Vows

by Rochelle Alers

  “How far is it to Oaxaca?” he asked before he kissed her bared, scented shoulder.

  “Almost three hundred and fifty miles.”

  “If that’s the case, then we’ll fly down and pick up a car at the Oaxaca airport.”

  Vanessa pulled back and stared up at him. “Fly?”

  He ran a forefinger down the length of her nose. “Yes, fly. How alert will you expect me to be after driving more than five hundred kilometers?”

  “Something tells me that you’d still be alert even if you were deprived of sleep for more than twenty-four hours.” She patted his bare chest. “Get out of bed, Joshua, or I’m going to leave you right here.”

  “I see that you’re not going to be an easy wife.”

  “I’m going to be a wonderful wife, and you know it,” she countered, hugging him tightly.

  “I’m sure you will.” He swept the sheet back from his body and swung his legs over the side of the bed. “Will I have to salute you, or answer with ‘yes, Ma’am and no, Ma’am’?”

  “If you keep testing me, Joshua, you’ll find out.”

  Reaching for her with blinding speed, he kissed her hard, then released her before she could react. “That should hold you until I get ready.”

  Vanessa sat, momentarily stunned. A smile curved her mouth as she looked forward to what she knew would be a passionate future with the man who, in five days, had become as essential to her as eating and sleeping.

  Vanessa watched as her luggage, along with Joshua’s, was wheeled out to the rental car at the Oaxaca airport and stored in the trunk by an airport baggage handler. A shimmering sun in a bright, cloudless sky indicated no rain for Mexico’s southern region as well as rising temperatures predicted to peak in the low nineties. She smiled. After four days of smog and rain in Mexico City it was startling to see the undefiled blue of the sky.

  Joshua tipped the handler and helped her into the car, then settled in beside her. He adjusted a lever under the front of his seat until his long legs were comfortably stretched out under the steering wheel.

  Turning to his right, he examined her enchanting profile, his gaze lingering on the hollows under her cheekbones and the length of her long, smooth neck. She’s a swan who was never an Ugly Duckling.

  Vanessa turned, her gaze meeting his. He seemed to be waiting, for what she didn’t know. Was he waiting for a command from her that he pull out of the parking lot?

  “Yes?” Her voice held a breathless quality that she didn’t recognize as her own. “Yes?” she repeated when he did not answer or move. She was as still as he was, despite the erotic shock racing through her. All that Joshua was, all that he felt at that moment, she was and felt. Without a word, without a gesture, she knew that he truly did love her.

  “I love you so much,” he whispered quietly and reverently.

  His confession filled her entire being, and she didn’t know why but she wanted to sob. Resting her forehead on his shoulder, she closed her eyes and inhaled his now familiar scent.

  “And I love you, too, Joshua Kirkland,” she confessed for the first time. “I will marry you, and when I return to the States it will be as your wife.”

  Only her belt prevented him from pulling her from her seat and onto his lap as his mouth covered hers in a gentle, possessive joining. The kiss they shared was tender and confident, and promised more, much, much more.

  Joshua pulled back, breathing heavily. His lowered lids concealed his innermost feelings from her. “I can’t form the words to tell how I feel at this moment. All I can say is thank you.”

  He released her and started up the car. The seduction had worked. But he wondered who was the winner—he, or Vanessa.

  Vanessa was totally enchanted by Oaxaca. The city claimed no high-rise hotels or resorts, but beautifully restored properties that overlooked the deep, arid valleys of the Sierra Madre mountains.

  They checked into the Victoria, a two story, salmon-colored complex built on a hill overlooking the city. Joshua had decided on absolute privacy when he selected a bungalow rather than a suite within the main building. The Victoria also claimed picture-perfect bougainvillea vines strewn throughout the property, an excellent restaurant, tennis courts, heated pool and a disco.

  Joshua closed the door behind the departing bellhop and extended his arms. Vanessa did not disappoint him when she walked into his embrace.

