Wanted: One Groom

by Pat Ballard

  Wanted:

  ONE GROOM

  Pat Ballard

  Pearlsong Press

  Nashville,TN

  Wanted: One Groom

  © 2004 by Patricia F. Ballard

  www.patballard.com

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information storage retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher, with the exception of brief quotations included in reviews.

  Pearlsong Press

  P.O. Box 58065

  Nashville, TN, 37205

  www.pearlsong.com

  ISBN: 0-9713247-6-X

  The Pearlsong Press ebook and trade paperback editions of Wanted: One Groom contain the text of the 2000 softcover edition published by Writers Club Press, an imprint of iUniverse.com, with minor revisions.

  This Pearlsong Press ebook contains the content of the 2004 Pearlsong Press trade paperback edition of Wanted: One Groom, packaged with additional material.

  Other books by Pat Ballard available from Pearlsong Press:

  Dangerous Curves Ahead

  A Worthy Heir

  His Brother’s Child

  Nobody’s Perfect

  To my husband, Joe, and my son, Eric,

  just because I love them.

  Chapter 1

  “Hanna, you know what your grandfather’s will stipulated.” Hanna sensed the barely concealed agitation in her mother’s voice.

  “But, just in case you’ve forgotten, let me refresh your memory,” chimed in Hanna’s brother, Will, two years her senior. “You have to be married, in order to receive the money that the old codger left you. And if you aren’t married by the time you’re thirty years old, everything goes to charity.” Will didn’t try to conceal the contempt he felt for his grandfather, not only for leaving him totally out of the will except for a substantial monthly allowance, which he blew on a monthly basis, but for leaving the conditions as such that they might all wind up on the streets with nowhere to live.

  “Everything, Hanna,” interjected her mother. “That means this house, all the land that goes with the estate, all the furniture in the house, and all the money in the bank, including our allowances. Are you going to let that happen to us? To your brother and me, and to yourself?” Desperation was apparent on her face and in her voice.

  Suddenly, Hanna understood for the first time why Grandfather Rockwell had held so much contempt for these two people prostrat­ing themselves before her. They were users. They depended on someone else to make their lives okay. She loved her mother, but she had lost all respect for her, years ago. And she loved her brother, simply because he was her brother, and for no other reason. He was a spoiled little rich boy, and he loved that image of himself.

  Hanna was tired of the pressure the two of them had been putting on her to get married. And even though she could barely stand either of them at times, she knew she wouldn’t be the cause of them losing the only home they had ever known.

  Frankly, she’d always wondered how it would be to live somewhere else. She had spent her life right here at Rockwell Place, so at times, she thought she would welcome a change. But she knew she wouldn’t make that stand against them, so she decided to go with the plan that she had been quietly formulating for the right moment. That moment seemed to be upon her, so taking a deep breath, she challenged them.

  “Okay, Mother, start planning the wedding. Give it your best. We’ll have a wedding on my thirtieth birthday, June 17.” She heard both of them suck in their breath at the same time.

  “Sis, have you been holding out on us? Who’s the lucky guy?” Her brother’s sardonic facial expressions of just a few minutes earlier had suddenly turned to complete joy.

  “That’s where you come in, dear brother.” Hanna’s emerald green eyes filled with contempt as they perused her weakling of a brother. “You get to find the lucky guy! Find someone that will marry me in three months, and we’ll have ourselves a wedding.” She found great pleasure in the look of disbelief on his face. “Just do me one favor,” she continued, “try to make sure he’s not a serial killer, or rapist...if you get my drift.”

  “How am I supposed to find you someone to marry?” her astounded brother asked. “Do I run an ad in the paper that says, ‘Wanted: One Groom’?”

  “However you want to handle it is fine with me. It’s not my prob­lem,” Hanna answered him.

  “Hanna?”

  “Don’t start, Mother. This is what you want, isn’t it? You and Will have driven me to distraction these past few months, insisting that I find someone and get married. If you think it’s as easy as all of that, then you two knock yourselves out. Just tell me what time to show up, and I’ll be there.” And she headed for the door. But just before she left the room, she turned back to them. “I’ve just realized why Grandfather wanted me to be married before I could receive what he left me. He wanted me to have someone to help protect me from you two money-grabbers.”

  Their gaping mouths almost made her sorry for her outburst. She turned and fled the room before they could see the tears flowing down her face.

  The next morning, Hanna made her way down the spiral staircase and headed toward the formal dining room for her usual bagel and cup of cof­fee. Cook always prepared several breakfast items and had them waiting for the family as they drifted down to start their day.

  Hanna hoped against hope she would be able to start her morning alone, but as soon as she came through the door she spotted her mother sitting at the huge antique oak dining table, dramatically grasping her head in her hands. Hanna knew she was in for a long lecture.

  “Good morning, Mother,” she said, and sat down at the opposite end of the table, hoping to discourage any conversation. All she wanted was to eat her breakfast in peace.

  “Hanna, come down here and talk with me.” Hanna could tell by the whining note in her mother’s voice that she might as well give in and get this over with, so, reluctantly, she gathered up her bagel and coffee and moved closer to her mother.

