Stirred (44 page)

Sean spooned me from behind as we lay on the sofa and made plans for the coming days.

“We have to be careful,” he said into my ear. “I don’t want to arouse anymore suspicion from Reed or Monroe. We need to keep quiet. If they get wind, they’ll probably arrest one or both of us just to thwart our plan.”

I spun over in his arms and looked up into his face. “We need to get a marriage license. After that, there’s a three-day waiting period before we can actually get married. I’ll also need to make sure the Medical Examiner’s issued Declan’s death certificate. Then there’s Ian. I’ll need to talk to him.”

“Where is he?”

“At his girlfriend’s house. Gracie’s parents have been very understanding this week, very accommodating. I just thank God he wasn’t here when they discovered that woman’s body in the woods.”

With a nod, Sean dropped his gaze.

“Though Reed wasn’t at all forthcoming about who she was or how she died, I’ll need to talk to Ian about that, too,” I continued. “I’ll text him tonight and drive over there tomorrow, early.”

“Should I be there for—”

“No,” I interrupted with a raised hand. “I need to speak to him alone. Explain everything. Make sure he understands.
Before
we get the license. He has to agree to this, Sean, otherwise, I won’t be able to go through with it. You get that, right?”

Sean nodded again, silent and solemn, his brow pinched tight.

I put a hand to his cheek. “It’ll be fine. I know Ian. Once the shock wears off, he’ll understand. But afterwards, I want him to stay put. I don’t want him to attend the ceremony.”

“Why not? It’s a special day.”

“Because it’s a circus out there. The reporters…” I shook my head.

Sean closed his eyes for a moment. “Ugh. The media. Shit, I forgot about them. They’ll be relentless, I’m sure. Follow us everywhere. Tip off the cops. We have to find a way around them.”

“Any ideas?”

“Maybe,” Sean answered, then remained silent in thought for a long moment. “I know a guy from my second-year Contracts class who works for King County Public Health. He owes me a favor. I’ll give him a call. See if he can get the death certificate. Maybe call the M.E. if it hasn’t been issued yet. As for the license, I imagine we both need to be there to apply, right?”

“Yep. But we can do it at any of the county courthouses. It might take some finagling, but…if we drive separate, we can lose any tails we might have, then meet at say…the courthouse in Issaquah? It’s the most out of the way without taking a ferry over to Vashon Island.”

Sean tapped me on the nose. “Aren’t you a little schemer?” he said then kissed me when I began to protest.

When he pulled back, I asked, “What about the big day? Any idea how we’ll pull off a wedding without anyone finding out?”

“As a matter of fact, I do. My boss, Judge Woodall, can marry us. We just need two witnesses. I can ask a couple of his other clerks.”

I leaned up on one elbow and looked at Sean. “Judge
Kemper
Woodall? That’s who you work for?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Why? You know him?”

I snorted. “Uh, yeah.”

Sean sat up and threw one leg over the edge of the sofa cushion. “That sounds a little ominous. Is this gonna be a problem?”

I shook my head. “I don’t think so. Kemper’s the one who introduced me to Jacob my freshman year in college. He hung out with me and my friends a lot. And he hated Declan.”

“What?” Sean asked with extreme interest.

“Yeah. Kemper couldn’t stand Declan, which confused Jacob a little.”

“Why’s that?”

I shrugged. “Jacob liked everyone, and everyone like him. I always got the impression Kemper thought Declan was jealous of Jacob, that he was using him for something.”

“And was he?” Sean pushed.

“No, I don’t think so. Jacob and Declan were best friends. But then everyone was really, with Jacob anyway.”

“And what about Declan? With the exception of Woodall, was Declan very popular?”

“Uh, no. Declan was weirdly possessive of Jacob. He got irritated when Jacob invited others out with us, especially Kemper. Even the night of my twenty-first birthday. Declan wanted to keep it to just us three. But Jacob wanted it to be a party, so he had a bunch of friends meet us at the bar, including Kemper. Declan wasn’t happy, but Jacob seemed to smooth things out, settle everyone down, until…well…you know…that guy killed him.”

Sean leaned back against the sofa and stared off into the room. “Huh,” was all he said, then, “That explains a lot.”

“It does?” I asked, and Sean nodded. “Like what exactly?”

Sean grinned and turned back to me. “Why Judge Woodall would sign the search warrant Reed served on me. At the time, I speculated he knew there was a conflict of interest since I’m his clerk—something Reed obviously hadn’t figured out beforehand—and he signed the warrant anyway, pretty much ruining the chance any evidence confiscated could be considered admissible in court. I thought maybe he just really liked me. But now I think it makes more sense considering the victim was someone he’d always despised. Woodall didn’t do it just to help
me
. He did it to screw Declan.”

At first, I stared at Sean, wondering why I wasn’t disgusted, or at least a little shocked. But then I couldn’t help but snicker, and the smallest of grins tugged at my mouth. Karma sure had a funny way of toying with people in the most unexpected ways.

“So Kemper will marry us then?” I asked.

Sean nodded. “Yeah, I think he will. I’ll call first thing in the morning, set everything up three days from tomorrow. We’ll run out to Issaquah, get our license, then sit tight. We should probably keep our distance until then though. Not excite the media.”

