The Manning Sisters

by Debbie Macomber

  “James,” she said, taking both of his hands in her own, “that’s not the case. I wish it was that simple, but it isn’t.”

  “Nonsense.” James hadn’t been touted as a brilliant attorney without reason. With infuriating ease, he twisted everything she said around to suit his own purposes.

  “I love Cody.” She said it forcefully enough, she prayed, for James to accept it as truth.

  “As I already said, that isn’t possible.” He stood, placing his hands on her shoulders, his look indulgent. “You love me, remember? Otherwise you wouldn’t have agreed to become my wife.”

  “I agreed to your proposal because I like you. And because it pleased my mother and father,” she cried.

  “Christy.” He said her name softly, as if she were a petulant child. “I’m sure you’re mistaken.”

  “I’m not.” Her hands on his forearms, she stared directly into his eyes. “I love Cody Franklin so much I married him.”

  It hurt Christy to watch the transformation come over his face. She hated the pain she saw. The disbelief. The humiliation.

  “It’s true,” she said before he could question her.

  Anger flickered in his eyes. He jerked his arms free from her and dropped them to his sides.

  “When?”

  “Does it matter?”

  “No, I guess not.” His eyes drifted briefly shut. That said more than any words he could have spoken.

  She took a moment to open the clasp of her purse and take out the diamond ring he’d given her. When she handed it back to him, James stared at the velvet box as if he’d never seen it before. “Keep it.”

  “No, I can’t.”

  He removed it from her hand and turned away long enough to shove it into his coat pocket. When he looked at her again, he was able to mask the pain, but she knew him well enough to realize how deeply she’d hurt him. Causing him such intense suffering was the most difficult thing she’d ever had to do. James didn’t deserve to be treated this way.

  “I intended to tell you the minute I got home from Montana,” she said in her own defense, the words coming so fast they nearly blended together.

  “The engagement party,” he supplied for her. “You tried to tell me then, didn’t you?” He didn’t wait for her to answer. “I sensed something was wrong and trapped you into setting a wedding date.” He scowled. “On a subconscious level I ignored the obvious, immersed myself in my work, hoping whatever had happened with you would pass. I know I made it difficult to talk to me. But am I that unreasonable that you couldn’t have told me the truth?”

  “That wasn’t it.” Christy felt it was important to correct that impression. “I just didn’t feel I could. You were so heavily involved in the Mulligan case and I didn’t want to—”

  “I’m still involved.”

  “I know. But the worst of it’s over, and I couldn’t go on pretending. I’m sorry, James, sorrier than you’ll ever realize.”

  He snickered, but didn’t openly contradict her.

  “I’m terribly fond of you and I’d give anything to—”

  “Fond.” He spit out the word as if it were an obscenity.

  His vehemence was a shock. James wasn’t a passionate man. Rarely had Christy seen him reveal any emotion, in or out of a courtroom.

  Once more she tried to explain. “I don’t expect you to understand how difficult this was for me. That would be asking too much of you.” She knew she sounded shaken, but she couldn’t help that. “If there was any possible way I could’ve done this without hurting you, I would have.”

  He didn’t respond.

  “You’re a wonderful man, James, and someday a woman will come into your life—the right woman. And you’ll know what I mean.”

  “You were the right woman. Or so I believed.”

  “I’m sorry. So very sorry.”

  He shook his head as if he didn’t quite believe her. His hand was buried in his pocket, and Christy guessed he’d made a tight fist around the diamond.

  “I only wish you the best,” she whispered.

  He breathed deeply, then nodded, although Christy had the impression he didn’t agree with her. She was about to say something more when a thunderous shout came from the direction of the living room.

  “Your father?” James asked.

  Christy nodded. “Cody must have told him.”

  James’s gaze continued to hold hers. “You’ll be all right?”

  “Of course.”

  He seemed to accept that. “Can I kiss you, one last time?”

  In response she opened her arms to him, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. James reached for her, his touch gentle. He held her close for just a moment, then pressed his mouth to hers.

