Читать книгу Finally a Bride - Renee Ryan - Страница 10

Chapter Two

Molly had nearly reached the end of her endurance, and it was all because Garrett still grasped her hand in his. On the surface, the gesture was a common courtesy between two acquaintances. With the benefit of her glove as a barrier there should be nothing to cause her alarm. But this was the first time in seven years he’d taken her hand without hesitation.

She liked the unexpected familiarity of the gesture, liked it far too much.

Blinking hard, she struggled to maintain her composure. But his touch felt so good, so right. Time seemed to slow, past overlaying present. And, still, Garrett held on to her.

He moved a step closer and her mind grasped one lone thought. This was Garrett, the boy who used to put her at ease when no one else could. The one who had comforted her, treasured her. Loved her.

She’d once believed that God had brought them together at the perfect time, and that the Lord’s hand had been guiding them toward a common future all along.

She’d been terribly wrong. Their chance to be a couple had come and gone a long time ago.

So why wouldn’t Garrett release her?

And why wasn’t she insisting he let her go?

Surely Mrs. Singletary would say something to him, to Molly, anything to put a halt to this endless, endless moment. But Mrs. Singletary had already moved into the hallway and was speaking to someone in hushed tones.

Molly searched for words to fill the void, but nothing came to mind. They hadn’t spoken directly to one another in years, at least not in more than monosyllabic responses. All she could do now was force herself to breathe. Even that simple task proved nearly impossible.

At last, he let go of her hand and stepped back. His golden eyes swept over her, his features unreadable. Nevertheless, she found herself staring at him longer than necessary. The embroidered waistcoat he wore highlighted the unusual color of his eyes. Mitchell eyes. A warm blend of bronze, amber and gold.

Molly gritted her teeth. “Garrett...I...that is...”

His glance flicked to a spot over her shoulder. “Hello, Fanny.”

His sister was here? Relief nearly buckled her knees.

“Hello, Garrett.” A soft feminine voice returned his greeting, followed by a short pause. “Molly? Is that you?”

Desperate to put more distance between herself and Garrett, Molly spun around to face her friend. But she moved too fast and her legs tangled beneath her. She swayed backward.

Garrett’s hands clasped her shoulders from behind. “Easy now,” he whispered in her ear. “I’ve got you.”

His low voice steadied her. She closed her eyes a moment, only a moment, and reveled in the safe feeling that washed through her. I’ve got you.

Did he know how bittersweet those words sounded?

“Molly? Are you unwell?” Fanny asked. “You’ve gone quite pale.”

The concern in her friend’s voice had her quickly opening her eyes. “I’m perfectly fine.”

She stepped forward, away from Garrett, away from the burst of memories and wave of hope, and countless other emotions she couldn’t seem to control whenever she was in his presence. “I merely lost my balance for a moment.”

Fanny tilted her head at a curious angle. “Well, then, it was fortunate Garrett was here to catch you.”

Was it? Molly made a noncommittal sound in her throat, wondering why he was suddenly right where she needed him when he’d been so determined to avoid her before today.

As if to confuse her all the more, Garrett gave an equally dispassionate response to his sister’s comment.

Eyes widening, as if she suddenly realized the oddity of the two of them in each other’s company, Fanny looked from one to the other and back again. Her gaze filled with unasked questions.

Molly gave a quick shake of her head, willing her friend to keep her thoughts—and questions—to herself. At least until they were alone. Of all Garrett’s family, Fanny was the only one who knew how heartbroken Molly had been over his decision to leave her behind when he’d gone away to school.

“Did you need something from me?” Garrett asked his sister with the sort of gentle impatience only a devoted brother could pull off without offense.

“No. I’m here to see Reese—” she swallowed, broke eye contact, sighed heavily “—but Mrs. Singletary asked for a brief word with him.”

She scowled at her brother, as if sensing he was the cause for the interruption.

He merely smiled at her, which seemed to annoy Fanny all the more. “Don’t you have contracts to review, ledgers to balance, or some such work that requires your immediate attention?”

That earned her a dry chuckle. “I do.”

“Then I suggest you get back to it,” Fanny snapped, her tone unusually curt.

