Vegas Wedding, Weaver Bride. Allison Leigh
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was beginning to make sense to Quinn, too. Thank God. Even though it was a good ten years ago since he’d met Lansing, he remembered him.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t recall encountering the man at all the night before.
“Strictly speaking,” he corrected, “Lansing was a CRO.” He pronounced it crow. “Combat Rescue Officer.” Which had put him ahead of Quinn—who was enlisted—in the pecking order. Until Lansing had gotten booted out for dishonorable conduct, that was.
“I don’t like talking about all this military stuff,” Vivian said.
Which made Quinn want to smile, because they were barely glossing the surface of military stuff where he was concerned.
“So, tell me. What is on everyone’s schedule this afternoon?” Vivian raised her brows as she looked at all of them.
“Massage,” Greer said promptly.
“Then the pool,” Maddie and Ali said in unison.
Greer nodded. “That, too.”
“What about you, Penny dear?”
Penny looked like she wanted to be drawn into the conversation about as much as she wanted to be thrown into the lion’s den. “Whatever you need me to take care of this afternoon, Mrs. Templeton.”
His grandmother made a face. “The only thing I’m doing this afternoon is resting and making a few calls.”
He caught the way Penny took a closer look at Vivian. “Resting?”
“Yes.” Vivian’s voice was deliberately patient. “Just resting. Which means you can go about and play the same as my grandchildren. Visit the spa. The pool. Shop. Whatever you like.”
“You know that I didn’t bring a swimsuit.” Penny didn’t look at anyone as she focused on the roll that she’d been methodically shredding.
“Then go buy one, like I’ve been telling you to do since we got here,” Vivian said firmly. “Charge it to my room. I’m sure the girls would go shopping with you.” As if the matter was settled, she turned her attention to Quinn. “And you, young man? Aside from the way you seemed to loosen up last night, I haven’t seen you even visit the gaming tables. You’ll be the first Templeton I’ve ever known who doesn’t like to try his hand at a little gambling.”
He shrugged. “Maybe.” It would be one way to pass the rest of the day. If he hadn’t had an unplanned marriage on his hands, the casino might have held a little more appeal.
“Come to the pool with us,” Maddie urged. “It’ll be fun.”
“What kind of calls do you need to make, Vivian?” Ali started to prop her elbows on the table, then seemed to think better of it as she focused on their grandmother. She grinned. “You can rest at the pool, too, you know.”
Vivian chuckled. “Well, my dear Arthur would have been the first to agree with you. But I have some business to take care of with my attorney in Pittsburgh. I’m considering selling my estate there.” Her smile took in all of them. “Since I’ve come to the conclusion that none of my grandchildren will likely want to take up residence there, I see no reason to keep hold of the place.”
Quinn had gotten accustomed to his grandmother’s references to her last late husband. “Dear Arthur” had been a public school teacher. A regular guy. And even dead, he still seemed to be a guiding force in her life. So much so that to honor his memory, she’d tried mending the lifelong rifts with the family she’d had with her first husband by moving to Wyoming where everything had to be entirely backwater in comparison to the life she’d led in Pennsylvania.
“Are you sure you want to get rid of Templeton Manor for good?” Maddie looked concerned. “You lived there with Daddy’s dad.”
Vivian smiled faintly. “I lived there with all of my husbands. But Sawyer first of all, of course. It’s the home where both of your fathers grew up.” Then she made a face. “And we all know neither one of them wants to step foot there ever again.”
“You don’t know that for sure,” Maddie soothed.
“Darling, you’re very sweet. But I am very certain. Even though the car crash that killed their father was an accident, both Carter and David still blame me for his death. Nothing I say or do now is going to change that. But—” she placed her palms on the table beside her plate, and the diamonds on her fingers caught the light shining through the two-storied windows “—I have not given up on my grandchildren. Which is why I am so delighted that all of you were able to join me on this little jaunt to Las Vegas. I wish the rest of your siblings had been able to join us, but I’m still delighted all the same. My dear Arthur always said I’d get a kick out of this place and he was right.” She stood from the table and went over to the windows. “Such ridiculous ostentation,” she said, then gave them a wink. “I positively love it.”
Looking at her mischievous expression, Quinn found it almost hard to believe that Vivian wasn’t quite the picture of health that she appeared to be.
The reason? She called it the “little thing squatting inside my head.” Quinn and everyone else in the family called it what it was. An inoperable brain tumor.
So if she wanted to treat her grandkids—those who could get away on such short notice, at least—to this impetuous, lavish trip to Las Vegas, who was he to argue?
He couldn’t solve the problems between her, and his dad and uncle. But he could make sure he didn’t add to the hassles between them.
Which was a good reason to get the whole marriage certificate thing with Penny squared away as soon as possible.
Almost as if she’d read his mind, Penny suddenly stood up from the table and began clearing away her dishes.
“Penny,” Vivian chided softly. “There’s a butler here who takes care of that.”
“I know.” Penny didn’t stop what she was doing. “Old habits are just too hard to break, I’m afraid.” She disappeared through the connecting door into the kitchen.
“Well, I don’t mind breaking habits,” Greer said drily. “Someone else to clean up my dishes? I’m all for that.”
Quinn tuned out his cousins’ chatter as he swallowed the rest of his food, and then carried his plate and coffee into the kitchen after Penny.
She was standing at the sink with her shoulders slumped and visibly jumped when she noticed him.
“Sorry.” He set his plate on the counter next to the sink. Didn’t mean to startle you.”
“You didn’t.”
It was such an obvious lie, he let it go unchallenged.
“We’ll get it worked out, Penny.”
Her jaw shifted from side to side. “I don’t want to talk about it here.”
“I have the feeling you don’t want to talk about it anywhere.”
She shot him a pained look.
He sighed and looked over his shoulder through to the dining room. His cousins and grandmother were still sitting at the long table. “The certificate’s signed by an officiant. I’m going to check it out this afternoon. See what I can learn.” He considered asking if she wanted to accompany him but decided not to. If she didn’t want to discuss it, he doubted she’d want to traipse around with him looking into it.
“We were drunk. Obviously.” Her voice was low. “There’s no other explanation. It’s probably not even legal.”
He wasn’t going to debate the matter when he didn’t know the legalities, either. “I’ll let you know what I find out.”
Her long lashes swept down, hiding her vividly blue eyes again. She nodded and turned on the faucet to rinse another plate before leaning over to place it inside