  He broke away, and his finger touched her cheek, his eyes clouded. “Be happy, Christy.”

  “I will.”

  With that he turned and walked out of the kitchen. Christy stood by the window and watched him move down the walkway, then climb inside his car. For what seemed an eternity, James sat in the driver’s seat with his hands gripping the steering wheel as he stared straight ahead.

  Christy couldn’t delay the confrontation with her family any longer. Squaring her shoulders, she walked into the living room to find her brothers, Paul, Jason and Rich, perched on bar stools as though viewing a stage performance.

  “Christy,” her mother sobbed, dabbing a tissue under her nose, “tell us it isn’t true.”

  She moved next to Cody and sat on the arm of the chintz-covered chair. She slipped her hand into his. “Cody and I were married last week.”

  “Married!” Her father stormed to his feet as if she’d desecrated the Constitution of the United States.

  Confused, Christy’s eyes went to Cody’s.

  “I hadn’t gotten around to telling them that part yet,” he told her.

  “Married,” her mother repeated. “It can’t be true. Christy would never do anything so…We have a wedding to plan. You couldn’t possibly have gone off and gotten married without telling your own mother and father. It isn’t like you to do something so underhanded.”

  “I thought they knew,” she whispered, bewildered. “I heard Dad shout, and I thought…I assumed.”

  “All I said,” Cody explained, “was that you wanted a little privacy with James so you could return his engagement ring.”

  “Oh.” She swallowed and closed her eyes for a moment. “Well, Mom and Dad,” she said brightly, looking at them once more, “I see you’ve met your new son-in-law.”

  “Welcome to the family,” Paul said, holding up a soft drink can in tribute. “From what Rich said, you’re a friend of Russ’s.”

  Cody nodded.

  “But you couldn’t possibly be married,” her mother whimpered, turning to Eric as though he could explain everything.

  “Trust me, Mom, we’re married.”

  “They’re married,” Rich said, saluting them with his own can of soda. “I should know. I was at their wedding night.”

  “Hear, hear,” Jason cried, wearing the ever-present baseball cap. “Wait a minute. At their wedding night?”

  “I don’t find any of this humorous or in good taste,” Eric roared. “Your sister’s turned down the best man in three states for some…some small-town lawman. Bad enough that Taylor had to marry a country boy, but Christy, too? Never!”

  “Dad,” Christy reminded him softly, “the deed is done.”

  “But, Christy,” Elizabeth wailed, “I bought the material for the bridesmaids’ dresses and we’ve put down a deposit on the hall for the reception, and—”

  “I didn’t mean to cheat you out of a wedding, Mom. I really didn’t.”

  “What will we say to our friends?” Her mother appeared to be in a state of shock. She’d gone deathly pale, and her shoulders jerked as she tried to gain control of her emotions.

  “If you’re worried about what to tell your friends,” Paul said, sounding knowledgeable, “I’d suggest the truth.”

&nb
sp; “Stay out of this,” Eric shouted, dismissing his eldest son with a shake of his head. “We’re in one hell of a mess here.”

  “How’s that?” Cody asked.

  “Christy’s married to you is how,” Eric informed him none too gently. “My daughter doesn’t belong in the country. She was born and raised in the city. We’ve already got Taylor living out in the sticks. I won’t allow Christy to be out there slopping hogs or whatever you do in that backwoods community.”

  “Dad!” Christy was outraged. “It’s my decision. And Cougar Point isn’t any backwoods community. Besides, we won’t be living there.”

  “You’re moving to Washington state?” Elizabeth asked Cody, her eyes wide and hopeful.

  “Sorry, no.”

  Her mother drooped against the back of the sofa and reached for a fresh tissue. She wadded it up and pressed it over her eyes as if to block out this horrible scene.

  “Cody’s the sheriff,” Christy said, wanting to impress both of her parents with the fact that he was a responsible citizen. “We’ll be living in Miles City once he’s installed.”

