Deborah glared in his direction and tossed him the tube of ointment. “Right now, it’d be hard to tell the difference!”
She continued to hover over them most of the evening. All in all, when she finally fell asleep on Pete’s bed, they were both relieved.
Bored, uncomfortable and restless, they tried to concentrate on an old movie that Deborah had put in shortly before she fell asleep.
“Steve, what are you going to do about the money now?” Pete asked idly as he slumped bonelssly on the old sofa.
“Nothing!” He said emphatically. “At least, nothing for now. As far as I’m concerned, the Three Hundred Dollar Falls can keep it’s treasure!” He yawned, but he didn’t really feel tired. He shifted uncomfortably in the chair, then felt his eyelids closing from lack of stimulation. He forced them open, knowing that if he took another nap now, he’d be up the rest of the night.
A light tap on the door drew their attention, and Chuck cautiously opened the door a crack. “You guys bored?” He said in a stage whisper, sticking his arm though the open door and waving the latest x-box game in the air.
Pete sat up, excited. “Wow! When’d you get that?”
Chuck grinned. “Just this afternoon. I thought it might help pass the time…” For the first time since the incident happened, Chuck looked at Pete and Steve’s lumpy blotched faces. “Whoa!” He whistled in awe. “You guys are messed up!”
Steve would have rolled his eyes at this gross understatement of their condition, but the swelling on his eyelid made the gesture physically impossible, and painful to even contemplate.
“Come on in!” Pete told him, ignoring his comments, his eyes fastened greedily on the game. He pulled himself into a sitting position on the sofa.
Chuck carefully closed the front door, and then at a sign from Pete, quietly shut the door to Pete’s bedroom, where Deborah was still sleeping soundly. He popped the disk into the machine and the familiar logo flashed across the screen.
“All right!” Steve exhaled in anticipation. “I vote that the groom goes first!”
“All right!” Pete grinned in reply. “Give me those controls!” The screen filled with the incredible graphics, and the three men sighed in appreciation. "Who's playing against me?"
“Me!” Steve called in an intense whisper.
“Hey, I bought it!” Chuck complained.
“Then take it home and play it on your own machine!” Pete teased.
“Can’t,” he admitted glumly. “Jill’s over there and she’s watching some mini series marathon thing. I’m going crazy!”
At some point during Christmas, Jill had finally managed to stake her claim on Chuck. The progress had been slow, but the two were making steady headway toward a romantic relationship at last. There were times, though, when it seemed as if Chuck wasn’t quite sure how it had all happened.
“Fine,” Steve relented. “You play now, and then I’ll play the winner.”
“Deal!” Chuck agreed, heading to the kitchen on a snack raid. He returned with a bag of chocolate chip cookies, salsa, two bags of chips and soda for everyone. For the first time that day, Pete and Steve forgot their general misery as they immersed themselves in the fortunes of the intense game.
When Deborah awoke around four o’clock a.m. and stumbled out of the bedroom, feeling guilty for not checking on her charges for hours, she found the living room littered with cans, cookie crumbs and half eaten bags of chips. In the dim light of the X-box, she could make out Pete, sleeping peacefully on the sofa. Steve was snoring quietly in the chair, and Deborah thought that she recognized Chuck’s huge frame sprawled on the floor.
She started to pick up an overturned soda can, but suddenly, she stopped herself and instead, moved quietly to the sofa. She rested her hand lightly on Pete’s forehead, feeling the mild perspiration from the fever he had been running all day. He seemed cooler, at least, and his breathing was normal. Fondly, she dropped a kiss on his hair and stepped away from the chair. After surveying the scene for another minute, she turned back to the bedroom with a smile and firmly shut the door behind her.
Ch 45
When a Good Plan Comes together
“Could today be any more gorgeous?” Deborah exclaimed happily as she and her mother stepped out of the park headquarters and stretched luxuriously in the bright early summer sunlight. The sky was a perfect shade of blue, with barely any clouds in sight for over a hundred miles. The one or two that had dared to float over the Park were harmless white puff balls, totally devoid of any hint of rain.
