Chapter Knight of Wands reversed

The Empress, Six of Swords, Knight of Wands reversed

Molly's wedding from The Wild Anemone

~~~~

Tim woke to the sound of laughter, his grandmother, his sister, and his daughter. The sound erased yesterday's disappointments. This would be the best Labor Day weekend of his life. He rose as silently as he could then peeked down the hall at them sitting at the table as dawn poured in the kitchen window.

"Look who is finally awake," Molly grinned at him. "I thought I'd have to go get Audie to drag you out of bed."

"Jet lag caught up with me," Tim claimed in defense as he wandered out barefooted. Tiana got him a cup of coffee and pulled a plate out of the microwave. He kissed her forehead before he sat down, "Thank you, mermaid."

They let him eat and drink his coffee before Grandma Fern asked, "Can you go with Lloyd to pick up the cake?"

"I'll go with them," Tiana volunteered before Tim could protest. She leveled her father with a look, "Ya know so they don't butt heads like two bulls in a pasture."

"When are we leaving?" Tim asked tiredly.

"As soon as you aren't dressed like the people of Walkmart," Molly grinned.

"You aren't coming with us?" He asked his sister.

"Nope, my day off 'cause I'm the bride. I have a full morning of beauty planned, just get T back by 10AM so we can do her hair and makeup."

"And nails!" Tiana added, "Gracie is coming to do all our nails." She held out her hand to her father. "She designed so many different ones and did them all on me." Her fingertips looked like they were professionally painted with flowers and roses and honeycomb lattices and little bees.

"Those are amazing." Tim was impressed as he hurried to finish his coffee. "I'll be back in a minute.

As he got to his room, he heard Tiana ask, "So who is going to wake Uncle Lloyd?"

"I already did," Molly laughed as she said it. "He was so grumpy but it's my wedding day and he isn't allowed to say no. He should be here any..."

She was interrupted by three loud knocks, then finished, "Minute." They giggled as Grandma Fern opened the door.

Tim ducked into his room and grabbed the first shirt hanging in the closet then pulled on socks and a faded pair of jeans, followed by his boots. He stepped in the bathroom and washed his face before wetting his hair and combing it back. It would dry in curls but there wasn't time for a shower. He was glad he shaved last night. Picking up his battered Stetson, he nested it on his head as he wiped his glasses and walked out.

"Tim," Lloyd sounded grumpy but Tim grinned at him, "Lloyd... Aren't you happy to go see the only girl in the county who can hit your fast balls?"

Molly started laughing loudly as Tiana giggled, Lloyd ground his teeth loud enough Tim could hear them.

"Get the hell in the car," Lloyd snarled as Fern scolded, "Lloyd, language."

He looked ready to fight as Tiana and Molly hugged, still laughing, but Fern held his gaze with a stern look. After a moment he bowed his head, apologizing, "Sorry, Grandma."

"That's what I thought." Fern hugged him then hurried them out to Lloyd's patrol SUV.

Lloyd made Tim sit in the back, but Tim didn't mind. It was already a good day. As they drove toward the highway, Tim noticed several cars headed down the road with people he didn't recognize. He wondered what hiking group was meeting at one of the National Forest Trail Access Points.

Once in town, Lloyd parked in front of The Wild Anemone. He seemed hesitant to get out as Tiana got out first and opened to backdoor so Tim could get out. They passed Reylts coming out as they went in.

Milli Haywood came out from the back and greeted them. As she looked at him, she tipped her head sideways slightly like she was listening. Then she seemed nervous to be seeing them. "Um, Hello, Lloyd, Tim, Tiana, how can I help you?"

Lloyd did not look happy to be there as he responded, "My grandmother sent us to get the cake for the wedding."

"No." Milli said firmly.

"No?" Lloyd stiffened. Tim knew that posture, Lloyd was getting ready for a fight and evidently Milli did too, by her reaction.

"I'll deliver it." She held up her chin proudly while she explained, "In my van. It has a special suspension for cake deliveries."

"Oh." The sound was clipped.

Shocked at his rudeness, Tim scowled at his cousin. "Sorry about him, Ms. Milli, being an MP for ten years robbed my cousin of his manners."

Miss Elizabeth Robinson, Milli's ancient great-aunt came out of the back at that moment. "Hello Ballard-McConnell clan. We were just talking about you, do come and see Molly's cake."

Milli held the door for them.

"It's so pretty." Tiana circled the cake then stopped to coo over a beautiful baby girl ​kicking her feet in her bouncer. "Hello, Emily. Who's a pretty princess?" Baby gurgles and coos answered the teen.

Milli smiled smugly, "Thank you. It is a different flavor combination than I have ever made, but I managed to combine the two favorite flavors of the bride and groom. Would you like a taste?"

Tiana glanced at Tim, "Is it okay if I have just a bite, I won't eat my whole slice at the reception."

Lloyd spoke first, "Tiana, honey, you can eat whatever you want, and your mom can take it out on me."

"Us," corrected Tim as he scowled at Lloyd, who clenched his jaw while they glared at each other.

Milli quickly pulled a bowl of trimmed cake cubes and another of the filling out of her refrigerator and peeled the food wrap plastic off. "This is the cake, it is a tart citrus cake, sweetened with honey. If you taste it, you'll notice the cake itself isn't very sweet. It has a very light flavor to balance the heavier sweetness of the honey and strong anise flavor of the Xtabentún used in the filling." Milli spooned some of the cake cubes and filling onto a plate.