  “A sheriff should please them,” Jason said under his breath, speaking to his two brothers.

  “I think they prefer an attorney over a sheriff,” Rich concluded when neither parent responded to Christy’s announcement.

  “I recognize that this is all rather abrupt,” Cody said in a reasonable voice. “I don’t blame you for being shocked. I can’t even blame you for being concerned. You wouldn’t have raised a daughter as wonderful as Christy if you weren’t the kind of people who’d care about her happiness.”

  “That’s good,” Paul whispered to Jason. “He’s going to win them over with flattery.”

  “Will you three shut up,” Eric yelled, infuriated with his sons and not bothering to disguise it.

  “Dad, please try to understand,” Christy tried again. “I fell in love with Cody.”

  “Falling in love is one thing, but marrying him on the sly is another.”

  “While she was engaged to James, I might add.” Rich apparently didn’t know when to keep his mouth closed. Both Eric and Cody sent daggers his way. Guarding his face with his hands, Rich pretended to ward off their attack.

  “I can only say I love you both,” Christy said. “I’d never intentionally do anything to hurt you. In fact, most of my life I’ve done everything I can to please you, right down to becoming engaged to James.”

  “I can’t believe I’m hearing this,” Eric said to his wife. “We raised her the best we knew how, and now this.”

  “Darling, we thought you loved James,” her mother pleaded.

  “I thought I did, too, until I met Cody.” Her hand clasped Cody’s, and she smiled down at him. “I know I made mistakes, lots of them.”

  “We made mistakes,” Cody corrected, his gaze holding hers.

  “No one’s making a list,” her father mumbled, “but if I were—”

  “Nothing on this earth will ever convince me I made a mistake marrying Cody.” Her father obviously wasn’t willing to accept what they’d done. As Christy suspected, her family would need time to come to terms with her marriage and the fact that she’d be leaving the Seattle area.

  “I gave my week’s notice when I returned from vacation,” Christy said. It had been one of the low points of her life, telling Marcia she was quitting her job in order to prepare for her wedding. The lie had all but choked her.

  “You’re leaving your job?”

  “She couldn’t very well continue working with James,” Eric muttered to his wife. “And from the sounds of it, she intends to live in Montana.”

  “Poor James,” Elizabeth said with a regretful sigh. “He would’ve made such a good husband.”

  “I’ll make Christy a good husband, too,” Cody promised. “I love your daughter.”

  An awkward silence followed Cody’s words. “My daughter doesn’t belong in Montana, and she deserves a decent wedding with her family around her. Christy’s not the type of girl a man takes to a justice of the peace.”

  “We were married by a minister.” Christy knew even before she spoke that there was little she could say to appease her father. He wasn’t accustomed to having his authority challenged. Not even by a sheriff.

  “It might be best if we gave your parents a chance to get used to the idea,” Cody suggested.

  Christy agreed, but leaving her family home was one of the most difficult tasks of her life.

  Paul, Jason and Rich followed them outside.

  “They’ll come around,” Paul said to Cody as they exchanged handshakes. Paul was tall and silver-blond, the only one in the family who’d inherited that coloring.

  “Just give ’em a year or three,” Rich said with less than diplomatic cheer. “Grandkids will be sure to win ’em over. There will be children, won’t there?” He was eyeing Christy as if a good stare would tell him if she was in the family way.

  “Don’t worry about a thing,” Jason said, throwing his arm over Cody’s broad shoulders. “Mom and Dad will accept your marriage before you know it.”

  “They’ve got two days,” Cody said darkly.

  “Two days?” Christy echoed, a little stunned, although she shouldn’t have been. Cody’s life was in Miles City, and he’d recently taken three days of his vacation to spend with her. He couldn’t afford to take off any more, not during this important period of transition.

  “Is that too soon for you?” he asked, his eyes revealing his concern. “I figured that would give us enough time to get your things packed and shipped.”

