Page 14 of Raging Fires

“Yeah, well, I think she is too,” Naomi told him. “I mean, she looks normal—aside from the fact that her dress probably cost more than my car—but she keeps saying weird things. I’m not sure if she’s joking or not. And while she was doing the arranging, that Pete guy was over at one of the tables, and he kept pulling the tablecloth off. I mean, with the centerpiece and everything on it, and it would all fall off, and then he’d put it back on and yank it off again.”

“Oh, yeah, he does magic stuff,” Jake explained. “The other day, he kept showing me this trick with a fake flower where he pulls the flower out of his jacket like it’s some big surprise. Only it never is because you just saw him stick it in there.”

“Good grief!” Gran bellowed—no question where Jake got his voice from—and hauled herself up out of her chair. “Are you two going to stand at the door talking the whole time?” She stalked over to Jake, took his arm in a firm grip and tugged him forward. “Let’s get this thing started.”

“Gran, come on,” Jake protested, trying to unobtrusively pull his arm from her grasp. “I can walk over there by myself.”

His tone was so much that of a ten-year-old kid that Kelli had to laugh. Which was a mistake because Gran turned her attention to Kelli. “You, too.” Letting go of Jake’s arm, she went back to pull Kelli up beside Jake. “If you don’t get going pretty soon, Aunt Lucy’s going to fall asleep. She’s always in bed by eight o’clock.”

“All right, all right,” Jake growled and grabbed Kelli’s hand. They marched up to the arbor to face the justice of the peace, who was staring at them, wide-eyed and slack jawed.

Naomi took up her bridesmaid’s spot near Kelli, and Asa quickly positioned himself on the other side of Jake. Asa was trying to stifle his laughter, his lips pressed firmly together, but his shoulders were shaking. Obviously a number of other people didn’t even make the effort. Kelli could hear snickers all around them.

“This is worse than that time you and I fell in the pond at the mayor’s fancy party,” she whispered to Jake.

“Ha!” Jake let out a little reminiscent laugh. “That was crazy. And I wasn’t even drunk.”

“And when you came up, there was a lily pad on your head.” Kelli couldn’t keep from grinning at that memory. “It looked like you were wearing a cloche!”

“A what?”

“You know, one of those flapper's hats that women wore in the nineteen-twenties,” Kelli explained.

“How would I possibly know that? Only you would think a dude would know what a clonche is.”

“Cloche. It’s not part sea-shell.”

The judge cleared his throat to get their attention, and they turned to face the man.

Jake straightened, jaw set, and said, “Okay. Let’s do this.”

The robed man leaned in and asked in a quiet voice, “Are you two sure you’re okay with this?” He glanced warily at the bikers on one side, then at the assembly of jumbo-sized men on the other. “I mean, if someone is trying to force you or… well, it’s really better, you know, for a child to have a single parent than a mother and father who don’t want to be together.”

Kelli and Jake stared at him until his meaning sank in. “I am not pregnant!” Kelli hissed. “This isn’t a shotgun wedding!”

Jake let out a snort of laughter, and Kelli turned to glare at him and Asa, who had finally lost his battle with laughter. “Would you two straighten up?” To be fair, Naomi was giggling too, but these guys were more obnoxious.

“I’m sorry, I’m trying,” Asa got out between laughs. “It’s just… oh, man.” He managed to pull his face back to normal, though his lips kept twitching. “Okay. Sorry. I’m good.”

The judge squared his shoulders and drew a breath to speak. At that moment, the door to the restroom hallway banged open, and a man’s voice said, “Geeze, it’s dark as a mine back there. Haven’t you people heard of lights?” There was a yap, followed by the man’s voice, “Shut up, Princess.”

Asa burst into guffaws again. The justice of the peace heaved a sigh. Jake said, “Oh, God, Howard brought that freakin’ dog?”

Kelli was numb to surprise by now, and she merely turned to look in the direction of the voice. Whoever the speaker was, he was too short to be seen behind the team, but there was a ripple through the group as he edged his way to the front.

“Have they showed up yet?” the disembodied voice went on. “I heard he missed the team plane once in Boston. Move your butt, Kowalski. You’re too damn big. I can’t see a thing.”

Justin Kowalski, who had covered his face with his hands in a vain attempt to muffle his laughter, moved aside, and the speaker finally emerged. He was short and middle-aged, and he was carrying a Louis Vuitton purse. A purse?

The man looked at Kelli and Jake, and his jaw dropped. “Good God, Jake. What the hell are you wearing?”

A tiny face pressed against the mesh that covered one side of the purse, and Kelli realized that the bag was actually a high fashion dog carrier. Princess, Kelli presumed. She looked like a ball of fluff with bright black eyes, and as soon as she saw Jake, she burst into a paroxysm of barking.

Asa, who had been gradually quieting down, let out a howl of laughter.

“That dog hates me,” Jake muttered.

“Good judge of character,” Kelli snarked.