CHAPTER EIGHT
Valentine’s Day, Elora, Texas
Cameron~
The First Baptist Church of Elora was small and crammed to the choir stalls. Tall blue lupines formed the backdrop for the huge floral arrangements on the chaste altar and either side of the aisle. Texas bluebonnets for a Texas couple. The busy ceiling fans wafted their honey perfume through the air. It might only be February 14, but summer had come to Elora.
There were a lot of dress uniforms on both sides of the church. But Grant waited for his bride in a dove-gray morning coat and a striped tie. Beside him his eldest brother Harrison was resplendent in his dress blues. Col. D’Angelo’s colorful expanse of ribbons and medals cast Grant’s subdued civilian tailoring into the shade.
Tasha reached over and patted Cam’s arm. He had woken from his afternoon nap, grumpy and groggy, but she had bullied him into his uniform and pinned his fruit salad on herself. Now he was glad she had. In a moment, Frankie D’Angelo would make her first public appearance in a dress since her high school prom. An event not to be missed.
The organist was playing Bach. At some signal Cam couldn’t see, she abruptly switched to the wedding march. Twin Amazonian bridesmaids walked down the aisle in perfect time. First Eleanor. Then Frankie. Eleanor was smiling and nodding to folks on either side of the aisle. Her dark hair was studded with small white flowers.
Warrior Woman looked much the same as her poised twin, but he fancied himself an expert on Frankie D’Angelo. She was worried about stumbling in her unaccustomed heels. And she felt foolish with her hair sprinkled with white blossoms. She looked utterly ravishing. And scared to death.
The dresses were pale green. Sleeveless. Pretty. Made of some slivery-green fabric that sparkled. He liked the high square necklines. Call him a chauvinist, but he preferred it if his woman kept her rack on lockdown. Both sisters carried pure white bouquets.
And behind them, prancing and sprinkling rose petals came Becky and Quincy. The prettiest flower girls in Texas. They wore circlets of white flowers. Their dresses were ruffled from waist to mid-calf. Rhinestones made their sashes and white Mary-Janes twinkle.
The music swelled, Genevieve appeared on her father’s arm. Mr. Carson had sergeant’s stripes on his blue sleeve. Gen’s smile was radiant. Her white bouquet was larger than Frankie and Eleanor’s and contained a single red rose at the center. Well, it was Valentine’s Day. And she was the bride. Grant was one lucky guy.
Frankie stepped forward and, ignoring the mic set up for the minister, sang ‘Amazing Grace’. Her voice was as remarkable as he remembered. It still gave him chills. If she hadn’t decided on an Air Force career, she could have been a coloratura soprano and given Grant a run for his money in the world of opera.
When the last notes died away, Eleanor joined her. Together they led everyone in the ‘Battle Hymn of the Republic.’ The rafters rang. As soon as the splendor of the lyrics died away, the ceremony began. It was over quickly. Grant and Gen said their vows in nice clear voices, but by then his head was buzzing and he couldn’t make out their words.
The air seemed thick and heavy. Too many people, in too small a place. He was beginning to fade. The pastor came out of the vestry and introduced the happy couple. The organ played a joyful march. The bride and groom were walking back down the aisle, preceded by Becky and Quincy who were strewing rose petals lavishly and waving to their fans.
Tasha gave his hand a squeeze. “Are you sure you won’t come to the reception?” she whispered. He shook his head. She touched his sweating face with her fingertips. “Not long now,” she murmured.
But there were hands to shake. Kisses to give and take. Reminiscences. Pictures to be suffered through. He found a bench in the old graveyard and rested his aching leg. Becky shook him awake.
“Uncle Cam,” she said reproachfully. “You’re going to miss having your picture taken.”
He dutifully joined the D’Angelos. Stood where he was pushed. Obeyed the instruction to say ‘cheese’. Although he couldn’t imagine that Gen wanted a photo of a gaunt eyesore in her wedding album.
At last it was over. Tasha led Cam to her SUV. She and Harrison had taken two vehicles to the church, in case Tasha had to slip away with him. The plan was to drop him at the guest house and then go to the reception in Harrison’s vehicle. The girls were in the colonel’s vehicle.
