Three Brides, No Groom (6 page)

“I’m sorry, but Judge Logan died fifty years ago,” the
receptionist replied in a polished tone without cracking a smile. “We named the
courthouse after him.”

“Oh. Then who else is there?” Gretchen demanded, although much
of her bravado had evaporated.

The woman looked sympathetic. “No one, I’m afraid.”

“OK. I guess what I really need is a good attorney.”

The receptionist’s face brightened. “I can help you with that.
Janet Mercer’s office is across the street. You tell her Maggie sent you, OK?
Whatever the problem is, Janet can help you.”

Gretchen was so grateful she could have hugged the
receptionist. “Thank you,” she said.

“No problem. Listen, I hope everything works out.”

Heeding the woman’s advice, Gretchen hurried across the street
and found Janet Mercer’s name listed, along with three others, on the door
outside a small brick office complex.

Apparently Janet didn’t have a large enough clientele to
warrant a secretary. Her office was simply a single room, with a desk, computer
and one guest chair. A woman who didn’t look much older than Gretchen herself
glanced up when she entered the room.

“Hello,” she greeted cheerfully. “I’m Janet Mercer. Can I help
you?”

“Yes.” Without waiting for an invitation, Gretchen lowered
herself into the guest chair. She spoke nonstop for five minutes, hardly pausing
long enough to breathe as she told Janet everything.

“They took him to the jail?” Janet asked.

“That’s right,” Gretchen said.

“Well, in that case, I better get over there.” Janet stood and
reached for her purse.

The attorney led the way to the jail, asking a question now and
then as they moved along the flower-lined sidewalk. Gretchen found the woman so
warm and personable, she wondered if the receptionist had steered her wrong.
What she needed was a legal warrior who would fight for Josh, not Mother
Teresa!

Janet soon proved she was everything Josh needed. The
mild-mannered attorney turned into a tigress the moment they entered the
jailhouse. She announced herself as Josh Morrow’s attorney, and as for Officer
O’Malley’s “probable cause,” she laughed in the man’s face.

Gretchen attempted to follow Janet into the interview room
where Josh was being questioned, but she was barred. With nothing else to do,
she sat with her hands tucked under her thighs in a small waiting area, while
Janet did battle alone.

A couple of times Gretchen thought she heard raised voices, but
she wasn’t able to make out the words or even figure out who was speaking. About
ten minutes later the door opened and Josh walked out of the room, freed from
the handcuffs and rubbing his wrists.

Gretchen leaped to her feet, restraining herself from rushing
forward.

Josh stopped when he saw her. And grinned. It was the biggest,
most beautiful smile she’d ever seen. She felt her own mouth relax into a
matching smile, and the next thing she knew they were rushing toward each
other.

She closed her eyes as he swept her into his arms. His hug was
fierce. Speechless, they clung to each other as if they never intended to let
go.

“Okay, you lovebirds,” someone said gruffly from behind Josh.
“Move it outside, will ya? The last thing anyone wants to see around here is a
little happiness. We don’t know how to handle it.” The officer chuckled.

Reluctantly, Josh released her. She lowered her feet to the
floor and smiled up at him, battling back emotion.

“Where’s the Harley?” he asked, looping his arm around her
shoulders.

“Right where I parked it,” she told him with more than a hint
of pride.

“You rode it into town?”

“Yup. Ten miles over the speed limit, too. I was in a
hurry.”

He stared down at her. “I don’t believe it.”

“Believe it.”

“All by yourself?”

“Yup.”

“Clearly I underestimated you.”

She grinned. “It would seem so.”

Janet appeared. “You’re free to go,” she announced.

“He is?” Gretchen couldn’t keep the delight out of her
voice.

Janet nodded and strutted across the room like a peacock with
its feathers on full display. She was obviously very pleased with herself. “This
calls for a celebration,” she said. “I don’t suppose you two have had lunch yet,
have you?”

Josh looked at Gretchen. “As a matter of fact, we haven’t had
breakfast.”

“Great. Then you’ll be good and hungry. Lunch is on me.”

Josh started to protest, but Janet stopped him, chuckling
softly. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll just add it to your bill.”

Gretchen wasn’t sure where they were headed, but they laughed
and joked like old friends as Janet led them to an outdoor barbecue place two
blocks away. The aroma of pungent sauce, alder smoke and sizzling meat made
Gretchen’s empty stomach growl. She planted her hand over it, hoping to still
the rumbling.

