HER SECRET HUSBAND

by Andrea Laurence

  In the gathering darkness, Julianne noticed a dancing light coming up the main tree lane from the house. The snow had let up a little, making it easier to see the figure was walking toward her with a flashlight. She tensed. She was at a tentative truce with the trees, but she wasn’t sure if adding another person would work. It didn’t feel as secure as being here alone.

  Then she made out the distinctive bright blue of the coat and realized it was Heath. She sighed. Why had he followed her out here? She needed some time alone to mourn their relationship and deal with a hellish day.

  Heath stopped a few feet short of the rock, not crowding into her space. “Your rock has missed you.”

  At that Julianne chuckled. Even Heath remembered how much time she had spent sitting in this very spot when they were kids. “Fortunately, time is relative to a rock.”

  “I still feel bad for it. I know I couldn’t go that long without you in my life.”

  The light atmosphere between then shifted. Her gaze lifted to meet his, her smile fading. “Life doesn’t always work out the way you plan. Even for a rock.”

  “I disagree. Life might throw obstacles in your path, but if you want something with your whole heart and soul, you have to fight for it. Nothing that’s easy is worth having and nothing worth having is easy. You, Julianne, have been incredibly difficult.”

  “I’m going to take that as a compliment.”

  He smiled. “You should. I meant it as one. You’re worth every moment of pain and frustration and confusion I’ve gone through. And I think, perhaps, that we might have weathered the trials. In every fairy tale, the prince and the maiden have obstacles to triumph over and strengthen their love. I think the evil villain has been defeated. I’m ready for the happy ending.”

  It sounded good. Really, it did. But so much had happened. Could they really ever get back to a happy ending? “Life isn’t a fairy tale, Heath. We’re divorced. I’ve never read a story where the prince and his princess divorce.”

  “Yeah, but they have angry dragons and evil wizards. I’ll take a divorce any day because things can always change. We don’t have to stay divorced. We can slay this dragon, if you’re willing to face it with me.”

  She watched as his hand slipped into his coat pocket and retrieved a small box. A jewelry box. Her heart stilled in her chest. What was he doing? They’d been divorced for two days. He wasn’t really...he couldn’t possibly want this after everything that had happened.

  “Heath...” she began.

  “Let me say what I need to say,” he insisted. “When we were eighteen, we got married for all the wrong reasons. We loved each other but we were young and stupid. We didn’t think it through. Life is complicated and we were unprepared for the reality of it. But I also think we got divorced for all the wrong reasons.”

  Heath crouched down at the foot of the rock, looking up at her. “I love you. I’ve always loved you. I never imagined my life or my future without you in it. I was hurt that you wouldn’t open up to me and I used our divorce to punish you for it. Now, I understand why you held back. And I realized that everything you did that hurt me was also meant to somehow protect me.

  “You said at the police station today that I was willing to go to jail for you. And you were right. I was willing to take on years of misery behind bars to protect you. Just as you were willing to give me a divorce and face a future alone in the hopes that I could find someone to make me happy.”

  “That’s not the same,” she insisted.

  “A self-imposed prison is just as difficult to escape as one of iron and stone, Jules.” He held up the box and looked her square in the eye. “Consider this a jailbreak.”

  “Are you honestly telling me that between Parisian jet lag, getting divorced, getting arrested and spending all day at the police station, you had the time to go to the jeweler and buy an engagement ring?”

  “No,” he said.

  Julianne instantly felt foolish. Had she misinterpreted the whole thing? If there were earrings in that box she would feel like an idiot. “Then what is going on? If you’re not proposing, what are you doing?”

  “I am proposing. But you asked if I went to a jeweler and I didn’t. I went to talk to Ken.”

  Julianne swallowed hard. “We agreed we weren’t going to tell them about us.”

  “Correction. We agreed not to tell them we were married before. You said nothing about telling him that I was in love with you and wanted his blessing to marry you. No one needs to know it’s round two for us.”

