Chapter 18
EIGHTEEN
When he’d imagined his duties as best man, backbreaking work in the mud hadn’t been on the list.
Being caked with mud made it worse, and Dax had to fight the urge to scratch his skin. The temperature was up in the mid-eighties, and while the air was humid, the sun was beating down hard. He and the other men had stripped off their shirts pretty quickly after the emergency irrigation crew had found and corrected the leak. The maintenance crew had brought out every available shovel, and he, Rob, and the team members had gotten down to the tough business of shoveling the mud and putting it in wheelbarrows.
In some places, they had to dig out the mud-soaked sod, which was a bitch. The sandy nature of the soil and the invasive grass roots were the kind of adversary up there with man versus beast. But Dax wasn’t complaining. Good physical labor gave him something to do to achieve his goal.
The Three Tornadoes had strong-armed the Lord of the Flies boys into pushing the wheelbarrows and dumping the mud in the appointed area out of sight; their fathers hadn’t been willing to pass up their scheduled golf game with Trey. Speaking of whom, the good times guy himself had waved and called out a jovial “Good luck” as he’d wheeled his golf set by, making Dax want to punch him in the face.
Tiffany and her tornado brethren were standing watch a good distance from the work area, drinking under patio umbrellas. This after the bride had enlisted Rob to pick up the incoming wedding guests this morning, one of whom included his mother. His dad wasn’t coming since they’d lost track of his whereabouts long ago. Dax knew he’d been conflicted about not helping earlier, but now he was back, coated in mud and working a few pits down.
His own girl was off with the resort manager, working on bringing in dry dirt along with enough sod to fill in the area they were clearing. Afterward, the maintenance crew was going to somehow clean the area to make it look sparkling green—using mops to get the mud off any remaining grass, if needed.
Was the whole thing a little crazy? Yes.
But here they were.
Somehow, they were going to get it done. Rob would get married to Tiffany. Ariel would get her grandma’s house. They would all live happily ever after.
If they didn’t go crazy first…
He was digging out another mud-soaked area when he felt a light tap on his straining back. Turning, he was happy to see Ariel standing there, holding out a bottle of cold water along with some spray sunscreen. He sank the shovel in the ground, took the water, and downed the whole thing, not bothering to wipe his mouth since he’d only streak more mud on his face. “The sunscreen isn’t going to do much good, you know. Not much bare skin left.”
She eyed his muddy chest and winced. “True, but I didn’t know if you could get burned while covered in mud. I thought you might spray it on as a contingency.”
He liked contingencies. He opened his arms. “Spray away, honey.”
Her thoroughness was a sign of her character, and he loved the way her brows knit as she ran her gaze over him, making sure she hadn’t missed anywhere. “Best we can do given the situation. Jeffrey is going for more holy water at a local store, you’ll be happy to know.”
Yeah, her brother had said he and manual labor didn’t see eye to eye. His energy was better used for other things. Like offsetting this horrible curse. “At this point, more water is not what we need. Any Buddhist sacred mandala sand maybe?”
“I’ll check.” She smiled warmly, the sweet expression grabbing his heart hard. “God, Dax, you’re a trooper.”
“So are you.” He held out his mud-caked hand, his expression teasing. “Want your official war paint?”
“I might not look like it, but I’m covered in sludge on the inside.” She rolled her eyes toward the Three Tornadoes, all decked out in designer sunglasses and more colorful magazine-cover-ready sundresses. “If you knew what I was dealing with… I told Jeffrey I needed another lucky rabbit’s foot.”
He cocked his hip her way. “If you want to reach in there, honey, you can have mine.”
“Tempting.” Her heated blue eyes told him how much. “But I need to run a few errands.”
“Take the Bronco.” He spied the thunderclouds in the distance. “My keys are on the kitchen table. I don’t want you in a downpour if that menace comes our way.”
Please, God, don’t let it come their way.
Her wince said it all. “I told Jeffrey to fling holy water at those clouds and burn enough sage to make the birds cry foul. Okay, I’m off. If you pucker up, I’ll give you a kiss, but no muddy business.”
He sent her a cheeky wink. “Good play on words. Scout’s honor, you’re safe.”
