Pleating for Mercy

“I thought you might need a ride,” he said.

Aha, now I understood the drama in my bedroom. Meemaw had wanted to keep me here, though how she’d known Will was coming by was a mystery. The ceremony was set to start in two minutes. I grabbed my clutch and slammed the door behind me. “I’d love a ride.”

I tapped my foot impatiently as he got behind the wheel. The Catholic church was only a few blocks away, but it felt like hours. “Where’s Gracie?” I asked when I realized we were alone.

“She wanted to be there early to help Holly with the flower girl bit.” He bit his lip like he was keeping a secret.

I smiled, the coil of nerves in my stomach untwining a bit. “What?”

“Miriam dropped the sewing machine off after the funeral. Gracie’s been staying up late every night working. You’ve inspired her.”

I swelled with pride. “Really? What’s she making? Is she using a pattern? Tell me everything!”

“Whoa. I have no idea. She dragged the bins into her room and went to town. As long as she’s not working on her own wedding gown, we’re good. I want her thinking about graduating from high school and college, not white dresses and veils.”

“Good plan.”

Not a soul was in sight as we pulled up to the church. No surprise there, since the ceremony was probably already starting. We hurried through the double doors into the vestibule. “There you are! Where have you been? Never mind!” Ruthann grabbed me by the arm, wrenching me away from Will’s side. “We need your help. The veil Josie got was supposed to go with her first dress. It doesn’t work with this one!”

The veil! We hadn’t tried it on with the dress yesterday. I kicked myself at the oversight.

I threw an apologetic look over my shoulder at Will as Ruthann hauled me off. He lifted his hand in a motionless wave. Maybe it was my imagination, but he looked disappointed.

Ruthann dragged me into the bridal room off the side of the vestibule. Karen and her husband stood just outside the doorway. She looked beautiful in her dress, glowing with a confidence I hadn’t seen in her up till now. She gave Ted a dreamy smile, which he returned with a kiss. Score one for dreams coming true.

He headed off to the sanctuary and Karen followed me into the room. Talk about bedlam. The room looked like a tornado had spun out of control, destroying everything in its path, except Josie. She stood smack in the center of the room, the skirt of her gown fanned out around her, looking serene amid the chaos.

“She’s here!” Ruthann announced.

I tossed my clutch aside as Miriam handed me the veil. We locked eyes for just a minute, silent encouragement passing between us.

Josie’s gown, with its silk and pleats and hand beading, was classic and ethereal. The veil was poufy and looked like it belonged with a prairie wedding dress.

I set to work reconstructing it, clearing out a space on the floor and laying it down. “Scissors,” I said, like a surgeon requesting a scalpel.

Someone immediately put a pair in my hand. I cut the tulle to elbow length, removing the second layer. I cleaned up the edges and stood. “Bobby pins.”

The bridesmaids were like highly trained OR nurses. Bobby pins magically appeared in my hand. I spun Josie around. Her hair was pulled back into a doughnut-sized bun, wispy strands of loose hair framing her face. I pinned the veil underneath the mound of hair on the back of her head, letting it cascade artfully down her back.

“Perfect!” Karen said.

Ruthann squealed.

We turned at the knock on the door. Josie’s mom came into the room. She fanned herself with her hand. “You look beautiful, m’ija,” she said in her thick Spanish accent.

Josie’s smile was as brilliant as the illegal diamonds on her finger. “Gracias, Mama.”

“Lista?” Mrs. Sandoval asked.

Josie let out an excited sigh. “Ready.” Before I left, she gave me a hug. “I put this dress on and every worry just melted away, Harlow.” She swung her arm out, gesturing to the bridesmaids. “I don’t know how you did it, but it’s like you somehow brought out the best in us.” She squealed, grinning up at the ceiling. “And in a few minutes, I’m going to be Mrs. Nate Kincaid.”

Chapter 50

Lucky for me, I didn’t have to choose between sitting with Mama or sitting with Will since they’d somehow managed to sit next to each other, and only five rows from the front of the church. Will stood, letting me pass by so I could take the spot between them. Many of the same people who’d been at Nell’s funeral were here to celebrate Josie and Nate’s wedding. The senator and Mrs. Zinnia James. Ted Mitchell.

The Kincaids were in the second pew on the right side of the church, while the members of the Sandoval family and their friends sat on the left side. Madelyn Brighton stood at the front of the church toward the left side of the altar. I leaned over to Mama, pointed to Madelyn, and whispered. “What’s she doing?”

“Looks like she’s taking a picture.”

She sure was. Her camera was aimed straight at us. She hadn’t mentioned that she was the official photographer of the wedding of the year in Hood County. I caught her eye, lifting my shoulders in a question. She responded with an innocent shrug, notching her chin up and smiling.

Seconds later, the music started with the traditional Canon in D and the processional began with Ruthann gliding down the aisle, followed by a stunning Karen. Madelyn snapped pictures, moving around the church like a ghost, shooting from all angles, like a photographer at a runway show.

Holly was next, looking magical in the dress I’d altered for her. Miriam paused at the end of the aisle before starting down. She gave a cursory smile. I glanced around, confident that I’d been the only one to notice how strained it was.

But Derek’s presence, standing next to his brother at the altar, was too much for me to ignore. The suspicions Miriam had shared with me about her brother put a damper on the event and the pride I felt when I looked at the bridal party’s dresses. The smug smile he directed at Ruthann as she floated to her place, followed by the surprised arch of his eyebrows as he noticed Karen, made the muscles in my jaw twitch. He passed over his niece, glowering as Miriam glided down the aisle and a wave of indignation crashed over me.

Miriam might not feel able to tell the sheriff what she suspected her brother of doing, but I could.

Will leaned over and whispered, “You okay?” just as the first notes of the Bridal March played.

As we stood and turned to face Josie, I grabbed my cell phone from my clutch. “Fine,” I whispered back. Josie started down the aisle on her mother’s arm and a collective gasp flowed through the church. She was captivating. Her hair, her figure, the dress—the whole nine yards, literally. It was all perfect.

Madelyn was at the end of the aisle snapping pictures. A warm glow surrounded Josie like a protective aura. I wondered if that would show up in Madelyn’s photographs.

Nate, waiting for her at the altar, somehow managed to look boyish in his black tux. The priest greeted the congregation and we sat. The bride and groom had eyes only for each other, but my gaze roved, taking in every detail.

I saw diamonds everywhere. On my mother’s right hand, where she wore the ring Hoss McClaine had given her. On Karen’s wedding band. Diamond studs in Miriam’s ears. Derek’s college ring, a miniature of his father’s, flashed with diamond specks. A sparkler glinted from Ruthann’s right hand. Mrs. Kincaid was weighted down with glistening stones on her left hand, around her neck, and at her earlobes.

Everywhere I turned, I caught streaks of brilliance.

My own naked hand immediately set to work on the material of my dress as my gaze went back to Derek. I felt like a pressure cooker, Miriam’s story bubbling inside me until I thought I was going to explode.

Will cupped his hand on mine. “You sure you’re okay?” he whispered.

I stopped the catlike clawing motion of my fingers. “Yeah. Fine.”

“Really? Because you’re giving Derek a death stare. I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of that.”