Garrett dipped his head at a curious angle, his only reaction, but a telling one from a man who never showed his inner thoughts to the world. It was obvious to Molly he was concerned about his sister. She was concerned about Fanny, too. Her friend seemed troubled about something.

As if sensing Molly was the best one to address the situation, Garrett gave a stiff nod of his head. “Ladies.”

Looking perplexed, and a little apprehensive, he moved reluctantly back toward his office, as if he wasn’t fully convinced leaving his sister in this state was a good idea. When he caught Molly’s eye, she gave him a short nod, a silent promise to take care of Fanny. He smiled then.

And she smiled, too.

For a moment, the hostility between them faded away to nothing more than a memory.

“I’ll see you later tonight,” he said.

“Yes, you will.”

Snatching a quick breath, he shut the door between them with a resounding click.

Molly dragged in her own swift pull of air.

Glancing at her friend to determine if she’d noticed the revealing interchange, Molly caught a look of utter distress upon Fanny’s face. Something was wrong.

“Fanny?” She touched her arm. “What is it?”

“Not here.” Glancing to her right, then her left, she pulled Molly down the hallway, tugging her along until they were tucked away in a small alcove off the reception area.

Molly took stock of her friend. She’d never seen Fanny so agitated, or so unhappy. Fanny was never unhappy. There was always a ready smile on her beautiful face, her inner light even brighter since her engagement to Reese. Fanny’s amber eyes and golden hair coupled with Reese’s classic, dark good looks made them a stunning pair. They turned heads wherever they went.

Molly was pleased her friend had found a good man to marry, truly she was. Except...

Right now, Fanny looked anything but the happy bride-to-be. In truth, she looked tense, confused. Worried. “Fanny? What’s happened to upset you so?”

Fanny twisted her hands together at her waist, drew her bottom lip between her teeth, then sighed. “Molly, if I ask you a question you must promise to answer me truthfully.”

“All right.”

“How did you know when it was time to call off your weddings?”

The question dragged painful memories to the surface. She wanted to run, to forget she’d ever been engaged, but she owed her friend the truth. “I didn’t actually call—”

“Was there a moment when you looked at either of your fiancés and thought he’s not the one I’m supposed to spend the rest of my life with?”

Such a revealing question. “Oh, Fanny, are you having second thoughts about marrying Reese?”

“I...” Smoothing a shaky hand across her mouth, Fanny shut her eyes and groaned. “I don’t know what I’m feeling. I’m confused and...and...scared.”

“That’s understandable. Marriage is a big step.” Molly took her friend’s hands and gently squeezed. “It’s normal to have concerns.”

“Reese is a good man, the very best.” Fanny drew in a shuddering breath. “He gets along with my family, and I with his. But...”

“But...” Molly urged, letting go of Fanny’s hands.

“It’s nothing.” She crossed her arms at her waist. “I’m simply feeling weighed down over the wedding. The planning is getting out of hand, and I don’t want to let anyone down.”

What an odd choice of words.

“You could never let anyone down.” It wasn’t in her friend’s personality. “Everyone adores you, Fanny. Reese most of all.”

And why wouldn’t he? The woman was sweetly beautiful, well-educated, kind at the core. She never bent the rules, never made a mistake, never took a wrong step. Best of all, she’d met her counterpart in Reese.

“Your fiancé is fortunate to have you,” Molly said, believing it with all her heart. “You’re perfect for one another.”

“Yes.” Fanny nodded, then quickly looked away just as her eyes began to water. “So everyone keeps telling me.”

Yet another odd choice of words.

“Fanny, whenever I have a tough decision to make, and need to organize my thoughts,” she began, desperate to help her friend, “I apply a simple formula to determine if I’m making the right choice.”

“You always were gifted at mathematics.” Sniffing softly, a shadow of a smile on her lips, Fanny swiped at her eyes. “All right, Molly, I’m listening. What’s your latest formula?”

“Well, there are only four variables to this particular equation.” There were always only four. “First, start with prayer. Next, spend quiet time in the Bible. Number three, trust the Lord’s guidance. And, finally, most important of all, follow your heart.”

