Second Chances (57 page)

Chapter 30

With Brian and Lisa handling the ethylene project, Candy Summerset on the lens project, and the security team working with Bob finally getting a handle on pest control, Mitch took some time to check things over to make certain everything else was going smoothly. Once he was satisfied, he then went outside to patrol the fences. He paused in surprise to see mammoths on the other side of the fence and cement moat wandering past. “Guy's, you've got to see this,” he said, calling it in over the radio, voicing his awe and delight quietly.

Brian and a few others checked out the video feeds, then came out to look for themselves. Brian stamped his feet, stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets. Mitch looked over his shoulder; about half the crew had turned up with more trickling out in a slow stream. All of them were bundled up; he bet that Janet and Anne made certain of that. They watched the herd of mammoths and other creatures wander past. The animals blew steam breath from time to time. They could feel and hear the soft elephant rumble.

“Damn cold but worth it,” Vance murmured. “Where do they come from? The mountains? I'm not buying that. I mean the north maybe, but why...”

“Maybe they can't compete with the dinosaurs or can't handle the summer heat with those coats,” Travis said. He shook his head. He'd seen a few sloth-like creatures out there. He was also pretty sure where there were winter herbivores there were winter predators too. He'd read some of the reports, even seen some of the images and video they'd compiled. He knew there had to be more of the things out there. He was a bit wary to find out though.

He turned to see some of the kids. Some were fearful, but a few were wide-eyed. Mammoths weren't as big as African elephants but they were still damn impressive to see up close. He was a bit amused by the situation. Were they looking at the humans in their self-made zoo? Or just on a stroll?

“I'm not sure. Just something fun for us to figure out later I suppose,” Brian said in a hushed tone, bringing Travis back to the conversation.

“Fun he says. I don't want to try following them or the dino herds,” Vance said.

“Too dangerous,” Travis said.

“Radio collar,” Mitch said absently, watching a baby wooly rhino play in the new fallen snow. It twirled about, then bumped its mother. The mother looked back and nudged it back. It scampered off, clearly playing. “A radio collar would allow us to tag and follow animals from a distance. Even from the air,” he said.

“Like they did with those sharks on that one show? The ones where they caught great whites? You really want to tangle with raptors?” Travis asked, turning to Mitch.

“No, but I wouldn't mind getting a handle on the migratory patterns of the animals,” Mitch said. He'd been tempted to say the only good raptor was a dead one, but he had to back off on that. As much as he didn't like the damn things, they had a right to survive on the planet too. He didn't want to hunt them to near extinction like people did to other animals back on Earth.

He heard the crunch of snow behind him. It slowly approached, but he wasn't interested until the familiar murmur of female voices caught his attention. He turned to see Sandra and Cassie coming up behind them with Anne and Janet in the rear. The mother and daughter were shivering, hands tucked under their armpits. He shook his head. “What are we...oh my,” Cassie said in astonishment as a mammoth rumbled long and low, then blatted. Its trunk curled around the branches yanking off needles and material with the nubs on the tip of the trunk. It popped them into its mouth to chew. “Wow.”

“Yeah, different,” Mitch said. He felt Sandra come up close to him. He pulled his coat off and put it around her. She smiled but then wrapped her arms around him, sharing the warmth. Her head turned so she could still see the animals.

The herds were small and varied in species. Some were clearly from Earth, but a few of the shaggy six-legged animals were bewildering. Two walked like a lizard, legs swinging out with wide-splayed feet like snow shoes. They had boxy heads and cleaned up after the mammoths. “Winter wonderland. Too bad we can't go skiing or snowboarding,” Vance murmured.

“In here, yeah. We can plow a bank or two, rig something up. Minor. Out there?” Mitch shook his head no.

“Yeah. Not sure a kiddy hill is worth the time,” Vance said.

“Oh, it might be fun,” Cassie said, giving him a grin. “Just sledding down it in a sack or on a board might be interesting for the younger kids,” she said.

