James used his most gentle tone. “We’re working on it. One way or another, the wedding will go forward. Holly, Howard, Daniella, and I are all figuring it out.” James motioned toward the door. “Everything is going to be beautiful, and Holly is going to be married. Things will work out.” James only wished he knew exactly how that was going to happen. “There’s nothing you can do at the moment, but we thought you should know what was going on.”
She sniffed and dabbed her eyes with a tissue she always seemed to be able to produce from somewhere. “You never liked the reverend, none of you kids did.”
James nodded. “True. It was the girls who thought there was something wrong, and it turned out they were right. Mom, I’m a cop, and I see this all the time. Don’t misplace the blame for this. It belongs with the reverend and no one else. All the hurt feelings and inconvenience and worry should be placed at his doorstep and no one else’s. He’s the one who did something wrong, not Holly or Margot, and not me. Just remember that.”
She shook her head as though she were going to argue. “So help me…” Anger welled up again.
“Don’t worry, Holly has already threatened to rip his nuts off if she sees him again.” For the first time his mom smiled.
“That’s my daughter.”
“Come, Grace. We can go back to the party and leave the details to the young people.” His father led his mom back inside, and James took a deep breath of the crisp night air before rejoining Daniel inside.
“How did it go?”
James put an arm around Daniel’s waist. “Better than I expected it to. Mom wasn’t happy, but she calmed down. What’s happening here?”
“Margot is just about to give her talk.” Daniel held his hand tightly as she made her way to the front and cleared her throat.
“I’m Margot, Holly’s younger sister, and I thought I’d share a few memories with you tonight. See, growing up with Holly wasn’t easy. I was always the disappointment, or it felt that way. Holly was the perfect one. Mom and Dad told me more times than I could count that they wished I could be more like her. That really sucked.” James turned to Daniel, wondering where this was going. Daniel patted his hand.
“Until I realized that Holly was someone I should look up to. She’s kind and warm, and always made time for me. Even when I was a little brat being a pain in the butt.” A chuckle wound through the room, and James squeezed Daniel’s fingers. “When Holly went away to college, she invited me to come visit her for a weekend, and all her friends were nice to me.” She quirked her eyebrow. “One of them even gave me my first taste of beer. Don’t worry, Mom, I didn’t like it…much.” Another laugh, and James relaxed.
“I was lucky to have a big sister like Holly, mainly because she paved the way and wore Mom down.” She slipped Holly a thumbs-up. James rolled his eyes as his smile grew bigger. “And now she’s found Howard. I hope the two of them will be happy together as they go out into the world to build their own lives.” She moved closer to the table. “And, Howard, I want you to know that if you don’t make Holly happy, you’ll have to answer to me.”
“I promise,” Howard said, holding Holly a little closer.
“Now let’s raise our glasses to Holly and Howard.” She lifted her glass of ginger ale, and everyone in the room joined her in the toast. “May they know happiness and joy, may they have a dream wedding tomorrow, and may their life be filled with the pitter-patter of little feet doing the same things we did.” Her expression grew devilish, and Holly laughed as everyone drank.
“You had me right up until the end, little sister,” she shot back, still smiling.
“Was that your doing?” James whispered to Daniel, who shrugged and tried to seem completely innocent. “That isn’t going to work.”
“She wanted to be able to end with something humorous,” Daniel said, “and it worked. Everyone is smiling and Margot is happy—even your mother. This was all your idea, remember?” James was more than well aware of that. “Maybe now that dinner is over, you and I can leave and have an hour or two alone.” James’s eyes grew wide, and heat spread through him within seconds. James nodded without saying a word and got to his feet, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. He closed his eyes, swallowing the curse that bubbled upward. He wanted Daniel with every cell of his being, and this up and down, push and pull was becoming more than he could bear.