  She winced, torn between her curiosity about what was in the box, her elation about his confession of love and how her daddy had taken the news. “What happened?” she asked.

  Heath smiled wide, easing her concerns. “He asked me what the hell had taken so long. And then he gave me this.” He opened the hinge on the box to reveal the ring inside.

  It couldn’t be. Julianne’s jaw dropped open. The large round diamond, the eight diamonds encircling it, the intricate gold lacework of the dull, worn band... It was her grandmother’s wedding ring. She hadn’t seen this ring since she was a small child and Nanna was still alive.

  Heath pulled the ring from the box and held it up to her. “The last ring I gave you was cheap and ugly. This time, I have enough money to buy you any ring you’d like, but I wanted a ring that meant something. Ken told me that they had been saving this ring in the hopes that one day it would be your engagement ring. He knew how much you loved your nanna and thought this would be perfect. I was inclined to agree.

  “Julianne Eden, will you marry me again?”

  * * *

  Heath was kneeling in the snow, freezing and holding his breath. Julianne took far too long to answer. Her expression changed faster than he could follow. At first, she’d stared at that ring like he was holding up a severed head. Then her expression softened and she seemed on the verge of tears. After that, she’d gone stony and silent. Waiting more than a beat or two to answer a question like this was really bad form.

  “Yes.”

  And then his heart leapt in his chest. “Yes?”

  Julianne smiled, her eyes brimming with tears. “Yes, I will marry you again.”

  Heath scrambled to slip the ring onto her finger. It flopped around a bit. “I’m sorry it’s too big. We’ll get it sized down as soon as we can get to a jeweler.”

  “That’s okay. Nanna was Daddy’s mother and I take after Mama’s side of the family. We’re much tinier people.” She looked down at the ring and her face was nearly beaming. “I love it. It’s more than perfect.”

  She lunged forward into his arms, knocking him backward into the snow. Before he knew it, he was lying in the cold fluff and Julianne was on top of him, kissing him. Not so bad, after all. He ignored the cold, focusing on the taste of the lips he’d thought he might never kiss again. That was enough to warm his blood and chase off any chill.

  Julianne was going to marry him. That just left telling Molly. Even though he now knew that Julianne had never kept their relationship a secret out of embarrassment, the idea shouldn’t bother him, but he still felt a nervous tremble in his stomach. A part of him was afraid to say the words. “It’s getting dark. Are you ready to head back to the house and tell everyone?”

  He expected her to dodge the way she always did, to make some excuse, to say that she wanted to celebrate with just the two of them for now. A part of him would even understand if she wanted to wait until tomorrow after all the drama of the day.

  “Absolutely,” she said, smiling down at him. “I’m thrilled to give them some good news for a change.”

  Relief flooded through him, and the last barrier to total bliss was gone. They got up and held hands as they walked back through the trees to the house. When they came in together through the back door, Molly was in the kitchen cooking and Ken was in the living room reading a book.

  “Mom, do you have a minute?”

  Molly nodded, more focused on the boiling of her potatoes than the clasping
of their hands. “Yes, these need to go for a bit longer.”

  “Come into the living room,” Heath said, herding her ahead of them to sit down next to Ken by the fireplace.

  Heath and Julianne sat opposite them. He was still holding Julianne’s hand for support. She leaned into him, placing her left hand over their clasped ones and inadvertently displaying her ring.

  “Mom, Dad...” Heath began.

  “What is that?” Molly asked, her eyes glued on Julianne’s hand. “Is that an engagement ring? Wait. Is that Nanna’s ring?” She turned to Ken with an accusatory glare. “You knew about this and you didn’t tell me!”

  Ken shrugged. If he got wound up every time Molly did, he would have had twenty heart attacks by now. “He asked for my blessing, so I gave him the ring. That’s what you wanted, didn’t you? Saving the ring for Jules was your idea.”

  “Of course it’s what I wanted.” Molly’s emotions seemed to level out as she realized she should be more focused on the fact that Heath and Julianne were engaged. A bright smile lit her face. “My baby is getting married!” She leapt from her chair and gathered Julianne into her arms.

