Big Sky Mountain Part 33

Kendra promised to speed things along in every way she could.

After Walker and Casey were gone, she jumped up and down in the middle of the office and whooped for joy, causing Daisy to slink under a desk and peer out at her with wary eyes.

That made her laugh, and she spoke soothingly to the dog until she came out of her hiding place.

Presently, Kendra gave up on the whole idea of working-there wasn't much to do, anyway-and, after locking Casey's mongo check away in a desk drawer, she summoned Daisy, locked up and returned to her car.

The zinnias she'd picked at the mansion rested on the pa.s.senger seat, a damp paper towel wrapped around their stems, reminding Kendra of the fireworks on Sat.u.r.day night, colorful flowers blooming in the sky and melting away in dancing sparks.

She drove to the Pioneer Cemetery, parked, picked up the zinnias and, leaving Daisy in the car with a window rolled down so she'd have plenty of air, walked along the rows of graves until she came to her grandmother's final resting place.

Eudora Shepherd, the simple stone read, and the dates of her birth and death were inscribed beneath it. No husband was buried nearby, no family members at all.

Her grandmother had been alone in the world, for all intents and purposes.

Kendra crouched and laid the zinnias gently at the base of the dusty headstone.

"You did the best you could," she said very softly, as the breeze played in her hair. "It must have been hard, taking in a child at your age, with money always running short and trouble coming at you from every direction, but you let me stay with you when Mom left, and that was what was important. You fed and clothed me and kept a roof over my head, and I'm grateful for that, Grandma. I'm really, truly grateful."

Kendra stood up straight again, her eyes dry, her heart quiet.

At long last, she'd truly let go, stopped wishing the past could be different. All that really mattered, she realized, was now, what she did, what she thought, what she felt now.

She said goodbye to her grandmother, to all the things that had been and shouldn't have, and all the things that should have been, but weren't. She said goodbye to Jeffrey, and goodbye to the reckless boy Hutch had been when she first fell in love with him.

And "h.e.l.lo" to the man he had become.

She was in no rush, though. Things would unfold as they were supposed to, and she was open to that.

HUTCH SADDLED REMINGTON and rode up to the mountainside alone that morning after a.s.signing the ranch crew to various tasks for the day.

He dismounted, left the horse to graze and walked toward the rock pile, pausing briefly in the place where he and Kendra had made love the previous Sat.u.r.day afternoon.

He smiled. It had been good-their lovemaking-because it had been right. Not to mention, long overdue, from his viewpoint, anyway.

He went on to the stone monument he'd built in fury, in pain, in frustration, lifted up one of the heavier stones, and set it on the ground.

"It's over, old man," he told his dead father, though only the birds and the breeze and his favorite horse were around to hear. "I'm through hating you for not being who I needed you to be. You were who you were. I don't mind saying, though, that I want to be a different kind of man. If Kendra agrees, I mean to make her my wife. I'll love her until the day I die, and maybe after that, too, and I'll love that little girl of hers like she's my own."

Hutch began to feel a little foolish then, talking to a dead man, and anyway he'd said what he wanted to say.

One by one, he tossed aside the rocks that made up that pile and finally stood on level ground.

CHAPTER NINETEEN.

HUTCH DIDN'T SEE Kendra again until the day of little Trace Carmody Barlow's christening, when he showed up at the church in a pair of slacks, a white shirt and a lightweight sports jacket with a secret tucked into one pocket for later.

Most of the congregation had stayed on after the regular service for the special ceremony, and Hutch was mildly uncomfortable, stealing the occasional anxious glance at the ceiling, willing it to hold.

The new pastor, Dr. Beaumont, opened with a prayer.

Hutch bowed his head, like everybody else, but his eyes were partway open the whole time, drinking in the sight of Kendra standing next to him and wearing a green dress made of some soft fabric that looked supple to the touch.

When the prayer was over, Kendra opened her eyes, caught him looking at her and smiled slightly.

Dr. Beaumont took the baby boy gently from Joslyn's arms, holding him securely and baptizing him with a sprinkle of water, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Promises were made all around.

There was another prayer; Slade was holding the infant now, looking as though he might just bust open with love and pride. His resemblance to the old man was stronger than ever, except, Hutch noticed with a slight jolt, for the quiet self-a.s.surance in his eyes. That was the difference-Slade was fine with being Slade, taking life as it came, but their father had seen it as a battle instead, something to survive and overcome, and the effort of doing all that had used up all he had to give.

