Authors: Jayne Ann Krentz
“This time you’re going to stick around and have the wedding in town instead of running off to Reno, huh?“
Brian grinned. Then he began to look nervous at the small joke he had just attempted.
Colby shot him a quelling glance, reinforcing Brian’s anxious expression. “I didn’t have much choice last time.“
“That’s true. There wasn’t a justice of the peace or a minister in the whole county who would have married you and Cynthia over the Fulbrooks’ objections. But that was a long time ago and times change, don’t they?
Congratulations, Miss Prentice.“
“Thank you, Brian.“
“You two going to have a party or something to celebrate?“ Brian asked.
“No.“ Colby spoke over his shoulder as he headed down the narrow aisle, hunting for tuna.
“Too bad,“ Brian said wistfully. “Might be kind of fun. We haven’t had anything to celebrate around Fulbrook Corners since the Renley girl got married. That was three years ago. Not many weddings in this town these days. All the young people head for Portland as soon as they get out of high school.“
“I can’t imagine anyone in Fulbrook Corners wanting to celebrate my wedding,“ Colby said as he came back with the tuna and a few other items.
“You might be surprised,“ Brian said. “You’re a legend around here, Colby. And not just because you used to cause so much trouble. Folks in town are real proud of all that horror stuff you’ve been writing. Do you realize you’re the only person from Fulbrook Corners who ever got himself famous? Caused quite a stir when Larry Brockton down at the real estate office spread the word you were planning to come back for the summer.“
Colby shook his head. “The only stir it caused was one of amazement that I wasn’t in prison. Do we need anything else, Diana?“ He waved a hand at the items he’d put on the checkout counter.
“Dog food. Specter won’t be pleased if we return without his rations.“
“Damn. I almost forgot,“ Colby said, looking innocent.
“Well, it’s about time,“ Angela Prentice announced in ringing tones as her daughter introduced her to her future son-in-law on the steps of the courthouse. “I was beginning to think this child of mine was never going to find herself a man. I hope you two don’t waste any time getting started on my grandkid. Lord knows, I’ve waited long enough.“
Diana was getting tired of blushing lately. She glared at her attractive, petite mother, aware that Colby was grinning broadly. “Honestly, Mom. The least you can do is refrain from embarrassing me at my own wedding.“
Angela’s hazel eyes gleamed with amusement. “Don’t pay any attention to her, Colby. She can be a real stick-in-the-mud. Spent too many years being a hot-shot lady executive, if you ask me. Look at the result. Thirty-four years old, and never been married. It’s a wonder you weren’t put off by all those chilly corporate manners of hers.
Most men are scared to death of her.“
“I had my moments of doubt,“ Colby said gravely as he shook hands with Angela. “But I persevered. There’s more to Diana than meets the eye at first. And we writers are good at looking below the surface, you know.“
“Any money in this writing business?“
“Mother!“
Colby’s grin widened. “Don’t yell at your mother, Diana. She’s got a right to know if I can support you in the style in which you’ve been supporting yourself for the past few years.“ He turned back to Angela’s bright, inquisitive face.
“Yes, Angela, there is some money in the writing business. Nowadays, at any rate. There didn’t used to be, and one never knows about the future, but I’ve always been able to take care of my son one way or another. I’m sure I’ll be able to take care of Diana and the baby.“
“Colby!“ Diana was turning from pink to red. She could have strangled him. One look at her mother’s face told her the damage was done.
“What baby?“ Angela swung around gleefully to confront her daughter. “Don’t tell me you’re pregnant already?
Good grief, Diana. When you decided to go, you went all the way, didn’t you? Congratulations, honey, I didn’t think you had it in you to finally cut loose and live a little.“
“Mother, let me explain…“
“No explanations needed. You’re thirty-four years old, not eighteen. I’m thrilled. Positively thrilled.“ Angela threw her arms around her daughter, and then she hugged Colby. “This is the happiest moment of my life. I’m going to sign up for a knitting class as soon as I get home. I can’t wait to get started on some cute little booties.“
Colby’s eyes gleamed with laughter as he regarded Diana over the top of her mother’s curly blond head. “Who would have guessed,“ he asked gently, “that mother-in-laws came in so many varieties?“
Diana didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She was saved from having to do either when she spotted Brandon trotting down the steps.
