Free Going to the Chapel: A Novella by Rita Herron Page A

laugh echoed through the wall, and tears blurred Izzy’s eyes. When she was alone and scared and crying those first few weeks after they’d moved in with Aunt Dottie, Caroline had been the one to comfort her. To pat her back and sing to her. To assure her everything would be all right.
    Caroline had promised that nothing bad would ever happen to her again.
    Izzy wiped at her tears.
    But then she’d hurt Caroline . . .
    How would she ever earn her forgiveness and make things right?

    “Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?”
    Levi stared into Izzy’s sparkling eyes, his heart pounding. She had put some kind of spell on him the moment he’d met her.
    How could he resist falling in love with her?
    He cradled her delicate hand in his and smiled. “I do.”
    The reverend turned to Izzy and addressed her. “And do you, Isobel Wynona Sassafras, take this man, Levi Matthew Fox, to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
    Teardrops glittered on Izzy’s eyelashes. “I do.”
    “I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.”
    Levi dragged her against him and kissed her senseless. Then he carried her to the bride’s room for a private rendezvous.
    The reception would have to wait. The guests would have to wait.
    He had to have Izzy now.
    Levi jerked awake, sweating and shaking all over. What the hell? Why had he dreamed he was marrying anyone? Much less Izzy Sassafras?
    For God’s sake, the night before he’d been on the phone for half an hour listening to his youngest brother ranting about his soon-to-be ex. The woman was a maniac and had thrown all his clothes into a compost pile. She’d been burning it as they spoke. His brother claimed the fumes could wake the dead three counties away.
    Shaken by the very thought of marriage, he showered and dressed, then checked his computer. Elsa had sent him a background check on Izzy. He needed a distraction to keep him from fantasizing about her body today when they met. Maybe he’d postpone the meeting.
    Dammit. He needed to move this case along more quickly before the situation spiraled out of control, and he wound up paying for flowers, wedding cake, and a band that he would never use.
    The notes on Izzy’s mother’s arrest caught his eye.
    Mary Kay Sassafras had been arrested on murder charges when her husband, Waylin Sassafras, was found with his head bashed in from the same cast-iron skillet she used to fry her Sunday chicken. When questioned, Mary Kay shrieked, “He deserved what he got! I had to pay that bitch for a blow dry while she was blowin’ Waylin for free!”
    Levi made a pot of coffee, his determination renewed. Izzy’s mother had killed their father for cheating. Izzy had stolen money from her own husband.
    Like mother, like daughter?
    Today he needed to trip her up so he could call the sheriff and tie up the case. After Izzy passed a few hours in a cell, hopefully he could convince her to turn on Ray and reveal what the bastard was up to.
    Then Levi would get out of Matrimony as fast as he could.
    And thankfully he’d never have to hear about the magic of marital bliss again.

CHAPTER SEVEN
    Levi felt as if he’d walked into a time warp when he ate breakfast at Lulabelle’s diner. Apparently the men met to eat and play checkers while the women gathered to trade gossip as they started their day.
    Red-checked tablecloths held vases of fresh flowers. Photos of townsfolk and their antique cars as well as pictures of the local cornbread festival and fishing contests decorated the walls.
    Lulabelle’s hair was a frosted pale pink and teased like a bird’s nest. But everyone loved her jovial nature, and word was that her biscuits and red-eyed gravy were the best in the state.
    He tried them and had to agree.
    She refilled his coffee with a wink. “You’re that man getting married in the little chapel on the hill, ain’t you?”
    Levi’s stomach knotted at the lie. “Yes, I’m meeting with Izzy Sassafras for a