Tiana sniffed and nibbled the cake, her eyes lit up, "Oh this is like those tart lemon cupcakes you make."

"They're your favorite," Milli smiled and the teenager nodded excitedly, then Milli dipped another square of cake in the filling, offering it to Tiana with caution. "I don't know if you will like the filling, the taste might remind you of licorice, which I know you dislike."

Tiana stopped halfway to her mouth. "If it's licorice, no way, José." She put the bite in front of her dad, and he took it, savoring the flavors as they talked about jelly beans.

Tim looked at Milli as he chewed his cake. There was something familiar about it. "Mmmm, I couldn't imagine the flavor when you described it but wow, that's amazing. It reminds me of a spiced cake I had when I was working offshore in the Yucatan."

Milli nodded, explaining, "It would. The combination of anise, honey, and citrus goes back to the Mayans."

Tim looked amazed, "It is so cool that you know that."

Elizabeth chuckled, "There's nothing my girl can't make taste good."

Lloyd popped a piece of cake with the filling, chewed twice, swallowed, then muttered, "It's different, but it is very Molly and Garrett."

Elizabeth winked conspiratorially at Milli, then turned to Lloyd, "So are you going to ask my grand-niece to the wedding, Deputy? Or will I have to foist her off on your handsome cousin now that he's come home?"

"Aunt Elizabeth!" Milli huffed, flushing embarrassed. "I will already be there; I have to serve the cake. And there will be no foisting."

Elizabeth got up and leveled the two tall men with a mock glare, "There will be no feuding over my grandniece. I expect her home by midnight." Then she hobbled to her rooms, humming some old tune.

Tim almost chuckled at the old lady and the look on Lloyd's face.

Standing still, Milli had one hand across her face and that elbow in her other hand as she pinched between her eyes and shook her head. She looked up when Tiana giggled, begging, "Please ignore what she just said. Auntie Elizabeth is... oh I don't know what she's doing, it's like she's trying to marry me off. She doesn't get it that nobody's interested. Least of all me." Milli rolled her eyes, she focused on the teen, so she didn't have to look at Tim or Lloyd. "So, Tiana, what do you think?"

Tiana poked at the filling with a toothpick tasting it, then with a piece of cake, nibbling, nodding, considering. "It's good, but I don't think I'd want the filling again. I'm with Uncle Lloyd, very different just like Aunt Molly, but I like the cake very much."

"Thank you for your honest opinion." Milli responded. "Well, if you will all excuse me, I need to close up shop and get this cake and the Lemon drop cupcakes delivered."

"Now those I can never eat enough of." Tiana grinned and giggled as Milli handed her one from a cooler. She hesitated to take it.

"For the road, no calories, I promise," Milli said with a wink. Tiana's grin lit up the room and she rushed out as if afraid someone might take her treat away from her.

"Thank you, Ms. Milli," Tim said politely.

Lloyd nodded, as they followed Tiana back out the front of the bakery. Sitting in the back, he watched how carefully Tiana ate the cupcake. A glance in the mirror showed him Lloyd was doing the same. Their eyes met and Tim knew Lloyd held the same worry that Tiana might be developing an eating disorder from her mother's demands.

"T, Darlin', you know you can eat anything you want this weekend right?" Tim asked cautiously.

"Uhm, yeah," Tiana looked nervous.

"Sweetie, what's wrong?" Tim demanded.

"I have to be careful what I eat because Mum will check my weight when I go home," she admitted.

"She what?" Tim's voice dropped in his outrage while Lloyd shook his head.

"Mum just wants me to look nice and stay fit for diving," Tiana murmured defensively.

"You are very fit and a day of eating cake and bar-b-que won't change... What the hell?" Lloyd slowed, then he flicked on his lights and drove around the line of cars. He stopped at the gate and got out. A few moments later, he was back and shaking with rage. He handed a news paper to Tiana who gasped then held it up for Tim to see. It was a half-page advertisement inviting anyone who knew the Ballards, McConnells, or Durhams to the wedding of Molly Ballard and Garrett Durham.

"Let me out," Tim insisted. "I'll tell them to leave."

"No, first we ask Grandma. She's waving at us from the porch." Lloyd clenched his fist then started forward slowly.

Tiana turned from counting the cars. "What are we going to do? There's forty-six and the wedding isn't for two hours."

"T, you go get ready. We'll take care of this," Lloyd announced with determination.

They parked in front of the main house. Grandma Fern held out a copy to the Durango Herald.

"We saw," Tim revealed as Lloyd asked, "What do we do?"

"If they come, they come and we will feed them. I had Nick light the big grills. Lloyd, your faster with a knife. Put some of the butcher steers on them. Tim, have them park away from the wedding area. Elder Nabona is bring out chairs from the churches and the Ridgeline is bringing over bales. It won't be comfortable but everyone will have a seat and a plate of Rocking M beef before they go. I will not have my granddaughter embarrassed on her wedding day."

"Yes, Ma'am." They responded then Lloyd handed Tim his keys.

"Park it by the gate with the lights on." He turned and bellowed at the gathered crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm afraid, you'll have to move your cars. Some of you are parked where the chairs are going to be placed. Follow Tim and he'll show you were to park." To Tim, he said quietly, "Put them in the bull pasture if you have to."

Nodding, Tim agreed, "Thank gawd the boys are out with the ladies."

