Dead Before The Wedding: A Carly Keene Cozy Mystery (Carly Keene Cozy Mysteries Book 1) (6 page)

Carly felt bad for Tucker, and a little sorry for this Tina person. She had a nagging feeling that she did know her, but couldn’t place exactly how or where. The name just felt so familiar, but she couldn’t figure out why, at least not with the problem of getting Larry out of the bakery staring her in the face.

“I’d better get him home,” Tucker gestured towards his brother. “It’s gonna be raining cats and dogs out there in a minute.”

“Yeah, I’ve got to be up early...oh, shoot!” Carly slapped her forehead. “I’m supposed to be doing a pre-wedding walk through with Mona and Larry over at Moore House in the morning. Can you please make sure somebody gets him up and over there? Mona will be out for blood if he bails on her for that.”

Tucker grinned. “Yeah, I would not want to be around if he didn’t make it for that,” he chuckled. “Mona’s a total bridezilla. I don’t know what he sees in her.”

She watched as he dragged his brother out the front door and piled him in his car. Carly turned to clean the table, but Shell had already done it, and was spraying the display cabinet with bleach spray. “That man is disgusting. It would serve him right if Mona found out about this. I mean, does he think he’s going to be able to keep it a secret? This town is too small for that.”

Carly agreed with Shell. She was surprised that Larry’s ex had managed to keep the baby a secret for this long, and she was a little disturbed that Tucker had kept the fact that Larry’s ex had given birth to a baby a secret from his brother. She couldn’t tell if he had done it to be kind to the mother, or to spite his brother. The more charming of the two twins suddenly seemed a little less perfect, and maybe a hint more sinister.

She reached into her purse to grab her keys, then remembered that she’d ridden with Shell. Her hand brushed a crumpled up piece of paper, and she pulled it out to throw it away. Expecting to see a receipt or piece of junk mail, she was slightly surprised to see a napkin, then she remembered the red-haired girl from the day before.

She opened the napkin, and her mouth fell open.
Tina Nicholls
. “Oh my gosh, Shell!” Carly stared at her best friend for a second, then shook her head. “I know who Larry’s baby mama is.”

From the look on Shell’s face when she saw the napkin, she remembered the redhead, too. “Well, shoot. Ain’t this a fine mess he’s got himself into?”

Carly felt bad, and she almost wished that she didn’t know the woman whose child had such a pig for a father.
Well, Tina Nicholls, I guess you found Larry after all.

Moore House was a big, beautiful plantation-style home on the outskirts of Parker’s Mill. Carly had wanted to shoot a wedding there ever since she’d started taking photos professionally. She was in love with its elegant columns and long covered verandas. The home had belonged to some affluent son of the south before the Civil War, but when Sherman had blazed his way through the state, it fell into disrepair.

She reckoned it was a miracle that the place was still standing. Although it had only been mildly damaged in the fire, according to the historians that led a tour of the place once a month, it had been vacant for some time. Various local families had tried to keep it up, but eventually the Georgia Trust had intervened, and now the home was used strictly for state functions and private parties, apart from the monthly tours.

Carly parked behind the three-story antebellum house and walked around to the front, her camera hanging from her neck and her camera bag swinging loosely from her hand. She glanced at her phone and verified that she was early. She’d told Mona 9:00 am, and it was barely 8:30. That should give her enough time to figure out the best place to do the group photos and other outdoor shots.

She strolled across the perfectly manicured lawn. It was still wet from last night’s downpour, but it would be dry soon enough. Today was supposed to be a scorcher, so there might even be another thunderstorm later on in the day. She was glad they’d decided to do this early, because Saturdays were fairly busy at Sweets & Eats, and she didn’t want to leave Shell there all by herself, though her BFF would undoubtedly claim she could do
everything
single-handed.

Carly peered through her camera and snapped a few pictures of the front of Moore House, then she zoomed in and took a few of the gorgeous pink and white roses growing along the front. This would be the perfect place to get married. She could see its appeal to the marrying kind in Parker’s Mill, but she knew it came with a steep price tag. Again, the question of how Mona planned to pay for having her wedding here came to mind.

