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I was upstairs on the bed reading when Greg came home around eleven. Amanda was already home from dinner and asleep. She’d brought me a piece of apple pie from the restaurant. I’d put it in the fridge for later. Emma ran downstairs to greet him, so I didn’t worry that it was some random stranger in the house. I heard him going into the office and locking up his gun and then he must have hit the fridge and let Emma outside one last time.

When he came up, he smiled at me. “I thought yo u’d be asleep.”

“With the lights on?” I pointed upward.

He snorted and took off his uniform. “Like that hasn’t happened before. I’m going to grab a shower. Is the pie in the f ridge claimed?”

“It’s mine,” I said. “But I’ll share. You get showered and I’ll go down and get the pie. Do you want a bottle of wate r or anything?”

“Water would be great. I don’t think I’m even going to be able to finish the pie. I’m tired. I drove into Bakerstown to talk to the parent group that swarmed the station. Everyone wants to know if their daughter or son is at the compound.”

I’d checked out the information Beth had given me earlier. New Hope Lies was an active Facebook group, and I’d seen the notification that the group was meeting in Bakerstown. One of the members had live-streamed it for others who couldn’t get away or weren’t located in California. “It must be hard on them.”

“Some of them haven’t seen their kids in years. One woman said it had been three years for her ex-husband. New Hope isolates the new members and has them cut all ties with their families. New Hope is their new family.” He leaned on the wall and stretched out his shoulders as he talked. “Wait, you’re too calm about this. How did you know?”

“Beth did her dissertation on cults. She studied New Hope and had mentioned on the ride home that there was a family Facebook group. I found it. They have lots of information about the new compound. And a lot of angry parents saying crazy things.” Greg couldn’t be mad at me. I didn’t go anywhere or put myself in danger. And Beth had been the one to tell me in the first place. He sh ould blame her.

But all I got was a sigh. “Of all the people Jim could have fallen in love with, we get a cult expert just as a cult leader is killed on my watch. If I didn’t know better, I’d say sh e was a plant.”

“Jim wouldn’t lie about dating someone. Besides, she stayed with your mom during treatment. I think it’s kismet. She’s n ice and smart.”

“Did you have fun with Mom and Beth today? Jim called and said you missed dinner.”

“He ratted me out? Wow. I wanted some time alone,” I admitted. My need for a night to myself shouldn’t have been hard to accept, but Jim thought he knew what was bes t for everyone.

“Well, they missed you.” He turned and headed to the adjoining bathroom. “Don’t eat all my pie and don’t forget the whipped cream.”

I used a bookmark and set my book down on the bed. The book was an older one I hadn’t read when it was first released. Pack Up the Moon by Kristan Higgins probably wasn’t the best book to read just before pledging your life to another. The main characters had only been married three years before the wife died of a rare lung disease. It went back and forth between her past POV and his current one. The story’s emotions were heavy, but also light. And there were letters. Handwritten letters from the wife to the husband, one a month for a year. To help him cope. I’d laughed and cried while reading it. It was a great book. I just hoped I had time to finish before Saturday. I didn’t want to think about anything during our special time on Saturday. Not even the investigation.

Man, I must love this guy.

I ran downstairs and got out the pie, cutting it in half and putting it on plates. Glancing at the box, I saw the New Hope label. I guess they’d found at least one restaurant to supply. I hoped the pie wasn’t as good as it looked. I grabbed forks, a bottle of water, and a can of whipped cream. Then I picked up the plates. Emma had followed me downstairs and l icked her lips.

“No way. You know you can’t do sugar, right?”

The look on my dog’s face seemed to deny that fact even existed. We went upstairs and I set the plates on the dresser with the whipped cream and the water.

Then I went b ack to reading.

“That must be a good book,” Greg said. He stood in front of me, dressed in sweats and holding the plates of pie. “I’ve been talking to you since I got out of the shower, and you’ve been lost in the book. And you’re crying. What’s wrong?”

“I just hit another sad part of the book. It’s so good.” I put the bookmark back inside and closed the book, putting it on my nightstand.

He held out the plates. “And that’s w hy I love you.”

“You better. We’re getting married in two days.” The thought gave me chills. But I couldn’t tell if they were good chills or warning ones. Either way, the deed was going to happen. Come hell or high water.

I sat up on the bed, curling my legs underneath me. I took one of the plates. “My wedding dress is in the guest room closet, so don’t go digging in there for anything be fore Saturday.”

“I need a suitcase. I guess I need two. One for Friday night and one for Saturday night.” He took a bite of the pie. “ This is tasty.”

“Yeah, I was afraid of that.” At Greg’s puzzled look, I shrugged. “It’s from the New Hope bakery at the compound. I hope they don’t put Sadie’s bakery out of business. It’s hard to compete with free labor. And just leave your Saturday clothes on the dresser. I’ll pack them with mine in a suitcase. It’s just one night. But don’t forget your suit. I’m swimming in that pool on Sunday before we leave. They heat it in the winter.”

“Good to know.” He finished his pie. “Yeah, I think Sadie might be in trouble if the rest of their products are that tasty. And speaking of our friend, I had to have a chat with her boyfriend about the fight he had with Kane last Sunday at the diner. The guy goaded Bill into taking a swing. I didn’t think that was possible.”

