Love Is More Than Skin Deep (A Hidden Hearts Novel Book 4) (27 page)

To be ten years old again and have everything in life boil down to a few lines of video game code and screen names.
It would be nice if real life could be scripted as easily
. Then again, come to think of it, real-life isn’t so awful for me these days.

I’M TRYING EXCEPTIONALLY HARD TO be a supportive partner, but what I really want to do is laugh. Mark looks like he wants to commit justifiable homicide. I gently take the phone out of his hands and hand him a glass of wine.

As soon as I put the phone on the table, it starts to ring again. “You’ve got to be kidding me!” he grouses. “What part of ‘vacation’ did they not understand? I realize I haven’t been on very many of them lately, but perhaps the other partners could step up and do their part for a change.”

“Hold still or I’ll never get this cufflink in,” I instruct. “They can’t help it that you’ve been so responsible over the years that they don’t know what to do without you,” I tease.
 

“Yeah, I was responsible enough to bring in one of Isaac’s forensic accounting guys to look at the books. Turns out that Treadwell is more than just incompetent, he’s shady as hell. Susan was so angry, she confronted him with the evidence. She didn’t even wait until I got back. I’m a little disappointed. I would’ve liked to have seen the little piss-ant squirm up-close.”

“What happened?” I ask as I fasten his other cufflink.

“I think I may have mentioned that Treadwell is not the brightest in the bunch. It turns out that he tried to claim that Anita, one of the other associates, was sexually harassing him. He conveniently forgot that Florida is a two-party state and he needed permission to record any conversations with her. He even tried to manufacture some recordings against her.”

“Seriously? What a dirt bag!” I exclaim.

“Well, the good news is he’s as bad at being a criminal as he was being an attorney. He didn’t bother to check Anita’s schedule at the time of the alleged incident. It turns out that during the time that he made the so-called ‘incriminating’ tape Anita was actually in an on-the-record-mediation with me, complete with a recorded video transcript and several witnesses, including the mediator — who went out of his way to acknowledge her exceptional performance as an associate.”

“Is that unusual?” I ask, unfamiliar with the process.

“Mediation is a bit different from trial work and we usually try to disappear into the process a little more. So, yeah to be acknowledged in the process is pretty exceptional. In this case, if Treadwell decides to pursue anything, being on the record is going to help her, for sure.”

“Do you think he would really do anything?”

Mark sighs heavily as he shrugs. “Who knows? Nothing that kid has done in his whole career has made any sense. He might try to take advantage of the notoriety Hunters Crossing is getting from the Florida Bar to press his case. I hope not. That award is long-overdue recognition for some really good attorneys who have their hearts in the right place.”

I stand on my tiptoes and kiss Mark, taking care not to smudge my makeup. I guess if there is any advantage to having hair that’s less than a half an inch long, it’s that your eyes look huge and your earrings become the star attraction.
 

“Have I told you recently how proud I am of you? Having Hunters Crossing be named one of the Top Ten Places to Practice Law in Florida While Making a Difference is a huge deal. I’m proud of you for sticking to your guns. It’s great that they’re going to have an annual law school scholarship related to the honor.”

“It was difficult to buck the trend and go into that quarterly meeting with just my suspicions and the data that Isaac and his forensic team had uncovered, because if I was wrong, I stood the chance of unjustly taking someone’s career down along with my own.”

“What happens to that guy now?” I ask, rubbing a knot of tension out of Mark’s shoulders.

He shrugs as he responds, “It’s not really up to me anymore. It’s been turned over to the disciplinary branch of the bar association and I have no idea if any law enforcement officials are seriously looking at charges. I’m just relieved that he’s not dealing with clients anymore.” Mark rubs his temples as he adds, “Unfortunately, this means we have to hire a new associate in a hurry, as soon as I get back into town.”

“I’m sorry, personnel issues are always a pain,” I commiserate.

“It just seems as if everything has blown up because I decided to go on this trip. I got a text from Tristan that was marked urgent too. That doesn’t really seem to be his style.”

I fish my cell phone out of my pocket and look at the messages. “That’s weird, I don’t have any messages. I don’t think we missed any rehearsals.”

Mark makes a face at me. “Remind me again how I ended up officiating this wedding? Don’t get me wrong, I like Mitch and Jessica, but don’t you think it should have been someone else?”

“As nearly as I can tell, it happened sometime between Mitch’s friend Stuart being kicked by a horse in the kidneys and you mentioning to Jessica’s dad you are licensed to practice law here. By the way, who takes the California bar exam on a dare?”

Mark flushes a deep shade of red before he answers, “Okay, so I’ll admit Susan and I might’ve been a little competitive in our younger days.”

I raise an eyebrow as I remark, “You think? Anyway, Jessica’s grandpa usually does these, but he can’t walk her up the aisle and do the ceremony, so you got drafted.”

“Shelby, does Jessica know that I’ve never actually officiated a wedding before?” Mark frets.

“Yeah, they know.” I respond with a hitch of my shoulder. “Jessica doesn’t care. She thinks you sound regal. They just want their friends around and they aren’t aiming for perfection.”

