The Final Reveal Read online

  When Badger hung up, he thought about it, realizing it would be a whole new role for Levi because that man knew his shit. But, when it came to women, Badger didn’t think there was a man alive who truly understood them.

  Chapter 7

  It was hard for Kat to get through each and every day. The pressure was building inside; the number of decisions to be made were even greater than she had expected. It was bad enough to plan one wedding but seven weddings? And seven weddings without the grooms’ knowledge? Kat didn’t know why she had even considered planning such a potential nightmare. And yet, at the same time, she desperately wanted it to work.

  The women were gathered on yet another week at their regular place, their discussions hot and heavy, as they’d gone over food, took into consideration special diets and had a menu, more or less, hammered out.

  “Did anybody contact Alfred about this?”

  Automatically everybody turned to look at Kat.

  She shook her head. “No. I haven’t,” she confessed. “But I know Ice is on it.”

  “We’ll need to contact a catering company for dishes, silverware, table setups,” Morning said.

  Kat’s stomach twisted and turned, and she felt sick. “We don’t have enough time to get all this done,” she cried out.

  Honey reached a hand over to touch Kat’s. “Yes, we do. It doesn’t matter if things aren’t perfect. We have enough time to get us all married. That’s the most important thing.” She glanced around. “Did anybody stop at the florist?”

  Faith nodded. “I had the last couple days off, and I’m flying out tomorrow. But I stopped by and picked up these.” She sent pictures of flowers around the table. “This is a fairly standard bouquet, but they did a sample in each color for us. And what we could do is have them trailing down a bit or have them each slightly different.”

  Clary picked up the one with the peach-colored flowers and sighed happily. “This is so pretty.”

  The others nodded.

  “They’re beautiful,” Minx said.

  “The thing is, we made some decisions about the kind of flowers, but they couldn’t get all of our flowers in the right shades,” Faith added.

  “I don’t know that it matters. They don’t have to be the same kinds of flowers.” Clary stared at the deep turquoise-colored flowers in the picture in her hand. “Because this is absolutely stunning. But obviously these are very different flowers than what Minx has.”

  Minx nodded. “But, when you see it like this, you want it.”

  Faith chuckled. “I’m sure that’s why they do it this way. Matching boutonnieres for the men.” Then she named a price.

  The women looked at her.

  “Is that for each bride?” Clary asked hesitantly.

  Faith nodded. “I know. It’s high, right?”

  The women were silent for a long moment.

  Clary shrugged. “I don’t care. I love this. I’m totally okay to pay that.”

  “But it’s adding up, isn’t it? We can’t make this happen for less than three grand each, and it might be closer to five apiece total,” Honey said.

  Minx winced. “I’m probably the worst off financially of all of us,” she said. “Five thousand is a lot for me.”

  Kat said, “It’s a lot for any of us, and we’re trying to keep it as low as possible. The dresses are the biggest expense. Some women spend an unbelievable amount of money on their wedding dress.”

  “I did swing by the dressmaker’s last week,” Honey said. “I showed her the sketches we went over. I said it would be seven women, seven fittings, with some small finite details to make each our own.” She brought up the sketches that the woman had done for her. “Suggestions for details that would make it our own are things like going strapless, or this one has a jewel collar with a piece coming down across the bosom.” She held them up and explained. “All of these are fairly minor things that can be added but will make each dress unique. What do you think?”

  After that, the discussion centered around types of fabric, designs, time for fittings, etc.

  Kat admitted she felt like she was drowning.

  Allison looked over at her. “And work is really busy for you too, isn’t it?”

  “It always is,” Kat said, shifting in her chair so she could lean back a little more comfortably. “But then what about you?”

  “I have a job interview tomorrow,” Allison admitted. “I’ll be in a different department than my brother. But, with any luck, I’ll be employed again very quickly.”

  “Is that what you want to do?” Kat asked.

