by Sandra Brown
“Okay. Do you want to leave Allison with Happy?”
“No. If you don’t mind, I’d rather take her. I don’t want anyone to know about this until it’s all over. Happy would want to—”
“I understand,” he interrupted. “I’ll see you in an hour then.”
* * *
The trip to Dallas was long and arduous. Jace had returned for them in precisely one hour, and Katherine had been frantic to get ready in time. She dressed in a soft yellow linen dress and wore a navy blue blazer over it. The ensemble was a far cry from a traditional wedding dress, but then, this was no traditional wedding.
Katherine was no longer surprised that Jace could wear anything and look magnificent in it. Today his navy blazer, camel slacks, cream shirt, and paisley tie would have made the models in Gentleman’s Quarterly envious. He moved in dress clothes with the same alacrity and grace as he did when wearing jeans.
Jace suggested that they take her car to the city since the back seat of the jeep wasn’t really safe enough for Allison to ride in even strapped into her car bed.
The drive from Van Buren to Dallas took only about two hours on the interstate highway, but those hours seemed like an eternity. Neither of them talked much. They were wary and careful of the other’s deep thoughts, and therefore protected themselves with silence or small talk.
When they reached the suburbs, Jace stopped at a service station busy with Labor Day traffic and asked directions to the courthouse downtown.
Curiosity urged Katherine to ask, “How did you manage to obtain a marriage license?”
“I told you. Mark’s friend will have it for us when we get there. All we’ll have to do is sign it. And write in your middle name. I didn’t know it.” He took his eyes off the heavy traffic long enough to flash her a brilliant smile.
“June,” she mumbled, still lost in the puzzle. “But aren’t blood tests and things like that required?”
“A fraternity brother of mine is a doctor in Denver. He certified us both, and Mark sent the necessary papers here.”
She was appalled. “That’s illegal isn’t it? Fraudulent?”
He only shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t know.” That mischievous glint she was learning to recognize was in his eyes as he asked conspiratorily, “Why? Do you think you might have syphilis?”
“Ohh,” she ground through clenched teeth.
Jace laughed. “You’d better not get mad at me. Put on a blushing bride face, because we’re here.”
Finding a parking space on a holiday weekend was no problem and they stopped Katherine’s small car directly in front of the historic red limestone building.
“Wait here a minute,” Jace said as he eased himself from behind the wheel and walked toward two men who were standing on the steps of the deserted building. After a brief conference, Jace came back and said, “All set.”
Katherine shook hands with both men, not caring to catch their names and trying not to meet their speculative eyes. They probably thought Allison was her baby and that this was a shotgun wedding. The license was signed with dispatch.
The wind was like a tornado as it whipped around the skyscrapers of downtown Dallas. Katherine struggled to keep her skirt down and still maintain a careful hold on Allison, who had begun to wail. Between vows, Jace took Allison from an abashed Katherine and cradled her against his shoulder. She quieted immediately.
It was over. Jace kissed Katherine perfunctorily on the lips when directed to, and they made their way back to the car. When Katherine and Allison were settled once more, he went back to the two men and, reaching into his pocket, took out a roll of bills. He paid each man, shook hands with them once more, and came back to the car.
Jace offered to stop somewhere to eat, but Katherine declined, longing for the sanctuary of her own house.
“Would you like to go to Neiman-Marcus and pick out a wedding present?” Jace asked as he maneuvered her car through the maze of downtown streets.
She was momentarily tempted, for she had never been in the famous store. Allison chose that moment to show her disapproval of the idea by starting to fret. Reluctantly, Katherine declined Jace’s offer.
As usual, he was sensitive to her emotion and read her disappointment. “We’ll come back sometime soon by ourselves. I promise.”
The trip back to Van Buren was trying. The two adults were uptight and agitated with each other and their new status. Whether Allison sensed the tension between them or whether she was tired from the unconventional day and longing for her usual environs, she cried off and on all the way back.