Leaning in from the waist, he puckered up. She carefully leaned in and kissed him. Once. Twice. And then once more, as if the kisses weren’t enough for her. He understood. He felt the same way.
When she eased back, she wasn’t so pale from the stress. “See you later, Stephan.”
“Count on it, Elizabeth.”
He watched her walk off before he resumed his work, telling himself that what they were doing was going to work. Positive intention helped.
When he heard his name shouted sometime later, he spun around and grinned at the sight. Carson and Perry—the other groomsmen—were striding across the lawn, both already stripping off their Navy T-shirts. Behind him were two more of their buddies from the Academy. Gunner and Frank were walls of all-American muscle, and they stripped their shirts off as well, making the Three Tornadoes whoop and holler like groupies at a strip show. Dax watched Rob sink his shovel into the earth and jog over.
When Carson reached Dax, he slapped him on the back. “Jesus. What a FUBAR!”
“Amen to that,” Perry said, adjusting his aviator sunglasses. “Rob mentioned some wedding curse when he called. Looks like we need one of my grandma’s remedies from the bayou.”
Dax thought of Jeffrey. “We already have a Minister of Good Juju. He brought a party pack of rabbit feet and holy water and a whole bunch of other stuff.”
“Looks like we’re going to need it.” Frank inclined his chin to the mess as Rob joined them. “You piss somebody off upstairs, Rob? Because I’ve been to more than twenty weddings, and I ain’t seen anything like this.”
Rob man-hugged everyone. “So we’re special.”
Dax jerked his thumb toward Rob. “What he said. You guys ready to start shoveling? Because we’re going to need every able body to get this done.”
Perry pointed to the gathering clouds. “Tell me I’m hallucinating.”
“Ignore it.” Rob’s jaw practically popped. “We can’t be that unlucky.”
Dax fought a laugh. Sure they could. And they were…
Forty minutes later, they were hit with the kind of downpour that had coined phrases like raining like cats and dogs and coming down in buckets. The Three Tornadoes’ anguished cries could be heard as they made a run for better shelter. Dax and the others worked in the rain until he heard Rob’s shrill whistle, signaling a break.
The caked mud on his skin was sticky again, so Dax decided to head back to the cottage to shower. He called out to his friends that he’d be back and then jogged through the rain, his tennis shoes squelching. God, they’d be a dead loss after this.
In the shower, he reviewed their progress. They’d almost dug up all the mud and ruined sod out of the eight plugged sprinkler system areas. What it would be like after the storm, he had no idea, but worrying about it wouldn’t help anyone. Dirt was being brought in later today along with the new sod. Ariel had insisted the resort bring in nighttime work lights so they could continue in the dark if needed.
But this rain could last a while…
When he finished his shower, he wrapped a towel around his waist and looked out the window. The rain continued to fall in hard sheets. Maybe it was the sheer impossibility of everything, but he could feel the ache in his back from shoveling along with a pull toward disheartenment.
What if they didn’t make it? What then? Ariel had to have her house, and as for Rob… His friend wanted to get married, so Dax was going to help him.
Slapping his cheeks with aftershave as much to snap himself out of it as to clean himself up, he put his bad mood aside and went to pull on dry clothes. When he heard a knock on the front door, he detoured to it and smiled when he spotted Jeffrey with a large black mesh bag filled with brown paper sacks.
“Lunch for the working males. Steak sandwiches from my favorite place in town. I thought y’all could use some good grub.”
Jeffrey had the same kind and easy way with people Ariel had, and Dax had to guess they’d gotten it from their father. “Thanks, man.” The smell of grilled meat and fried onions made his stomach grumble. “Any idea where Ariel is?”
“She’s checking out a couple of barns on some private properties to see if there’s another last-minute option. The two I visited were disasters, the best option being a house and beach area owned by a grizzled old fisherman named Montlick who told me we couldn’t have the wedding on the site where he was digging for a megalodon.”
“A megalodon?”
“There are tall tales about those babies all around Charleston.” Jeffrey showed his pearly whites with a laugh. “Shark teeth are a common beachcomber’s item, especially on Folly Beach. Suffice it to say, Tiffany won’t like any option—even if we could find a viable one last minute. The resort doesn’t have a good backup, and when they desperately suggested we might cram into the lodge, after all…”
Dax whistled. “How’d that go?”