  Resting his chin on the top of her head, he closed his eyes, luxuriating in the feel of her body molded to his. The frantic craving to make love to her had subsided with her promise of marriage. Within the next three or four days he would claim her as his wife.

  What he had to do was buy her a ring and a wedding gift, and find a priest who would marry them without a posting of banns or the formalities which usually preceded a Roman Catholic ceremony. He and Vanessa would marry before he met Cordero Birmingham in San Miguel. The meeting with Birmingham would conclude his involvement with Operation MESA. Then he would be able to concentrate fully on uncovering what he could about Vanessa and the sale of the classified components.

  “What do you want to do now?” he asked her.

  “I want to tour the Mercado Juárez and the Mercado Veinte de Noviembre today, and the Mercado de Artesanías, if there’s enough time.”

  Joshua concealed a smile as he pulled back and stared at her. There was no doubt that she had done her homework. She knew exactly where she wanted to go. “How about tomorrow?”

  “Tomorrow I go to the galleries. Someone at work gave me the name of a proprietor at one of the galleries in the Galería de Arte de Oaxaca who sells exquisite pieces of gold and silver designed in the style of the jewels found at the Monte Albán archeological ruins.”

  He felt a rush of excitement with this disclosure. The person at the gallery was no doubt her contact. His expression of indifference did nothing to denote his satisfaction that he would be able to complete his Mexican mission in less than ten days.

  “We’ll unpack after we come back,” he suggested. “I have to talk to a priest about marrying us in between your shopping sprees.”

  Vanessa nodded. “I want to change into a pair of comfortable walking shoes before we leave.” Her delicate leather sandals were pretty, but not practical for the cobblestone streets.

  Joshua released her and checked his supply of Mexican pesos. If necessary, he would offer a generous “donation” to the priest for waiving the necessary waiting period. Now that Vanessa had agreed to marry him before they left Mexico, he wanted nothing and no one to thwart them.

  Joshua sat at a small round table in an outdoor café near the zócalo, smiling at Vanessa as she slipped off her sunglasses and ran the back of her hand over her forehead. A warm breeze failed to stir the fronds of an overhead palm tree.

  “I think I’m going to spend the siesta here,” she threatened softly. Most of the pedestrian traffic in the main square had cleared out for the beginning of the two-hour period when most banks and businesses closed.

  “We can always go back to the hotel and take advantage of the air-conditioning. It’s your call,” he continued, noting her weariness.

  While they had spent the past three hours sightseeing and browsing through the colonial heart of Oaxaca, the temperature had reached ninety-one before the noon hour, and had continued to climb steadily even after the sun reached its zenith.

  She stared down into a glass filled with chilled, bottled water and lemon slices. “I thought you wanted to talk to a priest.” Her head came up and she returned his steady gaze.

  Reaching across the table, he held her hands gently. “We will. Relax and finish your drink. I doubt whether we’ll find a church open during siesta.”

  Her fingers tightened on his. “Then we’ll wait here.”

  Vanessa sat next to Joshua in the coolness of the rectory of the tiny church where Father José Hidalgo y Peña had said mass for more than six years. The elderly priest had granted them an audience, but they’d had to wait for more than an hour for his re
turn after he’d been summoned to anoint a sick parishioner.

  He walked to the sitting room, gesturing with a heavily veined hand as Joshua rose to his feet. “Please sit down, my son,” he ordered in whispery Spanish. “My housekeeper tells me that you want me to marry you.” He sat down on a worn armchair, crossing his dusty, sandaled feet at the ankles.

  “Sí, Padre,” Joshua confirmed, the Spanish flowing fluidly from his tongue. “Mi novia and I would like you to marry us without posting banns.”

  The minute lines in the priest’s face deepened, and he frowned at them from under lowered lids. “That would be highly irregular.”

  “But it is not impossible,” Joshua said quietly.