Josh glanced down at her and reached for her hand, lacing their
fingers together. “I’m sorry,” he said as they stood in front of the large
printed menu posted on one side of the red building. Picnic tables in bright
primary colors dotted the grassy area.

“For what?” she asked.

“Last night,” he answered, keeping his gaze trained on the
menu.

“Oh.” Why he’d chosen now, of all times, to tell her, she would
never know. Then again, maybe she did. Since he was apologizing within Janet’s
hearing, she herself couldn’t very well question what had prompted his visit
last night. Or why he’d lied. And she knew he had, because the way he’d held her
when he’d been released from custody, the way he’d pressed her close to his
heart, contradicted everything he’d said.

They all ordered the barbecued-pork sandwich, with baked beans
and corn bread. “This isn’t the fanciest place in town,” Janet said, “but I have
my reasons for choosing it.”

“What are they?” Gretchen asked.

“You’ll see soon enough.”

She was right. Halfway through their lunch, several patrol cars
arrived.

“I’d say those reasons are here,” Josh said, then licked his
fingers clean of barbecue sauce.

The attorney chuckled again. “Okay, so I like to gloat now and
again. It serves old O’Malley right. He hauled Josh in just so he could look
good for Chief Davidson. I know his tricks, and I consider it my duty to make
sure everyone else knows them, too.”

“You enjoy living on the edge, do you?” Josh teased.

“Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Gretchen noticed how Janet’s gaze zeroed in on one particular
officer. She recognized the longing in the other woman’s expression; she’d felt
the same thing herself in the past couple of days. Janet dragged her eyes back
to her lunch with a resignation Gretchen could almost feel. The young attorney
had been happy and animated moments earlier, but she grew suspiciously quiet
now.

“Someone you know?” Gretchen asked, motioning with her head
toward the tall athletic-looking officer.

“Yeah, I know him.” Janet pushed aside what was left of her
lunch. “His name’s Gary Foreman. Unfortunately we don’t see eye to eye on a
number of important issues and—”

“You like him, though, don’t you?” Gretchen asked.

“Does it show that much?”

“Yeah, it does.”

“Oh, dear.” Janet lowered her gaze. “We’re constantly at odds
with each other. At one time…well, never mind, it isn’t important now. He’s very
good at his job, and unfortunately, so am I.”

Gretchen stood, then reached for her empty paper plate and
Janet’s almost full one. She walked over to the Dumpster and deposited them both
there. On the return trip, she routed herself past the table where Gary sat
alone, his back to Janet. She would say one thing for the attorney—she had
excellent taste. Gary Foreman was exceptionally good-looking.

“Hello,” she said, boldly meeting his eyes.

“Hi.” He sounded hesitant, suspicious.

“Why don’t you come over and join us? My friend and I are
having lunch with Janet Mercer. I think you know her, and since you’re eating
alone…”

Gary frowned, his thick dark brows drawing together. “Who on
earth are you?” he asked, instead of replying.

She had his attention, she noted. “Gretchen Wise. Janet’s
wonderful. She just got my friend released after he was arrested. It was a case
of mistaken identity.”

His frown deepened, and he stared at her as if he thought she
might be crazy. Then he suddenly got up, picked up his lunch and gestured for
her to lead the way.

“What were you two talking about?” Josh demanded as she and
Gary reached the table.

“Nothing important,” she said, and winked at Janet, who was
staring in shock at Gary.

As soon as he sat down, Gretchen turned to Josh and said, “I
think it’s time we left.”

“I think so, too,” he quickly agreed.

They thanked Janet, ignoring her wide-eyed insistence that they
stay, and Josh wrote down an address where she could send him a bill. As they
walked away, he started hammering Gretchen with questions. “What the hell
prompted you to do that?” he demanded. “You don’t even know the guy.”

“Shh.” She walked across the street and pulled him behind a
huge fir tree. “Tell me what’s happening back there.”

He rolled his eyes.

“Josh, I’m serious. Are they talking?”

“It looks that way.”

“Cool!” She’d never done anything as bold or as crazy in all
her twenty-two years.

“Well, I’ll be,” he muttered.

“What? Tell me!” She didn’t dare look herself, because she
didn’t want either of them to know she was watching.

