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Red Morning Glory (Smoky Mountain Mist Series) (Volume 2)

By Cyn Taylor

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Glory Donaghan congratulated herself on pulling everything together for the bike ride with her church youth group through Cades Cove. The planning had gone well, considering the amount of prep time.
Some in the church congregation continued their disapproving stares regarding her position as interim youth leader. This trip should help them see her in a different light. Rumors continued to spread that someone in the modeling profession shouldn’t be influencing young people for this length of time.
She’d explained her ‘profession’ did not involve anything more risqué than a one-piece swimsuit. Since the Donaghan family had only recently come to terms with how she earned a living, how could those in her church understand?
Wagging tongues would not get her down today. Church volunteers put together a picnic for after the ride. Others would transport the youth group and their bikes, plus extra bikes for those who didn’t have their own. One of the dads volunteered to drive the church bus to take everything else. Enough ointment and bandages to cover every square inch of every teen in the group took up space in the back of the bus, just in case.
Pleased at her organization, Glory mentally patted herself on the back at five-thirty a.m. the day of their trip. Her cell phone rang as she waited for kids and volunteers to arrive at the church. Most likely her sister Dawn running late with her daughter, Charlotte. Things didn’t always move at a timely pace in the Ratliffe household. Pastor Greg’s voice surprised her.
Putting her phone on speaker, she watched Marlee, her niece Charlotte’s best friend, climb out of a vehicle. Her stepfather Ben drove the car and gave Glory an evil grin as he pulled away. She was surprised Marlee had come. Charlotte had said she might not make it given her home situation.
“Good morning, Glory,” Pastor Greg’s bubbly voice greeted her. His smile radiated from the other end of the line. “How are you today?”
“I’m fine Pastor Greg. I’m surprised to hear from you this early, especially on a Saturday. Is everything okay?” Only half listening, she watched the Hager twins arrive, surprised to see them as well. Jason and Jarod had proclaimed to all in the group for the past two weeks that the bike ride would be lame. Maybe the pair would be open to some spiritual guidance during the trip.
“I couldn’t sleep this morning for thinking about something,” Pastor brought her attention back to the call. “I don’t know why I would be worried, you’ve done such a good job with everything I’m sure you thought of this…but…”
“Pastor Greg, what’s bothering you? I think I’ve pulled everything together and can’t think of anything I’m missing. What is it?”
“I shouldn’t have called. I’m certain you got the permission slips signed for the kids whose parents aren’t chaperoning today. I don’t know why I thought otherwise. I’m sorry Glory. Please forgive me for doubting you.”
Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. He had brought up the one thing she forgot.
“Glory? Are you still there? Glory?”
“Oh, Pastor Greg, how can I possibly get twenty-seven permission slips printed and signed by parents in time to make our trip? How could I have forgotten something so important? I have to go. Bye.”
Tears started to form as she paced from side to side in an attempt to pull her thoughts together. Dawn pulled up to drop off Charlotte and waved. Her sister drove away as soon as Charlotte’s feet hit the ground and the van door closed behind her.
“No, no, wait.” Glory yelled, but Dawn had already started down the hill from the church.
Charlotte looked concerned when she saw her aunt’s face. “Aunt Glory, what’s wrong?”
Glory tried to calm down. “Everything’s okay, at least I hope it will be.” Placing her hands on her niece’s shoulders, she explained. “Oh, Charlotte, I’m so sorry but we may not be able to make our trip today after all.”
Charlotte’s face fell instantly. “What is it Aunt Glory? When you were at our house yesterday, I heard you tell Mom you had everything ready. What’s happened?”
The Hager twins walked over and handed Glory a cup from a well-known coffeehouse.
“Here, Miss Donaghan.” Jarod put the cup in her hand. “This is a special coffee especially for you.”
Shocked by the gesture, and hardly knowing what to say, she mumbled a thank you. Coffee held no appeal for her, but a large gulp helped stall before answering her niece. It tasted horrible. The boys addled off, smiling.
Swallowing, she explained her mistake to her niece. “Well, Charlotte, in all my planning I forgot the most important thing. I didn’t send out permission slips to the parents.”
“Oh, that’s too bad. But can you and I still go? And Marlee?”