“Good idea. Give me more patients to take care of,” Sandra muttered as the teens planned the outing.

“You said you wanted them to get out more, get some air and sun,” Mitch murmured to her. She sighed and squeezed him. He squeezed back, then nuzzled her hair gently.

------*------

“I almost forgot about this,” Mitch grumped as he got dressed. They had an hour before the ceremony. He'd graciously gone through the rehearsal the day before, the bachelor party last night, but right now all he cared about was getting it over with. They'd been so busy he'd hoped the girls would have dropped the idea or gone with his idea and kept it simple.

He didn't want to spoil the excitement and anticipation for the girls though, so he wisely kept his mouth shut. Deep down he was looking forward to a little of the pageantry; he was pretty sure his bride would be dazzling. She'd kept him at bay for the past four days too, so their anticipated love making later was something he planned on savoring.

“Going to complain about getting all dressed up for your own wedding?” the chief asked. He was just a little under the weather after the bachelor party they'd thrown the night before. They'd had a good time, but Mitch was never much of a drinker. Beer yes, the hard stuff, no not much. It was also hard to have a wild party when you couldn't even leave your own home.

“I think the girls had more fun than we did,” Hodges grumped.

“That's because we couldn't get any of them to play stripper,” the chief snorted.

“Maybe the groom can later tonight,” Hodges teased. Mitch waved a hand. Brian was serving as his best man, though Vance, Walter and the two military men were groomsmen. Brian had so far held up well, at least with some coaching from the two veterans.

“Anne and Janet are going full tilt. I know Jean is having a ball,” Hodges said. He eyed Mitch. “You know, it's not fair, you can't even think of running,” he teased.

“If you run you'll only die tired,” Mitch replied, mouth puckering slightly. The chief snorted. “Unlike you, I know how well Sandra can shoot.”

“The lady always gets her man. One way or another,” Brian said, punching Mitch in the shoulder as Mitch got the jacket on.

“Damn silly, making me wear a tie,” the chief grunted.

Mitch snorted in agreement. “Stupid custom.”

“Just think of it as a handy leash for your wife to play with,” Hodges teased. “Good training,” he said. That got a chuckle from the guys.

------*------

Mitch stood at the altar, chafing as the chief and the wedding party chattered quietly. Then the lilting sounds of the wedding march brought the quiet chatter to a halt.

He turned with the others expectantly looking at the arch as first little Tera came down with a woven basket and flowers. More than one person awed and giggled at the girl as she sprinkled petals along the path, then scampered over to Cassie.

She was followed by 7-year-old Billy. Despite being the same age, he tried to comport himself with solemnity of the occasion. He walked with the pillow at the steady pace he'd practiced. When he got to Brian he handed the pillow to the teen then made a great show of wiping his brow. “Glad that's over with!” he said loudly enough to get a laugh from the audience.

Mitch snorted as the boy took his place beside Tera. Tera leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. He made a fuss wiping at the cheek in exasperation so hard people laughed. The song changed, deepened somehow and all eyes turned from the kids antics to the arch.

She was there, standing like some ghost-like apparition. Sandra was indeed dazzling in her white dress, long train and flowers Hejira had grown for her. Mitch stood there at the altar, awestruck at her appearance. She smiled wickedly at Mitch's reaction walking ever so slowly closer, practically strutting. He gulped at the devilish glitter in her eyes. He suddenly felt like he was being stalked by a predator. Now he understood why some guys were stupid enough to bolt from the altar. Not that he would, but feeling that predator approach...

“If you faint I'm not catching you,” Brian murmured in Mitch's ear. He shook his head vaguely no.

He felt her step up to his side, then bump him out of his reverie. “You're drooling,” she murmured.

“You are beautiful,” he gushed. He smiled and murmured another compliment. She was indeed beautiful; the off-white gown was cut with her shoulders and some decoupage exposed. It was tight, hugging her body like a second skin. She waggled her eyebrows at him, then turned politely to Henry Doyle as the song faded out. The contractor had been pressed into duty as the preacher for the event and seemed even more uncomfortable out of his jeans than Mitch.

