Hawk's Way: Rebels: The Temporary Groom. Joan Johnston
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problem,” Cherry said.
“What’s that?”
“Zach Whitelaw.”
“What about him?”
“He’s going to kill you on sight.”
Billy gave a relieved laugh. “Is that all? I thought it was something serious.”
“Don’t joke,” Cherry said. “This is serious. Three years ago a boy tried to force himself on Jewel at a Fourth of July picnic. I’ll never forget the look in Zach’s eyes when Jewel stood crying in his arms, her face bruised and her dress torn. He took a horsewhip to the boy and nearly flayed him alive. Both families kept it quiet, but you know how that sort of thing gets around. None of us girls has ever had any problems with boys since then.
“That’s why it surprised me when Ray… If Ray hadn’t been drunk, he would never have done what he did.”
“And we wouldn’t be where we are today,” Billy said. “I won’t let any man whip me, Cherry. If your father tries—”
“I’m only telling you all this so you’ll understand why I have to go home and explain all of this to him by myself. Once he understands I was willing and—”
Billy shook his head. “We go together, or you don’t go at all.”
“Zach’s going to be furious with me.”
“All the more reason for us to go together. You may have been his daughter yesterday, but you’re my wife today. No man is going to threaten my wife. Not even her father.”
Cherry stared wide-eyed at Billy. She supposed she should have told him that no matter how angry Zach got with her, he would never raise a hand to her. In the past she had been sent to her room without supper, or been forced to spend a day alone thinking about the wisdom of a course of action. But the Whitelaws had always used reason, rather than force, to teach their children right from wrong.
Billy wouldn’t have to defend her, but she reveled in the thought that he was willing to do so. Of more concern to her was the possibility that the two men might provoke one another to violence. She already knew that Billy liked to fight. Zach would be more than willing to give him one.
“I’ll let you come with me on one condition,” she said.
“What’s that?”
“We bring the girls with us.”
Billy frowned. “What purpose would that serve?”
“Zach won’t be able to fight with you—or yell at me—if he’s busy meeting his new grandchildren.”
“Raejean and Annie don’t even like you. What makes you think they’ll take to your father?”
“Trust me. Zach Whitelaw could sell snow in Alaska. He’ll have Raejean and Annie eating out of his hand in no time. Besides, we have no choice but to take them with us. Mrs. Motherwell is gone.”
“I forgot about that,” Billy said as he headed toward the door that led upstairs. “Damn. All right. Let me go get them. We might as well get this meeting over with.”
“Billy,” Cherry called after him. When he stopped and turned to her, she said, “We can still call the whole thing off.”
He walked the few steps back to her and lifted her chin with his finger. “Buck up, kid. You’re doing great.”
Cherry felt tears prickle her eyes and blinked to keep them from forming.
Billy leaned down and kissed her mouth. His touch was gentle, intended to comfort. “I’m sorry, Cherry. I shouldn’t have left you here alone and driven away. It’s not easy to admit it, but I was scared.”
Cherry searched his eyes. If he had once been afraid, the fear was gone now. If he had regrets, he wasn’t letting her see them. She wished she knew him better as a person. Could she rely on him? Would he be there for her when the going got rough?
When he pulled her into his arms and hugged her, she felt safe and secure. She knew that was an illusion. Her father had made her feel safe, too. But they had been torn from each other. It was better not to try and make more of this relationship than it was.
Before she could edge herself away from Billy, the screen door was flung open. Billy threw her aside to confront whatever danger threatened them.
Zach Whitelaw stood in the doorway.
CHAPTER FIVE
“DADDY, DON’T!” Cherry cried as Zach took a step toward Billy, his hands tightened into angry knots.
Zach froze, his eyes wide with shock.
It took Cherry a second to realize she had called him “Daddy” instead of “Zach,” something she had never done before. She felt confused, unsure why she had blurted it out like that, especially now, when she wasn’t going to be his daughter anymore, but someone else’s wife.
“Please don’t fight,” she said.
“Stay out of this, Cherry,” Billy said, his hands curling into fists as menacing as Zach’s.
“How did you get here so quickly?” Cherry said to her father. “I just got off the phone with Jewel.”
“The police called me when they picked up Billy. A phony marriage license isn’t going to save you from me,” he snarled at Billy.
“We really are married,” Cherry said, taking a step to put herself between the two men. Temporarily, it kept them from throwing punches.
Zach snorted. “In a Las Vegas ceremony? That’s no kind of wedding.”
“It’s legal,” Billy said coldly.
There was nothing Zach could say to counter that except, “Come home, Cherry. I know the situation last night must have upset you, but Rebecca and I want you to know we’re on your side. We believe there must be some reasonable explanation for what happened. We can fix this problem.”
“It’s too late for that. Billy and I are married. I’m staying with him.”
Zach glared at Billy. “You should be ashamed of yourself, taking advantage of a vulnerable child to—”
“She’s no child,” Billy said quietly. “She’s a woman. And my wife.” His hands slid around Cherry’s waist from behind, and he pulled her back against the length of his body.
Cherry saw the inference Zach drew from Billy’s words and actions that the two of them had done what husbands and wives do on their wedding night. By the time her father’s gaze skipped to her face, she bore a flush high on her cheekbones that seemed to confirm what he was thinking. There was no way she was going to admit the truth.
She saw the wounded look in Zach’s eyes before he hid it behind lowered lids.
“I didn’t mean to hurt you or Rebecca,” she forced past the lump in her throat.
“Why, Cherry?” he asked. “Why couldn’t you trust us to be on your side? I thought…”
They were good parents. They had done everything they could to make her feel loved and appreciated, safe and secure. But they expected her to believe parents could protect their children from the evils of the world. She knew from experience that simply wasn’t true. She could never trust them completely. She would never trust anybody that much again.
“I’m sorry, Zach.” She saw his gaze flicker at her reversion to the less familiar, less personal title. “Please tell Rebecca—”
Zach cut her off. “You explain this to your mother. I couldn’t find the words.” He turned and left as abruptly as he had come.
Cherry felt her nose burning, felt the tears threaten and fought them back. She had chosen to travel this road. She had no one to blame but herself