A Wedding on Ladybug Farm (28 page)
Read A Wedding on Ladybug Farm Online
Authors: Donna Ball
“It’s only eight o’clock,” Lori objected, springing down from the rail to take the trash bag from her. “Here, I’ll do that.”
Bridget said at the same moment, “Ida Mae, leave that. We’ll get it in the morning.”
Ida Mae glared at her. “You think I want ’coons all over my porch?” And she turned a studious glare on Lori, refusing to relinquish the bag. “And you in your weddin’ dress. If you can call that getup a weddin’ dress. You need to go fold that dress up in blue tissue before your ruin it.”
Lindsay, Cici, and Bridget had to smother quick grins. And Lori confessed, “It’s probably already ruined. I sweated all over it, dancing.”
Ida Mae gave her a disgusted look and dropped a plastic plate into the bag. “And another thing,” she grumbled, “whoever heard of gettin’ married on ten minutes’ notice without even a preacher
or
a judge? It probably ain’t even legal.”
“Don’t you worry about that, Miss Ida Mae,” Kevin said. “I made sure I checked out the ordination certificate. It’s perfectly legal.” He winked at Lori. “This marriage has to last the rest of our lives, and I’m not taking any chances.”
“Besides, I adore Farley,” Lori said. “And I thought he did a great job.”
Cici chuckled. “Actually, he did. It was very … dramatic.”
Lori spread out her hand to admire her twig ring. “And I love my ring. I’m going to keep it forever.”
Ida Mae gave a disapproving, “Hmmph!” and added, “I’d like to see you wash dishes or change a baby’s diaper in that thing, young missy.”
Lori just grinned and went to rejoin Kevin on the rail.
Dominic started to push up from his chair. “Please, Miss Ida Mae, come sit down. There’s plenty of time to do that once the party is over.”
She glared at him with such intensity that he immediately sank back down again. “And you! Gallavantin’ around when you ought to be in your sick bed. You’ll have us all waitin’ on you hand and foot tomorrow, you mark my words.”
Dominic murmured, “Yes, ma’am.” And there was a twinkle in his eyes as he glanced at his wife.
“So, Lori,” inquired Lindsay innocently, “what did you decide to do about your name?”
Ida Mae listened with interest, but Lori just looked confused. “What about it?”
Cici clarified, “Are you going to change it?”
Lori glanced at Kevin, puzzled, and then back to her mother. “To what?”
“How did you sign the marriage certificate?” Bridget explained. “Gregory or Tyndale?”
“Oh.” She smiled. “Both, naturally. Lori Gregory-Tyndale. Our children will be Gregory-Tyndales.”
“Has a nice ring to it,” Kevin agreed. “Stately.”
Cici and Bridget sipped their wine and, wisely, said nothing. Ida Mae grumbled, “Craziest thing I ever did hear.” But then she turned the force of her stare on Lindsay and added, “Better than not changin’ it a’tall, I reckon.” She snatched a plastic cup off the table at Lindsay’s elbow and dropped it into the bag.
Noah came up the steps with a plate of cake and a fork in his hand. “Great cake,” he said. “I sure have missed your cooking.” He glanced at Kevin. “Hey, man, are you gonna get your stuff out of my room?”
Kevin cupped Lori’s waist with his hand, drawing her close. “I already did.”
Lindsay said suddenly, “Dominic, we should get your children up here and have someone take a big family portrait. Who knows when we’ll all be together again?”
“Well, I certainly hope it will be soon,” Dominic said. He took Lindsay’s hand again and added, “Isn’t it odd, ladies, how you never know where a dream might take you?”
“We were just saying that,” Bridget said.
“When we decided to buy this house four years ago, we thought it was going to be our last big adventure,” Lindsay said. “Now it looks as though that was just the first step in a whole new life of adventures.”
“Who knew?” said Cici. “Three months ago this house felt so empty. And now …” She smiled at Lori and Kevin, who had eyes for no one but each other. “Now, doesn’t it seem nice and full?”
Noah glanced around for somewhere to sit and, finding none, sat on the step to finish his cake.
“Noah,” Lindsay protested, “your uniform!”
Ida Mae gave another grunt as she returned to the door with the trash bag. “Y’all are gonna to have to get y
’selves more chairs,” she said.
