“I’m not going to marry you, Jace!” she shouted. Then she lowered her voice and said, “I was taught that marriage is a permanent condition and there’s no—”
“Being indicted for kidnapping is a permanent condition too, Katherine. Wait a minute,” he barked when she started to object. “I don’t think they could make such a charge stick either, but the stigma would be with you for the rest of your life. Peter’s and Mary’s deaths, not to mention that girl killed with him, will again be plastered on the front page in bold print. Do you want to go through that again? Once you were only on the sidelines. This time you’d be right in the middle of it.” He crossed the room and braced himself on the table, leaning over her. His face was only a few inches from hers. “Are you prepared to go through all that litigation? Can you afford it financially? I’ve checked. With all the ambiguities of this case, no lawyer would touch it for less than five thousand dollars. Probably more. I promise you my parents will play to win. No expense or dirty tricks will be spared. They’ll pull out all the stops. And what about Allison during that time? She’ll probably become a ward of the state and be placed in a foster home until a decision is reached, which could be months. Is that what you want for her right now?”
Katherine clutched the baby to her and looked away from Jace. He was right! How could she fight against such odds? Even if she won in the long run, the price of victory would be too high. Then a new thought came to her.
“What if… just if… we went through with this marriage, wouldn’t your parents fight us both?”
“They might fight me if I were trying to get guardianship of her by myself. Use the single-parent syndrome against me. But they wouldn’t fight us both. Together we form a family unit. We would apply immediately for adoption. That would make her legally our child, not just our ward. Any court would favor that. And we’re much younger than my parents, a strong point for our side. Besides that,” he grinned sardonically, “I don’t think they, particularly Mother, would like that kind of publicity.” He chuckled softly. “As a matter of fact, as soon as they know we’re married, they’ll probably hold a press conference and declare how thrilled they are that their problem was resolved. They’ll make it sound like it was all their idea and that they’re thankful we found each other.”
By this time Katherine had fed Allison, and the baby, whose innocent life was the source of so much conflict, had dropped off to sleep again. Katherine took her into the bedroom and placed her in the crib. Bath time would be postponed today.
When she returned to the kitchen, Jace was clearing up the dishes. “You’d better hurry and get dressed. We’re supposed to meet the judge and Mark’s friend at two o’clock.”
“Jace, I can’t marry you,” she said reasonably. Maybe things weren’t as bad as he was making them out to
be. Anger was a wasted emotion now, but she resented his bullying her this way. “I can take care of Allison, and I can take care of myself.”
Sparks of anger flashed in Jason’s blue eyes as he turned toward her. His thumbs hooked into the belt loops of his jeans as he assumed a belligerent stance. “Well, forgive me for pointing out that you’re doing a helluva job. Taking care of yourself, huh? Last night you almost got yourself raped by a horny old bastard who was coming on to you so strong that even I could pick up the vibes from him.”
“That’s not fair!” she cried. “I was a victim. Now you’re victimizing me by coercing me into a marriage I want no part of.”
He was furious now, taking slow, menacing steps to stand directly in front of her. He spoke with a deceptively serene voice. “Have you stopped to consider, Miss Adams, that I don’t particularly want to sacrifice my freedom either? I didn’t come halfway around the world, then halfway across the country to be married! Believe me, that was the furthest thing from my mind.”
“Then why—”
“Because I feel responsible to provide that baby in there with a proper home. She’s the real victim, Katherine. Not you or me. I’m willing to marry you in compensation for what Peter did to Mary. At the same time, you’ll be keeping your promise to your sister.” He stepped back a few feet and asked, “Now, are you ready to go with me to Dallas?”
She covered her face with her hands. Thinking was so difficult. Rational thought was impossible when he was so close. She could feel the angry heat emanating from his body. His breathing was labored. He was as agitated as she. There was no time to analyze her predicament. She had to decide now.
How could he remain so composed? Was he always so damned right? So logical? What were the choices? There were none. He knew it. She knew it.
“Okay, Jace.” That was the only commitment she allowed him. It would have to do.
Silently she thanked him that there was no gloating in his manner when he said, “I’ll be back in an hour. Do you want to stay in Dallas overnight or come back today?”
Overnight? With him? In a hotel room? “No. Why don’t we just come back.”
“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.