Who would have believed that it had poured steadily for the last three days? Deborah wondered to herself as she took in the perfect weather that God was providing for her wedding day. She had to admit, she had nearly given up hope that the sun would come out again in time, but the after effects of the storm were well worth the worry. She almost felt like God had given the park a good scrubbing in anticipation of this moment.
The barest hint of a breeze brought the fresh scent of pine trees and wildflowers even into the parking lot where they stood. Jill drifted out to join Hester and Deborah by the door, a half empty bag of extra silk flowers and place settings in her arms. “I just finished putting out the place settings on the back deck, and Terri is putting the finishing touches on the viewing room right now” Jill informed her. “It really does look great, Deb,” she said with a wistful smile.
Deborah caught the longing in the blonde girl’s tone, and took Jill’s arm. “Be patient,” she told her encouragingly. “Chuck really does care about you. I predict that we’ll be planning your wedding very soon.”
Jill smiled at the thought, but she still looked a little sad. “Yeah, maybe, but Chuck is without a romantic bone in his body. His idea of a perfect wedding would probably be in a video arcade at the mall!”
Hester stared at Jill in disbelief, but Deborah only grinned. “The scary part is, I can actually picture it!” She told her with a laugh. “Don’t worry, though, when the time comes, Steve and Pete will set him straight….” She paused, a faraway look in her eyes. “And if not, it will definitely be the prettiest arcade in North Carolina!”
Jill laughed with her, and shook her head. “I love him, but that boy hasn’t got a lick of sense!” Her smile faded and a discouraged look crossed her pretty features. Deborah patted her arm in sympathy.
“Girls, I haven’t seen the back deck, yet,” Hester said, changing the subject. “Let’s go back and see how it turned out.” Hester turned back to the building, and Deborah and Jill followed her through the wide lobby and out the back door to the deck.
Hester sighed in pleasure. “This will be lovely!” She exclaimed, taking in the garlands of green entwined with thousands of tiny white flowers that draped the deck rails. Small tables dotted the area, draped in damask and set with crystal and silk flowers. More tables were set up on the sloping lawn below the deck as well.
“Just wait until dusk!” Jill told her, her face brightening visibly as she spoke. “The guys strung white lights through the trees! It will be so pretty!”
“The caterers are setting up downstairs in the classrooms ,” Deb commented. “I should go check on them.”
“I’ll do it, dear,” Hester told her firmly. “You need to go home and shower!”
Deborah checked her watch and paled visibly. “Only three hours to go!” She exclaimed in a sudden burst of panic.
“Exactly!” Hester agreed. “I’ll finish up here, and then I will come help you get dressed in an hour or so.”
“Are you sure?” Deb asked, suddenly uncertain as she looked around and saw all the things that still needed to be finished before tonight. Hester put her hands on her daughter’s shoulders, and turned her back toward the parking lot. She gave her a tiny shove. “Just go!” She said firmly. “Jill and I will handle anything last minute, but the caterers are doing a great job.”
“Right,” Deb said, looking for all the world as if she would be much happier if she could keep working with th
e decorations than on her bridal toilette, but at last she got in her car and drove off to the ranger compound.
Hester watched her leave, and then went in search of her husband. She found him downstairs in the classrooms still in a t-shirt and shorts. He was standing on the top rung of a step ladder, stringing more flower garlands along the wall behind the buffet table.
“Robert!” She called, as he slipped the rope of green over a newly placed nail. He glanced over his shoulder, nails sticking out of his mouth, and waved at Hester. He spat the nails into his hand and grinned happily. “We’re almost done in here,” he said. “What’s next?”
Hester looked her husband’s scruffy appearance up and down. “What’s next is that you need to head back to the trailer and get cleaned up!” She informed him sternly. “You can’t possibly go to your own daughter’s wedding looking like that!”
Robert Graham looked at his watch and frowned. “There’s still almost three hours to go before the wedding, Hester!” He told his wife. “Just how much cleaning up do you think I’m going to need to do?”
