His Missing Wife by Jaime Hendricks (nice books to read .TXT) 📕

I don’t want to wait. Or, do you want a big wedding? We never talked about stuff like this. Do you want to wait until we can get your whole family into town? I’d love to meet them. Plus, I think there’s a three-day waiting period after we apply for the license. Let’s do that right now.”

Now? “James, that’s so fast. I don’t have anything in order.” Like, the fact that I’m still legally married to Drew. Then again, that’s on a different Social Security number. Would he ever even know? Would the government even know? Don’t they just stamp the paper and file it away at city hall?

“No,” I say quickly. “I told you, my family and I have kind of drifted apart.” I have no clue where to even attempt to look for them.

“Even your mom and dad?”

Especially. “Yeah. I know I told you I was in foster care for a bit. I don’t want to—”

“It’s okay,” he interrupts. “We don’t have to talk about it.” He hugs me, then pulls back to smile at me. “Well, my buddy Evan is on vacation for the long weekend. My parents are in Florida. I don’t want to tell anyone at work. But we’ll need a witness. Any ideas? Maybe Pablo from room service can run to the courthouse with us. We’ve gotten to know him pretty well the last week or so.” He says it with a chuckle, but he probably means it.

I don’t even have to rack my brain. “I know exactly who to call.”

When Hobart pulls up to the front of the courthouse, he parks the cab and ambles toward James and me, happy and holding hands. He looks exactly as I remember him, and he grins as he walks toward us.

“Miss Tessa. I’m so glad you called.” He extends his arms, inviting me in for a hug, which I give him. “Marriage, huh? You sure this isn’t too fast?” His face is amused and concerned at the same time.

I grab James’s hand again. “Hobart, I’d like you to meet James Montgomery. He’s the most amazing man in the world. Next to you, of course,” I say with a wink, then look up at James adoringly. “My knight in shining armor, if there ever was one.”

James and Hobart smile as they shake hands. “You got yourself a good woman here, Mr. Montgomery.”

James’s arm is around me and he kisses my head. “I know. She won’t tell me how you two know each other.”

Hobart glances at me quickly and keeps my secret. “Tessa and I go way back,” he says with a chuckle.

The application process is swift. My hands visibly shake as I hand over my fake ID, but people do this all the time. We all sign on the dotted line and we’re told we can return on Friday. Hobart promises to come and give me away, as much as one can do that at a courthouse wedding.

The days pass quickly, and I don’t get cold feet. A little apprehension about the ID, but I know I’m doing the right thing. It’s just like a fairy tale.

On my wedding day, I wear a flowy off-white dress that I got in town, another cheap find but it’s perfect for the day. The last of the rings around my neck don’t need too much concealer, and when we get to the courthouse, I’m beaming. Hobart is already there, and he’s wearing a sports jacket over a T-shirt. It’s a bit battered and has suede on the elbows, but he looks proud and handsome. There is an older Black woman next to him, clutching his arm, her gray hair half pulled away from her face.

“Tessa, this is my wife, Pearl,” Hobart says as we approach. “She knows all about you.”

“Come here, darling,” Pearl says and pulls me in for a hug, then whispers in my ear. “Thank you for asking him to do this.”

I introduce them to James, and off we go.

Me, with my family.

I feel complete. The puzzle is finished. All four of us are each a corner piece that will hold my new world together.

After I’m married (MARRIED!) the four of us go to dinner near the shore, since the beach season is officially opened, being the Friday of Memorial Day Weekend. James tries to pay, but Hobart and Pearl insist that dinner is a wedding present for us. They also tell us their daughter Sasha does appraisal work for a realtor and she’ll put us in touch with someone who can find us a home quickly. We certainly can’t live in the hotel forever.

After dinner, Hobart and Pearl go home, and James and I go to a packed Jersey Shore bar and dance the night away. Just him and me. That’s my honeymoon.

It beats the week in the Bahamas that Drew and I went on four years ago. By a longshot.

I feel it so deep in my bones, so sure of my life, for the first time. Nothing else in my life mattered until this point. In fact, it got me here. I’m so grateful I’d take another beating from Drew, just to end up here again.

I love James Montgomery, and I’m going to grow old with him.

24

James

A shiver ran down the length of James’s body as he stared at the wall of drawers. The room was dank, the lights low and bluish, and the air smelled of rot and antiseptic, cigarette smoke wafting off the detective. The silence bothered him, as Detective Solomon stood quietly and judged. He hadn’t said another word to James after his greeting and a quick follow me.

Minutes had passed when the autopsy technician walked into the room, introduced himself as George, and put on gloves. James listened to the way the rubber gloves smacked onto his wrists as he tugged them on, and afterward George looked at a clipboard and made a note.

“Ready?” he asked.

James nodded and caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror on the wall. He didn’t know