CnC 5 One Hex of a Wedding Read Online Free PDF Page A

slumped on the bench in the ladies room.
    “Did you have to mention Ingrid?” I moaned. The gossip columnist for the Chiqetaw Town Crier would be frothing at the mouth over this one. But she was the least of my worries. “Never mind about the town. What am I going to tell my parents? And Grandma M.? They saw everything and I can just imagine what they’ll have to say about all this. Somebody better fire up the smelling salts, because Grandma M.’s sure to threaten a heart attack.”
    The door opened and Murray peeked in. “You okay, Em?”
    “Okay? How can I be okay? You just had to break up a brawl between my fiancé, my ex, and your boyfriend. Not only that, but my entire customer base watched me shove my ex into the party cake. Thank God I sent the kids home early.” I straightened up. So far, tears had remained in the background, but I was pissed out of my mind.
    “Should I be on the lookout for any more trouble? Do you think Roy will pull any more stupid stunts?” Mur asked, settling down beside me. She looked remarkably pulled together for having just negotiated a brawl. But that was Murray—the head of detectives for Chiqetaw’s police force and a beautiful Amazon of a woman. Her eyes flashed, dark chocolate against her caramel skin. Native American, Anna Murray had fought for everything she ever got, and she always came out on top, if a little bruised.
    I leaned on the counter, staring in the mirror. My hair was naturally curly so even when it was tousled, it still looked pretty good. But my lipstick had smeared, and I looked altogether too flushed. Otherwise, I’d made it through the fracas unscathed. Harlow handed me a tissue and I cleaned up my face.
    “I don’t think so, but you never can tell. Roy’s volatile. That was one of the problems. Well, one of the warning signs. He’s unpredictable and I don’t trust him.” I’d learned the hard way just how far he would go in his selfish pursuits, but it had taken several years before I’d opened my eyes to the realization that he would never change.
    “I’ll warn Deacon and Greg to keep their eyes open. Do you know if he’s staying in town?”
    “God, I hope not. I don’t know. He must have called Kip and found out about the party. Kip’s a natural-born diplomat and he’s forever trying to smooth things out. He wants Roy and me to be friends. I worry about him.”
    Murray sighed. “Yeah, the little guy just wants everybody to be happy. I’ve noticed that for quite a while now. So, is this the first time Joe and Roy have come face-to-face?”
    “Yeah, they never met before. I suppose it had to happen sometime, but this wasn’t exactly how I envisioned it.” I shrugged. To be honest, I’d been hoping that they’d never meet. Unrealistic? Of course. But sometimes the thought of the past intruding on the present was too frightening to entertain. Some events seemed so fraught with potential disaster that I wasn’t about to go there unless forced.
    Harlow shook her head. “You know, Em, you should have just told Roy to beat it when you first saw him at the door. That’s what I would have done.” An edge in her voice took me by surprise. I glanced over at her.
    “Yeah, well, hindsight gives you twenty-twenty vision, doesn’t it? I thought that Mr. Big-Wig Computer Salesman could control himself for once, since the kids were around, but I was wrong.”
    “I was just saying that next time, you might want to take preventive measures. Maybe tell whoever’s watching the door to turn Roy away if he shows up.” Harl flashed me a smile, but there was something a little odd about it.
    Murray frowned. “Harlow, cut her a little slack. She didn’t know this was going to happen. We don’t always have control over how others act.”
    “It wasn’t criticism.” Harl straightened her dress. The sheath showed every curve and there wasn’t an ounce out of place. “I was just making an observation.”
    “Yeah, right.” I glanced in the mirror