The Blessed Blend (26 page)

Euan handed the pouch to Brother Wilcox, who emptied the contents into his hand. Reciting the meaning of the rings, Brother Wilcox likened the union of a couple in holy matrimony to the coming union of Christ with His Bride, the Church. He asked the Lord’s blessings upon the rings and the couple who would be wearing them.

The preacher handed Callie’s ring to Euan and instructed him to repeat after him. Intoning “with this ring I thee wed,” Euan slipped the ring on her finger and then kissed her hand. His dark eyes sparkled warmly as he looked at his wife.

Callie blushed, her breath taken away by the tender gesture. Slipping Euan’s ring on his finger, she intoned her response and smiled up at him. The look in his eyes and the grin on his face made her heart skip and dance as if it was about to leap right on out of her chest and her spirit sang out in sheer joy.

Brother Wilcox beamed as he directed Euan to kiss his bride. Euan scooped Callie up in his arms and kissed her soundly while the guests erupted in cheers, hollers, and whistles. As soon as he set her down, the preacher turned the couple around and introduced them as husband and wife as the celebration continued. Euan and Callie picked up their children and walked down the aisle.
 

They greeted the guests in the Lodge while the tent was being prepared for the reception. People were taking pictures of the couple and each other, enjoying the day and occasion with gusto. Nancy Jo was directing those helping with the food and Caleb was helping Papa draw off the finished
kanutsi
from the kettle. It would be mixed with honey and carried into the tent in two huge wooden bowls carved from oak burls to be served in plain cups.

Free from having to sit still during the ceremony, a large number of children were running around. Their shouts and laughter filled the air and echoed off the mountains. Jolena and some of the other grandmothers had to get onto certain ones about running in and out of the Lodge, and a few of them got a stern talking to and threats of a good spanking by their parents.

Layla called out that all three public bathrooms were out of toilet paper already and Suzanne ran to help her get more out of the supply closet. Darlene was orchestrating getting the food from the kitchen to the tent and getting more coffee made. Jim was getting the musicians organized to play for the reception. Eli and Joe McEwen brought more firewood for the wood stoves while Jim made sure that the alcoholic beverages to be served were being carefully kept away from anyone under legal drinking age. Of course, the Sheriff’s presence probably deterred some who might have been tempted to sneak a snort.

Caleb, Jim, and Eli carefully carted the wedding cake out to the tent. Marla Hawksworth had made it. Originally from up in Virginia, where her ex-husband’s family had owned a fancy bake shop for five generations, she had brought her talents to Tennessee. She loved the mountains and didn’t mind getting paid in quilts or smoked hams. Euan had made sure she was handsomely compensated for her services, of course, along with a generous tip.

One thing was for certain, no one had ever seen anything like it except in the pages of a magazine. There were four tiers of marbled cake, covered with a smooth shell of ivory-colored icing that was decorated with flowers, ribbons, and pearls crafted from sugar. It was a work of art, something that looked too beautiful to eat. Lacie told Caleb that when they got married, she wanted one just like it. Two very large pans of iced marbled cake to be served to the majority of the guests were set up to the side.

Euan ducked into Joe and Darlene’s quarters to check in with his solicitor. Kilkirk told him that he couldn’t find anything that would indicate that the Wallaces had gotten any sort of custody order. Euan knew that was no guarantee that they hadn’t managed to get one covertly. His own knowledge of his parents’ characters predisposed him to expect that they
would
engage in something so loathsomely underhanded.

When Callie and Euan reached the tent for the reception, everyone cheered and clapped. Beginning to feel the effects of being in close proximity to so many people, Callie leaned upon Euan and drew in a deep breath. When his arm tightened about her, she felt the strength of his love for her and drew on it.
Just a little longer
, she thought.

Papa and Eli were ladling out the
kanutsi
for the wedding toast and had just about finished when folks called out for the couple to cut the cake so the feasting could begin. “You’uns hurry it on up!” Bobby Stockett hollered. “We’uns is
hon
-gry!”

When someone else suggested that he get a move on and get the honeymoon started, Euan grinned and replied, “I’m already oon it, lad! An’ ye ken there’s nae rushin’ Callie t’ do anythin’!”

There was a round of laughter as Callie elbowed her husband for his cheekiness and a couple of the ladies offered to get her a rolling pin to do the job properly.

