Love Finds You in Camelot, Tennessee (2 page)

Acting should be bigger than life.
Scripts should be bigger than life.
It should all be bigger than life.

B
ETTE
D
AVIS

An early morning haze hung over the sleepy town of Camelot, Tennessee. Amy Hart squinted to get a better view of the road as she maneuvered her Jeep Liberty around a tricky bend. On a clear day, the journey into town would prove challenging. But on a morning like this—with the heavy April skies pressing in around her—the curvy road seemed to slip away into a foggy mist. How many times had she imagined she could drive off into the dreamy haze and find herself in a world of knights, ladies, castles, and kings?

Once she rounded the turn, Amy reached over and flipped on the radio then settled back against the seat as a familiar worship song came on. Perfect. Pretty soon the skies would clear and so would her mood—just as soon as she arrived at work and shared her latest idea with Steve. Only then would the tightness in her chest dissipate. She lost herself in thought as she pondered her best friend’s reaction to her latest plan. Likely he would think she’d lost her mind. Just like the last time. And the time before that. Oh well. She would prove him wrong—this time.

Amy made her way down Excalibur Drive and turned off onto Lancelot Lane, taking a shortcut to City Hall. Another turn to the right landed her on Camelot Court. She sighed as she caught a glimpse of the abandoned car lot to her right. As usual, nothing much stirred there. Or at the bank. Or at Gwen’s Grooming, Camelot’s only pet-friendly store. No, at this time of morning, not much fluttered but the birds. Well, the birds and Lucy Cramden, who always walked her ferret, Fiona, at the crack of dawn. Strange sight, a ferret on a bright pink leash. Just part of the quirkiness that made Camelot…Camelot.

As Amy turned into the parking lot at City Hall, the sun peeked through the fog for one magical moment, taking her breath away. She took it as a sign. A confirmation, of sorts. Surely the Lord Himself had performed this wondrous act to boost her courage. She whispered a prayer of thanksgiving and her spirits lifted immediately.

After pulling into her usual parking space, Amy turned off the car. Instead of heading for her office, she lingered in the car for a few moments, watching the colors of the sky morph from dizzying gray to pinkish blue. She used the extra time to get a handle on her thoughts. Last night’s town hall meeting had left her reeling, but this morning she’d awakened with the perfect plan, one she hoped others in town would go along with. In fact, it was such an amazingly simple idea, she had to wonder why no one had thought of it before.

She glanced out over the bluff, the panoramic view mesmerizing her as always. For as long as she could remember, Amy had always loved the dewy mornings in East Tennessee, and the changing of the seasons only made her love them more. The vibrant colors had proven spectacular last fall when the leaves turned. As a child, she’d believed her father’s tale that an artist’s paintbrush swept in across the bluff while she slept, leaving behind strokes of amber, hazy orange, and brilliant gold. Of course, she’d believed all her father’s tall tales as a kid, including the one about meeting King Arthur face-to-face and pulling Excalibur out of the rocky ledge near Beaver Creek. But who could blame her? Dad’s stories carried her away to a place deep in her imagination, and sometimes a girl just needed to travel.

“You’ve won my heart with those stories, Dad,” she whispered. A smile tugged at the corners of her lips. She allowed herself one last glimpse over the bluff before thinking about entering the real world. It offered the promise that things could be different in her sleepy little town. Yes, now that spring was finally upon them—winter’s frost finally gone—the leaves danced in brilliant shades of green. The trees that housed them stood sturdy and strong, so close together that she could scarcely see where the branches of one ended and the next picked up.

Kind of like the people of Camelot.

“It’s better than any work of art.” Amy closed her eyes to imprint the photo of the bluff on her imagination. “Only God could paint a picture like this.”

A tap on her window nearly sent her out of her skin. She let out a yelp then looked over to discover her best friend, who also happened to be the town’s newly elected mayor, grinning on the other side of the glass. Rolling down the window, she scolded him. “Steve, you scared me to death!”

“Sorry.” His gorgeous blue eyes twinkled as he flashed a smile. “Just couldn’t stand the idea of you sitting there with that goofy grin on your face. Daydreaming again?”

