Love's Embers (Canon City Series) (19 page)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Friday, the day of the big dance, finally arrived. The weather remained calm since the storm on Wednesday and it warmed up to thirty degrees. The news programs from Denver were all excited since the area of Pueblo and Canon City got way above their yearly average of snow.

Lark heard several times at the warehouse that people hadn’t seen such a storm since 1982, but Gran said the worst storm she remembered was in March of 1961. That was the year Lark’s father was born and Gran remembered it as a nerve-wracking night, but wouldn’t go into details. Lark threw her hands up and figured they could all discuss the weather at the dance.

On Friday morning, Ryan called Lark and gave her the name of the female attorney in Denver to talk to about the attack. She left a message for the woman who called her back mid-morning. Lark tried to stay calm, but it felt really difficult to discuss what happened with a total stranger. The attorney said she was pleased Lark decided to come forward about that night. She’d received calls from several other new clients who told similar stories from other nights at the mansion. There were a mountain of complaints about the activities and the district attorney was compiling information to build a case. She asked if Lark would come up to Denver after the New Year and give a deposition. Lark agreed immediately and spoke with the woman’s secretary to schedule the appointment.

The plan for Mile High Bread was to close at three o’clock so the employees could head home and get ready for the evening’s festivities. Although most of the employees were not members of the Methodist Church, it was a community gathering and the doors were open to everyone. Year after year, the dance seemed to get bigger and bigger.

Lark headed home in a rental car after three o’clock and pulled into the driveway. She needed to get changed and take Gran and her pies over to the church to set up. She noticed Charlie’s truck was not parked in his driveway and wondered where he’d gone off to in the big rig. She decided to wait until after Christmas to tell Gran about the attack six months ago. She didn’t want to spoil her holidays.

She walked into the house and took her coat and boots off. She saw the pies all boxed up on the kitchen table and could hear Gran’s footsteps on the floor above. She went up the stairs and knocked on Gran’s door. She opened it and peeked in.

“Hey Gran, I’m home.”

“Hi sweetheart,” Gran said from the foot of her bed where she sat putting on a pair of pantyhose.

“Did Charlie say where he was going today?”

“No. He did say he would meet us at the community center. Lord, I don’t know why I decided to wear a dress.” She continued with the pantyhose struggle. “Slacks would be so much simpler.”

“Gran, you say that every year and then turn out to be the prettiest woman there.” Lark looked at her watch. “I better get changed.”

As she walked to her room her cell phone rang. She looked at the incoming call and all it showed was
Private number
. “Hello?” she answered tentatively.

“Hey babe. Guess what? I have a cell phone now. I’ve joined the twenty-first century,” Charlie said.

“That’s great. I’ll have to get the number programmed in. Where are you?”

“I got a tow company to come and get your car out of the ditch this morning. They took it to the Ford dealership in Pueblo, who will be giving you a call about the damages. I don’t know, Lou, it looked pretty bad on the driver’s side. You may want to think about another car.”

“Charlie, thank you so much for doing that. If I have to get a new one, so be it. I did like that Bronco though. So, where are you now?”

“I thought I better find something better than jeans and a flannel shirt to wear to tonight’s shindig. I’ve been all over the place looking for a suit, but can’t settle on anything. I should be at the church by six o’clock, though.”

“You could just wear your jeans and a flannel shirt, Ducky. There will be others dressed down.”

“I don’t have a good pair of jeans though; they’re all faded or have holes in places.”

“Yes, but they do accentuate your assets nicely.”

Charlie laughed. “You’re teasing me, miss, and you know what happens when I start thinking about your assets and stuff.”

“Sorry, I’ll behave. See you later.”

“Bye. Love you.”

“Love you, too.” She snapped her phone closed and smiled. She held the phone to her lips and thought how much she liked telling Charlie she loved him. It sounded so right.

She looked into her open closet and sighed. It beckoned her and she walked up to the clothes. The red turtleneck dress she’d bought for this night looked at her and she took it out. She held it under her chin, turned to her full-length mirror and realized she didn’t like it all that much. It came down below her knees and she didn’t want to wear her black suede boots. She threw the dress onto her bed and went through the closet hanger by hanger.

In a dry cleaner’s bag, at the end she found a dress she hadn’t worn in a couple of years. It was a simple black dress with a scoop neck and lace on the back. It came just above her knee. It was form-fitting and she hoped she could still fit into it. It was sleeveless and she didn’t want to freeze. She found a dark red bolero jacket, also at the end of the closet. It would cover the lace in back and her arms, so she’d be a little warm. If it got too hot she could take it off. She hoped it still fit, too. She pulled a pair of three inch black pumps out and got to work.

She touched up her make-up and put her hair up in a twist. She decided not to wear a bra, not wanting straps showing through the lace, and put on elastic topped stockings and lace panties. She probably would freeze her butt off, but she rarely felt sexy and wanted Charlie to find her very desirable tonight. She laughed when she thought she would have to tease him about the lace panties.

