Page 32 of To Have and To Hold
Not that she wanted to tell Baz that. It felt wrong to be rooting for Wes and Jules to reconcile when it meant Aretha would likely be the one with the broken heart. It was just too bad that Aretha wasn’t a backstabbing, conniving bitch. If she had been, JJ wouldn’t have felt bad about it. Unfortunately, Aretha was one of the nice ones and she deserved all the happiness in the world.
It would be interesting to see how it played out, though.
“Should I tell him you’re thinkin’ about it?” Baz asked.
“Let me talk to Ava. I want to make sure she’ll be okay with it. I’m lookin’ forward to spendin’ some time with her.”
“You mean you’re lookin’ forward to doin’ some super-sleuthing while I’m away.”
“That too,” she admitted. There was no sense denying it. Like JJ, Ava was interested in finding out what happened to the first woman that Ava’s psychotic husband had been with. The woman had disappeared off the face of the earth, vanishing without a trace. JJ was eager to find out, although a big part of her believed the poor woman was dead and buried.
Baz leaned forward, setting his empty plate on the coffee table and grabbing his tea before he leaned back.
“Did you ever decide if you’re goin’ to the party next week?”
She knew he was referring to the mid-week bachelor party at Moonshiners. JJ had initially designed it to distract Brantley and Reese from the trail of her real plans. But she’d mistakenly mentioned it to several people. The snowball effect took over from there until Brantley and Reese’s friends were expecting a party. The next thing JJ knew, she’d planned a party nearly as big as the real bachelor party.
JJ shook her head. “As much as I’d like to, I can’t fathom sitting in a hard chair for hours while everyone gets their drink on, and I’m forced to sip Sprite all night.”
She noticed the way he stiffened. “You gonna be okay by yourself?”
“I won’t be by myself then either,” she promised him. “Holly, Elana, and Charlie are gonna come over. Autumn’s comin’ with.”
Autumn Jameson was Charlie’s girlfriend. She managed Walker Demolition and had since she returned to Coyote Ridge a couple of years ago, shortly after her divorce. JJ had used her these past couple of months to spread the word about the wedding, ensuring all of Brantley and Reese’s friends were coming.
“What about Becs?”
“I invited her, but she gracefully bowed out. I even told her she could bring Carly, but…” She shrugged.
“Well, five is still a party,” Baz noted.
“It kinda is. They’re gonna paint the babies’ room.” As she said it, she reached for her iPad to type in another item on her to-do list. “Which reminds me, we need to see when that dresser will be delivered.”
They’d had to order a duplicate furniture set when they learned they were having twins. Jules and Wes had footed the bill as a gift despite the fact they’d pretty much bought everything else the babies would need. Furniture-wise, anyway. According to Baz’s mother, she was honored to do so. Apparently, becoming a grandmother was a lifelong dream of hers.
“Iris is pickin’ up my outfit for the wedding tomorrow mornin’,” she told Baz. It had taken her more time than was necessary to select a suitable outfit, but JJ had finally settled on a one-piece, off-the-shoulder jumpsuit that was absolutely perfect. It was both comfortable and classy, and most importantly, it had flared legs that discreetly hid her cankles. The last thing she wanted was to look back at photos of her best friend’s wedding and have to see her swollen feet.
“And their tuxes?” Baz asked.
“Already picked up. Iris has them. She’s also got all the stuff for the reception. We packed them in clear plastic tubs and put tags on them. Cal and Griffin promised to get them to the B and B next week.”
JJ added a note to call Griffin next Thursday to ensure he understood that was not something he could forget.
The thought made her smile. She’d spent the past few months harassing pretty much everyone she knew about this wedding. She wanted it to be as perfect as it could be for Brantley and Reese, and she had no problem bringing down the hammer when needed. JJ figured by noon on Saturday, everyone would be grateful it was about to be over.
“Anything you need me to do?”
JJ glanced at him and smiled. “Nothin’ specific, but I promise to have you runnin’ around like a crazy man all next week.”
“If it means you’ll stay off your feet, I’ll run as far and as fast as you need me to.”
“Funny, that’s the same thing Cindy said,” JJ told Baz, remembering her last phone call with Reese’s mother. She was coming into town on Thursday morning, so she would be available to help with whatever last-minute details needed to be taken care of. She had insisted that JJ’s job was to bark orders while everyone else did the work.
A foot or an elbow or a knee—she wasn’t sure which—moved across her belly, forming a tiny little protruding lump. She giggled, putting her hand on it. It had been weird at first, but she’d gotten used to it now. The babies were very active, especially in the evening, as they settled.
“They movin’ around?” Baz asked, putting his tea glass on the coffee table.
“Always.”
