Текст книги "Lunch at the Club"

Автор книги: Kate Kane

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Текущая страница: 7 (всего у книги 11 страниц)

Chapter 14

The Investigation

Jess put on her best secretary voice and used her cell to dial KEAU.  Her cell had an L.A. number.  She wasn’t sure what she was going to say, but she asked for Beth Morgan.

“Ms. Morgan, this is Corinne Miller,” she said, using the name of a character she’d played recently.  “I just heard about Carol Anne Woods’ death.  Carol Anne and I met at a convention in L.A. recently. I’m passing through Kansas City on my way to the east coast and I wondered if we could get together to talk.  I could meet you someplace this evening.  I just need to talk to someone else who knew her, you know?”

She couldn’t believe her ears when Beth agreed to meet her.  Beth asked what hotel she’d be in and said they could meet in the bar at five o’clock.  Jess agreed, knowing she wouldn’t be 21 for a few months yet, hoping she could pull off sitting in a hotel bar.  She should be fine.  Her fake ID had fooled bartenders and bouncers all over L.A.  Jess checked the time, three hours to kill before she needed to leave.  Make that two, she’d need to get to the hotel earlier than Beth and make sure Beth didn’t see that she was driving a car with Johnson County, Kansas tags.  If she was driving through KC from L.A., her car would have California plates.  They’d discussed how to recognize each other, so Jess would just wait in the bar.

Jake and Jamie continued to crawl through the internet, sifting the garbage from the clues.

“Hey, did you know she worked for the city of Overland Park before she went to work for the KCMO police department?  She left KCMO to go to KEAU radio.”  Jamie IM’d the link to Jake.

“How long ago was that,” Jess asked, absent mindedly.

Jake opened the link.  “Looks like she left OPPD five years ago and went to KCMO.  She was there for about a year, before taking the KEAU radio gig.  She was at KEAU for a year.  Then she moved to Denver, where she’s been at the same radio station for the last three years.  She doesn’t have any family here.  Why come back to KC?”

“Hopefully she kept in touch with Beth Morgan and she can shed some light on things,” Jess replied.

“We should call Tanner and have him meet us at the Marriott in case anything goes hinkey.  Ben said same rules as paint ball, pay attention, stay together, don’t take risks.  Tanner and I could go to the bar and sit at a table away from you.  Jandy can’t go.  His baby face would get him thrown out.”

Jess pushed Tanner’s number toward Jake.  “I don’t expect trouble, but go ahead, make the call.”

She looked at Jamie.  “Rhubarb, that leaves you here alone until Mom and Ben get home.  Don’t let anyone in.  Don’t even answer the land line.”

Jamie nodded.  He was used to taking ridiculous orders from his sister.  Maybe it was good practice for going to West Point.  You didn’t have to agree with every order, you just had to obey them.

“I need to go figure out my wardrobe, and maybe do a little research.  I need to get a backstory that Beth will buy,” Jess said, as she went to look at her meager closet.

That was the problem with going to school on the west coast; except for winter clothes, everything was in L.A.  She might have to go with jeans and raid her Mother’s closet for an appropriate top.

“Whoa.  Jake, look at this.”  Jamie turned his laptop toward Jake.  “Isn’t that Ben in that photo with the cheerleader?”

Jake read the caption under the photo.  “Yep, Liza Conrad pictured with prominent attorney Ben Bellini.”

“So Ben was dating the cheerleader when she had the stalker issue. He gets around.  What do you think about him and Mom?”

“Jandy, I like Ben, you like Ben, heck even Jess likes Ben and Ben loves Mom.  I think he sowed some wild oats; okay, maybe a lot of wild oats, but I think he’s ready to settle down. And I think if he hurts Mom, we’ll make him pay for it.”

“Yeah, that’s what I think.”  Jamie nodded.

Jess came into the kitchen.  “Do I look like an assistant radio producer?”

The boys laughed.  “Heck if we know,” Jake said.

“What the heck does one do?” Jamie added.

