Page 42 of Calder Strong (The Calder Brand #5)

“No, you’re not thinking.” His stern gaze riveted hers. “Listen to me, Annabeth. The rest of your life could depend on your doing this right. You’re going to need a lawyer. My family retains a good one. Don’t talk to the sheriff until you’ve spoken with him.”

“But my children—”

“ Listen . I’ll do all I can to keep them with me. But as things stand, if you’re arrested and charged, they could be taken into state custody. There’s no guarantee I’ll have access to them—or even to you. Only one thing can guarantee that.”

She stared at him.

“Marry me, Annabeth,” he said. “Now. Today. I mean it. It’s the best chance for the children and for you.”

She shot to her feet. “Are you mad, Joseph? My husband’s only been dead a few hours! And I’m the one who killed him! How would it even be legal?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” He stood to face her.

“There’s a justice of the peace in Miles City.

We could leave this afternoon. Kristin and Britta have offered to tend your children.

As your husband, I could legally adopt them.

They’d be safe. Lucas, as my son, would be heir to the ranch.

And Ellie would become my own daughter.”

“What about me?” she asked. “What happens if I go to prison—or what if I’m found innocent?”

His gaze softened. “Either way, you’d be my wife, to have and to hold, to love and to cherish, until death do us part.”

“But you don’t love me, Joseph!”

Joseph didn’t reply. Annabeth’s breath caught as his hand cupped her bruise-mottled face.

“You’re wrong.” His voice was husky with emotion.

“I thought I’d forgotten you all those years ago.

But when I saw you in town, I began to fall in love all over again.

Your courage, your loyalty, your tenderness …

Every time I saw you, I came to love you more.

You broke my heart because I couldn’t take you in and care for your little family. Give me that chance now, Annabeth.”

As he bent to kiss her, a voice shrilled in her head that she couldn’t ask him to make this sacrifice, not even for her children.

She would only drag him down, and in the end, he would resent her for it.

But as his lips claimed hers in a gentle act of possession, she felt the fire spark and grow inside her until she burned with need.

She wanted him, not just for her children but also for herself.

She responded, stretching on tiptoe to deepen the kiss.

Her fingers wove into his hair, pulling him down to her.

Her senses swam with the feel of him, the aroma of his sweat and the low rasp of his breathing.

The timing was all wrong. This was the most terrible day of her life.

But if fate had chosen her for this brief gift of happiness, she would seize it and hold on tight.

He released her, the ghost of a smile playing about his mouth. “Can I take that as a yes?” he asked.

Annabeth found her voice. “I suppose you can. I only hope you don’t come to regret it.”

Reaching out again, he drew her close, cradling her in his arms. His lips brushed her temple as he spoke. “No regrets,” he said. “Not ever.”

After a hurried lunch with the family, Annabeth kissed her children, she and Jospeh climbed into the car, and they started for Miles City. Annabeth carried a canvas duffel bag that Kristin had pressed on her as they were leaving the house.

“It’s my wedding dress,” she’d said. “There won’t be time to get it pressed, but if you choose to wear it, may it bring you as much happiness as it’s brought me.”

Now Annabeth sat in the passenger seat of the red Model A, cradling the duffel on her lap.

There was good reason for haste. Once Silas’s body was discovered in the house, everything could change.

She could be placed under arrest and taken to jail.

The marriage had to take place before it was too late.

There would be talk, of course, although theirs wouldn’t be the first marriage scandal to shake Blue Moon.

Years ago, Webb Calder, Chase’s father, had set his eyes on a beautiful, married immigrant woman.

When her older husband had died of cholera, Webb had whisked her away and married her at once.

Not long after giving birth to Chase, the woman had died in a shooting. Webb had never remarried.

But that didn’t make Annabeth’s marriage to Joseph any less shocking.

They planned to return in the morning. Joseph had telephoned ahead to make sure the justice of the peace would be ready for them.

Explaining things to the children would have to wait.

They were so young. It would take time for them to understand why they suddenly had a new father.

In the meantime, they would be safe and cared for among their new family.

