Page 76 of Love and Other Trials
“To all that.” She toasted Jeffrey first and then Dax.
They all drank for a moment before Jeffrey set his cup down. “Ariel, let’s go see mud pit central. I’m going to light some sage and bring the holy water. You two grab your drinks.”
They were out the door moments later, making quite the image, no doubt—Jeffrey carrying a sage stick, the acrid smoke trailing behind them. She and Dax holding hands, Sherlock trotting beside them.
When they reached the disaster site, Jeffrey’s sharp intake could probably have been heard in the state capital two hours away. “Heavens, I don’t think sage and holy water are going to work.”
She was already depressed, seeing the endless yards of oozing brown. “So what’s next?”
He didn’t hesitate. “A virgin sacrifice?”
Dax barked out a laugh before biting it off.
Ariel snorted as she swept her hand around the resort. “Good luck with this crowd.”
“Right.” Jeffrey opened the vial of holy water and started sprinkling. “I should have bought the family-size option.”
When he wandered off, stepping carefully because of his leather loafers, Dax’s hand came around her waist. “See. We have muscle, and we have a spiritual guide.”
Jeffrey upended the last of the holy water and made the sign of the cross with a bow of his head.
Another reluctant laugh escaped her lips. “Maybe we need a Tibetan bowl next. How do you feel about chanting? I heard it in Bali. It was supposed to do good things…”
They both started laughing so hard they were wiping tears.
“God, we’re a pair, Stephan.”
He put his arm around her and kissed the top of her head. “Elizabeth, from where I’m standing, it all seems pretty perfect.”
She leaned her head into his side.
Funny, that’s how she felt too, despite it all.
EIGHTEEN
When he’d imaginedhis 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 theLord of the Fliesboys 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.”