The formal part of the christening ended and the small but enthusiastic crowd was dispersing. Now, there would be a celebration picnic on the grounds of the Pioneer Cemetery.

Hutch went over there ahead of time and wound up standing at the foot of his dad's grave.

There was nothing to resolve, really; he'd made peace with John Carmody, once and for all, by taking down that monument up at the meadow, rock by rock.

Resentment by resentment, hurt by hurt.

All that was gone now, scattered, just like the stones.

Still, it seemed right to pause and silently pay his respects, because in spite of it all, he'd loved his father, known all along on some level that the old man had given what he had in him to give.

Folks started arriving right away, filling the picnic tables with food, kids running around, playing, adults talking and laughing in the shade of the trees.

Out of the corner of his eye, Hutch saw Slade heading in his direction. He'd taken off his suit jacket, Slade had, and the sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up.

He came to stand beside Hutch.

"You doing all right?" he asked, his voice husky.

"I'm just fine," Hutch answered honestly. "How about you?"

"Never better," Slade replied. "I've got everything a man could ask for and more."

Hutch looked down at the fancy headstone, bearing their father's name, along with the dates of his birth and death. It was hard to believe that a man's whole life could fit between two sets of words and numbers like that, symbolically or not, but there it was.

John Carmody had been born, lived his life and died.

And behind a single dash, chiseled in stone, was the whole story, much of which they'd never know.

"He should have acknowledged you sooner, Slade," Hutch said without looking at his brother. "Treated you better."

Slade considered that for a few moments. "He gave me life. Maybe that was all he could manage. And he knew Callie would raise me right."

Hutch merely sighed.

Slade rested a hand on his shoulder. "There's a party going on over there under the trees," he reminded Hutch. "How about joining in?"

Hutch lifted his head, grinned when he saw Madison running toward him in a polka-dot dress, her arms open wide.

He scooped her up when she reached him, carried her as he walked alongside Slade. She chattered in his ear the whole way, going on about how she'd missed him and Mommy had, too, and saying she wanted to ride Ruffles again so she'd be ready to carry a flag at the rodeo and compete in the barrel racing when she was bigger.

Kendra, seeing them, broke away from the gathering.

Madison, spotting Shea nearby, squirmed in Hutch's arms and he set her down. She ran toward the older girl with barely a glance at Kendra, and Shea greeted the little girl with a bright smile and a giggle.

Hutch and Kendra, meanwhile, stood a few feet apart, the gra.s.s rippling all around them like a low tide, just looking at each other.

Figuring that he'd put this conversation off long enough already, Hutch cleared his throat and moved in closer, cupping her elbows in his hands. She smelled of lavender soap and sunshine, and her eyes were as clear and green as sea gla.s.s.

"I love you, Kendra," he said, on a swell of emotion that made the words come out sounding hoa.r.s.e. "Maybe it's too soon to say it-h.e.l.l, maybe it's too late, I don't know-but it's true." He reached into his coat pocket, brought out the small velvet box, opened it with a motion of his thumb. His great-grandmother's engagement ring was inside-a simple but elegant concoction of diamonds and rubies. After Joslyn had done a little detective work so it would fit Kendra, he'd had it sized, cleaned and polished at the jeweler's. Now, it caught fire in the sunlight.

Kendra's eyes widened as she looked at the ring, but she didn't say anything right away, and the next few moments were some of the longest of Hutch's life. They'd traveled a rocky road, the two of them, and while he knew she loved him, he wasn't sure she'd be willing to throw in with him for the long haul.

"Are you asking me to marry you?" she finally asked very softly.

Hutch was only vaguely aware of the nearby crowd. For him, time had stopped and Kendra was all there was to the universe.

"Yes," he managed at last. "If you feel the same as I do, that is."

She smiled. "I've loved you since we were kids, Hutch," she told him. "That hasn't changed."

"Then you'll marry me?"

She stepped in close, put her arms around his neck, and looked up into his eyes. "I'll marry you," she agreed quietly. "When we're both ready."

"I'm ready now," Hutch told her. G.o.d knew that was the truth in its entirety.

She laughed. "There are things we have to work out first," she reasoned. "Plans and decisions to make. We have to consider Madison, for a start."

He wanted to adopt Madison, raise her as a Carmody, but this wasn't the place to talk about that. He'd already jumped the gun by declaring himself and shoving a ring at Kendra, in a graveyard of all places, with half the town looking on. This time around, he wasn't going to botch everything, like he had before.