Johnny Teal’s two-way beeped. When the young man answered it, Mike Dalton’s voice came through. “We’ve got trouble,” he advised. “The Wallaces are back with some dude from the British Embassy and a couple of federal marshals. Get Uncle Jim down here now!”

Johnny sought out Jim, the look on his face telling the man what was going on.

Jim swore under his breath.

He caught Granny Stockett’s eye and she nodded before looking over at Granny Robertson and Granny Boone. Granny Collins and Granny Vardy turned at the same time from opposite sides of the tent. The five women moved with a purpose and stood near Callie and the twins. They looked at Jim and he nodded before heading for the truck.

Callie’s nerves went on alert and she looked up at Euan. The grim look on his face told her that their fears were about to become very real.
“No!”
she whispered. “Good Lord, not today, please!”

Red Wolf and Mountain Rose clung to their parents, suddenly fretful. Their eyes were wide with fear and Red Wolf said, “They’re coming, Daddy. Don’t let them take us away!”

Euan reached down and picked up his son. “I willna, lad,” he replied. “We’re stayin’ here.
All
o’ us!”

Callie had taken Mountain Rose in her arms and was standing close enough to Euan to feel the heat of his body through her dress. Her heart was beating wildly and her chest was tight. She trembled with fear and her stomach lurched as her gut clenched.

Granny Robertson turned to her and said, “Ye have the
gift
, Callie. Ye mustn’t be afraid to use it!”

“Ye used it on me, lass,” Euan reminded her. “If ye could focus yer anger oon me like tha’, ye ought tae be able to do so wi’ m’ parents. They
do
intend tae take the bairns from ye!”

A tear ran down her cheek. She shook her head and said softly, “But I can’t control it! If I try to call it up, it doesn’t come at all or if it does, it doesn’t work right!”

Granny Vardy smiled and patted Callie’s arm. “Quit tryin’ so hard, Callie!” she said. “Just let it be what it is and it’ll come natural.”

Euan remembered Red Wolf’s dream. “Can ye make the words disappear off o’ paper?” he asked the Grannies.

“We shall certainly see, won’t we?” replied Granny Stockett. “Or maybe we’ll make the paper itself disappear.”

As the word spread among the assembled guests as to what was happening, folks grew quiet. Several voiced indignation that Euan’s parents would mar their son’s wedding celebration like this and others promised to kick their backsides clear into next week for the transgression. Judge Connelly walked over and asked Euan point blank what was going on.
 

“I fear m’ parents hae managed tae get some sort o’ custody order tae take m’ bairns,” he replied.

“Nobody came to me for such a thing,” the judge responded. “And since I am the judicial authority for this county I do have some say in such a matter.”

“What if they went to a federal judge?” Darlene asked. “Wouldn’t their authority supersede yours?”

“Not necessarily,” Judge Connelly replied. “It depends upon the veracity of information for the action. I’ve known y’all ever since taking the bench here. Can’t think of any reason anyone could have to take these kids away from their mother.”

Euan noted, “We hae nae e’en gotten the paternity testing done, let alone gotten m’ name on the birth certificates. The bairns arre nae considered legally mine here or back home.”

Judge Connelly’s eyebrows rose. “Well then, let’s see what kind of paperwork they’ve come up with. Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had to deal with suspicious-looking documentation if that’s what they’re up to.”

“Can you get your lawyer on the phone?” Callie asked Euan. “Won’t he have to talk to the law and whoever else your parents brought with them?”

“Aye, Callie,” Euan answered. “He’s waitin’ for m’ call.”

It seemed like they waited for an eternity for the Wallaces to arrive but they finally strode through the opening to the tent with three other men. Niall Wallace motioned with his hand and one of the men introduced himself as Richard Kent, an attaché of the British Embassy to the United States. He presented Euan with a document envelope.

Euan opened it up and looked at the papers. There on official British Embassy letterhead was an order from the Ambassador that his children be surrendered to the custody of their paternal grandparents, Niall and Leona Wallace. Included were copies of the children’s’ birth certificates and special orders granting them temporary British citizenship and travel visas.

As Euan and Callie looked at the birth certificates they saw that the children’s surname had been changed to Wallace and that Euan’s name had been added under “father”. He looked at his father and asked, “Where did ye get this done, Da? We’ve nae e’en taken the paternity tests nor applied to hae the birth certificates corrected yet.”

