Charleston with a Clever Cougar: A Dance with Danger Mystery #6 (15 page)

“That’s why she bossed Dad around all the
time and told him what to do.”

“Maybe the cancer scared him so much, he
didn’t want to think for himself, and since Mimi was willing to do
his thinking for him, he surrendered control. He didn’t want to be
responsible for doing the right thing, so he picked a woman who
didn’t have a conscience. What she didn’t realize, Daisy, is how
much you matter to us. Your mom, your dad, Dylan -- they need you.
I need you. And even Doc needs you. We’re not willing to stand
around and let someone like Mimi take you away from us. You know
what really made Mimi the maddest?”

I looked over at the young girl standing with
me in Carole’s kitchen. I saw the almost adult intellect trying to
win out over the little girl emotions.

“Your dad tried to stop her. He told Mimi not
to hurt you. He drove up here to be here for you as soon as he
found out what she was doing.” Even as I said those words, I
realized they were true. Doug really had finally taken a stand
against the devious Mimi. Almost too little too late.

“Dad really does love us?”

“Daisy, your dad never stopped loving you.
I’m not even sure he ever stopped loving your mom. He wanted the
happy times without the sad times. That’s not how life works.”

“Dad broke up the family. He left us.” Doug
walked out on them, whatever the reason. She was beginning to
accept that reality as something she didn’t cause to happen, and
that was part of the healing process.

“I think he regrets it deeply. But it’s not
always that easy to fix a broken heart, Daisy, or to learn to trust
again after your life’s been turned upside down. You can’t pretend
everything is okay. It has to be made right again, and that’s a
process that happens over time.”

The next thing I knew, Daisy was leaning
against me, her head on my bad shoulder. Even as I winced, I gave
her a reassuring pat.

“Thanks, Cady. For being there.”

“My pleasure. Go call folks to the table.
It’s time to eat.”

We had a pleasant enough breakfast, under the
circumstances. Dylan started to cheer up when his father arrived
with Doc and some very hungry babies. Again, Doc and I took the
triplets, to give Doug a chance to comfort his son. Carole watched
her ex-husband carefully, as if she was trying to figure out what
she wanted to do. I didn’t envy her the decision. As much as I knew
Doug was hurting, I also knew he couldn’t just walk away from his
second family. They were his responsibility now. And there was
still the uncertainty of Carole’s cancer. She seemed to realize
that Doug was not the man she married so long ago. Life wasn’t
simple or clear cut. There were more complications standing in
their way now than had been at the divorce. It really was going to
take a much greater effort to sort it all out. Maybe Carole just
wasn’t up to it. Maybe she just didn’t want to have to deal with
all that stuff. Life was too short to waste, time too precious to
waste.

After Daisy and I got the kitchen all cleaned
up, Doc brought the van around. Carole bid us farewell from the
door, Baby Alexia in her arms, as we headed off to the shop to
finish decorating the cake and pack it for its final journey.

Two and a half hours later, we arrived at
Saybrook Point Inn. The wedding reception would soon begin. Doc
waited in the van while Daisy and I made our way into the hotel.
His buddy, Rick, was going to help him carry in the cake, but first
we needed to know the location of the cake table. The wedding
coordinator met us in the Soundview Ballroom to show us.

“Ooh!” Daisy’s eyes lit up when she saw the
decorated room. There were roses in mirror-finish silver vases on
all the tables and twinkling fairy lights tucked into floral swags
around the doorways. The sweetheart table for the bride and groom
was set up in front of the long display table, festooned with more
romantic bunting. The staff was just beginning to light the wicks
on the candles, moving from the tiny tea lights on each table to
the taller, elegant candelabras. This looked like it was going to
be a lovely reception. Daisy’s face was a study in longing.

“Okay, kid,” I poked her in the side gently.
“Time for us to go get your wedding cookies and the cake.”

“Wow, Cady,” she said with awe in her voice,
reluctant to leave, even temporarily, “is every wedding this
beautiful?”

“It’s nice, isn’t it? Just don’t get carried
away with the magic of one day, Daze. A marriage is hard work.
There are always ups and downs. This moment is the icing on the
cake of life, but you still have to make dinner.”

“If you marry Doc, Cady, can I be a
bridesmaid?”

