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  Wedding Tea

  The Tea Series, Book Fifteen

  Sheila Horgan

  Copyright © 2016 by Sheila Horgan.

  Smashwords Edition

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, businesses, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. No reference to any real person is intended or implied.

  Wedding Tea (Fifteenth book in the Tea Series) All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, uploaded to the Internet, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, or distributed without the written permission of the author, with the exception of short quotes for purposes of review.

  Special thanks to Darlene Davis MacLean and Deb Hawrylyshyn for lots of help and support.

  Cover Art by David Avila

  Editing and interior design by Heather Marie Adkins www.CyberWitchPress.com

  Proofreading by J. Jeffers www.JJeffersEditing.com

  ONE

  THE COPS GOT to my house pretty quickly. If the bad guys had gotten in, I’d probably be dead, but at least I wouldn’t be chopped up and put in a duffle bag, so that’s good.

  By the time the cops cleared the house, Teagan was running toward the driveway, and there were two big black SUVs parked haphazardly at the curb. Very large guys were running right behind Teagan. Roland’s guys. When they aren’t undercover, you can spot anyone in my boss’s security team a mile away.

  The security guys grabbed Teagan so she wouldn’t startle a cop and get herself tased or worse.

  I explained to the cop standing next to me that the pretty woman storming up the driveway was my sister. The large guys, looking a little bit intimidated by my little bitty sister, work for my boss.

  I didn’t tell the nice officer I had no idea why any of them were answering an alarm at my house, but I intended to find out.

  Teagan got to the door and saw the only issue was poor Evelyn, not yet recovered from the fright of having the house alarm go off in the middle of her nap. Teagan scooped up Evelyn without a word and gave me the Are you okay?look. When it was obvious I was only shaken up, she took Evelyn upstairs for what I assumed would be a diaper change and some soothing.

  The alarm had been so sudden and loud, I’m amazed I didn’t need a wardrobe change of my own.

  The cops had cleared the house without anything interesting turning up. They looked around outside — again, nothing. They said it was probably just a system malfunction or maybe a spider crawling across a sensor. They assured me I should be fine.

  I thanked them and they left.

  They were no sooner out the door than the supervisor in Roland’s group started giving orders.

  I objected. “They said it was probably a spider.”

  “They don’t do security. Cops do what they do, and nobody does what they do better, but they don’t do what we do. It wasn’t a spider.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Come on, Cara. Do you think our equipment would be low quality?”

  “Your equipment? I thought this was my equipment. I know we had one of your guys install it, but I didn’t think it had anything to do with Roland.”

  I can’t remember this guy’s name, but I’ve seen him a bunch of times at Roland’s offices when I was there doing business for Adeline. He took a breath. Let the words form in his mind before he spoke them. Very disciplined. “Cara, please let us do our job. If something happens to you, your boss is going to fire my boss. Believe me, if that were to happen, my boss would do something much worse than firing me.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “Not at all.”

  “I wouldn’t let it happen.”

  “You would never know it had. Can we check around?”

  “Go for it.”

  Teagan came downstairs once the guys were upstairs. “What the hell?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “What did the cops say?”

  “False alarm. Spider probably walked over a sensor.”

  “Is a spider setting off a whole alarm even plausible anymore? You would think we had come a long way since stuff like that really happened.”

  “Who knows? A.J. and one of Roland’s guys decided everything about the alarm system. My only input was a warning. If Evelyn were ever hurt on my watch, I couldn’t live with myself. And look at her.”

  Evelyn seemed to have recovered, but her eyes were still a bit red. She’s very fair, like me, and we fair girls turn red really easily.

  “She’s fine.” Teagan had barely gotten her statement out when A.J. and Suzi blew through the front door.

  “What happened? Are you okay?” Suzi smiled at Evelyn reassuringly before grabbing her and kissing every inch of her little head.

  “Alarm went off. The cops said it was probably a spider. Poor Evelyn was sound asleep on my shoulder. It scared the crap out of her. I’m sorry, Suzi.”

  “It’s not your fault. I’m sure you did everything for her I would have. I’m gonna take her upstairs and cuddle for a few.”

  Suzi was handling it well, but it was obvious she had been in pure panic when she’d come through the door.

  I looked at A.J. “How did you know?”

  “When the alarm goes off, it calls me, remember?”

  “Sorry, I was otherwise engaged, or I would have called you myself.” I tried for humor, but it fell flat. “Did it call me? What if it had been Suzi in the house and not me? Would I have gotten a call?” I couldn’t remember where I left my phone, so I didn’t even bother to check.

  “It should have. You probably didn’t hear your phone since the internal alarm is so loud.”

  “Why is it so loud? My ears won’t recover for months.”

  “The alarm guy said the louder the better. If it were just kids trying to grab what they could, they wouldn’t want to be uncomfortable while they scrounged around the place. He said if it’s a professional, really focused on doing us harm, we would never hear the alarm. Professional bad guys would take care of the alarm before entering the house.”

  I guess it was my turn to go red in the face.