Henry cleared his throat. “Okay, here goes,” he muttered, just loud enough for the two before him to hear. Mitch smiled slightly as the man nervously opened the book before him and scanned the words once more. He used his four-fingered hand to hold the paper down. After a moment of study he looked up and took a breath, settling himself. “Dearly beloved, we are here to join these two in holy matrimony...”

------*------

The reception afterward was more general party then wedding reception. Everyone in the base was in attendance unless they were on duty. Tina and Cassie had been in the wedding party. Cassie partnered with Vance, Tina with the chief when they had followed the bride and groom. Janet and Anne had both bowed out of being in the wedding party since they were so busy putting the whole show on. In their place Jolie and Dora had stepped in to pair off with the other groomsmen.

Janet, Jean and Anne had plenty of help catering. Ester took on the kids, drafting the eldest to lend a hand to keep them busy and distracted. They put in a brief appearance to pass on their best wishes and to sing a song, then Ester had herded them back to their play area to keep them entertained.

Anne refused to let the twins be taken far from her sight. Frances kept them with her new addition. All the girls were gooey over the babies, stopping by to coo over them regularly. They occasionally put their two cents worth into the proceedings, but otherwise were angels.

The party lasted hours, with some antics, a speech that was drowned out by the babies, and the occasional spilled drink. Cassie dragged Vance out on the dance floor twice after Sandra and Mitch danced to a slow tune. She even caught the groom for a quick dance, but it was self-evident that the fast steps were beyond him. As the party wore on, some of the teens and more adventurous adults got a bit more provocative in their dancing. The bride and groom bowed out. Mitch was content to watch and teased his bride about joining in but she declined. She did give her daughter the evil eye when Cassie got a little too creative in her moves with Vance.

Everyone was tired, but it was clear they had all had fun. It was a good chance to unwind, socialize and make connections Mitch judged. He saluted Axel and Jason. Axel, Nicole and Pollie had been flown in by Angie two days before. Pollie was due for a checkup and immunization like most of the babies, and her mother Nicole had been invited. From the way Axel had been hitting the sauce trying to keep up with Gunny Hodges, he was in for a spectacular hangover the next day and probably wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon. Nicole didn't look at all sympathetic with his antics, though she did seem maliciously amused to mess with him from time to time.

Jason had driven in on a snowmobile with Sarana, Gina and little Wekesa. The baby had been a bit colicky, and Mike had made it clear that the child should be sent to Doc for the winter. Sarana hadn't been happy, but she'd gone with her son. Jason had taken them over the ice and snow and planned to stay a week or two to take some advanced medical classes. Gina had been thoroughly sick of the frontier living and Mike's harsh attitude.

Mitch smiled to his bride. Sandra had her hands full; she was almost as busy training her staff as she was handling the still recovering refugees. Part of her time was also spent just learning all the gear Mitch had brought along. He'd brought some very cutting edge equipment that required a lot of cutting edge skills to use properly.

Mitch handed her her wine glass. “So, with the population the way it is, are you two going to have an open marriage or...” Tina asked, smiling at them as she teased Sandra.

Sandra gave the military medic a mock glower. “He's all mine,” she said possessively, wrapping an arm around his waist from behind. He chuckled as she rubbed a long sexy leg against his. “Right dear?” She said with a bite in her question as she leaned up to his ear.

“Yes ma'am,” he said loyally.

“Good boy. Good answer,” she murmured, playfully hugging him and then running her free hand over him. She stroked his tie, then tugged on it a few times, reminding him of the gunny's knowing jab.

“Bet you two are looking forward to tonight. I'm curious if the people around you packed sufficient ear plugs,” Janet teased. “I bet Mitch is looking forward to seeing what we made for your evening...” she said wickedly. Sandra blushed. Mitch didn't rise to the bait.