A MATCH MADE IN MURDER (The Wedding Planner Mysteries Book 5) Read Online Free

and cowboy hat. His broad, muscular shoulders and steely gaze—that was just as dark and green as Sterling’s—impacted his tall stature to the extent that he looked downright intimidating. Though he had to be in his late sixties, he seemed strong enough to wrangle a bull or win a bar fight. And most menacing of all was his shiny, bald head.
                  “What do I do?” Ernie percolated with rising dread that a confrontation could be coming. “What do I say? Should I apologize?”
                  “I’m sure it’ll be fine, dear,” said Penny, patting his arm. “We’re all family now.”
                  “What if he asks me to step outside?”
                  "We're already outside, dear," said Penny like it helped.
                  “He’s not going to ask you to step outside, Dad, you’re overreacting.”
                  Kitty observed Sterling with his father and noticed their greeting seemed cold considering they hadn’t seen each other in a few years. Sterling had his hands on his hips and Steve was looking down his nose at his son, which took Kitty aback when she realized Steve was a solid two inches taller. And Sterling was a very tall man.
                  They made their way over and Kitty caught Sterling elbowing his dad, which prompted the steely man to smirk and look Ernie in the eye.
                  “Little misunderstanding in the men’s room,” Steve barked, causing Ernie to cower and not necessarily recognize the man was gearing up for an apology. “These rich types rub me the wrong way,” he went on, to which Sterling cleared his throat as though his father would have to do better than that.
                  Steve extended his hand to Ernie. “I know you’re not one of them,” he added. “I shouldn’t have barked at you.”
                  “Oh, it’s quite alright,” Ernie offered up easily. He was eager to smooth this over. “Penny and I aren’t used to these aristocrats either.”
                  Steve glared at him and his use of a fancy word, but when Sterling cleared his throat again, Steve softened his gaze, smiled, and let Sterling draw his attention to his fiancée.
                  “This is Kitty,” he said then corrected “Catherine—”
                  “But everyone calls me Kitty,” she added, already out of her chair and enthused to embrace her father-in-law. “It’s so nice to meet you!”
                  When Kitty gave Steve a big squeeze the man went stiff and wasn’t quite sure what to do, but Kitty chose to take no notice.
                  By the time everyone sat back down, a waiter arrived with a bucket of ice and a bottle of champagne, which Kitty plucked up and began peeling off its foil top.
                  “So Steve,” Penny started. “Ernie and I work in a library up north.” She smiled and gauged his reaction. He didn’t have one so she went on. “Ernie’s been working on a book about how to properly train rabbits as house pets, and I enjoy knitting.”
                  “I like to shoot rabbits,” he stated.
                  Penny blinked and Ernie stole the first glass of champagne out of Kitty’s hand and downed it in one long gulp.
                  “Dad,” Sterling said like a warning, but Steve interpreted it all wrong.
                  “I hunt deer, bobcats—”
                  “Aren’t they endangered?” Penny asked, not meaning to sound appalled, though she was.
                  “Rabbits like I mentioned,” he went on. “Got a bear once, big brown bear. It’s stuffed in my living room.”
                  “How interesting,” said Kitty and she meant it. She had a tremendous capacity to love whoever had lent a hand in raising the man