in mysterious ways. Her entire life felt like an unsolved mystery, and she’d long since given up on deciphering the meaning.
She opened the bedroom door and found her father standing on the other side, waiting for her. He smiled softly and nodded his approval. “You look beautiful.”
She blushed and thanked him. She didn’t feel beautiful in her plain, floor-length antique-white dress, but having her father smile and tell her so lent her some badly needed confidence. The fact he seemed so sure that marrying Riley was the right thing helped a great deal. She’d always trusted her father and had never doubted his wisdom.
George Raymond took the suitcases from her hands and led the way down the stairs. As he loaded the luggage into the back of the station wagon, Hannah stood on the porch and glanced around her one last time. Bright orange, gold and brown leaves blanketed the sloping lawn, and the skeletal limbs of the two chestnut trees that ruled the front yard rose toward the deep blue sky. She would miss all this, Hannah realized, wondering how long it would be before she returned.
The ride to Bangor took almost two hours. Her father did most of the talking. He seemed to sense how nervous Hannah was and sought to reassure her.
Chaplain Stewart, Riley, and a man and woman Hannah didn’t recognize were waiting for them in the vestibule of the base chapel. The chaplain and her father broke into immediate conversation. From the other side of the room, Riley’s eyes found hers. His facial expression didn’t alter, and he nodded once.
He looked tall and distinguished in his white dress uniform, and although it was little comfort, Hannah realized, that she was marrying a handsome man. In the days since their last meeting, she’d had repeated nightmares about him. In her dream he came at her like a huge monster, eager to devour her. Seeing him now produced a shiver of apprehension.
“If you’ll excuse us,” Hannah said, her voice barely audible, “I’d like a few minutes alone with Riley.”
The conversation came to an abrupt halt as Chaplain Stewart cast an accusing glare in Riley’s direction. If the other man’s censure disturbed him, he gave no indication. Silently he led the way to the opposite end of the room.
“You’ve changed your mind?” His tight features told her nothing of his thoughts. Perhaps that was what he was hoping she’d do.
“Have you?”
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly. “I asked first.”
“I’m…willing to go through with the wedding, if you are.”
“I’m here, aren’t I?”
He didn’t look any too pleased about it, and she decided against saying so.
“You wanted to talk to me?” he demanded gruffly.
“Yes. I thought we should reach an understanding regarding…the sleeping arrangements before we…you know…before we…”
“No, I don’t know,” he returned impatiently. His gaze narrowed sufficiently. “Listen, if you’re saying what I think you’re saying, then the deal’s off. If I’m going through the hassle of marrying you, then I want a wife, not a sister. Do I make myself understood?”
Hannah lowered her gaze, clenching her hands tightly together in front of her. “Do I have to be your…wife right away?” Her voice was soft and low.
He was silent for so long that she wasn’t sure he’d heard her. “I don’t suppose it would hurt any if we took some time to get to know one another better first.”
“That’s what I thought.” She raised her head and looked up at him, relieved that he was willing to give her the time she needed to adjust to their marriage.
“How long?” he demanded.
She blinked at the sharpness of the question. “Ah…I’m not sure. A few weeks at any rate. Possibly a couple of months.”
“A couple of months!”
Hannah was convinced the entire chapel heard him roar and would immediately guess the gist of their conversation. Her face filled with boiling color. “Couldn’t we just…well, let it happen naturally?”
His face had tightened into a brooding frown. He wasn’t pleased and didn’t bother to pretend otherwise. “I suppose.”
“Of course, we’ll be sleeping in separate bedrooms until such time that we’re both comfortable with that aspect of…our marriage.”
“Right,” he returned caustically before turning away from her. “Separate bedrooms.”
Separate bedrooms! The words repeated themselves in Riley’s mind throughout the brief wedding ceremony Hannah’s father officiated. The fact that he didn’t give Riley the chance to kiss the bride wasn’t lost on him. What he hadn’t figured out was why the old man had demanded Riley marry his daughter in the first place. His father-in-law was as straitlaced as they come. It remained a mystery why George Raymond had insisted Riley marry Hannah. Hell, if it came down to it, Riley wasn’t entirely sure what had prompted him to go through with the wedding himself. What his CO claimed had carried some weight, that was true enough, but Riley knew himself well. No one could have forced him into marrying Hannah if he’d been completely opposed to the idea. Which obviously meant, he reasoned, he wanted her as his wife.
Glancing at her now, sitting by his side as they drove to his apartment in nearby Port Orchard, gave him further cause to wonder. She hadn’t said more than a handful of words since the ceremony. He hadn’t a clue what she was thinking, but he figured she was looking for some way to get out of this.
“It was very nice of Chaplain Stewart and Lieutenant Commander Kyle to arrange housing on the base for us, wasn’t it?” she asked softly.
“Very nice,” he repeated. He wondered how many strings his CO had had to pull to come up with that. The news had come as a surprise to Riley, who’d lived in a small apartment complex for the past two years.
“When will we be moving?”
“Soon.”
“How soon?”
Hell, first he couldn’t get her to talk, now he couldn’t shut her up. “Next weekend.”
“Good. Packing will give me something to do while you’re gone during the day. Once we’ve moved, I’ll look for a job.”
“I don’t want you doing any lifting, you hear?” She flinched at his harsh tones, and he regretted speaking so forcefully. He’d recently bought a book on pregnancy and birth, and it had stated that lifting anything heavy should be avoided. Riley was surprised at the overwhelming urge he felt to protect Hannah and the baby.
“But I want to help.”
“We’ll do the packing together.” He left no room for argument.
“But what will I do every day?”
“What you normally do.”
“I’ve always worked.”
He was silent at that, not knowing
