Something Old, Something New (24 page)

“At least no cars have been stolen.”

“That we know of. There's a jack and a bunch of my tools missing from the garage. I know they'll be returned eventually, but only the Ancestors know what they'll be used for in the interim.”

“Olivia okay?”

“Far as I know. Tamar's probably sleeping in the front seat with her shotgun.” He paused for a minute. “I keep thinking about the story you told me about her marriage.”

“That's something, isn't it? I always wondered why her last name was still July.”

“I figured she went back to it after the divorce. You don't have any secrets you're keeping from me, do you?”

“Not that I can think of. How about you?”

“Nope.”

“Good. The last thing we need around here is more intrigue.”

“You got that right.”

She spent the next few minutes showing him the wonderful gifts she'd been given at the tea.

“These are nice. Bracelet's gorgeous. Tamar said this belonged to the original Olivia?” He studied the cameo.

“Yes, and that she had it restored back in the eighties because she wanted me to wear it at what she hoped would be our wedding back then.”

“This time is better.”

“I think so, too.”

He handed everything back. “I need to get home. Griffin and Amari spent the evening together with his Lakota family. They should be back soon.”

“The two of them doing okay?”

“Yes, they are. Griff's a good man.”

“I'm glad it was him.”

“So am I. His mom, Judith, is coming to the wedding, also.”

She walked him to the door. He gave her a kiss. “See you tomorrow.”

“Love you.”

“Love you more.”

And after his departure, she was left alone with her love for him, her gifts, and the memories of her mother, Cassandra.

L
ater, when Davis came home from hanging with the younger Julys, Lily showed him the letter, and her waterworks started all over again.

“Wow, Mom.”

“I know.”

“You think she would've liked Trent?”

“I do. How about you, do you like him?”

“He's pretty awesome. I saw the car he and Amari are working on. You'd told me that you and he went together during high school, but you never said why you two broke up.”

“Did you ask Trent?”

“I did, but he said to ask you.”

Lily sighed. “Let's just say I treated him like crap. It wasn't my best moment.”

“You broke his heart?”

“More like I trashed it big-time.”

“Really?”

“Yes, but that's all I have to say. No sense in letting you know I have feet of clay.”

“Already do.”

She laughed.

“Trent's a good man. Glad you found someone who makes you happy.”

“Me, too. And one day you'll be calling and saying you're getting married.”

“Maybe, but it won't be Jessica.”

“Hallelujah.”

“I'm going to bed,” he said, smiling. “Love you, Mom.”

“Love you, too, baby.”

As he climbed the steps, Lily decided that she had to be the happiest woman on planet Earth.

Chapter 23

T
he Henry Adams Julys had always gathered at Tamar's for Thanksgiving dinner, but this year, because of all the extra folks in town, the meal was shared at the Dog. Julys of both clans filled the diner from front to back, and everyone appeared to be having a good time, even Tamar. She was sitting next to her brother, and they were both laughing. Whether they'd reconciled was still a mystery, because no one wanted to risk Tamar's wrath or her shotgun by asking. Diego was sitting next to Crystal in a not so discreet effort to hit on her. Lily could see Bernadine giving him the eye, but he appeared to be on his best behavior. Eli and Jack were seated nearby, and the scowl on Eli's face was one he'd been wearing since Diego and his clan came to town.

Speaking of scowls, the colonel seemed to have put his away for the dinner, but it was common knowledge that he was still having issues with Sheila's job. She, on the other hand, was practically glowing. She'd helped Mal with the arrangements for the dinner and seemed to have finally found her niche, even as the quest for something to keep Barrett occupied continued.

Reverend Paula had found her niche, too, and was seated with the Henry Adams kids. Earlier in the week, she read in the Franklin newspaper that the sanctimonious Pastor Donovan had been picked up in a sweep at one of the rest stops out on Highway 183. The police had been having a problem with men engaging in lewd behavior in the stalls. Donovan swore he'd been there to pray the men back onto the straight and narrow, but Paula was skeptical, and so was the sheriff, since Donovan had had no pants on when the police swooped down.

T
he day after Thanksgiving was the day of the big football game. The sky was sunny and bright, and the temperatures had warmed, as they sometimes did during the last days of autumn. The team representing Henry Adams got whipped so thoroughly and totally that nobody but the other team wanted to talk about it when it was over. The only rays of light for the home team were the two touchdowns Leah scored. The final score in the hour-long game: Oklahoma 56, Henry Adams 14.

T
he beautiful weather held for the wedding the next day. It was almost as if the Ancestors felt the need to throw Henry Adams a boon after they'd taken such a licking on the ball field. Lily was in her room getting dressed when Marie, acting as mother of the bride, went downstairs to answer the doorbell. She returned with Tamar and a beautiful brown-skinned woman wearing biker leathers whom Lily didn't know. Tamar introduced the woman as Judith Windsong, the mother of Griffin July.

“I'm honored to meet you,” Lily said with sincerity. She'd known that Griffin's mother would be coming to the wedding, but hadn't expected her to show up on a motorcycle. She also knew about Judith's desire to be a grandmother to Amari. Lily was of the belief that there was no such thing as a child having too much love, so she was totally supportive of Judith's wish to forge a bond with her only grandson.

The wedding ceremony was a mix of Christian and Native. There were drums and crosses, prayers and Lakota chants. Sweetgrass burned alongside Episcopalian incense.

The beaming Lily was escorted down the aisle by Davis on one side and Devon on the other. Both of them looked handsome and very serious as they left her at the kiva stage and silently stepped back.