She took her long wool coat out of the closet, grabbed her shoes and purse and headed down the stairs to put on her boots.

“My Lord, if you don’t look snazzy. I thought you bought a new dress for tonight? Are you sure you won’t be too cold?” Gran asked from the kitchen.

“No, it gets warm in the community center when people start to dance. I’ll probably take the jacket off. And the new dress looks too matronly. I want to turn heads tonight.” She slipped her boots and coat on.

“I can think of one gentleman who will find you very alluring tonight,” Gran said and laughed.

“That’s the whole point, Gran. I’ll get the pies in and then we should be ready to go.”

They loaded the boxes into the trunk of the car and headed out for the church.

“I miss the Bronco, sweetheart. There was more room,” Gran said.

“Yeah, I feel like I’m driving with my butt on the road, this one rides so low. Charlie got the Bronco to the dealership in Pueblo. They’re supposed to let me know if it’s fixable.”

“It may be time to get a new one. Sometimes they never get the damage fixed quite right and they don’t run well again.”

“That’s what Charlie said.” Lark smiled at her grandmother.

They got to the community center by five o’clock and started setting up. Lark changed from her boots to her heels and immediately wished she’d left her boots on. Trying to shift tables in three inch pumps was difficult.

Lark volunteered every year to help with the beer and wine table. After she got Gran situated with her pies, plates and plastic forks spread out, she walked over and greeted the owners of the brewery. They’d upped the prices by a quarter for sales this year, which was fine. All the proceeds made by the tables were donated to the Children’s Auxiliary at the community center. Lark felt good about donating her time.

As people started to arrive, Lark took every opportunity to look for Charlie. At six-thirty, when she hadn’t seen him, she thought about calling him, but a line of customers formed and there was no time. She kept feeling like she was being watched and would glance around the room, but didn’t think anyone was looking at her.

Mr. Bicken’s walked up to her side of the beer table and smiled. “I’d like a glass of the wheat brew that you served me last year.”

“Hey, Mr. B. One glass of hefeweizen coming right up,” she said and started to pour the beer.

“Is Charlie coming out tonight, Lark? I wanted to let him know that Fox is doing just fine.” He took the beer from her and passed a twenty dollar bill across. “Keep the change, sweetie.”

“Thank you, Mr. B. Yeah, he’s supposed to be here by now, but I haven’t seen him yet. I’ll have him find you as soon as he arrives. He’ll be glad to hear about Fox. That’s great.” She took another order and Mr. Bicken’s moved over to the table by Gran and his wife.

The music started at eight o’clock and as people began to dance, the lines slowed down and she was able to check on Gran. Most of the pies were devoured and she only had one whole pie and two in pieces left. Lark looked over at Mrs. Bickens cookie table and saw she was getting low on edibles, too. Mrs. Hager’s cakes and salads were cleaned out.

Lark started to feel the room warm up, so she slipped her jacket off and held it while she walked over to Gran’s table. She was a little bugged that Charlie hadn’t shown up yet. She wanted to get a dance or two in with him.

“It looks like you and Mrs. Bickens are going to run out and I think Jay’s mom is done with her cakes and salads. Which one of the pies got eaten up first?” she asked Gran.

“Oh, the pumpkin went like hotcakes. It’s too bad I only made four. I could have made a killing for the auxiliary.”

“Gran, have you seen Charlie?” She continued to look around the room and put her jacket on the back of her grandmother’s chair.

“Yeah, sweetheart. He’s right over there.” Gran pointed and then served a piece of mincemeat pie to a buyer.

When Gran finished with her customer, Lark took her arm. “I don’t see him, Gran.”

“He’s right over there, leaning against the wall and talking to Jay Hager. Didn’t you all go to school together?”

Lark didn’t answer Gran. She scanned along the wall and found Jay. He was talking to some tall man and she continued to look down the wall. Her head snapped back and she looked at the tall man. He stared at her and when Lark realized it was Charlie, air caught in her throat and she almost lost her balance.

He’d gotten his hair cut to a nice, neat length and combed in a feathery style. She could see his ears. He’d shaved off the five o’clock shadow he always wore. He wore a dark gray jacket with a black turtleneck and dark gray wool slacks. He looked so incredibly handsome; Lark thought she might cry. He smiled at her and she could feel her heart pound in her chest.

She felt Gran’s hand on her arm and looked at her in total shock.

“Sweetheart, he’s been standing over there for close to an hour and a half. He hasn’t taken his eyes off you once.” Gran arched her eyebrow.

“What?” Lark looked back and he wasn’t there anymore. “Where...he...I...where’d he go?” she stuttered and looked around the room for him again.

“Ladies and gentlemen, if I could have your attention for just a moment,” the DJ said into a hand-held microphone. He’d stopped the music and made some announcements.

