“Are you sure, Lee? I know what your roots mean to you.”
“I’m sure. I guess I finally see that having you doesn’t mean that I have to give them up. Don’t you think we can work it out?”
“I haven’t been able to think since I opened that door and saw you.”
He knelt before her and took her tenderly in his arms. She sought his mouth blindly with hers.
A long while later he said, “There won’t be as much money, with me in school, but I’ve saved quite a bit, and the condo and the car are free and clear. We can live in the condo after we’re married, if you like, it’s only forty minutes to the school from there, and I’m sure Harry will take you back at the Freedom, that is, if you want to work . ..” He hesitated. “And I’d like you to think about going back to Montana with me after I finish school. It’ll be our decision, of course, but please say you’ll consider it.”
Jennifer smiled. “Could they use another lawyer in Cawassa, Montana?”
Lee hugged her tighter. “In Cawassa, Montana, they could use another everything.” He drew back to look at her. Something was wrong. “Jennifer, what is it?”
“Nothing.”
But he knew. “The hell with your ex-husband, may he crash and burn and dwell in Hades forever.” He turned her to face him. “I’m not him, honey. Just because your first marriage was a disaster, doesn’t mean ours will be.” He pressed her face against his shoulder. “Indians are loyal, don’t you know that? Loyal, brave, thrifty, clean, and reverent.”
“I think you’re talking about the Boy Scouts,” Jennifer mumbled into his sweater.
“Same thing,” he said above her head. “Indians, Scouts, Indian scouts. I can see that you were never a fan of ‘Wagon Train.’”
She clutched him tighter, wanting desperately to believe. “Lee, I hope you’ve thought this out It’s a lot to handle, medical school, a new wife and...” She almost said baby, but caught herself in time.
“As long as you’re with me, I can handle anything.”
He picked her up and stretched her gently on the floor amidst the chaos, dropping next to her and cradling her in his arms, his hands roaming her body. Jennifer held her breath as he touched her rounded belly.
He chuckled. “We’d better put you on a diet, paleface. I think you’re gaining weight” Then he seemed to freeze for a moment, recovering to sit up quickly and examine her more closely, lifting her shirt to take in the stretch bra and the elastic waist of her pants. She saw the realization dawn on his face.
“It’s mine,” he said wonderingly.
Jennifer punched him. “Baboon. Who else could it belong to?”
He hugged her to him fiercely, saying in a strangled voice, “You’d better stop calling me names, paleface, or I might forget that you’re supposed to be crazy about me.” He set her down again and slid along the floor to press his cheek against her belly, his eyes closing luxuriously. Jennifer caressed his soft hair, holding his head, too full to speak.
“When?” he asked hoarsely.
“May.”
He smiled. “That first time. I knew it, I felt it, even then.”
Jennifer was amused. “Oh, really?”
Color seeped into his face. “I meant, I knew we had…set some force in motion. About this…well, I guess I thought you would take care of it.”
Typical male, Jennifer thought “Wrong again, Beaufort.”
“Oh.”
She sat up. “You know, that’s really an insult Assuming that I would just be prepared under any circumstances. I was living alone when I met you, and I wasn’t exactly entertaining the Eighth Army on a regular basis. And our first encounter was, uh, rather spontaneous, if you recall.”
“I recall. Spontaneous as in combustion. I felt like I’d been hit by a truck.”
“Thanks a lot.”
He kissed the tip of her nose. “Don’t be dense, counselor. You know what I mean.” He smiled and sang softly, “‘What a lady, what a night.’”
Now it was Jennifer’s turn to blush.
He laughed. “Don’t be embarrassed, little mother. I’m looking forward to many more of the same.” He cupped her chin in both of his hands and looked into her eyes. “I can’t believe you weren’t going to tell me.”
Jennifer shook her head. “I didn’t want to get you that way.”
He looked away. “But you didn’t have to go through with it You could have—”
“No,” Jennifer interrupted him, not letting him finish the thought. “I love you, Lee. I wanted your baby. If I couldn’t have you, then I wanted something of yours to keep.”
He turned aside, blinking rapidly and brushing his eyes with the back of his arm. “That settles it,” he said firmly. “We’re getting married in ten minutes.”
Jennifer giggled. “I don’t think so, Lee. There are licenses, and blood tests, and things.”
“Well, then, as soon as possible.” He drew her to him swiftly. “And in the meantime,” he murmured, unbuttoning her overblouse, “we’ll have to think of something to do.”
“Any ideas?” Jennifer said, sliding her hands under his sweater.
“I’ve got a few,” he said thickly, and then stopped. “Is it all right? I mean, is it safe?”
Jennifer smiled indulgently and pressed into him, feeling his quick response. “Unless you plan on bursting into flames, or otherwise becoming a health hazard, it will be ‘safe’ for some time yet.”
“Exactly what I wanted to hear,” he said, taking off the rest of his clothes. “I don’t suppose there would be such a thing as a bed?”
“I’m afraid not It’s in pieces in one of those boxes.”
“Then we’ll rough it,” he responded, spreading his garments on the floor and pulling Jennifer down with him. “A man whose ancestors made do with packed dirt ought to be able to handle it,” he added, nuzzling her. “God, you smell wonderful.”
“You must be in love,” Jennifer answered. “After the work I did today, I probably smell like the Freedom’s locker room after a game.”
“You know what?” he said, his words muffled by her flesh.
“What?” she groaned, arching under the touch of his lips.
“You talk too much.”
And that was the end of the conversation.
– THE END –
MARRIAGE IN NAME ONLY
Doreen Owens Malek
Published by
Gypsy Autumn Publications
P.O. Box 383 • Yardley, PA I9067
Copyright 1995 and 2012
by Doreen Owens Malek
www.doreenowensmalek.com
The Author asserts the moral right to
be identified as author of this work
All rights reserved. No part of this book, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews, may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, scanning or any information storage retrieval system, without explicit permission in writing from the author or Publisher.
First USA Printing: 1995
First Canadian Printing 1995
First German Printing 1995
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author.
Chapter 1
As soon as Ann stepped off the plane, she knew she was in Florida.
She had not been home for eleven years, but the combination of humid air, salt smell and intense, direct sunlight was still as familiar to her as her own hands. She did not need to see the palm trees or sapodillas, the hibiscus or jacaranda, to know that the Keys were once again exerting their spell, even though the last time she left she fully expected never to be back again.
She stopped off in a restroom at the airport before picking up her rental car, and the mirror showed her a pretty but tired woman with striking features and circles under her wide green eyes. She brushed out her long blonde hair, delicately dabbed powder on her nose and chin, and replenished her lipstick. No wonder she looked exhausted. She had been on the phone with her half brother’s lawyers until the wee hours for several days—since she’d been in Europe she’d had to accommodate the time difference—and once she had returned to New York, she’d booked a flight to Florida immediately.