Danville Horror: A Pat Wyatt Novel (The Pat Wyatt Series Book 3) (22 page)

“Holy shit,” Tina blurted.

“I agree with Chrissie,” Mad said from the table.

Sandy just looked at me with her mouth wide and then she breathed, “Damn, girl. You are wearin’ that dress.”

“Killer shoes,” Andrew chimed in, and we all looked at him. “What? They are.”

“And they’re surprisingly comfortable,” I said, and they all laughed. I looked around and noticed that Fang was nowhere in sight, and my heart leapt in my chest. “Where’s Fang?”

“Don’t worry about Fangy Wangy,” Tina replied. “He’s in the living room taking another little nap. He’s fine.”

“You sure?” I asked, and she nodded, but that didn’t satisfy me. “Maybe I should check—” I began to turn around but Mortimer stopped me.

“I’ll check on the puppy,” he said. “Be right back.”

I didn’t stand there more than two seconds before Mortimer was back. “He’s in there snorin’ away,” he told me. “He’s just as cute as a button.”

I cocked a brow at him. “I cannot believe you just said ‘cute as a button.’”

“What’s wrong wit dat?” he protested.

I shook my head a little. “Nothing. If you’re a five-year-old.”

He smiled a little, and before he said anything else, Madison chimed in. “God, you’re fast.”

“Use ta run track in high school,” Mortimer boasted the lie, and I rolled my eyes.

Moms walked up to me and I saw that she was wearing a wonderfully plain, long-sleeved, white dress. It was knee length, but she had on a pair of thick red tights with white shoes so she wouldn’t be cold. On anyone else, it would have looked ridiculous, but on Moms in Cindy’s body, it looked fantastic. With the heels, we were almost the same height, so she leaned over and whispered, “You look great, darling,” in Moms voice.

Mortimer cocked his head, and she winked at him. His eyes lit up, and I swear he was going to cry, but I squeezed his arm, and he held it back. When she walked away, he leaned over to me. “Is dat who I t’ink it is?” he asked, and I nodded, but he looked confused. “How?”

“It’s a long story,” I whispered back. “One for another time. But at least you know she’s getting a second chance at it all.”

He nodded, and I swear I could feel the happiness radiating off him. I finally let go of his arm, walking over to where Tina was standing, my heels making a satisfying clacking on the hardwood floors.

“Let me see,” Tina said, taking me by the arm, turning me around. “I didn’t know it had that low-cut back. It’s gorgeous. It’s a shame that it had to come from, you know who.”

I nodded. “I know.”

“Sometimes, I just wanna punch him in the face,” she hissed.

“You and everyone else who’s ever met him,” I agreed.

She looked down, and when she saw my shoes, she cocked an eyebrow. “Who gave you the shoes?”

“Mortimer found them in the hotel room he’s staying in. But I’m guessing they’re from, you know.”

“Do you think they’re real diamonds?” she asked, and I shrugged. “Well, they look like real diamonds.”

“I wouldn’t put it past him.”

There was a knock on the door, and Pops, in his blue suit and tie, said from the stairs, “I’ll get it.”

I looked down the hall to see Pops opening the door to Father Flanagan, and I smiled. Father Flanagan had been our priest forever and a day. He was an old Irishman, and there was nothing to fear with Father around. It made me smile knowing that he would be performing the ceremony. It would be funny and charming. The Father Flanagan way.

“Afternoon, all,” he said with his light Irish accent. “How are you on this dreary afternoon?”

We all responded with “good” or “fine,” and he smiled, nodding. “That’s good to hear. So are we ready to do this?”

“Not yet, Father,” Moms said in Cindy’s voice. “We were waiting for the rain to lighten up.”

“Good idea,” he agreed with that jolly smile of his. He was tall and skinny, but with age had started to get that little potbelly. His hair, that was once brown, was all gray, and the wrinkles on his face made him look distinguished and not at all as old as he was. Over seventy, I would have guessed. His blue eyes always seemed to sparkle no matter what light he was in.

Father walked over to me, his smile never wavering. “Patricia Wyatt, is that you?”

I nodded. “Yes, Father, it’s me.”

“Look at you, you’re all grown up. Your father told me about your hard times, and I wanted to say I was sorry to hear of it. But God has a plan for all of us.”

Tina must have felt me tense because she stepped in front of me. “That is so true, Father. So
very
true,” she said earnestly. I loved that Tina always knew what to say when I didn’t. Just another reason we were best friends. “Maybe we could discuss this further.” Tina took him by the arm and winked at me over her shoulder.

