“I’ll drive you later. It might be a good idea if we checked in with Doc Brown while we’re in Tullue.”
“Reed, I’m a thousand percent better than I was when he first saw me.”
“I don’t want there to be any complications.”
Clare grumbled under her breath, deciding it would be a waste of time to argue with him. She had the distinct feeling he was going to turn into a mother hen the moment he learned she was pregnant.
After this past month it would be a minor miracle if she wasn’t. When Reed had described her as lusty he hadn’t been far off the truth. It embarrassed her how much she wanted him. The future might hold several problems, but Clare was convinced none of them would happen in their marriage bed.
“Someone’s coming,” Reed announced, straightening. He climbed off the bed.
“Erin?”
“Not this time.” He frowned. “It sounds like two cars.” His uncanny ability to make out noises fascinated her.
Reed walked onto the porch, and Clare followed him. She was standing at his side when the two vehicles pulled into view.
One look down the narrow driveway and Clare froze. She felt as though the bottom of her world had fallen out from under her.
The first car was marked Sheriff. Clare recognized Jim Daniels. The second car followed close behind. Inside were her parents.
Chapter Thirteen
“Get inside, Clare,” Reed said with steel in his voice.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she murmured, moving closer to his side. Her heart felt as though it were on a trampoline, it was pounding so hard and fast.
Clare fully intended to tell her parents she was married, but she’d hoped to do it in her own time, in her own way, when the conditions were right.
“Clare, for the love of heaven, do as I ask.”
“I can’t,” she said miserably. “Those are my parents.”
Reed was already tense, but he grew more so at her words. His eyes found hers, and in their dark depths Clare read his doubts and his concern.
“I love you, Reed Tonasket,” she said, wanting to assure him and at the same time reassure herself. Reed had claimed she possessed a fragile spirit. At the time Clare had been mildly insulted. His words contained a certain amount of truth, but she wasn’t weak willed. No matter what happened she’d stand by her husband.
The sheriff’ stepped out of the car. The sound of his door closing felt like a giant clap of thunder in Clare’s ear.
“Good day, Officer,” Reed said appearing relaxed and completely at ease. “What can I do for you?”
“Clare, sweetheart,” her mother cried, climbing out of the car. Ellie Gilroy covered her mouth with her hand as if she were overcome with dismay. “Are you all right?”
“Of course I am,” Clare answered, puzzled. Blindly her hand reached for Reed’s. They stood together on the porch, their fingers laced.
“Would you mind stepping away from Clare Gilroy?” Jim Daniels requested of Reed in a voice that sounded both bureaucratic and official.
“Why would you want him to do that?” Clare demanded defensively.
“He wants to be sure I haven’t got a knife on you,” Reed explained. He dropped her hand and placed some distance between them. A chill chased down her arms when Reed moved away from her.
“That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard in my life.” Clare was outraged. Old family friend or not, how dare Jim Daniels make such a suggestion!
“This man is a known troublemaker,” Jim insisted.
“That’s not true.” Clare was so angry she was close to tears.
“Are you here of your own free will?” Jim inquired in the same professional tone he’d used earlier.
He sounded as if he were reading for the part of a television detective.
“You don’t honestly believe Reed Tonasket kidnapped me, do you?”
“That’s exactly what we think.” Her father spoke for the first time. His large hands were knotted into fists at his sides as if he were waiting for the opportunity to fight Reed for imagined wrongs.
Never having crossed the law herself, Clare wasn’t familiar with legal procedure, but it seemed the deputy was sticking his neck on the chopping block. She wasn’t entirely sure the sheriff’s jurisdiction extended onto the reservation. Furthermore it seemed highly peculiar that he would drag her parents into what he believed to be a kidnapper’s den.
“I came with Reed of my own free will,” Clare explained as calmly as she could. She’d never had an explosive temper, but she feared that much more of these ridiculous accusations would change that.
“I don’t believe her,” her father said to his friend.
“There’s not much else I can do, Leonard.”
“Clare.” Her mother’s eyes implored her. “Are you ill?”
“Do I look sick?” she flared.
“I brought her to the cabin with me when she came down with a bad case of the flu,” Reed explained in reasonable tones. “I intended to contact you, but from what I understand you were on a camping trip.”
“I was worse off than I realized,” Clare explained. Her mother had been in touch with her before they left for camping. Clare had been the one to insist they go. Her parents didn’t get away nearly often enough and she would have hated to be the one responsible for ruining their plans.
“Clare was nearly dehydrated and close to being hospitalized,” Reed added.
“But did she come of her own free will?” Jim demanded.
“I already said I did,” Clare shouted, losing patience with the lot of them.
“She wasn’t happy about it,” Reed admitted, “but there were few options available. She needed someone to take care of her, and…”
“She didn’t need a jailbird doing it.”
“Daddy!”
“The man was recently arrested for aggravated assault,” her father stormed. “If he’d attack another man, what is there to say he wouldn’t kidnap my daughter?”
Clare couldn’t remember ever seeing her father so agitated. He’d always been a calm and reasonable man. She could hardly remember him raising his voice. He seldom revealed emotion of any form.