Jace cursed the dimensions of the small car, declaring that the first thing he was going to do Tuesday morning was buy a decent one. “The biggest damn car I can find.”
“Please watch your language in front of the baby,” Katherine said sweetly.
He whipped his head toward her angrily and grazed his forehead on the sun visor. He cursed again, but this time under his breath.
By the time they reached the garage apartment, they were all hot, tired, hungry, and angry. Katherine fed Allison her supper of strained carrots and spinach which she sputtered all over herself and Katherine. That made the second bath of the day mandatory. It was with a great deal of relief that Katherine placed her in the crib for the night.
Katherine was exhausted and decided to take a bath herself. Jace, as soon as he had helped her carry Allison upstairs, left for his motel.
“I need to go pack my things and check out. It’s been home for almost two weeks now. I’m sorry I don’t have a home to offer you,” he smiled. “Do you mind if we live in your apartment for a while?”
“No, of course not,” she replied. Until that moment she hadn’t thought past the wedding ceremony. Now the impact of what this marriage entailed hit her. She was going to be living with Jace. Living and what else? That question haunted her.
On trembling legs she left the bathroom and tiptoed to her closet. She pulled on a University of Colorado T-shirt and her oldest, most faded pair of jeans. Then she slipped her feet into a pair of sandals. Maybe if I don’t look like a bride, I won’t be expected to perform like one, she thought hopefully. She brushed her hair and piled it on top of her head, securing it with combs.
Jace wasn’t back yet when she started preparing dinner. He came whistling through the front door just as she was arranging cheese sandwiches on a hot grill.
“Do I have time for a shower?” he asked, poking his head around the corner.
“Yes, a quick one.”
“Be right out. Baby okay?”
“Yes, she’s down for the night.”
“Good,” he said and retreated into the back of the apartment toward the bathroom.
Good? Why was it good that Allison was down for the night? Did that get her out of the way? Katherine’s hands trembled as she tore lettuce into a bowl.
To a can of mushroom soup, she added onions sauted in butter and two tablespoons of cooking sherry. Apparently Jace appreciated her efforts. After his first sip he cocked an eyebrow and said, “Not bad. You’ve passed your first test as a new wife.”
Her first test? Were more to come? “I hope you like Swiss cheese on rye bread.”
“Love it,” he said with a wink. His hair was still damp from the shower, and he had dressed in jeans and a casual shirt. He hadn’t secured all the buttons, and Katherine noted that the thick mat of hair on his chest was damp and curled.
“If you don’t mind, I’ll wait until morning to unpack. I just dumped everything in the living room for now.”
“N-no, that’s… uh… fine,” she stammered. Did all newlyweds find conversation this difficult?
When he raised a glass to his lips, she warned, “I don’t sweeten my iced tea. If you—”
“I don’t sweeten mine either. See how much we have in common already?” He took a long drink of the beverage and saluted her with the glass before setting it down. He was teasing her, but she was nervous and jumpy. He seemed so big. The small kitchen c
ould barely contain him. His virility frightened her.
They ate in tense silence. As they finished, Katherine apologized for the simplicity of the meal. “I haven’t gone to the grocery store in several days, and I had to make do with what I had.”
“Don’t apologize. It was delicious. I can look forward to the times when you want to impress me with your culinary talents. But don’t think I expect you to cook all the time. I’m pretty handy in the kitchen too.”
He smiled, the blue eyes twinkling. The dimples on the sides of his mouth deepened. Had she ever noticed the sensuous shape of his lips before now? Yes, she admitted, she had many times.
He was absently outlining the wood grain of the table top with his long, tapered finger. His hands were strong, yet gentle. The nails were trim and clean.
