The Saddle Creek Series 5-Book Bundle. Shelley Peterson

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СКАЧАТЬ eye in the house was on the pastor.

      Pete Pierson covered a lot of ground for a man with an arthritic hip, and reached the pastor just as he was opening the door. The portly pastor rudely pushed him aside and stepped out of the side entrance door.

      There Cody stood, legs braced with astonishment, wondering where this man had come from and whether or not he should run for the hills.

      The pastor screamed hoarsely. “A wolf! Help me! Help me!”

      “Quick!” yelled Pete, suppressing a grin, “Come back inside before he rips out your throat!”

      Rory caught on quickly. He barked, “Close the door or we’ll all be mauled!”

      The pastor had turned completely white. With Pete on one side of him and Rory on the other, he was walked back up onto the stage.

      Pete whispered in his ear, “Get on with the vows, and make it fast.”

      The pastor nodded obediently, rigid with fear.

      “D-d-d-do you, Joy Drake Featherstone, take this man, Robert Wick, as your lawful wedded husband, to have and to hold, through sickness and in health, through richer and poorer, until death do you part?”

      “I do.” Joy looked lovingly into Robert’s shining eyes.

      “Do you, Robert Wick, take this woman, Joy Drake Featherstone, as your lawful wedded wife, to have and to hold, through sickness and in health, through richer and poorer, until death do you part?”

      “I do.” Robert’s voice cracked with emotion, and his eyes threatened to overflow.

      “Do you, Hilary Marie James, take this man, Sandford Casey, as your lawful wedded husband, to have and to hold, through sickness and in health, through richer and poorer, until death do you part?”

      “I do.” Hilary’s lips trembled as she looked at the man she loved. She felt like she would melt away with happiness.

      “Do you, Sandford Casey, take this woman, Hilary Marie James, as your lawful wedded wife, to have and to hold, through sickness and in health, through richer and poorer, until death do you part?”

      “I do.” Sandy passionately reached for Hilary. He took her in his arms and was about to kiss her on the lips.

      “Wait for it!” scolded the pastor harshly. Sandy paused, smiling mischievously at his almost-wife.

      “I now pronounce you husbands and wives. You may kiss your brides.”

      Loud peals of joyful wedding music filled the theatre as Sandy and Hilary kissed, sealing their marriage to each other. The rest of the world was far away. They were alone in their own secret bubble, unaware of the clamorous well-wishers surrounding them.

      Dancer stood quietly in the aisle.

      Joy and Robert were locked in a romantic embrace, making wishes. To live a long and healthy life together. To never lose the magic of their love. For the strength to support and nurture each other through good times and bad. For the ability to focus on the positives and lighten up on the negatives. To have the common sense to adjust to each other, making compromises when called for. To never forget what they loved about each other.

      Abby watched in awe. She saw the bond that tied these couples together. Grandmother and granddaughter, generations apart, both in love and both feeling the same intensity of love.

      Maybe the heart didn’t have to get old at the same rate as the body, Abby mused. She knew people her age who were already jaded and apathetic. And the Piersons remained young in spirit and in mind even though their bodies were wearing out.

      She looked over at them. Pete and Laura were dancing to Joy’s wedding selection, arms tightly holding each other, smiles lighting up their faces. Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” reminded everyone how lucky they were to be alive.

      Abby smiled, too. She was happy for everyone. Happy for Hilary and Sandy, starting their life together. Happy for Joy and Robert, who’d found each other after many years apart. Happy for the Piersons, Rory and Christine, her parents, and even Ambrose Brown.

      Hilary and Joy turned to the wedding party, ready to throw their bouquets.

      “One, two, three,” they called in unison. Pulling their arms back, Hilary and her grandmother Joy tossed the flowers with a healthy force, petals floating to the stage floor.

      To her extreme delight, Rosalyn Casey caught Hilary’s bouquet. “I caught it! I caught it! I’m the next to marry!”

      Abby caught Joy’s. She clutched it to her chest. She suddenly realized that she didn’t want to get married in the foreseeable future. She had too much to do, too much to see. And she would make very sure that she married the right man, or she’d never marry at all. She vowed to fulfill her own dreams in life, and consider marriage only when, or if, it was undeniably the thing she wanted.

      Across the stage, Abby waved her thanks to Joy, and grinned at her new friend. Joy smiled back.

      Abby felt a paw on her leg.

      “Cody!” She looked down into her coyote’s intense, imploring grey eyes. “It’ll be hard to find a human who loves me as much as you do.” She knelt and scratched his ears. He was a hero in the community. Every person at the wedding today would have been injured, or worse, if Cody hadn’t disengaged the fuse.

      “How did you get in?” she wondered aloud to her pet. “The doors are all shut.”

      “I let him in, Abby,” said Sam with a wink. “He looked so sad when the pastor screamed at him.”

      He stood in the wings, hands in his suit pockets, head slightly tilted.

      Abby stood and faced him.

      “Dance?” Sam asked.

      Abby nodded. He gently held her hand in his larger one, and placed his strong arm around her waist. She stepped into his embrace and closed her eyes. They danced on the stage of The Stonewick Playhouse to the music of the wedding quartet.

      Cody cocked his head and flicked his tail. Dancer nickered softly.

      SHELLEY PETERSON is the bestselling author of five young adult novels, including Dancer, Abby Malone, Sundancer, and Mystery at Saddle Creek. She was born in London, Ontario, and was trained in Theatre Arts at the Banff School of Performing Arts, Dalhousie University, and the University of Western Ontario. She works as a professional actress, and has more than 100 stage, film, and television credits to her name. Peterson has had a lifelong love of animals big and small, with a particular interest in horses. She divides her time between Toronto and Fox Ridge, a horse farm in the Caledon hills, which she shares with her husband, three children and the family dog. Stagestruck is her third novel.

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