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to elope,” Heather said. “That could cause a major family meltdown.”
    “Eloping is not out of the question at this point, especially if Melissa can’t have the wedding she wants.”
    “What on earth does she want that she’s not getting?” David asked, stepping in before Heather and Jeff came to blows. “I gather the reception is going to be at the Plaza Hotel, and no expense has been spared on anything. If she wants something more, then she’s spoiled.”
    “Spoiled? Melissa?” Jeff’s face turned red. “I don’t think so. She’s no more spoiled than your wife was. Last night—”
    “Keep Shelly out of it. She’s not relevant—”
    “I’m sorry, David, but Shelly is actually very relevant to the conversation. Melissa went out with her girlfriends last night and evidently met up with a woman who was a bridesmaid at your wedding. Someone named Willow, who told Melissa a bunch of horror stories all about how Shelly—”
    “Horror stories? About my wedding? What are you talking about? My wedding was a lovely affair. Shelly looked beautiful in her dress. I’ll never forget the moment I saw her coming down the aisle. There wasn’t anything horrible about my wedding.” David touched his wedding ring. He would remember that day forever, especially when she slipped his wedding ring on his finger after he made his vows. That vow meant everything to him, even now after her death. He missed her, body and soul.
    “I’m sorry, David, that was unartfully said,” Jeff said. “I’m not saying that you and Shelly had a bad marriage. I’m saying that there were issues with the wedding. And I’m not surprised that you are unaware of them. Let’s face it; we’re guys. We don’t care about weddings. But Melissa cares a lot. When she heard how Shelly cried the night before her wedding, it had a huge impact. Melissa came back from her night out with the girls determined to either elope or plan a small wedding here in Shenandoah Falls.”
    “My wife did not cry over our wedding. That’s a lie.” David’s chest tightened, and it was all he could do not to jump up and punch Jeff in the face. Shelly had been beautiful and radiant and happy on her wedding day. That was a memory he held sacred.
    “Um,” Heather said, “she sort of did cry, David.”
    “What? Impossible. She was so happy that day.”
    “I think she was happy on the day of the wedding. But the night before, she and Willow Petersen got sloppy drunk, and both of them ended up bawling. Shelly kept saying that she was homesick and how much she regretted the fact that you weren’t having your wedding at her parents’ inn.”
    David stared at his sister while anger and regret churned in his stomach. How dare Willow Petersen tell stories like this around town. How dare she.
    “Look, David,” Jeff said, “I didn’t come here to pick a fight or to upset you. I came here for help. And you know darn well it’s not easy for me to ask help from the Lyndon side of the family. I need Aunt Pam to back off. And I need one other favor.”
    “What?” David spat the word.
    “Melissa is planning a wedding here in town. We’d have the ceremony at Grace Presbyterian on December nineteenth, but there isn’t any place in town to have the reception. All the acceptable places have been booked, even the tasting room at Bella Vista Vineyards. So Melissa thought that it would be nice to have the reception at Eagle Hill Manor.”
    “What? No. The inn is closed for business.”
    “You don’t have to reopen the inn to host our reception. You could just host the reception there. It would solve a big problem. Otherwise we’d have to have the reception in Winchester or in some hotel in Tysons Corner, and Melissa doesn’t want to do that.”
    “Sorry. The inn is going on the market this week or next. And quite honestly, it needs repairs. It’s not an acceptable place for a wedding reception.”
    “I’d be happy to pay for the repairs,” Jeff said. “And