“I looked it up.  ‘The role of a radio producer, on a station dedicated to news and talk radio, is to procure guests of interest to specific hosts and audiences. Once a guest is booked, she is customarily expected to suggest questions and topics to make the guest’s interview compelling.’  Sounds like a bit of research and then finding and booking talent, I think I can bluff through that. The bigger job might be getting Beth to talk.”

Jake looked at his sister.  “You ready to go?  Tanner said he’d meet us, well, me there.  You can ride with me, we can figure out how to have you go in separately on the way.”

Jake and Jess got into Jake’s truck and Jamie locked up as he was told.  He continued to search the internet, looking for anything and everything he could find about Carol Anne Woods and then he began a search for Lila Crane.  It couldn’t hurt to know everything he could about the investigating detective.  After all, he was doing research anyway.

Lila was 33.  She’d been with the Overland Park Police Department for 10 years. She’d been a detective for five.  It looked like she and Carol Anne had worked together in the past, when Carol Anne was a consultant for the OPPD.  He got some paper and drew a timeline.  Seven years ago, Carol Anne started as a consultant for OPPD; five years ago, Lila became a detective with the OPPD; four and a half years ago, Carol Anne left OPPD and went to KCMO; four years ago, Liza Conrad was dating Ben and was stalked.  Carol Anne consulted and, through notoriety, became a radio talk therapist doing a show on relationships; three years ago, Carol Anne dated Ben but moved to Denver after they broke up.  He was missing something, but he didn’t know what it was.

He was hungry, and since he didn’t know when his Mom and Ben would get back, he started rummaging in the fridge for something to eat.  Jake, Jess, and Tanner should be at the Marriott bar soon.  He was sure they’d call after Jess met with Beth Morgan.  He grabbed some left over barbecue and nuked it.  He was sitting at the breakfast bar eating, when his cell phone rang.

“Okay, we’re at the Marriott.  Jess went in and Tanner and I are going to wait 10 minutes and then go in.  We’ll call you when we leave.”  Jake hung up before Jamie could tell him about putting the timeline together.  Sometimes another set of eyes could see something that you’d missed.   He needed someone else to see what he had.  He wanted this done.  He had to go back to school tomorrow, and Jake, Ben, and Mom would have to go back to work.  That would leave Jess to work on it alone.

Jamie had his timeline on the breakfast bar and he couldn’t stop looking at it as he did his research.  We wondered where Liza Conrad was now.  He put her name into his search engine.  She was still in Kansas City and was a psychologist now.  Was that odd?  She’d been stalked four years ago and then she’d become a psychologist.  Maybe it was true what Nana Evie said, a lot of nuts become shrinks.  Maybe that wasn’t fair.  She was the one who was stalked, the stalker was probably the one who was nuts.

He kept digging, but couldn’t find that anyone was ever arrested and charged in Liza’s stalking case.  He switched gears again and began searching for information about stalking.  He didn’t think stalkers just stopped and his research supported that.  Psychological profiles all seemed to agree that stalking was a form of OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) and a stalker stopped in one of two ways:  arrest with treatment and/or incarceration, or they refocused their attention on another target.

Jamie kept digging to see what Carol Anne had said about Liza’s stalker.  Based on the notes, photos and e-mails Liza was receiving, Carol Anne had concluded that Liza’s stalker was another woman who wanted Liza’s life.  Based on that diagnosis, Liza had quit cheerleading and concentrated on school full time.  If Carol Anne was right, then maybe that’s why the stalker had stopped.  The life she wanted was the life of a glamorous cheerleader, not the life of a plain graduate student.

