Identity Crisis (Rocky Mountain Novella Series) (3 page)

     “It was fun.  Kawoski threw me a bachelor party,” Steel answered without giving any details.  They would have time to discuss that while on their honeymoon.  He was curious about Kristen’s night, but didn’t want to pressure her for any details.  So, instead he wished her sweet dreams. 

     Both Kristen and Steel shared the same dream that night.  It was all about the perfect wedding that they had both been dreaming about for the last year.  Their only hope was that the real thing would be just as perfect. 

     Kristen’s and Steel’s wedding was to begin at four, but before that there was still so much to deal with.  Kristen decided not to hire a wedding planner and instead did all of the planning herself, with the help of Julie. 

     When she woke up at ten, Kristen was glad she didn’t seem to have a hangover.  Still, as she recalled the night before and especially the stripper, she wanted to bury her head under a pillow and just stay in bed.  By the time her alarm sounded for the fifth time, she stopped hitting the snooze button and forced herself to get out of bed. 

     “This is it…your big day,” she told herself as she studied her face in the bathroom mirror.  She hoped that the makeup artist would be able to do something with the bags under her eyes.  She wanted to look perfect for Steel on their big day. 

     After throwing on some sweatpants and a tank, Kristen headed out to her car.  The plan was to meet at Julie’s where she would get her hair and makeup ready.  The wedding was being held at a private venue that’s sole business was holding wedding ceremonies.  That’s where Kristen would get dressed. 

     “Are you nervous?” Julie asked as she gave Kristen a hug.  Kristen didn’t know how Julie did it, but she looked completely rested and refreshed. 

     “I don’t think it’s hit me yet,” Kristen confessed.  “I don’t think it will until I’m in my dress about to go down the aisle.”

     The two best friends talked all about Kristen’s honeymoon as the hair and makeup people did their jobs.  The entire process took almost three hours.  Kristen began to feel bad about herself at how long it seemed to take to be made beautiful, but as she looked at the finished product in the mirror she was amazed. 

     “Oh my God, I’m so beautiful,” she cried.  The hair and makeup people did a wonderful job and she couldn’t be happier. 

     “Well, don’t cry,” Julie warned.  “You’ll ruin all your makeup.”  Kristen laughed and dabbed her eyes with a tissue. 

     While Kristen was busy primping, Steel was just waking up.  His only real duty was to get to the venue on time and get dressed in his tuxedo.

     Julie and Kawoski communicated with each other as they arrived at the venue to make sure that neither Kristen nor Steel saw each other.  After they had the soon to be bride and groom in their changing rooms, they met in the hallway. 

     “So, how’s Steel doing?  Is he getting cold feet?” Julie asked.  She promised Kristen she would find out, though she was sure she would tell her everything was fine regardless of what the real answer was. 

     “He’s doing great,” Kawoski answered honestly.  He was actually surprised at how calm Steel was.  “How’s Kristen?”

     “So far, she’s good.  I know she won’t have second thoughts, but I think she’ll start getting more and more nervous as it gets closer to the ceremony,” she confessed but made him promise not to worry Steel. 

     The two lingered for a bit and flirted before finally heading back to the changing rooms when Kawoski received a text from Steel. 

     Kristen began to tear up again as she looked at herself in her dress.  It was passed down from her mom, and in it, she thought they looked a lot alike.  That was impossible, though, since Kristen was adopted, but she still liked feeling the connection to the woman she barely remembered.  She was getting emotional thinking about how proud her father would be to see her in her mother’s dress.  She had to stop, though, before she streaked her face with mascara.

     “This is it,” she said when she was notified that the wedding march was about to begin.  She and Julie squeezed each other’s hands before saying goodbye. 

     “I’ll see you up there,” Julie promised.  That’s when the nerves set in for Kristen.  She hadn’t had to do anything alone up until that point.  Standing there alone, wondering if Steel had gotten cold feet or if something were to go wrong was scary. 

