Luke tapped the spidery signature at the bottom of page. "The donor couldn't have been happier to oblige Sheriff Hendrickson's and Ms. Garvey's request to hold their wedding here."
He pointed at the white mansion atop the adjacent hill. "Go ahead, Knox. Give him a wave, why don't you. It's a shame the heat and rheumatism discouraged his attendance, but he has a telescope set up on the second-floor veranda."
"Gotcha, asshole," Duckworth sneered, who had never, to anyone's knowledge, uttered a crude remark in his life. Much less with so much undisguised glee.
Jimmy Wayne laughed and nudged Chase Wingate. "If you aren't gonna take a picture, give me the camera. Big as Elvis's mouth is hanging open, the sheriff could stick his boot in there without scraping the sides."
* * *
Polly and Lana, then Jeremy walked down the runner to the accompaniment of the bluegrass band's rendition of the wedding march. What might have been hokey, even irreverent to some ears, was a respectful, beautiful homage to Mendelssohn's famed composition.
A brief pause cued Luke and Claudina to pull open the gazebo's filmy drapes. Hannah grinned at Delbert, took a breath, then stepped out.
The cream-colored rose pinned to the lapel of his blue swallow-tailed tux had been lifted from her bouquet when Claudina realized she'd forgotten to order his boutonniere.
Delbert sawed a finger under his nose. "I couldn't be prouder if you were my own, ladybug."
"Don't you dare make me cry, you old fart," Hannah said, sniffling. "Because I am yours, and you're mine, in every way that counts."
She tucked her hand under his arm as a single violin recommenced playing. For a moment, she couldn't move, couldn't imagine a lone instrument sounding sweeter, purer, than a symphony orchestra's entire string section.
Gliding along the aisle felt more like a movie dream sequence than reality. Hannah was only vaguely aware of the smiling faces, whispered compliments and best wishes directed her way. But once her eyes, filmy with tears, found David's, she never looked away.
Not as Delbert helped her up the steps to the platform. Not when he rose on tiptoes to kiss her cheek through her veil. Grinning at David, she was so overwhelmed with joy, she couldn't hear, couldn't think, couldn't respond at all, when he said, "I love you, darlin'. More than I'll ever be able to tell you, or show you in just one lifetime."
Then Junior recited, "We are gathered together today to celebrate the joining of this man and this woman
"
To David, Hannah mouthed the one word she thought she'd ceased to believe in. That had until now been little else than a hopeful empty promise and an easy rhyme for songwriters and poets.
Forever.
HENDRICKSON WINS PRIMARY ELECTION BY A LANDSLIDE
by Chase Wingate
Few in Kinderhook County seemed surprised at David M. Hendrickson's defeat of Republican opponent, Jessup Knox, than the sheriff-elect himself.
Hendrickson's three-to-one margin of victory is the largest since Homer John McMillan prevailed over Webster Ploutt in 1895. Ploutt was subsequently hanged for gunning down his political nemesis in broad daylight, as McMillan was being sworn into office on the east portico of the newly completed Kinderhook County courthouse.
Hannah Garvey Hendrickson, the sheriff's bride of nine days and owner of The Garvey Group, the county's newest and only advertising agency, said she had "no doubt whatsoever" that voters would overwhelmingly approve of "the job my husband and the entire sheriff's department has done to protect and serve them to the absolute best of their ability."
Sheriff Hendrickson expressed gratitude to his tireless election campaign staff, led by manager Lucas Sauers. "I'm honored and humbled by the trust the citizens of this county have placed in me," Hendrickson said. "It's a privilege I don't take lightly and will never take for granted."
Repeated requests for a response from Mr. Knox, of Fort Knox Security, were declined. Sources close to that campaign have confirmed his intention to run against Hendrickson in the next election, as well as Knox's expectation that the outcome will be reversed by an even wider margin.
The perennial Democratic candidate for sheriff, Jefferson Davis Oglethorpe, received a total of two primary votes. Mr. Oglethorpe noted that figure is twice the number received in several previous elections, then extended his heartiest congratulations to Sheriff-elect and Mrs. Hendrickson.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-0076-4
HALFWAY TO HALF WAY
Copyright Š 2007 by Suzann Ledbetter.
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, MIRA Books, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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