Love Finds You in Camelot, Tennessee (34 page)

The voices spoke again, sounding more and more familiar. At once, Amy realized who—and what—she was hearing.

“No way.” She looked at Steve, wondering if he’d figured it out.

Not that she planned to stick around long enough to find out. Amy raced backstage, beyond stagehands and the props director. She sailed past Grady—still dressed in his shorts and doublet—and into the very darkest corner, behind the props table. She grabbed a penlight from the table and turned it on, pointing the tiny ray of light on two people who happened to be wrapped in each other’s arms…kissing.

“Dad?” Amy whispered.

No response.

“Dad!” She flashed the light in his direction and he turned her way, looking like a kid who’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He took a giant step back and paled.

So did Caroline, whose nervous stammers morphed into senseless giggles.

“Oh, uh…” Amy’s father raked his fingers through his hair. “We were just…”

“You were rehearsing a love scene in front of approximately forty-five people,” Amy explained. She pointed to her father’s mic, and his eyes widened.

“Don’t tell me…” A look of sheer terror passed over his face.

“Okay, I won’t tell you,” Amy said, still reeling. “But I will ask you to reach down and flip the switch on that microphone so that your love scene isn’t broadcast to everyone in the theater. The guys in the sound booth have enjoyed your performance so far, and so have the people in the orchestra.”

From out front, a round of applause sounded, confirming her words.

“Oops.” Caroline’s giggles started up again, and she threw herself into Amy’s father’s arms, clearly unable to get control of herself.

By now, at least half the cast had gathered around, many of them chuckling. Steve pushed through the crowd, sounding a little out of breath. “I lost you back there in the dark, Amy,” he said. “Didn’t know where you went.”

“I just followed the trail until I found the culprits.”

“Caroline?” Steve said after a moment’s pause. “Something you want to tell us?”

She turned to him with a smile. “Mm-hmm.” Caroline put her left hand out for all to see, a diamond ring shimmering under the glow of the penlight.

Amy let out a squeal. “You two are engaged?” She ran toward them, wrapping them in an embrace and nearly dropping the light in the process. “I don’t believe it.”

“No, not engaged,” Amy’s father said, his voice a little shaky. “We, um…”

“We’re married!” Caroline released the words with a triumphant look. “Have been, for three weeks.”

“W–what?” Amy leaned against the props table, overcome. “You’re…married? And you didn’t tell us?”

“Yep. And nope.” Her father took her hand. “Are you mad at me?”

“Not mad.” She shook her head. “Just confused. Steve and I thought that Caroline was…” She paused. “We thought you were sick.”

“Sick?” Caroline laughed. “What in the world made you think that? I’ve never felt better in my life.”

“Well, you were acting so secretive,” Steve said. “And you were gone so much. I thought maybe you were in Knoxville at the doctor’s office or something. I don’t know.”

“Well, we were in Knoxville.” Amy’s father drew near and slipped his arm around her waist. “Saw the justice of the peace three weeks ago.”

“And spent the night at the prettiest little bed-and-breakfast,” Caroline threw in. “I’ll have to tell you all about it.”

A couple of the older men whooped and hollered their response to that news. Still, Amy couldn’t quite process all of this. How had her father managed such a thing…behind her back?

“Dad, you mean to tell me you weren’t fishing that night like you said?” she asked.

“Oh, I was fishing, all right.” He grinned and gave Caroline a kiss on the cheek. “Caught the most beautiful fish in the pond too.”

“Oh, this is the most romantic thing ever!” Blossom clasped her hands together. “It’s the stuff movies are made of!”

“No, it’s the stuff
stage plays
are made of,” Woody said. “Which reminds me, we still have a show to rehearse.”

Amy knew they should get back to business, but nothing about this made sense. Her father…and Caroline? Really?

Suddenly all the emotion she’d held pent up over the last few stressful weeks came bubbling out. Amy began to laugh—quietly at first, and then louder. Before long, Steve joined her, their voices blending together in giddy harmony. Finally she managed to get control of herself. Amy dried the tears of laughter from her eyes and drew in a deep breath, knowing she could no longer put off the rehearsal.

As she turned to her father to give him a celebratory hug, Amy had just one lingering question. “Dad? Can I ask you something else?”

“Sure, honey.”

She pointed to the rubber chicken he’d been holding in his left hand the whole time. “Want to tell me what you were planning to do with that?”

“Oh.” He glanced down and chuckled. “Almost forgot about this poor little guy. We were planning to use him in the lusty-month-of-May scene. But now you’ve gone and foiled our plan.”

“Looks like I’ve foiled your plan, all right,” Amy said. “But I don’t think it has anything to do with rubber chickens.”

She reached up and gave her father a kiss on the cheek, hardly able to contain herself, before heading back onstage to continue her wedding scene.

Steve somehow made his way through the rest of the dress rehearsal. Still, every time he thought about Caroline kissing Amy’s father, he couldn’t help but laugh. Something about their hidden relationship struck him as funny. Here he was, struggling to share his heart with Amy, and her father had up and married his mom’s best friend without telling anyone. Just seemed…ironic.

The rehearsal continued for the next three hours, presenting the cast and crew with multiple bumps and bumbles. By the time they reached the curtain call, Steve was exhausted but psychologically prepared to speak his mind. He looked around, hoping to find Amy. He searched the backstage area…and couldn’t locate her.

