Chapter Thirty-Four
N ormally, Vickie was put off by men who wore what she considered to be feminine colors. But today, Thatcher looked especially cute in his faded jeans and buttery yellow polo shirt. So cute, in fact, that she had to fight the urge to flirt with him. But since flirting had never been her strong point, she managed to keep her one liners to herself. At least thus far. “So are you ready to get started?”
Thatcher nodded. “I suppose so. How about if you start on the LOC online database and I’ll sift through some of these books?”
“Perfect.” She quickly found the correct Web page and typed in some search terms. They sat in silence for quite some time.
“Whoa.” Vickie sat upright. “Check this out.”
Thatcher rose from his chair and came to stand behind her so he could see the screen.
She pointed to the section she was reading. “In 1928, The Atlantic published a series of letters between Abraham Lincoln and Ann Rutledge. It looks like they caused quite a stir.” She felt his breath on her neck as he leaned closer to the screen.
“It looks like four months later they were proven to be forgeries.” He pointed out a section at the bottom of the screen. “What would possess someone to do that?”
“Money. Fame. I’d guess there are plenty of reasons. But the fact that those were fakes doesn’t necessarily mean there aren’t real ones out there somewhere. I’d guess that a lot of times rumors are based somewhaat least, in truth.”
He nodded. “Let’s hope that you’re right.”
The ringing of her cell phone caused her to jump. She fished the phone from her bag. “I need to take this. It’s my friend Kristy and she’s getting married next weekend.”
“Sure.” Thatcher walked back to his seat and picked his book up.
Vickie hit the button and greeted her friend. “Are you ready for a wedding?” She stepped outside onto the patio and sank into a green plastic chair. Buster came over and nuzzled her until she patted him.
“There’s a tiny snag.” Kristy’s stress came through loud and clear. “It seems that late October is still hurricane season in the Gulf.”
“Oh, no. Is there one forecast?” Vickie had been so caught up with working and researching lately that she hadn’t even thought to check the weather for her upcoming beach trip.
“I’m no hurricane expert, but I’ve certainly become familiar with the terms these past couple of days. Apparently there is something called a “cone of uncertainty” that shows the potential places the particular storm can hit. And wouldn’t you know it, Gulf Shores happens to be in the cone next week.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Ace and I have talked about it at length. We’ve decided that even though there is a chance the storm will turn and hit somewhere else or even weaken before it reaches the shore, we don’t want to risk it. We’re going to have a church wedding instead. The place my mom attends is available, so I guess we’ll do it there.
“I’m so sorry. I know you were looking forward to a destination wedding.” Vickie was also sorry for herself. She’d really been looking forward to the beach.
“Can you go ahead and change your plane ticket for Tennessee? The good news is that since there’s a storm forecast, it shouldn’t cost you anything to switch it.”
“Not a problem. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I don’t know that I have a choice. I want to marry him next Saturday even if we have to do it at City Hall. If I have to spend even another week planning the wedding, I think I will explode into a million pieces.”
“I don’t blame you.” Vickie absently stroked Buster’s soft fur. “Try not to worry about it. You’re marrying the love of your life. It doesn’t matter where it takes place.”
“You’re right.” Kristy sighed. “Okay, I’ve got lots more calls to make. Let me know once you have your flight information. I can come pick you up from the airport.”
“Sounds good. I’ll call Ainsley later and we can try and coordinate so you’ll only have to make one trip.”
Vickie snapped the phone shut. She could only imagine what it would be like to have to scrap wedding plans and start over with only a week to spare. Actually, that sounded kind of fun to her, but she’d always enjoyed planning and coordinating. Kristy, not so much.
“Everything okay?” Thatcher stepped out onto the patio. “You were just staring into space looking all lost.”
Vickie laughed. “Everything’s fine. Just a change of wedding plans.” She filled him in on the situation.
“I’m sure it will go off without a hitch.” His mouth quirked into a grin. “I always say that most weddings are too much about the wedding anyway, and not enough about the marriage. And who knows. Maybe this little glitch will end up making it even more special.” He sat down on the top step and Buster ran over to him.
“Okay, that sounded suspiciously like something a secret romantic would say. I totally wouldn’t peg you as that.”
Thatcher drew his head back in mock horror. “What? I’m as romantic as the next guy.”
She snorted. “Um. That pretty much means not at all.” She grinned. “Let’s just say that the average guy isn’t all that creative with his efforts.”
“Maybe the average guy is just scared.”
“Of?” She caught his gaze and held it.
He shrugged. “Looking stupid. Getting hurt. You probably know the drill.”
“But if you never take a risk, you might never know how wonderful it could be.”
“Are you speaking from experience or just hope?”
She bit her lip. “That’s irrelevant.” She sighed. “Anyway, I’m sure my friends will be fine.” She managed a tiny grin. “And I can be a good maid of honor just as easily in Tennessee as I could have at the beach.”
He nodded. “I’m sure you can.” He motioned toward the house. “You ready to get back to it?”
She stood and followed him back inside, kicking herself mentally. He’d given her the perfect opportunity for them to get to know each other better and she’d changed the subject. But she hated to admit to him how inexperienced she was with love. The next time such an opportunity presented itself, she would have to take it. Vickie settled at her laptop, and glanced over at Thatcher. He was already engrossed in a book. Any moment of getting to know one another had passed.