“Hey, Dad, they’re ready inside,“ Brandon called. “You two better get in here.“
“We’re on our way.“ Colby put his arm around Diana and pulled her close against his side.
She leaned into his strength, aware that her knees suddenly felt weak. “Colby, are you absolutely sure you want to do this?“
“Are you kidding? Your mother would kill me if I backed out now.“
Half an hour later Colby kissed Diana and bundled her into the front seat of the Jeep. He touched the ring on her left hand. “You look terrific, Mrs. Savagar. Sexy , as hell. Can’t wait to get you into bed.“
“You’re going to have to demonstrate a little patience, Mr. Savagar. Brandon told me earlier there would be a few people waiting at the house.“
“A few…
what!“
Colby was dumbfounded. He swung around to search out Brandon who was starting toward a small, red two-seater Mazda. He had Angela Prentice in tow.
“Brandon.“
“Yeah, Dad?“ Brandon glanced back over his shoulder.
“Who’s waiting at the house?“
“I don’t know for sure. I was just told that a few people wanted to congratulate you and Diana. That’s all I know, honest.“ He ushered Angela into the front seat of the racy little car. “Probably the Thorps and maybe that man who owns the grocery store. No big deal.“
“No big deal,“ Colby grumbled as he got into the Jeep beside Diana. “I had other plans for this afternoon. The last thing I want to do is share a few drinks with the Thorps and McDonald.“
As it turned out, Colby didn’t have to share a few drinks with the Thorps and Brian McDonald.
He had to share wedding punch and cake with the entire population of Fulbrook Corners. Everyone in town, including Margaret Fulbrook, showed up for the reception honoring Colby Savagar’s second hasty marriage.
“What the hell is going on here?“ Colby raked his fingers through his hair and stared at the crowd of approximately two hundred people milling around the front yard of Aunt Jesse’s old house.
“I’ll take a wild guess and say that you have more friends in town than you thought you did,“ Diana murmured as she slid out of the front seat. “Don’t sit there grumbling to yourself. Come and enjoy your party.“
A cheer went up as people realized the wedding couple had arrived. A group of men swarmed around Colby when he climbed slowly out of the Jeep. Most of the women hastened forward to offer congratulations to Diana as she stood smiling beside the vehicle.
Specter was barking furiously from the back porch where he had been confined during the wedding.
“That dog of yours has been going wild,“ Evelyn Thorp said with a laugh as she came forward to greet Diana. “If he hadn’t been locked up we’d never have been able to pull this off. Now that you’re here, maybe he’ll calm down.“
“Specter’s not accustomed to so many people being around. He tends to be protective and possessive,“ Diana explained as she started toward the rear of the house to soothe her irate dog.
“Not unlike someone else t know,“ Evelyn remarked. She glanced over her shoulder to where Colby was the center of a throng of males. “I hope Colby doesn’t take offense at all this. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision on my part.
But once I put the word out that I was going to have a small reception for you two, everyone in town wanted to come.“
“It was very thoughtful of you.“ Diana opened the screen door and steadied herself as Specter leaped forward. He checked her out quickly to make certain she was all right, and then he perked up his huge, floppy ears and surveyed the crowd.
“Colby’s kept to himself so much in the few weeks since he arrived in town that most people are afraid to approach him. I think everyone is rather intimidated by him, if you want to know the truth. But they’re all equally fascinated.
From what Gil told me, your husband was a real hellion when he was a kid, and when he left town with Cynthia Fulbrook he was instantly elevated to the status of a local legend. Then he went on to become a successful author.
Now he’s back twenty years later – Fulbrook Corners’ one and only celebrity. I don’t think he quite realizes how excited people are to have him here.“
“Maybe this will break down a few of the barriers between him and the town,“ Diana said. “Let’s just hope Margaret Fulbrook doesn’t make a scene.“
“She’s unpredictable, but I think she’ll behave herself. She’s enthralled with her grandson, you know. She’s told everyone how he’s got the Fulbrook eyes. She won’t want to embarrass herself in front of Brandon or do anything to jeopardize her fragile relationship with him.“
Diana nodded, watching as Brandon led Angela over to introduce her to his grandmother. “Brandon’s a wonderful young man. Mrs. Fulbrook should be proud of him.“
“Colby did all right with his son,“ Evelyn agreed. “Margaret can’t bring herself to admit it yet, but she’s secretly very impressed with Brandon. And she knows in her heart that Colby’s responsible for the boy turning out so well.
