by Linda Turner
But as she furtively studied the other diners, Audra had to admit she didn’t like the doubt she saw on some people’s faces. She tried to take solace in the fact that most of them were hicks from the sticks, but she was still worried. Her appetite dwindling to nothing, she pushed away the meat loaf she’d ordered and signaled the waitress for her check.
Five minutes later she hurried out the door and headed for the nearest phone booth to call Lexine.
Every time she talked to her birth mother, Audra’s stomach knotted with nerves. She hated the day Lexine Baxter ever contacted her and informed her she was her real mother, hated the day she’d pulled her into her scheme to regain the sapphire mine that had once belonged to the Baxters. But most of all, she hated the day Lexine had tricked her into confessing that she was the one who’d killed Christina Montgomery. From that day forward, she’d been under Lexine’s thumb in spite of the fact that she was locked away in prison.
She didn’t want to tell her that there’d been a shift in attitude about Gavin, even if it was, as far as she was concerned, an insignificant one. But Lexine had her sources, and she wouldn’t be happy if she heard the latest news from someone other than her daughter.
If it had been anyone else but Lexine, Audra wouldn’t have given a damn about keeping her happy. But her dear birth mother had all the information she needed to blackmail her and could, if she chose, make her life a living hell. Digging for change, Audra stepped inside the phone booth, slammed the door shut so she wouldn’t have to worry about anyone overhearing her conversation, and punched in the number to the prison.
When Lexine finally came on the line, she was all sweetness and concern. “Darling, thank God you finally called! I haven’t heard from you in a while, and I was beginning to wonder if something had happened to you.”
Not fooled in the least by the loving-mother routine, Audra just barely swallowed a snort of disbelief. Underneath the sweetheart image Lexine presented to the world was a bitch who would say or do anything to get what she wanted. And right now, there were two things she wanted more than her next breath—the sapphire mine and a way—either legal or illegal—out of prison. With her scheming mind, it was, Audra figured, only a matter of time before she found a way to get both.
“There’s been some new developments,” Audra said by way of a greeting. “Gavin Nighthawk’s got himself a girlfriend, and the whole town’s talking about it.”
“Summer Kincaid,” she said flatly.
Not surprised that Lexine knew, Audra didn’t even bother to ask where she’d gotten her information. Lexine loved playing I-know-something-you-don’t and wouldn’t give out her source of information until it was to her advantage. “A few people are starting to wonder if they may have misjudged him, but I don’t think we have anything to worry about. Lily Mae is telling everyone who walks through the door at the Hip Hop that Summer’s in the middle of a midlife crisis and taking her life in her hands every time she goes out with Gavin.”
Chuckling, Lexine practically purred in satisfaction. “Good ole Lily Mae. With her in our corner and all the evidence against him, Gavin hasn’t got a prayer. Let him have his little fling with the Indian doctor. He could kiss up to Mother Teresa herself and it wouldn’t help. He’s going down.”
Audra hoped so. Then maybe she could sleep at night without waking up at all hours with panic attacks. “I just wish the trial would hurry up and get here and be over with,” she muttered. “I’m tired of looking over my shoulder every time I step outside.”
“I told you to just act normal,” her birth mother reminded her sharply. “Nobody’s going to suspect you of anything if you act like you’ve got nothing to hide.”
“I do!” she snapped. “But that doesn’t mean I like it.”
“It won’t be for the rest of your life,” Lexine assured her. “Just a few more weeks, a month at the most. Once Gavin’s convicted, we’ll be home free. The police won’t have a reason to visit the murder site anymore, so you can start looking for the sapphires again.”
Lexine was gloating, and with no trouble at all, Audra could see her rubbing her hands together in greedy satisfaction. That was all Lexine cared about, finding the sapphires and getting revenge on the Kincaids for taking Baxter land they had no claim to. But just thinking about returning to the spot where she’d killed Christina Montgomery turned Audra’s blood cold. She hadn’t been back there since that awful day, but she could picture it all too clearly in her mind.
