Chapter 5
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"Have you lost your mind?"
Katherine choked on her question as she stared at Jace in incredulity. He met her shocked stare with a level one of his own.
"Probably," he said grimly, "but our options don't leave us much choice."
"Our options? What are you talking about?" Allison was growing more fretful each second. Katherine shifted the baby to her other shoulder and absently bounced her up and down. All her attention was focused on the man who, in a week's time, had assumed control of her life.
"Katherine." His calm voice was infuriating. "Why don't you get Allison's bottle and feed her while we talk."
Katherine shot him a deadly look, but she turned and picked up the bottle of milk he had had the foresight to take out of the refrigerator an hour earlier. She sat down in one of the bentwood chairs at the kitchen table and positioned Allison under her breast in the crook of her left arm. She would satisfy the infant's momentary fussiness with the bottle and feed her cereal and fruit later. Right now she couldn't risk being distracted.
With as much poise as she could muster, she asked, "Okay, who was that calling you on my telephone? I want to know now what you meant when you said that you and I were getting married. Mind you, there's not the slightest chance in hell that we are, I'm just curious as to how you arrived at such an absurd idea." Katherine felt that under the circumstances, her pronouncement was a masterpiece.
Jace grinned at her while he poured a cup of coffee and said, "Please watch your language in front of the baby, Katherine. How do you take your coffee?" He found that intensely humorous and laughed out loud, startling Allison who glanced at him over the bottle she was sucking at.
"Here I've just proposed marriage to a woman, and I don't even know how she drinks her coffee, or even if she does." He raised an arched brow in query.
"A drop of milk please," said Katherine. When was he going to get to the subject at hand?
He prepared her coffee and set it in front of her on the table. He refilled his own mug and straddled another chair, folding his arms over the curved back.
"Katherine, my parents are going to claim that you kidnapped their grandchild. They'll probably have you arrested if they can find you."
He allowed time for his words to sink in. Katherine's face drained of color. Allison squirmed as her aunt's arms suddenly clenched her tighter. She shook her head from side to side, denying what he said as truth.
"No, no, they can't! I have guardianship of her. My sister—"
He interrupted her. "They can and they will. Believe me. Let me start at the beginning, okay?" She nodded, unable to speak, and he told her what he knew of the situation in Denver.
"A friend of mine, a lawyer, has been keeping tabs on things. When I got back from Africa, I found my parents to be upset with you to say the least. They were making all kinds of threats even then. They want Allison."
When he saw that she was about to comment, he held up his hand. "Hear me out, okay?" Reluctantly, she nodded and he continued. "Just about the time I left to come here, they were talking about kidnapping, the FBI, the whole ball of wax. I told Mark – my friend – to let me know when he heard something definitive. I've been checking with him every few days and gave him your number in case he couldn't reach me through Sunglow or at the motel."
"But I didn't kidnap her, Jace," Katherine exclaimed when he paused to draw a breath and sip his coffee. "Mary gave her to me before she died. I have a paper to prove it."
"Where is it?" he asked.
She hesitated then indicated a desk in the living room. "Third drawer on the left." If he should destroy the document, she still had the original in the safety deposit box in Denver.
He got the copy out of the desk and returned to his chair in the kitchen. He scanned the paper, then raised sad eyes to Katherine.
"She wrote this just before she died?"
"Yes," Katherine confirmed hoarsely.
"It's eloquent and puissant, but I doubt if it would hold up in a court of law, Katherine."
"I have the original safe in Denver," she added hopefully.
"Even so," he shook his head and sighed. "Did anyone witness her writing this? No one else signed it."
Katherine shook her head dispiritedly. "No," she said.
"Each state has its own criteria for the legality of handwritten wills. We could check into the Colorado stipulations but..." He shrugged as his voice trailed off. He made a tent with his fingers and rubbed them over the tip of his nose as he studied her. "Katherine, let me tell you what I've arranged." He stood up and walked to the sink, staring out at the morning landscape from the square window.
"From past experience, it was reasonable for me to assume that my parents would take drastic measures to get custody of Peter's baby."
It was the first time that name had actually been spoken between them. Reminders of Peter could still cause Katherine to shiver in revulsion. Would the image of Mary's pale, haggard, unhappy face ever be erased from her mind? Jace brought her out of her reverie instantly.
"I meant to get custody of Allison myself. That's why I came looking for you." He glanced at her briefly over his shoulder. "You were right to be wary of me when I first arrived, I had every intention of taking you to court if necessary to get Allison. But then ... you ... well, anyway, I saw how good you were with her, and I know that an infant needs a mother. So" – he shrugged – "I started thinking that we should combine our efforts and share her. I had Mark make the necessary arrangements for us to obtain a Texas marriage license. He has a buddy in the Dallas County Court House. And now, since Mother and Dad are making real their threats, I think we should get married as soon as possible. Today."
She couldn't believe he was taking charge of her life so blithely, not even considering that she might object.
"Well, Mr. Manning," she said, "I'm not ready to marry you or anyone else. And if you think I'd ever marry a Manning, you're crazy. I haven't forgotten Peter's cruelty to Mary. There's no question of my forgiving it."
He spun around and faced her. "Look, I know how you feel about my family and I know why. I can't say that I blame you for that."
