Zeke hated it, too. It wasn’t just his kids he’d let down. Allie was the only blood family he had. Their mother had died in a car crash when Allie was seven and he was thirteen, leaving their worthless sack of a father to take care of them. Good ol’ Dad had bailed after just a couple of months. Their Cuban grandmother had moved from Miami to take charge. If it hadn’t been for Buela, they’d probably have ended up in foster care. Buela passed away when Allie was eighteen. By then, Zeke and Mimi had already been married with a baby. Allie had naturally become an extension of his little family. If Mimi and he did end up divorced, it would be like Allie’s nuclear family had fallen apart all over again.
“Tom and I have set a wedding date,” she said. “Second Saturday in June. We wanted the first Saturday, but, well, you know.”
Yeah, he did know. All of Whispering Bay knew that the first Saturday in June was reserved for the traditional Spring Into Summer festival. It was a day-long event that began with a 10K run in the morning and ended with a concert on the quad in the evening. In between, the day was filled with arts and crafts booths, rides, food trucks, and small town entertainment. It was a big day for the Whispering Bay police force as well. The event usually drew an extra ten thousand or so people into town, creating traffic snafus along with the usual petty crimes. Last year, Bruce Bailey had failed to deliver on the promised entertainment—country music star, Billy Brenton. Instead, at virtually the last minute they’d substituted Harry Tuba and his polka band. The situation had created a near riot.
It occurred to Zeke, that this year’s festival would be headed by Mimi.
He thought back to his first impression of her this afternoon when he’d walked into that board room. She’d seemed stunned to see him. At least at first she had, but she’d quickly recovered. She looked every inch the mayor that she was. Calm, elegant, and God damn gorgeous. He’d been proud of her. But then he’d noticed she wasn’t wearing her ring and he’d lost his head.
“I was hoping you’d give me away,” Allie said. “You know, walk me down the aisle, growl at Tom, the usual fatherly stuff.”
“Of course I’m going to give you away.”
“I know you aren’t crazy about Tom, but—”
“As long as he makes you happy. That’s all I care about.”
Tom had been Allie’s first boyfriend way back in the day. Her first love, as Mimi put it. But he’d ended their relationship when he discovered that his former girlfriend was pregnant with his child. Long story short: The asshole had broken Allie’s heart. He’d made up for it since. But Zeke had already punched him once in the nose and he wasn’t above doing a repeat number if the situation called for it.
“I was hoping Mimi could help me with the wedding details. Since I don’t have any other female relatives. But if you think—”
“She’ll help you.” Mimi loved Allie. Plus, she had a big heart. Just because she was ready to toss their marriage to the curb didn’t mean she’d given up on her sister-in-law. No matter what happened to his marriage with
Mimi, she and Allie would always be close. Not that anything was going to happen to his marriage.
“What are you planning?” Zeke asked. “So I can know how much you’re going to need?”
“Need? Oh, no, big brother, I’m not expecting you to pay for anything. Tom and I are grown-ups and this will be his second marriage. We’re doing it simple. And we’re doing it ourselves.”
“Yeah, but it’s your first marriage. And hopefully your last. I’m your only male relative and I’m paying for your wedding. End of story.”
Allie made a face. “We’ll see about that.”
“We’ll see about nothing because—”
“Zeke, do you ever wonder what happened to Dad?”
Years of being a cop had taught him to keep his expression unreadable. It was a trick that had served him well on more than one occasion. He’d never been more grateful for it than now.
“Dad who?”
She rolled her eyes. “Dad, as in Sam Grant. The man married to our mother. The man whose DNA we share?”
Zeke shrugged. “He’s dead.”
Allie sat straight up on the couch. “How do you know that? Did you hire a PI? When did he die?”
“August 2, 1991.”
“What? That makes no sense. How did you—Zeke, that’s the day Dad left us.”
“Hence, it’s also the day he died.”
Her expression softened. “It’s been twenty-four years. Maybe he’s sorry.”
“He’s sorry, all right.” Zeke shifted around in his chair. “Look, let’s not beat a dead horse. The guy left when the going got rough. Good riddance. We didn’t need him anyway.”
Allie started to say something, then wisely snapped her mouth shut. “Okay, I won’t bring it up again. But Tom and I aren’t letting you pay for the wedding.”