“What? Why would you think the three of us could still go, Charlotte?”
“Because I have mine and Marlee’s permission slips,” Charlotte told her with the simple thinking of a teenager.
Great. The one kid who didn’t need permission to be with her came prepared. “You do? How?”
“I don’t know. Mom handed them to me as we drove over, and told me to be sure and give them to you the second I got here. So can we go?”
Maybe other parents had foreseen this possibility and come prepared. Closing her eyes, a silent prayer went up asking God to handle the situation and allow her group to make this trip.
Before her prayer ended, more vehicles came up the drive. Car after car after truck arrived. Taking a couple more gulps of coffee and wondering at the bitter taste, she set the cup down on the church steps.
As the first parent and teen exited their vehicle, Glory prepared her apology but never got a chance to use it.
“Good morning girls,” Mary Abel greeted her and Charlotte, “Do you want Brenda’s permission slip or should I keep it with me since I’m chaperoning?”
“What?” Glory couldn’t believe her ears.
“Well,” Mary folded the slip and placed it in her folder, “since I’m going along it should be okay if I keep it with me. In fact, I’m sure you have a lot of last minute instructions and plans to go over with everyone. I’ll go ahead and collect all of the slips for you.”
No need to explain now. Mary would find out soon enough what a poor job her church’s interim youth director had done when all the other kids showed up with no permission slips. Glory gave a nod to her friend as a headache started behind her temples.
Parents arrived and either deposited their kids with Mary or parked and got out to await their chaperoning instructions. Mary collected permission slips from them all. How could these kids, who often couldn’t remember to comb their hair or tie their shoes, have remembered permission slips?
Her phone rang again. What problem awaited her now? “Hello,” she whispered into the receiver.
“Hi, Sis. How’s your morning going?”
“Dawn. Why did you fly away so fast? I could have used your help.”
“What on earth could you possibly need from me, little sister? You told me yesterday you had everything completely under control. Oh, I know, maybe you needed someone to call all the parents and remind them to sign the permission slips I passed out last Sunday. And to bring them today. But wait. I already did.”
“Oh, Dawn, how can I ever thank you? Wait a minute.” Glory blew a stray strand of hair from her eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me what you’d done this morning before you left instead of putting me through this? I nearly panicked and called everyone to tell them not to come. Kind of mean, don’t you think?”
“Maybe, Sis, but I’ll bet you won’t ever forget again. Right?” Dawn chuckled. “Gotta go. Have fun. I already have.”
Her sister hung up, leaving her with much more she wanted to say. It would have to wait until after the ride. Torn between gratitude for what Dawn did, and irritation at how she did it, Glory picked up the coffee and took a couple more swallows. Her mouth stung. Deciding the brew held the power to make her ill, she sauntered to the back of the church hoping to go unnoticed. After making certain the twins weren’t watching, Glory tossed the cup in the outdoor trashcan.
“Glory,” Mary called to her. “Looks like everyone’s here and permission slips are in order. You looked busy so I handed out instructions and directions to the chaperones.” What would she have done without Mary? Her friend headed toward her own car. “Shall we get everyone partnered up and loaded into their vehicles?”
“Yes, thank you, Mary.”
“And thank you, Lord,” Glory whispered.
The sun brightened the sky behind the church. Watching in awe as everything around her turned a brilliant red, Glory caught her breath at the beauty of the morning. What was the old saying? “Red sky at morning, sailors take warning.” Her morning had certainly started with a bang. Better to remember the verse from Psalm 30. “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” Yep. Much better phrase to start the day. Her head pounded harder, likely from stress.
Pulling her phone from her pocket, she punched in Pastor Greg’s number. He picked up immediately. “Hello, Glory. Are we good to go? It sounded like you had a problem when I called earlier.”
“Sorry, Pastor Greg. Dawn took care of the permission slips. Mary pulled everything else together. It’s going well, and we’re about ready to start our trip. Just wanted to let you know.”
“I had faith you would get it worked out.” Relief resonated in his voice. “Hope you have a wonderful day.”
“I’m sure we will. Now.”