"Thank you," she retorted sarcastically. "How do I know that this isn't all some set-up? You could still take Allison away from me and give her to your parents. I find it hard to believe that some roughneck, no matter how nobly he pleads his case, really wants responsibility for a four-month-old baby."
Her words were mean and ugly, but so were the circumstances. She was breathing hard in her consternation. If it weren't for Allison, she would have stood and faced him head-on. "Do you know what Allison will grow up to be under the influence of your mo- ther? She—"
"Yes," he said calmly amid her tirade. "I know."
She was momentarily taken aback. "Yes?"
"She'll be silly and stupid and care nothing for anyone or anything except herself. Just like her father."
Katherine opened and shut her mouth several times before she could say anything. "I'm sorry. I didn't—"
"Please don't apologize. It clears up the matter for me. You obviously have a very low opinion of me. You see me as no different from them. No wonder you think our marriage is already on rocky ground."
"I'm not going to marry you, Jace!" she shouted. Then she lowered her voice and said, "I was taught that marriage is a permanent condition and there's no—"
"Being indicted for kidnapping is a permanent condition too, Katherine. Wait a minute," he barked when she started to object. "I don't think they could make such a charge stick either, but the stigma would be with you for the rest of your life. Peter's and Mary's deaths, not to mention that girl killed with him, will again be plastered on the front page in bold print. Do you want to go through that again? Once you were only on the sidelines. This time you'd be right in the middle of it." He crossed the room and braced himself on the table, leaning over her. His face was only a few inches from hers. "Are you prepared to go through all that litigation? Can you afford it financially? I've checked. With all the ambiguities of this case, no lawyer would touch it for less than five thousand dollars. Probably more. I promise you my parents will play to win. No expense or dirty tricks will be spared. They'll pull out all the stops. And what about Allison during that time? She'll probably become a ward of the state and be placed in a foster home until a decision is reached, which could be months. Is that what you want for her right now?"
Katherine clutched the baby to her and looked away from Jace. He was right! How could she fight against such odds? Even if she won in the long run, the price of victory would be too high. Then a new thought came to her.
"What if ... just if ... we went through with this marriage, wouldn't your parents fight us both?"
"They might fight me if I were trying to get guardianship of her by myself. Use the single-parent syndrome against me. But they wouldn't fight us both. Together we form a family unit. We would apply immediately for adoption. That would make her legally our child, not just our ward. Any court would favor that. And we're much younger than my parents, a strong point for our side. Besides that" he grinned sardonically, "I don't think they, particularly Mother, would like that kind of publicity." He chuckled softly. "As a matter of fact, as soon as they know we're married, they'll probably hold a press conference and declare how thrilled they are that their problem was resolved. They'll make it sound like it was all their idea and that they're thankful we found each other."
By this time Katherine had fed Allison, and the baby, whose innocent life was the source of so much conflict, had dropped off to sleep again. Katherine took her into the bedroom and placed her in the crib. Bath time would be postponed today.
When she returned to the kitchen, Jace was clearing up the dishes. "You'd better hurry and get dressed. We're supposed to meet the judge and Mark's friend at two o' clock."
"Jace, I can't marry you," she said reasonably. Maybe things weren't as bad as he was making them out to be. Anger was a wasted emotion now, but she resented his bullying her this way. "I can take care of Allison, and I can take care of myself."
Sparks of anger flashed in Jason's blue eyes as he turned toward her. His thumbs hooked into the belt loops of his jeans as he assumed a belligerent stance. "Well, forgive me for pointing out that you're doing a helluva job. Taking care of yourself, huh? Last night you almost got yourself raped by a horny old bastard who was coming on to you so strong that even I could pick up the vibes from him."
"That's not fair!" she cried. "I was a victim. Now you're victimizing me by coercing me into a marriage I want no part of."
He was furious now, taking slow, menacing steps to stand directly in front of her. He spoke with a deceptively serene voice. "Have you stopped to consider, Miss Adams, that I don't particularly want to sacrifice my freedom either? I didn't come halfway around the world, then halfway across the country to be married! Believe me, that was the furthest thing from my mind."
"Then why—"
"Because I feel responsible to provide that baby in there with a proper home. She's the real victim, Katherine. Not you or me. I'm willing to marry you in compensation for what Peter did to Mary. At the same time, you'll be keeping your promise to your sister." He stepped back a few feet and asked, "Now, are you ready to go with me to Dallas?"
She covered her face with her hands. Thinking was so difficult. Rational thought was impossible when he was so close. She could feel the angry heat emanating from his body. His breathing was labored. He was as agitated as she. There was no time to analyze her predicament. She had to decide now.
How could he remain so composed? Was he always so damned right? So logical? What were the choices? There were none. He knew it. She knew it.
"Okay, Jace." That was the only commitment she allowed him. It would have to do.
Silently she thanked him that there was no gloating in his manner when he said, "I'll be back in an hour. Do you want to stay in Dallas overnight or come back today?"
Overnight? With him? In a hotel room? "No. Why don't we just come back."
"Okay. Do you want to leave Allison with Happy?"
"No. If you don't mind, I'd rather take her. I don't want anyone to know about this until it's all over. Happy would want to—"
"I understand," he interrupted. "I'll see you in an hour then."