“Not a chance.” Drew smiled to soften the message. “Unless you’ve changed in recent weeks, you’ll run straight into danger.”
“Run? In these heels? You overestimate me.” I gave him a coy smile. The one that generally worked beautifully on men of all ages but fell rather flat with Drew. Perhaps the magic his mother gave him left him immune to regular wiles. It was a good trait in a cop but less so in a boyfriend.
“Never.” The sizzle grew for a moment and then eased off as his grip on my arm loosened. “I figure I estimate you about right.”
He turned to speak to Sinda and Renata but the discussion didn’t end there.
“Has Big Red actually used the word boyfriend?” asked the deflator of my ego. “I haven’t heard it, and three dates is a little hasty, don’t you think?”
“Inside line, pal,” I replied. “For the entire event, please, and only when necessary. You want me to stay alert and your little barbs undermine that.”
“I disagree and my comments are always necessary, in my opinion. It’s worth noting that the nine-letter word in question is not on your crossword puzzle. Nor is sizzle. I’d direct your attention elsewhere. To the food table, perhaps. Something smells delectable and we didn’t get dinner.”
I wouldn’t have headed straight for the buffet had Cassie not been standing there with Blaine. Before anything else, I needed to pay my official respects.
“Janelle, you came,” she said, reaching for my free hand.
“Of course, we came,” I said. “We’re friends as well as classmates.”
Cassie’s touch delivered another big dose of emotion. She was sad her father was gone, but also relieved. Then there was the worry about living down his reputation. And last, an undercurrent of fear that whoever dispatched Angus might come after her next. On the positive side, she was grateful for Blaine’s support and happy her mother was home to help carry the load.
“I never had many friends,” she said. “My father discouraged it, and there was no one to be my bridesmaid. How lucky that you happened to be at City Hall the day we were married.”
“It wasn’t luck, but fate,” another voice said, as someone came up behind us. It was Cassie’s mother, and I would have known that even without seeing the mental images. Their coloring and features were so similar. “I’m Gildena Dodd. Thank you for being such a support to my daughter.”
“My pleasure.” I pulled my hand from Cassie’s and offered it to her mother. “I’m Janelle Brighton.”
She declined my hand with an apologetic smile and pointed to a small vial of sanitizer dangling from her purse strap. “I’m a bit of a germaphobe. Can’t even imagine what’s traveling around this room.”
I wasn’t sure if she was being facetious, because there was a real risk of magic changing hands along with viruses. “Sensible,” I said. “No one wants to get sick before the holidays.”
Studying me, she smiled. “You look very much like your mother. Shelley and I were friends in school, but drifted after…”
“After she married my father,” Cassie finished.
Gildena nodded. “I lost a lot of friends, actually. But I don’t regret that marriage one bit, because look what it brought me.” She wrapped her arm around Cassie’s shoulder. “The best daughter in the world.”
Cassie leaned into her. “It’s so good to have you home, Mom. Maybe you can visit more often now that…”
This time her mother finished the sentence. “Your father is gone. That’s certainly my plan. I’ll look for a place while I’m here.”
Blaine leaned forward to look at his mother-in-law. “You’re welcome to live with us, Gildena. There’s plenty of room.”
“Oh, Blaine, that’s kind, but you don’t want Cassie’s old lady hanging around. You’re newlyweds.”
Cassie smiled and it was nice to see. She was so pale and her black dress drained her more. “Mom, you know I want you around, but I’m worried I might lose my husband to your cooking.”
Gildena’s laugh was light and lovely. “Nothing makes me happier than cooking for people I love.” Her smile became rueful. “And a dozen or so I don’t.”
Gesturing to the food table, Cassie’s smile faded. “Mom cooked this entire spread. But we didn’t expect Dad’s friends to show up.”
“Colleagues,” Gildena corrected. “Business and golf don’t make you friends.”
I glanced around and saw Oscar and Octavia Knight hanging up their coats. Arnold Blatchford and his wife were with them. “Oh, I see. That’s unfortunate.”
“Let’s not worry about them, Cassandra,” Gildena said. “I doubt they’ll have the audacity to come over.”
My eyes still on the men, I muttered to Bixby, “Thirteen across. Eight-letter word for treachery.”
“Betrayal,” he said, without missing a beat.
Turning to me, Gildena looked at Mr. Bixby. “Your dog is very well behaved, Janelle. Perhaps a dachshund would have been a better choice as a wedding gift to my daughter. That little nipper you gave them is a handful.”
“He’ll grow out of it, Mom,” Cassie said. Under her breath, she added, “I sure hope so.”
“My wedding gift was a vase from a local artisan,” I said. “The pup in question was a stowaway under the mayor’s couch.”
Gildena didn’t look entirely convinced, perhaps because I didn’t sound apologetic. Tiffin was a gift no one else could have given the couple and I didn’t regret it. He should be here with them now, despite his behavior. They needed a shield from Angus’s cronies.
“Pride goeth before a fall,” my own canine gift said, thankfully inside my head. “A little vanity is good for me, but it’s risky for humans. Or near-humans. Do you consider yourself human?”
He was trying to bait me and I resisted. “We missed you at the wedding, Ms. Dodd.”
She winked at me. “Alas, I wasn’t invited.”
“Mom!” Cassie was horrified. “I let you know as soon as Dad sprung it on me.”
“That was the night before and I can’t teleport, darling. It’s two flights and a drive.” She looped her arm through her daughter’s. “Luckily the stars aligned this time. I was here by morning and cooked all day.”