  She tugged Heath up from his seat to hug him next. “I didn’t even know you two were seeing each other,” she scolded. “A heads-up would have been nice before you dropped a marriage bomb on me! Lordy, so much news today. Is there anything else you all need to tell us?”

  Heath stiffened in her arms. He was never good at lying to Molly, but Julianne was adamant that their prior marriage stay quiet, no matter what. “Isn’t this enough?” he said with a smile.

  “Wonderful news,” Molly said, her eyes getting misty and far off as her mind drifted. “We’ll have the wedding here at the farm,” she declared. “It will be beautiful. Everyone in town will want to come. Please don’t tell me you want a small affair or destination wedding in Antigua.”

  Julianne smiled and patted Molly’s shoulder. “We’ll have it here, I promise. And it can be as big and fabulous as you can imagine it.”

  “This time,” Heath added, “I think we need to have a grand wedding with the big cake and a swing band.”

  “This time?” Molly said, her brow furrowed.

  Julianne turned to look at him, her green eyes wide with silent condemnation. It wasn’t until then that Heath fully realized what he’d said. Damn it. With a shake of her head, Julianne held out her hand, gesturing for him to spill the last of their secrets. They might as well.

  “Uh, Mom...” he began. “Julianne and I, uh, eloped when we were eighteen.”

  Both he and Julianne took a large step backward out of the blast zone. Molly’s eyes grew wide, but before she could open her mouth, Ken stood up and clasped her shoulders tightly. It made Heath wonder if it was Ken’s subtle restraining of his tiny wife hidden beneath the guise of supportiveness.

  Molly’s mouth opened, then closed as she took a deep breath to collect her thoughts. “When did this happen?”

  “While we were on our European vacation after graduation.”

  “You two immediately went off to separate schools when you got home,” she said with a frown.

  “Yeah, we didn’t plan that well,” Heath admitted. Even if they’d had the perfect honeymoon and had come home blissfully in love they still would have faced the huge obstacles of where they went from there. They were heading to different schools a thousand miles apart. Not exactly the best way to start a marriage, but an ideal way to start a trial separation.

  “And how long were you two married? I’m assuming you’re divorced now, considering you’re engaged again.”

  This time Heath looked at Julianne. It was her turn to fess up since they were married that long due to her own procrastination.

  “Eleven years. Our divorce was final a couple days ago.”

  Molly closed her eyes. “I’m not going to ask. I really don’t think I want to know. You think you know what’s going on in your kids’ lives, but you have no clue. You two were married this whole time. Xander and Rose had a baby I never knew about. And to think I believed all of you were too busy with careers and I might never see everyone settled down!”

  “We would’ve told you, Mama, but we pretty much broke up right after we married. We’ve been separated all this time.”

  “I think I’ve had about all the news I can take for one day, good or bad. This calls for a pot of tea, I think. You can let go of me now, Ken.” Molly headed for the kitchen, then stopped in the entryway. “I might as well ask...you’re not pregnant, are you?”

  Julianne shook her head adamantly. “No, Mama. I promise we are not pregnant.”

  “All right,” she said. “You two wash up. It’s almost time for supper.”

  Molly disappeared. Ken clapped Heath on the shoulder as he passed by. In a moment, they were alone with all their secrets out on the table.

  “I think it was better this way, don’t you?” Heath asked.

  “You only think that because you’re the one that spilled the beans.”

  Heath turned to her and pulled Julianne into his arms. “Maybe. But I am happy to start our new life together with no more secrets. Everything is out in the open at last. Right? You’ve told me all of it?”

  Julianne nodded, climbing to her toes to place a kiss on his lips. “Of course, dear.”

  Heath laughed. “Spoken like a wife filled with secrets she keeps from her husband.”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck, a naughty grin curling her lips as she looked up at him. “This is my second marriage, you’ll remember. I’m an old pro at this now.”

  “Don’t think I don’t know all your tricks, woman. It’s my second marriage, too,” Heath noted. “And last.”