“Arrest him,” Leonard insisted.
“On what charge?” Clare demanded. “I’ve already told you I’m here because I want to be. I can’t believe you’re doing this. Reed took me in, nursed me when I was ill and this is the way you treat him?”
“He didn’t need to bring you here. There were plenty of other places he could have taken you.”
“Dad, you’re being unreasonable.”
“He admitted himself that you didn’t want to come.”
Clare clenched her teeth to keep from saying something she’d later regret. “Why doesn’t everyone come inside and we’ll sit down and talk about this in a civilized manner?”
“That sounds like a good idea, doesn’t it, Leonard?”
Clare could have kissed her mother. She started toward the front door, then realized she was the only one who’d moved. Reed, who stood with his arms crossed, hadn’t budged. Neither had Jim Daniels or her father. Her mother took one tentative step forward, but froze when no one else moved.
The sound of another car barreling up the driveway diverted everyone’s attention.
“Who else could be coming?” her father demanded.
“I think it would help matters a whole lot, dear, if you’d come off those steps and stand by your father and me,” her mother suggested in low tones, as if she assumed speaking softly would coax Clare to leave Reed.
“It’s Gary and Erin,” Reed told her long before the car came into view.
Clare felt as though the whole world had descended on them at the same moment. Gary pulled in behind her parents’ car and leaped out of the front seat as though the engine were on fire.
“What the hell’s going on here?” he demanded, hands on his hips. Erin stepped out of the car, but held on to the door as she surveyed the
scene around them. It was apparent to Clare that their friends had inadvertently stumbled upon the confrontation. Erin looked as shocked as Clare felt.
“It seems Deputy Daniels believes I kidnapped Clare,” Reed explained.
“That’s ridiculous.”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell them,” Clare cried. “Why doesn’t everyone come inside so we can discuss this situation rationally?”
Gary and Erin stepped onto the porch, but hesitated when no one else followed.
“What’s the matter with you people?” Gary asked, glancing from one to the other. “Reed didn’t kidnap Clare any more than he did me or Erin. He brought her here because she was ill. You should be grateful.”
“That’s my daughter he took—”
“Dear,” Ellie Gilroy said softly, “I don’t think it’s fair to say Reed took Clare.”
Her father glared at his wife but said nothing.
Knowing she would need to face her parents with the truth, Clare was hoping to soothe the waters as best she could before hitting them with the news of her marriage.
“I’ll help you with the coffee,” Erin said, taking Clare by the elbow and leading the way inside the cabin. Reluctantly Clare went inside, but not before casting Reed a pleading gaze. She wasn’t sure what she expected him to do.
“Do they know?” Erin asked the instant they were inside the house. Clare didn’t need for her friend to clarify the question. Her parents hadn’t a clue she was married to Reed.
“No.”
Erin sighed expressively. “I was afraid of that.”
“Reed won’t tell them, either.” Of that, Clare was certain. Even if it cost him dearly, he wouldn’t do or say anything that would place Clare in an awkward position with her parents.
“How’d they know you were here?”
“I haven’t a clue, unless Doc Brown said something.”
“That isn’t likely,” Erin muttered.
Clare went about assembling the pot of coffee. The temptation to walk back onto the porch and find out what was happening was strong, but it was more important to collect her thoughts.
Erin brought down several mugs and set them in the center of the table. Her father used sugar, so Clare brought over the sugar bowl, a couple of teaspoons and a handful of paper napkins.
“The coffee will be ready in a couple of minutes,” she said, stepping outside. She rubbed her palms together as she cast a pleading glance to her parents.
Everything seemed to be at a standstill. No one was speaking. They stood like chess pieces, reviewing strategy before making another move.
“Mom?” Clare pleaded.
Her mother glanced toward her father, but he ignored her.
“Jim, I appreciate you coming, but as you can see I’m in no danger.”
Jim Daniels nodded, but he didn’t reveal any signs of leaving.
“It might be best if you left,” she said pointedly. “There are several things I need to discuss with my parents. Family matters.”
“I want him here,” her father insisted.
“Why?”
“That man’s dangerous.”
Clare was too angry to respond. “He’s no more dangerous than you are!”
“I wasn’t the one arrested for aggravated assault.”
“That does it,” Clare shouted, slapping her hands against her sides in a show of abject frustration. “Does anyone know why Reed and Jack fought? Does anyone care?”
“Clare.” Reed’s low voice was filled with warning.
“Reed doesn’t want me to tell you, but I will.” She folded her arms across her chest the same way Reed had and shifted her weight to her left foot. “I broke up with Jack for a number of excellent reasons.”
“We know all that, dear,” her mother said.
“What you don’t know is that Jack started pestering me afterward. First he started bothering me with phone calls. It got so bad I had to unplug my phone. Then he sat outside my house, watched every move I made.”
“You should have got a restraining order against him,” Jim told her.
Clare agreed, but she hadn’t thought of it at the time. “I…I don’t know what led up to the fight, Reed never told me, exactly what he said but Jack apparently insulted me. In my heart I know there was a very good reason. Jack learned that I was…dating Reed, and his ego couldn’t take that. Jack never cared for me, but the thought of me having anything to do with another man was more than his petty ego could take.”