~~~~

The Rocking M Ranch was chaotic. Jay Lancaster grinned as he parked on the road. He saw the brother's boyfriend working at the grills with a tall dark-haired man that he recognized as a local sheriff deputy. The blond man directing parking was the cowboy who visited the canyon cottage with a stock trailer. People were walking around all over the ranch and no one noticed him as he went to the gate at the canyon entrance. Crossing the fence line, he walked up to the quaint valley. Beyond the house on the highest part was a mowed grassy meadow. He wondered if the music video he saw had been filmed in this place as he turned around. He walked back to the little house, prepared to pick the lock but it wasn't locked. Opening the door, he called out.

"Hello, I'm looking for the wedding?"

No one was home so he went inside. The house was decorated in yellows and cream, and there were pictures of the brother and his boyfriend in every room. In one room, there were two gamer chairs, and a Call of Duty game was paused. He wondered about the soundproofing on the wall until he checked their gaming system and saw it was set up for streaming. Going to the bedroom, he opened the drawers of the small built-in dresser to find only men's clothes; it was the same with the closet. There was no mail or invoices for Cassandra King in the living room desk. There was no sign his songbird lived here. The only feminine thing was a silk robe, and pair of jeweled flipflops in the bathroom but the size seemed large. He couldn't remember what size her feet had been as he held his foot next to the shoes.

'Another dead end.' He thought grumpily then he began to wonder if she really had left the country like her recording producer claimed.

Wandering back to the wedding, he stayed for the service. Enjoying the food and amazing cupcakes, he sat, listening to the people around him. Looking up at the surrounding mountains, he again appreciated the rugged beauty of Pagosa County.

'I could live here,' he decided as he chatted with several elderly men about the area. One knew of an affordable rental house on the opposite side of the county.

"Say, what's your name, young man?" the church elder who brought the chairs asked politely.

He almost said Ike Crane but then he decided if he moved here it would be as his other identity. "Jay, Jay Lancaster. I'm with the State Highway Patrol."

"Really?" The elder pointed, "That's Lloyd in the dark red shirt, you should talk to him or Sheriff Tanner. We can always use a deputy and I am certain old Duncan will let you have a rental discount since you're on the blue line."

"Really? Thank you," Jay did his best to be polite as he watched Lloyd walk across to the tent where the baker was talking to one of his relatives. "I don't think I'll bother him today."

"So, who did you know in the wedding?" Another asked.

He repeated the story about Garrett Durham providing the sod for the parks and municipal building in Durango, adding a bit of the gossip he'd heard, "I am happy for him that Molly still married him after all the rumors. To be honest, I don't think he would ever cheat on her, they've been in love since preschool."

