A Gala Event by Sheila Connolly Read Free Book Online Page A

on the list: call her mother. She’d been putting that off because she still wasn’t sure she’d nailed down the details for The Big Event, and she didn’t want to have to worry about entertaining her mother and father in the midst of the inevitable last-minute crises. Sometime soon she would have to sit down with Seth and Bree and figure out the housing situation. And she needed to ask him about a time line for his bathroom project. Did he hope to complete it before the wedding? That might be a tight schedule. She’d heard of early American barn raisings; could they hold a bath raising? The image of a bunch of men bumping into each other in a small space, working on different parts of the installation, brought a smile to her face. It would probably not speed anything up.
    All right, Meg, start small with little tasks that you can accomplish. Like breakfast, for you and for Max and Lolly.
That she could do, and the thought spurred her to get out of bed.
    Dressed and with clean teeth, she made her way downstairs and set water to boiling for coffee, then fed Max, Seth’s still-puppyish Golden Retriever, and Lolly, short for Lavinia, her rescue cat. She ground coffee, poured water over it, then took Max out the back door to do his business. While he sniffed around, choosing just the right spot, she scanned the area for any more wandering alpacas. She wondered what Max would make of an alpaca, if he met one, which would probably happen. He’d probably want to make friends, but she wasn’t so sure how the alpaca would react. Did they kick? Front legs or hind legs? Luckily none wandered by, so she went back inside, poured herself a cup of coffee, and searched the refrigerator for food options.
    Bree stumbled down the back stairs that led to her room over the kitchen. “God, you’re up early.”
    â€œNot my idea. Art called Seth—they’re calling in more people for the search.”
    â€œSo the guy didn’t show up at a hospital, or ask anyone for help?” Bree said. “He’s either hiding or dead.”
    â€œArt didn’t say, but it looks like it to me.”
    â€œI see Seth didn’t take Max.” Bree nodded toward the dog, now lying on the floor waiting for breakfast crumbs. “Isn’t he a tracker?”
    â€œI think the only person in the world he could find is Seth. Maybe me, if I was wearing a shirt of Seth’s. I’m sure there are other dogs in town who are better prepared. Sorry, Max, but it’s true,” Meg said. Max wagged his tail at her. “Where are we on orchard stuff?”
    â€œBetween five and ten percent of the trees still need to be harvested. That’ll run through the next week, and then Ithink we’ll be done. And you can work on your fancy-pants wedding.”
    â€œFancy? Ha!” Meg said. “So far what we’ve got is a bunch of people—number to be determined—hanging out in a local restaurant on a Friday night, presumably eating and drinking something.”
    â€œHey, you’ve got a bride and groom. That’s all you really need.”
    â€œYes, but it also takes some legal paperwork, and somebody to perform the ceremony.”
    â€œI thought you asked Christopher.”
    â€œI did, but I have no idea whether he’s submitted his paperwork to make it legal.”
    â€œI think you’re worrying too much about the whole thing,” Bree said bluntly. “I mean, you’ve got the guy. You’re more or less living together already. What’s the big fuss over some pieces of paper?”
    Meg struggled to answer that. “It’s not so much the paperwork, at least until there are children involved. It’s more about celebrating a landmark in our lives, with our community and friends and relatives. Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but I think making a formal commitment, with witnesses, makes a psychological difference to everyone. Maybe your