He and Tasha had the SUV to themselves. He put his eye-shade back on and closed his eyes.
“That went well, don’t you think?” Tasha said.
“S-s-sure.”
“I’m wondering if you should come back to Arizona with us when we go home,” she continued.
“D-d-did I m-m-miss s-something?”
“I’m worried about you.”
“I-I’m s-s-sorry.” Objections swirled in his brain but could not make it past his tongue.
“Don’t be sorry. Just think about it, okay? If necessary, we can hire a nurse for you. I hadn’t realized how bad off you were, or I would never have agreed that you go to Caroline and George’s instead of staying with us.”
“Oh, T-T-Tasha, y-y-you can’t f-f-fix me with l-l-love.”
She couldn’t but Frankie could. He was doing better since Warrior Woman had taken to bullying him to take his meds on schedule and clean his plate. Was that love? Or just pity? He didn’t want the latter. Couldn’t accept the former. He had to knock it into his dumb skull that he had forfeited his claim on Warrior Woman when he let his team die in the desert.
* * *
Frankie~
“Genevieve looked gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous.” Caroline D’Angelo kicked off her pumps and wiggled her toes. “I thought Grant was going to cry when she walked down the aisle. I know I was. Debby Carson and I must have soaked our hankies in record time.”
“Don’t worry, Mom. It’s traditional for the mother-of-the bride to cry,” Frankie assured her.
“Well, the mother-of-the-groom isn’t supposed to weep.” Caroline’s voice was dry. “I don’t want anyone suggesting I opposed this marriage.”
“No one thinks that, Mom.”
“I hope not. They were happy tears. She just looked so lovely and so perfect for Grant. Little Gen all grown up.” Mom closed her eyes and raised her footrest. “To be honest, I was a little doubtful about her wearing a dress from the 1950s, but she looked just beautiful.”
“Magnificent,” Frankie agreed. “I wouldn’t have thought that seventy-year-old silk organza could hold up that well.”
Caroline sighed. “It wasn’t rotting silk I was worried about, it was how dated that dress might look. But when she was a young woman, Gen’s Nana B must have looked exactly like her. That dress was perfect. It could have been made for our Genevieve. Didn’t you love the line?”
“I did. The entire bodice is boned, you know, to give that smoothness above the waistline. Maybe those long lace sleeves are a tad old-fashioned, but even I know that the Duchess of Cambridge has brought them back into fashion. And those tiers on her skirt were just right. Elegant. Not in the least ruffly or fussy.”
Mom chuckled. “Just like your dresses. You girls looked gorgeous too.”
“Which reminds me,” Frankie rose to her bare feet. “I better go change. Seeing as Grant and Genevieve have left on their honeymoon, someone needs to check on Reynolds.”
Mom looked stricken. “Oh gosh, I clean forgot about that boy. I’ll bet he hasn’t even had supper. Or his medication.”
“He had chili – from your freezer. And he had his pills all laid out, so if he skipped them, I’ll know.”
“Well, thank you for dealing with him tonight. I guess we should see about moving Cam back to the main house, as soon as your aunts and uncles leave.” Mom patted a yawn. “Your dad will be wondering what’s become of me.” But she made no move to stand up.
“You’d better go on up to bed, your guests have been asleep for hours. They’ll wake up at dawn wanting their breakfasts.” Frankie held out a hand. “Up you get.”
Caroline didn’t budge. “It’s the thought of having to take this dress off, and clean my face, and brush my teeth. I’m too tired.”
Dad walked into the living room yawning and shaking his head. “I thought I heard your voices. It’s bedtime, and past bedtime. I’m too old for this kind of frolic. I thought those people would never go home.”
It was Frankie’s turn to laugh. “They didn’t want to miss anything. You should have left Mr. and Mrs. Carson to host and gone home with the aunts and uncles.”
“We couldn’t do that,” Mom protested.
Dad just smiled. He shepherded Mom out of the living room and up the stairs. Frankie trailed after them, high heels in her hand. She had not been too thrilled to find Gen expected her to wear those strappy stilettos. She had had to learn on the fly how to walk in them. But she had even managed to dance.