  “Yes, for the moment,” Allison said. “It’s what I was trained to do. Down the road, maybe that’ll change. But this lets me land gently and have a regular paycheck.” She nodded toward the sketches. “None of this will be cheap, and I didn’t have much of a savings account to begin with.”

  Kat nodded. “To a certain extent, most of us are in a similar boat.”

  The sketches reached Allison’s area of the table, and Kat could see them while Allison held them out enough for the two of them.

  Kat smiled. “I’m tall enough to wear all of this, but I’m struggling with the shoes decision.”

  The women frowned at her.

  “I do have a prosthetic,” she said with a laugh. “I have a dress leg. If I could find a particular matching shoe, that would be perfect.”

  Honey nodded. “I’m sure we could find something. There has to be some individuality among us.”

  “And we’re doing a lot of that, just by being who we are. Like a flick of a stroke of color can change everything,” Morning said with a smile.

  “Says the painter,” Minx teased. “Can you take time off for this wedding when you’ve got that show coming up?”

  Morning flushed. “Sometimes I can’t paint at all. I get caught up in daydreams about this, and then I get scared, and I start to paint something totally different,” she admitted.

  “I wonder if that isn’t something we’re all going through,” Faith said. “Sometimes, when I’m flying across the continent, I’m thinking things, like, he so won’t be happy with me about this.”

  “I think we’re all feeling that,” Kat said. “But we’ve gone so far down this road now, it would be hard to change it.”

  “Particularly with the fake engagement party happening,” Honey joked. “We owe Levi big time for that.”

  Kat grinned. “Badger took his black suit out of the closet the other day and said he would take it to the dry cleaners the next time he was in town. I looked at him like I was surprised, and he shrugged and just said, You never know when you might need one.”

  The others all laughed.

  “I don’t even think Jager has a suit, black or any other color,” Allison said, frowning. “How the hell am I going to get him into one?”

  “I was thinking about something else,” Clary said hesitantly. “And, for the life of me, I can’t find a solution.”

  Everyone turned to look at her.

  When she didn’t say anything, Kat raised an eyebrow. “Clary, what’s up?”

  She leaned her arms on the table and clasped her hands in front of her. “Did anybody think about rings?” She was hesitant to bring it up.

  Silence descended.

  Kat nodded. “I have been. But haven’t a clue how to make it work.”

  “I’m not sure there’s anything we can do about them,” Honey said slowly. “And that’s really a shame.” She looked around at the others. “I would like to have a wedding ring.”

  Minx thrummed her fingers on the table. “Well, there’s no reason not to do wedding rings. What we can’t do for ourselves is engagement rings.”

  “We could,” Morning said. “There’s a real trend toward shared engagement rings. Although I prefer the traditional way, such as what Levi is trying to do as an excuse to have everybody come for the party.”

  “Right, the big engagement party so he can ask Ice.”

  “We can certainly do rings
for the men and, at the same time, for ourselves.”

  “I’m not sure I would want an engagement ring anyway,” Kat said quietly. “Not to be difficult or anything, but, with my work, I’d have to take it off all the time.”

  Honey nodded. “Same for me. A wedding ring at least is slim fitting, but anything that’s big or bulky isn’t something I want around a patient’s mouth.”

  “That brings up a multitude of opinions on what we’re doing and the way we’re doing it,” Faith said.

  “Nothing is stopping the men from buying us diamond rings after the fact,” Clary said with a laugh. “We’re already being nontraditional. Nobody has the right to say what’s right or wrong when it comes to something like this. But what we do need is rings for the ceremony.”

  Everybody sat in silence, drinking coffee and finishing their lunch.

  “We have a good long list of things to deal with going forward as it is,” Honey said. “We all need to get to the dressmaker for measurements to be taken. Everybody has to go to the florist to clear their bills for the final arrangements for the boutonnieres and bouquets.” She paused for a moment. “And we have to confirm the food.”

  “The problem with the food is,” Morning said quietly, “I don’t think we’ll get a catering company to handle it at this late hour.”