One of these days maybe she’ll be able to say as much to Colby.“
Diana laughed. “I doubt she can go that far. But I agree with you. She is excited about establishing contact with Brandon after all these years.“
“I doubt they would have managed to get together if it hadn’t been for you. I heard about the day you introduced the two of them.“
“Colby was furious when he found out,“ Diana admitted.
“The fact that he got over his anger is a tribute to you, my dear. Obviously you have the power to make the man see reason. Gil says that is an uncommon talent. One of Colby’s biggest problems as a kid was his arrogant pride, according to my husband. It was all he had. Come along and introduce me to your mother. I’m anxious to meet her.
How did she take the news of your sudden marriage?“
Diana grinned. “She’s thrilled with Colby, and she let him know it. More or less told him she’ll be everlastingly grateful to him for marrying me. She’d figured I was going to spend the rest of my life on the shelf.“
Evelyn chuckled. “She sounds delightful. Nice change in mothers-in-law for Colby.“
In the end, there were no embarrassing scenes. Margaret Fulbrook nodded stiffly to Colby when they encountered each other in the crowd. Colby nodded back, and that was the end of it. Neither spoke to the other. Diana decided that was probably just as well.
Harry Gedge, Margaret Fulbrook’s beefy odd-job man, hung around at the fringes of the crowd. He stayed out of Colby’s way, which was also just as well, Diana thought. The grudge between Harry and Colby wasn’t going to disappear just because of a wedding party.
Somewhere in the middle of the affair, Eddy Spooner drifted over to where Diana was standing alone. In honor of the event he had evidently polished his old army boots and washed the camouflage shirt and pants he favored. He shoved a handful of long, thin blond hair out of his eyes and gave Diana a quizzical twist of a smile.
“It’s just like I was telling Harry a while back. Colby Savagar always did have all the luck. I been workin’ at that gas station for years. Put gas in damn near every car in town. Clean the windows, check the oil and fix problems every damn day of the week. But no one here even knows I exist. Colby, though, he leaves town with everyone around callin
’ him every name they can think of, and he comes back twenty years later like some kind of hero.“
“I don’t think they consider him a hero,“ Diana said gently. “They’re just curious about him because of his past and the fact that he wrote some popular books.“
Eddy shook his head. “It ain’t that. People always talked about Colby. They were always curious about him.
Whenever he got into trouble, everyone in town gossiped about it. I was with him a lot of the times he got picked up by Sheriff Thorp, but no one said much about me. They just talked about Colby.“
“I gather that when they did talk about him, they didn’t have much good to say,“ Diana reminded Eddy.
Eddy nodded. “They all claimed he’d come to a bad end, all right. But as usual, Colby made out like a bandit. Some guys get all the breaks.“
Half an hour later Diana caught sight of Colby making his way toward her through the crowd. His eyes narrowed briefly as he saw the kindly-faced older woman to whom his wife was talking. Then he smiled faintly.
“Hello, Mrs. Grimley,“ he drawled as he drew close. “Giving my wife a quick rundown on what an outstanding student I was in high school English classes?“
Ada Grimley smiled with the air of superiority only a veteran high school teacher can muster. “As a matter of fact, I was just telling Diana that I always knew you had the ability. It was just a matter of your settling down and getting to work, which you obviously eventually did. Congratulations, Colby. I’ve read all your books, and I like to think I can take some personal credit for having pounded the basics of English into you. Lord knows it was tough going at times.“
Colby grinned, surprising not only Diana, but Mrs. Grimley. “Yes, ma’am. I know it was. But I couldn’t have written any of those books if it hadn’t been for you. I never thought I’d say it, but here goes: thanks for all the hours you spent beating English Lit. and grammar into my head.“