According to the house’s website (which seemed so odd for a historic building to have), its rental fees started at $6000. Carly could never see herself spending that much on a wedding, let alone a wedding venue. She was a firm believer in keeping control of her finances, and spending that much money on one day of your life just didn’t seem to sit right with her.

Carly glanced up in time to see the door to the house open silently, and she watched as a redhead stepped outside, accompanied by an elderly man and a small child. Carly’s eyes widened. It was Tina Nicholls, and the child was obviously Larry’s son.

Trying to make herself look invisible, Carly began walking back towards her car, fiddling with her camera so she wouldn’t make eye contact with Tina. It didn’t work.

“Hey, wait a minute!” Tina sounded like she was running. Carly slowed, then stopped.

“Hey, Tina, how are you?” She smiled, but Carly was pretty sure it didn’t quite seem believable. She didn’t want to be rude to Tina, but she didn’t really want to get caught up in all that drama this morning, especially since Mona and Larry were due to show up any minute now.

“Carly, isn’t it?” Tina had caught up with Carly pretty fast. The little boy was standing beside the older gentleman, looking up at him with great affection. Tina noticed Carly looking at her son. “He just turned three, but he’s big for his age. And smart. I just came by to get some money from my dad, he works here.” Carly nodded and smiled again, more genuinely this time.

“He’s precious. Your son, I mean, not your dad.”
Oh, lord, Carly, just stop talking.
Carly glanced at her phone quickly. “Hey, Tina, I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m meeting some clients here any minute now.”

“Yeah, I know.” Carly stopped in her tracks.
Here comes the drama
, she thought. “My dad had to come in early to get the inside organized in case they want to go in and take some pictures. It’s a small town, and I know it’s not every day your ex-boyfriend and baby’s father marries the girl he cheated on you with at a big old mansion.”

Ouch. Tina’s vitriol was admirably contained, and Carly was impressed that she wasn’t foaming at the mouth by now. “Tina, you know it’s not a good idea for you to be here when they arrive. I mean, Mona is not a nice person.”

Tina shrugged her shoulders. “I’ve stayed hidden for long enough. I don’t care one bit about Larry Gaston or Mona, for that matter. In fact, he could drop dead tomorrow and I wouldn’t shed a tear. But, I need him to see his son. I need him to acknowledge him, and I need him to support him.” Tina didn’t seem to be bitter, Carly noticed, but more beaten down than anything.

“Are you sure that this is the best place and time for that? I mean, he’s about to get married. Couldn’t it wait a couple of weeks, and then you could all three sit down and work something out?” Carly couldn’t really imagine that scenario working out well for anyone, but it had to be better than the drama that was going to unfold when Mona showed up and found her fiance’s ex with his child waiting to have a friendly chat.

“I can’t afford to keep a roof over our heads, Carly. I can’t work full time and take care of Tyler, and my dad’s barely able to work enough to support himself. It’s past time that Larry steps up and starts taking care of his son. I mean, it’s not like he’s broke. He may have gotten a discount on this place, but it was still more money than I’ve seen in a long time.”

“How do you know he got a discount? Have you been seeing him again?” Carly was beginning to think that she was being played. Were Tina and Larry still a couple?

“God, no. I wouldn’t take him back if he was the last man on earth. But I know about how he’s been doing so well with his business. And I know about the discount because my dad told me. Like I said, it’s a small town.” Carly guessed it wasn’t hard to see that business had been good for Larry, especially since he was driving that brand new truck. Construction had been plentiful since that tornado had done so much damage just a few miles away from Parker’s Mill last year.

Tina sighed. “Look, all I want is for him to acknowledge Tyler, and pay child support. I’m not even asking for backdated support, though I probably should. I mean, how could he not have known that Tyler was his kid? He looks just like him.”

Carly glanced over at the little boy, who was pushing a little red Hot Wheels car across the steps of Moore House. Lost in his own imagination, there was no denying that he bore a strong resemblance to the Gaston men. Apart from his red hair, which he obviously got from his mother, he had the same piercing eyes and strong bone structure that Larry and Tucker both shared. Carly’s thoughts drifted to Tucker, and the fact that he’d known about Tina’s child this whole time.