“According to the statement we got from Kingston at the time of the—”
“Knowing Jack, it was a pack of lies,” Clare interrupted. “It was bad enough having Jack hound me the way he was. I knew that once he discovered I was seeing Reed, matters would get much worse. Jack was determined to make my life a living hell. Yes, Reed got into a fistfight with Jack, but he did so to defend me. I haven’t heard from Jack once since the fight and I have Reed to thank for that. Jack won’t pester me again because he knows if he does he’ll have Reed to contend with.”
“And me,” Gary chimed in.
“I wasn’t aware there was a problem with Jack,” her father admitted reluctantly.
“We had our suspicions though,” Ellie mumbled. “He called shortly after you broke off your engagement, and it was clear to your father, that Jack was trying to make trouble.”
“I don’t think Jack was ever the man we thought he was,” Clare said with a tinge of sadness.
“There’s no need to do something foolish because of Kingston,” her father said pointedly. “Getting involved in another relationship because you’re on the rebound isn’t wise.”
“Especially with a Native American,” Reed supplied, stating what had been left unsaid.
Her father’s gaze connected with Reed’s. Clare could only speculate what passed between the two men.
“Will you come inside now?” she asked softly.
“Come home with us, Clare,” her father insisted, holding his arm out to her. “You’ve had a bad time. First this business with Jack, and then having to deal with the flu. Let’s put all this behind us.”
“I am home, Dad.”
“Nonsense, your place is with us and—”
“Dad, you’re not hearing me.”
“Now listen here—”
“Dad,” Clare shouted, her voice cracking. “Would you stop and for once in your life listen to what I’m trying to tell you?”
“Clare.” Reed’s eyes implored her. He seemed to be saying now wasn’t the time, but she ignored his silent plea, refusing to put off the truth any longer.
“Mom and Dad,” Clare said, moving to Reed’s side. She slipped her arm around his waist. “Reed and I are married.”
Chapter Fourteen
You’re married? You and Reed? Oh, dear.” Ellie Gilroy pressed her hand over her heart. “I do believe I need to sit down.”
Clare’s father gripped his wife by the elbow and directed her inside Reed’s home, his former hesitancy gone.
Jim Daniels would have followed right behind him if Leonard Gilroy hadn’t turned and said, “We’ll take it from here, Jim. We appreciate your time and trouble.”
“No problem. Give me a call anytime.”
By the time her mother was seated in the living room, Clare had poured her a glass of water and brought it to her. Ellie studied Clare as she sipped from the glass. She seemed to be judging the accuracy of Clare’s announcement.
“I’m Reed’s wife, Mom,” Clare whispered, unsure her mother believed her.
Ellie nodded as though accepting the inevitable, then she curiously studied the room. “This home is very nice,” she murmured. “Of course it needs a woman’s touch here and there, but really I’m quite—”
“Ellie.”
Her husband’s voice cut off the small talk.
“It seems you four have lots to discuss, so I think Gary and I’ll be leaving,” Erin said, stepping just inside the doorway. She hugged Clare and whispered, “Ever
ything’s going to work out just fine.”
Clare wished she felt half as confident as her friend.
A silence fell over the room after Gary and Erin were gone. Clare’s mother sat on the sofa, her father stood at his wife’s side. Reed was at the other end of the room, before the fireplace, and Clare was positioned close to the kitchen.
“Coffee, anyone?” she asked brightly.
“That would be nice, dear.”
Clare looked to her father and Reed, but both men ignored her, concentrating instead on each other, as if sizing up one another. Clare sighed and disappeared into the kitchen long enough to pour her mother a cup of coffee.
“Is it true?” Her father’s question was directed at Reed.
Rarely a man of words, Reed nodded.
“There’s never been an artist in the family,” Ellie said conversationally, as though nothing were amiss. “It might be a nice change, don’t you think, Leonard?”
“As a matter of fact, I don’t,” Clare’s father returned abruptly.
“Dad, if you’d only listen.”
“How long have you known him?” her father demanded next, slicing her with his eyes.
Clare bristled at his tone. She wasn’t a child to be chastised for wrongdoing. “Long enough, Dad.”
Her father, who’d always been the picture of serenity, rammed his fingers though his hair. His gaze skirted away from hers. “Did…he take advantage of you?”
It would have been a terrible mistake to have laughed, Clare realized, but she nearly did. “No.” She couldn’t help wondering what her father would say if she confessed how often she’d asked Reed to make love to her.
“Do you love him?” His fingers went through his hair once again.
“Oh, yes.”
“What about you, young man? Do you love my daughter?”
“Very much.” Clare was grateful Reed chose a verbal response. Although he didn’t elaborate on his feelings, the message was concise and came straight from his heart.
“Do you make enough money to support her?”
Clearly her father had no idea how successful Reed was, nor was he taking into account that she made a living wage at the library. It was a question that could have offended her husband, but it didn’t.
Hasty Wedding Page 19
