Meg's Best Man: A Montana Weekend Novella (16 page)

Chris August finished up his song of praise, and in its place came the unmistakable accordion notes of the Chicken Dance polka. She laughed out loud.

Gage smiled too. Then he shook a finger at her as he stood up. “I told you, you’re on your own. I own this dance.” With that he leaped over the railing and ran into the forming circle with his arms up in victory. Meg hesitated, but not for long. She wasn’t about to jump the railing, but she made it to the circle of dancers in record time. The circle had grown so big it was larger than the dance floor.

The dancers were better at the chicken part than the polka part, but that just made for more laughter. When she ended up opposite of Gage, she saw him dancing with real chicken skill. She liked the chicken pecking motion he did with his head. That was new. He caught her eye once and stopped to give her a double thumbs up. She was laughing so hard she could hardly keep dancing.

When it was time to polka around the circle, she passed two people and came face to face with Brie. She smiled at her, but Brie breezed past her as if she was invisible. It was pretty easy to tell she had seen her and Gage talking together. Meg tripped over her own feet. She hoped none of this drama was getting back to Leah.

She should stop talking to Gage. If it was going to cause tension, all for some fun conversations and two amazing dances with someone she might never see again, it wasn’t worth it. On cue, she ended up one person away from Leah when the final strains of the Chicken Dance sounded. Big wedding dress and all, that girl could shimmy with the best of them. She caught sight of Meg and ran over for a hug, and after a few laughing words Meg had trouble making out, the bride was back in the heart of the dancing again.

If anyone was wondering if the city-girl bride was going to enjoy her mountain wedding, they didn’t have to wonder any longer.

Meg got pulled into some silliness when Mark tried his hand at hip-hop. He was terrible. Joshua joined in and was even worse. When the semipros took over the floor, Meg moved on, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes. Standing at the edge of the dance floor waiting for her was Gage, and her decision not to talk to him flew right out of her mind. She took his elbow and they walked back over to the deck. He had two fresh cups of coffee waiting for them.

The coffee was enough to power conversation about Gage’s nephew, Meg’s upcoming “Say No to Drugs” mural, and the joys and difficulties of working with children. She was surprised to find that Gage had been a sought-after babysitter in his high school years. It made sense, though. She had seen a little of his goofy side, and every child loved to see grownups being goofy.

The battery eventually ran down on the Monster, so Meg’s power station was applied to help start it and buy some more dancing time. The clouds of exhaust from the Hummer as they tried to recharge its battery put a damper on the festivities, even though Caleb turned the Hummer around to send the smoke away from the dance floor. But it was late, and Catherine soon started organizing a convoy of SUVs back to her home. They had to wake up Jacob to get him to start the Expedition.

Gage shook a lot of hands, and Meg got hugs from all of her close relatives and a couple people she didn’t quite recognize. Leah and Joshua gave their thanks, and Brie was gracious, but she kept well out of Meg’s way. Meg hoped again that Leah didn’t notice, but she doubted that was possible. Brie was her best friend. Of course she felt the tension. When Brie climbed into Catherine’s car, Meg felt a sense of relief.

Three quarters of the guests left with Jacob and Catherine. The dancers that remained were a determined bunch, but most of the party was over. Leah and Joshua must have finally seen their chance to sneak inside his cabin. Meg felt as if even the deck of the cabin was off limits. It was their wedding night, and she didn’t want to intrude. She wondered if Gage had made other arrangements, since it seemed as if his things were still inside the cabin and he hadn’t left with Catherine and the others.

“Have you got a place to spend the night?” she asked. By the light of the white Christmas lights she saw the shocked look on his face. She realized her error. “I just wondered. Joshua and Leah, they’ll want their privacy. Oh, for heaven’s sake, I wasn’t inviting you to spend the night in my camper.”

He smiled at her discomfort. “Caleb set up a tent for us. I will be sleeping with three men hyped up on lemonade and, possibly, leftover champagne.”

“Sounds like a good night’s sleep.”