It was sound advice, Molly realized, a simple yet profound formula she needed to apply to her own life, especially now that it seemed her path would cross Garrett’s on a regular, nay daily, basis.

Step one. Start with prayer.

That’s exactly what she planned to do.

* * *

After carefully, firmly, resolutely shutting his office door in Molly’s face, Garrett had only one desire. Forget he ever touched her.

Battling unwanted emotion, he sank in the chair behind his desk and shut his eyes against the memory of Molly in his arms. The images came anyway. Both times she’d lost her balance, he’d instinctively reached for her, steadied her. The move had been as natural as taking his next breath. And for those brief moments, they’d been closer than they’d been in years, mere inches apart.

A mistake.

Memories long forgotten reared up, twining through the present, calling to mind all they’d once shared. Even now, the lingering scent of jasmine and sandalwood teased his senses, making him yearn to sweep Molly back into his arms, to start anew, to—

He cleared his throat.

Work. Garrett needed to concentrate on work, and not on Miss Molly Taylor Scott and what could never be again.

Rolling his shoulders, he repositioned the Phipps contract in front of him and picked up where he’d left off, halfway down the third page. Unfortunately, focus eluded him. And this time, it wasn’t only Molly that plagued his thoughts. Garrett couldn’t ignore the anxiety he’d caught on his sister’s face.

Fanny was not a woman prone to worry. She was a happy sort, always quick to smile, quick to laugh, ready to organize the next party. Something had clearly upset her. Garrett had to trust she would share whatever was bothering her with Molly. And that Molly would come to him if anything was truly wrong.

Nothing’s wrong.

Fanny was a grown woman of twenty-two, her future all but set. In six weeks’ time she would pledge her life to a good, decent man who cherished her beyond reason. Reese was everything Garrett could wish for his sister.

Nothing’s wrong, he told himself again and put Fanny out of his mind. Along with her beautiful, confounding friend. And all the other distractions battling for his attention.

He studied the words on the page, one sentence at a time, went on to the next and then the next. He pulled his focus in tight, filtered out everything around him. Garrett liked working alone, liked having only himself to count on—and to blame. Best that way. Less messy. Less complicated.

Focus, he ordered his wandering mind.

And he did just that, absorbing the legal language on the page as if it were as fundamental as air. It was exacting, meticulous work, and he let it consume him. This was why he’d come back to Denver—to work for this firm, overseeing business contracts, drawing up others.

Or so he told himself.

But that wasn’t completely true. He’d turned down a better position in St. Louis, one more suited to his skills, so he could be near family. He’d missed them. He’d missed...

No one else. Just his family.

Focus.

Once he was satisfied all was in order, he gathered the pages, stuffed the entire document inside a leather satchel and set it aside for his meeting tomorrow with Phineas Phipps.

He stood and rounded his desk, set on addressing the next pressing issue on his agenda—Mrs. Singletary and her unprecedented request.

Before he made it across the room, two hard raps came at the door, no more, no less. Reese’s signature knock.

“Excellent timing.” Garrett opened the door with a swift pull. “I was on my way to your office to discuss Mrs. Singletary’s business proposition.”

For a long moment the other man said nothing. He didn’t move, didn’t blink. The unnatural stillness in his stance was completely out of character, as was the cold silence.

Was he disturbed over Mrs. Singletary’s proposal? If he was, it would be out of character. Reese never begrudged another attorney’s chance to further his career. What’s good for one of us in this firm, he said often, is good for all of us. That philosophy was one of the reasons Garrett had joined the firm six months ago.

No, Reese shouldn’t have a problem with Garrett assisting the widow in the expansion of her business holdings. Something else had to be wrong. “Reese—”

“Come with me.”

Garrett nodded, even as his boss turned and headed down the hallway in swift, ground-eating strides.

Once they entered his office, Reese glanced over his shoulders. “Shut the door behind you.”

Garrett did as requested.

In silence, the other man moved behind his desk and sat. His brow creased in utter confusion, he clasped the back of his neck, circled his head and sighed heavily.

“Problem?” Garrett asked.

Reese’s jaw tightened. “You could say that.”

“Something to do with the firm?”