Speaking another brief prayer of thanks to the Lord for working everything out, she hopped in her car where Charlotte and Marlee were waiting. The two had been ecstatic when they had both drawn her as chaperone.
“Riding with you will be the coolest,” Marlee told her. “No way we’ll be bored.”
Glory smiled, thinking the rest of her day would have to be less stressful. She rubbed her temples before latching her seat belt. “Okay girls, you know the rules. Buckle up.”
They did as instructed before Charlotte turned on her iPod and handed one earphone to Marlee. Both girls would be oblivious to her presence for the next forty miles, but they didn’t mean to offend. Good thing they were riding with her as they had hoped, so they wouldn’t be bored. This brought another smile. Her focus needed to be on driving anyway. If only this headache would go away. Her stomach did flip-flops now as well. No more coffee for her.
Not feeling quite herself, Glory still enjoyed the drive to Cades Cove. The Great Smoky Mountains contained an awesome natural beauty. Driving through the small community of Townsend, it amazed her at how little the place had changed in her lifetime. Although theme parks and other tourist attractions were springing up daily in the area, Townsend managed to keep its quaintness and hometown naivety. In her opinion, this made it the best entryway into the mountains. The busy streets of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg held no appeal when competing with the serene drive through this small town.
Passing by Little River Outfitters, a promise made to herself came to mind. That of learning to fly fish before turning twenty-five. She’d first encountered the sport during a photo shoot for that business. Even though it involved getting into water, it looked appealing because of the solitude. A people person by nature, she still needed time alone to keep her priorities in order. Fly fishing seemed like the perfect outlet.
Decking out in waders and other fly fishing attire had been fun. Glory hoped experiencing the real thing would happen soon. Mountain streams held an appeal much less frightening than an ocean. Little River Outfitters owner, Paula Begley, had become a friend during the shoot, and Glory had promised to return soon for lessons.
Since her near drowning last year, she’d prayed consistently for the Lord to help her overcome her fear of water. He had been faithful. She was now an excellent swimmer after lessons last winter and took every opportunity to get her feet wet.
Fly fishing looked relaxing and easy to learn. Her friend and boss Bree Walters and her husband Grant told her they would join her in an attempt to master the craft. One more thing there’d been no time for since taking on the role of youth leader. They would have to arrange lessons soon. Guides were hard to come by once fall, and thousands of tourists, arrived in the Smokies.
Once again, she found herself hoping Pastor Greg would find a replacement soon. She felt under-age and under-qualified as youth leader. A number of church members would shout an “Amen” to that. But knowing a few of them felt the way they did about her because of her profession upset her less and less. Pastor Greg continued to tell her things were going well and that the youth loved her.
Turning right after the “Y” they passed the entrance to Tremont and continued toward the Cove. Her heart beat faster. The Lord had granted her prayer for gorgeous weather and the morning glowed with promise. She could barely wait to get on her bike and into the Cove. The fresh air should help the persistent headache and make her stomach feel better as well.
Raised on the outskirts of these mountains, she’d developed a renewed appreciation for them while experiencing their beauty through the eyes of Bree and Grant. They had taken her with them on many of their excursions, at first under protest. Grateful for their persistence, she’d hiked out-of-the-way trails and experienced wonderful places.
The Walters deserved thanks once again for suggesting an outing most of the youth were excited to attend. The Hager twins had made it known they thought it childish. Since they were part of the entourage for the day, their parents must have insisted they come. But they had been thoughtful enough to bring her coffee. Maybe they were changing.
The Hager’s were riding with Mary. The conversation had to be more stimulating in that vehicle. Her own occupants hadn’t spoken a word since leaving the church. Charlotte and Marlee didn’t intend to be rude, they just preferred their own brand of entertainment to adult conversation with her. Her new status of transitioning from youth to adult in the eyes of the teenagers held little appeal for her.
As they approached the entrance to Cades Cove, she¬ interrupted the girls from their musical trance. “We’re here, girls. Are you excited about our ride?”
Looking in her rear-view mirror, she saw two heads nod in response. In spite of that nominal reaction, she had a good feeling about the day ahead. It would be exciting to see Bree and Grant again and bike through the Cove. She’d look back on the feeling and wonder if the red sunrise held a personal warning.

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