The Wedding Dress by Lucy Kevin

Oregon.”
     
    * * *
     
    Five hours later, he drove through the pretty town of Ashland, Oregon until he found the house he was looking for. The sun had set, and faint streetlights lit his way up the front path. He’d barely knocked on the door when Deirdre Turner opened it.
    She looked a lot like her daughter, even in her late forties. Gareth was struck by how close her blonde hair, blue eyes, and elegant good looks were to the photos he’d seen of Anne’s mother.
    “Deirdre Turner? My name’s Gareth Cavendish—”
    “Yes, you’re the detective who was helping Jasmine go after Edward’s daughter.”
    “It’s actually quite a bit more complicated than that. Which is why I need to talk to you.”
    “I’m sorry, Mr. Cavendish, but I’ve already told Jasmine I won’t help her with this.”
    She started to shut the door, but Gareth jammed his foot in it before she could lock it on him. He’d already broken the law so many times already today. Did one little piece of trespassing matter?
    Except, of course, for the part where it felt like he might have a couple of broken toes.
    “Ms. Turner, please. I’m not here because Jasmine sent me. I’m here because I’m in love with Anne Farleigh, and I don’t want to see her hurt.”
    “You’re in love with her?” Deirdre opened the door slightly, and he barely held back a wince as the bones on his little toe spread back out. “Even though you’ve been working for Jasmine and her lawyer?”
    “I’m not working for them anymore,” he said. “I love Anne too much to stay on the case, but I can’t let her deal with this on her own, either. Not when everything is about to spiral out of control.”
    Jasmine’s mother stared at him for a long moment before stepping back. “Why don’t you come in, and we’ll see if we can find some ice for that foot.”
    She took him through to her living room full of pictures of Jasmine growing up. It reminded Gareth of the family photos in Anne’s home.
    Deirdre handed him an ice pack for his foot and set a cup of coffee onto the table beside him before finally sitting down, her own cup cradled in her hands.
    “I love my daughter,” she told him, “even if I don’t agree with what she’s doing.”
    “Why don’t you agree with it?”
    “It isn’t what Edward would have wanted. Jasmine is so angry about it all that she won’t listen to anything I say about how it all played out between me and her father.”
    “Why don’t you tell me what happened?” Gareth suggested.
    For a moment, he thought Deirdre wouldn’t do it, but then she nodded. “I met him when he came to Ashland on a book tour. I’d read all of his books, and I think I’d kind of fallen in love with the idea of him, if that makes any sense. Anyway, after the book signing, when everyone else had gone, he looked so lonely that I invited him to come to a party with some friends of mine. We talked for hours, and I must have reminded him of his wife. I was young enough not to know better, and when one thing led to another, I didn’t think to stop it, even though it was clear he’d never had an affair in his life…nor did he really intend to. Had it not been for Jasmine, I very much doubt I ever would have seen him again.”
    “So Edward Farleigh is definitely Jasmine’s father?” Gareth asked.
    Deirdre nodded. “When I told him I was pregnant, it was clear that he didn’t want to leave me to deal with having and raising a baby all on my own. He sent me money to help out, and he used to visit from time to time to see Jasmine.” She made sure to clarify, “He and I only slept together that once, you see, and it was clear just how horrible he felt about what he’d done to his wife.”
    “How often did he visit?”
    Deirdre sighed. “I guess that’s where all these problems started. You see, I wouldn’t let Edward visit too often, because I knew how confusing it would be for Jasmine to have a father who was there and gone again. I thought it was