And she had to admit that Eleanor had looked spectacular in her bridesmaid’s dress. And since she was Eleanor’s identical twin, that meant the square-cut bodice and the sleek A-line skirt had become her as well. Not that she planned to start wearing dresses anytime soon.
Being an officer in the Air Force was no picnic for any woman. Even a D’Angelo with umpteen legendary officers in the family ran headfirst into the prejudices of that male-oriented organization. Better to keep her tough-as-nails, hard-riding biker image. Besides she was tough. And she did ride hard. And her tough style suited her.
Although she was in bed, Eleanor had not turned the lights off. She was lying down reading a thick medical text. “I wondered where you’d gotten to,” she whispered.
“Mom wanted to decompress. But Dad finally hauled her off to bed.” Frankie yawned. “I’ve still got to go check on Reynolds. Thank goodness, this is positively the last night. As of tomorrow, I’m out of here, and he’s back to being Mom’s problem.”
Eleanor sat up. “Whoa, twin. I’m leaving tomorrow – my leave’s over. You’re staying – for the rest of your furlough. Mom and Dad are expecting you to hang around at least until the end of the month.”
“When I planned my leave, I didn’t expect to find Reynolds cluttering up the old homestead. Now that Genevieve and Grant are off to Jamaica for a glorious month in a villa, my job here is done. I’ll take The Beast and head to Galveston. I have some friends I’d like to look up. Vets. I haven’t seen them since they were injured. This is a perfect opportunity.”
Her sister snorted. “It’s a wonderful thing for you to want to be visiting wounded veterans. Wonderful. You’re a regular angel of mercy. Except the one you should be visiting is Cameron Reynolds. Isn’t it about time you stopped running away from your fate?”
“If I thought Cameron Reynolds was my fate, I’d slit my throat.” Frankie wrenched down the invisible zipper on her left side and then the one on the right. The bodice and waist loosened. The skirt pooled at her feet. She kicked it off and hung it up carefully, even though she didn’t plan to wear it again – ever.
“There are plenty of knives in the kitchen,” Eleanor retorted dryly.
Frankie sighed. “Don’t repeat this, but we’ve been down that road. Cameron Reynolds turned me down flat. He’s a bear and I’m a phoenix, and according to him, never the twain shall meet.”
“Then why the hell does he follow you with his eyes? And why the hell is he doing better now that you’re around? Even Mom and Dad, as preoccupied as they have been, have noticed. I’m a doctor, but he didn’t respond at all to my help!”
“All I’ve done – and I mean all – is make sure Cam takes his medication as it was prescribed, and eats what Mom sends him from her kitchen.” And replaced his so-called sleeping pills with lullabies. But even her twin didn’t need to know about that foolishness. Besides, she didn’t really think her songs had penetrated his opaque brain fog.
“Oh, Frankie.” Eleanor laughed. “You’re not deceiving anyone. Except maybe yourself. If you ever want to be happy, you’re going to have to figure out how to cope with Cam. Come on. He’s not so bad. He may be a bear, but he’s Air Force through and through, and no one is more loyal. And if he’s not in love with you, I’ll eat my captain’s bars.”
“That’s lust, sister mine. Not love. I told you, we’ve been down that road.”
“I remember. Three years ago you thought he was the one.”
“I did. Serenaded him and everything. Offered him immortality. But Cam refused a phoenix bond. He said no, loudly and clearly. I can take a hint. If anything, the ball in his court.”
“Don’t be so stubborn, Frankie. Cam’s in no shape for any kind of game. It’s up to you to help him heal. In fact, as his mate, it’s your duty. Then you can have your knockdown, drag-out fight, and you can haul him kicking and screaming to the altar.”
“Why should I set myself up for more rejection?” Frankie tied her laces and pulled down her T-shirt. “Once was enough. He’s had his chance.”
“Frankie,” Eleanor said softly, “Any chance you give him, is a chance you give yourself. You can’t win by defeating your one true love. No one can fight destiny and win.”