  A.J. continued before I could freak out. Again. “A professional’s efforts to disarm the alarm wouldn’t disable the system, but it would give the bad guys a false sense of security — pun intended — as if they had circumvented the system and they could take their time.”

  “I don’t like the sound of that.”

  “Well, the theory is Roland’s guys would be here before anything really bad happened. And of course the cops get called. You gotta admit they were here pretty quick.”

  “You knew Roland’s guys knew about this?”

  “Cara, I told you.”

  “I swear to God, A.J. I’m worried about my brain. Even I would remember you telling me Roland was monitoring our house. I’m always kind of creeped out at the thought they monitor Adeline so closely.”

  “I told you the day they installed the equipment. Remember?”

  I’m beginning to think that it isn’t so much my brain and my total lack of ability to remember anything. I’m beginning to think that people think they told me something they really didn’t tell me.

  “No, but I remember I went over to Daddy’s house while you guys were working on it. We all thought it would be best if I stayed out of the way. Daddy and I went through a bunch of Mom’s stuff. He wanted to make sure he had something special for each of the grandkids and potential grandkids. It was really hard.”

  “I know. Remember? That’s the night I had to go down to the studio because the alarm went off. I told you about the system when you got home. I didn’t even think a
bout it. I should have known nothing would stick. Sorry. Your dad is not on the call list, but Teagan is. The system automatically sends a text when the alarm goes off. Remember?”

  “Kind of. Maybe. But when we get everybody out of the house, could you go over it again with me?” Why argue? Nothing A.J. does is malicious, so why cause a problem? Now is not the time, anyway.

  “Sure.”

  Teagan spoke up. “You guys go check on Roland’s people, Suzi, and squirt. I’ll fix us all a snack to calm our nerves.”

  I think A.J. allowed more panic to register on his face over the thought of Teagan in my kitchen than the thought of bad guys in our house. It’s not that I’m completely territorial about my kitchen, although I am. It’s the rumors Teagan’s cooking has stunted the growth of small children and caused very sophisticated palates to turn to fast food for relief.

  It took the better part of an hour to get everything straightened out. Every now and then, I could hear Teagan clunking around in the kitchen, but I refused to allow my brain to occupy that space.

  I stayed focused on what the security guys were doing.

  Roland’s guys backed up the images the equipment had recorded all around the house just before the alarm went off; then they started to systematically scroll through it.

  There was a family of armadillos looking adorable as they walked through the bushes. The guys agreed they were adorable but insisted they wouldn’t have set off the alarm.

  There was a rather large black bird pecking away at something near a window. The security guys said it was probably trying to get a bug stuck between the window and the screen. Sandhill cranes are famous for trying to get at bugs and ruining your screens. This was a different kind of bird. Not a raven or a buzzard, but big and black. I’ll have to look it up later.

  According to the security guys, a bird pecking at a window wouldn’t set off the alarm, so I’m sure a spider crawling across a sensor wouldn’t either, right?

  Then we saw it. Side door to the garage. A person, either small male or tall female, tried to get access through the door. First he or she tried to just open the door. When it was obviously locked, he or she shook the handle and then tried to stick something into the doorjamb. The way the person’s body was blocking the camera’s view, you couldn’t really tell what was in his or her hand.

  It was terrifying to see how close someone got to getting into our house.

  The security guys said some of their people would be out within the hour to check the system, replace the lock on the outside door, and replace the door from the garage to the house. They explained my new door would be metal instead of the beautiful old wooden door I have now. It broke my heart a little, but if that’s what it takes to keep Evelyn safe, I’m okay with it.

  A.J., Suzi, and I watched as the security guys drove off in the direction from which they’d come. None of us asked the two obvious questions: Why were Roland’s guys so amped up, and would we need to take out a second mortgage to pay for all of this?

  I wasn’t sure what to say, so I just followed my nose to the kitchen. It actually smelled really good in there.

  Teagan had the table set. She had a beautiful teapot — one of my favorites — in the middle of the table, tea already brewing.

  “What do I smell?” Suzi sounded pretty calm all things considered.

  “It’s just some pull-apart monkey bread.”

  “Really? You baked?” A.J.’s getting better at teasing Teagan. Teasing is an important married-ins skill. All of us born into the family have the balance down, but those that marry in have to learn it over time. O’Flynns are weird, and their sense of humor is no exception to the rule.

  “Teagan? Baking? Maybe the alarm was just signaling the end of the world.” I pulled out my chair and sat down.

  “Let’s not get carried away. I made the monkey bread with the biscuits you had in the fridge. You just cut them up, put some cinnamon and sugar in a plastic bag, shake it around, put the coated pieces in the pan and pour some melted butter and brown sugar over top of it. It isn’t rocket science, dingleberry.”

  “I’m still impressed.” Suzi sat at the table, Evelyn asleep on her shoulder.

  “Wait until you taste it. You’re gonna love me.” Teagan beamed.

  A.J. impersonated Teagan beautifully. “Let’s not get carried away.”

  We laughed and woke poor Evelyn up.

  By the time the tea and monkey bread were consumed, Evelyn was falling asleep in her little chair, and I was beginning to feel guilty I’d pulled everyone away from their regular daily lives. Why I would feel guilty, I have no idea. I didn’t set off the alarm.