Jeffrey made a show of knocking his head against the doorframe. “Let’s just say Tiffany might have turned into an official bridezilla on crack. Eyes popping out of her head. Platinum blond hair standing on end. She pretty much told them they needed to fix things and do what they’d promised, but she’s always been a broken record that way. Don’t get me started.”
He was tempted to ask for more details. Ariel was important to him, and her interactions with the Three Tornadoes were as impenetrable to him as a conversation in Swedish or something. From the sound of it, Jeffrey’s relationship with them wasn’t any better.
“I need to get the rest of these sandwiches delivered.” Jeffrey winced at the rain. “You know the weather forecast called for clear blue skies today.”
Dax wasn’t surprised. The entire area of Charleston was probably seeing its most beautiful day ever—but not here. “Apparently, this Deverell curse I’m starting to really believe in is stronger.”
“It’s a force of nature—like the Deverell women. I was two when Stormy and the Three Tornadoes blew into my life. My first word was help.”
Dax gaped at him. “Shit, man.”
“I’m mostly kidding.” He gave an amused smile. “But not really. The Deverell women were all about creating scenes. Inventing drama. Making senseless trouble. They are masters of guilt and manipulation and verbal abuse coupled with sweetness. I liken them to chocolate dusted with cayenne pepper in a candy box. Ariel is the exception.”
He couldn’t stop himself. “How is she the exception, Jeffrey? I want to know everything there is to know about her.”
“That makes me happy.” He twirled his golf umbrella like Fred Astaire might before leaning on it, crossing his ankles. “Dax, Ariel is what I’d call an old soul, a special soul. You can see it in her eyes, something she and Sherlock share. If you look at Stormy and the Three Tornadoes closely, you’ll notice that they’re like new brass. I love to go antiquing, so let me assure you—there’s a big difference.”
He didn’t do antiques, but he understood the premise. “I’ll bet.”
“As for why she’s that way, I’d like to think God or the universe or whatever governs things simply knew we needed her. She was the first person I told I was gay, and truthfully, I hope she’s holding my hand when I die because she’s the most special person I’ve ever met. I know I’ll die with a smile on my face, and what more could any of us ask for?”
Depressing death thoughts aside, Dax had to agree. “She does have a way of making you laugh or smile, doesn’t she?”
“None better.” Jeffrey hoisted his umbrella over his head with a twirl and started down the stairs. “I need to make a few more calls for Ariel. I’ll see you later, Dax.”
“Thanks again for the sandwich,” he called.
Shutting the door, he sat down to eat, noticing how little he liked the quiet. He was missing Ariel hard. When he polished off his sandwich, he picked up his phone.
How are the errands going? We had to break because of the rain. Glad you have the Bronco, although maybe it’s only raining here in Curse Central.
Ariel
Yeah, I heard. No rain where I am. Blue skies all the way. Found a barn we could rent, but it’s… Let’s just say Jeffrey would need a party pack of holy water and sage sticks. We’d have to clean it out, and I don’t think it’s been cleaned since the 1800s. Not sure the attic is even safe to walk in. The “charming pond” is more like a man-made water pit dotted with gators.
That had better mean NO then. Elizabeth, you know how much I esteem you, but I am not doing gators.
Ariel
When I mentioned deterrents for the gators, he asked me if I meant something other than a shotgun. Then the owner told me there are devices that emit a sound to keep them away, but they’re not like the devices that keep mice away, are they?
People could lose a leg or an arm, and I happen to like mine. And yours… Forget the barn. We’ll start digging again after the rain starts. What’s our drop-dead time for wedding setup?
Ariel
With the wedding at four on Saturday, we have until eleven at the latest. The event manager and I think we’ve calculated right. But this is new territory.
You coming back? I’ll see if Jeffrey has a steak sandwich for you. Also… I miss you.
Ariel
Steak sounds good. I miss you too. See you soon. If a gator doesn’t get me.
Not funny!! You’ve got your rabbit foot, right? See you soon. If it’s more than thirty minutes, I’m calling in the Marines.
Ariel
Huh? But you’re Navy…
Exactly! LOL
Ariel
LMAO
He pocketed his phone, knowing he was grinning like he’d just traded notes with a girl he liked in junior high. Heading out to Jeffrey’s cottage to hopefully find her a steak sandwich, he grabbed an umbrella from beside the door. He ran into Rob coming out of his cottage two doors down.