“Thank you,” I mouthed and she nodded, whisking Father away.

“That woman,” Andrew said from behind me.

I nodded. “I know.”

“She’s a better clairvoyant than I am.”

I turned around, looking up at him. “You can say that again. Speaking of which, why didn’t you see all the shit that just went down?”

“See that’s the thing,” he explained, “I don’t see everything. Especially if I’m not looking out for it. Sometimes things come to me, like when the tree was about to fall on you, and sometimes I gotta work for it. Being able to see the future isn’t cut and dry either. There are so many possible futures. Sometimes it’s just too overwhelming that I shut it out. But if I knew that any of that was going to happen, I would’ve told you.”

“What about the stuff with Mike?” I asked, and he smiled awkwardly at me. “He asked you not to say anything, didn’t he?”

He nodded. “He’s been my friend a long time, Pat. So if he wants me to keep something a secret, I do.”

“I understand. You’re a good friend, Andrew.” I patted his shoulder, and he smiled at me. This time it was one of relief. “So is there anything else that’s going to go down tonight?”

He shook his head. “Just some good old fashion fun.”

It was my turn to smile. “That’s good to know.”

“If dat priest is Irish then I’m the Queen of England,” Mortimer said from behind me, and I jumped. “Sorry.”

I took a deep breath in order to get my heart beating again. “What are you talking about?”

“Dat accent is put on,” he clarified, pointing to Father Flanagan.

“How do you know that?” Andrew asked.

Mortimer gave him a look, and it was not a nice one. “Any real Irishman can spot a fake accent a mile away.”

“Why would he do that?” I asked him.

“People are more willin’ ta tell ye secrets when ye have an accent,” Mortimer clarified, and I cocked a brow at him. “Ye know what I mean.”

“Well, accent or no, he’s still a very good priest and a very nice man on top of that.”

“I’ll give ‘em dat,” he admitted, deflating a little.

“Besides,” I said, “it’s not like you don’t do the same thing.”

His mouth dropped open. “I do not,” he protested.

“Just a wee bit,” I mocked him with a smile on my face.

He looked serious for a second and then laughed, placing his arm around my waist. He pulled me to him, kissing my forehead. “It’s a wee bit true,” he admitted. “But not by much. Only when I’m tryin’ ta be charmin’.”

I pulled away from him and laughed. “See, I knew it.”

“All right, ladies and gents,” Father Flanagan said with his accent, and Mortimer and I giggled. “The rain has stopped by the grace of God, so we might as well get it done now. If that’s all right with the bride and groom?”

“It’s okay by me,” Pops said, and Cindy/Moms nodded.

“Well then,” Father gestured to the sliding glass doors, “shall we?”

We all agreed and started to file out into the damp. Andrew and Tina were one of the last to go out, before Mortimer and me, with Tina complaining about her heels getting dirty the entire time. But before I could even attempt to leave, Mortimer grabbed hold of my arm.

“What’s up?”

“I met Mike on the way ta the hotel,” he told me. “In fact, we’re stayin’ at the same one. Anyway, I explained the lack of security situation, and ‘e agreed dat he’d take the outside while I took the inside.”

I nodded. “Okay. That sounds like as good a plan as any. That all?”

“Yup,” he answered abruptly, but I didn’t believe him.

I knew by the fact that he was looking at the floor that it wasn’t all. “What’s wrong?”

He shook his head. “Noth—” he stopped, looking up at me, and I cocked a brow at him. “Is Cindy really yer mother?”

“Yes,” I confirmed. “Apparently, Cindy was doing some crazy stuff and tried to kill the baby, so Moms stepped in. That wasn’t as long of a story as I thought it would be.”

“This is a lot ta take in,” he breathed.

“I know,” I agreed, placing my good hand on his shoulder, “but like I said, she’s getting a second chance. It’s worth it in my eyes.”

“Mine too,” he agreed.

“Hug?”

He nodded. “Hug.”

When I hugged him, I got a familiar scent in my nose. It was something I hadn’t smelled in a while. It was faint, but right there on his shirt. “Mortimer?”

“Yeah.”

“Why do you smell like Jimmy?”

“Who?” he asked, and I knew he knew what I was talking about.

“My ex-fiancé,” I clarified.

He looked away from me again. “I don’t know—”

“Oh my God,” I yelled before he could finish, pulling away from him. “You promised me no locals!”