“Janet just tossed my address in the garbage.”

So Janet appreciated her little conversation with Officer
Foreman. “Good. Now let’s get out of here before someone else finds an excuse to
arrest you.”

“My sentiments exactly,” he said. “Now, where did you say my
bike was?”

“I parked it in front of the courthouse,” she told him.

“I can’t get over you driving the Harley,” he said, and linked
his fingers with hers.

“I couldn’t very well leave it at the gas station, could I?”
She reached into her jeans pocket and retrieved the key.

Josh walked across the street and stroked the motorcycle the
way a man might touch the woman he loves and hasn’t seen in far too long. He
stowed her purse for her, then eased himself onto the seat, inserted the key
into the ignition and gave it a twist.

Nothing. Not even a cough.

He glared at Gretchen. “What on earth did you do?”

Chapter 5

J
osh was furious. He seemed to be accusing
her of some unspeakable crime against his beloved Harley. “This is a delicate
machine.”

“What did I do?” she repeated with dead calm. “Let me see,” she
said, playing dumb and striking a thoughtful pose. She tapped her index finger
against her cheek as she mulled over what terrible abuse she might have
inadvertently heaped on his most cherished possession.

“You must have done something!”

That did it. Her temper had never been explosive, but she’d had
it. His accusation detonated her anger to such a degree that she could feel her
pulse pound in her temples like a hammer against an anvil. Her hands knotted
into tight balls at her sides.

“Sure I did!” she shouted. “First of all I saved your precious
Harley from being impounded. Then I made a raging idiot of myself in the
courthouse, demanding to see a judge who’s spent the past fifty years pushing up
marigolds.” She pointed at the building, in case he didn’t appreciate her
sacrifice, which clearly he didn’t. “Then I found you the best attorney in three
counties to get your sorry butt out of jail. And that’s just for starters.”

He tried to speak, but she wouldn’t let him.

“Tell me, Josh, what have I gotten in exchange?”

“You shouldn’t have done it.”

“What? Ride your precious bike?”

“No, gotten involved.”

“You honestly think I should have left you there?” He was being
ridiculous.

He didn’t hesitate. “Yeah, that’s what I think. I told you
before, and I meant it.”

“I heard you the first time—I’m not your type.” He was
purposely picking a fight with her, and she couldn’t understand it. Minutes
earlier they’d been joking and having fun. He’d hugged her as if she held the
key to his sanity.

“The last thing I need is some society girl fawning all over
me,” he grumbled.

His words stung. “OK,” she said. “If that’s the way you feel,
then I think it would be best if we each went our separate ways. I’ll find my
own way home from here.” She whirled around and started walking.

She was half a block away when he called after her, “I promised
I’d get you to San Francisco, and I don’t make promises lightly.”

Nonchalantly turning around, she waved an imaginary magic wand.
“I hereby absolve you of your promise. You’re free to go.”

“I won’t chase after you, Gretchen.” His eyes were hard, his
jaw tight and stubborn, and she couldn’t doubt he meant what he said.

“I wouldn’t want you to.” With her back to him once again, she
continued walking as if she were strolling through a meadow filled with
wildflowers and hadn’t a care in the world. Her pride got her as far as the city
park, all of five blocks from the courthouse. By that time the sick feeling in
the pit of her stomach had overtaken her. The knot in her throat had grown so
tight it was all she could do to keep from weeping.

She found a picnic table and sat on the top with her feet
resting on the bench. She reviewed her options. Normally, in volatile situations
she was the one with a cool head. Her ability to remain calm in difficult
situations had been one of her strengths as student-body president. This simply
wasn’t like her.

She drew in a ragged breath and attempted to clear her mind.
With her cell in her purse back on the Harley, a pay phone near the refreshment
stand in the center of the park appeared to be her only option. Her parents were
due back in San Francisco that day, though she didn’t know what time their
flight arrived. If she called them collect, they could wire her the funds to see
her home. But worrying them was the last thing she wanted to do. The minute they
learned of her plight, her mother was sure to panic, and her father wouldn’t be
much better.

Three days after her college graduation and she was on the
street, no better off than a bag lady. No, worse than a bag lady. Everything
she’d brought with her was packed on Josh’s Harley. She didn’t even have her
identification with her.