Katherine remembered how it had felt to have that hand stroking her breasts in the same way it now moved over the table top, slowly, soothingly, deliberately. That day at the lake, those same hands had raised her shirt and held her against his bare chest. When he kissed her, his fingers had fondled her nipples, tenderly squeezing them between—
Katherine jumped up from her chair, clattering the dishes as she bumped into the table. She couldn’t sit here and look at him one moment longer. What insanity was this? One would think she had married him for romantic reasons. How absurd!
Jace reached across the table and grabbed her wrists with the precision of a striking snake. He stymied her impulse to pull away with a compelling stare. Imperiously he pulled her around the table toward him. He spread wide his knees and drew her between them, clasping her thighs with his own.
Releasing her wrists, he reached up and removed the combs from her hair. “I like your hair better down,” he said softly as he watched it tumble to her shoulders. “It’s an unusual color. Do you lighten it here?” He tugged playfully on a strand framing her face.
“No, it… the sun does that.” Why was her throat so congested? She couldn’t draw a deep breath.
“It’s pretty,” he murmured. His hands were firm on her back as he drew her closer. “You smell good.” She could feel the moisture of his breath through her T-shirt.
“Come here, Katherine,” he said gently and pulled her down onto his lap. He studied her face for a long time. “There’s no reason for you to be acting like a skittish pony. I’m not going to force my husbandly rights on you. We won’t share a bed until we’ve had time to get to know each other.” He flashed her a wicked smile. “Even though I was encouraged last night.”
Last night! Had it only been twenty-four hours since he rescued her from Ronald Welsh’s assault? She flushed hotly remembering how she had welcomed his comfort, his passionate and intimate caresses, his kisses. During their fierce argument this morning, she had prayed he wouldn’t use last night’s behavior as a point of persuasion. He hadn’t; he hadn’t forgotten it either.
As these thoughts flickered through her mind, she looked at him in surprised wonder. Her expression must have conveyed a world of meaning, for he laughed.
“I haven’t forced myself on a woman yet, and I don’t intend to start with my wife. Besides, I haven’t read the newspaper today.”
He shoved her off his lap and gave her fanny a swat before he went into the living room. Katherine tried to bridle her capricious emotion. Irrationally, she was miffed that he could dismiss her so easily. Her body was burning with a desire generated by nothing more than his sheer masculinity. She was actually disappointed that he hadn’t forced his conjugal rights on her!
“I think I’ll go on to bed, Jace.” She smiled tremulously as she came into the living room after cleaning up in the kitchen. “It’s been a rather eventful day.”
“Sure. Rest well.”
“Good night then.”
“Good night.”
An hour later she was still tossing on the narrow bed when Jace opened the door to the bedroom. A fan of light arced across the bed as he stood silhouetted in the doorway.
“Mrs. Manning,” he addressed her.
Her heart leaped to her throat and instinctively she pulled the sheet higher under her chin.
“Y-yes?” she stuttered.
“About that other bedroom—”
“Yes?”
“We have a problem.”
“What?”
“There’s no bed in it.”
Katherine put her fingers over her lips to cover a laugh. “Oh, Jace. I didn’t think! I’m sorry. When I moved in, I knew I would sleep in the same room with Allison until she was older. I bought this bed, but haven’t—”
“Enough said,” he sighed. “Well, I’d probably kick the slats out of the crib, and both of us would never fit on that,” he indicated her day bed. “Or if we did, I could never uphold the terms of our agreement,” he added huskily. He sighed a second time. “So, I guess it’s the sofa for me.”
Before he left he said, “A bed is right up there on the top of our shopping list along with a new car. I don’t fit one damn thing in this whole damn house.”
He slammed the door behind him, but Katherine knew it was out of exasperation and not anger.
She chuckled once again before turning over and falling into a restful sleep. Just on the brink of oblivion, she assured herself yet again that her responses to him the evening before had been out of gratitude. Her emotions had been highly charged and were running close to the surface. There was nothing else to it. She was positive of that, no matter what Jace wanted to read into it.