I couldn’t help but sigh in disappointment. “Three days apart, huh? It’ll feel like forever.”

Sean quirked an eyebrow. “I gotta sneak outta here. Call a cab and go pick up my car in Seattle. But I sure could use a proper send-off.”

With a Cheshire Cat grin, I scooched into Sean and curled my arms around his waist, then slowly slid his t-shirt up over his head and shoulders, marveling at the incredible physique beneath.

“Then prepare yourself for a sleepless night,” I warned.

Early the next morning, before the sun rose and the wolves gathered on the street out front, Sean slipped out through the French doors in Declan’s office at the far end of the north wing. Where a glance in the mirror showed me to be smugly satisfied, Sean appeared worked over and exhausted, but happy nonetheless. He said he needed a few hours to recharge before meeting me back up at the District Courthouse in Issaquah at one. Once he was gone, I fell instantly into the dreamless sleep only a night of marathon lovemaking could produce. Thank God Sean had set an alarm on my phone to go off at eight a.m., or I would’ve slept until dinnertime.

As it was, I felt pressed for time, but I managed to shower, shampoo, and shine with more than an hour to spare before my pre-arranged sit-down with Ian, which was a good thing since it took over thirty minutes to lose the last of the paparazzi following me. But at least I had and was able to talk to my son in private and at length.

It wasn’t an easy conversation. I had to navigate a very precarious path, delicately sharing things about his father that had or likely would make the news, while being cautious not to alienate him or adversely affect Ian’s memories of his dad. There were tears and confusion, anger and shame, but there was also love and forgiveness. And in the end, Ian handled Declan’s frailties with remarkable maturity.

My decision to marry Sean, however, not so much. Upon my news, he seemed to revert to a possessive little boy, selfishly hoarding his mother’s attention. But when I explained what a good man Sean was, how important he’d become to me, and the protection he was offering in the wake of the police department’s witch hunt, Ian came to accept, if not entirely welcome, Sean as the person I wanted to spend my life with. Much like Sean, Ian said I deserved a second chance. And I felt immense relief when, after three long hours, he ultimately offered me his blessing. With promises I’d return to see him before and after the wedding, I held him in my arms and tried my best to comfort this sensitive young man whose world had been blown to smithereens.

With my heart still aching, I decided to tackle one more chore before heading over to meet Sean. I called my mom and sister. They’d each called and texted me at least a dozen times over the last week, but, with all the stress, I’d had little patience for their unending questions and supplied them with only what had already been reported on the news. Not my finest hour, but elaborating would’ve only brought on endless rounds of tears and even more questions and revelations I wasn’t prepared to expand upon. I still wasn’t, but I needed to tell them about Sean, in case the media managed to find out and report it. I warned them up front not to quiz me on things I wasn’t ready to divulge quite yet, and they reluctantly complied, but I did promise to fill them in as soon as everything was finalized.

Our goodbyes said and tears washed away, I made it to the courthouse at exactly one, disappointed when I didn’t see Sean’s car parked in the small front lot. That quickly turned to relief once I passed through security’s metal detector and into the lobby, and there was Sean, in all his magnificent glory, standing near the Recorder’s office. He still looked tired, but happy to see me.

After a hug and a kiss, we stepped up to the window and asked for the proper application to obtain a marriage license. We filled it out, returned it, paid our fee, and were granted the license on the spot. Easy peasy—except for the three-day wait. But we’d deal with it, because we knew it was worth it. Before we left the courthouse, Sean handed me a slip of paper.

“I had it messengered over this morning. It’s your husba— I mean, Declan’s death certificate.”

I stared at the paper and felt a lump well up in my throat. Declan might not have been a good guy, but he deserved better than this, and I sniffled back a sob at the finality of it all.

Breaking the moment, Sean said, “You’re officially free to marry me now, Ms. MacLaird.”

With a deep sigh, I looked up and nodded. “Name the time and place, and I am
so
there, Mr. Bennett.”

He was all smiles. “Friday afternoon. King County Superior Court. Judge Woodall’s office. Room E-760. Be ready at four-thirty sharp.”

I returned the exact same grin and answered, “With bells on!”

Every young girl has dreams growing up—especially about her wedding. Though that dream varies from girl to girl and changes as she grows older, in the end, most women want the same thing—to stand in front of their family in a dazzling, white gown, face-to-face with their dream-mate, vowing love and fidelity until death.

I certainly had that dream, and I was lucky enough to see it come true, in opulent style, no less. Declan’s parents wanted a grand affair worthy of their name—and fortune. So, naturally, they stepped in for my mother, who couldn’t afford much of anything, let alone something even remotely close to what Declan’s folks thought their only child deserved.

Nearly five-hundred guests attended the ceremony at St. James Cathedral in Seattle, with even more at the reception held at Sand Point Country Club, right on the shores of Lake Washington. It was a day fit for royalty, and no dream I ever had even came close to the grandeur settled upon us. But, as awe-inspiring as the event turned out to be, our marriage was paradoxically unsuccessful, and, with the exception of Ian, any dream I had afterwards fizzled into nothingness. Henceforth, I learned not to dream, to have no expectations at all.