Logan Hunter had offered to look after the livestock and chickens left on the farm. How he would manage without rousing suspicion was a worry, but he’d assured Annabeth that everything would be all right. She trusted him. And right now, she had more pressing concerns.

“You’ve been awfully quiet,” Joseph remarked. “I hope you aren’t getting cold feet.”

“Not a chance,” she said. “You’ve been quiet, too. What are you thinking?”

“I was just wishing I’d married you when I was nineteen. Think of the grief it would have saved us.”

“We would’ve most likely had our own grief,” Annabeth said. “And if I’d married you, I wouldn’t have my little Ellie. I can’t imagine my life without her. There’s some good that comes even from a hard situation.”

A chill passed through her body. The horror of Silas’s death, and the guilt over her part in it, would never stop haunting her. Today she had Joseph’s love. But how long would it last? What would she do when it was gone?

“Spoken like a wise woman,” Joseph said. “Ellie stole my heart that day when I found her with her leg full of stickers. I hope you know she’ll be as much my daughter as Lucas is my son.”

“Then let’s make it so.” She laid her hand on his knee, trying not to think of the morning’s terror or the uncertainty that awaited them back in Blue Moon.

With this marriage, she would be providing a future for her children and stealing a few precious, happy hours for herself.

That would be all she could ask of heaven.

They arrived in Miles City to find the elderly justice of the peace waiting for them in his home.

His wife, chattering and smiling, helped Annabeth into the beautiful silk gown Kristin had lent her.

The fabric was so fine that it was hardly wrinkled at all.

But there was no way Annabeth could hide the ugly bruises on her face and body.

“Goodness me, dearie,” the woman said with a click of her tongue. “What happened to you?”

“An accident. Just being clumsy.” Annabeth dismissed the subject.

“Accident, my foot! I’ve lived a long life and seen a lot of things. I know when a woman’s been beaten. I just hope the fellow that done this to you isn’t the one you’re marrying.”

“No. My Joseph is a good man.” The simple words brought a mist to her eyes.

“Well, I hope the brute that hurt you got what was coming to him.”

“I suppose he did.” Closing the subject, Annabeth turned to look in the full-length mirror.

The gown, worn with a wisp of a veil, was exquisite.

It was a shame she didn’t have pretty shoes.

But maybe that was all right. The dusty, worn work boots would be there to remind her of who she really was and where she’d come from.

The lovely bridal gown was only borrowed.

Joseph, in his everyday clothes, was waiting in the parlor with the justice.

His expression warmed when Annabeth walked in.

He held out his hand and led her to a small desk, where they signed the legal papers.

Then, side by side, they recited the traditional wedding vows and he slipped a plain silver band on her finger.

Surrendering to the moment, she gave herself up to his kiss.

This was no time to question whether she was doing the right thing. She was Joseph’s wife now. He had gambled his reputation to rescue her and her children. She could only pray that she wasn’t about to ruin his life.

As the justice’s wife helped Annabeth remove the wedding gown and put it away, she noticed the ring.

“Ah, that one,” she said. “Yes, it was always one of my favorites. My husband keeps a box of simple rings for couples who show up needing one. This was your groom’s choice.

Of course, you’ll probably want him to replace it with something finer. ”

“Not at all.” Annabeth turned the ring on her finger. The fit was perfect. Her old ring had been taken by Silas long ago to pay a poker debt. “This will be my wedding ring for the rest of my life,” she said, loving it.

By the time they left the justice’s home, it was late in the day.

Joseph took Annabeth to a family clothing store, where he invited her to choose a stack of practical outfits for the children and herself.

She even found a pair of nice-looking but serviceable shoes.

“Buy the best and plenty of it,” he said when he caught her checking prices.

“We can afford it. And you’re not going back to your old house for anything. That’s finished.”

They dined discreetly in a small but elegant restaurant down the street from the Olive Hotel.

Annabeth had dreaded the idea of eating in the hotel dining room, where Joseph was well-known.

The thought of curious eyes and wagging tongues had made her want to shrink away to nothing.

Thank heaven he’d understood that she didn’t wish to be put on display.

She’d done her best to finish the delicious Italian food on her plate, but the memories of the day were catching up with her. She had to force herself to eat.