He glanced at his timeline and added the current month and year for Carol Anne’s death.  He went back to his search on Lila, to see if he could figure out what kind of cop she was.  He didn’t feel like he was getting anywhere and hoped Jess was having better luck.

~~~~~

Jess recognized Beth Morgan right away.  She was about Jess’s height, at least 20 pounds heavier and had short dark brown hair.  Jess waved as Beth came in and then stood and introduced herself as Corinne Miller.  She gave Beth the back story she’d concocted – that she was an assistant producer for a talk radio station in L.A., and that she’d met Carol Anne at a western states Women in Radio convention just weeks before.  Luckily, Jake knew the bartender and had worked out a deal that no matter what anyone ordered for Jess, she got a plain Diet Coke.  Beth asked what she was drinking, and Jess lied saying it was a rum and Diet.  Beth ordered the same.  Beth told Jess that she and Carol Anne had stayed in contact, mostly by e-mail with an occasional phone call or text message.  By the time Beth was on her fourth rum and Diet, she’d told Jess that Carol Anne was moving to New York for a new job and had decided that she was 33 and since she wasn’t getting any younger that she wanted to have a baby, man or no man in her life.  She was coming to KC to talk to an old friend and get a sperm donor.  Jess almost gagged on her Diet Coke wondering if Ben was the old friend Carol Anne had in mind.  She asked Beth if she knew who it was, but Beth said Carol Anne hadn’t told her.

Beth left after her fourth rum and Diet and Jess sat, still sipping her Diet Coke.  Tanner got up and followed Beth out making sure she made her way to her car and left, although God knew she had no business being behind the wheel.  But he wasn’t a cop anymore and it wasn’t his problem.  After Tanner was sure Beth was gone, he called Jake who got Jess and left.

It was nearing 6:30 p.m. when Jake and Jess called Jamie from the car.  “She was back in KC to get an old friend to be the sperm donor so she could have a kid.” Jess told the boys.

At the same time both Jake and Jamie said, “Was it Ben?”

Jess shook her head.  “Beth didn’t know who it was.  But if it was Ben, that could be more reason to suspect Mom.  Or to suspect Ben”

Jamie told them about the timeline he’d started, saying he needed another set of eyes to look at it.

“Is Mom home yet,” Jess asked.  When Jamie said he hadn’t heard from Ben and their mother, Jake said they were going to hit a drive through for something to eat and asked if Jamie wanted something.

Chapter 15

Timeline

Jamie had just gotten off the phone with his siblings when Lane and Ben came into the kitchen.

Jamie looked up from his laptop.  “So, are congratulations in order?”

“Traditionally you tell the groom ‘Congratulations’ and say ‘Best Wishes’ to the bride, but yes, we are engaged.  As if you didn’t know about it already,” Lane replied.

Jamie smiled. “I didn’t know for sure you’d say yes.”

Lane bent and kissed Jamie on the top of the head.  “Where are Jess and Jake?”

“Oh, they had an errand to run.  They called just before you came in and they’re on their way back.  They’re bringing home food.  If you call, you might catch them in time to place your order.”

She asked where they were stopping.  Jamie really didn’t know.  Jess kept a running tab of everyone’s favorites for all of the fast food options in her head.  “I’m going to go change,” Lane said and she kissed Ben before heading to her room.

Ben saw Jamie’s timeline on the breakfast bar.  “Hey, Bambino, what’s this all about?”

7 yrs. Ago

Carol Anne

started as OPPD consultant

5 yrs. Ago

Lila

promoted to detective

4.5 yrs. Ago

Carol Anne

left OPPD for KCMO as consultant

4 yrs. ago

Liza

dated Ben

4 yrs. ago

Liza

stalked

4 yrs. ago

Carol Anne

said stalker is a woman who wanted Liza's life

4 yrs. ago

Liza

left cheerleaders & stalking stopped

4 yrs. ago

Carol Anne

went into radio at KEAU

3 yrs. Ago

Carol Anne

dated Ben

3 yrs. Ago

Carol Anne

moved to Denver

now

Mom

dating Ben

Friday

Carol Anne

dead

Friday

Mom

accused of murder

now

Lila

investigating the murder

“I was putting together a timeline about Carol Anne, and one search led to another.  I know I’m missing something, but I don’t know what it is.”

“Where are Jake and Jess, really,” Ben asked.  He knew the Parker Kids had a tendency to protect Lane not by lies of commission but by lies of omission.