“Hey!” Rob called unenthusiastically and headed toward him, his brows clamped together, something clearly on his mind.
Dax headed over to meet him. “Hey, yourself!”
Rob refused Dax’s offer for a little shelter under the umbrella with a frustrated wave of his hand. “Any word on another venue?”
He shook his head and filled Rob in. By the end, Rob’s jaw was locked like he’d been dressed down by a two-star general.
“Shit. The last thing we need is a wreck of a barn with gators out back. We can’t cut a break, can we? Tiffany is crying all the time when she’s not raging at fate. Thank God my mom doesn’t expect me to spend tons of time with her. She said we could talk at the welcome cocktail party tonight for the early comers.”
Dax grimaced. “At the lodge, right? Seven, if I recall the schedule. Rob, we’re going to need every available hour to turn around the mud pit. You should go, but the rest of our buddies and I can keep going. All night if needed.”
He swore harshly, water dripping off his hair and face. “I know, dammit, but I hate leaving you again. I appreciate you guys chipping in?—”
“You know it.” The rain fell harder, pelting his umbrella, making him have to speak up to be heard. “We’ll get it done. Ariel got the resort to rent nighttime lighting.”
“Tiffany is worried the lights will keep the guests up.” Rob raked a hand through his wet hair. “I told her we don’t have a choice. I’ve laid sod before, and it can be a bitch. That’s assuming we don’t have a ton more mud to dig out after this downpour.”
Dax eyed the never-ending rain. “We’ll do what we have to. Why don’t you get some rest? You look bushed.”
“I’m fine.” He jerked his chin up, rain peeling down his tense face. “Even if I could, I can’t sleep in our cottage. Tiffany is either on the phone or complaining in the main area with her girls. God, I can’t wait for this wedding to be over. See you later.”
Dax watched Rob stalk off to the lodge. He’d never thought about it until now, but he didn’t want to have a wedding so stressful he’d be praying for the end. And he wouldn’t. It wasn’t his way. With that in mind, he headed to Jeffrey’s cottage.
Her brother didn’t have any more sandwiches, but he’d had requests for more, so they hopped into his silver Mercedes SL and picked up another order for the masses.
“I’ll have to remember this place if I end up moving to Charleston for my new job,” he told Jeffrey as they left the old country market store.
Which was sitting under clear blue skies. Not a threatening cloud anywhere. Like everywhere else in Charleston but Wedding Hell. The very sight made Dax want to grab some holy water himself and shake it at the sky. How could it only be raining at the resort? Don’t tell him this was a micro-climate moment.
“Ariel knows this place well,” Jeffrey commented casually as they drove back to the resort. “You can always text for recommendations too. Seeing as how I think you’re going to be around after this…”
“Planning on it.” He kicked out his feet, enjoying the seat warmer, he had to admit—the only modern feature he was tempted to install in his Bronco besides a new stereo system. “I can pick any city in the South with the new job. Even better, my new boss has a relation here who’s in real estate. Offered to set me up.”
“That’s awfully nice,” Jeffrey drawled, turning on the windshield wipers as they crossed out of seemingly blue sky into a wall of rain as they neared the resort. “Can you believe this? It’s like there’s a bad luck perimeter, and we just crossed it. The negative energy here is making my hair stand up. I tell you, Dax, if I hadn’t grown up with the Deverell women, I don’t think I would believe it. But I did and I do.”
Dax didn’t blame him. This whole wedding debacle was busting up his former notions of reality and woo-woo. He’d believed angels guided his way up in the skies, sure. As a kid, he’d loved the movie Always about the spirit of a pilot coming back to help his successor. A few of his buddies had received a protective medal of St.Joseph of Cupertino, the patron saint of pilots, when they’d graduated from the Naval Academy, and they all knew their families prayed for their safety.
But curses? He hadn’t believed in them, but now he didn’t want to be near another one with a ten-foot pole.
“I’m new to all this, but even with my background in science and engineering, I’m having a hard time thinking of another explanation.” He watched the wind carry a swarm of spring leaves through the air. “You think we’re going to have the wedding venue back in shape in time?”