  The priest paused, lacing his gnarled hands together. “I have church law to follow.”

  Joshua leaned closer. “This is Mexico, not Rome, Padre. I’m certain you find yourself not following the law in particular cases.”

  “I have my bishop to answer to,” Father Peña insisted.

  “Who answers to his archbishop, who answers to Rome, which is thousands of miles from here.”

  He nodded. “You’re right about that. What you ask is irregular, but not impossible.” He paused again, this time to take off his glasses and wipe a layer of dust from the lenses before replacing them on the end of his prominent nose.

  He directed his attention to Vanessa. His bushy gray brows lifted slightly as if he had noticed her for the first time. “Are you with child?” he questioned in Spanish.

  “We are uncertain at this time,” Joshua replied, answering for her. “We’ve taken a vow that we will not engage in any further sexual intercourse unless we’re married.”

  Vanessa stared at the two men, unable to understand any of what they were discussing. Judging from Father Peña’s expression she knew he wasn’t very pleased with Joshua’s proposal.

  Lacing his fingers together in his lap, Father Peña shook his head. “Temptations of the flesh are very strong, and too many babies are conceived outside of marriage.” He sighed heavily. “I will marry you, but first you must receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation and give me your word that the child will be baptized in the Catholic faith.”

  Joshua glanced at Vanessa, then turned his attention back to Father Peña. He knew Vanessa wasn’t a Catholic, but he was, and it had been years since he’d confessed his sins to a priest. He also knew instinctively that the Mexican priest would not perform the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony unless he agreed to his prerequisites.

  “When?”

  “In three days. Be here at four-thirty in the afternoon and I will perform the marriage at five.”

  Joshua leaned forward on his chair. “She is not a Catholic.”

  “But you are?”

  “Sí. Not a good one or a practicing one, but still a Catholic.”

  “We’ll let God judge your soul, my son. I must have your word that your children will be Catholic.”

  “You have my word.” What he didn’t say was that he would have to talk to Vanessa about the conditions under which they would be married.

  Padre Peña smiled for the first time. “You can always come back for me to baptize the child.”

  “I’ll discuss it with my wife,” Joshua replied noncommittally. Rising to his feet, he handed the priest an envelope. “A modest donation.”

  Padre Peña accepted the envelope. “This donation does not exempt you from Reconciliation, my son.”

  “I didn’t think it would.” He extended a hand to Vanessa and pulled her smoothly to her feet. “We’ll return in three days.”

  Vanessa waited until they left the coolness of the building before she spoke. “Will he do it?”

  Joshua gathered her to his chest and placed a kiss on her mouth. “Is three days enough time for you to plan for a wedding?”

  She stared up at him, her heart pounding loudly in her ears. The shock of what was going to happen hit her full force, rendering her speechless, while a warm glow flowed through her body. Nodding, she rose on tiptoe and pressed her lips to his, giving him his answer.

  Cradling her face between his palms, he stared down at her delicate face. “He’ll marry us, but not without a concession.”

  She frowned. “What?”

  “I gave him my word that our children would be baptized and raised in the Catholic faith.”

  An eyebrow shifted. “You did?”

  “I had to, Vanessa.”

  “Did he ask that I convert?”

  “No.” The single word was filled with a tone of uncertainty. He had gotten the priest to violate the regulations of his vocation, while she balked at agreeing to the conditions of their marrying.

  Exhaling and nodding her head, Vanessa forced a smile. “Okay, Joshua. You have my word. But I still want them to attend an AME church with me.”

  He returned her smile with a bright one of his own. “Not only will they attend services with you, but I’ll also come along.” Holding her hand firmly within his grasp, he led her back to the car for their return trip to the hotel. Sitting in the passenger seat of the rental vehicle, she closed her eyes at the same time Joshua started up the engine. In three days she would become Mrs. Joshua Kirkland after having been in Mexico for only eight days, and she knew once she exchanged vows with the enigmatic man she had fallen in love with she would never be the same.