Reverend Paula, draped in beautiful red and gold vestments, began the ceremony, and when the time came for the vows, Trent's softly spoken words, “Share my life and I will love you until time is no more,” made tears flow not only from Lily's eyes but from the eyes of women all over the kiva.

She responded with, “You are my sun, my nurturing rain, my life. I will love you always.”

Reverend Paula asked for the rings. Amari, Trent's best man, passed his ring to him. The gorgeous sapphire that he gently pushed onto her finger was so beautiful, Lily's knees wobbled. The matron of honor, Bernadine, handed Lily the groom's ring, Lily pushed the diamond-accented gold band onto Trent's finger, and the ceremony continued.

When it was done, Paula spread her arms wide and called, “Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Trenton July.”

Applause shattered the air on the heels of her words, and cheering greeted the kiss the newlyweds shared. The drummers began pounding their instruments and a happy Lily locked hands with an equally happy Trent and headed down the aisle.

The reception took place at the Dog, but before the festivities began, Lily looked out over the crowd until she spied the smiling Judge Davis and beckoned her to the front of the room. Judge Davis waited until the crowd quieted, then said, “Devon Watkins, will you join me up here, please?”

Confusion on his face, Devon did as the judge asked, then stood beside her as he and everyone else wondered what this was about. As soon as she began to speak, Amari smiled. The words were very familiar to him because they were the same ones she'd spoken the day he'd been officially adopted, and now Devon was going to be official, too. It took Devon a few moments to understand what was happening, but once he did, and Judge Amy declared that from that day forward his name would be Devon July, he went crazy, and so did the guests.

Lily leaned down and gave him a big hug. “We can't have an official family if everyone isn't official, so is this okay with you?”

Over the pounding of the drums and the low-toned chants and high-voiced calls of the singers, he nodded happily. “Yes! Thank you, Mom and Dad! Thank you.”

After that, the party began in earnest. Toasts were proposed, the first dance taken, and when Trent and Lily sat down, Amari stood on a chair and yelled over the din, “May I have your attention, please!”

Trent and Lily shared a look. Neither of them knew what this meant.

Once everyone quieted, he announced, “Preston and I, with the help of Tamar and my OG, prepared this special presentation. Please turn your attention to the big screen.”

Suddenly, Lily's seventeen-year-old face from the high school yearbook came on the screen, and she screamed with surprise. Next came Trent's. The crowd went nuts again. To his delight, Amari and his coconspirators had somehow transferred the images from Tamar's old video camera to the screen. There was Lily, blazing her way around the track, and Gary and Trent, wearing their basketball uniforms, flexing their muscles, and mugging for the camera. Lily started crying again as picture after picture slowly flashed by. Getting up, she embarrassed Amari totally by giving him a big thank-you kiss, then did the same to Preston.

The food was set out, folks lined up, and Lily was so touched and happy after all she'd seen and done that she couldn't stop crying.

At midnight, Nathan came and whisked them away to the airport. Davis would be flying home Sunday morning, and Mal would be staying with the boys at Trent's house until they returned. Lily and Trent didn't find out where they were going until Bernadine's jet was in the air.

P
ilot Katie Sky said over the speakers, “Lily, Ms. Brown left you an envelope in the galley.”

Lily retrieved the envelope. With Trent beside her, she looked inside and found a photo of Tina Craig's sprawling patio. The sticky note attached read:
Lily. You and your hunk will have the place all to yourselves for a week. My staff will take care of everything. Enjoy being in love—Tina and Bernadine.

Trent pulled her onto his lap and held her as the happy tears flowed once again. “You planning on crying all week?” he asked affectionately.

“I just might. Who would've ever thought we'd end up together again?”

“I certainly didn't, but I'm glad we did. Have I told you I love you today?”

“I'm not sure. Maybe you should tell me again.”

“How about I show you?”

S
even o'clock Monday morning, when Bernadine pulled into the Power Plant, she was surprised to find Preston out front. “Hey, Brain. What brings you by so early?”

“Need to talk to you about something.”

“What is it? That was a real nice photo show you and Amari put together, by the way.”

“Thanks. It was fun.” He handed her what appeared to be a printout of an e-mail message. “Can you read this, please, and tell me what you think I should do?”

Bernadine read the words, and when she was finished, she looked at him with surprise. “She says she's your grandmother and wants to get in touch.”

“I know. What should I do?”

“She included her phone number. Do you want me to call her?”

“Would you?”

“Okay. Come by after school, and I'll let you know what I find out.”

“Thanks, Ms. Bernadine.”

“You're welcome.”

Preston left her to walk over to the school, and Bernadine went inside. She set her purse down, opened her phone, and punched in the number from the e-mail. When the call went through, she said to the woman who answered, “Mrs. Crenshaw. My name's Bernadine Brown. I'm calling you on behalf of Preston Mays. Do you have a moment to speak with me?”

T
amar was getting ready to go to the rec. Her brother and his clan had headed home sometime before dawn, so she pulled the curtains back to take a quick peek outside and make sure Olivia was still parked where she'd been left last night. What she saw widened her eyes and shot her temper through the roof. Olivia was in the same spot, but she'd been turned over and left upside down. She looked like a beetle on its back, and all her tires were gone. A bunch of tools lay on the ground beside her, including a jack. Steaming, Tamar ran outside to get a closer look and found a sticky note on the door that read:
I know we called a truce, but I couldn't resist. Your coyote brother.

Tamar opened her mouth and screamed, “THADDEUS!!”

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