“It’s not what ye t’ink.”

“Then what happened?” I asked, folding my arms.

“‘E was on his way ‘ere and was drunk. ‘E was ramblin’ on about ye and how ‘e was gonna get ye back, I just stopped ‘em. Dat’s all.”

“Did you feed on him?”

“A little,” he sighed. “But only ta subdue ‘em. Dat’s it.”

I looked at him carefully, and I could see that he was telling the truth. I took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “Thank you. But don’t do anything like that again, okay?” He nodded, and I went on, “Now, let’s get out there before all hell breaks loose. Again.”

“Let’s,” he agreed. Then he became silent for a moment before he said, “Patricia?”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t know how ta say this, but—”

“You slept with my mother,” I finished for him, and his eyes widened. “I know. She told me.”

He cleared his throat. “Well then, em, allow me ta carry ye out.”

I smiled. “Thank you, Sir.”

Mortimer picked me up and sped out into the tent, not getting a drop of mud or rain on me. When he placed me down, I felt a little dizzy, and I had to steady myself. “Ye okay?”

“I’ll never get used to that,” I admitted. “Ever. It always makes me dizzy.”

“Trick is not ta open…” his voice faded away and his eyes widened.

I looked where he was staring to see Father had his rosary with the crucifix on it out. “Shit,” I hissed. “Are you going to be all right?”

“Yeah, as long as I don’t get too close, I’ll be fine. Besides, ye wear one and I’m okay round it.”

“That’s because I’m smart enough to keep it inside my clothing,” I added, looking at him go paler than normal. “You sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah,” he answered with a stern nod, “I’m fine. I’ll just stay back ‘ere.”

I nodded, patting him on the arm. Then I made my way to the other side of the tent where everyone had gathered. After that, it was show time. Father went through the shortened version of an original Catholic ceremony, as per Pops request, and it was beautiful. He explained everything in wonderful detail, and when he was finished, everyone clapped. It was brilliant and just took about twenty-five minutes in total, which I thought was just right for this type of wedding.

When it was over, we all made our way back inside. Mortimer picked me up again, but this time, he was slower in front of witnesses. Sandy and Mad thought it was adorable while my father gave us the stink eye the entire time. Finally, Father Flanagan said his goodbyes, before we ate, adding that it was an early morning tomorrow, and he wanted to be refreshed for the ceremony. But really I think he was a little uncomfortable around Mortimer, who kind of stared daggers into him. Partly because of the Irish thing and partly because he never put the rosary away.

After he left, we all sat down for a much deserved dinner. We ate, we drank, and we were merry. Laughing at random stories, telling jokes, even Mortimer got into the whole thing, and no one seemed to notice that he didn’t eat. It was turning out to be an uneventful and fun night, and then it was time for the speeches.

Bobby, being the best man, went first. His wasn’t very eloquent, and he was a little worse for the beer, but he got through it. He thanked my father and Cindy for having him as best man. Then he went on to say that we were family, and he was grateful to have all of us in his life. There were a few aw’s and one eye roll from Tina, but everyone seemed to like his speech. That’s when I was blindsided.

“Baby girl,” Pops said with a smile, “why don’t you say a little something.”

Everyone was nodding, including Mortimer, so I stood up, holding my water glass waist high with my good hand, and spoke. “Well, this is awkward.” Laughter. “I probably should have prepared something as the matron of honor, but I guess I’m just going to have to wing it.” More laughter. “When I first got this honor, I kind of considered it a bit of a nightmare. In fact, I think I may have called it being the Matron of Horror.” Mortimer blurted out with laughter, and everyone else chimed in. “But that was before I knew Cindy. Before I knew she was the perfect match for my Pops. And, to be honest, she’s a perfect addition to this family.” I winked at her, and she winked back, placing her hand over her heart. “So here is to the woman who stole my father’s heart, and mine as well.” There was some sniffing, and aw’s. “Cindy,” I said, raising my glass, “cheers to you.”

They all raised their glasses and clinked them together. But before I sat, I said, “Oh, and Pops. Don’t screw this up.” Everyone laughed, and he stuck his tongue out at me.

When I sat down, there seemed to be a nice lull in the conversation. Then Bobby stood up, stretching. “Well, gentlemen,” he said, and they all stood up along with him. “I think we should say goodbye to these lovely ladies, because it’s time,” he paused, his smile widening, “to party!”