Hester sighed. “You sound just like your daughter.”
Robert handed his nails and hammer off to the young man who had been steadying the ladder for him. “At least she gets her looks from you,” he told her placatingly. He took her arm and they walked toward the stairs. “Fine, we’ll get ready and then we can head up the trail early and relax in the pre-wedding lounge.”
Hester raised her eyebrows questioningly. “Pre-wedding lounge? What on earth are you talking about?”
Robert chuckled. “I was just talking with Chuck. He put a couple of off duty lifeguards in charge of what they’ve dubbed ‘The Over the Top’ Lounge. Seems that they have enlisted the help of several willing hikers as well, and they’ve carried chairs and a few parson’s tables up to the summit, where they have arranged a little refreshment area for the wedding party to wait at in the shade. Sounds like most of the park’s visitors are wanting to be part of the sendoff as well!”
“How wonderful!” Hester said sincerely. ‘Weddings should bring people together.”
Robert’s eyes darkened, momentarily saddened. “That’s what I tried to tell Pete’s mother, but she is still a bitter woman.”
Hester’s eyes softened. “Well, you tried. I know that Pete was thankful for your effort.”
“Still, a reconciliation would have made the day perfect.”
Hester rested her hand o her husband’s chest. “You know that only God can soften a heart that hard,” she reminded him serenely. “We’ll continue to pray. Maybe if there’s grandbabies,..”
Robert squeezed her hand at the hopeful anticipation in Hester’s voice. “You are right, of course. We’ll leave it in God’s time.”
They reached the main level of the Headquarters building and walked into the T.V. room, where a couple of technicians were testing the feed from the cameraman stationed on the top of Hanging Rock. This was where guests not able to make the climb to the top could still watch the wedding live. As they looked on, the picture came up on the huge plasma screen in the front of the room.
“This is what I find incredible,” Robert commented as they watched the cameraman slowly pan across the valley to Moore’s Knob. “Imagine having a friend at the local T.V. station willing to loan you a mobile cameraman for your wedding.”
The focus changed as the camera panned down on the Park Headquarters, where they watched the caterers carrying in trays of hors d'oeuvres from their van.
“Oh look!” Hester said, pointing at the screen. “Here comes the cake lady!”
A pastry truck pulled up to the curb just behind the caterer. Three women carried in the cake tiers, which they would assemble once they were safely down the stairs.
Robert suddenly frowned. “Hester, look at that car just pulling through the parking lot.”
“Oh no,” Hester breathed softly, as a black Viper cruised past the pastry van.
“It can’t be...”
But even as they strained to get a better look at the vehicle, the cameraman faded back and refocused on the scene at the top of Hanging Rock.
The Grahams looked at each other in concern. Could that have been David Bolton’s car? Their daughter’s former boyfriend was bad news on any day, but today of all days..!
“Lee Ann and Richard surely wouldn’t have invited him? Hester asked aloud.
Robert sighed deeply. “Anything’s possible, I suppose. They never did admit that David was abusive toward Deborah, and they wouldn’t even discuss what happened to Beth Stewart last summer.”
“Well, let’s pray that we were mistaken,” Hester said. “After all, it’s not the only black Viper in North Carolina.”
No, but I’d lay odds it’s about the only one that comes to Hanging Rock, Robert pondered silently. But there’s nothing I can do about it in any case, he decided. He glanced at his watch and then at his wife, who was still staring at the activity on the screen.
“Now we really must be heading back to the compound or we will be late to our own daughter’s wedding!” He admonished her gently, bringing Hester’s thoughts back to the here and now.
Hester startled, and then flashed him a mischievous smile. “Since you are performing the wedding, I don’t think that they will start without you!”
Robert chuckled. “Fair point. Still, we should go now.” As they strolled through the parking lot though, both found themselves anxiously scanning every car, in search of a black Dodge Viper. Somehow, the fact that they didn’t see the car was of little comfort to either parent.
