'You gave me one hell of a scare, you know that?' Will’s voice was gruff with emotion.
'You needed it, you stubborn thing.'
'I know. But I thought I’d lost you and Elly too.'
'Oh, bosh, Mr. Parker. You’ll have to do more than act like a complete fool to lose either one of us.'
He chuckled, the sound reluctantly escaping his taut throat. They rocked for several seconds.
'Thank you,' he whispered and kissed her ear.
She patted his hard back, her purse rapping his hip, then blinked forcefully, pulled away and donned her didactic facade again. 'I’ll expect you back at work next Monday, as usual.'
With his hands resting on her shoulders, Will’s attractive brown eyes fell to her face. A crooked smile lifted a corner of his mouth. 'Yes, ma’am,' he drawled.
Collins interrupted.
'You gonna hold that woman all day or let somebody else have a crack at her?'
Surprised, Will stepped back. 'She’s all yours.'
'Well, good, because I thought I might take her over to my house and feed her a little brandy-see what develops. What do you say, Gladys?' Miss Beasley was already blushing as Collins commandeered her. 'You know, when we were in high school I always wanted to ask you on a date, but you were so smart you scared the hell out of me. Do you remember when-'
His voice faded as he marshaled her toward the door. Elly slipped her arm through Will’s and together they watched the pair leave.
'Looks like Miss Beasley’s got herself an admirer at last.'
'Two of them.' Elly grinned up at him.
He covered her hand, squeezed it tightly against his arm and let his eyes linger in hers. 'Three.'
'Mr. Parker, I’m from the
On tiptoe, Elly whispered in Will’s ear, 'Answer him, please, so we can get rid of him. I’ll wait in the car.'
'No, you don’t!' He tightened his hold. 'You’re staying right here with me.'
They weathered the questions together, begrudging every moment that kept them from privacy but learning that a warrant had already been issued for the arrest of Harley Overmire and he was already in custody. When asked to comment, Will only replied, 'He’ll need a good lawyer and I know a damned fine one I could recommend.'
It was nearing dusk when Elly and Will escaped to their car at last. The sun glowed low along the rough stone building they left behind, lighting it to a pale copper. On the grounds of the courthouse the camellias were in full bloom, though the branches of the ash trees were bare, casting long thin shadows along the hood of their ramshackle automobile which sported a wrinkled front bumper and one blue fender on a black body.
When Elly headed for the passenger side, Will tugged her in the opposite direction. 'You drive,' he ordered.
'Me!'
'I hear you learned how.'
'I don’t know if Miss Beasley would agree with that.'
He glanced at the bumper and the fender. 'Banged ’er up a little, did you?'
'A little.'
'Who put the new fender on?'
'Me’n Donald Wade.'
Will regarded his wife with glowing eyes. 'You’re some woman, you know that, Mrs. Parker?'
A glow kindled deep within Elly. 'Since I met you,' she answered quietly.
They let their eyes linger for another devout moment before he ordered, 'Get in. Show me what you learned.'
He clambered in the passenger side and left her no choice. When the engine was revved she clutched the wheel, manhandled the stubborn shift, took a deep breath-'Okay… here goes'-and promptly drove onto the sidewalk, hitting the brakes in a panic, jouncing them till their heads hit the roof and rebounded toward the windshield.
'Dammit, Will, I’m scared to death of this thing!' She socked the steering wheel. 'It never goes where I want it to!'
He laughed, rubbing the crown of his head. 'It brought you to Calhoun to hire a lawyer, didn’t it?'
She felt herself blush, wanting to appear competent and prove how worldly she’d become in his absence. 'Don’t tease me, Will, not when this-this piece of junk is acting up.'
His voice softened and lost its teasing note. 'And it brought you to Calhoun to visit your husband.'
Their eyes met-sober, yearning eyes. His hand took hers from the wheel, his thumb rubbed her knuckles.
'Elly-is it true? Are you pregnant?'
She nodded, a trembling smile tilting her lips. 'We’re gonna have us a baby, Will. Yours and mine this time.'
Words eluded him. Emotion clotted his throat. He reached for the back of her neck and her belly, placing a hand on each, drawing her across the seat to rest his lips against her forehead. She closed her eyes and put both hands over his widespread right hand, covering the life within her body.
'A baby,' he breathed at last. 'Imagine that.'
She pulled away to see his eyes. For infinite seconds they gazed, then suddenly both laughed.
'A baby!' he cheered.
'Yes, a baby!' She took his head in both hands and ruffled his hair. 'With shaggy blond hair and big brown eyes and a beautiful mouth like yours.' She kissed it and his lips opened to taste her, possess her, gratify her. His hand moved on her stomach, slid lower and made her shiver.
Against her lips he said, 'When this one’s born you’ll have a doctor.'
'All right, Will,' she answered meekly.
He deepened his kiss and his caress until she was forced to remind him, 'Will, there are still people going by.'
Drawing a tortured breath he released her and said, 'Maybe I’d better drive after all. We’ll get there faster.' The door slammed behind him and he jogged around the hood while she slid over. As he put the car in reverse he warned, 'Hang on to that young one. We don’t want to shake her loose.' He backed down the curb, bouncing them a second time, while Elly clutched her stomach and they both laughed.
They drove around the courthouse square and out onto Highway 53, headed southeast. Behind them the sun sank lower. Before them the road climbed out of the valley, lifting them through rolling woodland that soon would burgeon with green. Will rolled down the window and breathed deep of the fresh winter air. He locked his elbows, caught the wheel with his thumbs and thrust his wrists forward, tasting freedom, drinking it like one parched.
Free. And loved. And soon to be a father. And befriended. And accepted-even admired-by a town that sprang to his defense. And all because of one woman.
It overwhelmed Will.
Abruptly he pulled off the highway, bumped along a field access and pulled up behind a clump of leafless willows. In one motion he killed the engine and turned to his wife.
'Come here, green eyes,' he whispered, loosening the knot of his tie. Like heat lightning she moved into his embrace. Their lips and breasts met and their tongues, cautious no longer, made reckless sweeps. Crushed together, they healed.
He broke away to hold her head and gaze into her eyes. 'I missed you so damn much.'
'Not as much as I missed you.'
'You cut your hair.' He scraped it back with both hands, freeing her face for his adoring gaze.
'So I’d look up-to-date for you.'
He scanned her countenance, hairline to chin, and wondered aloud, 'What did I ever do to deserve you?'
'Don’t thank me, Will, I-'
He cut her off with a kiss. As it lengthened they grew breathless, feeling the bond strengthen between them. At last he freed his mouth. 'I know everything you did. I know about the honey, and the ads, and the witnesses you found, and the car you had to learn to drive and the town you had to face. But the house, Elly. My God, you faced that house, didn’t you?'
