Last-Minute Marriage

by Marisa Carroll

  Mitch headed down the sidewalk toward the street. In the distance he saw Tessa and Sam lighting her pumpkin on a little table outside the boathouse. She was still wearing the silky blue tunic with the high neck and slim darker blue leggings she’d had on at the store. He’d wanted to tell her she was the sexiest pregnant woman he’d ever seen, but he’d clenched his teeth against those words and a torrent of others.

  Was he doing the right thing staying away, giving her space to work out her problems and her feelings for him? God, I sound like one of those New Age radio psychologists, Mitch thought disgustedly.

  What if Caleb was right? What if he gave her so much space she decided she could live just fine without him?

  He listened to the echo of his heavy black boots as he tromped down the street. If he been born three hundred years ago, he wouldn’t be having this conversation with himself. He’d have swept her up into his arms and carried her off to the nearest preacher and then to his bed.

  “Damn it, I love you, Tessa,” he muttered. “And I’ll love the baby you’re carrying like my own. I just hope I can figure out what I have to do to convince you of that before it’s too late.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  FROM THE CORNER of her eye Tessa watched Mitch walk down the street into the deepening twilight. He was dressed as a pirate, and he looked as dark and dangerous as the real thing, despite the stuffed parrot perched on his shoulder.

  A Halloween reincarnation of Captain Blood.

  And if he had been the real thing, a sword-wielding buccaneer of old, would he have marched up to her in his swirling black cape and high black boots, swept her into his arms and carried her off to his galleon? Would he kiss her senseless and pay no heed whatsoever to her half-formed pleas for time to sort out the questions in her heart as he made her his?

  She almost wished those times were still in style. It was hard being your own woman, responsible for yourself every minute of every day. Strong and independent and needing no one to make your life whole. To believe that was to deny the most basic element of humanity, of man and woman together. A life partnership.

  “There.” Sam stepped back and blew out the match he’d used to light the candle in her jack-o’-lantern. “What do you think?”

  She looked at the big orange pumpkin and clapped her hands with delight. “Sam, it’s wonderful. Thank you. I could never have made such a marvelous jack-o’-lantern even with a pattern. I wish I had a camera. I’d take a picture of it.”

  A camera was something else she would need, so that she would have pictures of her baby from the moment she was born.

  “I’ll bring over Dad’s camera after trick or treat and take a picture for you,” Sam offered. “I’m good at taking pictures.”

  “Well, you’re certainly good at carving pumpkins.” She reached over and gave him a quick hard hug. “Thanks again.”

  Sam stiffened for a moment, then wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back. “Wow!” He jumped away so fast he almost tripped in his too-big hunting boots, his eyes focused on her bulging stomach. “Did the baby just kick me?”

  Tessa smiled, keeping the laughter she felt bubbling up in her throat from breaking forth. Sam’s ears were red and so were his cheeks above the black makeup he’d smeared on his face. “Yes, I think she did.”

  “Awesome! That was something. I’ve never felt an unborn baby move before.”

  “Would you like to feel her again? She’s still doing somersaults.” She pressed her hand on her stomach to reposition a tiny heel or elbow that was prodding her beneath her ribs. She didn’t know how Sam would react to her invitation. He was at that awkward age between child and adolescent. Touching a pregnant woman’s stomach could be the grossest thing imaginable to him, for all she knew.

  “Well?” Sam looked around to make sure no one was watching. Caleb was busy on the back porch with a trio of little trick-or-treaters. Mitch was gone, already out of sight down the street. Sam appeared undecided, but he was still looking at her stomach. “I don’t want to hurt you or anything.”

  Tessa reached out and placed Sam’s hand lightly on her stomach. “That’s a knee,” she said. “I think. Or maybe an elbow.”

  “Mega-awesome!” The wonder in Sam’s eyes sent a rush of emotion flooding through her. It was love, she had no doubt, mother love, almost as strong as what she felt for the tiny being growing inside her. “She really is doing somersaults. Does it hurt?”

  Tessa shook her head. “But sometimes it almost takes my breath away.”