Ch 46
The Wedding Bells Express
Steve knelt before his daughter, adjusting her corsage and then straightening the white silk bow on the back of her little sundress. He smiled, thinking how easily such things were coming to him now, when only two years ago he had had no idea that he was even a father.
“All set,” he confirmed.
“Don’t forget Fiona,” Gracie instructed him. Steve looked over Gracie’s head to his fenced in backyard. Fiona sat on the picnic table, her entire body quivering with hope as she watched their every move, her head cocked eagerly as she felt the excitement building around her. Steve could even hear her faint whine, begging Steve to open the gate and include her in the festivities.
Steve grimaced unhappily. Every instinct told him that including a dog in his best friend’s wedding ceremony was simply inviting disaster. What if she got excited by all the people and started barking in the middle of the ceremony? Or forgot her manners and jumped on someone, and they fell and hurt themselves? Steve could imagine a myriad of scenes involving Fiona, and nearly all of them ended badly. But Gracie’s gray eyes watched him as expectantly as Fiona’s, and he was a sucker for Gracie’s eyes.
Steve sighed reluctantly. “You know you will have to keep a very tight hold on her leash?” He reminded her. “And if she starts barking, you will have to take her away, even if it means you won’t get to see the whole wedding ceremony.”
“Yes, Daddy,” Gracie replied in long suffering voice, having heard this lecture twice before.
Steve took a deep breath and stood up. “Fine, then.” He looked at Fiona, who went wild with joy at being noticed. She flew off the table and landed in a wriggling heap at the gate in the fence.
Steve looked at her sternly. “Fiona! Settle!” He gave her a moment to gather herself, and then opened the gate. Much to his surprise, Fiona trotted through it with dignified and dainty steps. Steve smiled approvingly. “Maybe there’s hope for you yet,” he told her.
Fiona’s plumed tail waved gently, the picture of a well behaved young lady. Steve snapped on her wedding leash, a chain linked one that had been carefully threaded with silk flowers and green leaves. He handed the leash to Gracie. “Whatever you do, keep her calm! This is Aunt Debbie and Uncle Pete’s special day. Fiona can watch, but nothing more!”
“Yes, Daddy. Seen and not heard. I know,” Gracie repeated, nodding.
A d
oor opened at the next trailer, and Gracie’s grandparents stepped out, both in formal attire, with the exception of their shoes. Steve grinned at the odd sight. Mrs. Bolton always dressed impeccably. Wearing hiking boots with a formal gown was a huge stretch.
“Almost ready?” He asked her solicitously.
She made a face and lifted her dress slightly to peer at the boots. “I think so. Are you sure that everyone will be doing this?” She asked him again, as if the boots might be a joke he was playing on her.
Steve pointed to his own black boots. “I’m part of the wedding party, and these were required,” he assured her again. “So I am certain that your shoes will be the height of Hanging Rock Fashion!”
She smiled only half convinced, and then she looked around. “Your mother is joining us, I hope?”
Steve shook his head. “She has a bad knee. She’s elected to stay below and watch the movie version. I already dropped her off at Headquarters.”
“I’m sorry to hear it,” Lee Ann said, her disappointment evident. “I was looking forward to walking up with her.”
“She’ll be at the reception, of course,” Steve reminded her. “I’ll ask her to save you a seat for later out on the deck.”
Next door, Deborah and her parents stepped out into the yard. Steve’s eyes widened. He’d always considered Deborah to be exceptionally pretty, but today, she was breathtaking! She was wrapped in a creamy A-line tea length gown that set off her green eyes and red hair perfectly. Instead of a veil, she wore a soft crown of white flowers, and carried a spring bouquet of local wildflowers. Her green eyes sparkled and glowed with happiness and excitement. He walked over and offered her his arm.
“You are a vision!” He told her sincerely. Pete’s going to fall off the rock when he sees you!”
Deborah gave Steve a happy smile, but blushed just the same at his compliment. “As Best Man, remember that it’s your job to stand below and catch him then!” She teased.
“Me?” Steve asked, raising an eyebrow. “Why not Chuck?”
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