“Jess went to talk to Beth Morgan and Jake went to keep an eye on her.  Tanner went with them.  Beth told Jess that Carol Anne was in KC to get some guy to be a sperm donor.”  Jamie raised an eyebrow.  “It better not have been you.  I told you about hurting Mom.”

“Bambino.  You have nothing to worry about.  She did call me, but she didn’t say what she wanted.  I told her I was seeing someone and I didn’t agree to meet her.  Your Mother knows this, by the way.  For God’s sake, I just proposed to your Mother.  There’s no way I’d have a kid with someone else. Besides, I suspect given the way we parted that I’d be the last man she’d come to.”

That seemed to appease Jamie, but Ben was curious. What if that was why Carol Anne wanted to see him.  No matter whether that was what she wanted or not, she was dead, and even if she weren’t, his sperm belonged to only one woman and her name wasn’t Carol Anne Woods.

“So, do I call you dad now?” Jamie was grinning at Ben.

“You should probably hold off until after the wedding,” Lane, who had come into the kitchen, said laughingly.

She nudged Ben. “Earth to Ben.  You didn’t even hear him, did you?”

Ben shook his head.  He was still looking at the timeline Jamie had put together.  He picked it up and put it in his pocket. “No.”

Jamie, still grinning, repeated his question.

“Why not, I’ve been calling you my Bambino for three years now.  You know that means kid, male child.  So when I call you my Bambino it’s kind of like calling you my kid.”

“So, maybe I should call you Papa then.”

Ben laughed.  “Call me whatever makes you comfortable, Bambino.”

Jess and Jake had come in carrying take out.  “Who’s calling whom what,” Jake said.

“I’m going to call Ben Dad after the wedding.”

Jess almost dropped the bag she was carrying.  They’d grown up basically without a dad.  When Phillip Parker had come out of the closet and left their mother, he’d left them too.  He’d moved to Chicago to be with Ralphie, his new significant other.  Sure, they’d gotten birthday cards and Christmas cards with money or gift cards enclosed, but they didn’t have him.  Jake was only five years old and Jess was only 18 months old the night Phillip left.  For the first two or three years, they saw him once or twice a year when he came back to Omaha to visit his own mother.  As time went on, Phillip’s visits to Omaha became fewer.  He never asked to have the kids come spend time with him and Ralphie.  It seemed to Jess that he wanted to erase the part of his life when he was their father, and that was just fine with her.  Who needed him anyway?  That didn’t mean she was ready to call Ben dad.  Especially after his behavior in the garage last night.  “Actors on her little stage” indeed.  Who the hell did he think had been keeping the family together these last 18 years?  It sure wasn’t Phillip Parker and it wasn’t Ben Bellini either.

She put the take-out bag on the breakfast bar and started to leave the kitchen when Ben spoke to her.

“Jess, could I talk to you in the family room for a minute?”  She turned a frosty stare toward him but followed him anyway.

She stood, arms crossed across her chest, and stared up into his eyes.  “What?”

“I know you’re pissed about last night, and I do owe you an apology.  Not for everything, but you were right about your mother deserving a better proposal than the one I’d planned to deliver last night.  I’m sure she’ll tell you about it, I just wanted you to know that you were right and to say I’m sorry.”

“I know you love my mother.  I forgive you, because I think I understand where you were coming from, but just so you know, there aren’t enough shoes in the world to make up for your comment about my little stage.”

Ben looked at her, really looked.  He hadn’t realized how much he’d hurt her.  He regretted saying it and yet he still meant every word of it.

“So, can we get past this?”

“I told you, already forgiven.  We’re already past the proposal.”

“So, are you going to call me Dad?”

“Don’t push it,” she said as turned and left the room.

Jess looked at Lane.  “I raided your closet.  Come talk to me while I change out of your top.”

Jess followed Lane to her room.

Ben looked at the boys.

“I can fill in a couple of blanks in the timeline,” he said as he handed Jamie’s timeline to Jake.