She stepped back and offered him her left hand, and he took the ring out of the box and slid it onto her finger.

He kissed her then, and the town of Parable applauded from the picnic tables under the trees.

One month later...

OPAL DENNISON SAT UP straight in her new favorite pew, one that afforded her the best possible view of the pastor, Dr. Walter Beaumont. She'd taken it over the first time he preached and laid claim to it every Sunday since.

Today, on this bright August afternoon, Hutch Carmody was up front, in exactly the same place he'd stood at his last wedding, with Boone beside him as best man, just like before.

The church was packed with guests once again and, since the organ music hadn't started up yet, folks were buzzing with excitement and speculation, most of them wondering, unless Opal missed her guess, if history would repeat itself.

She settled in, Joslyn's baby safe in the infant carrier beside her, since Joslyn and Tara, being bridesmaids, were at the rear of the church, waiting for the ceremony to begin. Slade was back there, too, fixing to give Kendra away, though she was still out of sight, except for a spill of shimmering lace, part of her magnificent dress.

Turning a little, Opal saw Slade's gaze connect with Joslyn's, and it seemed to her that their two souls glowed right through their skin, lighting up their faces and surrounding them with a shared aura.

She smiled to herself, turned her attention back to the groom, waiting up there by the altar with Walter, who looked resplendent in his pastoral robes. Oh, he was a handsome one all right, with his full head of white hair and his dignified manner, but this was Hutch's day, and Kendra's, and Opal meant to focus on them.

Settling in contentedly, Opal exchanged a mental high-five with the Lord. We do good work, You and me, she told Him silently. She looked over at the best man, Boone, standing beside Hutch and looking solemn. Course we've still got him to straighten out, don't we, and sweet Tara, too, but we can cross Hutch and Kendra off our list, just like we did Slade and Joslyn. Another mission accomplished.

Just then Walter caught Opal's eye. A small, mischievous smile tilted his mouth up at one side, and darned if that man didn't wink at her, right there in church, with him right up front in full view and holding the Holy Book in his hands.

Or did he?

After a moment, she wasn't sure whether he had or not. Had she imagined it?

The idea warmed her all over just the same, clear to the center of her being, but she didn't wink back, of course.

There was a proper way to go about things, after all, and anyway she was in no big hurry to reel Walter in and marry up with him. She liked him a lot and they'd even gone out fishing together a couple of times and talked and laughed so much they'd scared away all the trout. The Sunday after little Trace Barlow was christened, with Kendra and Hutch standing up as G.o.dparents, they'd gone to the b.u.t.ter Biscuit for brunch together after church, she and Walter, and stayed until Ellie practically kicked them out so she could close the place promptly at two o'clock, as she always did on the Sabbath.

Yes, sir, things were looking real promising on the romance front, not just for Kendra and Hutch, but for her and Walter, too.

All she had to do now was wait and trust and let the Good Lord have His way, since He always knew best.

RAISING HER VEIL, Kendra bent, her eyes br.i.m.m.i.n.g with happy tears, and kissed Madison, her flower girl, soundly on the cheek. "Nervous?" she whispered. When the organist struck up the prelude, Madison would be the first member of the wedding party to walk up the aisle.

"No," Madison answered in a stage whisper, looking earnest in her blue silk dress with the ruffled skirt. "I'm getting a daddy today!"

The comment carried far enough to raise a gentle twitter of laughter from the pews nearby.

Then the organist sounded the first reverberating note and, on cue, Madison strolled down the aisle, a job she'd practiced tirelessly for several weeks by then, scattering pink and white rose petals as she went.

People crooned and smiled as she pa.s.sed.

When she reached the front, she went right over to Hutch and tugged at his sleeve with her free hand, holding the now-empty flower basket in the other.

He leaned down and she whispered something in his ear, and he grinned at her and pointed out the place where she was supposed to stand.

The prelude continued, picking up speed, and Tara followed Madison's trail of rose petals, looking fabulous in the soft yellow dress she'd chosen herself. Joslyn, like Madison, wore blue-Kendra hadn't wanted to impose any specific fashion statement on her friends.

Joslyn reached back, gave Kendra's hand a quick squeeze, exchanged glances with Slade and moved gracefully between the two rows of pews, coming to stand next to Tara.

"This is it," Slade whispered to Kendra as she took her arm. "Ready?"