"If you say so."

"I say so."

He nodded. "We'll get on it tomorrow. I know a P.I. in Chicago we can put on it."

She leaned across the car and kissed his cheek. "Thanks."

Alex slid an arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer beside him. As she snuggled close, Mel wished her sister could find the same kind of happiness with Jimmy Corona that she had found with Alex. If not, she didn't want to see this wedding happen.

"By the way, we have to keep quiet about this until Kara tells everyone at breakfast tomorrow morning," she told him almost as an afterthought. "Mom's going to have kittens as it is, having to plan a wedding in three days. It'll be ten times worse if she finds out we knew before she did."

"Don't worry," he said. "That last thing I want to do is get on the wrong side of Vidalia Brand." He shook his head slowly. "It ought to be one lively breakfast tomorrow."

"Ever the king of understatement," she muttered.

Chapter 12.

"Saturday?" Vidalia Brand sat at the head of the table and looked at Kara as if she'd suddenly announced she was running for president. "You want to get married on Saturday?"

"Isn't it cool, Gramma Vi?" Tyler said, practically bouncing in his chair.

"Yes, it's very cool, Tyler. Are you through with your breakfast?"

"Uh-huh. It was real good. Does this mean you'll be my real gramma?"

Vidalia's tight expression eased in a smile. "Son, you can consider me your real gramma either way. How's that?"

"Cool!"

"Now why don't you take the twins out back to play in the yard, hmm?"

"Okay!" He got out of the chair, put his crutches under his arms, then made his way through the house to the back door, calling the twins to come with him on the way.

"I'll go out and keep an eye on them," Caleb said, taking each of the twins by the hand and leading them after Tyler. He paused beside Kara, gave her a "hang tough" kind of a look, then nodded to Jimmy. "Welcome to the family, Jim."

"Thanks, Caleb."

Caleb took the kids outside.

Vidalia drew a deep breath and pressed her palms to the table. "All right then, let's dispense with the nonsense and get to the truth here. What's the big hurry?"

"Mom-" Kara began.

"No, no," Jim said. "It's a legitimate question. Vidalia, I promise you, there's nothing shady or sneaky going on."

"No?" She shot a look at Kara. "You can't be pregnant. He hasn't been in town long enough so you'd even know if you were."

"Mother!" It was Maya this time, reprimanding her mother in a tone usually only heard from Vidalia herself.

"I'm not pregnant. We haven't even-" Kara bit her lip, shook her head. "It's nothing like that. Mom, Tyler needs me. We're living in the same house anyway, and he's facing surgery in a couple of weeks. We don't want anything big or fancy. A simple ceremony on the back lawn is fine. I don't need anyone here other than my family. We can call the justice of the peace-that's still Hugh Matthews, isn't it?"

"We will call Reverend Jackson, young lady. Not the justice of the peace. And you'll be married in the church, assuming it's not already booked for Saturday. You're a foot too tall to wear my wedding gown-"

"She can wear mine," Edie said, jumping to her feet. "Oh, we'll play with it a little, make it different enough so it's your own. Maybe run into town and pick you up a new veil and tiara."

"I've still got my tux in the closet," Wade put in. "God knows I'll never find another use for it."

Vidalia sighed. "Are you absolutely sure this is what you want?" she asked, her eyes probing Kara's.

Kara felt as if her mother could see things no one else could. And she was not comfortable with the probing, searching stare. "I am. I'm sure, Mom."

Vi held her gaze for a long moment, then finally lowered her head. "All right," she said. "If it's what you want, we'll make it happen." She lifted her head again, and this time she pinned Jimmy with a steely stare. "You make my daughter happy, young man. Or you'll have me to answer to."

"I promise to do my best," he said. Then he pushed away from the table. "We should get cracking. We need to get the license before we take Ty in for his PT today."

"Once that's done, bring Kara to our place, Jim," Edie said. "We'll get to work on the dress tonight."

"I'll phone Reverend Jackson," Vi said. "My goodness. You girls are going to be the death of me."

