Second Chance Girl. Susan Mallery

I need a passport when I come here. I love it!”

      They hugged, then Silver set down her bag. “I have the strangest dessert ever, but I think it’s a real find. We’ll have to see.”

      Carol eyed the plain white bag. “Now I’m curious.”

      “As you should be.”

      Before Carol could ask more, the other women arrived. Her sister, Violet, Natalie Kaleta from the gallery, Pallas Saunders who owned Weddings Out of the Box, and Wynn Beauchene, owner of the town’s graphic design and print store.

      Violet, who knew about the tacos, had brought chips, dip and guacamole. The other women contributed a green salad and cookies. Carol reached for the champagne glasses she’d carted along, then nodded at Pallas who was doing her best not to grin too broadly.

      “Show them,” Carol told her friend.

      Pallas laughed, then held out her left hand. A diamond solitaire sparkled on her ring finger.

      Violet, Silver and Wynn shrieked, then lunged for their friend and started a group hug. Carol was waved in and they all hung on in celebration.

      “How long?” Violet demanded when they’d released each other. “When did he propose?”

      “Saturday at the under-the-sea wedding.”

      Silver looked from the pink, bubbly drink to Carol. “You knew.”

      Carol raised a shoulder. “I helped Nick pick out the ring. He had it narrowed down to three and texted me pictures from the jewelry store.” She’d been surprised Nick would ask her opinion but then had guessed he’d asked Mathias to name a woman who could be trusted not to spill the secret.

      She smiled at Pallas. “So if you don’t like it, it’s my fault.”

      Pallas clutched her left hand to her chest. “What’s not to like? It’s beautiful.”

      Carol passed out the drinks and they all toasted their friend, then sat down to lunch. She quickly heated tortillas for everyone and they served themselves from the taco bar and salad, then took their seats.

      “So what’s new?” Pallas asked. “I’ve been in an engagement fog. What have I missed?”

      “Violet barely escaped being arrested by a hunky English guy,” Silver offered.

      Violet rolled her eyes. “He had no authority to arrest me. Being a jerk is a form of free speech, so he did that instead.” She explained about the button mix-up.

      “Did he apologize?” Natalie asked. “He needs to say he’s sorry.”

      “Hardly. I’m sure he left town the same day. Good riddance.”

      Carol thought about the accusations. Despite her sister’s defiance, she had to have been scared at the time. Or at least uncomfortable.

      “I can’t believe he came all this way to confront you about the buttons.”

      “Me, either.” Violet picked up her taco. “I’m sure he had business somewhere in the country. Maybe he was lining up tea franchises or something. And that’s enough about my crazy Englishman,” Violet said firmly. She turned to Pallas. “So, you’re putting on a Mitchell wedding.”

      Pallas groaned. “Don’t remind me. I’m so nervous. I’ve never met Nick’s parents and this isn’t exactly how I’d choose to do it. At a wedding that I’m planning. What if something goes wrong? They’ll hate me forever.”

      “Nothing’s going to go wrong,” Natalie said soothingly. “You always do a great job.”

      As she spoke, she reached into her large tote bag and pulled out a square piece of purple paper. Her fingers moved quickly and in a matter of seconds, she’d created a small bird. When Pallas picked it up, the wings seemed to flutter.

      Carol had no idea how Natalie did that. She took origami from fun to extraordinary. She created all kinds of creatures, made mobiles and origami sculpture. Her job at the gallery was more about paying for her art than because she enjoyed answering the phone.

      Everyone had a talent but her, Carol thought wistfully. Violet with her buttons and eye for fashion, Natalie with her mixed-media pieces. Wynn designed posters and banners and everything that could be printed. Pallas created beautiful weddings. Even Silver, who owned a trailer that had been converted to a traveling bar called AlcoHaul made mixology magic at weddings and other events. All Carol did was take care of a bunch of animals. They were special and she was, well, not.

      “Nick’s father is a famous artist,” Pallas said, setting the paper bird on her palm. “Everything I’ve heard says he’s really difficult. What if he hates me?”

      “He’s not going to hate you,” Silver told her. “You’re too likable.”

      “I wish.” Pallas turned to Carol. “Mathias told me he’d asked you to help him with the planning. You’re going to do it, right?”

      Violet stared at her sister. “You’re helping plan the wedding?”

      “Mathias asked me to, so I agreed. He says he wants a female point of view, but he has Pallas and Maya for that. I think of myself more as his emotional support animal.”

      Everyone laughed, then went back for seconds on the tacos. When they were done eating, Silver pulled a tall bakery box out of her bag.

      “Okay, I know this is really strange, but it’s cool, too. Tell me what you think.”

      She opened the box from the bottom, pulling off the top and exposing what looked like several pink flowers in a flowerpot. Only the flowers were made from meringue, as were the leaves, and the so-called dirt was actually mini dark chocolate chips.

      “The flowerpot is cake,” Silver explained. “The fondant icing can be in any color so it coordinates. The same with the flower meringue.”

      Carol had never seen anything like it. Judging from everyone else’s look of surprise, they hadn’t, either.

      “You could put these on the table,” Pallas breathed. “They’d be decorations and dessert. Tell me you have contact information.”

      Silver pulled a business card out of her jeans pocket and handed it over. “Now let’s find out how great this cake tastes.”

      She picked up a knife. Carol reached for small plates only to see movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned and saw a tail-wagging beagle racing toward them.

      “Sophie,” she called as she rose and walked toward the bounding dog. “What are you doing out here?”

      Sophie rushed toward her, then stopped at her feet. Carol crouched down and petted her. “Are you all by yourself? Where’s Mathias?” She scanned the area but didn’t see him anywhere. How on earth had Sophie ended up here?

      “Did she escape?” Natalie asked with a sigh. “She’s good at that. Yesterday I couldn’t find her for nearly an hour. It turned out she’d crawled into an empty cabinet in the lunchroom and was curled up there, sleeping.”

      “I don’t know where she came from,” Carol admitted. “Our fencing is designed to keep our grazing animals in, not small dogs out.” Sophie could have easily slipped through the slats or ducked under one of the gates. The bigger question was how she got out of Mathias’s place. That had to have been her starting point. There was no way she could have made it all the way here from town.

      “Come sit by me,” Carol told the beagle as she returned to her chair.

      Sophie followed her happily, then flopped at her feet. Carol kept her in place with bits of chicken and cheese. She kept trying Mathias on his cell only to be sent directly to voice mail.

      Lunch broke up about twenty minutes later. They all helped with cleanup. Carol herded Sophie to her car, then stored the extra food in her trunk. No way she could trust the dog in the same space as