  Julianne smiled. “It better be.”

  Epilogue

  It was a glorious spring day in northwestern Connecticut. The sun was shining on the farm. The delicate centerpieces of roses, hydrangeas, lilies and orchids were warming in the afternoon light, emitting a soft fragrance on the breeze. It was the perfect day for a wedding on the farm; the second in the last six months, with two more on the horizon.

  Molly was absolutely beaming. She’d been waiting years to see her children marry and start families of their own. All of them had been more focused on careers than romance, much to her chagrin, but things had turned around and fast. It seemed like each of them had gone from single to engaged in the blink of an eye.

  Today was Brody and Samantha’s big day. It was the ceremony that she’d lain awake nights worrying she might never see. Molly had always hoped that Brody would find a woman who could look beyond the scars. She couldn’t have imagined a more perfect match for him than Sam.

  She had thought for certain that Brody and Sam would opt for a wedding in Boston. He’d promised her a huge ceremony with half the eastern seaboard in attendance, but when it came down to it, Sam had wanted something far more intimate at the farm, which thrilled Molly. That didn’t mean a simple affair, by any stretch—this was still Sam’s wedding they were talking about. Her new daughter-in-law imagined an event that was pink and covered in flowers and Swarovski crystals.

  All of “her girls” were so different, and Molly was so pleased to be able to finally say that. She had four daughters now, and each of their weddings would be unique experiences that would keep the farm hopping all year.

  When Ken had his heart attack, Wade and Tori had postponed their plans for a fall wedding. Since Brody and Sam were already planning a spring ceremony, they opted to wait until the following autumn and keep with the rustic theme they’d designed. Xander and Rose were marrying over the long Fourth of July weekend in an appropriately patriotic extravaganza.

  And as for Heath and Julianne...they hadn’t gotten very far into planning their second wedding when it all got chucked out the window. They’d promised Molly a big ceremony, but when they realized they’d come home from Paris with more than just souvenirs, they moved up the timeline.

  Molly stepped away from her duties as mother of the
groom to search for her daughter in the crowd. Julianne was sitting beneath the shade of the tent, absent-mindedly stroking her round, protruding belly. The delicate pink bridesmaid gown Sam had selected for her daughter to wear did little to hide the fact that she was extremely pregnant. Although Julianne had sworn she had no more secrets, in only two months, Molly would be holding her second grandbaby and she could hardly wait.

  Julianne and Heath had had the first of the weddings on the farm—a small family ceremony while everyone was home for Christmas. It was the polar opposite of today’s circus. Brody and Sam had a band, dancing, and a catered sit-down meal.

  A new song began and Brody led Sam onto the dance floor. They might as well have been the only people here since Brody couldn’t take his eyes off of her. His bride was beaming like a ray of sunshine. Her white satin gown was stunning against the golden tan of her skin. The intricate crystal and bead work traveled down the bodice to the mermaid skirt, highlighting every amazing curve of Sam’s body. Her veil was long, flowing down her back to pool on the parquet dance floor they set up on the lawn. She was stunning.

  Brody, too, was looking handsome. Molly had always thought he was a good-looking boy, but the first round of reconstructive surgery with the specialist had done wonders for his scars. There would be more surgeries in the future, but Molly could already see the dramatic change in the way he carried himself. She’d never seen Brody look happier than he did right now.

  It wasn’t long before Wade and Tori joined them on the dance floor. Then Xander and Rose. Julianne took a little convincing, but eventually Heath lured her out to dance, completing the wedding party.

  The sight of all of them together brought a happy tear to Molly’s eye. The last few years had been so hard with nearly losing Ken, the crippling financial burden of his medical bills and dealing with the police investigation. Even when all that was behind them, Molly and Ken had to work through their guilt over what had happened with Tommy and how their children had suffered silently for all these years. It had been rough, but the Edens were made of stern stuff and they had survived and become stronger for it. The year of weddings at the Garden of Eden was a fresh start for the whole family.