“I only dated Liza for a couple of weeks.  She was a student getting her graduate degree while she was a cheerleader.  We broke up just before the stalking stopped.  And, I didn’t meet Carol Anne until she was already at KEAU.”  He looked at Jake.  “Carol Anne did call me the week before last to say she was going to be in town and wanted to get together.  I told her I was with someone and we’d have to play it by ear.  But I had no intention of meeting her, at least not without your mother.  She didn’t say what she wanted and I didn’t ask.”  He looked at Jake.  “And before you ask, your mother knows she called me.”

Lane sat on her bed as Jess changed.  They were closer than any other mother and daughter that either of them knew.  Lane hadn’t had a mother to have a relationship with, and she treated Jess the way that she had longed to have a mother treat her as she was growing up.  A co-worker had once told Lane that her relationship with Jess was abnormal.  During a family counseling session, Lane had asked about it and the counselor had assured her that while it was unusual, it wasn’t an unhealthy relationship.

“So tell me all about the proposal,” Jess said as she sat on the bed with her mother.

Lane glowed as she told Jess about the roses lining the aisle to the gazebo.  She showed Jess the necklace. “He said it was because I hold the key to his heart.”

Jess looked at the ring, which she knew had to be at least 10 carats.  Ben had done the proposal that her mother deserved.  Jess’s heart softened a little.

“When I told him he was going to spoil me, he said, ‘only for the rest of your life.’  I didn’t know how much I loved him.  He’s a good man, and he loves me and my kids.  Jess, are you happy for me?”

Jess smiled.  Of course she was happy for her mother, and deep in her heart, she cared for Ben too.  But he’d hurt her and she remembered the old adage, fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.  She’d never let a man get close to her.  If you don’t let them get close, they can’t hurt you.  She knew her mother had been married twice, and she remembered the man her mother had dated in Omaha.  Her mother was naïve and far more resilient than anyone she knew, but she wasn’t her mother.

“He wants to get married right away.”

“Mom, it takes time to plan a wedding.”

“I told him that and he made a good argument that I need a dress, he needs a tux, we need you kids and a church.”  She saw the look on Jess’s face.  “Jess, the wedding isn’t the important part.  It’s what happens afterward that’s important.  I love him.  He loves me.  And as you have pointed out, it’s like we’ve been dating for the last three years.  I’m not in my twenties and we don’t know how long we have.  There’s no reason to wait.”

Chapter 16

Tuesday

It was Tuesday, flower delivery day, and before lunch Meg brought the flowers into Lane’s office.  “There are an extra dozen roses today.  Anything you want to tell me?”

“As a matter of fact, yes and I’m sure the number means something.  I need a cheat sheet.” She smiled as she waved Meg to a visitor chair and held out her left hand.

It was the biggest diamond Meg had ever seen.

“So when’s the big day?”

“Ben’s picking me up for an early lunch so we can go apply for the marriage license.”  She laughed.  She couldn’t believe that the gorgeous Ben Bellini who was Kansas City’s most eligible bachelor only yesterday had not only proposed, but was indeed rushing her to the alter.  “He wants to get married before Jess leaves for L.A.  We’re looking at a small intimate ceremony Friday with a big reception later.”

Meg’s eyes were wide as she shook her head in a cross between amazement and disbelief.  “That man doesn’t mess around, does he?”

At eleven o’clock, Ben picked Lane up at her office, and they went together to the Johnson County clerk’s office to apply for the marriage license.  He couldn’t believe how much he’d missed her and they’d only been apart for 12 hours.  He’d have suggested they take the afternoon off, but they both had meetings they couldn’t get out of.

“Jess and I are going to shop for dresses tonight.” She told him, as he dropped her back at the office.

“Come over after you finish.”  He kissed her.  “I need to see you naked.”

She laughed.  “You’re incorrigible.  What have I started?”

“Whatever it is you’ve started, I hope you never stop,” he said as he kissed her again.  “I should take the guys to buy suits.  I’ll stop by this evening.”