He shrugged. “When I’m tired I can sleep through just about anything. I just hope there’s no practical joker with shaving cream in the bunch.” He reached out for her hand. It sent a thrill through her, but she chided herself. She was way too old to be thrilled by a boy wanting to hold her hand. “You look tired, Meg. Would you like me to walk you back down? I’d take Joshua’s truck, but I’m not even sure it will start again.”

She didn’t want him to offer to walk her back down. She wanted him to insist they go dance beside the cabin again, just the two of them. But she was tired, and he looked tired too, and the night had to end at some point. “I have to get my bag,” she said.

He walked her to the table, where a few of the guests’ belongings remained, and she found her bag and water bottle. She slung the bag over her shoulder and glanced up to see Gage staring at the grassy spot where they had been dancing. When his eyes turned to her, they were shadowed and impossible to read in the darkness.

Her heart was pounding. The night is over, she reminded herself. She didn’t want him to ask her to dance again, because she wouldn’t say no. “Ready to head out?” she asked.

He took her elbow. They passed the meadow, and she noticed that some of the light strings were beginning to dim. She stopped and turned. She wanted to remember this—the lights and music in the middle of the forest, on the side of the mountain, in a dead-end valley at the end of rough gravel roads. Then they headed down Joshua’s long, steep driveway. Gage didn’t ask why she had stopped.

As soon as the road started getting steep, she began to slip. At first she worried about scuffing her shoes, although her feet were sore enough now that she considered throwing them away. Then after a couple close calls, she wondered if she was going to break an ankle or somersault down the road. She laughed at herself. Gage took a firmer grasp of her elbow until she slipped again on the loose gravel and he almost pulled her arm out if its socket trying to keep her upright.

After that, he put one arm around her waist and held on to her other hand in his. It seemed to her that he was holding her hands just like the promenade position from contra dancing the night before. Had it only been one day since then?

“Am I going to have to give you my boots to get you down this mountain?” he teased. Then he slipped himself, nearly taking her down with him.

“Leather soles, eh? Forget it. At least my heels are working a little like cleats.” They were deep in the darkness, now, and the starlight and the glow from a moon she couldn’t see was their only guide on the road. They giggled and held on to each other, stopping frequently. She imagined they must look like a little old couple, hobbling down the road together.

She heard a sound behind her but ignored it until Gage stopped. He held up one hand to keep her silent. Her eyes strained in the darkness. There it was again, a sound that was something between a breath and a step. He turned to face the sound. When his arm reached back to shove her behind him, Meg was afraid. She wanted to ask him what it was, what he saw. Instead she slowly reached into her bag. Water bottle, sweater… where was the flashlight? She felt something cold and hard and grabbed hold.

At that moment Gage threw his hands out. “Don’t run, Meg,” he said in a low growl. She pulled up what she thought was a flashlight, but it was too big. She had the bear spray. Just as well. She reached into her bag with the other hand as he pushed her backward to the side of the road.

“Get away!” Gage yelled in a deep voice. “Back off, get away! Don’t mess with us, we are huge!”

Huge? Meg got the hint. She held the bear-spray hand out, trying to make them look like one large animal. She held out the messenger bag with her other hand. She stared at the darkness that was Gage’s back and prayed.
Please, God, keep us safe.
“Bear spray’s in my hand,” she said.

He jerked backward and she almost tumbled to the ground when he ran into her, but as he spun around to put his arms around her, she got her first glance as the shadow flashed past. She saw the shape, the speed, and a moonlit tail. She couldn’t breathe. It was on the run down the driveway now, but the fear wasn’t fading. She had been one step away from a mountain lion.

She stood shaking. Gage watched the lion go, then grabbed her by the arm and marched her slipping and tripping down the driveway. When they reached the old logging road, she could finally put words together. “Was it a mountain lion?”

“Yes. A little one.”

Little? There was nothing little about it! She had to jog to keep up with Gage. She looked over her shoulder again and again, listening for the sound of cat paws in the dark, but all she could hear was the rustle of their own steps through the tall grass. He reached the camper first and jerked the door open, and she was relieved she hadn’t locked it. He half helped, half pushed her inside, then followed and shut the door.