“From what I heard, Kane made a crack about Sadie. Got to love a man who stands up for the w oman he loves.”

“Unless he also kills the guy who trash-talked his girlfriend.” Greg held up a hand. “Don’t kill the messenger. Bill might have an alibi for time of death if he gets permission for me to talk to the man he was counselin g at the time.”

“And if he doesn’t?” Bill felt a strong duty to his parishioners. If the guy didn’t want anyone to know he was being counseled, maybe Bill wouldn’t have an alibi.

“We’ll find another way to verify. Bill didn’t do this. We both know that.” He stood and reached for my plate. “I’ll run these dishes and the cream back down to the kitchen. Do you need anything before I lock up an d come to bed?”

I glanced at the book. I could get a few more pages read befo re he got back.

He chuckled. “Don’t worry about it. You can leave the light on so you can read. I don’t think a freight train rushing by the house could keep me from falling and s taying asleep.”

Another reason I loved this man. He got me.

* * * *

I didn’t sleep well that night. I blamed the book, but I thought it was more likely the upcoming ceremony this weekend. My first marriage had lasted maybe a year, and mostly that long because neither one of us cared enough to file the divorce papers. He’d been nice, but he wasn’t Greg. I’d known from the second time I met Greg that he was the one. Or at least could be the one. I’d thought he was still married when I worked with him to solve Miss Emily’s murder. Although I wasn’t sure he’d see it like that. We were a match made in heaven from the first case. I wish I’d ordered some sort of sleuthing decorations for his groom’s cake. Of course, we were in the middle of a case, so maybe it was a little tacky.

I went over and picked up a framed picture of Miss Emily that I kept on a hallway table. She and her dog, Monet, had been my first friends in South Cove. She’d basically challenged me to change my life for the better by moving here and opening a bookstore and coffeehouse. I’d taken a leap of faith then, and now, years later, I was taki ng another one.

I heard voices downstairs, so I hurried to get ready. I’d shower closer to the rehearsal time. For now, it was packing for the night away and getting my outfits ready. And my aunt was coming over to ch at later today.

The smell of pancakes filled the room, but when I got closer I realized it was waffles. Waffles with hot maple syrup and bacon. Greg was frying eggs at the stove and Amanda was finishing setting the table. She looked up and smiled at me as I came into the kitchen. “I was about to go up and wake you.”

“My alarm didn’t go off.” I’d turned off all my alarms for this week, probably not the wisest thing. I might sleep through my we dding tomorrow.

“No worries. I’m just an up-with-the-chickens kind of girl lately.” She poured me a coffee and motioned me to sit. “I wanted to thank you for being so nice to Beth yesterday. She was so worried abou t meeting you.”

“Me? Why?” I took my coffee and took a long sip. The cobwebs started to fade immediately. Tha nk you, coffee.

“She and Jim ran into Sherry a few months ago. I tried to tell her that you were nothing like Greg’s first wife, but she worried that you two wouldn’t have anything in common.” Amanda pulled a baking sheet filled with waffles and bacon out of the oven. “Greg, are the eggs done?”

“Yes, and I don’t think it’s fair to compare Jill with Sherry. I was young and an idiot when I got married the first time. Then I kept trying to fix the marriage. But I was the only one trying. She just wanted to fix me.” He walked over to where I sat and put an egg on my plate. “Good morning, sweetheart. When’s your aunt getting here so we can talk about your failed rela tionships too?”

“Hopefully, not until after you leave for work.” I grabbed a waffle and smeared butter on it as the other two sat down at the table. “Which is good for me, since my aunt has a long memory.”

“Great, I get all the fun.” He grabbed a waffle and several slices of bacon. “So what time am I expected a t the mission?”

“Three p.m. sharp. Bill has a men’s group meeting at five so he won’t be able to come to the dinner, but Sadie’s coming.” I’d gotten a text message from Sadie this morning on the c hange in plans.

“I think he’s avoiding me.” Greg sighed. “It’s hard to be the head detective in a town where a lot of your suspects are also your friends.”

“You could take that job with the state,” I reminded him. “You never did tell me what was wrong with that resume I made for you.”

He didn’t say anything, and when I looked up, he and his mom were staring at each other. Finally, he sighed and turned toward me. “The resume was fine. The problem is that years ago Sherry got me hired at a station in the city without me knowing that I’d even applied. I thought I was just going in for an interview to see if I’d like the transfer, and they thought I’d already acc epted the job.”

“Didn’t you have to leave South Cove in two weeks?” his mom added. “Sherry had already turned in their notice at the apartment and rented something new. He had no choice.”

“Marvin was so mad.” Greg ate a piece of bacon. “He’d hired me over the guy he’d wanted. I told Sherry that she got this one. If she ever did it again, we were done. Five years later, I got a call from the head of security at LAX. He’d gotten my resume and wanted to talk to me about the job. I hadn’t turne d in a resume.”

