her words. “Drag in someone from outside the judge’s chambers?”
“I suppose so,” she returned, and laughed. It had been at least a week since Rich had heard her laugh. It encouraged him, and he chuckled, too.
“You haven’t heard from anyone?”
“No. You?”
Their biggest concern was that one or more of their family members would somehow find out that they’d applied for a marriage license.
In his worst nightmare Rich could envision his mother sobbing hysterically, interrupting the ceremony. She’d be furious that he was marrying Jamie without the large church wedding she’d looked forward to having for Taylor and Christy. Both of Rich’s sisters had chosen small private weddings without any family present. For that matter, so had Paul. And he was doing the same thing.
The family honor now rested in Jason’s hands.
Jason.
“Rich.” Jamie’s voice cut into his thoughts. “Don’t worry, I’ll have a witness.”
Rich got dressed in a hurry, his movements filled with purpose.
He grabbed his raincoat on his way out the door and found himself whistling once more as he unlocked his car. He checked his watch and realized he had plenty of time. More time than he knew what to do with.
He drove to his brother’s veterinary hospital in the south end of Seattle. There he saw three people in the waiting room. Two in the section marked Dogs and one little old lady clinging tightly to her cat on the other side of the room.
“Is Jason in?” he asked the receptionist.
“He’s with a Saint Bernard, but he’ll be out soon.”
Sure enough, Jason appeared five minutes later. He wore a white lab coat, but underneath, Rich knew he had on jeans and a T-shirt.
“Rich, what are you doing here?”
“Can you take an hour off later today?”
“You buying me lunch?” Jason asked.
“No. I need you to be the best man at my wedding.”
Five
Jamie was at the courthouse at the agreed-upon time, pacing the corridor outside Judge Webster’s chambers. Ten to two.
She was there, but Rich wasn’t.
If he left her standing at the altar—so to speak—she’d personally see to his tar and feathering.
She called his cell phone. No answer.
For the tenth time, she checked her watch.
Seven minutes late. The man would pay for this.
A woman Jamie assumed was the judge’s secretary stepped into the hallway. “It’s almost two. The judge can see you now.”
“Ah … hello,” Jamie said, giving the middle-aged woman her brightest smile. “My … The man I’m going to marry seems to have been detained. I’m sure he’ll be here any second.”
“I see.” She glanced at her watch as though to say the judge was a busy man.
“I’m sure he’ll be here,” she repeated. A slow death would be too good for Rich Manning if he wasn’t. “I was wondering … when Rich does arrive, would it be possible for you to be my witness?” She shouldn’t have left it to the last minute like this, but she hadn’t known who to ask.
“Of course.” The gray-haired woman returned Jamie’s smile. “Let me know as soon as your young man shows up.”
“I will, thank you.”
Jamie tried his cell again, and again he didn’t answer. She resumed her pacing. She’d made the mistake of asking for the whole day off. If she’d only taken half a day, she wouldn’t have all this time to contemplate what she was doing. In the last five minutes she’d vacillated between thinking marriage was the best solution and feeling convinced that it was the most foolish decision she’d ever made.
“Jamie.” Breathless, Rich came around the corner at a half run.
“Where have you been?” she cried, her voice cracking under the strain. She was caught halfway between abject relief and total fury. Halfway between hope and despair, trapped in a world of nagging questions and second thoughts.
Rich pulled her into his arms and hugged her close. His breathing was labored, as though he’d raced up several flights of stairs. “I got stuck in traffic.”
Jamie was about to chastise him for not allowing enough time, but she swallowed her irritation. What did it matter? He was there now. Suddenly she felt a relief so great all she wanted to do was wrap her arms around him and weep.
“Judge Webster’s secretary said we should go into his office as soon as you arrived,” she said, composing herself.
“Just a minute. We have to wait for my witness,” Rich said, smiling down at her. His beautiful blue gaze was filled with a teasing light.
“You actually brought someone with you? Who?”
“Me,” Jason Manning said, hurrying around the same corner Rich had a moment earlier. He, too, was out of breath. “Rich left me to park the car,” he said, pressing his hand over his heart. “Said if he was late for his wedding, you’d skin him alive.”
“He was right, too.”
Jamie’s gaze flew to Rich, whose expression was both tender and amused. He’d brought family! They’d discussed the subject at length and had agreed not to let any of their immediate relatives in on their plans. Not until it was necessary, which they’d calculated would be when Jamie entered the fifth or sixth month of her pregnancy.
“Bringing Jason seemed like a good idea at the time,” Rich said with a chagrined look. “He spent half the morning arguing with me. According to Jason, we’re both candidates for the loony bin.”
“We weren’t going to tell anyone, remember?” They’d decided that the fewer people who were in on this, the better. But at the rate Rich was telling people, Jamie wouldn’t be surprised to see her picture splashed across the front of a grocery-store tabloid.
“Don’t worry,” Jason inserted smoothly, “I’ve been sworn to secrecy.”
“I’ll explain everything later,” Rich promised in a low voice. He draped his arm over her shoulder and inhaled noisily, as though he still needed to catch his breath. “But right now, we’ve got a wedding to attend.”
Jamie knew the ceremony itself wouldn’t last more than a few minutes; she’d taken comfort in that. They’d be in and out of the judge’s chambers in five minutes, ten at the most.
They stood before Judge Webster, their backs stiff and straight. The judge attempted to reassure them with a smile.
Jamie
