She’d been carrying this alone for months. Building the wall of worry higher and higher with each new bit of information she’d found.
He wanted to give her hell for holding on to all this. He wanted to take her in his arms and rock her.
Both reactions would have been for himself. They weren’t what she needed.
“I know you’re worried that if a DNA test proves you are Josephine-Augusta that you’ll lose your U.S. citizenship, but you can’t stall forever, Katie. Not even for much longer. The king’s nephew sending somebody after your DNA shows others are interested – really interested — in whether you’re the heir to the Bariavak throne. But there’s another reason – you have a grandfather.”
“I might have a grandfather. It’s not like you and Andy, Brad. He’s a stranger. And he’s a king. It’s risking my home, my job, my country on a gamble that we might get along.”
He started to argue, but stopped himself. If he’d had the experiences she had with what she’d thought was her family would he be willing to risk everything he knew on the chance of more family?
“Katie, those immigration lawyers you talked to. Would they remember you?”
“I don’t know. They might remember the scenario I asked about, with a baby brought in illegally, now grown, and did he have any standing in the U.S.”
“Did you disguise yourself at all? Use another name?”
To his surprise, she smiled. “I not only used another name, I used a pre-paid phone I’d bought with cash in Milwaukee. They never saw me and I made up a name.”
He grinned back. “Good for you, Ms. Mata Hari Davis.”
At the use of her last name, her smile faded.
“I shouldn’t have told you, Brad. It’s not fair to ask you to keep this quiet when you could get in trouble—”
“Yeah, right. I’m going to run right out and report you.”
“You should,” she said, but he could see what it cost her. “I shouldn’t have involved you—”
Her head dropped forward. He scooted closer, using a hand at the back of her neck to bring her head against his chest. His other hand stroked her back. He kissed the top of her head. With his lips still on her hair, he pledged. “You’re not alone in this anymore.”
“You can’t tell C.J. or Carolyn. The university—”
“Don’t worry. I won’t tell a soul. You and me, we’ll figure this out, Katie. We’ll figure it out.”
“How?”
“I don’t know yet, but I swear to you we will. There’s always a way.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Katie heard his familiar footsteps coming down the hall outside the offices Friday afternoon and prepared herself.
Forty-three hours since Brad had left her house.
They’d talked a little more without arriving at answers, because there weren’t any. He’d insisted she go to bed early, and with her head fuzzy from crying that had been a relief.
She’d slept better than she had since … well, since January. Not only Wednesday night, but also last night. Even though she felt so guilty for putting any of this mess on him. But apparently she could sleep through guilt.
Brad breezed into the office.
Officially, he’d taken personal days yesterday and today. Since he had piled up enough to take a couple trips to Mars and back, no one objected.
Except her. Inside her own head.
She’d called three times. And hung up twice. The third time she’d left a vague message that no one could possibly ever use against him.
Telling someone to forget that you’d involved them in your potentially illegal immigration status was not something to say on the phone.
“Brad, I have to talk to you,” she said as soon as he walked in.
“No time now. Get your purse. I need you to come help me with something off-campus.”
“Off-campus?” He’d thrown her completely off. “Did you get my message? You took – you accidentally kept some, uh, papers that I need back.”
But he hadn’t even slowed down as he passed her desk. He was already sticking his head into C.J.’s office and saying, “I’m going to steal Katie for a while. Could have her back in an hour or so if you need her. Or we could call it quits for the week.”
“Call it quits. No problem. Is this something I need to worry about?” That was C.J.’s standard question.
“No.” And that was Brad’s standard answer.
“Okay.”
“C’mon,” Brad said to her, returning to her desk.
“I’m not as easy as C.J. What’s this about? And did you get my messa—”
“You’ll see. I thought this was the drawer where you keep your purse.”
“No. Get out of there. It’s not in a file for heaven’s sake.”
“Well, where– ? Ah, here it is.” He slung the strap on his shoulder. “Let’s go.”
“You are not walking out of here with my purse on your shoulder.”
But he was and she scrambled to catch up with his long-legged stride. Out of the office, out of the athletic building, and toward the parking lot.
“If you want your purse, you have to come with. Forget the Pied Piper, I’m the Purse Piper.”
“You look ridiculous,” she said as sternly as she could with an entirely unexpected chuckle gurgling in her throat. Was this the first step to hysteria?
He angled one leg, looking down at the purse. “You don’t think it matches my outfit? Too informal for the rest of my attire?”
His attire consisted of a slate gray shirt tucked into chinos. He had gone more formal than usual by wearing loafers instead of basketball shoes. “I think it looks like a peanut hanging from a string on a giraffe.”
“Ah,” he said wisely. “The proportion’s off.”
He opened the passenger door, slung her purse in, then stepped back for her. She supposed she could dive in, grab her purse, then retreat, but that seemed overdramatic.
