Page 39 of Born for Starlight

She gave me an assessing look that seemed to miss very little, I wasn’t sure if it was her time as a kindergarten teacher, or her time as a Navy SEAL’s wife.

She held out her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Matthew. You must be really well thought of, if the Drakos men are trusting you with their baby sister.”

“I think that Angelica had a lot of say in the matter,” I told her.

Karen grinned. “Good for her.” She looked around me. “I’ve got to go. I think I see trouble brewing with one of my boys.”

“I’ll help.” Billy smiled. It was clear to see that he was close knit with the Averys. I’d have to check into how that connection worked out. I turned and spotted Angelica. Her hands were up in the air. Not in frustration, rather as if she were conducting an orchestra.

She had the quartet placed, wind-checked, and music clipped inside six minutes of their arrival. Bella was beside her, pointing to the right. Angelica nodded, and they headed to the flower-covered arch. Once again, her hands went up in the air, and two people in green shirts materialized. They were soon doing something that made no sense to me, but ultimately, the arch looked nicer.

She crouched in the grass to fix a small boy's collar, some blond kid of four or so who then bolted off toward the chairs with a war cry, pursued by a toddler who had the balance of a sailor on shore leave and absolutely no fear.

"Lawson! Zephyr!" A dark-haired woman flew past me. "We do not tackle the chairs, we've talked about this."

A big blond man ambled behind her in no particular hurry. He was grinning, and was a giant replica of the boys, so clearly their father. He was clearly enjoying himself. Somewhere beyond them another woman, blonde, was crouched down having a solemn negotiation with a boy of five or six about whether jackets stayed on, and losing gracefully.

I was still tracking all of it when a man peeled off from a cluster of Onyx members, walked a straight line across the grass, and planted himself in front of me. Big through the shoulders, older than me, with a face like weathered granite. He held out his hand.

"Drake Avery. Zoe's brother. You're Grainger."

"I am."

"Heard some things." He looked out at the field while he said it, which told me the handshake had been the friendly part. "My whole family's on this grass today. Every sister I have, their kids, my kids, my wife. And soon, the best friend my baby sister's got is flying to Brazil, and the man standing next to her is you."

"That's right."

"Karen tells me I'm not allowed to interrogate anybody at the wedding."

“I met her,” I told him. “I’d listen to her.” That seemed to surprise him.

“And I am. This isn’t an interrogation, take it as some well-meaning advice.”

“I’m listening.”

“You get in over your head. Hell, you even think you might be getting in over your head, you call for reinforcements. Do not, under any circumstances, try to be a hero. Heroes die, team members live.”

That wasn’t what I’d been expecting. I liked it. “Understood.”

Drake nodded. "Yeah," he finally said. "Maybe you do. Enjoy the wedding, Grainger." He clapped my shoulder and headed off toward the brunette who had been chasing after Lawson and Zephyr.

Angelica rushed up. She grabbed the garment bag from me. “Time for a costume change.”

The quartet started tuning. The chairs began filling with the whole town, and I mean the whole town, Lettie in a dress, half the feed store, faces I knew from five weeks of corner booths and sidewalks.

I continued to stand, wondering how long Angelica would take to get ready. Her hair had been in a ponytail. No make-up. Tennis shoes. She was cutting it close.

The light was going gold at the edges. The ushers were still seating people. I was still near the back wondering if we would have a chance to get seated before the quartet started Pachelbel's ‘Canon in D’.

I felt her before I heard her.

“Miss me?”

I turned. This was not the same woman from fourteen minutes ago. Hair up, wisps of soft hair around her face. I knew there was make-up, because her eyes seemed bigger and I could see the shimmer on her lips. Her dress fit her like a dream, and she could now almost look me in the eye, which meant her shoes had to be towering.

She kissed the bottom of my chin. Lightly. Fast. Then stepped back.

"Child." The voice arrived at my elbow at the same moment as its owner, a hundred years in Sunday best and a corsage, looking up at me with eyes that had seen through better men than me. Little Grandma took my arm like it was already settled. "I’ll be sitting on your other side. We have things to discuss before our Zoe walks down this aisle."