For the one second that they stood there in the dark and quiet of the camper, she realized how hard he was breathing. He had been scared, too. Meg reached for the DC light switch, and comforting light flooded the little camper. Fear was still running through her veins, and she looked around nervously. “He won’t come in through the camper, will he? Gage, we have to go up and warn the others!”

“I don’t think so.” Gage pushed forward until he could sit down at the tiny table. “It was a juvenile, probably out on his own for the first time, looking for his own territory. He was pretty freaked out. And most importantly, he was heading down into the valley. I can’t imagine he wants to go back into the chaos up there.” He looked at her and his eyes smiled. “Besides, the mean lady with the bear spray might get him.”

“Hey! I couldn’t tell what it was, bear, human, or whatever.” He reached across the table and closed his hand over hers, but she didn’t feel any better. “I wasn’t prepared. I didn’t have any idea what to do.”

It was infuriating to look up and see a smile on his face, no matter how kind it was. “It’s hard being a planner, isn’t it? You spend so much time preparing. You’ve probably saved people from trouble they’ll never even know about. My sister’s a planner, so is my mom. What you need is a fixer.”

“A
fixer
?”

“A fixer. You don’t need another planner; you guys would just be butting heads all the time about how to plan. You need a fixer. So when things fall apart and it looks like you can’t pick up the pieces, instead of feeling bad about it, you can step back and let someone else fix it all. Someone who likes challenges a lot more than he likes avoiding them.”

She leaned back, pulling her hand with her. “I suppose you know one of these fixers.”

“I know a few.” Oh, those sparkling amber eyes. “But I still think the kitty wouldn’t have liked that bear spray. Besides, we did very well. We looked big and sounded intimidating. Just never let them circle behind you, that’s how they kill you.”

“What?”

“They bite you on the back of your neck and puncture your spinal cord.”

Meg looked at him in horror. “Too much information. And how do you know that? Are there mountain lions in Austin?”

He laughed. “Maybe not in the city. But they’re all over the west. Puma, panther, mountain lion—all the same bad kitty. You handle them a little differently than a bear, but I’d be interested to try the bear spray theory out. Maybe when I walk back up I’ll get a chance to test it out.”

“No!” she said, too loudly. She knew he was teasing her, but she was too scared not to take the bait. “Please don’t walk up there alone. You could take my Jeep. No, there’s no top on it, the mountain lion could jump right in and get you. I think you should stay a little while, until he’s gone.”

“I’m sure he’s long gone.”

Meg didn’t answer. The thought of Gage being out there in the dark with that mountain lion was awful. Being alone in her camper with the mountain lion out there wasn’t much better.

He must have seen the look in her eyes, because he suddenly changed his tune. “Well, I suppose I could stay a little while. It might set tongues wagging.”

“I’d rather face a little gossip than a mountain lion.” Her legs were still shaky, so she sat down across the table from him.

“Are you sure?” he asked. “I’ve been on the tail end of it even more than I deserved, and it can be grim.” Then with a look of surprise he noticed the drawings spread across the table. “Are these new?”

“I did them earlier today.”

He looked surprised. “Really? All of this? You must work fast.” He chuckled at one of the drawings. “Is this for Christmas? Mouse looks like he has Christmas trees on his antlers.” He picked up another drawing. “Oh, who’s the horse? I like him.”

Of course you do.
“That’s a wild mustang. He hasn’t got a name yet.”

“And a fox, too. The forest is getting bigger.” He glanced up at her. “No mountain lion?”

“No, and there probably never will be! I don’t like making scary animals look cute to little kids.”

“A moose is pretty scary. A mustang stallion will kill you, too. And if that fox has rabies—”

“I think I know why you don’t write children’s stories, Gage. No one really wants to read the scene where the bad kitty severs the spinal cord of some innocent forest creature.”

Gage laughed long and hard over that one. She liked making him laugh. Finally he said, “Could you draw something tiny for my nephew? Cole would love it.”

“What animal does he like best?”

“Well, he likes Mouse the Moose best. Other than that he likes bears, mountain lions, bobcats—”

“I like bobcats. They have fluffy paws and ears.”

“They eat happy little forest critters.”