She shook her head.  Ben favored Brioni suits which retailed for thousands of dollars and the closest retailer was in St. Louis, who knew what they’d end up with.

“I love you.  I’ll see you later.” She kissed him.  Ben got out and opened her door.  As she stepped out of the car, he whispered, “And I love you.”

As she walked into her office building, her cell phone rang.  She knew by the ring tone that it was Jess. “Hey, what’s up?  Are we still on for dress shopping later?”

“Yes.  I got a call from my agent though, and I need to be in L.A. on Friday for an audition.  It’s a big deal, Mom.  It’s for a starring role in a movie trilogy.  I’ll tell you about it when you get home.  Right now I have to run out and see if I can find the books the movies are based on. Love you, b-bye.” And she was gone.

Lane called Ben. “Red, you really do love me.”  He answered.

She hoped he still felt that way when she was finished. “Yes, I really do.  I have some good news and some bad news.  The good news is Jess has an audition for a starring role in a movie trilogy.  The bad news is it’s on Friday.”

His reaction thrilled and surprised her.  “That’s amazing news.  So I guess we have to put our plans on hold.  We can talk about it tonight.  I want to marry you as soon as humanly possible, but I wouldn’t dream of doing it without all three of the kids.  I love you Red, don’t doubt it for even a minute.  I’ll see you tonight.”

She wondered if they could have Jess fly to L.A. and then back home on Saturday.  Like Ben said, they’d all talk about it tonight.

She rode the elevator to the fifth floor and went to her office.

“Your dentist’s office called.  You have a cleaning scheduled for tomorrow morning.”  Meg had been Lane’s administrative assistant for three years.  They’d agreed long ago that Meg was to be in charge of the calendar, so that meant when Lane had appointments, she came back to the office and handed the card to Meg.  She scanned her memory, wondering if she’d forgotten to tell Meg about the appointment.

“You don’t need to make that face.  It was already on your calendar,” Meg said, as her line rang and Lane went into her office.

“Meg Kelly.”

“Hello, Ms. Luciano.”

“I spoke with Mr. Coyle. I explained that with your cooperation, we have ordered paternity tests with another individual.  Since he didn’t direct me to his attorney, I don’t think we have anything to worry about.  But if you hear from him again, please call me immediately.”

“Thank-you, Ms. Luciano.”  Meg hung up the phone, still wondering how the DNA test could show anyone else to be Abbey’s father.  But as Ms. Luciano had said, Scott wouldn’t be bothering her again.

She sent a text to Jake.  They’d only been dating four weeks, and the thought that he’d protect her and Abbey this way boggled her mind.  But then her only relationship experience was with a controlling and abusive ex-boyfriend.  Jake was gentle, patient, caring, and generous.  Not to mention handsome as all get out.  He was kind of a Hemsworth. (Actor brothers who were tall, blonde and totally ripped.)  If she wasn’t careful, she was going to fall in love with her boss’s eldest son.

Lane made it through her meetings and packed up her office to leave.  “Do you and Jake have plans tonight?”  Lane wasn’t sure where to draw the line between being the boss and being the boyfriend’s mother.

“I’m sure we’ll talk later, but we don’t have plans to get together.  Have you got some family thing going on,” Meg asked, as they walked toward the elevators.

“Jess has to go back to L.A. early.  She has a big audition on Friday.  I hoped we’d be able to talk as a family about wedding plans tonight.”

They rode the elevator together, Meg got out on the first floor and Lane took the elevator to the underground parking garage where her Mercedes hardtop convertible was parked.  It had been a birthday gift from Ben’s uncles.

Her house was only about 15 minutes from the office. “Hey, guys, I’m home,” Lane called as she walked into her home office and dropped off her briefcase.  She walked into the kitchen to find all three Parker Kids gathered around the breakfast bar.

“Hey.  Let me go change.  Then I’ll get dinner started and you can tell us all about your audition,” Lane said as she headed toward her room.

After Lane left the room, Jake looked at his siblings.  “I heard from Meg.  Daniella talked to Coyle.  Sounds like he’s going to back off.”

“That’s good news,” Jamie said.

