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Heather’s pretty face was still deeply flushed. Obviously she hadn’t expected this about-face on his part. T.J. waited for her reply, not sure what he even wanted her to say.
At one time marriage to Heather would have seemed like the answer to his prayers. But his real life experience with marriage and fatherhood had taught him his shortcomings. Some people were better off alone. He was one of them.
Gradually the confusion in her eyes faded, and her gaze sharpened on him. A shallow frown line formed between her eyebrows as she contemplated him closely.
What did she see? T.J. didn’t kid himself. Heather was as aware as anyone of his foibles and character flaws.
“We’re talking about a real marriage, right?”
“What other kind is there?” Slowly his lips curved into a grin, as he figured out what she was really asking. “You mean will there be sex? Hell, yeah, there’ll be sex. That’s the one thing I know I can do right.”
Her flush deepened. “Oh, T.J., this is so crazy.”
He had to agree there.
“But, yes, I will marry you.”
He knew she was accepting him for the baby’s sake. Yet, for a moment he felt a warm glow of happiness. Fool, he told himself. But knowing he was didn’t change a thing. He took her small hand and squeezed it, wanting to kiss her but not sure whether such a move would be appreciated. He was just stepping in close enough to make the kiss at least an option, when a voice startled him, startled them both.
“T.J.! Imagine running into you here.” It was Adrienne, with her husband and a pack of at least five children in tow. “Want to join us for a ham and cheese sandwich?”
CHAPTER SIX
“OH, HONEY. THIS IS A LOT to take in at once.” Heather’s mother shook the dirt off her hoe, then set it against the shed wall. She brushed off her hands, covered in gardening gloves, then settled them on her hips and examined her daughter’s expression carefully.
“I know.” Heather picked up the basket of tomatoes at her feet. Her parents ran a three-acre, U-pick garden just off the highway that connected Chatsworth to the larger center of Yorkton. In season they had strawberries, raspberries, saskatoons, tomatoes and corn.
“Let’s go have something to drink.” Marion Sweeney led her daughter along the cobblestone path to a gazebo Heather’s father had built just last summer. A pitcher of lemonade and melting ice cubes sat on the rattan table inside. She removed her gardening gloves, then poured two glasses and handed one to Heather.
“How are you feeling, honey?” Her gaze dropped to her daughter’s middle.
“Fine. Tired, I guess. But fine other than that.” She’d come by this morning with the excuse that she wanted tomatoes, but really to tell her mother her news when her father wasn’t around. Heather loved her father, but the lines of communication with her mother were much more open.
Her story had flooded out in a rush of words. The pregnancy, the engagement, the wedding which was to happen in two weeks, everything, in one breath.
“Sit down. Put your feet up.”
Heather did sit, but she kept her sandaled feet on the ground. “Really, I’m as healthy as can be, Mom.”
Her mother had dark hair and fair skin, which she protected with a combination of sunscreen and wide-brimmed hats. She removed the pretty straw one she was wearing today and set it on the floor next to a watering can.
“The fibroids…?” she asked.
“The doctor says they’re small enough at this point they shouldn’t cause a problem.”
“Thank goodness.”
“Yes.”
“What about later?”
“I’ll probably have to have a hysterectomy just like you did.”
After a brief pause, her mother reached across the table for her hand. “A baby. This is wonderful, Heather.”
“I know.” Her parents had suffered almost as much as she had when she’d made the decision to put her first baby up for adoption. When she’d married Nick, they’d been so excited by the prospect of more babies. But then Nick had died. By now her parents had probably given up on grandchildren. Among their contemporaries they were the only ones without even one. Now, finally, there would be a new child in the family.
And a new son-in-law, too.
“About T.J….” Marion’s warm gaze slipped a few degrees right of her daughter. “I didn’t realize the two of you were dating. You said that one dinner was just between friends?”
“We’ve known each other all our lives,” Heather pointed out.
“Yes.”
Her mother frowned, probably remembering all the times Heather had come home from school steaming mad at something awful T.J. had said or done. Her mom didn’t know that during the lonely term of her pregnancy in Saskatoon, T.J. had been her only friend. That was the one time in her life when she could remember him not being totally insufferable.
“I was hoping we could have the wedding here. If that’s okay with you and Dad.” Her mother’s rosebushes, bordering the gazebo, would make a perfect backdrop for wedding photos.
“Well, of course, honey.” Marion’s forehead wrinkled with concern. “You’re not rushing into this because of the baby are you?”
“Actually I am.” Heather couldn’t see any point in being deceptive. “But isn’t it a good reason? I’m going to have his baby. I’m thirty-five and so is he. Neither of us have any other prospects in our lives.”
“That sounds so…clinical.”
“Not clinical. Logical.”
“Oh, honey. I wish—” She picked up the glass of lemonade, took a small sip, then set the glass down again.
Heather rested her hands on her belly. She could hardly wait for the day when she would feel a mound beneath her palms and experience the subtle stirrings of a new life inside of her. In fact, she looked forward to every single aspect of pregnancy. She didn’t even care about labor pains or stretch marks. She wanted this child so very badly.