Shivering, she desperately searched for a reason to put Lexine off. “Maybe we should hold off on that a while. The police could still be watching—”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Once there’s a conviction, no one’s going to give a damn about the murder site.”
“There’ll be curiosity seekers—”
“Why do I get the feeling you’re trying to chicken out on me?” Lexine asked silkily. “You wouldn’t do that to your dear old mother, would you?”
Her heart jolting with fear, Audra stuttered, “N-no! Of c-course not!”
“Good,” her mother said in satisfaction. “Because I’d really hate to turn in my own daughter to the police for murder. Think of how people would talk. It would be a painful thing for me to do, of course, but what other choice would I have? You killed an innocent baby’s mother. For that baby’s sake, you’d have to be punished.”
She would do it, Audra thought, sick with terror. She’d do it in a heartbeat and laugh while she did it. Not because she gave a damn about Christina Montgomery’s motherless baby, but because she could. Because power turned her on and there was nothing she loved more than wielding that power and squashing someone under her heel. No wonder she’d been handed back-to-back life sentences without parole when she’d been convicted of killing her husband and father-in-law. Lexine was vicious and didn’t deserve to be let loose on the streets with decent people.
At least when she’d killed Christina, she hadn’t enjoyed it, Audra thought self-righteously. But that, she knew, wouldn’t keep her out of jail if Lexine played her trump card and turned her in. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, she had no choice but to do as she was ordered.
“All right,” she said grudgingly. “I’ll start looking for the mine again as soon as the trial’s over.”
Delighted, Lexine laughed triumphantly. “That’s Mama’s good little girl.”
One week after their whirlwind dating, the announcement of Gavin and Summer’s upcoming marriage came out in the paper, stunning Summer’s family and friends and the entire community. And although Summer had broken the news to her aunts ahead of time and they tried their best to appear happy for her, she knew them too well. They were devastated by the news and more than a little confused. They, more than anyone, knew how little she had dated and couldn’t understand how she could rush into marriage with anyone, let alone someone who’d been charged with murder.
There was no question that they were worried about her, but they only asked her if she was sure marrying Gavin was what she really wanted to do. Summer’s two best friends—who just also happened to be her aunt Celeste’s daughters—weren’t nearly as restrained, however. As soon as they read the announcement in the paper, they called and demanded that Summer meet them for lunch at the Hip Hop.
She would have rather gone anywhere else but there, but she knew Lily Mae and the rest of the gossips would be there, having a field day over her and Gavin’s announcement; and this was her chance to play the part of the wildly happy bride-to-be. So she reluctantly gave in and promised to meet them at the café at noon.
Not surprisingly, her cousins, Cleo and Jasmine Monroe, were already waiting for her in a booth at the back of the café. The minute they spotted her, they waved, and Summer couldn’t help but grin. She couldn’t remember a time when they hadn’t been in her life. The three of them had been raised together at the Big Sky Bed & Breakfast, and it had been wonderful. With Frannie and David, their aunt Yvette’s children, also growing up on the same property, but
behind the B and B in a home built by their father, they truly had all been one big happy family.
“All right,” Jasmine said the second Summer slid into the booth with them, “I want to know what kind of medication you’ve been prescribing for yourself at that clinic of yours. And don’t tell me I’m imagining things. I know you, Summer Kincaid, and there are only two reasons why you’d even consider marrying a man you hardly know. You’ve either got a problem with prescription drugs or an alien from outer space has invaded your body. So which one is it?”
Chuckling, Summer was far from offended. “I haven’t seen an alien in weeks.”
“Then why are you rushing into marriage like a damsel in distress in one of those Gothic romance novels you used to read when you were a teenager?” Cleo demanded. “What’s the hurry?”
Aware that everyone in the café was listening, she just shrugged and smiled dreamily. “We love each other. Why wait?”