Lark barely heard anything he said. She wanted to find Charlie again and thought he might be playing a game with her tonight.

“First of all, I want to welcome every one of you to the Christmas Festival for the Children’s Auxiliary. It’s hard to believe a whole year has flown by and we’re gathered again tonight for a very good cause. Thank goodness the storm hit two nights ago, instead of tonight. Aurora Metcalfe and Bernice Bickens would have been in a pickle with all those wonderful pies and cookies.”

Lark heard scattered laughter as she moved through the crowd, looking left and right for Charlie.

“The pre-sales figures at this time are over five-hundred dollars and several of the ranchers and businesses in the area have promised to match the final amount, so I don’t want to see any crumbs left tonight. I know for a fact Mr. Taylor still has ribs on the barbeque out back and there are still other delicious fixings around. So please give all you can. Now, I don’t normally do this, but a gentleman wanted to know if he could ask a lady a very important question. Since I’m a romantic at heart, I agreed.”

Lark turned to the riser where the DJ was set up for the evening and saw him hand the microphone to Charlie. She froze in her steps.

Charlie smiled at the crowd. Lark saw his eye catch hers and her heart pounded harder in her chest.

“Hi everybody, I’m not a very good speaker so I’ll get to the point,” Charlie began and then cleared his throat. “My name is Charlie Stone and I was born and raised here in Canon City. For reasons I won’t go into, but, I’m sure, some of you remember, I went away for awhile. When I was a kid, I lived next to a neighbor who was my best friend in the whole world. Lark Metcalfe and I went on picnics; we saved Canon City from alien invaders more than a few times and cleaned out her grandmother’s freezer on a regular schedule. It was usually the Fudgesicles that went first.”

There was some laughter and a few people looked at Lark. She suddenly felt warmer and crossed her arms over her chest. She became mesmerized by Charlie and couldn’t move her feet

when she saw him look back at her.

“Lark and Aurora Metcalfe saved me several times and taught me many important life lessons. The most important being to not turn your back on the place you’ve always called home and those who love you and make you feel safe.” He put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a small box. “Lark, I’ve loved you for going on forever, first as a sister and then as a soul mate. With all these friends and family as witnesses, I want to ask you to marry me.” She heard his voice crack. “Please, will you consider being my wife?”

The crowd held its breath and turned to Lark. Some of the ladies sniffed and dabbed their eyes. They watched her expectantly.

She felt tears began to trickle down her cheeks and was stunned. She watched Charlie hand the microphone back to the DJ and step off the riser. The crowd parted and let him through. He stopped about ten feet from her.

She took a breath and tried to say
yes
, but couldn’t get her voice to work. She cleared her throat and wiped her face. She moved a step closer to him and smiled. “Charlie Stone,” she said, loudly. “I would be proud to be your wife.”

The crowd clapped and Charlie took a step closer to her and opened the box. She didn’t even see the ring. All she wanted to look at was him. She felt him slide the ring onto her finger, but still couldn’t take her eyes off him. She put her arms around his neck and felt his hands on her back. They held each other and then she realized the DJ started to play a slow song.

She looked up at him still stunned and unsure of what to say.

“Babe, will you dance with me?”

She nodded as he pulled her close and they started to sway. “Why didn’t you tell me about getting your hair cut?” she asked.

Charlie looked down at her and bounced his head back and forth. “Well, I sort of wanted to surprise you, but you looked at me about twenty times and I realized you didn’t recognize me anymore. I didn’t think I looked that different.” He pulled her closer and held her hand on his chest.

She touched his cheek. “You shaved, too.” She looked up into his eyes and ran her finger along his jaw. “You don’t look that different and you do. I think it was your ears that threw me off. I haven’t seen them for a very long time. I’m going to miss your long hair to grab onto when we’re fooling around.”

“You look so beautiful tonight.” She felt his hand move to the small of her back. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear your hair up and your legs are killing me.”

She moved her hand to his shoulder. “I can sort of tell you like my appearance tonight.” She saw his eyebrows pop up. “There’s something hard pressing against my stomach.” She smiled and laughed.

“It’s that illness I told you about,” he whispered into her ear and nibbled the lobe.

“I hope medical science never finds a cure.” She finally saw the ring on her finger and stopped moving. It was an oval cut diamond in a brushed silver-lace setting. “Oh my God.” She looked up at him. “You didn’t break into your school savings, did you?”

“Nope, I sold my truck this morning and got a pretty good price for it. After I found an acceptable four-wheel drive Jeep to get me up to school in the fall, I discovered I had enough left over for a really good ring, not just a nice ring. I’ll have enough to live on for awhile, too.”

“It’s really beautiful. I have to show Gran.”

As they turned to walk off the dance floor, Lark stopped. She held her breath and wanted to run from the room. Thomas stood on the edge of the dance floor with a crowd of people and smirked at her.