Authors: Sarah Biglow
The house had been tense for a few days after Fiona’s rescue but Kalina and Chris managed to reconcile. They were both just relieved that they weren’t receiving severed fingers in the mail any longer. It also didn’t hurt that Fiona was going to make a full recovery with a little physical therapy. At present, Kalina stood off to the side as AJ manned the register. His imposed time away was now over and she was even happier to have him back for many reasons, not least of which was because she was under strict orders not to touch anything. Jillian had meticulously done Kalina’s hair and nails for the wedding that afternoon and her sister would kill her if she messed them up.
“I think that’s the last one,” AJ said as he shut the cash register and leaned on his elbows.
Before Kalina could express her relief at the empty shop, the front door opened again and Fiona walked in. Her hand was bandaged but she looked better. A few days in the hospital had actually done her good.
“I can handle this, kiddo. Go get ready for this afternoon,” Kalina said and stepped behind the register.
AJ darted past her and out through the back of the shop. Kalina tried not to fuss with her hair and nails and Fiona rested her injured hand on the counter.
“I just wanted to come by and thank you properly,” Fiona said.
“You don’t have to do that. I’m just glad everything is going to be OK.”
“I should have known something was off when Bruce kept pushing for me to accept his proposal.”
“Not that it’s any of my business but can I ask why you didn’t?”
“Marriage isn’t something I wanted. It’s just not part of my life plan. I thought he understood that.”
“I’m sorry this happened to you.”
“I’m just sorry you had to get dragged into it.”
Kalina bit her tongue to keep from retorting that she’d jumped in with both feet. Over Fiona’s right shoulder, Kalina spotted a taxi cab. “So are you heading out of town?”
“Yeah. I’m going to stay with my parents for a while. I’m thinking of moving out of state too. I know Massachusetts is a big place but right now it feels like everywhere I turn he’s there. I need a fresh start. I suppose it’s small comfort that Bruce is taking a deal. He’ll do some time and I don’t have to testify.”
“Well, I hope things work out for you.”
Fiona dabbed at the corners of her eyes to ward off tears. “Thanks. I should let you go. It looks like you have somewhere to be.”
“I’m actually getting married today.” She couldn’t hide the wide smile or her nerves.
“You’re going to make a beautiful bride.”
Kalina stepped out from behind the counter and gave Fiona a firm parting hug. They walked out to Main Street and Kalina waved Fiona off as she climbed into the back of the cab and headed in the direction of the highway. Blowing out a breath to settle her nerves, Kalina made the trek to her parents’ house.
In her effort to keep her hair and nails intact, she’d worked up a bit of a sweat on the way over. Her mother fussed over her as she changed into her dress. It was a simple dress with cap sleeves and a modest neckline. She hadn’t wanted to spend much on the dress even though her mother insisted she should get whatever dress she wanted. She fastened the emerald earrings into place and studied her reflection. Bruce Hempstead may have been delusional but he did have an eye for beautiful jewelry. She had to give him that.
“You look so beautiful,” her mother said, wiping tears off her cheeks.
“Thanks.”
“I can’t believe this day is finally here. I didn’t think it would come, Kal,” Jillian said with a wry smile.
Kalina just rolled her eyes and laughed. Time to tie the knot and start her future with the man she loved. The church was only partly filled; they hadn’t invited too many people. As the organist began the processional, everyone stood and turned their attention to her. She let out a breath and gripped her mother’s arm. The only thing that could have made the day even better was if her father had been there to walk her down the aisle. But he was with them in spirit. Chris stood at the front of the church, Jimmy by his side. She couldn’t help but beam up at both of them as she and her mother started down the aisle.
She studied the faces as she passed. Most were friends from college and business school and some of the other officers in town who had come up through the academy with Chris. Nadine stood near the very front row, smiling a big, toothy grin as Kalina passed. Letting go of her mother’s arm, she leaned over and pulled her friend into a tight embrace. She was grateful that Nadine was back in her life, even if it had taken tragedy to reunite them.
Chris drummed his fingers against his wrist until Kalina let go and finished her procession up to the front of the church. As discreetly as possible, Kalina wiped the sweat from her palms on the front of her dress before taking Chris’s hands in hers.
The officiant cleared his throat and began. “We are gathered here today to witness the union of Kalina and Christian. Is there anyone assembled here today who can show just cause why these two should not be joined in marriage?”
The church was silent. Kalina squeezed Chris’s hands and he returned the gesture. The officiant nodded after another few seconds had passed. “Then Kalina and Christian have chosen to share brief vows with each other and exchange rings as a symbol of their devotion to each other.”
Kalina turned to take the wedding band from Jillian and placed it on Chris’ finger. “Christian Harper,
I take you as my husband, with your faults and your strengths, as I offer myself to you with my faults and my strengths. I will help you when you need help, and turn to you when I need help. For richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, I choose you as the person with whom I will spend my life.”
Chris took her wedding band from Jimmy and slid it onto her left ring finger. They both stared at it for a brief moment before he, too, recited his vows. “
Kalina Greystone,
I take you as my wife, with your faults and your strengths, as I offer myself to you with my faults and my strengths. I will help you when you need help, and turn to you when I need help. For richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, I choose you as the person with whom I will spend my life.”
