CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Clark sat on the edge of the x-ray table as Doc and Riley looked at her wrist. They had removed the cast, and the hope was they could use a temporary cast that she could remove at night and just let her wrist breathe.

"It's healing well," said Doc. "Looks like the pond helped it along significantly. Did you break it before this?"

"Oh, yes," she smiled. "I punched Petey Thompson in second grade because he made fun of my name."

"You go, girl," smirked Riley.

"I got in a lot of trouble for that one. I learned to ignore the ribbing about my name. Didn't make it easier, but it saved me a lot of broken bones."

"Well, you're doing fine. How is everything else? I see that you're on birth control and have been for a while. Is that still working for you?" asked Riley.

"So far," she smiled. "I'm sure once we're married, I'll probably get off of it. We want to have kids."

"We love kids around here." She looked at Doc with a strange expression.

"You and Bree didn't have children?"

"Oh, yes. We absolutely did. Eva Irene. She's married to CC, Riley's son." Riley smiled at her and hugged Doc.

"We're more than colleagues, we're family," she said. "I love this big guy like he's my brother."

"Same, Riley," said Doc, smiling down at her.

"You're all so close here. I didn't have that growing up. I mean, I was really close to my parents, but I didn't have siblings. My dad had one cousin, but she never married. My mom had a sister, but she lived in Minnesota, and they didn't talk much. It was kind of weird."

"I'm sorry," said Riley. "You'll get your fill of family with us. It's usually way too much for anyone to handle."

"I love it. I love all of it. The idea of there being a lot of people at my wedding is exciting. I used to think that when I got married it would be this tiny little affair with a dozen people in attendance. Now, it will be hundreds!"

"That's for damn sure," said Doc, placing the temporary cast on her hand. "How does that feel?"

"Good. Much better than that other thing."

"Well, it's pretty much healed, but let's be sure, considering it was broken before. Do another swim in the pond tomorrow morning, and I'll look at it again."

"Thank you, Doc." She jumped to the floor from the table and followed them out of the exam room and to the back door. "You're coming with me?"

"You were our last patient," said Riley. "We all get to go home now. Tell me how you met Autumn."

"We went to college together. I was in the Marines, but she was just a civilian student. She was determined to fly her own plane and have her own business. But she was one of the best pilots I've ever known. When I heard that her plane had crashed a few years back, I couldn't believe it. I knew that it had to be mechanical failure or strange weather."

"She is a great pilot, but even great pilots make mistakes," said Doc.

"Maybe. Although I'd like to believe I don't. I'm not cocky, but I know my skills and my birds. I want to go home at night, so I don't risk my life or anyone else's life. Do you think it's strange that Alistair and I connected so quickly?"

"Not at all," laughed Riley. "Listen, CC and Eva knew one another their whole lives. Some of the other kids did too. But many of our couples met and fell in love instantly. We all have a running bet that it's Mama Irene's magic or voodoo or something. We're just not sure."

"She is a strange little woman," smiled Clark. "But I suppose strange isn't the right word. It's as if she's comforting and loving all in one bundle. You know when she's displeased just by a look on her face, and yet she still hugs you and kisses you like a grandmother."

"That's a good way to describe her. She's a bit of an angel, oracle, and devil all in one," smirked Doc.

"What are the holidays like around here? I only ask because my parents were obsessed with Christmas. All the holiday movies, hot cocoa every night, decorating the minute Thanksgiving was over."

"It's about ten notches above that," laughed Riley. "Mama Irene and Claudette do an amazing job of making sure everything is postcard perfect. We all get live trees delivered to our porches to decorate, plus a tree for inside. The food, oh my gosh, the food is out of this world. I can taste the homemade cranberry sauce now. I'm getting that twinge of something in my jaw."

Clark laughed, nodding her head.

"It sounds so wonderful," she said. "I can't wait."

"Are your folks coming for the wedding?" asked Doc.

"They are," she smiled. "They were a little concerned when I told them that someone would pick them up at the airport, and they wouldn't know exactly where they were going. I tried to tell them how important our anonymity is, but I think my mom struggles with that more than Dad."

"Don't worry, Mama Irene and Claudette will straighten her out."

"Speaking of," smiled Clark. "Claudette, the ghost, visited with me last night, along with Charity and Genevieve. She asked me if I would mind if Charity and Archie, and Genevieve and Eagle Feather , took part in our wedding ceremony. As additional couples."

"They want to be married?" asked Doc.

"I think that's what they were asking me," said Clark. "I think it's sweet. I can't imagine being dead or being a ghost, for that matter. But to find the one you love and not be able to have all the things you dreamed of seems cruel."

"Let's talk to Mama Irene and Claudette. I'm sure they can figure something out. I know that she was able to find a compromise for Claudette and Tony."

"How does that work?" frowned Clark. "I mean, Claudette is young. Only fourteen or so."

"Technically, she's almost two hundred years old," said Doc. "She has more knowledge about this land and this place than almost anyone. Her mind grew, but her body stayed as it was. But imagine being deprived of love because you died before your time. Now, that doesn't seem fair."

"I agree," nodded Clark. "I'm all for them getting married with us if that's what they want." Riley laughed, Doc shaking his head.

"Clark, you're already one of us, but that just proved it. You are definitely a Belle Fleur girl."