“You think I should marry Doc?” I found
myself laughing as I pointed her out the door.

“Yes. You guys would make a good couple.”

“We would?”

“I think so. Then you could come here for
your wedding.”

“First we have to fall in love. Then we have
to go out for a while. And then he has to ask me. Maybe Doc doesn’t
want to get married.”

“Trust me,” said Daisy. “He’s already got
that planned.”

“And how would you know that?” I asked,
suddenly curious. There was something in Daisy’s tone that alerted
me. But she just fobbed me off with a sly smile and a wave of her
hand.

Once we got outside, we found Doc waiting
behind his van with a tall, good-looking guy with a ready
smile.

“Cady, Daze, this is my buddy, Rick Rollins.”
We greeted him and exchanged pleasantries. I was grateful for the
assistance because there was no way I could perform my normal cake
baker duty of carrying in the wedding cake. I stepped back as each
of them grabbed a side of the cake box and held my breath until the
men made it safely into the ballroom, marched the cake across the
floor, and gingerly eased it onto its table. Daisy’s face lit up as
she saw it in its place of honor, under the spotlight. The
shimmering little bees buzzed around the artful gumpaste flowers as
if performing some magical dance in a garden.

“Beautiful,” Rick announced. “You do nice
work. We’ll have to hire you when Jen and I get married in
June.”

“A summer wedding,” I smiled. “I’ll do
something special for the pair of you.”

“Great. I’ll tell Jen. Doc, stop by the house
tomorrow for dinner before you head to Springfield. Feel free to
bring a date.” Rick glanced quickly at me before looking away. Doc
caught the movement and smirked.

“We’ll be there.”

“Cookies,” I reminded Daisy. I showed her
where we were to put them on the display table. “Let’s go get them
and set them up.”

Three trips later, Doc and Daisy had brought
in all of the beribboned bags, safely ensconced in their protective
travel boxes, and we unpacked them. As soon as the last bag was on
the table, Doc picked up the boxes to go back into the van. Daisy
lingered until she heard Doc beckoned us.

“Come see this! Hurry up!”

“What is it, Doc?”

“Don’t want to spoil the magic. Take a look
for yourselves. I have to move the van.”

Chapter Fifteen --

Daisy and I stepped outside, moving past the
excited guests just as Doc drove down the way about a hundred yards
and pulled over to wait for us. The clop-clop of horse hooves on
the pavement signaled the arrival of the bride and groom by white
carriage.

“Oh, how lovely,” I sighed.

“Can we watch? Please?” Daisy begged me. “I
just want to see her dress.”

“Another five minutes won’t kill us,” I told
her. And then I thought about how close she had come to death last
night. For this moment, she wasn’t thinking about the despicable
thing Mimi tried to do to her last night. The hopes and dreams of a
teenage girl hadn’t been completely stomped out of her. She would
have those moments of remembering the terror she felt at the hands
of her assailant at the shop and the feel of Mimi’s gun at the back
of her head. But for now, there was a little joy in the air and
Daisy drank it all in.

If I was honest with you, I would admit that
I took heart from the sight of Tara Henslacker and her new husband.
They were a nice young couple. I knew that the first time I met
them at the shop. Today, they looked at each other with such trust,
I wanted to believe it would all work out. I knew they would be
tested throughout their marriage and they would have to make
decisions that would either strengthen that bond or tear it apart.
I wished them the wisdom to do the right thing.

The groom jumped to the pavement as the
cameras came out and the flashes popped off. Tara glowed as she
stepped down from the carriage and into Todd’s waiting arms. The
lace gown hugged every curve of Tara’s ample body. Her hair was
swept up in a cascade of curls held back with an elaborate crown
woven of the same flowers I had ordered in gumpaste for the cake.
Impressive indeed. The groom’s mother and father arrived, looking
pleased as punch. They were followed by the bride’s mother and
father. Billie Henslacker held tightly to Hank’s arm, as if she
were sleepwalking in a dream, not quite believing the big day had
finally arrived. She seemed to scream silently, “Pinch me.” The
guests trailed after them, heading for the Soundview Ballroom.

As soon as the the lovebirds disappeared from
view, the carriage driver in the crimson uniform steered the wagon
away from the hotel entrance and the spell was broken. Doc swung
the van around and picked us up.