Her two cousins exchanged a worried look. “To give yourself time to think about what you’re doing,” Cleo replied somberly. “You’re not pregnant, are you?”
Truly shocked, Summer gasped, “No, of course not!”
“Well, I had to ask,” her cousin said defensively. “That’s the only reason I could think of why you were doing this.”
Jasmine, the romantic of the two, pointed out practically, “Even if you’re absolutely nuts about him, do you think this is really the right time to get married? His trial starts next week, Summer. And there’s a better than even chance that he’ll be convicted—”
“You don’t know that.”
“Everybody knows it,” she insisted. “I’m not trying to be mean, but if you go through with this, you’re going to find yourself married to a convict. Is that what you want?”
“No, of course not—”
“Then wait. Please!”
Summer could well understand their concern—she’d feel the same way if one of them was rushing into what appeared to be total madness. And given the chance, she would have confided in them in a heartbeat. But if word somehow got out about the scheme she and Gavin had concocted to get him acquitted, he’d be convicted for sure. So all she could do was try to convince them that she knew what she was doing.
“I can’t,” she said quietly. “I love him and I want to be with him. I know what you’re going to say,” she continued, holding up her hand when they both opened their mouths to argue. “How can I be with him if he ends up going to prison? That’s not going to happen,” she assured them. “He’s a good man and he didn’t kill Christina Montgomery.”
“But how can you be sure of that?” Cleo asked, frowning. “You hardly know him.”
“I know how much he respects human life and that he could never, ever hurt a woman, especially the mother of his baby. He’s not that kind of man. And I’m not just saying that because I love him,” she said into the sudden stillness that suddenly engulfed the diner as everyone seemed to strain to hear what was being said at their table. “He’s a gifted surgeon, a healer. I’ve seen him agonize when he loses a patient. He couldn’t take a life—he saves them.”
In the silence that followed her speech, no one seemed to so much as breathe. Then Lily Mae muttered, “Hogwash! You can’t trust a woman in love.”
Just that easily, the spell that had fallen over the café was broken, and all around them conversations started up again. More than a few people nodded in agreement with Lily Mae, but not everyone did, and Summer couldn’t help but be encouraged.
Her smile bright, she arched a brow at her cousins. “So, can I expect you two to be my bridesmaids next Saturday.”
They exchanged a look, but it was the ever-practical Cleo who spoke for the pair. “If this is truly what you want, you know we’ll be there for you. Have you got a dress yet? And the reception planned? What about us? What do you want us to wear? Lord, I don’t know how we’re going to throw this thing together in a week. Have you talked to Mom and Aunt Yvette? We’re going to need some help.”
Caught up in the excitement of a wedding, they talked about flowers and music and the reception, and Summer joined in with all the enthusiasm of a bride-to-be. But deep down inside, she had reservations that she wasn’t admitting to anyone. Not about Gavin’s innocence, she silently assured herself as Jasmine talked about a beautiful wedding dress she’d seen in the window of a bridal shop there in town. Summer didn’t doubt for a minute that he was as innocent as the day was long. No, it wasn’t Gavin she was worried about. It was herself. And her feelings for him.
It wasn’t supposed to be this way, she thought as she and her cousins made plans to visit the bridal shop that very afternoon. She wasn’t supposed to have any feelings for him except those she would have for anyone unjustly accused of a crime he didn’t commit. But with just a touch of his hand, he could make her heart pound. And when he kissed her—always for the benefit of other people—it was very easy to forget they were playing at love.
And that worried her. She didn’t know how this had happened. Their agreement was strictly a business one. Emotions weren’t a part of the deal. They’d both agreed that the marriage would last for one year only and be in name only, but her heart seemed to have other ideas.
Another woman might have backed out while she still could. It was the only logical thing to do. But she couldn’t go back on her word and leave him in the lurch, not after she’d already promised to help him. Which meant that she would become Mrs. Gavin Nighthawk on Saturday. God help her.