She covered her face with both hands, questioning how she could
have done anything as stupid as walk away from her purse, all her funds and
clothes, and any chance she had of helping herself.

Janet Mercer would help her, Gretchen realized, but she would
feel foolish asking, after rushing in and extolling Josh’s virtues to the
attorney earlier. Well, she had no one to blame but herself. She’d gotten
herself into this ridiculous mess, and by heaven, she would get herself out—one
way or another.

The thought had no more filtered through her mind when she
heard the distinctive sound of a motorcycle. Her heart reacted with a wild surge
of hope, but that quickly died. Josh had made a point of telling her that he
wouldn’t chase after her, and she didn’t doubt for an instant that he’d meant
it.

Nevertheless, it was Josh who slowly cruised past the park, his
eyes searching the grounds. The temptation to raise her arm and wave him over
was strong, but pride dictated that she do nothing. If he was really searching
for her, he would see her. Still, she had to practically sit on her hands to
keep from flagging him down.

Josh saw her, Gretchen was certain, and she tilted her head
away, hoping to give the impression of royalty assessing her surroundings. But
he didn’t stop. Instead, he drove on past.

Perhaps he was expecting her to come rushing after him and beg
him to take her home. Squeezing her eyes closed, she swallowed her
disappointment. Josh Morrow’s pride was legendary; he’d stood up to Dean
Williams and hadn’t flinched. He would have no problem walking away from
her.

Just when she was ready to swallow her dignity and go to Janet
for help, she heard the motorcycle a second time. Her heart raced as she watched
Josh approach. Straightening her spine, she sat up, refusing to allow him to see
how distressed she actually was.

He pulled into an empty parking slot at the tree-lined curb and
turned off the engine. He took his own sweet time removing his helmet and
climbing off the bike. Fascinated, she watched how every movement he made seemed
to be in slow motion. Not until he opened a saddlebag did she realize the reason
he’d come back. At least he had the decency to return her belongings.

He approached her with all the enthusiasm of a man walking
toward the electric chair. He could have been a robot for all the emotion he
expressed. His gaze was as hard and unreadable as when she’d left him in front
of the courthouse. Wordlessly, he set the tote bag on the picnic table beside
her.

“Thank you,” she mumbled. She bit her lower lip to keep from
saying more.

“It was the electrical connector,” Josh told her. “It’d
vibrated loose.”

She wanted to ask him if she’d somehow been responsible for
that, but resisted. Most likely he would be quick to blame her if she was and
reluctant to admit otherwise if not. His hesitation told her everything she
wanted to know.

The words hung between them like a thick London fog.

He glanced over his shoulder at the Harley, as if eager to
depart. Then he studied her for a moment. Was he assessing the damage his
carelessly flung accusations had done? At last he said, “I meant what I said. I
won’t beg you to come with me.”

“I know.”

He cracked a smile, not of amusement, but tempered with
chagrin. “You can be stubborn.”

He hadn’t seen the half of it.

He continued to study her; then his eyes softened. “Goodbye,
Gretchen.”

He started back to his Harley, and she wound the straps of the
tote bag around her hand. “Josh!” she cried, leaping off the table.

He turned back to face her.

She wasn’t sure what she wanted to say. Even if she
had
known, she wasn’t sure she could have squeezed the
words past the thickness in her throat. Earlier he’d clung to her, and now he
was walking away from her and showing no regret. Worse, she was letting him.

“Yes?” he said.

She bit her lip and shook her head. “Nothing.”

His shoulders momentarily stiffened and then just as quickly
sagged in defeat. “Gretchen, listen—”

“I’m not a society girl.” Of all the ridiculous things he’d
said to her, that one hurt the most. She shook her head and then said what was
on her mind. “Why do you want to argue with me? Do I scare you that much?” Her
gaze didn’t budge from his. They’d come this far, and she wasn’t about to lose
him now. Her heartbeat felt like a crash of cymbals inside her chest. She read
the confusion in his eyes, the restraint.

“Yeah, I guess you do,” he admitted reluctantly. Then he held
out his hand to her. “Come on, it’s time we got back on the road.”

“You’re sure you want my company?”

He stepped forward and tenderly cupped her cheek. When he spoke
again, his voice was low and gravelly. “Yeah, I’m sure.”

She rewarded his honesty with a fierce hug. She was giddy with
happiness.