  Sam wiggled his eyebrows. “I’ll bet.” He tilted his head, absorbing the sensation. “You called it a she. Is the baby a girl?”

  “I don’t know for sure,” Tessa informed him. “But I think so.”

  “You can find out, you know. There’s a test. We talked about it last year in fourth grade when my teacher was going to have a baby. It was a girl. That’s what she wanted.” He made a face. “We all wanted it to be a boy.” We, Tessa inferred, meant all the boys in Sam’s class.

  “I don’t care if it’s a boy or girl. I just want a happy healthy baby.”

  Sam’s expression sobered. He dropped his hand. “I always wanted a brother or sister, but one day I heard my mom tell my dad she didn’t want any more babies.” There was little change in the inflection of Sam’s words, but Tessa didn’t need to hear the pain behind them to know it was there. And just as fresh and hurtful as the day the words were uttered.

  What kind of woman had Mitch’s ex-wife been? An even poorer example of motherhood than her own careless and selfish parent, who at least had tried to do the best she could for Callie and Tessa? Surely, even with all her self-doubts, she would be a thousand times better mother than the woman who bore Sam—and left him behind.

  She tilted Sam’s chin with the tip of her finger, so that he could see every word she said. “You can spend all the time here you want. You can be my baby’s honorary big brother for as long as I stay in Riverbend.”

  Sam nodded. He was clutching his old canvas knapsack between both hands. He was still a little boy on his way to trick-or-treat, but at the same time very near to leaving boyhood behind. “I’ll be the best honorary big brother in the world,” he said so carefully and so plainly that Tessa’s heart did another little flip-flop in her chest.

  I love Sam.

  And I’m falling in love with his father and it’s time to stop pretending to myself I’m not.

  All she needed now was the courage to tell Mitch so.

  “Trick or treat!”

  Tessa looked over Sam’s shoulder at her first official trick-or-treaters. Miniature versions of Dorothy and the Scarecrow came pelting up the driveway, followed more sedately by a slender young woman in jeans and a windbreaker. Sam turned when he saw that there was someone behind them.

  “Hope and Hannah,” he told her unnecessarily. “Pretty good costumes. I bet Ms. McMann made them. She sews a lot.”

  The twins’ costumes were very good. Hope’s blond hair was braided and tied off with blue ribbons that matched her gingham pinafore. She carried a small old-fashioned basket with a little stuffed dog peeking out of one side. And on her feet were ruby slippers that sparkled even in the fitful light of the single bulb above the boathouse door. Not even her miniature Rivermen letter jacket, necessary against the late October chill, could detract from the resemblance to Dorothy and Toto.

  And Hannah, hopping along at her side, was the picture of the hapless Scarecrow, right down to her floppy hat and the straw sticking out of her jacket and pant legs. Hannah wasn’t wearing a jacket, but Tessa suspected she had a warm sweater or sweatshirt underneath her costume. Kate McMann was too conscientious a mother to let her daughters catch a chill if she could help it.

  “You guys look great,” Tessa said, stepping inside the cottage to get the chipped pottery bowl from the table that held her treats. “One for you.”

  “Thank you,” Hope said immediately.

  “Your ruby slippers look very real.”
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  “Thank you,” came the polite reply again. “My mom made them.”

  “They’re perfect. How did she get them so sparkly?” Tessa smiled at Kate, who had caught up with her daughters, but it was Hope who answered.

  “It’s material from the store. My mom glued it on my last year’s Christmas shoes.”

  “Thank heaven for spray adhesive.” Kate chuckled. “It makes me look like a genius. Hi, Tessa.”

  “Hello, Kate.”

  “They pinch,” Hannah said with a smirk. “They’re too small. That’s the only reason Mom did that to them.”

  “I told you you could be Dorothy, too, if you wanted, Hannah. You chose to be the Scarecrow.”

  “I’m not wearing sissy dresses and shoes that pinch my feet. Trick or treat,” Hannah demanded, holding up her plastic pumpkin.

  Hastily Tessa dropped the candy inside. Hannah looked into her container, scrutinizing Tessa’s offering. Apparently the sweet-and-sour wrapped candies that Tessa had chosen at the store after much deliberation passed muster. “Thank you,” she said, smiling her impish smile.