The week that followed was one of the busiest of Summer’s life. She hardly had time to turn around, let alone sleep. But with the help of her cousins, aunts, and Gavin, she was able to put together a simple, hastily arranged wedding and reception that would be held in the garden at her aunt’s bed-and-breakfast. It wasn’t easy. With so much to do, one day ran into another, and she totally lost track of time. Then suddenly, before she knew it, it was Saturday morning, her wedding started at noon, and it was time to put on her wedding dress.
It was then that she suddenly missed her mother to the point of tears.
She told herself it was silly. She had no memories of her whatsoever, and even if she had, this wedding wasn’t real. But as she slipped on her dress and her aunts oohed and aahed and couldn’t help crying, the one person who was missing was her mother. She should have been there, with her daughter, with her sisters, even if the wedding was a farce.
And with the tears she struggled to hold back came an attack of nerves that made it impossible to sit still. She was doing the right thing—there wasn’t a doubt in her mind about that—but she cringed at the idea of saying her vows in front of her minister in a religious ceremony. Given the chance, she would have insisted on a civil ceremony, but that wouldn’t have convinced many people that she and Gavin were really in love. No, it had to be this way. She knew that and accepted it. But she still felt guilty as sin.
Then, before she was ready, she was standing at the entrance to her aunts’s garden with her uncle Edward, Aunt Yvette’s husband and a sweetheart of a man. He had graciously agreed to give her away, and as she clutched his arm, she tried to appreciate the beauty of the garden setting. Even as they stood there, waiting to begin the ceremony, an Arctic cold front was racing down from Canada and was scheduled to arrive later that evening, but for now, the day was a gorgeous Indian summer day, without a cloud in the sky, and perfect for a fall wedding.
The garden was awash with yellow and gold mums, and at any other time, Summer would have gasped in appreciation of the beauty of the flowers. But not today. Not when the garden was filled with guests who had come there for her wedding. Every chair was taken and an overflowing crowd stood along the sides and at the back. Anyone who was anyone in Whitehorn was there, just as she and Gavin had hoped.
She told herself she was pleased, and she was. But if the wedding had been for real and she and Gavin had been marrying for love instead of convenience, she would have chosen something far more intimate, with just
family and very close friends.
Lost in her musings, she never saw Gavin take his place in front of the minister. Accompanying him were his two groomsmen—Mike, his college roommate, and Noah James, one of the few friends Gavin had at the hospital who hadn’t deserted him. The music started, and her eyes flew down the aisle to Gavin.
What happened after that was a blur. Her cousins must have walked down the aisle in front of her, but she wasn’t aware of it. All she saw was Gavin. Suddenly he was right in front of her, taking her hand after her uncle kissed her on the cheek, then they were both turning to face the minister. From what seemed like the distant end of a wind tunnel, she heard the minister begin the ceremony. If Gavin hadn’t squeezed her hand when it was her time to repeat the vows, she wasn’t sure she would have been able to do it. With every word she spoke, she half expected lightning to strike her dead.
It didn’t, however, and all too soon the minister smiled at them and said, “By the power invested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. Gavin, you may kiss your bride.”
She’d known he would have to kiss her, of course, but she hadn’t expected him to beam down at her like a man besotted with love. He reached for her and pulled her into his arms, and her heart started to pound in her breast. Then his mouth covered hers, and the passion that always seemed to be just beneath the surface whenever he was near set her senses humming. Aching, she wanted to melt against him and give herself up to his kiss, but she couldn’t forget the crowd or the circumstances that had brought them together. And all she could think was that this was a farce. Nothing but a farce. Don’t get caught up in it, she warned herself. You’ll only get hurt.
But she’d set herself an impossible task, and when he finally let her up for air and smiled down into her eyes, it was all too easy to believe that he was her husband in fact as well as in name. He certainly acted as if he was. Tenderly tucking her arm through his, he turned with her to face their guests. Then they were hurrying down the aisle as though they couldn’t wait to begin their life together. And for the next two hours, he didn’t leave her side.