Jess’s cell phone rang.  “Parrott Boy.  Don’t you have rounds to do or something?”

Pauli laughed.  “As a matter of fact, I’ve finished rounds.  Do you have a date for the wedding this weekend?”

Jess stepped out of the kitchen into the family room.  “There isn’t going to be a wedding this weekend.  I’ve got an audition on Friday so they’re going to have to put it off.  I have to go back to L.A. tomorrow.”

Boy, she really did play hard to get.  He thought they’d bonded yesterday when she called him to help with the DNA testing.   He was three hours away and was wracking his brain trying to figure out how he was going to see her again before she left.  “Okay.  When are you leaving?  Do you have your flight information yet?”

God, she didn’t have time for Baby Bellini.  She had gotten the script for the audition and she’d gone out and bought the first book in the Harts in Time series.  She was auditioning for the role of identical twin sisters Kate and Kit Hart who were somehow thrust through time.  Kate travelling 100 years in the past, Kit travelling 100 years into the future.  It was sci-fi meets action, meets romance meets mystery, demanding as hell and the opportunity of a lifetime for an actor.

“I leave tomorrow night.  I have a lot of lines to learn.  Look, Mom’s here and we’re going to talk about the wedding plans.  I need to go.” And she ended the call.

Jess went back into the kitchen and sat at the breakfast bar with her brothers.  Lane was preparing meatloaf.  It wasn’t your normal meatloaf.  Sure it had hamburger and pork with an egg for binding and spices and ketchup, but after mixing all of the ingredients together, Lane rolled it out flat, grated cheese on it and rolled it back into a loaf closing the ends.  She served it with scalloped potatoes and asparagus.  Yes it would clog your arteries, but they all loved it.  Lane had taken her ring off while she mixed the meats, ketchup, egg and spices together with her bare hands.  Jess picked it up and examined it.  It was at least 10 carats, much of the carat weight in a large square radiant stone, flanked by two baguettes on either side, with a tear drop shaped diamond in the filigree work in both the front and back.  No doubt set in platinum.  Ben had dropped a bundle on it.  She knew he loved her mother and she felt bad that she was going to be the cause of them postponing the wedding.

“So, tell us about the audition,” Lane said as she mixed the meatloaf ingredients.

“It’s an amazing opportunity.  The role is for twin sisters Kit and Kate Hart and it’s based on the Harts in Time book trilogy.”

“Oh,” Lane said, “I’ve read those.  The books were riveting.  I devoured them.  It sounds like it could be a Jennifer Lawrence Hunger Games kind of opportunity.  I’m so excited for you.”

Ben had come in as Jess was explaining about the role.

“Break a leg, Jess.  What time on Friday is the audition?  We’ll keep our fingers crossed.”

Lane had put the meatloaf and the potatoes in the oven and everyone sat around the table to discuss wedding plans.

“Kansas has a three day waiting period between applying for and getting the license, so the soonest we could have gotten married would have been Friday, but the license is good for six months.”  Ben held Lane’s hand as he talked.  He looked at Jess.  “We’ll have to work around your schedule after you get the role.”  He looked back to Lane and squeezed her hand.  “Just try to remember I’m an anxious groom.  Any time we can get everyone together in the same place for long enough for Father Palmert to get through the ceremony works for me.”  He smiled and winked at her.  “The good thing, I guess, is you have a little longer to find the perfect dress.  And I can drive the guys to Neiman’s Saturday so they can get measured for suits.”

He looked at the Parker brothers. “A man needs a good suit in his wardrobe. You never know when it might come in handy.”

Lane knew that meant a drive St. Louis for Brioni suits.  She shook her head thinking about her sons in suits costing upward of $3000 each.  The price tag of a single suit would probably be more than her own wedding dress and Jess’s bridesmaid dress combined. The difference of course was that the men really would be able to wear their suits again versus what brides had been telling bridesmaids for decades… “you’ll get a lot of use out of it later.”  She’d never known a bridesmaid who wore the dress again.