“Why didn’t Tucker say anything to Larry about Tyler? I mean, he told me that he knew about him for a while now.” Carly really wanted there to be a noble explanation for Tucker’s deception, because he seemed like such a nice guy.

“Because I asked him not to. And I lied about Tyler not being Larry’s son.” Tina looked ashamed, but only for a moment. “I tried real hard to not ask anybody for help. But, my dad’s been getting older and his health ain’t so good. My mama passed when I was just little. I can’t hold down a full-time job with no reliable childcare, so I’m at the end of my rope.” Tina’s eyes moistened, and her voice choked up just a little. “I know I messed up, but Tyler shouldn’t have to suffer for my stupid mistake. I mean, it’s not like he asked to be born.”

Carly did feel sorry for Tina. How many other girls had fallen for Larry’s quick charm and smooth charms? For all she knew, he could have a string of babies out there, and not even know or care. But, she had a job to do, and being a professional meant protecting her clients’ privacy, regardless of how much she disliked them.

“You know,” Tina continued, “sometimes I wished that it was Tucker I’d met instead of Larry. I mean, he’s so sweet and kind, not like his brother at all. If I had dated Tucker, we might even be the ones getting married right now, instead of Larry and that trashy thing of his.”

Carly felt heat rise on the back of her neck. She couldn’t imagine that Tina would ever be Tucker’s type, but then again, what did she really know about him? Sure, he was friendly to her, but apparently he was very nice to all the girls he met, especially the ones his brother had dated. Carly began to feel just a little defensive about her friendship with Tucker, and her clients’ photo shoot.

“Tina, I can’t allow you to be here when they get here. I mean, I know I can’t stop you, but I really have to ask you to think about this. They are getting married. This is meant to be their special day that they are planning for, and I know it’s just a walk-through, but it’s important to them, and…”

“And their happiness is more important than my son getting three meals a day. I thought you were different, Carly. I thought you’d understand my situation, but I guess I was wrong.” Tina’s words stung Carly. Of course, she would never want Tina’s little boy to go hungry, but Carly’s hands felt tied, and she couldn’t see a way of helping Tina that didn’t involve invoking Mona’s wrath or Larry obnoxiousness.

Carly felt a tug on her camera bag, and looked down. Tyler’s big blue eyes stared back up at her, reminding her again of Tucker and his brother.

“What’s that?” he asked her, pointing to her camera.

Carly knelt to the little boy’s level and smiled. “It’s a camera, cutie. I take pictures of people with it.”

“Can you take my picture?” Tyler’s little face was too cute for Carly to say no, so she quickly lifted her camera and snapped a couple of shots. She’d just have to be careful not to let Larry and Mona see those. He was an awfully adorable little kid, and Carly was pretty sure that Larry would have a hard time denying that he was Tyler’s father, but she was worried about how Mona would react.

“Okay, I get that you need to talk to Larry, but I don’t think it needs to be in front of Mona and Tyler. I mean, Mona may get ugly, and that’s not something little Tyler needs to see.” Carly checked her phone. It was now nearly ten minutes after nine, and they could arrive here any second.

She glanced around nervously, half expecting to see Mona’s big, blonde head strolling around the corner any time now.

“I won’t cause any trouble, I promise. But I’m not leaving here unless they throw me off the property or until Larry knows exactly what his son needs.” Tina crossed her arms defiantly, her red hair sparkling slightly in the sunlight. Carly had to hand it to her, she was sure one determined little mama bear, willing to take on the beast that was Larry Gaston, and his hench-woman wife-to-be, too.

Carly realized that arguing with Tina wasn’t going to work. Sighing, she sat down on the top step of Moore House and waited for the inevitable storm that was brewing to finally reach a full head. This was definitely going to be one interesting walk-through, and she considered the very real possibility that after today, her services as a wedding photographer would no longer be needed, or wanted, by Mona and Larry.