Borrowed, Blue, Dead

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“No, no!” Megan held her hand up to stop her daughter’s protest. “Absolutely not, Emma. There will be no animals in my wedding. No cats, no dogs and certainly not a monkey!”

“Mom, we’ve been training JoJo for this. Barney and Gypsy know their parts too. It’s too cute not to include them.”

“I’ll tell you what, when you plan your own wedding, include your monkey.”

Not bothering to argue any further, Megan turned and walked back inside to where her fiancée and friends where peering out discreetly from the window. Emma stood there with her hands on her hips, watching her mother’s retreat. When the little monkey sitting on her shoulders tugged at her dangling earring, Emma reached up and patted her head in comfort.

“Not to worry, JoJo, I’m not done with this battle yet,” she promised.

The little monkey chattered back at her as if giving instruction regarding the next step Emma should take. Ignoring the chatter, Emma stared at her mother’s retreating back, unaware of how similar the two women were. Twenty years ago, the younger woman could have easily passed for Megan in looks. Although the styles of the times were different, there was no mistaking the auburn hair that ran in the family. Megan’s was long and wavy, and thanks to a recent cut and style, Emma’s was short. But where they matched in looks, they varied greatly in temperament. Emma was her late father’s match here; patient and quiet, willing to wait (and plot) to reach her goals.

A sharp bark brought her attention back to the animals sitting at her feet, surprising her that they didn’t followed Megan inside with the others. The bark came from a little white female Shih Tzu, who was sitting next to a patient beagle, both waiting for her to act. With a smile, Emma realized that she still held the ball she’d been throwing for them a few moments before the discussion with her mother started. That explained why Barney sat in front of her instead of following his mistress into the house. As for the smaller dog, well, Gypsy always stayed with Barney. Although technically she belonged to the man marrying Megan, the puppy rarely left the beagle’s side. And now that Aiden and Megan were finally getting married, the dogs spent more time together than ever.

“What do you two think? Can we change Mom’s mind?”

Not expecting an answer, Emma tossed the ball as hard as she could for the dogs to run after it. But before they got started, JoJo jumped from her shoulder and clambered onto the back of the beagle, ready to join the fun. Laughing at the picture the three animals made as they raced after the ball, she wasn’t aware of the tall young man who walked up to stand next to her.

“Emma, it’s a lost battle. Even if you could persuade Megan to agree, there is no way my dad would.”

“Hey Brandon. When did you get here?” Emma smiled at him. They were close in age, each from part of a single parent household.

“I’ve been inside, catching up with Dad and the others. We witnessed you plead your case, but it doesn’t look good. I probably shouldn’t tell you, but your Uncle Paul has a bet going; you can’t wear your mom down.”

The two of them grinned and Emma vowed she would take that bet as a challenge. They were comfortable with each other, both thrilled with the happiness their parents found. Although Brandon had only just arrived in the small Florida town of Citrus Beach, it didn’t take long for him to see that his father was happy and content in his new home with his new life.

“Hand it here, Barney.” Reaching down, Brandon took the ball from the beagle’s mouth and wound-up, throwing it even farther than Emma. While they cheered the dogs on as they ran after the ball, Brandon lifted JoJo into his arms as she was demanding he do.

“I have to admit, it would be cool to see this little girl go down the aisle.”

“I’ll make it happen, you watch me. Now catch me up on all that’s going on in St. Louis. When do your grandparents arrive?”

In no time, the two of them were talking about college life, catching up on what was going on in their lives since Emma and Megan visited the family farm a few months ago.

While the two of them were talking and keeping the dogs entertained, Megan was being teased by her cousin, Paul and his wife, Lucy. Aiden stood silently at her side, knowing not to take sides in this matter.

“Oh, come on, Megan. Emma’s been training those three so hard. How can you say no?”

Megan raised an eyebrow at her cousin, knowing he was kidding, but still ready to argue. The two of them had been teasing and arguing with each other since they were kids, Paul being closer to Megan than any brother could be. She fully knew of the soft spot he held for Emma, who was also his Goddaughter. But even he must see this was one of her crazier ideas. Turning to Lucy, her best friend, Megan waited for support, but to her surprise, Lucy was nodding her head with her husband.

“You’re all crazy, you know that?” Megan threw her hands in the air and joined their laughter.

Aiden pulled her close to him, kissing her forehead. Keeping her in his embrace, he suggested they go into the living room and relax. Nodding in agreement, Lucy led the way through the old farm house to the large living room, built to hold a large family. The house was part of a legacy left to Citrus Beach by one of the founding families. Emma and her best friend Taylor lived there. The legacy was also paying for Taylor’s college education to become a vet and stay on to run the farm and accompanying zoo. The zoo was set up for old or unwanted animals to live out their life in peace. Emma and Taylor ran the zoo, which was open on the weekends, in exchange for room and board.

The farm was also where Gypsy had been found, hiding from a killer. Megan discovered the body of her friend and owner of the farm and, along with Aiden, helped to achieve justice for her friend. But now the younger girls filled the farmhouse and the property with love and laughter once again. Even on days when the zoo wasn’t officially open, there were plenty of the town’s youth out in the barns, volunteering to tend to the animals. Making the farm her official home, Emma gathered her old basset hound from her mother’s and moved him out to live with her. And now there were plans in the works for developing a summer camp for orphans to come to. A direct result of another mystery Megan had helped solve.

Megan and Aiden sank into the overstuffed couch, while Lucy and Paul each took one of the old rockers opposite the couch. They were quiet for a moment, relaxing and enjoying the silence. Lucy studied her friend, a smile growing as she pictured in her mind what Emma must have been proposing to Megan.

“Having the dogs and JoJo in the wedding would be cute, you know?”

“Oh please, not you too,” Megan groaned before picking up the pillow next to her and throwing it at Lucy.

Everyone laughed, and Aiden grabbed her hand to keep Megan from tossing another pillow. Personally, he didn’t care if the animals were included or not, his concern was only that his bride would be happy. The sound of a car driving up the gravel driveway drew their attention to the window. An old Jag parked next to Megan’s jeep, and two elderly women got out. Before they could head towards the door, they watched Emma and Brandon wave to get their attention and then hurry towards the car.

“Oh, oh. Looks like your daughter is roping in reinforcements,” warned Paul.

It sure looked like Emma was doing just that. Megan watched through the window as her daughter hooked an arm around each of the new arrivals, talking a mile a minute, while Brandon closed the car doors. Then together the four of them, followed by the three animals, started up the path to the front door of the farmhouse.