Jess put her camera down. “Can I feed them?” she asked, and Avery stepped back to let her handle the chore.
“You’re a natural,” Avery said. “I hope Boone finds you a good husband.”
“From your mouth to his ears,” Jess said.
“You ready?” Walker asked Angus.
“More than ready,” Angus said. He was due to marry Win Lisle in less than an hour, and Walker and the rest of the men had joined him in one of the large guest rooms at the manor, where the ceremony would take place. They were all wearing the Revolutionary War uniforms they customarily donned for Base Camp weddings, and Alice Reed was present to make sure any unraveled hems were stitched up and loose buttons sewn back on. Angus looked ready to burst with happiness, and Walker relaxed a little. His friend deserved to marry the woman he loved after all he’d been through. Walker could only hope one day soon things would go as well for him.
When Boone burst into the room holding up a single straw in his hand, however, he stifled a groan. He should have guessed the man wouldn’t buck tradition. At every Base Camp wedding, they drew straws to see who would marry next.
“You know what time it is!” Boone crossed the room to present the single straw to him.
There was nothing for it. All Walker could do was pluck it from Boone’s hand and hold it up for all to see. It was short, of course. He was the only one of the original ten Base Camp men left unmarried.
“Think you can pull it off?” Boone asked. Walker noticed everyone was waiting to hear his answer.
“I’ll get it done,” he assured them. He felt freer since his decision this morning and had been kicking himself about not taking action sooner. He supposed he couldn’t blame Elizabeth for not coming home before now. The confrontation they needed to have with Sue wasn’t something you looked forward to. It wasn’t the kind of thing you did over the phone, either, and he was surprised Elizabeth hadn’t taken the bull by the horns and done it years ago.
Maybe she’d hoped he’d do it for her.
Not a chance. Walker suppressed a smile. Elizabeth was the one who’d gotten them into this mess; it was only fair she get them out of it.
“It’s time,” Boone said to Angus. “You ready?”
“Hell, yeah,” Angus said. “Let’s go.”
A half hour later, in the manor’s ballroom, Walker knew he should be focused on Angus and Win, but he couldn’t stop watching Avery, who was hanging on every word of the ceremony.
One more day, he promised himself. One more day, and he could finally propose. His heart beat hard at the thought, but he was determined that in thirty-six hours, Avery would wear his ring on her finger and they’d be preparing their own wedding.
Walker took a deep breath when Angus kissed Win and the preacher declared them man and wife. One step closer to his own happy ending.
He sprang into action after the new husband and wife walked back up the aisle, helping the other men to clear the folding chairs to the sides of the ballroom and set up tables among them, leaving a large area in the center of the room for dancing. Food was set out at one end on long buffet tables. Nearby, there were drinks to be had. At the other end, a local band played the first notes of a waltz as camera crews captured the action. Everything was going according to plan, Walker told himself with satisfaction. And tomorrow his life would change forever—just as soon as Elizabeth got here.
“It’s all down to you now.” Boone clapped Walker on the shoulder and handed him a bottle of beer. “You got things straightened out with your grandmother?”
“Working on it.” He wasn’t surprised when Boone sighed.
“Strange your intended wife hasn’t turned up in all this time.”
“She’s been busy.”
“Guess you’re lucky you never drew the short straw until now.”
Walker nearly smiled—but didn’t. Avoiding the short straw was easier than one might think. A time or two, he’d gotten a jump on the job before Boone got around to it, which made it easy to perform the sleight of hand that left him with one of the long ones. When Boone took charge of the operation, Walker had noticed he gripped the straws together in his fist but flicked the bottom of the longer ones with his pinkie finger over and over. If he watched carefully, he could see each of the long ones vibrate in turn as Boone flicked them. The short one remained still.
No one else had noticed, which made it easy for him to draw a long one. Luck had played its part, of course, but not as much as everyone else thought.
“Guess it was meant to be” was all he said to Boone.
“You’re not planning to become a bigamist, right?” Boone asked as both watched Avery tilt back her head and laugh at something Riley said.
“Nope.”
“Then I’m assuming you’re going to make Avery a happy woman.”
“That’s the plan,” Walker conceded.
“The sooner it’s June, the happier I’ll be,” Boone said. “I promised Riley we’d secure Westfield forever, and it would kill me to break that promise.”
“I’ll get it done,” Walker assured him, knowing Boone wanted to hear him say it. One more day, he told himself again silently, letting the music, the conversations and the laughter settle over him as he took another drink of his beer. “Talk to you later,” he told Boone and pushed through the crowd to get to the person he really wanted to be with.
“Good wedding,” he said when he met her at the drinks table, wanting to keep things light tonight.
“It was a beautiful wedding,” Avery agreed.
“They seem happy.” He nodded at Win and Angus dancing together, gazing at each other like there was no one else in the world.
“They do.”
Walker searched for his grandmother in the crowd.