The time flew past. Kara made time to spend with Tyler but found herself so busy there was almost no time for her to spend with Jimmy. Especially alone with Jimmy. And there was just as little time for her to wallow in her doubts and worries. Thankfully other worries faded rapidly, as well.

There had been no further trouble from Vinnie or Ang, no sign of them still being anywhere near Big Falls. Colby improved enough that his doctors promised to release him on Saturday morning, barring unseen complications, so he could serve as Jim's best man. She could tell Jim was relieved that things were going as well as they were-he was relaxing more and more. And the more relaxed he became, the more attentive he grew.

Jimmy smiled whenever he looked at her. He treated her as if she were made of gold. He was thoughtful and kind and seemed to love spending time with her. Why was she looking for trouble where there was none?

She spent Friday night at her mother's to keep to the custom of the groom not seeing the bride on the day of the wedding. And she awoke Saturday morning with such a nervous stomach that even the smell of breakfast made her ill.

"Lookin' a little green around the gills, sunshine," Vidalia said. "Perk up, girl, it's your wedding day."

Kara smiled in response to her mother's teasing. Vi had set her worries aside, determined, it seemed, to embrace events and celebrate them rather than fighting the inevitable. If Jimmy screwed up, that would be soon enough for Vi to wreak vengeance. Until then, Kara thought he was safe from his mother-in-law's wrath.

"I can't believe I feel this bad," Kara said. "God, I don't know if I'll make it down the aisle." She frowned as she took mental stock of what she'd eaten the day before and wondered about the possibility of food poisoning.

"It's nerves, hon," her mother told her. "Perfectly normal."

"I'm too sick for it to be just nerves."

Selene turned from the kitchen range with a steaming mug in her hands and brought it to the table, setting it in front of her sister. "Here, hon. Special blend. Mint for the tummy ache, chamomile and valerian for the nervousness and some honey to make it taste good."

Kara didn't for one minute doubt her sister's tea would help. Selene had a knack for things like this.

She'd no sooner finished her tea than Edie and Maya were bustling through the front door with Edie's recently remodeled wedding gown in their arms. They'd added a bowlike bustle to the back, with a trailing train that hadn't been there before. It glittered with hidden sparklies, as did the veil they'd created to match.

"Ready to get ready?" Edie asked.

"Not even close. The ceremony isn't until ten."

"That only gives us two and a half hours!" Maya clapped her hands together. "Let's go, chop-chop!"

"I'll go run your bath," Selene said, smiling in that mysterious way she had. "I've got special wedding-day bath salts ready to go. You're gonna smell so good, Jimmy's eyes will pop out."

With that Selene trotted up the stairs.

The morning wore on-slowly, unlike the past two days had. Kara bore up well. Several more cups of Selene's calming brew helped. Her sisters did her hair, her nails, her face. They fussed over her and sang love songs in perfect harmony as they did.

And finally she slid into the gown. The finishing touch. The girls wouldn't let her near a mirror until they'd done her up, added the delicate tiara and veil and made her slip on the shoes.

Then Mel marched her up to the mirror.

Kara looked at her reflection. A princess looked back at her. Beautiful, graceful and glowing. Ringlets tumbled from the tiara to frame her face. Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at the other faces around her-Mel and Maya crowding over one shoulder, Edie and Selene leaning in over the other.

"You're beautiful."

"Perfect."

"Oh, God, I think I'm going to cry already!"

"Someone get the camera."

A throat cleared and they all turned. Vidalia stood in the doorway. "You girls have kept me at bay long enough. Let's see how you've done."

The four stepped away, and Kara turned slowly to face her mother. Vidalia took an openmouthed breath, blinking rapidly. "Oh, my," she whispered. One hand fluttered to her chest, and she repeated herself. "Oh, my. You look like an angel come down from heaven, Kara Brand."

Kara smiled and tried to keep her eyes dry. "My makeup's gonna smear, Mom."

"If these girls didn't use waterproof makeup, they haven't learned a thing from the last three Brand weddings."

"We did, Mom," Maya told her.