The sun was blazing again on this late summer afternoon. Heather could hear the buzzing of bees in the nearby flowers. A gentle breeze wafted the sweet scent of roses through the gazebo. The peaceful setting made her wish she could spend the afternoon resting in here.
But first she had to finish her conversation with her mother. She knew there was more to come. Her mother, always diplomatic, was merely weighing her words.
Finally she leaned forward in her chair. “I know you’re a grown woman, Heather, with a good mind and lots of common sense.”
She smiled, and Heather knew that her mother meant what she was saying. She knew that whatever mistakes she’d made in her life, her parents loved her. And were proud of her.
“But are you sure you’ve thought through this marriage idea?”
Heather leaned forward and folded her hands on the table. “Yes.”
Frown lines deepened the grooves on either side of her mother’s pretty mouth. “T. J. Collins is well educated, and financially secure. He’s a good-looking man, too, I can’t argue with that. But, I’ve heard some stories that aren’t very complimentary.”
Heather’s mother was well connected to the gossip sources in town—most of them members of the local bridge club. Marion, herself, was always careful what she passed on. When she’d been a child, Heather had often been frustrated that her mother was so close-mouthed. She had to go to school to hear all the rumors that the other children heard at home.
“You know those old biddies make up half the things they talk about.”
“Now, Heather. They exaggerate at times, I’ll agree. But I don’t believe they actually fabricate stories.”
“Well, what did they tell you about T.J.?”
Marion topped up both glasses of lemonade, clearly uncomfortable. “There are rumors about why he left Calgary to come back and run his father’s hardware.”
“He left because his marriage fell apart. His wife took their daughter and moved to Toronto.”
“Yes, that’s true. But some say there were problems with his business, too.”
“The law firm?”
Her mother nodded. “I heard T.J. embezzled funds from the practice and was asked to leave, on threat of disbarment.”
Rumors of murder couldn’t have seemed more outlandish to Heather. “No way,” she insisted.
“Heather.” Her mother’s voice carried a gentle rebuff. “You’d better make sure you know the truth before you marry this man.”
HEATHER COULD NOT TAKE HER mother’s warning about T.J. seriously. T.J. wasn’t an embezzler. She was so certain, she didn’t even ask him about it when they met the next evening to discuss wedding plans.
They both wanted to keep the event very simple. T.J.’s parents were still on the other side of the country in their motor home, so they wouldn’t be able to attend.
“Mom was all for buying a plane ticket for the weekend,” he said, “but I convinced her she could throw us a party later, and she seemed happy with that.”
With his parents taken care of, she broached the hardest subject. “Have you invited your daughter?”
“Sally?”
She could tell it hadn’t crossed T.J.’s mind that he should include her in the wedding plans.
“She might get a kick out of being a flower girl. A lot of little girls love that sort of thing.”
“She’s only four. And she’s never been anywhere without her mother.”
“Well, naturally Lynn would have to come, too.”
“You expect me to invite my ex-wife to the wedding?” T.J. got up from her sofa and strode across the room. “No way, Heather. This is getting way out of control. You, me, your mom and dad. That’s it. No one else.”
“So I get no say in planning our wedding.” She twisted her hands together, conscious of the fact she wore no engagement ring. She and T.J. had decided simple wedding bands would be enough.
T.J. glared. “Not if it means you’re going to invite my kid and my wife.”
“Ex-wife.”
His mouth tightened. “Exactly.”
Heather leaned forward, burying her hands in her thick hair. The subject of his old marriage was obviously an emotional land mine for T.J. If their marriage was going to have a shot for long-term success, he had to deal with his feelings.
“You’re still so wound up about the past, T.J. Ever considered therapy?”
His dark gaze turned into laser points of quiet fury. “No. And you won’t mention the idea again, either.”
“Okay, then.” She took a deep breath and straightened her back. She would not let him derail this discussion. She was almost four months pregnant. The new school year would be starting in one week. They were running out of time.
“No flower girl. No therapy. So where does that leave us?” She picked up the notebook she’d purchased at Lucky’s two weeks ago and consulted her list. “I’ve booked the minister for next Sunday afternoon. You’re taking care of the marriage license. And the rings.”
She lifted her head to confirm this, and he nodded.
“Mom is making us a small dinner after the service, so we don’t have to worry about food. I thought I’d pick up a bottle of champagne, though…?” Again, she looked up to make sure he was okay with this.
“I’ll get the champagne.”
“Fine. I’ve booked a photographer.”
“Couldn’t we just get the minister to snap a couple of photos?”
She bit her lip. “I suppose.” He was really being a grinch about this wedding. But what could she expect? He was T.J., after all.
Was it possible her mom was right, that she was making a mistake?
Heather closed her eyes, pushed away the dangerous thought. In seven days she was getting married. She couldn’t afford doubts, at least not any more than she already had.
No, T.J. wasn’t perfect. But who was? Nick had been moody at times, fond of going out for drinks with the boys after his shift when she would have preferred for him to come home to her. They’d worked around the problems and found a way to be happy together.
She’d do the same with T.J. She was going to make this marriage a success. T.J. was a smart man. He could learn to be a good husband and father. Her baby would grow up in a happy home.
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