“No. I...” He trailed off, glanced out the window then back to Garrett. “I just spoke with Fanny.” He didn’t expand. He simply leaned back in his chair, eyes locked on a spot just over Garrett’s shoulder.

Sensing he wasn’t going to like what came next, he remained tactfully silent. But when Reese continued blinking at nothing in particular, Garrett pressed for more. “What did my sister have to say?”

Reese closed his eyes for a second and then opened them, his gaze sharply focused on Garrett now. Anger. Pain. Bafflement. All three glared out at him.

Garrett braced himself.

“Fanny broke off our engagement.”

“She...no.” Garrett exhaled roughly, completely astounded by the news. “That can’t be right.” He must have misunderstood, must have heard wrong.

“I assure you, it’s true.”

“But...” Garrett struggled for words. “She’s happy, really happy. She told me so.” Just the other day. She’d jumped into his arms and said, Oh, Garrett, I’m the most blessed woman in the world.

What had changed since then?

Something. Something she hadn’t shared with him. “What did Fanny say, exactly?”

Reese scrubbed the back of his hand across his mouth. “It wasn’t what she said so much as how she said it. She was upset, on the verge of tears. I’d never seen her like that, so...” He shuddered. “Emotional. She’s always been a steady sort, solid, even-tempered. I can’t fathom what’s put her off like this.”

None of what Reese said sounded like his sister. Not the Fanny that Garrett knew, at any rate.

“I asked her what was wrong,” Reese continued, “told her we’d work it out, together. ‘That’s what couples do,’ I said. It was as if she didn’t hear me. Or maybe she didn’t want to hear me.” He shook his head. “She just kept babbling, on and on and on, her words tumbling over one another. I could barely keep up.”

This time, Garrett spoke his thoughts aloud. “That doesn’t sound like Fanny.”

His mind kept returning to that particular point.

“No, it’s not,” Reese agreed. “She said we didn’t add up, those were the exact words she used.” He shook his head again. “We don’t add up, as if our relationship was nothing more than a mathematics equation that needed solving.”

Garrett’s blood turned cold. Ice-cold, but he remained silent, letting Reese talk.

“We don’t add up?” Reese pressed his lips into a grim line. “What sort of convoluted math was Fanny using?”

Garrett knew. God help them all, he knew.

How many times had he sat, mesmerized, as he listened to Molly applying one of her “formulas” to a personal problem? He used to find her process of applying mathematical equations to life’s troubles charming.

He wasn’t charmed now.

Garrett only had himself to blame for this disaster. He should have followed his instincts and spoken with his sister himself, rather than trust Molly to handle the problem.

“You and Fanny will work this out,” he said, determined to see it come to pass. “This is probably just a case of cold feet on her part.”

“I’m not so sure.” Angry shock leaped into Reese’s gaze. “She said she had to follow her heart.” Shadows swirled around his eyes, dark and dangerous. “Follow her heart,” he repeated, spitting out the words one by one. “What’s that supposed to mean anyway?”

“I have no idea,” Garrett admitted, feeling uneasy and puzzled over the phrase. Something tickled at the back of his mind, a distant memory, but he couldn’t capture the thought fully so he focused on what he could address. He would find out what was going on in his sister’s mind, from the source herself, sooner rather than later. In the meantime...

“Reese, don’t give up on Fanny. I’m sure she’ll be back, maybe even later today, retracting everything she said.”

“I don’t know, Garrett.” Reese inhaled a ragged breath. “She sounded quite convinced she was making the right decision.”

Perhaps. Perhaps not.

Garrett would know more once he spoke with Fanny.

Naturally, he’d make certain she was all right first, and would determine she wasn’t hiding something about Reese that none of them suspected. If all was in order, and this turned out to be just a whim on Fanny’s part, well, then, Garrett would take it upon himself to talk some sense into her.

For now, he kept his face blank, even as he struggled with the suspicion that Molly’s interference may have played a role in this debacle. It was very likely that somehow, with her own brand of twisted logic, she’d influenced Fanny to break off her engagement—as she’d done twice herself.

If he was right, if he found out Molly had said or done something to cause Fanny to beg off, Garrett wouldn’t let her off easily. She wasn’t going to smile and simper and charm her way out of this one.

No. This time, Molly would answer to him.