“N–no.” She shook her head. “Not really.”

He gave her a pensive look. “You’re up to something. I can always tell by the expression on your face.”

“W–who…me? Never!” Amy did her best to hide the smile as she rolled the window back up and climbed out of the car. Drawing in a deep breath, she tried to figure out how to begin. As they made the walk toward the front of tiny City Hall, she decided to start with the obvious. “I don’t mind telling you, that meeting last night really had me worked up. I hardly slept a wink.”

Steve sighed, and his boyish smile disappeared. “No point in worrying about it, though. God’s got this under control, Amy.”

“I know.” She waited while he opened the front door with a gentlemanly flair, allowing her to enter. “But I love this town. And the idea that it might…” She wouldn’t say the words that flitted through her mind. She didn’t dare.

“God has a plan. I know it.”

“Right.” She turned to him, ready to share her idea. “Just remember you said that, okay?”

“O–okay.” He cocked his head and gave her a what-are-you-up-to-now look as they trekked down the hall, side by side.

Amy knew that look well. She’d seen it hundreds of times over the years, going all the way back to the seventh grade when she’d decided they should turn all the desks in the classroom upside down during recess. And that time in high school when she’d laid out a plan for stealing the opposing team’s mascot for a day. And last month, when she’d suggested the city-council members host a citywide bake sale to raise funds.

Her current idea might be amazing, but Amy realized it would be a hard sell to the others on the city council. She needed to win Steve’s support first.

“Okay.” She paused at the door in front of her tiny office. “As you know, our city needs money to stay afloat. Lots of money.”

“Right.” His brow wrinkled.

“We’ve tossed around a lot of ideas, but none like the one I’ve just come up with.”

“I’m bracing myself.”

She rolled her eyes. “Problem is, we’ve been coming at this from a logical left-brained angle. I think we need a right-brained approach for once.”

“I have a feeling you’re about to be more specific. Not sure why that worries me.” Steve crossed his arms as if preparing for a showdown of wills.

“Before I tell you, I just want to reiterate that I love this little town,” she said. “I was born here, after all. And even though I left for college, I’ve seen it through hundreds of ups and downs. More downs than ups.”

“Right. Me too.” He nodded.

“I feel like the morale of our citizens is on a decline with everyone so worked up about our lack of revenue, and that breaks my heart. A place called Camelot should be idyllic, shrouded with a lovely sort of mystery.”

Steve snorted. “The only mystery around here is whether or not Old Man Brenner will have the good sense to put his dentures in before coming into town. And whether Woody Donaldson will remember that Officer O’Reilly threatened to take away his driver’s license if he goes plowing through the plate-glass window of the Sack ’n Save again in that old Mustang of his.”

Amy slugged Steve in the arm. “Be serious.”

“I am.” He chuckled but paused when she reached to take his hand. Steve glanced down at it for a second then directed his attention to her eyes.

Good. I have him now. Maybe he’ll focus so I can get this out.

“I’ve always thought of Camelot as a lovely romantic painting, a place people would want to step inside to escape the harsh realities of life. But lately it feels like the colors are fading. I’m starting to wonder if we’ll even continue to exist if someone doesn’t step up to the plate and do something, or if we’ll just…” Her voice drifted off. “Fade away like the legend,” she managed to whisper. Amy felt the sting of tears but willed herself not to cry. Not in front of Steve, at any rate.

“You know me. I’m a realist,” he said. “That’s not to say I don’t have faith, but someone has to be practical. If we can’t keep our budget in the red for more than a couple months, Camelot really
won’t
exist. That’s the cold, hard reality.”

“Exactly. But I think I’ve come up with a way to convince people this is the perfect place for romance. A place where people young and old can fall head over heels in love and be swept away by the possibilities of what could be.”

“Um, okay. Have you been watching the Lifetime Channel again?”

“No.” She groaned. “Please hear me out. According to legend, Camelot is a place for happily-ever-afters.”

“Unless you happen to be King Arthur,” he said. “In which case, it’s a place where a handsome younger man sweeps in and steals your woman while your back is turned. And then you end up at war with his country and with several of your best men dead because you made the mistake of putting your trust in someone who really couldn’t be trusted.” Steve crossed his arms and gave her a funny look. “But never mind all of that. You were saying?”