Cici looked at Bridget. Bridget looked at Lindsay. They smiled.
“Yes,” said Bridget happily, “I suppose we will.”
And that’s exactly what they did.
Epilogue
I
n due time the breath of winter crept across the valley, and the vines slept beneath a blanket of snow while the big house sheltered the dreams of those who slept inside. The windows danced with holiday lights and the halls were filled with laughter and music, with noisy mealtimes and busy days.
Spring brought pale green buds and clusters of tiny grapes that would plump, with time and sun, into a rich ripe harvest.
Tractors chugged and hammers swung, and voices called from house to yard and back again. A small house in the glen got a new garden, and a new couple to tend it. Vines were pruned and tied, fruit trees sprayed, tomato cuttings were set out. Baskets of strawberries filled the kitchen with their sweet intoxicating scent, and jars of bright ruby jams and sauces began to line the cupboard shelves once more. When the evening sky pinkened and the shadows lengthened across the lawn, birds fluttered to the feeders that hung from the eaves of the porch. And, like the birds, the family members began to gather, sharing a glass of wine and the best moments of their day, settling in to the comforts of home.
Three days a week Kevin left Ladybug Farm to teach in Staunton, and every time he made the turn into the drive that led home, he smiled. Lori read about a celebrity chef who was opening a new restaurant in Washington, and she camped out on his doorstep until he agreed to meet with her. She left with a contract in hand, and the Ladybug Farm Red was featured on the grand opening menu.
Dogs barked and raced across the hillside. Roosters crowed. The nanny goat bleated. Cats sunned themselves on the porch.
Birds trilled and danced in the trees and returned, every evening at sunset, to the feeders.
Kevin found a herding whistle at the feed store in town and surprised everyone by actually teaching the border collie to respond to it. For the first time
since the ladies moved in, they could not only control the sheep, but the sheep dog as well. Noah was promoted twice, completed his training, and was assigned to an aircraft carrier bound for Spain. They kept his room ready for him.
The Ladybug Farm ice wine took a silver medal at the East Coast Wine Maker’s Association annual competition. Lori accepted the award on behalf of the winery, but unfortunately could not join in the toast that was drunk in its honor. She
and Kevin were celebrating a secret of their own, and the face of Ladybug Farm was about to change again.
Summer turned to autumn, and another harvest season got underway. T
rucks backed up to the winery doors and left loaded with cases of Ladybug Farm wine. Cars with out-of-state license plates left a gentle trail of dust along the drive as they made their way to The Tasting Table restaurant, and departed laden with happy passengers, gifts and souvenirs— and, of course, with bottles of wine. The porch of the main house was lined with rocking chairs, and in the evenings every one of those chairs was filled. Occasionally a wife would reach for her husband’s hand, or a mother would smile for no reason whatsoever, or a friend would lift a glass to silently toast the passing of another day. The wine, it should be said, was always excellent.
Sometimes the conversation was lively, sometimes it was reflective. Sometimes there were three or four conversations taking place at once. An occasional burst of laughter might demand the attention of everyone else; a stolen kiss might prompt a moment of simple, contented silence. Sometimes, if one listened closely, the voices of the past could almost be heard to mingle with the voices of the present, and
— for those who were very discerning— with the happy murmurs from the future. The particularly fanciful might even imagine that the ghosts of the past were looking down on Ladybug Farm with approval, while the laughter of generations yet unborn echoed back through the corridors of time to greet them. And perhaps, in fact, that was precisely what was happening.
Because
, as everyone liked to say on Ladybug Farm, you never know where a dream might take you.
~*~
The Ladybug Farm series by Donna Ball
For every woman who ever had a dream… or a friend
Love Letters from Ladybug Farm
And don’t miss the Ladybug Farm spin off :
The Raine Stockton Dog Mystery Series
Books in Order
A child has been kidnapped and abandoned in the mountain wilderness. Her only hope is Raine Stockton and her young, untried tracking dog Cisco...
Raine and Cisco are brought in by the FBI to track a terrorist …a terrorist who just happens to be Raine’s old boyfriend.
Raine rescues a traumatized service dog, and soon begins to suspect he is the only witness to a murder.