  “In that case, maybe we just don’t need as much. You know the guys. They’re totally happy to have steaks on the grill,” Kat said with a laugh.

  “True enough. Why are we trying to make it so fancy?” Minx said. “Really, we don’t have to.”

  Morning nodded thoughtfully. “You know? I could do a lot ahead of time, particularly if I could get Alfred and Bailey to help. Let me think about that. I was thinking of fancy fare, but I’m not sure that’s what we want.”

  The women instinctively shook their heads.

  “I’ll let you know. Soon.”

  “Great. So it’ll be black suits, wedding dresses, flowers, etc., and we haven’t decided on booze yet either,” Honey said. “So it’d be good to have nice food. But I don’t think we have to go over-the-top expense-wise. None of us are flush and need that extra money going out the window. We also haven’t come up with a full guest list. And, if we’re talking more than fifty or sixty additional people, you know we’re talking a lot of food.”

  “Well, there’ll be dozens of us here locally for sure,” Allison said. “And I’d love to have my brother and his wife and kids there, if that’s all right.”

  “Absolutely. You’re one of the few of us who has family close by.”

  Allison smiled. “And I don’t get to see Dennis very much. I’ve seen him twice since I’ve arrived. But I think he’d be devastated to find out I got married and didn’t invite him. On the other hand, he might be devastated to find out how I’m getting married.” She laughed.

  Just then Hindy stepped up and said, “Look, ladies. You know I’ve heard bits and pieces of your discussions over the last few weeks. You do know we cater too, right?”

  They were silent as everybody digested that. They looked over at Morning, and she looked at Hindy with a narrowed gaze. “I suppose you have a menu and price list I could take home and consider?”

  Hindy nodded. “I’ll get you something. Hang on a minute.” And she left.

  “If nothing else,” Morning said, leaning closer, “we could at least take a look at what they offer. But, if we don’t plan too much, I think Alfred and Bailey can do most of it.”

  “Plus the food detail won’t land just on you,” Clary said. “I’m nowhere near the magic you are in the kitchen, but we can all pitch in and help.”

  “The trouble is, it’ll be hard to do that, whether a secret or not,” Morning said. “None of us really has the kitchen space.”

  “So maybe catering is the answer,” Clary said. “I’m happy to pitch in a little more money to make something like that happen.”

  “Me too,” Morning added.

  Instantly there were cries of outrage.

  Clary chuckled. “I’m not exactly broke. Remember?”

  “And I just sold my B and B, remember?” Morning said.

  “Doesn’t matter,” Kat said. “This wedding ceremony is for each of us. I suggest we get clear with Alfred first. Then, if we need more help, we’ll consider the options.”

  “Sounds good. And won’t we have an interesting anniversary every year.” Honey laughed out loud. “Talk about an annual party.”

  The women all grinned.

  Just then Hindy returned with information that she handed to Morning.

  “How much advance notice do you need for orders?” Morning asked, studying the sheets. “Just so we have an idea of our options.”

  “Obviously the earlier, the better. You’re talking Labor Day weekend, if I’m correct?”

  The women nodded.

  “And that, of course, is a busy weekend. But that doesn’t mean we can’t do something for you.”

  “I’ll let you know.” Morning sat back with the sheets in front of her. “What if they did the more involved stuff, and we could do the easier stuff? Like, we could bring the salads, fresh buns and fresh breads ordered from that little Swiss bakery.”

  “Desserts?”

  Morning chuckled. “Desserts are mandatory.”

  “Let me talk to Ice to see what Alfred and Bailey might do to help out. According to Badger, Bailey loves baking.”

  “Exactly,” Morning said, continuing to study the sheets. “I need to think about this.” She glanced around the room. “None of us having a large-enough kitchen is the big problem. But leave it with me, and I’ll talk to Alfred and Ice.”

  “Mine’s probably the biggest,” Kat admitted. “And I’m one of the least able to make magic in there.”

