Page 123 of Fatal Mistake
“Did I say something wrong?”
He shook his head. “We’re not special in the sense of being put on a pedestal. We’re men and women like the average Joe. Sure, we’re highly trained, but we just do our jobs, which happens to be helping people in crisis.”
“Take it from someone whose life has been saved several times by you. You’re not an average Joe. You really are special.”
He shook his head. “No more than anyone else. We’re gifted by God with special skills, but everyone is. They just don’t demonstrate them in such a dramatic fashion.”
“Now,” June said, ending the applause. “I want to thank them privately as well. We had scheduled a Thanksgiving Day meal earlier, but they were called out to an incident. So today, I’m going to disappear for a bit and sit down to my table with these amazing people. Please, carry on while we’re gone, and we’ll be back soon.”
She set down her megaphone and looked at them. “Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s move, people.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Tara saluted and winked at Cal. “You’re about to find out that June is tougher than your drill sergeants or even Max.”
“I heard that.” June’s laughter trailed behind her.
“As did I,” Max grumbled good-naturedly.
Tara fired him an impish grin before heading for the house, and Max actually laughed.
“Oh, and I should mention.” Tara turned back to the group. “There’s always the egg toss after lunch if you need to prove something.”
“You’re on,” Rick replied. “No steadier hands than mine.”
They moved through groups of smiling people and passed the pole barn holding tables filled with potluck dishes brought by June’s neighbors and church friends. A big water trough sat at the entrance and held icy-cold drinks. In an empty cornfield, June had added a bouncy house, huge piles of sand where children could dig for prizes, and of course, the race area. The sense of community almost overwhelmed Cal, but in a good way.
“June sure knows how to throw a party,” Tara said.
“The closest I’ve ever come to this was my church picnics growing up.” Cal took Tara’s hand. “But then I was alone. Now I have you.”
“Your parents didn’t attend?”
“It was another Sunday to them, and they dropped me off at the door as usual.” He shook his head. “It’s strange to say this, but I didn’t mind. Church was my solitude. Time away from my parents arguing about money. Just peace and love.”
Tara frowned, and Cal didn’t know what he’d said. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing now, but I should never have gotten so far away from all of this. I let the stresses of life separate me from it.”
“So strange, isn’t it?” He met her gaze. “We ignore the obvious thing right in front of our faces and try to fix our own problems.”
“Like fighting the attraction to the person meant for you when it’s the best thing for you.” She threaded her fingers in his. “But we’re done with that.”
He nodded and walked in contentment up the stairs to the porch.
Tara let go of his hand and held the screen door. “I’ll take coats, and there’s a bathroom down the hall where you can wash your hands before taking a seat in the dining room.”
She gathered the jackets, and Cal helped hang them in the foyer closet as he inhaled the wonderful scent of roasted turkey. He was looking forward to a traditional Thanksgiving meal without the bickering that had always been present at his family’s table.
He and Tara washed up in the old-fashioned farm sink in the country kitchen with gingham wallpaper and frilly curtains.
As he dried his hands, he turned to June, who’d settled a flowery apron over her clothes. “What can I do to help?”
“Carry, carry, carry,” she replied. “I have a ton of dishes that need to go to the table.” She turned to Tara. “You need to finish setting the silverware.”
“I told you she’s a drill sergeant.” Tara laughed and grabbed napkins with an autumn leaf pattern before opening a mahogany chest to remove gleaming silverware.
June went straight to the refrigerator.
“Start with these, Cal,” she said, and placed a spaghetti salad and another fluffy green salad with marshmallows on the island. “Then you can come back for the hot items.”