Chapter Six
It was hard for Katherine to determine when she first began to lose her initial wariness of Jason Manning. For the first few days after their bizarre marriage ceremony, she was constantly on guard, weighing each word and rehearsing each gesture.
Jace didn’t countenance her nervousness. He was scrupulously considerate, courteous, and helpful. He allowed her times to be alone, intuitively guessing correctly that she valued privacy.
Allison was a strong common bond between them. Watching Jace in the process of developing a relationship with his niece was delightful, and Katherine was relieved to know that his being a good parent wouldn’t be a source of concern. Indeed, Allison sometimes preferred his company over hers.
“I think we’d better get dressed and go to church this morning,” he said from behind the Sunday newspaper the morning after their marriage. He had come to the breakfast table painfully stretching the muscles that were cramped from sleeping on the sofa. Katherine laughed when she saw his grimace and heard his bones popping and cracking. For her display of levity, she received a quelling look.
“Church?” His suggestion surprised her.
“Yes. Happy’s out in her backyard and has been for the past twenty minutes or so. She’s done just about every odd job one can do in a backyard. She’s glaring up at us in righteous indignation and censure. No doubt she’s noted that my jeep was parked here overnight and probably thinks we’re engaging in something illicit.”
“Oh, I’d forgotten about that,” Katherine anguished.
“We’ll go down and make our announcement to her as soon as you’re ready.”
“Do you really want to go to church?”
“Yes. Unless we find our beliefs incompatible. I’m a Christian, a Protestant. Any problems there?”
“No, no, it’s just that—”
“Katherine, have you thought about there being some gossip over the young Widow Adams suddenly marrying her long-lost brother-in-law? And the young Widow Adams having a baby only a few months old? If the Mannings are going to live in Van Buren, I want it known right away that they are moral pillars of the community. I’ll protect you any way I can from erroneous or slanderous speculation. We have absolutely nothing to hide except Allison’s true parentage, and as soon as we can legally adopt her, that will no longer be an issue. And the best defense is a good offense.” He looked at her from behind the newspaper and smiled. “Okay?”
“Thank you,” she murmured. Tears were prickling her eyeli
ds as she rushed out of the kitchen to take a bottle of milk to a demanding Allison. She didn’t want to be obligated to him, but he made it necessary for her to be grateful. Didn’t he ever overlook anything? Forget something?
Jace was happy to learn that some businesses were going to be open on Labor Day to take advantage of holiday shoppers. He bought a bed at one of the larger department stores and made arrangements for it to be delivered the following day.
“But, Jace, a king-size bed won’t fit in that small room!” Katherine protested when she saw his choice.
“I’ll make it fit to the exclusion of all other furniture. Any other size doesn’t accommodate me.” He laughed and squeezed her arm. “I promise not to mess up your decorating scheme too much.”
He bought a new station wagon, and, much to Katherine’s dismay, paid cash for it. Coming from a home where every penny had been stretched to its limit and budgeting was a way of life, Katherine couldn’t conceive of someone having that much cash at one time.
The thought plagued her. She hadn’t been cured of her aversion to the Mannings even though she was now married to one and bore that name herself. The thought that she was living on their money was repugnant. She broached the subject as they drove home from their shopping expedition.
“Jace—” she said timidly.
“Hmm?” He was snacking on a Hershey bar. She’d learned over the past few days that he had a constant craving for chocolate. Why didn’t he get fat?
“You paid for Ronald Welsh’s hospital bill, didn’t you?”
He stopped his munching and glanced at her as he stopped the new car at a traffic light. “Yes,” he said.
“And you sent some money to his wife?”
He answered with a nod.
She pleated the skirt of her sundress between her fingers as she continued hesitantly. “You have a lot of money. I mean, buying the car with cash and all. Is… your salary? I mean—”
“You’re asking if the money is mine or my parents’.” It wasn’t a question. He had pulled the car to a stop in Happy’s driveway and turned to look at her.