“That was awesome!” Daisy announced. “You
guys should do the carriage when you get married.”

I took a deep breath and shook my head. “Ah,
impetuous youth.”

“What? I’m not good enough to marry? I can
carry your cake but I can’t eat it, too?” Doc gave me a wink as he
turned down College Street.

“Hey, Doc,” Daisy leaned over his seat,
kneeling on the floor of the van, “you should get new glasses.
You’re a good-looking guy, and those things look like something
from the sixties.”

“Is that right?”

“Yes. They don’t do anything for you. You’re
a handsome guy.”

“Am I? Well then, you’ll be happy to know
that these are an old spare pair because I sat on my good ones last
week. They’re being repaired.”

“Are they nerdy?”

“Rimless, with a titanium frame.”

“Cool.” Leave it to Daisy to ferret out the
real truth behind Doc’s eyeglasses. I found myself wondering what
he looked like with his rimless, titanium-framed pair. Those green
eyes were probably even more intense.

Three minutes later, we turned left off Main
Street and onto the Boston Post Road. Doc parked the van behind the
shop and we went in the back way.

Mary and Lisa, the weekend helpers at Cady’s
Cakes, were doing just fine up front. Daisy was already describing
the wedding to them in great detail. I could hear the eager chatter
of three girls enraptured by the idea of romantic love.

In the kitchen, Walter was finishing up his
Saturday baking before taking off for a bowling tournament. He’d be
back for the usual Tuesday routine. I thanked him for all his
cooperation over the last several days.

“My pleasure, Cady. I’m glad it all worked
out.”

“Now what?” Doc wanted to know, looking at me
expectantly.

“We’re done for the day. The girls will lock
up.”

“Great. Finally a little R & R. We should
probably take a drive, somewhere quiet. If we go back to your
place, we’ll have to deal with squealing babies. I have a proposal
I want to discuss with you.”

“Proposal?” A part of me hit the panic
button, sending out an alarm. A proposal. The word hit me hard. I
wasn’t ready for that. What would I say? I couldn’t possibly agree
to marry Doc. I didn’t know him well enough. And even though I
really liked him, I didn’t know I was completely, utterly committed
to him. I didn’t want to lose him, but I also didn’t want to be
pressured into making a decision we both knew I couldn’t take
back.

“Let’s go grab a bite to eat,” Doc suggested.
I felt his arm on my waist as we left through the back door. The
keys seemed to slip through my fingers as I fumbled to find the
right one for the lock.

The spring sunshine was a delightful
sensation on my cheeks as I walked to Doc’s van and I welcomed it
as a sign of the end of a very long, very cold winter. Climbing in,
I shut the door and fastened my seatbelt, all too aware of the man
beside me. We drove to Pat’s Kountry Kitchen for turkey club
sandwiches. Doc ordered a chocolate milkshake, sipping at his straw
like an exuberant teenage boy.

“I haven’t had one of these in years,” Doc
said, enjoying the indulgence. Babies and toddlers dining with
their families gurgled, cooed, and once in awhile let out an
ear-splitting scream, but for the most part, it was a pleasant
lunch crowd. The friendly wait staff chatted with customers and
each other, bantering back and forth as the food came out of the
kitchen and the empty plates, silverware, and glasses went back.
There was a constant flux of customers through the foyer -- big,
little, young, old, and everything in between. Families. I suddenly
realized I still held the dream in my heart. I wanted to belong. I
longed to be a part of a family again, to have people who cared
about me, people I loved. I ached for that.

Meanwhile, I was dreading the conversation to
come, not sure how I would navigate that mine field. I couldn’t
imagine how Doc would introduce the subject. He didn’t seem to be
in any hurry. At last the topic seemed to turn in that
direction.

“Those triplets are a handful. I prefer my
babies one at a time, the normal way,” Doc admitted, munching on a
french fry.

“Do you?” I kept my answer as noncommittal as
I could. Was he telling me he wanted children? I had never really
imagined myself as a mother. Too much work. Too much heartache.

“Doug’s really going to have to man-up on
this mess. Carole told me the surrogate mother donated the eggs, so
technically, the babies aren’t even Mimi’s. He’s definitely the
father, though, and he’d better get his act together. He’s starting
to fall apart.”