They waited another hour in the waiting area, and he said not a word.
When the doctor confirmed the pregnancy, pronounced Catie in excellent health, assured her she could still have intimate relations, and wrote her a prescription for prenatal vitamins, Chad finally spoke.
“Come on, then.” He pulled her out of the doctor’s office.
“Where are we going now?”
“To the courthouse. We’re getting married.”
Chapter Fifteen
In a pink haze, Catie became Mrs. Chad McCray.
No Papa giving her away. No Angie as her beautiful maid of honor. No white dress. No flowers. No Mama crying in the front row. No Mozart and no string quartet.
No passionate wedding kiss.
Just a quick signing of a marriage license and basic vows spoken in robotic tones.
She had married the man of her dreams.
In an event the opposite of what she had dreamed of for nearly her entire life.
He didn’t want her. Except maybe sexually. Not enough. Not what she’d dreamed of.
He didn’t love her.
But he felt responsible for her. For her and this child she was determined to bring into the world.
Had she been more herself, she might not have gone through with the wedding. But she had, and now she and Chad were driving back to Bakersville after dark.
“I… Where will I live?” The first words she’d spoken since “I do.”
“At my place. You can have your own room.”
“Oh.” So that’s how it would be. “I need to stop at my house, get some stuff.”
“In the morning.”
“But I need my… I need to tell my parents. About us. About the baby.”
“In the morning, Catie.”
“Now. Please.”
Chad pulled onto the side of the road and turned off the ignition. He turned to her, his eyes cold.
“Catie, this day has turned into something out of my nightmares. I will eventually have to tell your parents that I knocked up their baby girl. Out of wedlock.”
“But it was an accident. We used protection. They’ll understand.”
Chad scoffed. “Your daddy’ll understand? That I humped his daughter and got her with child? It sounds like a fucking lie, Catie, and I’m having a hard time believing it myself.”
“But—”
“No buts. Tomorrow we’ll deal with our families. Tonight I want to go home and go to bed.” He turned on the ignition, looked straight ahead, and continued driving.
Catie’s heart sank. Sadness welled within her. She wanted her mother. Her father. Her brother. Her own house. Her own bed. To be back in Paris. To be traveling. She longed to talk to Dominic, who had become her best friend. She wanted so much.