At the long table, Nancy and Ned were in the middle. Frank was sitting on Nancy’s right with George beside him. Bess was sitting on Ned’s left with Joe beside her.

Once everyone arrived, the good was served. Every time the guests tapped their glasses with their spoons, Nancy and Ned kissed.

When dinner was over, the music began to play. The first song was for Nancy and Ned. They danced closed, looking into one another’s eyes. They didn’t seem to realize there were other people in the room. As the next song began, Frank and George joined them, as did Bess and Joe. The other guests soon followed.

After an hour of dancing, Nancy tossed her bouquet. Bess caught it. Nancy then sat down in a chair. Ned pulled her garter belt off and tossed it into the crowd. Frank caught the garter belt.

As Frank handed the garter belt back to Nancy, there was a gunshot. Then there were screams as people dove for the floor. Silence settled on the room as everyone looked around. Nancy saw a big guy standing at the door.

He was easy to recognize. He was so out of place. He was still wearing the leather jacket and black T-shirt she had last seen him in. It was Chief and he had a rifle in his hand.

Nancy felt Ned take hold of her arm as she got to her feet. Chief pointed the rifle in her direction and started to move toward her. The guests moved out of the way. Nancy looked out of the corner of her eye and saw Chief McGinnis among the guests. He was slowly making his way toward Chief.

Nancy focused on Chief. She calmly asked, “What do you want?”

“I’m here to pay you back. You ruined my plans. Now you have to pay. You will pay.”

“Let’s talk about this,” Nancy said. “No one needs to get hurt.”

“Only one person is going to get hurt. You. I hate it when my plans are ruined. Someone always ends up paying for it.”

Frank and Joe moved up beside her and Ned. Frank was on Nancy’s left while Joe was on Nancy’s right. Nancy saw them move toward her out of the corner of her eye.

Nancy focused back on Chief. “What you were doing was wrong. You had to be stopped.”

“No one will stop me. It was a mistake for you to get involved.” He pointed the rifle right at her. “It’s time for you to pay.”

“Wait, Henry. We can talk this over.”

“Don’t call me that!” Henry eyed his target. “The mistake is about to be taken care of.”

There was a gunshot. Nancy felt herself being pulled to the floor. She hit the floor hard. Nancy had her eyes closed. She could hear people screaming. She couldn’t believe Chief had shot her. Nancy slowly moved her arms, then her legs to see what part of her body had been injured. But nothing hurt.

Nancy opened her eyes. She saw Henry was in handcuffs. Chief McGinnis had a hand on Henry’s arm. Chief McGinnis also had the rifle.

Nancy saw her father hurrying toward her. She sat up as he reached her. She gave Carson a hug as he asked, “Are you all right?”

“I’m okay,” Nancy said. She leaned back. “Where’s Ned?”

“He’s behind you.”

Nancy turned. Ned way lying on his back. He wasn’t moving. She crawled over to him. When she got closer, she noticed he was gritting his teeth. His eyes were closed and his face was pale.

“Ned, what is it?” Nancy asked.

“My arm burns,” Ned said, through gritted teeth.