  “C’mon, Mom,” Hope urged, tugging on Kate’s sleeve. “We’ve got to keep going. There’s only two hours to trick-or-treat everywhere.”

  Tessa wanted to thank Kate for offering to host the baby shower Rachel had invited her to that morning, but the children weren’t inclined to stand around while the grown-ups chatted.

  Sam had been watching the scene in stoic silence. Either he knew the twins well enough to guess what they wanted, or he’d been able to follow their rapid-fire speech more closely than Tessa would have guessed. “I’ll take them over to Granddad Caleb to get their treat,” he offered.

  “Thank you, Sam,” Kate said. “What do you say to Sam, Hannah?”

  “Thank you, and hurry up, let’s go.”

  “Thank you, Sam.” Hope faced him head-on as she spoke and held out her free hand.

  Sam took her small hand in his. “C’mon, Hannah. Take Hope’s hand.”

  “We’re only going across the driveway,” Hannah said, dancing away backward, but she, too, remembered to face Sam as she spoke.

  “You’re a brat, Hannah McMann,” Sam said.

  “So are you.” Hannah stuck out her tongue, but slowed down and fell into step with the others after Kate reminded her that she could just as well stay by her side and miss Caleb’s treat altogether.

  “They’re adorable,” Tessa said, resting the bowl of candy on her stomach. The baby had quieted. Gone back to sleep, perhaps? Or was she listening to the rise and fall of children’s voices, their laughter and giggles? How much did babies absorb from the outside stimuli that filtered into their protected and watery world? Those were the kinds of questions she wished she could ask someone. Kate was almost her age, and she had been pregnant. But she didn’t know her well enough yet to get so personal.

  Maybe she would have the chance, since she was going to stay in Riverbend.

  “What a great jack-o’-lantern,” Kate said, leaning forward to get a better look.

  “Sam made it for me.”

  “He did?” Kate smiled. “He must’ve taken a real shine to you.”

  “I’m happy he thinks well enough of me to do this. We’ve had a couple of dust-ups since I’ve been living here.”

  “The weight-equipment brouhaha?” Kate asked, stuffing her hands in the pockets of her windbreaker. She was blond and slight and made the jeans and sweatshirt she wore underneath the jacket look far classier than they had a right to. “Mitch told me about it.”

  “Yes. Although it all turned out okay.”

  “Sam’s a pretty grounded kid even with his disability. He’s got Mitch to thank for that. Sam’s mother opted out of his life quite a while ago.”

  “Mitch told me.”

  “He’s a great guy,” Kate said, swiveling on the ball of her foot to check out the twins and Sam. Tessa followed her gaze and saw that a trio of Ninja warriors were heading off the porch in their direction. “He’s a good friend. And he’s got a smile that’s to die for.”

  Tessa only nodded.

  Kate looked over her shoulder. Her expression was quizzical. “Mitch really is just a friend, in case you might have heard otherwise.”

  She hadn’t and she was glad. She didn’t like to think there were other women in Riverbend with her kind of feelings for Mitch. “I…I don’t think it’s any of my business.”

  “In a town this size it’s everyone’s business. A lot of people thought we’d be good together. Two single parents, lived here all our lives, businesses to run—you know the drill. Well, on our third date Mitch said, ‘Let’s go to the zoo.’ And I blurted out, ‘Oh, the girls would love it.’ I was horrified. Mitch just laughed and said he must have been thinking the same thing about Sam, or he wouldn’t have come up with the suggestion. To make a long story short, we took all three of them to the zoo the next weekend, and that was our last date. But we’ve been great friends ever since.”

  Kate McMann was a successful businesswoman, a respected citizen. She smiled often and laughed a lot when Tessa visited the store. She’d been neither beaten down nor discouraged by her lot in life. I could do worse for a friend and a role model, Tessa thought to herself. A lot worse. “Doesn’t it scare you sometimes being a single mother?” she asked.

  “It scares the life out of me whenever I let myself think about it. It will you, too. But you’ll do fine. I can tell.” Hope and Hannah came racing back, Sam right behind them.

