“No, let’s give her a little more time. You know how she gets when she’s working on a real estate deal. I’m sure everything’s fine, and she’ll be here any minute.”
Camilla, Maggie, Tina, and Jill, girlfriends to several of the Boudreau brothers, were working on the baby shower decorations and food, while the rest of the ladies were chugging away at the church recreational area, getting everything settled for the surprise vow renewal. Decorating the pews, arranging the flowers and ribbons and bows and all the bling. Sounded like she’d dodged a bullet. She’d rather deal with the food anytime.
Keeping everything a secret from Ms. Patti and Douglas hadn’t been easy, and after talking with Heath, Camilla said she wasn’t sure they’d succeeded. After all, Ms. Patti seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to everything going on in Shiloh Springs. Plus, she had her own personal network of spies in town who kept her informed on everything happening in their tight-knit community. That was a big reason they’d counted on Maggie doing a lot of the leg work, because she lived across the county line, and could keep Ms. Patti or Douglas from finding out what the actual goal of this party was. At least that’s what everybody hoped.
“How’re things going on this end?” Maggie grabbed one of the oatmeal raisin cookies off the plate at Tina’s elbow, and grinned before she shoved half of it in her mouth.
“We’re pretty much on schedule here. Jill’s managed to do the cake for the baby shower. It’s over there.” Tessa pointed toward a sheet cake, decorated with the cutest baby motif, in various shades of blue. Brody and Beth had both wanted to know the gender of the baby right away, so everybody in the family already knew they were having a bouncing Boudreau baby boy. “Jill finished the cake for the wedding too. Just in case Ms. Patti sees it and asks about it, she put a little sign on the bottom with a different couple’s name. It’s in the walk-in cooler if you want to look.”
“Of course, I want to see.” Maggie pulled open the door to the cooler, and immediately squealed her approval. Camilla looked over at Tina and gave her a thumb’s up.
When Jill walked into the kitchen, she spied the open cooler door. “Checking out my latest masterpiece?”
“Girlfriend, that cake is ah-maz-ing!” Maggie gave her a fist bump. “Ms. Patti is going to be over the moon.”
“I hope so. I want it to be perfect, after everything she’s done for me. I mean, I wouldn’t have this place if it wasn’t for her.” Jill looked around the kitchen. “Where is she? I thought she’d be here by now.”
“She told me she was going to the office for a bit. Something to do with a new listing for an out-of-town client. I’m sure she’ll show up any minute.”
“I’m shocked at how realistic you’ve made the gazebo look. And to recreate it in cake? How did you do it?” Maggie peered closer at the mini replica of Ms. Patti’s secret garden. The detail was exquisite, right down to the climbing roses along the walls, each petal looking like they’d be silky to the touch. The domed roof covered a small version of what the girls called the wishing well in the center.
“I don’t think anybody’s going to be fooled for a second by the phony name on this cake, especially if Ms. Patti catches a glimpse of it.” Maggie jerked a thumb toward the cake. “I mean, it looks exactly like her gazebo. Only family knows about it. Are you really going to tell her you make her gazebo for somebody else’s cake, Jill?”
“Well, we’ll have to make sure she doesn’t come back into the refrigerator then. Y’all have to help me keep her out.”
“Good luck with that, girlfriend,” Tina muttered under her breath. She knew Ms. Patti had an eagle eye and never missed a thing. Nothing got past the woman. Nothing. The fact that they’d managed to keep everything about the party on the down low so far was pretty much a miracle. If they could only get through today, they’d be home free, because tomorrow was the big day.
Things had been rushed, because Douglas and Ms. Patti’s anniversary had managed to almost sneak up on them, until Beth came up with the brilliant idea of throwing them a vow renewal ceremony. Tina was all for it, especially after hearing that they’d basically had a quickie marriage by a justice of the peace with only two witnesses. While it was probably beautiful in its own way, she wondered if Ms. Patti ever regretted not having at least a ceremony with friends and family surrounding her while she spoke her vows to the man she adored.
And it was evident Douglas and Ms. Patti loved each other deeply. Every look, every touch was filled with emotion, along with the fact that Douglas cherished everything about his wife, and vice versa. She’d never seen two people so in love, even after thirty-five years of marriage. Well, almost thirty-five. One more day to reach that milestone. Tina smiled, hoping she and Chance would still be this much in love when they reached their thirty-fifth.
“Isn’t anybody else getting concerned that Ms. Patti isn’t here yet? Besides me, I mean.” Maggie’s gaze met Tina’s, and she nodded slowly.
“You’re right. Even if she stopped to deal with a house issue, she’d have been here by how. Or at least called. I’m gonna try her cell.” Pulling her phone from her back pocket, Tina dialed her future mother-in-law’s number, only to have it go to voice mail. “Hmm, that’s not like her. Unless she’s with a client, she always answers.”
“Tina, trying calling the church. Maybe she stopped in there, even though she wasn’t supposed to head over there. If she’s figured out what’s going on, she might have gone there to bust us.”
Tina quickly dialed Tessa’s number, who answered on the first ring. Ms. Patti hadn’t shown up at the church, which was both a good and a bad thing. The knot in the center of her stomach grew when she realized nobody had seen or heard from Ms. Patti all day. Tessa said she’d call Rafe and let him know to check on his mom.
Now all they could do was wait—and worry.
“Hey, babe, what’s up?”
Rafe tapped his fingertips against the steering wheel, smiling for the first time that afternoon. Seeing Tessa’s name on his Bluetooth screen was a lot nicer than getting another call from the office. It was supposed to be his day off, yet he’d been bombarded with every little nitpicking thing under the sun. Stuff that really didn’t require law enforcement intervention, but people seemed to have lost their ever-loving minds today.
“Have you talked to your momma?”
“No, I haven’t. I thought she was supposed to be meeting everybody at the bakery.”
“She was. I ended up heading over to the church first to drop off the food so it could go in the big freezer. Ms. Patti told Tina she needed to take care of something for a new client first thing this morning, but she’d be there as soon as she finished. Only she hasn’t shown up, and she’s not answering her phone.”
Rafe’s body tensed at Tessa’s words. That wasn’t good. His momma always answered her phone.
“When’s the last time you tried calling her?”
“I’ve been trying for the last half hour. Maggie tried calling too. Rafe, I’m trying not to think anything’s wrong, but it’s not like your mother to not show up where she’s expected. When she says she’ll be someplace, she’ll be there. Especially something like the party we’re planning. She thinks it’s for her new grandbaby.”
“Let me try and see if I can contact her. You still at the church?”
