Family Man

Whatever else he was, Atwood was no killer.
    Just a man trying to avenge a road kill.
    Luke glanced at the clock on the mantel. He had a little time left. He went over to Atwood and hauled him to his feet. Atwood was dazed but not seriously hurt. Luke dropped him into a chair.
    “Katy is always after me to deal with confrontations in a sensitive, nonviolent manner,” Luke said. “I'm a slow learner, but I do try.”
    “Shit. What is this all about? Why don't you call the cops and get it over with?” Atwood leaned his head back in the chair and closed his eyes with an expression of final weariness.
    “I haven't got time to call the cops,” Luke said. “I've got to get to a wedding.”
    Atwood opened his eyes. “So?”
    “So I've got maybe fifteen minutes before I run out of time altogether. Instead of you and me slugging this out like the tough, macho, hard-assed dudes we both know we are, why don't we just do what we do best?”
    “What's that?”
    “Let's make a deal,” Luke said.

    The bride's anteroom was filled with Gilchrists sunk in doom and gloom. With Liz's help, Katy was trying to put on the lacy little garter she was supposed to throw later, but it was difficult. There was very little space left in the room.
    Hayden, looking like a depressed vampire, was taking up most of the area in front of the mirror. Maureen was sitting on the stool, twisting a black hankie in her hands in silent despair. Eden was moving restlessly back and forth across the tiny room. Darren was propping up a wall with his shoulder. He looked grim. The only one who was not present was Justine. She was in the family pew at the front of the church.
    “Who's going to tell Justine?” Hayden asked in his darkest funereal tones.
    “God, this is just like last time,” Maureen whispered, her gaze anguished. “I can't believe Luke is doing this. You know, I had actually come to trust him. I bought the whole story. He had convinced me he meant to be part of this family. That he cared about us.”
    Eden shot Katy a sidelong glance. “I can't believe he'd do this to Katy.”
    “I'll kill him,” Darren muttered for about the twentieth time. “He won't get away with this. Maybe he thinks he has a right to humiliate Justine, but he has no right to hurt Katy.”
    “He hasn't done anything yet. He's just a little late, that's all.” Katy snapped the garter into place and lowered the voluminous skirts of her white gown. She straightened and faced the room full of black-clad Gilchrists. “The whole bunch of you look as if you're about to attend a funeral instead of a wedding.”
    Hayden gave her a pitying look. “He's not going to show, Katy.”
    “He'll show,” she said softly. “And if he doesn't, he'll have a very good reason. One that doesn't involve his secretary.” The thought of what that excuse might be was what was disturbing Katy. For an instant she had visions of Luke lying injured somewhere on the interstate. With a sick feeling in her stomach she wondered if she should start calling hospital emergency rooms.
    Katy met Liz's eyes in the mirror. For once Liz was not enjoying the latest Gilchrist antics. Her thoughts were obviously running along the same lines as Katy's. “Shall I get the phone book?”
    Katy hesitated. “No,” she said quietly. “I'd know if something dreadful had happened to him. I'd feel it. He's all right. He's just late.”
    “Something dreadful has happened,” Hayden muttered. “We're all financially doomed, and Lord only knows how Justine will take this.”
    “Has anyone told Matt yet?” Maureen asked. “That poor boy is going to be so hurt by this. He trusted Luke, too.”
    Darren ran a hand through his tousled hair. “I told Matt to wait out in front of the church. He's supposed to be watching for Luke.”
    “Oh, God, this is terrible. I just hope the shock doesn't make Justine collapse,” Maureen said. “What are we going to tell her?”
    Katy adjusted her veil one last time. “I'll handle Justine.”
    Hayden straightened his shoulders. “You've been handling her for the past nine years, Katy. You don't have to handle this. I'll do whatever needs to be done this time.”
    Katy smiled gently. “That's very kind of you, Hayden. But I'm afraid that if something has gone wrong, it's a whole lot more serious than Luke deciding to abandon me at the altar.”
    Eden scowled. “What are you saying? What could be more serious?”
    “I'm saying that if Luke isn't here, it's because