Jeffrey made a humorous face. “The forces might be stacked against you, but like General MacArthur probably said in the Pacific, I’ll bet on you boys.”
He coughed out a laugh. “You into military history, Jeffrey?”
“Sweetie, I adore anything military. I can’t get enough of the uniforms, and everything is so tough and phallic. From the tip of a fighter jet to military pilots drawing giant schlongs in the sky.”
Dax coughed out a laugh. Jeffrey was talking about Penis-Gate a few years back. “To set the record straight, I have never drawn a penis-shaped pattern with my aircraft.”
“Too bad. I’ll bet it would have been a good one.”
Dax was trying hard not to laugh as Jeffrey pulled into the parking lot and whipped into the empty space beside Ariel’s totally soaked golf cart. “It was real nice of you to offer Ariel your ride, Captain Hotpants. I did, but she insisted she’d be fine in her Barbie cart. I wonder what had her taking your offer instead of her dear older brother’s?”
He wasn’t going to go there because he imagined Jeffrey had a naughty answer. “My ride is better.”
Jeffrey sucked in an outraged gasp. “Take that back. I love my Mercy.”
He would use a sweet nickname for his car. “Jeffrey, I’m sure your car is superior.”
Dax swung out of the passenger seat and reached for his umbrella while Jeffrey did the same. They’d just started back to the cottage when they heard their names shouted. Ariel was running through the rain with Sherlock at her side. He rushed over to cover her with his umbrella.
She tugged his shirt and drew him down for a kiss. “I needed that more than I need a drink, and I need one of those real bad. I couldn’t drink since I was driving.”
Jeffrey handed her one of the brown sacks. “Go take a shower and have some lunch with a drink. I’ll finish up my to-do list, sister dear, and catch you two lovebirds later.”
With a wink, he darted down the path through the rain. Dax’s hand slid into Ariel’s wet hand naturally, and they walked back to his cottage. Once inside, he dropped the umbrella on the floor and picked her up in his arms, heading to the shower. She looped her arms around his neck as Sherlock plopped down on his bed, his paws over his eyes.
He eyed the dog as they walked by. “That bad, huh?”
“Sherlock scented the gators, but I was too busy bemoaning the creak in the stairs leading up to the barn loft. I thought the whole place could come down on us. If I’d been paying attention, I wouldn’t have let the owner take us to the pond. Sherlock’s bark alerted me to the first gator, but he was a fast one. The owner and I had to run back to the barn.”
“Good Lord!” He set her down in the bathroom and turned on the shower, helping her strip off her clothes. “We cannot unleash your cursed relatives in a place like that. Especially with food. Imagine the carnage.”
Naked, eyes sparkling, she opened the shower door. “No, we can’t, and the image was so horrendous that I need a big, strong handsome man to assuage my fears. Know anyone?”
“My buddy, Carson, and a couple of other guys arrived to help with the mud pit.” He was already lifting off his shirt. “I could call them.”
She quirked her pointer finger at him. “But I want Stephan, and no one else.”
He chucked his pants off in one pass. “Good. Because as you can see, Stephan wants you.”
She eyed his erection and fanned herself. “I do see. Oh my, oh my, oh my, how I see. You are bringing him in with you, honey?”
Trying to keep from laughing, he followed her into the water, savoring the heat, the steam, but mostly the woman. “Never leave home without him.”
“Goody.” She wrapped her wet hand around his cock, making his eyes cross. “Because I need a treat.”
God, they both did, and he let her have her treat. Later he had his. When he finally could lift his head, she was sitting on his lap under the hot cascade of water, her forehead pressed to his shoulder. Her entire body was replete in his arms, and he felt the same way. Thank God the water was still hot.
“Are you asleep?” he whispered, not wanting to wake her up if she was taking a much-needed catnap.
“No, I’m just too relaxed to move.” And she didn’t budge even when he shifted her into his arms. “You know that moment after you’ve been on the go for hours and days, and you just crash. This is me.”
She made a crashing noise while he picked her up and turned off the shower. Toweling them both off in the steamy shower stall, he took his time drying her, giving her a massage as he went. Her soft moans had him wanting to give her a little more TLC.
“I’m not going to be able to stand up much longer,” she whispered heavily.
He set her onto the toilet lid and dried her hair. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of everything.”
