told you to stay away from Gretchen,” Roger snarled at Josh. As though she needed his protection, he reached out and grabbed hold of her arm.
“I suggest you let go of her,” Josh said, his voice deceptively calm.
Roger ignored him. “Come on, Gretchen, let’s get out of here.”
She jerked her arm free of his grasp and met his look squarely. “I haven’t finished thinking about you and me yet.”
Anger flared in Roger’s dark eyes. “What’s Morrow doing here?”
“What do you care?” Josh asked, his words a challenge.
Roger glared at Josh and seemed to be weighing the odds of engaging in a fistfight, then decided against it. Wisely, she thought.
“Gretchen, I think you’d better come with me,” he said, calmer this time.
“I’m not ready to leave yet.” She wasn’t looking to defy Roger, but she needed time to deal with a multitude of pressing questions. Decisions had to be made, the consequences of which she would have to live with for the rest of her life.
Again Roger’s eyes flared with anger.
“You heard the lady,” Josh inserted smoothly, with that cocky grin of his.
Gretchen whirled on him. “I can do my own talking, thank you.”
“Fine.” Josh raised his right hand in a mocking gesture of peace.
Tight-lipped, Roger said, “Either you get out of here, Morrow, or I’m calling security. Your kind isn’t welcome around here. Why don’t you go visit your daddy in prison? Have a good look around, since that’s where you’re headed yourself.”
Josh looked unconcerned, which only served to anger Roger more. But Gretchen noticed the vein in Josh’s temple throb and knew Roger’s words had affected him.
“You should have been expelled long ago,” Roger added, then doubled up his fist and took a wild swing at Josh, who didn’t so much as blink when the punch went wide.
“Maybe Dean Williams is looking for a valid excuse to be rid of me,” Josh suggested casually. “What he really needs is a charge that’ll stick. How about assault?” As he spoke, his fist shot out and exploded against Roger’s nose.
Stunned, Roger stumbled backward. His hand flew to his face, and blood oozed between his fingers. “I’m bleeding!” he cried in horror. “Now you’ve done it, Morrow,” he threatened. “You’re finished at this school. I’ll make sure of that.”
“I can’t tell you how worried I am.” Josh reached for his helmet and climbed aboard his motorcycle. He started the engine and then, as though in afterthought, he turned and looked at Gretchen. His eyes locked with hers as he slowly extended his arm to her.
She hesitated, unsure what to do.
“Go with him and the engagement is off,” Roger threatened.
It was all the incentive she needed. She slipped the diamond ring off her finger and tossed it to Roger, then leaped onto the motorcycle behind Josh.
He revved the engine, spewing exhaust at Roger, then raced off in the direction of the sun.
Chapter 2
Gretchen had never ridden on a motorcycle before. She wrapped her arms tightly around Josh’s waist as they headed down the narrow asphalt pathway. When he changed gears, she could hear Roger shouting curses after them. Closing her eyes, she savored the look of shock and dismay on Roger’s face when she’d returned his ring and leaped onto the back of the Harley with Josh. In retrospect, her actions had been foolhardy, but also purely instinctual. As the wind whipped her hair around her face, she smiled. This one small act of rebellion had cheered her considerably.
They sped across the school parking lot toward the busy four-lane street that bordered the university. Gretchen didn’t have a clue where Josh was taking her, and at the moment she didn’t care. She angled her face into the wind, letting it dry the tears from her cheeks. For the first time since Didi had confronted her, the oppressive tightness surrounding her heart lessened.
Josh eased to a stop in a restaurant parking lot several blocks from the university. He twisted in the seat to look at her, keeping the huge bike balanced between his legs.
“Where do you want me to take you?” he asked.
“Where?” she repeated, not knowing how to answer him. It would have suited her to ride off into the sunset and forget everything. Forget Didi. Forget Roger and the ugly scene by the fountain. Forget that she had less than fifty dollars cash on her and nowhere to go.
“To the airport?” Josh suggested.
“I…Roger’s mother has my ticket. I’d originally planned to spend a week with her putting the finishing touches on our wedding plans.”
Josh glared at her. “You’re not going to ask for that creep’s ring back, are you?”
“No.” And she meant it. Despite all the time and energy—and emotion—that had gone into the wedding plans, she could not accept what he’d done. One part of her had wanted to look past his infidelity and pretend everything would eventually be all right. But the other part knew their relationship would never be the same again. If Roger was unfaithful before they were married, she could never trust him after the wedding. He was nowhere near ready to be a husband.
“Good,” Josh said. “You deserve better.”
“Could you take me to Mary Ann Seawright’s?” she asked. Mary Ann was a friend who lived nearby. Gretchen could stay there until her parents returned from British Columbia. Of course, she could always contact Mrs. Lockheart about her airline ticket, but she preferred not to. She feared Roger’s mother would attempt to change her mind, and Gretchen lacked the emotional energy to lock horns with the woman. If anyone was forced to deal with her, it should be Roger. Gretchen preferred to sever all ties.
“Does Roger know Mary Ann?” Josh asked.
“Yes. She goes out with his friend Bill Beckett. The four of us often double-dated.” Of course, she realized, that meant Roger would soon know exactly where she’d gone.
“Where’s home?” Josh asked next.
She bit her lower lip. Home had never seemed so far away. “San Francisco, but my parents are on vacation. They won’t be back for several days.” Not until then did she realize she had no means of getting home, anyway. Unlike so many other parents, hers had never chosen to give her an all-purpose credit card, and she had run her bank balance down to nearly nothing in preparation for setting up a new joint account with Roger.
That cocky half grin of Josh’s slid into place. “As it happens, I’m headed in that direction. You can ride along with me, if you want. I’ll drop you off in Frisco and continue on my way.” He paused as if to read her reaction to his offer. “Fact is, I’d welcome the company.”
Gretchen wasn’t sure how to answer. While it was true that he was offering her a way out of a tricky situation, she didn’t really know Josh Morrow. His reputation would