  “I’m not so sure,” Tessa said, hugging her crockery bowl.

  “Trust me.” Kate smiled. The twins made a beeline for their mother’s side. They hugged her close and thrust their containers forward for her to inspect. Kate rolled her eyes and nodded her approval at the generosity of Caleb’s treat. The twins began to drag her in the direction of the sidewalk, eager to be on their way. The Ninja warriors came bounding up. From the other direction a pint-size football player in full Colts regalia and a green Teletubby were coming up the drive, with their mother in tow. “Call me if you want to talk, or if you have any questions about being pregnant. I loved being pregnant.” Her voice had a smile in it, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes, and Tessa wondered what the details of loving and losing in Kate’s past were.

  “I’d like that,” Tessa said truthfully.

  “I’m in the book.” Kate let the twins drag her off.

  “There’s Ty.” Sam spotted his friend at the curb and took off with a wave.

  Tessa gave the green Teletubby and the football player and the Ninja warriors their treats, but her mind was elsewhere. She supposed she ought to see about having a telephone installed. It might be some time before she could find another place to live.

  She would talk to Mitch about it the next time she saw him.

  Her heart gave a thump and so did the baby inside her. She’d made up her mind. How could such a life-altering decision come so closely on the heels of such a mundane one as getting a telephone installed? She loved Mitch, and that was all there was to it. She would tell him so the first chance she got.

  TESSA EMPTIED the last of her candies into the bowl. She glanced at her sunflower clock above the sink. Fifteen minutes until eight. Trick or treat was almost over. She was going to make it. She’d even have a couple of rolls of candies left.

  Someone knocked on the door. She picked up her bowl and swung it open.

  “Trick or treat,” the dark-haired pirate with a patch over one eye demanded.

  He was born to wear a black cape, high black boots and a rakish eye patch. He looked every inch the swashbuckling pirate of a woman’s most private fantasies—even with the ridiculous stuffed parrot sitting lopsidedly on his shoulder. She had so much to say to him. But where to start? At the beginning, she thought wildly, and opened the door wider. “Mitch. Hello.”

  “I saw your porch light still on,” he said, making no move to come into her little apartment, “So I thought I’d stop by and see how your night went.”<
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  “It was fun. I had almost a hundred trick-or-treaters. I lost count somewhere around eighty-five when a whole flock of ghosts and goblins showed up at once.” She held out the bowl she’d been clutching so tightly her fingers were numb. “I’m almost out of candy. But there’s enough left for you.”

  “No, thanks. I’ve had my fill. My old second-grade teacher still makes popcorn balls. She insisted Charlie and I have one. They’re great, but I think I’m going to have to make an appointment with Dr. Baylor tomorrow.” Dr. Baylor was one of the dentists that practiced in an office across the square from the courthouse. “I think I cracked a tooth.” Mitch grimaced and lifted his hand to rub his chin. He had a shadow of beard at this time of day and she couldn’t help but wonder what it would feel like rasping against her cheek.

  “Would you like to come in for a minute?” She had to stop thinking that way. She needed to stay focused. She wasn’t just going to fall into his arms, let him make glorious and passionate love to her, and then hope he would talk about important things later. That was the way it had been with Brian. And when they got to the important things, the life choices, everything had fallen apart.

  His wonderful sexy smile disappeared. A muscle jumped in the hard line of his jaw. “Should I come in, Tessa? Or do you want me to go on my way?”

  “I want you to come inside,” she said, holding the bowl with one hand, beckoning him forward with the other.

  He stepped over the threshold and closed the door behind him. After unhooking the parrot from his shoulder, he laid it on her kitchen table. He still wore the eye patch and a red bandanna tied over his dark hair. The illusion of being alone with some long-ago buccaneer was even stronger. When he untied the cords of the black cape and dragged it off his shoulders, she had to force herself to breathe.

  His shirt was white, open at the throat and revealing a V of dark hair that made her fingers itch to touch it. The sleeves were long and full and fell in ruffles over his hands. His shoulders filled the doorway. She took another step backward. “How can you see with that patch over your eye?”