     Before she knew it, though, she found herself marching down the aisle.  She didn’t have someone giving her away.  She didn’t feel comfortable with giving that spot to someone else since her father died.  She knew he was beside her in spirit. 

     “Hi,” she mouthed to Steel when she met him in front of the minister.  He looked very handsome in his tuxedo.  It was the first time she had really seen him dressed up.  They made a stunning couple.

     During the ceremony, Steel and Kristen recited the vows they had written for each other.  Kristen was touched at how emotional Steel became as he recited his.  She didn’t think he would be so open in them, but it was obvious he put his whole heart into them.  It was that dedication that made Kristen love him so much. 

     As they promised to love and cherish one another for the rest of their lives, Kristen forgot about her nerves and all the people watching.  For that moment in time, she felt as if it were just her, Steel and the minister in the room…no one else. 

     The wedding went off without a hitch, and the newly wedded couple was taken to take a series of pictures around the property which was just as amazing as Kristen remembered it.

     After the photographer got all the shots he needed, Steel and Kristen were sent to change for the reception.  “I love you, Mrs. Steel,” Steel said to Kristen before letting her go.  She loved hearing her new name, though it sounded strange to her.  She knew she would get used to it and her new life.  It would just take time.  She couldn’t be any happier, though. 

     By the time, Steel and Kristen showed up at the reception, the crowds were already dancing and having a great time.  “Let’s hear it for the beautiful bride and groom!” Julie announced in the microphone as she saw Kristen and Steel enter the room.  Everyone clapped.  “Are you two ready for your first dance together as Mr. and Mrs. Steel?”

     Before Kristen could answer, she was tapped on the shoulder by the venue’s coordinator.  “I’m really sorry to interrupt, but there’s a call for you.  They say it’s an emergency,” the man told Kristen and Steel. 

     Julie overheard and volunteered to take the call so Kristen could dance with her husband.  “I’ll come and get you if it’s something serious.  Just get out there and dance with your gorgeous hubby,” she ordered. 

     Julie made her way down the main hallway, and turned onto a smaller hallway to answer the courtesy phone. 

     She was stopped by an older woman who was looking for the restroom.  She assumed he must be one of Steel’s guests, or possibly someone attending another function at the venue.  “I think there’s one just around the corner,” she told the woman who thanked her for her kindness. 

     When she reached the desk to answer the waiting phone call, the line was silent.  “Hello?” she said into the phone for the second time.  She wondered if whoever it was had hung up.  She listened into the receiver and heard a click that sounded like the call had been disconnected.  “Oh well,” she said and turned to head back to the party. 

     She never made it back.  Just before she turned the corner to the main hallway, someone grabbed her from behind!

     Derek Moore had been hired to do a job.  It wasn’t something he was proud of, but it was work and that was hard to come by.  He had only made it through the fifth grade in school and since then he had spent most of his time in and out of correctional facilities.  Most recently, he had finished a ten-year stint for forgery. 

     The job was simple.  He was supposed to grab the girl and then hand her over.  He was paid ten thousand dollars and promised that the girl wouldn’t be hurt.  It was a no-brainer.  He knew he could get caught and go back to prison, but at least there he would have shelter and food.  It was worth the risk in his eyes. 

     Derek followed the instructions he was given and dressed as a groundskeeper.  As he walked from his van to the main building, no one seemed to give him a second glance. 

     He stopped outside the side door of the building and pulled out his cell phone.  When the call was answered he relayed the words that had been given to him to say and then waited. 

     Just as he was told it would happen, a woman in a fancy dress approached the phone and picked it up.  He watched from around the corner, and quietly hung up his cell phone.  When the woman wasn’t looking and the hall looked clear, he made his move.   
    

     One second, Julie was hanging up the courtesy phone she had answered so that her best friend, Kristen, could dance with her husband and the next she felt a hand cover her mouth tightly and drag her backwards. 