Vidalia came forward, wrapped her in a gentle hug and sniffled before she stepped away. "Well, that's enough of this nonsense now. Let's get ourselves over to the church."

Kara took one last look in the mirror and met her own eyes. They were still filled with doubts, still lacking conviction. She thought maybe that look would fade later. Once she was married and she saw for herself that everything was all right. Once Jimmy told her how he truly felt about her. He would, she thought. He would say the words she'd been longing to hear. Today, of all days, he would say them.

Jim stood in front of the mirror, straightening his borrowed black bow tie over and over again. Then he noticed his son standing right beside him, staring at his reflection with the same intense, impatient look on his face, trying to straighten his own.

A mirror image, only smaller.

His heart swelled, and any doubts still plaguing him about the wisdom of what he was about to do melted away. Kara Brand would make Tyler happy. She would be the mother his son had never known, fill the terrible void in his little life. That was all that mattered. All that would ever matter.

There was a knock at the door. He knelt to tug Tyler's tie straight for him. "Now run a comb through that hair, pal. I'll go get the door."

"Okay, Dad."

Jim smiled at Tyler's serious expression as he began taming his wavy hair and went to the front door. He turned the locks, opened the door, fully expecting to see his future brothers-in-law, who'd promised to pick Colby up from the hospital and then come by here on their way to the church.

But it wasn't Wade or Caleb or Alex or Colby who stood there on the step. It was Angela. His blood chilled and his skin went cold. What the hell was she doing here today of all days?

"Hi, Jim." Her eyes skimmed down him and her brows drew together. "Why all dressed up?"

"I'm not doing this with you, Ang. Not today."

"Doing what with me? You don't even know what I came for."

"I don't care what you came for. You need to leave. Now."

"No. I want to see Tyler. Is he here?" As she spoke, she leaned to one side, trying to get a look around him.

Jim stepped out onto the front step, pulling the door closed behind him. "You surrendered all your rights to Tyler. You're under court order to stay away from him for his own protection, Angela. Beyond all that, you're wanted by every cop in the state right now."

"Wanted? Why would I be wanted? I haven't done anything."

"No?" He narrowed his eyes on her. "You're running with a fugitive. That's aiding and abetting, Ang. And don't think you're going to shirk your share of the blame for what your boyfriend did to Colby."

She blinked rapidly. "Your...partner?" Averting her head, she said, "Why, what happened to him?"

"Like you don't know? Someone shoved his car off a cliff with him in it. There was barely enough left to identify."

He watched her face go dead white, felt a little guilty for dumping it on her like that. Colby had insisted she'd had no idea what Vinnie's plans were for him. But Jim hadn't really believed that. As for letting her believe Colby was dead, well, he didn't have a hell of a lot of choice in that. "You've got no business being here."

"But-"

"No buts. Get out of here. Go back to Chicago before a cop comes along and slaps a pair of handcuffs on you."

She sighed, lowering her head. "Walk me to the car and I'll go."

He frowned, not liking the suggestion. His instincts kicked in, and he scanned the area, the car that sat in the driveway-a late-model Ford, mid-size, dark blue, nothing fancy but way out of her price range. He didn't see anyone else around. "Where did you get the car, Ang?"

"Vinnie bought it for me. I drove it all the way here from Chicago just to talk to you. That's all I want, Jim. Just to talk to you. Two minutes."

"I thought all you wanted was to see Tyler."

"I want that, too, but if you won't let me..." She sighed. "Jim, I have a chance to start my life over. And I'm trying hard to change, I swear I am."

He softened just a little. Hell, he'd loved this woman once. She was the first and last woman he'd ever loved. But God, he didn't want her complicating his life just when things were going so well. Especially for Tyler. He took her arm and started walking her toward the car. "You're not going to get anywhere starting a new life with a man like Vinnie, Ang. You want to start over, you're gonna have to do better than that."

"I...I know."

He looked at her, surprised. "You do?"

"I do. I'm going to do this on my own, Jim. Get clean, get a job. You'll see, I'll make it work." She sighed. "I don't want to tell Ty who I am. I'm no mother, we both know that. I'd just like to see him, that's all."