“Having shared these vows and exchanged rings, by the power vested in me by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and in the sight of those assembled, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”
Chris pulled her tight to him and planted a kiss on her lips. It seemed to last forever, just the two of them, and then the recessional music blared from the organ at the back of the church and they paraded down the aisle, arm-in-arm, ready to begin their lives as a married couple and take on the next chapter of their lives. In no time at all they were going to be parents and Kalina couldn’t wait to see what that new journey brought.
Read an Excerpt from SAINTS AND SINNERS (Geeks and Things #5)
The sun shone hot overhead as Kalina picked her way through the gravestones in the cemetery beside the church. Halfway to her destination she stopped and pressed a hand to her side, letting the muscle cramp work itself out. Her other hand supported her swollen belly. Pregnancy and summer heat were not a good combination but it would soon be over. With her due date fast approaching, she wouldn’t have to worry about the swollen ankles much longer. Gaining her second wind, she trudged forward over damp grass—recently doused by the sprinklers—finally stopping at the grave in question: her father’s. He’d been gone over a year but it still felt like she was saying her last goodbye at the funeral. Tears welled in her eyes and she let them fall. So much had happened in that year. She’d found her way back home to Ellesworth, MA and her family’s comic book shop. It sated her need to be nerdy and gave her a purpose. And she’d found love again with her first love: Christian Harper. They’d been through betrayals and loss together but he’d also risen from detective to captain. And now they were married and about to become parents.
A few weeds poked up around the base of her father’s headstone and she did her best to pluck them without being able to bend over properly. “Hi, Dad.” She wiped at her cheeks with her free hand. “I know it’s been a while since I visited and I’m sorry for that. I’ve just had a lot going on. Chris and I got married in January. You would have loved it. And you’re about to be a grandfather again. It’s a girl.
“I’ve kept the shop running just as you had it. Well, with a few technology upgrades. We’re doing great business and it’s reminded me how much I missed being there. It feels like home and when I’m there, I’m a little closer to you.”
Fresh tears stained her cheeks and a breath caught in her throat. She hadn’t expected this visit to be quite as emotional. But she was moving forward in her life without him and it hit her that there were so many things she’d longed to ask him that she’d never get answered. Sure, she had her mother and sister for support but sometimes a girl just needed her father.
Beads of sweat trickled down her neck in the summer warmth but she stayed where she was, hands resting at her sides, one still gripping the scraggly weeds. The silence of the cemetery pressed in around her and what should have been a comfort carried a sense of foreboding. The moisture on her next turned chilly in the summer air and butterflies danced in her stomach. Something had disturbed her peaceful, if teary, visit.
Casting the weeds aside, she made her way deeper into the cemetery. Simple headstone and ground-level plaques gave way to taller monuments to those who had passed on. Some had seen their fair share of rough weather. Engravings had worn down and were only partially legible. Some had seen their edges eroded over time. She stopped to study some of them, curious to see who lay beneath them. She recognized a few names from town history. There was an entire row of Finnegan family members, which only served to turn her stomach. Shortly before the wedding, Kalina and Chris had solved a series of deaths linked to a career-ladder climbing journalist and her love-struck cousin. Beth had been the latest generation of Finnegans in town. Kalina hurried past the rows and stopped when she spotted something sticking out between a couple of the tallest headstones. Shadows cast by the trees overhead obscured the area, forcing her to get closer to investigate.
She rubbed her belly as the baby kicked a time or two, landing solid shots to her ribs. The movement winded her temporarily and she had to stop and catch her breath again. “Thanks for that, baby girl.” She massaged the left side of her ribs until the pain lessened and she could continue forward.
The object that had caught her eye was a designer pump, dark brown and sharply pointed at the toe. Said shoe was still attached to a woman’s slender foot. Kalina moved between the two headstones to find a young woman, a few years younger than herself, laying between the graves with an angry red pool of blood congealing on her chest. Her eyes were still open, frozen in a look of what Kalina could only describe as curiosity. Whoever this woman had been, the fatal blow had not come as a shock. Beyond her designer footwear, she was dressed in an impeccable knee-length summer dress. It clung to her curves even as she lay sprawled on the ground in death. Her hair was still pinned up on the side of her head. Only a tiny trickle of blood marred her pale pink lips.
The shock of the discovery finally hit Kalina a minute later and she backpedaled as fast as possible. This wasn’t the first dead body of unknown but definitely suspicious causes she’d seen in the last year. In fact, she’d seen more than she’d ever cared to in her thirty-four years of life. But that bug that bit her every time something like this happened in town took hold of her thoughts as she searched for her phone. This was going to be her last case. After the baby was born, she wouldn’t have the time to go running off digging up clues. Her priorities needed to change and she’d accepted that. But this one intrigued her and she knew herself well enough to admit that she wasn’t going to let this beautiful woman go. She finally found her phone and hit the first number on the speed dial: her husband.
“Hey honey. Is everything OK with the baby?”
“The baby’s fine. But you need to get down to the cemetery and bring a coroner. I just found a body.”
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Sarah lives in Massachusetts with her fiancé. She is a licensed attorney and spends her days combatting employment discrimination as an Investigator with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.
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