As he passed by Annabelle and Blossom, Steve paused. “Hey, have you ladies seen Amy? I need to talk to her.”

Blossom pursed her lips and shook her head. “Where does she always go when she has a lot on her mind?” A chuckle followed. “She’s in the restroom, Steve. Probably contemplating all the wacky things that have taken place tonight.”

“Not again. Can one of you ladies go in after her? It’s really important. Tell her to meet me at center stage in five minutes.”

The two women looked back and forth at each other and shrugged.

“Oh, and by the way,” Steve said, “gather all the ladies too. Tell them to sit in the front row and wait for the show to begin.”

Annabelle looked confused. “What do you mean? We just finished the show.”

“Trust me.” He smiled. “You might find out that knights in shining armor do exist after all. So take your seats, front and center.”

Blossom’s eyes grew wide and she nodded before the two women disappeared in the direction of the ladies’ room.

Steve had a few words with the guys in the sound and light booth and then headed for center stage, praying all the way.
Lord, give me the words. Not a script, necessarily. Just words.

Moments later Amy walked onto the stage, dressed in her jeans and T-shirt. Though she was still at a distance, her face lit up when she saw him. “Hey, you’re still in costume.”

“Yep. Thought it would help me stay in character.”

She gave him a curious look. Steve stood his ground at center stage until she met him there. Then he slipped an arm around her waist and a spotlight hit them.

“Thanks, fellas,” he called back to the tech booth. “I needed that.”

She gave him a suspicious look. “What are you up to?”

“Oh, a couple of things. First, there’s something I want to say to you. Been trying to say it all night, in fact, but…well…a couple of things have gotten in the way.”

He’d no sooner spoken the words than one of the Styrofoam trees swung his way, coming loose from the bar above. It whacked him on the shoulder, sending him plunging headlong into Amy’s arms.

“Well, that’s one way to do it.” He staggered to an upright position, unable to keep from laughing. “Not quite what I had planned, though. That was a little more dramatic.”

“Sometimes God’s plans are better than our own,” she said and grinned.

“Yep. Usually.”

“So, you were saying…?”

Steve squared his shoulders and looked her in the eyes. “Amy, we’ve talked a lot about what the real Camelot was like. I wasn’t sure if I believed the legend or not. I’m still not sure. But there’s one thing I do believe in, and that’s you and me.”

“Really?” She smiled.

“Yes, and I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to say this.” He swallowed hard and gazed into her eyes, garnering all the courage he needed. “I’m crazy about you. Head-over-heels, can’t-walk-straight, have-trouble-sleeping crazy.” He paused, knowing he had to take it a step further. “I love you, Amy. I’ve loved you since the seventh grade.”

At this point, a cheer went up from the front row and he heard the words, “You go, Steve!” Eula Mae, of course.

Steve looked out to see that the women of Camelot had arrived, just as he’d instructed. Perfect. But they would have to wait a moment for their performance. Right now he had to finish this one-on-one scene with Amy.

“With the fog, sometimes it’s hard to see what’s right in front of you,” he whispered, grateful that the microphones had been turned off. “We get caught up in our imaginings and begin to wonder if a far-off place is better. Sometimes what’s right here is what we’ve dreamed of all along.”

“I’m not fictional.” Tears rose and covered Amy’s bottom lashes. “I’m real.”

“Very,” he whispered, kissing her hair.

“And I’m not going anywhere,” she said, her voice now shaking. “Emotionally or otherwise. No dreams of far-off lands or knights in shining-armor. This is my home.
You
are my home.”

He stared into her eyes for a moment then leaned in to give her a kiss she wouldn’t soon forget. As their lips met, every bit of emotion he’d left bottled up inside over the past few weeks rushed out. And as the kiss intensified, so did the roar of approval from the front row. After a few moments, he couldn’t take their cheering anymore and released his hold on Amy, before taking a sweeping bow.

“So glad to see our scene meets with the approval of the audience. But if you like that, hang on for the ride. More is coming.” He turned to Amy. “If you don’t mind, m’lady, go join the other women in the front row. We’ve got a little encore presentation.”

“We?”

He nodded and she left the stage, a puzzled look on her face.

“Okay, fellas,” Steve called out to the men waiting in the wings. “Just like we practiced it.”

Grady, Pete, Woody, Darrell, Mickey, Fred, and Chuck entered the stage, dressed in knightly attire. Well, all but Grady, who still wore his shorts instead of pants. The men took their places, looking a little weak-kneed, and Steve led the way, singing the first few notes of the song they’d written that memorable day in the pest control van.

Okay, it was a little cheesy. Really cheesy, in fact. But from the cheers coming from the front row, he could tell that the audience members didn’t seem to mind. In fact, if the way the ladies of Camelot rushed the stage afterward was any indication…Steve would have to conclude they rather liked it.

Well, I think one of the main things that you have to think about when acting in the movies is to try not to make the acting show.

J
AMES
S
TEWART

On the afternoon of the first performance, Steve whittled down his to-do list. One by one the final details of the show were ironed out. By three thirty in the afternoon, he found himself free to take a drive through town. Rumor had it—Eula Mae, of course—that the whole place was packed out with tourists. He could hardly wait to see for himself.

First stop, the diner. He inched his way past the parking lot, mesmerized by the number of cars with out-of-state tags. Unfamiliar people lined the sidewalk, waiting to get inside. In all his years living in Camelot, he’d never seen anything like it.