She settled for “Where are we going?” once they were both in the car and he was driving out of the parking lot.
“You’ll see. Hey, guess what I got in the mail today. A real surprise.”
“An offer to headline a Vegas comedy act.”
“Whoa. That’s spooky. How’d you know?”
Despite herself, she laughed. Then more seriously, she said, “An offer to be a head coach.”
In fact, she said it far more seriously than she’d intended. She looked away from him, realizing they were heading toward Ashton’s business district.
Of course an offer for a head basketball coaching position would not come by mail or as a surprise. He should be moving up, even though it meant leaving Ashton. She wanted that for him. She did.
“Better. Got an invitation to April and Hunter’s wedding.”
“You did?”
“Yup. The wedding being talked about in all the gossip magazines and yours truly’s going to be there.”
“How do you know it’s being talked about in gossip magazines?”
“I have my sources,” he said mysteriously. “Heck, they were talking about it at the barbershop last week.”
“I don’t believe— Why are you parking here?”
He’d pulled into the parking lot behind the copper-domed county courthouse at the center of town.
“Because we’re going into the courthouse.”
He was out of the car and around to her door, opening it before she had a chance to ask, “Why?”
He put out a hand and she automatically put hers into it. He drew her up and out of the car easily.
“Because,” he said as he swung the door closed behind her, “we’re getting a marriage license.”
Still holding her hand he started to head toward the entrance. She stopped. “No. No. Absolutely not.”
She’d let him lull her. With his humor and his charm and – yes, admit it, with her pleasure at being in his company. She’d trailed along, not questioning. But not now.
Brad kept going unti
l their arms were fully extended, his grip tightening, preventing her from pulling free.
Two women who’d gotten out of a van parked a row behind them, looked at them with interest. A man walking between cars turned to watch.
No notice. Draw no notice.
“Brad,” she pleaded.
“Just because we get one doesn’t mean we use it.” He sounded as at ease as always.
“You planned this. You knew – this is why you took that bir—the papers.”
“I thought it might come in handy. And it will. We need it to get the license.”
“No. What if they spot– “
“They won’t. It got you all through school. It’ll do fine here, too.”
Then she realized how selfish her objection sounded – how selfish it was. “You don’t want to – We can’t—”
“We’ll get the license and we can argue about it later.”“This is insane.”
“It’s a solution. The quickest, easiest, best solution. Of course you could have a kid born in the United States and that would—”
The women had stopped, openly listening. The man was craning he neck to keep watching them. A couple with a toddler hushed the child, apparently to hear better.
“This is not funny,” she said, pitching her voice low. “And don’t talk so loud.”
Never taking his eyes off her, but in a tone only she could hear, he said, “No, it’s not funny. And having a baby would take nine months. I don’t think you can put off King Jozef for nine months, do you?” He narrowed his eyes. “I don’t think you want to, either. I think you want to know.”
“But—”
“But you don’t want to risk losing everything. So this is the best solution. It gives you the security about being able to come back that will let you take the DNA test.”
“Brad, I can’t do this to you—”
“You can go inside with me now and get the license. Nothing permanent. Heck, if we don’t use it in time, it dries up and blows away. So we’ll get it, and we’ll have dinner and talk about it.”
The pressure of all the eyes watching was too great. She relieved the tension of their arms by stepping forward, toward Brad, toward the courthouse. “I’m not agreeing to use the— it.”
“Understood.”
“I’m paying for my own dinner.”
“You can pay for mine, too.”
Only after they’d done the paperwork did she wonder if the pressure she’d felt of the watching eyes had come mostly from Brad’s blue gaze.
****
Brad took two more slices from the pizza box sitting on the coffee table, folding them together for a better bite.
Yes, she’d bought the pizza. That was the only dinner treat he’d allowed her. He’d insisted they eat at her house. “Because we don’t want anyone overhearing the things we’ve got to talk about.”
He had a point.
His long legs stuck out from where he’d plopped himself on the area rug.
Once he sat on the floor it had seemed unnecessarily stiff to remain primly on a chair, so she’d slid down at the other end of the coffee table. It made it easier to reach the pizza box.
Brad used the base of the couch as a back support. Somehow it didn’t look as bad with him sitting against it.
“So, we can wait the six days—” he said. She chewed faster. She didn’t want to be at a disadvantage by being caught with a mouthful of pizza. “—or I can go back and pay for a waiver and we can get married immediately. But I think—”
She swallowed. “No, wait. I haven’t said I—”
“No, you haven’t said you will, but you know it’s the best we’re going to do with the circumstances we’ve got.”
“These are my circumstances. There’s no reason you should have to—”
“Sure there is. I promised.”
“I am not holding you to that, Brad. This is serious. If officials found out you married me so I would be a citizen, you can get in a lot of trouble.”
“That’s not likely. Really, this is an insurance policy. Gives you a fallback position so you can get your DNA tested without risking being a person without a country. Now you know you’ll always have a home.”
