The Stolen Bride

“You are trying to help.” The quaver in her voice hit him in the gut. “You could get into trouble because of me.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time.”

Their gazes met and held, and then she smiled. Just like that, he knew he wasn’t over her. He had never been over her. She was the reason every woman he’d dated since high school seemed to lack something vital, only he hadn’t understood that until now.

“Why the hell are you marrying Chet Dever?” Joseph braced himself for her to say, “Because I love him.”

“I don’t know,” Erin said.

“What do you mean, you don’t know?” Relief mingled with pain as raw as it had been more than ten years ago. “How can you marry a guy if you don’t love him?”

“I must love him. I said yes, didn’t I?”

“Why are you asking me?”

Erin scrunched her nose the way she used to do when an idea hit her. Like defying her parents and going to play Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus at a Christmas party for poor children rather than attending their school’s winter formal. Joseph treasured the photo he’d kept from that escapade.

“I don’t remember saying yes,” she said.

“Excuse me?”

“That whole morning is a big blank,” she explained. “He’d proposed the previous weekend. The morning of the accident, I phoned and said I couldn’t wait another day to tell him I wanted to be his wife. That’s what he told me.”

Joseph hadn’t expected anything like this when he decided to inject himself into Erin’s wedding day. “Whoa. Is it just me or does something smell rotten around here?”

“Smell,” she said.

“What?”

“I just remembered. Something smelled sweet. Flowers.” She blinked. “I’m sorry. I must be thinking of the hospital.”

She was so confused she could hardly follow her own train of thought. “You’re in no shape to marry anybody.”

Erin gestured at her wedding dress. “I made a commitment, and I always keep my promises.” Her voice wavered slightly as she added, “Besides, I’m sure it’s what I want.”

“You don’t sound sure to me.”

She hesitated. “I guess I’m wondering why I didn’t accept his proposal right away, why I waited. If I could just put my finger on what happened that morning, I’d feel better.”

In a little over half an hour, this woman was going to walk down the aisle with a man who, in Joseph’s estimation, was both cunning and amoral, and who would dearly love to come into possession of Erin’s millions. She had only his word that she’d agreed to marry him.

He gripped his notepad. Erin wasn’t his problem. As far as this town was concerned, he had no business getting anywhere near her.

Not only weren’t the Lowerys in the same league as the Marshalls, they’d been virtual outcasts since his father, a former policeman, was arrested and convicted of murder eleven years ago. The fallout had destroyed his relationship with Erin. It had destroyed his father, too.

Although Joseph and his mother had stood by him, very few people shared their belief that Lewis Lowery had been framed. After he died in prison and the years ticked by without new evidence emerging, the chances of clearing his father’s name had become negligible.

Erin was another matter. If she’d just become engaged, surely she had confided the happy news to someone. There was no reason to rely on Chet’s testimony.

“Is there a friend you might have talked to that day?” he asked.

“My boss, Bea,” Erin said. “We were working together at the carnival.”

“Do you know her phone number?”

“It’s in my organizer.”

He retrieved her purse from a chair. “May I?” It might take her a while to get those gloves off.

“Go ahead. It’s in the side pocket.”

He found the number and dialed her cell phone. While it was ringing, Joseph handed it to Erin.

After a moment, she exchanged pleasantries with her boss. He heard her ask if, before the accident, she’d mentioned her engagement.

“I don’t understand,” Erin said. “What do you mean you didn’t know I was engaged?… Well, to Chet, of course. You received the invitation, didn’t you?… What?”

He’d thought she was pale before, but some previously unsuspected color drained from her cheeks. “Oh, my gosh,” she said. “Oh, Bea. You won’t believe—well, I don’t have time to explain. Thank you. Yes. This helps a lot. I’ll be in touch.” She clicked off.

“Well?” Joseph said.

She swallowed hard. “I didn’t promise to marry Chet. I told Bea I was going to turn him down.”

Much as he welcomed the news, Joseph had to make sure it was valid. “Could there be a misunderstanding?”

“She talked to me that afternoon, right before I got hit.” Erin spoke in a dull, shocked tone. “I said the whole thing with Chet was a mistake. I planned to give him the bad news in person the next day.”

Joseph couldn’t believe Dever had lied so baldly. “Maybe you accepted him and then had a change of heart.”

“I don’t see how that could have happened,” Erin said. “Chet described how overjoyed I was when I called. He said I could hardly wait to walk down the aisle. I’m not the kind of person who would say that and then change my mind a few hours later.”

“When he told you, didn’t you wonder why you’d agreed? I mean, you ought to know whether you love him or not.” He knew he was being rough on her, but it was nothing compared to the storm that would sweep over Sundown Valley if Erin Marshall left Chet Dever at the altar.

“I believed everything I was told. I couldn’t rely on my memory or my feelings.” She sounded dazed. “I didn’t trust my perceptions.”

What a violation! What Dever had done might not be a crime, but it ought to be. “You can’t marry him.”

Erin dropped her cell phone into her purse. “What a mess! Everyone’s going to be so upset. I don’t know how I’m going to deal with them.”

“The only person you have to deal with is your fake fiancé,” he said.

“No.” Tears welled in her eyes. “There’s my mom. And all those people out there.” She started to shake. “I’m sorry. I know I ought to be able to take care of myself, but I can’t think straight.”

Joseph couldn’t help it. He knew he was compromising his investigation, but he wrapped his arms around Erin and pulled her against him.

She needed him. He’d never believed such a thing could happen, in view of their past and their relative situations in this community. Regardless of whether he crushed his career along with her wedding dress, he refused to let her down.

“Come with me,” he said. “I’ll help you sort it out.”