  She nodded, slipping her arms around his waist. Her life was linked to Cody’s now, and there was no turning back.

  They hadn’t gone through airport security yet, but Christy delayed, glancing around the terminal building, certain if she stayed there long enough her parents would rush in and throw their arms around her, telling her how much they loved her and how they wished her and Cody well.

  Only they hadn’t come.

  “Honey,” Cody said patiently. “They aren’t coming. We have to go.”

  “I know, but I’d hoped. I…thought they’d at least want to say goodbye.”

  Christy hadn’t heard from them in the two hectic days they’d spent packing up her apartment. She’d tried not to let it affect her, but she’d always been close to her parents, and being shunned this way hurt more than anything they could have said.

  “Give them time,” Cody said—he’d been saying that a lot—and it seemed as if her pain belonged to him, too.

  Christy offered him a brave smile and nodded.

  They joined the security line, then hurried to their departure area, arriving just as their flight was called. Christy realized there was nothing left to do but board the plane that would take her away from everything that was familiar and bring her to a whole new life.

  “You’re not sorry, are you?” Cody asked once they were seated and about to take off.

  “No.” Beyond a doubt Christy knew she was meant to be with Cody. She would’ve preferred to have her parents’ blessing. But if she had to do without it, then she’d learn to accept that.

  Cody was her love. And now he was her life.

  Since Paul, Jason and Rich all worked days and hadn’t been able to come to the airport to say their goodbyes, the three of them had taken Christy and Cody to dinner the night before.

  Everyone had made an effort to have a good time, and they all had.

  Only something vital had been missing. No one said anything. No one had to.

  Eric and Elizabeth Manning weren’t there. And what was missing was their love. Their blessing. Their approval.

  Christy didn’t know when she’d see her parents again.

  “Oh, Cody,” Christy whispered, stepping back to study her husband in his full dress uniform. “You look…wonderful.”

  They’d been in Miles City, Montana, a week. In that time they’d moved into their first home, unpacked their belongings and gone about
making a place for themselves in the community.

  “When will Russ and Taylor get here?”

  “Oh,” she said, still a little awed by how handsome Cody looked. “I forgot to tell you Taylor phoned. They’re going to meet us at the courthouse for the installation.”

  “Good.” He straightened the sleeves of his crisp uniform jacket. “Well, I’m ready.”

  “I’m not,” Christy told him. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not dressed yet.”

  Cody wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. “All the better to seduce you, my dear.”

  Christy giggled. “I do believe you’ve seduced me in every room of this house, Sheriff Franklin. More than once.”

  “There’s time—”

  “There most certainly is not.” She scurried past him. She wasn’t quick enough, and with little effort, Cody caught her in his arms.

  “Cody,” she warned him. “We…can’t. You don’t want to be late for your own installation. And I don’t want to arrive at the ceremony looking like a disheveled mess.”

  Cody hesitated. “Well…”

  She entwined her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly.

  “Shameless hussy,” he said with a grin as he unwound her arms. “Get dressed before I change my mind.”

  “Yes, sir.” Mockingly she saluted him.

  A half hour later they entered the courthouse. Judge Carter would be doing the honors, and the room was filled to capacity. Christy was escorted to the front row of reserved seats. Many of the citizens of Cougar Point were in the audience.

  The ceremony was about to begin when Taylor, carrying Eric, and Russ slipped into the chairs to her right. That left two empty seats on her left. Christy was so busy greeting her sister that she didn’t notice the vacant chairs had been filled. She turned to smile and introduce herself to her seatmates, and to her astonishment saw her parents.

  “Mom. Dad.” Without warning, tears flooded her eyes. She looked at Cody, who was standing at the podium with Judge Carter. When she nodded toward her family, Cody’s face brightened.

  “Are you willing to forgive your father for being a stubborn old cuss?” Eric asked in a low voice.

  Christy nodded, shaken by the intensity of her relief. She hugged him and then her mother, who was as teary-eyed as Christy.