  “Hanna, what you said yesterday really hurt me. I’m your mother, and I love you. I’m just trying to look out for you and your brother. I want what’s best for you. I want us all to be able to continue living in the custom that we’ve always been used to. None of us know how to go out into the world and make a living.”

  Hanna knew when her mother used this tone of voice that there was no use trying to reason with her, so she didn’t volunteer any conversation, and her mother continued.

  “Maybe if you would have listened to me all these years I’ve tried to encourage you to lose that weight, we wouldn’t be in this situation. You have such a beautiful face, and I know you would be able to find a fine young man to marry if you looked more like those models in the magazines and on TV.”

  There had been a time when her mother’s comments would have caused Hanna to run to her room and cry for hours, then get up the next day and go on the latest fad diet. But not any more. She had long since learned to ignore her mother and Will’s hard comments about her size. She had learned how to tune them out, and think about something that made her happy.

  This morning, she gazed lovingly at the life-size portrait of her grandparents that hung over the large mantle at the end of the dining room, where on cold winter nights a roaring fire blazed in the huge fireplace, turning the large formal room into a warm, welcoming haven.

  Even in death, it seemed her grandfather kept watch over the family from his vantage point, as he looked down on gatherings in the room he loved the most. Her grandfather stood tall and handsome, and his piercing blue eyes seemed to look into the soul of anyone looking up at the portrait. Hi
s eyes seemed to follow a person around the room, and Hanna loved that about the portrait. It almost seemed as if Grandfather was there with her.

  The portrait of her grandmother could have been of Hanna, it looked so much like her. She had inherited her grandmother’s golden red hair, big emerald green eyes, peaches and cream complexion, and her voluptuous body. That’s why Grandfather had loved Hanna so much. She had reminded him of his beloved Victoria, whom he had lost when she gave birth to their only son, Greg, Hanna’s father. And even though Hanna had never seen her grandmother, she knew more about her than most people know about their living grandmothers. Grandfather had spent hours on end, telling her stories about her grandmother.

  And as her mother droned on, Hanna again memorized every detail of her grandmother’s image. She was glad she looked like her, but Hanna knew she would never find a man like Grandfather, who would love her and her own voluptuous body like he had loved her grandmother. In her grandmother’s day, it was considered beautiful to be well rounded. But it seemed that all the men these days were taken with Hollywood’s typical size six female body, so she had given up on ever finding the man of her dreams. The man who would love her for her mind as well as her body.

  “Hanna, are you listening to me?” Her mother’s impatient voice interrupted her thoughts.

  “Actually, I wasn’t, Mother. So if you’re finished, I have things to do.”

  “Hold on! Not so fast, I have great news!” Will burst into the room just as Hanna was about to make her exit.

  Sinking slowly back into her chair, she waited to see what new scheme Will had come up with.

  “Sis, I’ve found your future husband!” He couldn’t hide the jubilation in his voice.

  Hanna felt as if her insides were going to shrivel up and die. She had hoped this plan wouldn’t work, but here he was, the day after she had laid down her challenge, with a prospect for her to marry. He had really spent a lot of time trying to find the man she was supposed to spend her life with, she thought ruefully. Actually, Grandfather’s will hadn’t specified how long she stayed married, just that she got married. She planned to get a divorce as soon as the will was settled. This farce of a marriage wouldn’t last long.

  “Well, don’t you want to know who he is?” Will asked impatiently.

  Hanna had a sudden urge to reach over and slap him in the mouth. But instead, she said, “Not really, but I can tell you’re going to tell me anyway.”

  “Matt Corbett!” Satisfaction sounded in every word.

  Laughter exploded from Hanna’s throat.

  “The Matt Corbett?” Her mother asked in awe.

  “The one and the same!” Will practically shouted.

  “But how? Why?” Their mother was flushed with excitement from the news.

  “Oh, Mother, can’t you see he’s just playing one of his childish tricks on us? Surely you don’t believe Matt Corbett would agree to marry someone he’s never seen. With all he has going on for him, he can choose anyone he wants.” Hanna’s sound reasoning brought her mother back to earth.

  “Well, Sis, ol’ Matt has run into a little trouble with the Internal Revenue Service. It seems that his manager has been skimming off the top, bottom, and middle of Matt’s finances, and hasn’t been paying any of Matt’s bills, so he’s in big trouble. The IRS came in last week and confiscated everything he owns that’s worth a dime, and Matt’s about to declare bankruptcy. I just happened to find him drowning his sorrows in his beer last night, and I gave him the proposal of a lifetime. I told him I would pay off his debts if he would marry my sister, sight unseen. He agreed.” Will slapped the polished oak table so hard it made both women jump.

  “Will, he was drunk! I’m sure when he wakes up this morning and realizes what he’s done, he’ll change his mind.” Hanna couldn’t believe her brother was naive enough to believe Matt Corbett would marry her.

  “It won’t matter if he does want to change his mind,” Will stated with a smug look on his face. “He’s in the palm of our hands!”

  “And why is that?” Hanna wondered what Will could have possibly done to be so sure of his “catch.”