  Chapter 13

  Vanessa was quiet and reflective as she unpacked her luggage. She moved silently around the large dressing room as if she feared waking a sleeping person. She felt rather than saw Joshua staring at her, but she refused to acknowledge him while she struggled to bring her drifting thoughts into focus.

  His fingers curved around her wrist, stopping her from hanging up a pair of slacks. He pulled her close, cradling her gently against his chest.

  “What’s bothering you?” His voice was soft, comforting.

  She pressed her nose against his shoulder. “I can’t believe I’m planning a wedding where I can hardly pronounce the city where I’ll exchange vows, or understand the language of the man who’ll marry me. I’ve always believed my father would walk me down the aisle of a church filled with family and friends.”

  Joshua rested his chin on the top of her head and stared out across the room. He knew she was uneasy—any normal woman would be if she had consented to marry a stranger within a week of their meeting. He also knew that the feelings she’d confessed to him were real—very, very real. The fact that they’d fallen in love so quickly was startling as well as frightening. However, they were not children. They were thirty-three and thirty-eight, mature and sensible, and it was as if they had been waiting for each other to come into their lives.

  Leading her back to the bedroom, he sat down on a love seat, pulling her down beside him. “Your family expects you to have a large wedding?”

  Vanessa smiled up at him. “My mother never asked much from me and my sister except that she wanted us to have a what she calls a ‘little something if we decided to marry.’ When my sister Connie married Roger that ‘little something’ turned out to be an extravaganza with more than three hundred invited guests.”

  Joshua arched an eyebrow at this disclosure. He doubted that he’d met three hundred people who knew him well enough to attend his wedding.

  “We could always repeat our vows for your mother.”

  “I’m certain that would pacify her. But what about your family? Your father?”

  Suddenly his face went grim, the familiar, impassive mask back in place. How could he tell Vanessa that it had been more than four years since he’d seen or spoken to his father? That it pained him to be in the same room as the man?

  Vanessa, puzzled by the sudden shift in his mood, asked, “You do have family, don’t you?”

  “Yes, I do.” The admission was a low, barely spoken whisper. “I’ve been estranged from my father for years.”

  She sensed his disquiet and chose her words carefully. “How many years, Joshua?”

  He met her direc
t gaze, his pale eyes boring down into hers. He had to answer her because she had a right to know that much about him. Her family would become his, and his hers.

  “All of my life.” The four words held a note of finality, as if the estrangement would continue until one of them ceased to exist.

  Vanessa closed her eyes, stunned by his bluntness, then opened them to find him watching her with an expression that dared her not to pity him.

  She didn’t pity him; she was willing to wait for him to feel comfortable enough to disclose the reason behind the alienation between him and his father.

  “Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

  “I have two half-brothers and sisters.”

  “Will they attend?”

  “You’re asking questions I’m not able to answer. The only thing I’m certain of is that one of my brothers will come.”

  She wound her arms around his waist. “It doesn’t matter, Joshua. We’re going to be a family—just you and I.”

  Just you and I, he repeated to himself, savoring the peace he’d discovered since Vanessa had come into his life.

  Vanessa lay in his embrace, wrapped in a cocoon of contentment. Her earlier apprehension eased, then dissipated like a lingering wisp of rising smoke, and she looked forward to marrying Joshua with a joyful anticipation that made her want to shout out the euphoria welling within her.

  “I’d like to go dancing tonight,” she said against his warm, brown throat.

  Joshua chuckled softly. “I thought you didn’t dance.” A mysterious smile played around his firm, masculine mouth, while his luminous eyes sparkled in laughter.

  “That’s before I met you.” Pulling back, she returned his smile. “I want to dance until the sun comes up.”

  He ran a forefinger down the length of her nose. “That translates into we’ll have to make our own music for.”

  “I hum very well.”

  “But I don’t hum or sing,” he admitted.