The evening wore on, with more revelers arriving. The children darted in and out of the trees, playing tag, while the teenagers drank. The singing got louder and the laughter more raucous. Some drifted to the dark edges of the fire and became kissing silhouettes. Hank and Stephie were going at it as if they meant it. A shotgun wedding in the making, Muriel thought, and then realized she was jealous. She wanted to be off in the shadows necking with Stephen.
Where was Stephen? He and Pat were nowhere to be seen. Well, maybe he wasn’t the man for her after all. Maybe she’d imagined the similarity between him and that tall, blond vision she’d seen so often in her dreams.
A shriek cut through the noise, like an ugly obbligato, and a moment later Josie came running to the campfire. “Wendy fell in the river!”
“Oh, my God!” cried Olivia, jumping up immediately.
The current could be swift, and a kid trapped in the river at night was enough to mobilize everyone. They ran to the water’s edge, Olivia calling her little sister’s name all the way.
They’d barely spotted her, a small body bobbing down the angry river, when out of nowhere a tall male form splashed into the water. Stephen Sterling.
Muriel held her breath and watched as he plunged toward the little girl, fighting against the rushing water. It was a struggle worthy of Greek myth. The river didn’t yield its catch easily and on the first try he missed. The second time he caught her but it looked as if he needed every ounce of strength to get them both back to shore.
“Somebody help him!” Olivia yelled.
Hank found a long branch and extended it to Stephen, who caught hold and used it to pull himself and the child back to the safety of the shallows.
Wendy was in tears now and so was Olivia.
Josie was crying, too, and Peter looked as if he wanted to.
Nils grabbed his brother’s arm and said, “What the hell were you guys doing?”
“We were just playing tag,” Peter protested. “She ran into the water to get away and...” He burst into tears.
“She went too far,” Muriel finished for him as she draped her sweater around the dripping girl. “Oh, Wendy, what were you thinking? You know better!”
“I slipped,” the child sobbed.
“Let’s take her back to the fire,” Pat said, taking charge. “Come on, honey. We’ll get you warmed up in no time.”
Pat and Olivia were busy calming Wendy down. Muriel picked up a blanket and went over to Stephen, who stood talking with Nils. “I thought maybe you could use this.”
“Thanks,” he said, and swung it around his shoulders.
Nils was smart enough to know when a woman wanted a man to herself, and he moved away, giving Muriel the first chance she’d had all night to talk to the newcomer alone.
“What you did was so heroic.”
He shook his head and stared into the flames. “Not really.”
“But it was,” she argued. “No one else went in.”
“Someone would have. I just happened to be first.”
“Isn’t that what heroes do, go into danger first?”
“I’ve had enough of that, believe me.”
“Some men are meant to be heroes, whether they want to or not.”
His smile was mocking. “Are you looking for a hero, Muriel?”
Maybe she was. “Is there anything wrong with that?”
Now Arnie had joined them. “Olivia’s going home. I’m thinking maybe we should, too.”
As if he was her boyfriend. She could have kicked him. “I’m not ready to go yet.”
“Okay. Do you want to say goodbye to Olivia?”
Of course she wanted to say goodbye to Olivia! Except now, just as she was staking her claim on Stephen, here came Pat, smiling at him as if they were already a couple.
Still, a girl didn’t ignore her good friend for a man. Muriel walked over to Olivia, who was gathering her things and seemed on the verge of tears. “Are you okay?”
“My parents are going to kill me and I don’t blame them. This is all my fault.”
“You didn’t push her in the river.”
“I didn’t watch her. I was too busy flirting with Nils.”
There was no denying that. But from an early age children in Icicle Falls were taught to respect the river. “It was an accident, pure and simple,” Muriel said. “The important thing is, she’s all right.”
“No thanks to me,” Olivia said miserably. “Tag,” she added in disgust.
“We’ve all played it,” Muriel reminded her.
“Not by the river.”
Muriel gave her a hug and assured her all would be well. Then, having done what she could to encourage her friend, she looked for Stephen. He was no longer standing by the fire. Neither was Pat. She caught sight of them, walking off toward the river walk, probably toward the Bavarian Inn, where he was staying. Maybe she was ready to go home after all.
The incident had sucked the energy out of the party, and people began to leave. Having made her point earlier, Muriel let Arnie walk her home.
She turned to go in the door when Arnie took her arm. “Muriel.”
She knew by his tone of voice what was coming.
Sure enough. “You know how I feel about you.”
She nodded. “I’m sorry, Arnie. I like you, but just...not that way.”
He frowned. “It’s that new guy, isn’t it? I saw you staring at him.”
“A girl can’t help who she’s attracted to.” Now Arnie looked heartbroken and she felt awful.
But he wasn’t the man of her dreams.
He heaved a sigh. “If you ever change your mind, you know I’ll always be there for you.”
“You’re a good friend, Arnie,” she whispered.
“Thanks,” he said, but his tone of voice showed what he thought of that.
The path to true love was as twisted and tangled as Lost Bride Trail, Muriel told herself sadly as she slipped inside the house.
Three
WHEN THE CHURCH youth group met on Sunday night, Muriel pulled Pat aside. “Where’d you go with Stephen after the party?”
“We went for a walk. Not that it’s any of your business.”
“I was talking to him.”
Pat shrugged. “And