  Morning smiled. “It’s not hard to make magic in the kitchen. And, once you get started, it’s amazingly easy to create more and more magic.”

  Kat knew what Morning meant, but she was wrong when it came to Kat. Morning was seriously talented. “We haven’t talked about booze,” Kat announced. “First off, Levi offered to bring the booze, but I’m not sure what kinds. Anyone have a preference?”

  “Well, we’ve talked about it, but we haven’t decided anything.” Honey looked up from her notepad. “I would like champagne.”

  The women all nodded.

  “Do we want to keep it to several glasses of champagne, then switch to wine or to the hard stuff? Or do we drink champagne all night or …” Honey’s voice ran down.

  “If cost is an issue, we can toast with champagne, but we’ll need to shift to something else afterward,” Kat said. “Then again I don’t buy a whole lot of booze, but there’s a lot of beer in my house.” She laughed. “And honestly I think Badger might prefer a beer.”

  “He’ll probably want a whiskey afterward,” Minx said beside her. “As I recall, the men all drink beer and then the hard stuff. But they’re not so much into mixed drinks.”

  That brought up a lively discussion of what the women wanted to drink.

  Honey kept writing down suggestions and ideas. “We’re looking at least one if not two grand on the booze. Is that fair to Levi?”

  “It all depends on how many bodies are coming,” Kat said. “So we have to get that guest list finalized, then tell Levi and let him decide on quantities.”

  “I’m sitting at forty-seven total at the moment, based on everybody’s guest list,” Faith said. “Including us.” She brought out her notepad. “And that’s not tons. That’s a fairly small wedding.”

  “Small is better,” Clary said. “I mean, think about it. So many of us don’t even have family.”

  The women nodded.

  “What about the justice of the peace?”

  Just then Kat’s phone rang. She glanced down and said, “I’m running late.” She stood, pulled cash out of her wallet, dropped it on the table and smiled at the ladies. “We’re running out of weeks. You all know that, right?”

  Solemnly, they all
nodded.

  “We may need two lunches a week until we’ve got this all locked down,” Honey said.

  “I’ll get to the dressmaker and to the florist this week,” Kat said. “If I need to do anything else, send me an email, will you?” And she dashed out of the restaurant.

  Kat stood outside for a long moment. Her heart was so full, and yet she was so terrified. They were really doing this. But was it the right thing to do?

  Badger sat at Talon’s kitchen table, with the rest of the guys milling about. “Okay, so we have three jobs lined up. Do we need more men, or are we good?”

  “I think, because the three jobs are staggered,” Erick said logically, “we should be fine.”

  “Did the extra weapon licenses come through yet?” Laszlo said.

  “They did,” Talon said. “We have to pick them up tomorrow.”

  “Okay, so we’ve got one two-man job. We’ve got a one-man job, and we’ve got a three-man job. So that doesn’t seem like we have much of a problem with manpower.”

  “Exactly what I was thinking,” Badger said.

  Just then Jager stepped in and waggled his phone in his hand. “Except that we have a fourth job. Levi needs a hand. He needs two hands actually.”

  “Two hands or two sets of hands?” Erick asked, clarifying.

  Jager chuckled. “Two sets. Brandon is coming to New Mexico on a job, but they don’t have any spare men to back him up. Kasha is over in England. They’re hoping we’ve got a couple people who can join Brandon.”

  “What’s he doing?”

  “A bounty hunter picked up a runaway. Lost him. The bounty hunter ended up in the hospital. He called Levi for help.”

  “Wow, bounty hunters calling Levi now?”

  “The bounty hunter didn’t want to admit it,” Jager said, “but he got taken in pretty good. Levi is sending in Brandon, but Levi needs to ensure Brandon has backup. This guy is a prepper. Lots of weapons.” Jager groaned. “And, as a complete aside, but I need to bring it up before I forget, I did a survey of the veteran list we were looking at and their list of trades. We need to get organized and figure out what we want to do there.”