When she climbed onto the Harley behind him and wrapped her
arms around his middle, he placed his palm over her fingers and squeezed
them.

When he turned the key in the ignition, the bike quickly roared
to life.

As they pulled back onto the highway, she tried to analyze what
had just happened.

With the wind pummeling her from all sides, and the sun beating
down on her head, she kept her eyes trained on the passing scenery and her
thoughts focused on the events of the past several days. Josh cared about her.
He didn’t like it, but he cared. She cared about him, too. So much that it
sometimes hurt. After all, she’d cared about Roger, too.

It troubled her that she hadn’t recognized the kind of man
Roger was sooner. The signs had been there. His lack of attention. His
unexplained absences. The careless, almost lackadaisical attitude toward their
meeting times. His frequent excuses.

She’d been blind to it all. Often she’d even been grateful when
he arrived late, because she herself had been so busy. Her duties on the student
council had demanded a great deal of time and effort, never mind her
studies.

Then there was the matter of their parents. Roger’s mother, in
particular. Stella Lockheart had done everything she could to encourage the
romance, done everything she could to make matters easy for the two of them.
Gretchen’s parents had met Roger’s, and the two couples had gotten along
famously.

Another thing, Gretchen realized with new insight, was her
complete unwillingness to become physically involved with Roger before they’d
spoken their vows. While she believed strongly in the importance of waiting
until after the wedding, it shouldn’t have been that easy. They were two healthy
young adults who were supposed to have been deeply in love.

If she’d been engaged to Josh, the physical temptations would
have been far more difficult to withstand. She sighed at the thought.

Josh slowed the Harley, and she realized they were stopping at
the border between Oregon and California. The uniformed officer at the
checkpoint asked them a few simple questions about transporting fruit before
waving them through.

California. She smiled, knowing she was close to home. But she
felt sad, too, because her wild adventure with Josh would soon be over.

At six they stopped for dinner, splurging on seafood at a
casual restaurant overlooking the Pacific. Although the view was breathtaking,
Gretchen found her attention focused on Josh. She saw him in a fresh light. Not
as the rebellious bad boy who went out of his way to challenge authority, but as
a man who welcomed the chance to prove himself. A man filled with potential and
intelligence, fighting his past, struggling to discover who he was and forge a
promising future.

“Have you decided what you’d like to order?” he asked as he set
aside the menu.

“Yes.” She smiled at him.

The waitress appeared, and Josh ordered the blackened salmon
while she opted for crab Louie. Neither of them seemed to have much to say, but
she was deeply aware of how involved with him she already felt.

He held her hand, lacing their fingers together in the middle
of the table, until their dinners arrived. Although it had been hours since
lunch, neither of them was particularly hungry. Gretchen managed to finish the
crab and the hard-boiled egg, but the lettuce and olives remained untouched.

“Too bad they don’t need a dishwasher,” she said, reminding him
of yesterday morning in Cannon Beach.

He grinned. “Or a waitress.”

“Oh, I think they’d be grateful I’m not waiting tables.”

Their eyes met as they smiled.

“I suppose we should get back on the road,” he said.

She wished they could have lingered but knew it was best they
press on. Unless they had to stop for gas, their next stop would be San
Francisco and her family home. She nearly laughed aloud at the thought of
introducing Josh to her family. Her parents wouldn’t know what to think when
they met him, with his Harley and that chip on his shoulder. The last time she’d
talked to her parents, she’d still been engaged to Roger.

When at last they rolled into the City by the Bay, it was after
ten o’clock. Night had settled long ago, and the stars twinkled like fairy dust
against the black velvet sky. It took another forty-five minutes to reach Daley
City and her family home. As he parked the Harley by the curb, she removed her
helmet and glanced toward the wide front porch of the three-story structure. Her
parents had had the turn-of-the-century house extensively remodeled several
years back by one of the city’s most renowned architects. The renovation had
enhanced the beauty, grace and style of a bygone era.

“Nice place,” Josh said.

“I’ve always loved it.”

“How long have you lived here?” He glanced around the upscale
neighborhood.

“How long?” she asked, surprised by his question. “All my
life.”

He glanced at her and announced, in an aloof tone, “In my
entire life, I’ve never lived anywhere longer than twelve months. I wouldn’t
know what to call home.”