She sighed. “I’m just saying, Camelot should be a place where people can come to have their faith renewed. A place where they can dream again, hope again.”

“Ah.” A smile tipped up the edges of his mouth. “Now you’re talking. Go on.”

Amy didn’t let his playfulness deter her. Not this time. No, this time she had the perfect answer. “Camelot.” She nodded as she spoke the word. “The answer is as simple as the name of our town. Camelot.”

“O–okay.” He still looked confused.

As she opened the door to her tiny office, the C
ITY
P
LANNER
sign fell off and clattered to the floor. She picked it up and stuck it back on the door then turned her attentions once again to Steve, ready to do business.

“We’ve never taken advantage of the one thing that should be as obvious as the noses on our faces.”

“And that would be…?”

“Camelot.
The musical.” She drew in a deep breath then let the idea fly. “I think we should perform the musical
Camelot
and charge money for the tickets. Can you imagine it? People would come from all over the country to see folks from Camelot put on the musical
Camelot.”

“Wait.” He shook his head. “You’re talking about a
musical?
Like, song and dance numbers and an orchestra and the whole bit?”

“You’ve got it!” She nodded then clasped her hands together. “It’s the answer we’ve been looking for, Steve. I can see it all now—the sets, the costumes, the musical numbers, the jousting scene.…”

“Jousting scene?” His eyes widened. “You can’t be serious.”

“I am.” She grinned, her excitement growing more with each word. “And it’s going to be awesome! Think of the money it’ll bring in.”

“But how? And where?”

She could hardly contain her excitement as the words ushered forth. “We’ll build an outdoor theater behind the Civic Center, near the bluff. And we won’t have to go very far to find an audience. People are always heading over to Pigeon Forge to see the shows, and that’s just an hour and a half away. Getting tourists to stop by Camelot on their way should be a piece of cake. We’ll just have to advertise. We’ll start with a website and a great PR campaign.” She dove into a lengthy discussion about all the ways they could market this production to ensure success.

“Amy.” Steve stared at her like she’d just landed in a spaceship. “Don’t get me wrong. I like a fun idea just as much as the next guy. And the people in this town are all talented in their own ways. But…musical theater? Are you serious? I can’t imagine we would be capable of pulling off something like that. And who would direct?”

“Woody Donaldson.” She nodded, feeling more secure by the moment. “We’ll ask him to be our team leader. He used to teach drama at the Junior College in Knoxville, you know.”

“A lifetime ago!” Steve countered. “The man is nearly eighty years old. And his hearing is almost gone.”

“The city can buy him a new hearing aid,” she said. “We’ll write it off. Besides, I’m sure he would love to help out. Getting others to participate won’t be a problem, Steve. Think of all the people who sing in the choir at church. And what about Prissy Parker?”

“Prissy Parker?” Steve groaned. “The homecoming queen? Are you serious?”

Amy’s enthusiasm grew with every word. “I have it on good authority that she has the best voice in town.”

“Who told you that?” Steve asked, the creases between his brows deepening.

“Her mother.”

“Naturally.”

“You’re not giving this a fair shake,” Amy argued. “I’m telling you, this production will be the perfect solution. I wouldn’t have taken on the job of city planner if I didn’t care about this town, Steve. You know that.”

At this point, she felt the sting of tears. Steve, of all people, knew her love for their community. Why else would she have come back here after years away in Knoxville? Camelot was in her blood.

She took a seat behind her desk, wondering what he would say next. Unfortunately, Amy never had a chance to find out. In that moment, the sign fell off her door once more, this time breaking into two pieces as it landed on the floor. Steve picked it up and laid it on her desk with a sigh.

“Just promise me you’ll pray about it.” She reached for a stack of papers on her desk then gazed up into Steve’s worried eyes.

“Mm-hmm.” He nodded. “I’ll pray, all right. But just answer one question first.”

Amy tried to sound confident as she responded with, “Sure.” Looked like she had him right where she wanted him.

“Camelot took place during medieval times, right?”

“Yeah.” She shrugged.