Cisco digs up human remains in Raine’s back yard, and mayhem ensues. Could this be evidence of a serial killer, a long-unsolved mass murder, or something even more sinister… and closer to home?
It’s Christmastime in Hansonville, N.C., and Raine and Cisco are on the trail of a missing teenager.
But when a newborn is abandoned in the manger of the town's living nativity and Raine walks in on what appears to be the scene of a murder, the holidays take a very dark turn for everyone concerned.
Raine and Cisco take a job leading a wilderness hike for troubled teenagers, and soon find themselves trapped on a mountainside in a blizzard… with a killer.
ALL THAT GLITTERS
: A Holiday Short Story e book
Raine looks back on how she and Cisco met and solved their first crime in this Christmas Cozy short story. Sold separately
as an e-book or bundled with the print edition of HIGH IN TRIAL.
A carefree weekend turns deadly when Raine and Cisco travel to the South Carolina low country for an agility competition
A luxury Caribbean vacation sounds like just the ticket for over-worked, over-stressed Raine Stockton and her happy go lucky canine companion Cisco. But even in paradise trouble finds them, and when someone she loves is threatened Raine must use every resource at her command to track down a killer before it’s too late.
Spine-chilling suspense by Donna Ball
A missing child, a desperate call for help in the middle of the night… is this a cruel hoax, or the work of a maniacal serial killer who is poised to strike again?
She’s an innocent woman who knows too much. Now she’s fleeing through the night without a weapon and without a phone, and her only hope for survival is a cop who’s willing to risk his badge—and his life—to save her.
They came to the peaceful, untouched mountain wilderness of Eastern Tennessee seeking an escape from the madness of modern life. But when they built their luxury homes in the heart of virgin forest they did not realize that something was there before them… something ancient and horrible; something that will make them believe that monsters are real
.
Everyone has secrets, but when talk show host Jessamine Cray’s stalker begins to use her past to terrorize her, no one is safe … not her family, her friends, her coworkers, and especially not Jess herself.
RENEGADE
by Donna Boyd
Enter a world of dark mystery and intense passion, where human destiny is controlled by a species of powerful, exotic creatures. Once they ruled the Tundra, now they rule Wall Street. Once they fought with teeth and claws, now they fight with wealth and power. And only one man can stop them… if he dares.
Also by Donna Ball
The Kincaids
Books in Order
Katherine Carlyle and Byrd Kincaid, fugitives and reluctant heroes, begin a journey west and launch a dynasty that will forge a nation
.
Legendary
trailblazer Boothe Carlyle leads a wagon train west, where young Kitty Kincaid will rediscover her heritage and finally earn the proud warrior name she was given at her Shawnee mother’s breast
.
Westward Winds
Peril and promise await the children of Katherine and Byrd Kincaid in the high mountains and brutal plains of the American frontier they have worked so hard to tame.
Mountain Fury
The California Gold Rush brings turbulence and hope to the lives of the children of Byrd and Katherine Kincaid, and will forever alter the destiny of the wild land they love.
Romance Revisited by Donna Ball
He was a cowboy looking for a wife. She was a lady specializing in brides. They were made for each other... They just didn't know it yet.
He was the answer to a busy working woman's dreams. But was he too good to be true?
He's an animal trainer who lives by one rule: never get attached. She's a social worker who knows all too well the price of getting involved. It may take an entire menagerie to bring them together, but eventually they both must learn that sometimes it's for keeps.
He was a reformed jewel thief now turned security expert and her job depended on his expertise. But could he be trusted not to steal the most valuable jewel of all-- her heart?
She's working on the biggest case of her life, and her cover has already been blown-- by the very man she's investigating. Now they must work together to solve an even bigger mystery-- their future together.
They were thunder and lightning when they were married, and their divorce has been no less turbulent. But trapped together during a deadly blizzard with the lives of an entire community depending on them, they discover what's really important, and that some storms are worth riding out.
Sometimes a chance encounter is over in a moment, and sometimes it can last a lifetime.
She was a marine biologist on short deadline to find a very important dolphin, with no time to waste on romance. He was a sailor who knew there could only be one captain on his ship-- himself. But two weeks at sea together could change everything...