“That’s why you were so mad when I made up your resume. I thought you were just dragging your feet. You thought I wanted you at a better job.” I grabbed another slice of bacon. “You thought I was b eing a Sherry.”

“Look, we were getting married. I was stressed about that. Then out of the blue, you make me a resume. It fe lt suspicious.”

“I thought I was doing you a favor,” I said, then consumed the bacon. “I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to do. I thought you were dragging your feet because you didn’t want me to have to close the store. I was bei ng thoughtful.”

“Now, isn’t this nice? You’re communicating instead of assuming what the other person thinks or feels.” Amanda took another waffle. “It’s a Gift of the Magi situation. I think you two should do fin e as a couple.”

Greg went to work shortly after breakfast, and left that conversation with his packed suitcase. He needed to make sure everything was okay at the station before he signed out to be at the rehearsal at three. After that, he was off the clock. If anything big happened in South Cove that couldn’t be pushed off until Greg came back, the police chief in Bakerstown would deal with it until nine o’clock on Sunday night when we returned to South Cove. I’d argued for Monday morning, but Greg didn’t want to impose on his friend. I might have been able to talk him into it if Kane hadn’t gone and got himself killed. I kissed him goodbye and took Emma for a run. We both had nervous energy to get rid of before the rehearsal.

Later that morning, Aunt Jackie parked in front of the house. She brought wrist corsages for all the women in the wedding party. “I called your florist and had these made up for the rehearsal tonight. I thought it might be a nice touch. The Wooden Bench is all confirmed and they will be expecting us at five. Then at eight, you and your girlfriends can go and play at the winery.”

“You have it all timed out. Are you coming to the after-party?” I glanced at the flowers. They matched my colors and the flowers for Saturday ’s festivities.

“No, I’m going home and putting my feet up. I can’t be in heels that long anymore.” She smiled at Amanda. “Nice to see you again, Amanda. What are you working on over there?”

“Birdseed bundles for the exit from the ceremony. I’ve got enough for the guests, but I wanted a few extra, just in case.” She pushed the large tan basket filled with ribbon-tied bundles of tulle. “What do you think? We need someone to hand them out as the guests enter the area reserved for the ceremony.”

“I’m sure Deek and maybe Evie would love to help.” I just hoped Toby would be able to make the wedding since he was one of Greg’s groomsmen. We had too many friends entwined with our livelihoods. Toby was a deputy for Greg as well as a part-time barista for my coffee shop. Sasha was coming with Olivia, so I knew he’d want to spend some time with them. We still hadn’t been told what the chance was of a rekindled relationship between him and Sasha, but at least they would be together f or the wedding.

“Jill? Did you hear what I said?” Aunt Jackie asked. She and Amanda we re watching me.

I smiled, trying to get them to relax. “No, I was thinking about Toby and wondering if he was going to be off duty. I should have asked Greg, but I guess he’s handling it. Sasha’s in town for the wedding. I hope the girls invited her to the party tonight.”

“Well, Toby is one of Greg’s groomsmen, so I’m sure Greg adjusted his work schedule. Besides, Toby let me know that he might bring Sasha and Olivia to the rehearsal.” My aunt finished my thoughts. “Why are you worrying about all this? You’re getting married tomorrow. You need to be thinking of the ceremony. Do you have your vows written?”

“Yes, I’ve finished my vows,” I grumbled. My aunt could find the one weak point in Hoover Dam. I hadn’t finished, but I had a rough draft. I needed to finish them up and print them off so I could have them for tomorrow. I needed to pack for Saturday night. Toby was babysitting Emma, so she needed a go bag in case he decided to take her somewhere. I grabbed a notebook. “But I do have a few things to finish up. Maybe I should call Judith and make sure she’s set for Saturday at the bookstore.”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll stop in before the rehearsal and make sure they have checklists for the shifts.” My aunt opened her purse and made a note in a small blue notebook. She glanced at the page. “Oh, and Harrold wants to make sure you still want him to walk you down the aisle. That you haven’t chan ged your mind.”

“Harrold’s the only older male role model I have in my life now. I didn’t know my father, and Uncle Ted got the joy of raising my cheerful teenage self. And he’s gone.” I shook my head. “No, please let Harrold know I still want him to do me this favor. I’d appreciate it.”

“He just wanted to make sure your day was perfect and you’d chosen him out of love, and not some obligation to me.” My aunt squeezed my arm. “I know you don’t like to talk about your parents.”

“And I’m not going there today.” I closed my eyes and imagined the wall in my mind that I’d built around any memories I’d had of my parents. “I’m sorry, Aunt Jackie, I just can’t.”

She pulled me into a hug. “I’m sorry I brought it up. Harrold just wanted to make sure you had an out if you didn’t want him to walk you down the aisle. F or any reason.”

I finally had some semblance of a normal family. I didn’t want to question it now. “I’m thankful to have both of y ou in my life.”

My aunt stepped back and fe lt my forehead.

“Wha t is that for?”

“Just checking to see if you are sick. You’re being very sentimental.” My aunt wi nked at Amanda.

“I learned from the best.” I ducked as my aunt playfully tried to swat at me. “Seriously, I’m glad the people I love are going to be here for me this weekend.”