     The hand smelled of dirt and grease, and was rough and calloused.  At first, Julie thought it was just one of the guys trying to scare her.  When the grip tightened much more forcefully than necessary for a trick, she began to panic.  She struggled to break loose, but the man’s other hand placed a wet cloth over her nose. 

     “Don’t pass out!” she told herself as she used every ounce of strength remaining to scream for help.  In spite of the hand held firmly over her mouth, she still hoped someone would hear her muffled and muted cries. 

     Julie was still conscious when the man holding her, who she still had yet to get a glimpse of, pulled her out a side door and into the parking lot.  She saw a dark blue van that looked like it had been painted by a few cans of spray paint.  That’s the last thing she could remember before everything went dark.

     “Hi, bossman,” Derek said into the phone as he drove the van to the warehouse.  The woman, while dainty, was difficult to get into the back of the van but he managed.  The only thing left to do was hand her over and he would get paid.  “I’ve got her.”  Derek’s boss questioned him about the woman.  “Yes, she has short hair, like you said she would and is wearing a fancy dress,” Derek answered.  If he didn’t need the money so badly, he wouldn’t put up with being treated as if he were some dumb moron.  He didn’t have a choice, though, so he bit his tongue and reminded himself that soon he would have ten thousand dollars in cash. 

     It took ninety minutes for Derek to reach the warehouse where he was supposed to hand the woman off.  It was way out in the country and the directions he was given involved many turns, some which took him on dirt roads.  By the time he arrived, he was sure he had not been followed.  For the last twenty minutes of the drive, he didn’t see a single car anywhere. 

     The warehouse building appeared to be abandoned, and Derek didn’t see any other cars around.  He checked the back of the van to make sure the woman he kidnapped was still passed out before heading inside to check out the warehouse. 

     There was nothing much inside the warehouse.  He tried the lights but they didn’t work.  There was a window, though, so Derek could see the rat droppings that covered the concrete floor.  He found a chair in the long unused office and set it up so he could have a place to put the woman in his van. 

     He slumped her over his shoulder and brought her inside.  Once he had her sitting upright in the chair, he used some scraps of rope from his van to tie her wrists and ankles to the chair.  Then, he waited…glancing at his phone every few minutes to check the time. 

     “Thank you everyone for making our wedding such a great and memorable day,” Kristen announced at the end of their reception.  As she made the impromptu speech, Kristen felt tears come to her eyes.  “We’re going to get out of here before I start crying,” she laughed which sent everyone else into laughter. 

     The crowd at the reception followed Kristen and Steel out as they ran towards their waiting limousine.  As usual, well wishes were being yelled out and rice was thrown from every direction. 

     “Man, who decided throwing rice at a bride and groom was a good idea?” Kristen asked once she was safely inside the limo.  “I almost lost an eye.”  Kristen had never been on the receiving end of the rice throw.  It was definitely a different experience. 

     Steel chuckled and checked out his wife’s eye.  It finally hit him, Kristen was now his wife.  It felt good to realize that his dreams had finally come true.  “Well, it’s worth possibly losing an eye to get to spend the rest of your life with your soul-mate,” he said before planting a kiss on his wife’s lips.

     The limo drove Kristen and Steel directly to the airport where they would head out for their honeymoon.  Even without their tuxedo and wedding gown, the crowds at the airport still stared as Kristen and Steel exited the limo. 

     “I kind-of feel like a movie star,” Kristen joked.  She half expected paparazzi to pop up and start shooting photos of her and Steel.

     At the check-in counter, Steel let it slip that they were travelling for their honeymoon and the airline employee bumped them up to first class for free. 

     “That is so sweet of you,” Kristen told the lady before thanking her profusely.  Kristen had never flown first class, and was really looking forward to it.  She had heard stories of seats that lay fully back into beds and steaks and ice cream being served, in addition to champagne.  Most of those stories came from overseas flights, but she and Steel were going to Hawaii, so she figured there might be some similar perks.  At the very least, the seats would be bigger and roomier.