Daniel nodded against him. “It’s a different skill set. You don’t have to have all the answers. That’s my job.” James snickered and appreciated Daniel’s lightening of the mood a little. “You need to be strong and steady for the family.” Daniel released him, and James grabbed his phone, messaging both of his sisters that he needed to talk to them right away. Then he checked his watch. It was two in the afternoon, which left them with some options, but they were limited to a few hours before the rehearsal.
“Howard and I are on our way,” Holly messaged, and James went to Margot’s room, knocking and cracking the door open to find his sister on the bed, listening to music on her computer.
“Yeah?”
James nodded and put his finger to his lips. “Meet you outside in the yard in five.” He closed the door and returned to Daniel, heading out of the house.
Holly and Howard returned in Howard’s car, and once Margot came out, the five of them took a walk around the block. “Okay.” James wasn’t sure how to break this news. “We have a problem, but before I tell you, all of you are sworn to secrecy until we figure out what to do. Got it?”
“Yes,” Holly and Howard answered.
“Margot...?” James questioned. “A nod isn’t good enough.”
“Yes,” she answered snappily.
“Margot and I did a little investigating of Reverend Nutcase.”
Holly stopped. “And you found something? Is he a pedophile? Or does he beat his wife? I never liked that guy.”
“He’s a fake. He used someone else’s name, and all those diplomas and certificates on the wall are forgeries.”
“Ha,” Margot said, smiling for a second, and then her face fell and she grew quiet.
Howard hugged Holly as she gasped. “Everything is set, and we... Wow do we... What...?” She buried her face in Howard’s neck.
“What do we do?” Howard asked levelly. James hated that his sister was coming apart right there on the street and wished he had thought of a better place to have this discussion, but he didn’t want his mom and dad to overhear anything. Not now. James would have to tell his dad, but only once they had a plan.
“That’s up to you. We can stay quiet and let the wedding happen. You would need to prevent the reverend from signing the marriage license and have it signed by a JP on Monday. That would handle the legal issues for you.”
Holly pulled away. “I am not getting married by Reverend Creepy McFraud Face. No way in hell. I don’t know what I’m going to do, but it certainly isn’t that.” She stood tall, wiped her eyes, and glared at all four of them. “We will fix this somehow, and so help me god, I want to hang him by his nuts until he screams bloody murder.”
“You can go as feral on him as you want once we figure this out, and after you’re married,” Daniel said. “But I like it.”
James chuckled. “Then we need to figure out what to do about the wedding. We already have people coming and it’s too late to send out a change of venue. That would confuse everyone. I don’t know if we can use the church without the reverend.” He tried to think of alternatives.
“Let’s keep our attention on step one,” Daniel said. “First, think about it: Are you sure you don’t just want to move forward? This drama doesn’t have to affect your wedding.”
“I’m sure. I never wanted him in the first place.”
“Okay. Then let’s assume that the wedding can still take place at the church.” Daniel huffed, clearly thinking. “Did you sign an agreement for the venue or make a donation to the church to secure it?”
Holly glanced up at Howard. “Did we?”
“Yes. I made out a check.”
Daniel smiled and James understood where this was heading. “Perfect, then. We can argue that we rented the sanctuary for the service,” James said, and Daniel nodded. “But that means we need to find someone else to perform the actual service. Worst case, we let the wedding itself just go ahead.” One hurdle down, and another rose up right behind it.
“We can try to find someone,” Howard said, looking tired. “It’s going to be nearly impossible, though.” James wished he could argue, but Howard had a point. “Maybe we just have someone who can lead the service, and go to the courthouse quietly on Monday to make it legal. I don’t know. Holly and I will work on it.”
“Good. Then I think we have the rehearsal so everyone is familiar with the church. James will go to the police and turn this guy in, and they can take it from there. The wedding can go on as planned and the police can handle Reverend Creepy.” Daniel seemed really pleased about that, and James had to admit, he would be relieved to see the end of all this. “Is that acceptable?”
Holly and Howard both nodded.
“So none of you say anything to anyone.” James looked right at Margot. “Not a word to anyone.”
“What about Mom and Dad?” Margot asked.
“We’ll talk to them at the right time. Are we all agreed?” James asked, and the four others nodded. “We have a plan.” James sighed.
“But...” Margot said. “I don’t think it’s fair to keep the parental units out of this. They will have to know.”
She was right. “Okay. Let me handle it. Holly and Howard, you go on as though nothing is happening. Other than trying to find an officiant, leave the rest to us. You have more than enough to deal with.” He took Daniel’s hand, grateful for the support, because trying to do this alone would be a nightmare. “The rehearsal is in less than two hours, so you should go get ready and try not to think about all this.”
“Like we can somehow not think about our wedding completely self-destructing,” Holly deadpanned.
“It isn’t that bad. We’ll try to find someone to officiate, and the rest will go on as planned. Try not to worry about it too much.” James hugged his sister tightly. “I mean it. I’ll say the words if I have to, and we’ll make sure everything is legal. You’ll have a wonderful wedding. I promise.” The last thing he wanted was for Holly to be disappointed. “It will be better than with Reverend Creepy.”
Holly quivered in his arms, and he thought she was crying, but it turned out just the opposite. “I think anything is better than that. I just hope the ‘reverend’ pays for what he’s done.” She returned to Howard, and they walked to his car, then pulled out of the drive.
“Why don’t you go back to your room, and be sure to say nothing, okay?” Daniel asked Margot, and she hurried off after promising to keep quiet.
James stood in the yard in front of Daniel. “What the heck are we going to do now?” He could scare the reverend half to death, but he had no idea what to do to try to fix this.
Daniel put his hands on his hips, and James knew that was never good. He wondered what he’d done wrong. “Let me guess... I’ve fixed the program.” He held up his hand. “Resurrected that awful dress and turned it into a thing of beauty.” He ticked those off his fingers. “Let’s not forget I’m here because you needed a date, and now what?” He shook his head. “Save the entire wedding so your sister doesn’t walk down the aisle to nowhere?”
James stepped closer. “I guess so...yeah.” He cocked his eyebrows.
“You know, there are limits to my SDQ powers.” James was coming to treasure that whip-smart look in Daniel’s eyes.
“SDQ, that’s a new one.”