Niall’s jaw clenched but he held his gaze steady. “Those
are
the children’s legal birth certificates,” he insisted. “All that remains to be done is to change those ridiculous names their mother gave them.”

Euan looked at the embassy attaché. “D’ ye ken tha’ m’ parents here hae lied tae ye? These arre most certainly
not
m’ bairns’ birth certificates, but they’re damned gude forgeries.”

He handed the documents to Judge Connelly, who examined them thoroughly. “I haven’t issued any order recognizing paternity yet, and the State of Tennessee requires a court order to change a birth certificate. As the only judge in this county, I would be the one to execute the order.” The judge looked at the US Marshals. “I invoke my judicial right to question the validity of these birth certificates and the order predicated upon them,” he said. “And until such time as this has been done, I order these children to remain here in the custody of their mother.”

One of the marshals, who introduced himself as Marshal Stephen Vilzakovsky, stated, “We have been asked by the State Department, at the behest of the British Embassy, to assist in placing these children into the custody of their paternal grandparents. However, if there’s a question on the documentation, I have to notify my supervisor and wait for further instructions. Are you saying that there’s a possibility that the documentation has been forged?”

Callie bristled. “Possibility?” she asked in a tight voice. “I’d say it’s a damned fact! My children’s proper names are Mountain Rose Hawken and Red Wolf Hawken. Their father’s name is not on their birth certificates yet because we haven’t even started the paperwork to do it.”

“And how do you know that?” Marshal Vilzakovsky asked.

“Because I’d have to be the one to go to the judge and make the request just to get the ball rolling,” she replied in irritation. “Once the request is filed with the court, the judge would issue an order for a paternity test to be done and the results would be issued to the court.”

“And upon receipt of the DNA test, I would have to issue an order for the birth certificates to be corrected,” Judge Connelly added. “
None
of that has been done. Therefore, these cannot be the legal birth certificates on file with the State Bureau of Vital Statistics.”

He paused and motioned at Callie and Euan. “I can verify that these two came to me to get married a couple of weeks ago and asked me at the time what they needed to do to correct the birth certificates, but they haven’t as yet filed any requests with the court to do so.”

Marshal Vilzakovsky excused himself to call his supervisor. Mr. Kent looked extremely uncomfortable and also excused himself to call his superior. Judge Connelly held onto the documents and gave the Wallaces a grim look. “If y’all are trying to pull a fast one here, your bluff has been called,” he warned. “I was appointed to uphold the law and I take my job very seriously. If these birth certificates are forged, that’s several state felony offenses y’all could be charged with, not to mention some federal felony charges.”

Leona Wallace looked ill and her husband looked little better. Niall took out his cell phone and walked off to call his solicitor. Euan pulled out his cell phone and called James Kilkirk to advise the solicitor as to what had just occurred. The murmur of the wedding guests began to grow louder as the drama continued.

In an effort to be gracious, Callie offered Mrs. Wallace a chair. Leona sat down and rubbed her temples, but said nothing. Euan and Callie looked at each other as they felt the presence of the five Grannies still standing with them.

The Robertson clan’s female elders had fixed their gazes upon Leona Wallace, causing her to tremble. Had she not been seated it was entirely possible that she might have tottered and collapsed. The other US Marshal, Jack Driscoll, began to look extremely uncomfortable and started fidgeting with his collar. His eyes scanned the elderly women with wary concern.

On hold while Kilkirk checked with the diplomatic ministry, Euan turned to Granny Robertson and asked, “Wha’ d’ ye ken o’ this?”

Granny Robertson smiled with the look of a cat that had cornered a mouse. “I’m thinkin’ that perhaps this might get put off until at least tomorrow,” she replied. “Isn’t that right, Judge?”

Judge Connelly nodded. “I’d say so. Since we were celebrating a wedding, I don’t think it’d be inconvenient to ask that these folks meet in my courtroom tomorrow, say about nine o’clock. I have a couple of motions to hear at ten.”

Jim and Darlene nodded. Darlene was furious with the Wallaces and would have liked nothing better than to take a stick to both of them. Darlene wasn’t
gifted
. As it was, the fire in her glare and the angry aura she was emitting were enough to make Leona Wallace feel a very deep and primal fear.