  Suzi brought Evelyn upstairs and came back down a few minutes later. She handed me the monitor and said she was going back to work.

  “Are you okay leaving her here with me?”

  “Of course I am. It was nothing. Well, not nothing, but obviously the person wasn’t really set on getting in, or he would have just thrown a rock through a window. The alarm freaked the kid out. He won’t be back. It’s over now.” Suzi’s voice softened. “I’m never worried when Evelyn is with you. I know you would protect her with your life.”

  I hugged Suzi and tried not to cry. Trusting someone with your baby is bigger than trusting them with your own life.

  A.J. gave me a hug and asked if I’d be okay. When I assured him I was fine, he left, too. He probably wouldn’t have, but he knew the guys from the security group would be back shortly, and I’d bet my left big toe they’re watching my house now. I’m just not sure why.

  The world of the rich and famous is very different than my world. Adeline doesn’t worry about the expense of having me protected. If I ever found out exactly how much money she has spent on me and mine since we met, I’d probably have a full-blown heart attack. Which is why I try not to think about it, but I think there’s more to this story than protecting me.

  Once A.J. and Suzi left, Teagan and I were alone and we could talk. I gave her the don’t you dare move a muscle look and checked on Evelyn real quick. When I got back, Teagan had fresh tea ready. I added my milk and sugar.

  “You want to go back to the subject we were on when the alarm went off?”

  “Oh, yeah. I was trying to calm an agitated dingleberry.”

  “Not funny. I really need you to think of a different name for me. Dingleberry was never okay, but it’s really not okay for a married woman.”

  “You’re not married yet.”

  “Okay, fine. The day I get married, we’ll lay dingleberry to rest. Forever.”

  “I can’t make any promises.”

  “Yes, you can.”

  “Fine. The day you get married is the last day I say dingleberry.”

  “Thank you.”

  “No problem. We’ll have a ceremony at the reception.”

  “Not funny.”

  “Not meant to be.”

  “I’m not going to let you keep changing the subject.”

  “You changed it, dingleberry.”

  “Stop. I want to know what you were saying when the alarm went off. I asked you about the subpoena and about the whole Gord and Lola thing going away just a little bit too easily, and all hell broke loose.”

  “One had nothing to do with the other.”

  “I’m inclined to agree, unless Mom’s trying to tell me something.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like Gord and Lola are something we should be alarmed about.”

  “Not funny, dingleberry.”

  “Not meant to be.”

  “I told you everything we know about it.”

  “Right, and it doesn’t sound right, does it?”

  “Sometimes things are a weird convoluted mess, Cara. Sometimes even though they don’t make complete sense, they’re still the right answer.”

  “See, you didn’t say they were true. You said they were the right answer. And just before the alarm went off, you were telling me to leave it alone.”

  “You’re b
eing overly dramatic. Bad things happen. Sometimes we’re bad-things-happening-adjacent. It doesn’t mean the bad things have anything to do with us.”

  “But Gord died in your parking lot, and Lola was all up in your business, literally. It just doesn’t make sense she would run around threatening to call the cops when she was a criminal and having the cops around would not be in her best interest.”

  “Did you ever stop and think for just a minute it was a bluff? Maybe she really didn’t intend to call the cops. Maybe she was just trying to keep everything chaotic so no one would pay any attention to what she was really doing. Or maybe she was trying to feel me out to see if she could blackmail me.”

  “Blackmail you about what? You have nothing to hide, Teagan.”

  Teagan didn’t respond.

  Not good.

  “So, what did you have to hide?” I kept my tone soft and sisterly, which was really hard because I wanted to smack her.

  “Nothing, really.”

  “Nothing really? What does that mean?”

  “It’s just the timeline you’re aware of might be a little bit off.”

  “What the hell does that mean?”

  “Everything fell apart so fast, Cara. It’s not like I intentionally lied to you or anybody else. It’s just things were all falling apart at once, and I wasn’t sure what to do, and sometimes keeping your own counsel is the best plan even if it doesn’t work out.”

  “Sorry, you’re gonna need to make a little more sense.”

  “Don’t be mad.”

  “If you have to tell me not to get mad, we both know I’m gonna get mad. What’s going on, Teagan?”

  “Okay, well, just think it all the way through before you get mad.”

  “Sounds like you didn’t follow your own advice.”

  “What?”

  “To think it through.”

  “I’ve learned my lesson.”

  “Before you start, I have a question.”

  She actually seemed a little relieved at the reprieve. “Shoot.”

  “While all this was going on, did you at least tell Jessie?”

  Teagan’s been all over me for months about my not telling A.J. everything. All the time. If she hasn’t been telling Jessie what’s been going on with her, I could smack her, and not a jury in the world would convict me. And realistically, we probably would end up in front of a jury because she’d kick the crap out of me. Or we would end outside, in public, where everyone could see how crazy we are. Me the victim of a Teagan twister, and her very possibly passed out on the driveway from smacking her head when she falls out from laughing at me. But that’s a whole other place I really don’t need my brain to go to.