry about the shoes. I’ll be able to find a pair online with no trouble.”

“What about a nice hat or veil?” Joanna asked.

“Nope,” Jenny said. “Neither one. Don’t need ’em.”

“Do you want to take the dress home with you so you can show it to Nick?”

“Not on your life. He’s not supposed to see it before the wedding, and this is where I’ll be wearing it. I’m happy with putting it back in your closet where it belongs.”

Leaving the bedroom they settled at the dining room table where Joanna placed her iPad front and center.

“I suppose you made a list?” Jenny asked. Joanna’s propensity for list-making came as no surprise to her daughter.

“Of course.”

“I’m assuming the dress was number one?”

Joanna laughed. “Yes, it was. Next up is invitations. Those need to be printed and in the mail by the end of next week at the very latest.”

“OMG, Mom!” Jenny exclaimed, rolling her eyes in exasperation.

“You do know that it’s 2023. Nick and I won’t be mailing out printed invitations.

We’ll be sending them via email. We found one we both like on a greeting card website, and you can order thank-you notes that match the invitations.

We have a list, and we’re planning on sending the invites out either later tonight or tomorrow. ”

“Okey dokey,” Joanna said, realizing she’d just been put in her generational place, and deservedly so.

“What’s next?” Jenny asked.

“Who all’s in the wedding party?”

“Nick’s best man will be his older brother, Gavin. Cassie will be my matron of honor, and Leah will be the flower girl. Dennis and Jeffy will be the ushers, and Sage will be in charge of the guest book.”

Cassie Parks had been Jenny’s closest friend all through school. Now married to Leonard Dupnik, a Bisbee firefighter, she had a five-year-old daughter named Leah and was expecting her second child, a boy, due in early March.

“That’s it?” Joanna asked.

“That’s it.”

“What about flowers then?”

“Marianne and I talked about those yesterday,” Jenny said.

“It’ll be Christmastime, so the church will be full of poinsettias.

That means we won’t really need flowers to decorate the church.

The colors will be red and white—red and white roses for my bouquet and red boutonnieres for all the guys.

Also red and white rose corsages for you and Nick’s mom.

Since there’s no longer a flower shop in Bisbee, I’ll order those from one in Sierra Vista.

They’ll have to be picked up, but I’m sure we’ll be able to manage that. ”

“Cake?” Joanna asked.

“Cassie’s mom volunteered.”

“How many people?” That was the last item on Joanna’s list.

“Twenty-five to thirty tops. This isn’t a big wedding, Mom. We’re only inviting relatives and good friends. And, no, we’re not inviting Butch’s folks. I think we all had more than enough of his mom the last time they were here.”

Joanna agreed wholeheartedly, and she was sure Butch would be on the same page. Butch’s dad, Donald Dixon, was all right, but his mother, Margaret, was a holy terror.

“What about food for the reception here at the house afterward?”

Jenny laughed. “I’m leaving that up to Butch. I prefer Mexican food of some kind, but I’m pretty sure he’ll be able to figure it out.”

Amazed, Joanna turned off her iPad. Every single item on her list had been handled, and Joanna couldn’t help but admire her daughter’s commonsense, get-it-done attitude. With her at the helm, not only was planning a wedding in under a month’s time doable, it was already in the bag.

Jenny left for Tucson around five. Half an hour later Butch emerged from his study.

“Where’s Jenny?” he asked.

“On her way back to Tucson.”

“Already? How did the wedding planning go?”

“It’s done.”

“Done?” Butch echoed in astonishment. “That fast?”

“Signed, sealed, and delivered,” Joanna replied.

“Amazing,” he said. “I thought it was going to be a huge ordeal.”

“So did I,” Joanna agreed.

“Did she mention how many people and what kind of food she wants for the reception?”

“The number will be right around thirty,” Joanna answered. “As for food choices? She’s hoping for Mexican, but a final decision on food is up to the FOB.”

“The what?” Butch asked with a puzzled frown.

“That means you, buddy boy,” Joanna told him. “You’re the father of the bride.”