  “As soon as he agreed to my terms, I called Carl Hardin, and took Matt to Carl’s office and we drew up the papers last night. It’s legal. He can’t back out.”

  “Will, one of these days that crooked lawyer friend of yours is going to get the two of you into something he can’t talk your way out of. This just may be it,” Hanna warned.

  Matthew Corbett came slowly awake. His mouth felt like it had a three-pound cotton ball stuck where his tongue was supposed to be. His head felt as if it would explode if he moved it at all, and when he tried to open his squinted eyes to the sun shining in through the dingy window, he gave a cry of pain and fell back on the bed.

  Moving very slowly, he made himself get off the bed. He had to go to the bathroom or he was going to pee on himself. Finally, after washing his face and combing his hair, he stumbled back into the small dingy hotel room where he had spent the night.

  Reality crept into his foggy brain. His house was gone. His car was gone. Hell, he barely had the money to rent this cheap hotel room for the night. And going out last night, spending money getting drunk wasn’t the smartest thing he’d ever done, either. When he got a chance to find that damn manager who had screwed him out of everything, he wouldn’t have to worry about a place to stay. He was going to kill that son of a bitch, and then he’d be in prison. At least he’d have a place to sleep and food to eat.

  He slumped into the uncomfortable chair beside the wobbly table in the corner of the room and was about to hold his throbbing head in his hands when he spotted the papers on the table. Not remembering laying any papers on the table, he reached over and started to read the contents.

  The letterhead was from a lawyer’s office, and the document stated that he had agreed to marry someone named Hanna Rockwell, sight unseen, in exchange for enough money to pay off all his debts plus settle the score that was left over with the IRS if what they collected from his possessions didn’t cover what he owed them.

  Sight unseen? What kind of woman was she that he would have to agree to marry her “sight unseen”? Was she some kind of monster? His hangover didn’t stop him from conjuring up all kinds of horror images of some woman who didn’t want to be seen until after her wedding. And why did she have to have an arranged wedding? Was she so repulsive she couldn’t even find her own husband?

  But the worst horror of all was finding his own signature at the end of the three-page document. He had already agreed to do this! He couldn’t deny his own signature scrawled in the spot marked by an X. But how? When?

  He vaguely remembered some guy having a couple of drinks with him last night, but he had already been pretty far gone when the guy joined him at his table, so he didn’t remember anything about him. Was he the one who had gotten up this bogus contract? He picked up the phone and called the number that was on the letterhead.

  “Carl Hardin’s office,” a man’s voice answered.

  “Carl Hardin, please,” Matt requested.

  “Speaking.”

  “Carl, this is Matt Corbett. I need to talk to you about a contract I supposedly signed last night.”

  “Hello,” Hanna spoke into the phone receiver.

  “Hanna? This is Carl Hardin. Is Will there?” Hanna had never heard Carl sound so stressed before.

  “Yes, he’s here. Do you want to speak with him?”

  “No, just tell him to get down here right now. Matt Corbett is on his way to see us.”

  Hanna hung up the phone and turned back to her mother and Will, who were discussing the possibilities of having Matt Corbett as part of their family.

  “I do believe there’s already trouble with your new business partner, Will. That was Carl. He wants you in his office right now. Seems as if a certain Matt Corbett is on his way to see you two.” Hanna couldn’t keep the note of victory from her voice.

  Will’s face turned a li
ttle white as he bounded for the door.

  “Really, Hanna, I think you like making things difficult. I believe you secretly want this whole thing to fall through,” her mother said, and stormed from the room.

  Carrying a fresh cup of steaming coffee, Hanna opened the sliding glass doors that led from the dining room and stepped onto the adjoining deck. A cool spring breeze danced through the treetops to the music of singing birds. Leaning back in a chaise lounge, Hanna closed her eyes and reveled in the peace of the moment.

  Matt Corbett. What would life be like with Matt Corbett, the rock star? Well, he used to be a rock star. She remembered when she thought he was the most handsome man who ever lived. And sexy! Her full understanding of the word “sexy” came as a result of her teenage crush on Matt Corbett.

  She used to have a full size poster of him in her room. What happened to that poster? Did she still have it stored away somewhere? She would look for it later. But she didn’t need a picture to remember how he looked. He was medium height, not a big man, but that dark hair and those smoky brown eyes, and that olive complexion, made him look so masculine that women made fools of themselves constantly over him. And when he was on stage, shaking his hips like he did—Hanna felt her body go warm all over.

  A smile played on her full lips as she let herself fantasize briefly about being married to Matt Corbett. She sure wouldn’t mind. She wouldn’t be in as big a hurry to divorce him as she had planned on if he wound up being her husband.

  What if it did happen? And wouldn’t it be a hoot if he found her really attractive and fell in love with her, and—

  “Hoooold it!” she admonished herself out loud. She wouldn’t let herself get too carried away with a fantasy she knew could never happen.

  But she couldn’t get Matt Corbett off her mind. After several attempts to relax and enjoy the morning, she gave up and headed upstairs to see if she could find her teenage treasures. Soon she found the box where she had stored some of her old memorabilia. Standing in the far back corner of her closet was the cardboard poster of Matt.