“That’s good, because they’re not going to get it from me,” Mark says with a gust of laughter. “This may be the strangest wedding in history.”

Ketki is practically vibrating with excitement as we stand at the end of the makeshift aisle in the middle of the vineyard “When I told Jessica I didn’t want to be a flower girl, she didn’t tell me that I would be walking a dog up the aisle,” she whispers.

“I know, it’s cool,” I respond, as I reach down to give the German Shepherd, Hope, a quick scratch.

“I get to wear jeans,” she adds, “
and
sparkly earrings. It’s weird.”

“Jessica said you were casually chic.” I reply.

“Still weird,” insists Ketki.

Jessica’s grandfather, Walter, smiles down at Ketki and whispers, “It could’ve been a whole lot weirder. She could’ve done one of her belly dances up the aisle. She likes to pretend like I don’t know that she belly dances. I’ve known for years.”

Jessica laughs out loud as she kisses her grandfather on the cheek, “Why didn’t you say something before? That would’ve been a totally epic idea.”

Walter shakes his head in bemusement as he replies, “That’s exactly why. We may not be in a formal house of God, but it’s still a wedding. Can you at least pretend it’s not a variety show to make your grandma happy, please?”

Jessica hugs her grandpa as she vows, “I’ll do my best.”
 

TO SAY THIS MOMENT IS SURREAL doesn’t exactly do it justice. Ivy is playing the flute and Declan is covering the acoustic guitar as my daughter and girlfriend are waiting to walk two very well behaved German shepherds up a path through a vineyard with the pageantry afforded a Royal wedding. Most eyes are on the happy couple, and rightly so. Yet, I can’t help but watch my unusual little family.

I don’t know Jessica well enough to know why she has taken a personal interest in Tanyanita, but much like Shelby, my ex-wife seems to have been scooped up by this gang and folded into the group. Shelby could’ve made this process very awkward, but she has chosen not make an issue of the past. Instead, the women seem to be going out of their way to set aside their differences to make things work for Ketki’s sake. Jessica is taking full advantage of Tanyanita’s eye for precise detail and computer skills by placing her in charge of the sound system. Tanyanita smiles at Ketki as she gives her the cue to begin walking up the aisle with Shelby.

Although it’s only been seven months since Shelby walked into my life, it seems like a lifetime ago. Everything in my life has changed. Even though the cancer has been ugly, distressing and sometimes heart-stoppingly scary, Shelby has brought a spirit of wholeness and peace that I’ve never had in my life.

As I watch Ketki confidently manage the big German Shepherd, I marvel in the changes in her as well. Although she’ll likely never be fully comfortable connecting with other people, it seems to be easier for her to hold eye contact and engage in full conversation, instead of simply spouting a list of questions. Maybe it’s wishful thinking, but it feels to me as if Ketki is becoming more confident in her ability to read the world around her. I think Shelby’s faith in her has a whole lot to do with that.

Hope, the first German Shepherd, decides to park herself at Mitch’s feet and not move, despite valiant attempts at intervention from dog trainers from Mitch’s facility, Devon and Riley. Finally, Ketki just gives up and sits on the ground next to Hope.

After the drama is resolved, Shelby begins walking up the aisle with her dog, Lexicon. She is so self-conscious about her short hair, but I don’t think she understands how beautiful her smile is. Her eyes, bright with tears, are stunningly gorgeous. When she sees me start to tear up, she sighs and murmurs, “Oh my, this is better than a Hollywood movie.”

Jessica is watching our interaction and comments dryly, “I think these two forgot whose wedding this is.”

Shelby flushes with embarrassment as she apologizes profusely, “I’m so sorry Jess, I didn’t mean to take away from your day.”

Standing beside me, Mitch smirks as he comments, “Shelby, don’t worry about it, she’s pulling your leg. Jessica would match up every last person in the whole state of California if she could. She is a certified, dyed-in-the-wool matchmaker.”

This time, it’s Jessica’s turn to blush as she confirms, “It’s totally true.” She turns to the audience gathered at her wedding and teasingly asks, “Okay, so who’s next?”

Ketki springs to her feet and raises her hand. “I know, I know!”

Mitch puts his hand on her shoulder as he asks, “I hesitate to ask this, but what do you know?”

Ketki gives Mitch a look that clearly indicates that she believes he has asked the dumbest question ever invented as she clarifies, “I know who’s getting married next.”
 

Mitch gamely plays along as he asks, “Really? How do you know that?”

Again, Ketki nails him with her famous look of total exasperation before answering, “Shelby sleeps in my dad’s bed.”

The crowd erupts in awkward laughter. Ketki looks confused as she asks, “What’s so funny? It’s true, I swear,” she insists stridently. “At first Shelby was really sick and my dad has the best bed in the house. He took really good care of her until she got better.”

Ketki’s impassioned, yet completely inappropriate defense of me makes me want to simultaneously laugh out loud and disappear into a deep hole in the ground.

I lean over to Mitch and whisper, “Sorry, not sure what to do here —”