That seemed to satisfy the older gentlemen who then began to talk about how the drought was affecting the sod and fodder business. Jay excused himself claiming he needed to get back home to rest before his patrol shift. He headed for Grand Junction with a mental note to put in a transfer to the Durango sub-station, and to check the Pagosa County website for a position as a deputy. Driving through the mountains, Jay/Ike decided he was going to like it there and maybe he would get lucky and his songbird would visit her brother.

~~~~

After spending most of the morning directing cars where to park, Tim watched his sister get walked down the aisle by their great grandfather with his daughter as her maid of honor. He felt like his heart would burst except for the thorn of certainty that Tonia had created this chaos. After the ceremony and the meal served, Tim went back to make sure people left in an orderly manner. Walking past the gift table, he was surprised to see it overflowing since two-thirds of the people who came weren't invited. Reaching in a cooler, he pulled out two beers and went to thank the woman who saved the day. He shook his head wondering what the heck his cousin was thinking by refusing to date Milli Haywood. When she kissed Lloyd and looked into his eyes, the moment Tim was certain he was about to get punch, Lloyd calmed instantly. It had to be love.

Tim came up and offered Milli a beer, which she refused. "I can't believe you pulled it off." He said as he smiled at her.

She shook her head once the declared tiredly, "It had to be done." She shrugged, rolling her neck. "I gotta go. I have to remake the five hundred chocolate cupcakes with red icing and five hundred white-frosted vanilla cupcakes for the Community BBQ on Monday. Can you make sure my vase gets back to me after it's emptied?"

Tim leaned around her and looked down into the giant urn. "Holey Moley!"

Lloyd came up and looked down at the coins and bills. His eyes bulged, "What's this?"

Shrugging again, Milli explained, "A lot of cultures pass a hat or box or put out something to collect monetary gifts for the newlyweds to help them start their new lives or help the family recoup the cost of the wedding. It is supposed to bring the giver good luck." She yawned. "Just get the vase back to me, it was my mom's."

Lloyd nodded. "We'll take care of it. Thanks for everything, Milli."

Milli rolled the portable cake cooler display case toward her van without looking back. Lloyd watched her in the portable lights as she raised it up on the hydraulic lift and rolled it in. He looked like he wanted to go after her, but he didn't.

"You're an idiot," Tim said judgmentally. Still not understanding why Lloyd was letting her leave with barely a thank you.

"Excuse me?" Lloyd demanded.

"It is so obvious she likes you and you won't even give her the time of day. Listen to me, cousin, don't make the mistake of letting that one get away." Tim held out the beer he had carried over for Milli and Lloyd took it, swallowing half of it before he spoke.

"It won't work, and we both know it." Lloyd sounded defeated. "We're both too damaged to be good for each other."

"Why didn't you kiss her back? Hell, those lips beg to be kissed," Tim pointed out.

"Because I don't know why she did it," Lloyd snapped.

Remembering all the rumors about Lloyd with other girls in school, Tim snorted, "Like that ever mattered to you."

"It does matter to me; it has always mattered to me. Tonia tells everyone this crap about me cheating on her and whoring around, but I never did any of it with anyone but her. I don't like meaningless, frivolous, or manipulative gestures. I never have and if you really knew me, cousin, then you would know that." Lloyd threw the beer bottle, and it broke as it landed in a metal trash barrel. "Is it wrong that I want things to have meaning? I don't know why she did that. It doesn't make sense. We aren't even friends anymore, I made sure of that. She's never kissed me before today."

"Never as in never ever?" Tim was shocked. "Wow." Then he whistled. "Tiana told me Tonia is sure the two of you are..."

"We are not having sex." Lloyd interrupted, his voice dropped to a deep hateful tone, "I don't know why Tonia keeps saying it."

Tim rolled his eyes, "Why not just ask Milli why she kissed you? Not all women are like Tonia and will lie to you just for the sake of lying to you."

"I can't, not 'till I figure out the real reason." Lloyd repeated himself.

"You're an idiot," Tim said again then walked away.

Going over to where the Wallaces were helping collect the folding chairs, he helped until they were all loaded back into trailers and strapped down. He was so tired he wanted to drop, but they still had to get the hay stacked. Garrett and Molly came out to help stack the bales back onto a flatbed. As they worked, they talked about Milli Haywood and what a genuinely kind and caring person she was as they theorized what sort of mental issue Lloyd had for refusing to date her.

It was clear Molly adored the baker when she threatened, "He needs to get over his issues and Tonia, because I swear I'll put Lloyd in Garrett's big wood chipper if he ever breaks Milli's heart."