After she was dry, he wrapped her in a resort robe and picked her up again, carrying her to his bedroom. She curled up on her side the moment he set her down, eyes still closed. He kissed her cheek. “Sleep.”
Pulling the door closed, he found Sherlock outside in the hallway as if protecting his mistress. “She’s exhausted. Watch over her while I go work.”
The rain had finally stopped. His break was over.
Refreshed, he winced as he put on his wet, mud-soaked tennis shoes. The others were already digging up the new mud from the rainstorm. A fever of resignation hung in the air. He picked up his shovel and joined in.
Nicely dressed guests came and went, passing them on their way to the welcome party. Ariel came over at one point to check on them, but he waved her away, yelling that she looked too nice in her blue dress and should go have fun at the party. She made a face but didn’t come closer. Sherlock didn’t either. Smart dog.
He and the other men continued to work as the sun went down. Ariel supervised the nighttime lights being set up. Wedding guests came from the lodge after the party had broken up and watched their progress before taking off to their cottages. Even Rob’s mom, whom Dax briefly said hello to. Then he was back at it. At times Dax felt like any progress they were making was sliding off his shovel like the mud he was shoveling.
But he kept going. The others did the same.
Rob came back from the party in his earlier work clothes and set to work beside them. He finally called it at two. “Get some shut-eye,” he called. “We’ll start at dawn.”
Dax carried his shovel back to the cottage so it wouldn’t rust on the ground. Ariel was inside on the computer, still in her blue party dress. “Jeez! I lost all track of time. I’m glad you stopped.”
When Sherlock rose up and crossed to his side, he gave him a healthy pat since his hands were filthy. “Time for you to shut down as well.” He watched her rub her eyes after closing her laptop. “How was the party?”
She was still sexy as hell despite her fatigue when she stretched. “About what you’d imagine. A lot of drama. Even though most of the guests have been to a Deverell wedding before, they ate up the mud pit incident like a helping of fried okra. I spent most of the time talking to the event manager. They’re freaking out about the status of the area and what we’re going to do if…”
She didn’t need to state the obvious. He didn’t know either. As he’d kept digging, he’d told himself brick by brick, just like she’d said. He stopped in front of her and leaned over until they were eye to eye since he was too muddy to sit next to her on the couch. “So you’re calming them down too. Good Lord! Is there anyone you aren’t soothing?”
“You and Jeffrey,” she answered without pause, crawling off the couch. “Now, this time it’s me telling you to grab a shower. Are you hungry? I made you a plate of canapés and hors d'oeuvres.”
“What’s the difference?” he asked as he headed back to his bathroom.
“Canapés are served with bread or pastry. Usually cold. The food tonight pleased Tiffany at least, and by that, I mean she didn’t complain. God, Dax. I’m not sure we’re going to make it.”
He took her shoulders. “We’ll make it. Me and the guys aren’t going to quit until that damn field would pass for a championship football game.”
Her big blue eyes were red and heavy with fatigue, but in them was a belief in him. She trusted him, and that had his heart swelling in his chest. “You’re the best part of this, you know.”
“So are you.” She smiled and opened the shower door. “Come on, let’s shower and crawl into bed. We have a big day tomorrow.”
He didn’t want to think about starting the manual labor at sunrise, so he stuck his head under the showerhead and let the water clear his head. She showered quickly, her whole body nearly hunched over with fatigue. Yeah, they were both bushed. When he left the shower, she was already wrapped in a towel. She touched his chest sweetly as she handed him a warm towel from the rack.
They brushed their teeth side by side, another homey little moment he savored. She’d brought her toiletries into his bathroom when he’d told her to use it since it was bigger than her own. He liked seeing her put moisturizer on her face afterward even, and then she was tugging his hand and drawing him to the bed.
He curled around her when she nestled into the covers, her eyes already closed. “Good night.”
Her voice was hushed with fatigue. He kissed the side of her neck and tightened his arms around her. That they could be like this without sex somehow confirmed his conviction that they were right for each other. “’Night, Elizabeth.”
The way her mouth curled into a smile had him smiling in turn.
He knew what they were facing with the wedding. Right now, the odds seemed against them. But here, with her, the entire world was at his feet.
And nothing was going to change that.