“Brad, I can’t let you—”
“We’re in this together, Katie. I signed those license papers, too.”
“I haven’t agreed—”
“I know, and it’s getting in the way of making plans. I say I call that woman back in the morning and say, yes, we’ll take the opening in the judge’s schedule next week.”
“But—”
“You’re not going to get superstitious on me and say it’s bad luck because that couple canceled, are you? You don’t believe in that stuff. You won’t even humor C.J. or the guys about their superstitions before a big game. Besides, next Friday’s perfect. We can both take the afternoon off. I’ll call Frank and Thomas to be witnesses,” he said of two of his former teammates. “All I have to do is tell them it’s for you and they’ll be here like a shot. I’ll even let you have Frank be your witness and I’ll take Thomas.”
“But—”
“I know you’d probably like Carolyn and C.J. but under the circumstances, that wouldn’t be a good idea…”
“No, we can’t let Carolyn or C.J. be involved, because if it comes out they could get in trouble. With the law. With the university.” Dismay washed over her. “But that means you—”
“That’s why no Ellis, either,” he said of the remaining member of C.J.’s first recruiting class. “Lawyer that he is, he takes that officer of the court stuff real seriously, so we won’t put him in a bind. And we won’t tell Frank and Thomas anything that could come back and bite them.”
“You’re worrying about everybody except yourself. If you’re worried about what the university could do to C.J. or Carolyn, what about you?” She put down the remnants of her pizza slice. “No. I won’t ask this of you. I can’t. It’s not fair when—”
“You’re not asking me. I’m doing. If it comes out, we’ll say I got you drunk because I was afraid you’d say no – with good reason, considering the way you keep saying no – and I was utterly besotted with you.”
“Right. They’ll really believe that.”
“They should.”
“What do you mean, they should?”
He ignored that. “Do you trust me, Katie?”
“Yes. But—”
“Trust has no buts. Close your eyes and let the ball fly, Katie. It’s going to swish right through the basket, you’ll see. I promise.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
How many times in the days that followed did she tell him no way on earth was she going to let him do this?
He’d nod, and say, “I’m going to have to move some things in to your place. Don’t worry, I’ll sleep in the guest room. To most people, it’ll look like we’re dating, involved. But if there’re questions later it can also look like we’ve been married.”
“Brad—”
“Just a precaution. And I travel enough that I won’t get in your hair a lot.”
“There is no way on earth I’m going to let you do this.”
He’d nod and say, “It’s all lined up with Frank and Thomas. As soon as I said it was for you, they were in. And they won’t ask too many questions. Unless you have someone you think would be better?”
“No. Because there is no way on earth I’m going to let you do this.”
He’d nod and say, “We’ll take them out for dinner after. I thought Angelo’s. To people outside it would look casual, but if there were official questions about it later, it would seem natural we went there for sentimental reasons. Unless you want someplace better?”
“No. Because, there is no way on earth I’m going to let you do this.”
He’d nod and say, “I thought I’d wear my new suit. Because if I don’t wear a suit, Gordo and Abbott would get suspicious. Do you need a bouquet?”
“No. Because, there is no way on earth I’m going t
o let you do this.”
He’d nod and say, “We’re taking lunchtime tomorrow to look at rings. Unless you trust me to pick them out.”
“No. Because, there is no way on earth I’m going to let you do this.”
Yet here she stood, pressing out creases from the dress she’d bought tonight, spending the evening at the mall two towns over, telling herself she would get something new only if she could wear it to April and Hunter’s wedding in two weeks. Despairing she’d find anything that could possibly work for that … and something else.
Until she did.
And, yes, they’d gone one lunchtime to a jeweler who was a major fan. It had felt surreal, with Brad acting like this was for a real wedding and her trying to spot the prices. They’d settled on simple matching bands for tomorrow.
If there was a tomorrow – at least if there was a wedding tomorrow.
When she was done with the iron, she was going to hang up the dress carefully. No sense getting wrinkles in it, no matter what came later.
She’d work the morning, as usual. Only after lunch would she have to decide whether she was going to come back here and be ready for Brad to pick her up at three.
Or to finally say no and make it stick.
****
This was either the best idea he’d ever had or the worst thing he’d ever done.
Brad watched the only couple remaining ahead of them being ushered to the courtroom by the clerk. The glass doors closed behind them.
He wouldn’t let it be the worst thing he’d ever done. He’d protect Katie from the potential downside for her in this … which happened to be him.
He’d lived by the rules of keeping his hands off Katie all these years. He could keep it up for as long as he needed – as long as she needed – even if they were spending a lot more time together. Even if they were married.
The previous couple had taken three minutes and forty-two seconds, probably because they’d had a dozen spectators. The one before had taken three minutes eighteen seconds. The first one had been three-twenty-seven.
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