life. Perhaps he shouldn’t have been so accommodating, then she might be more understanding of the desires of his heart.
At least his father appeared to be more understanding. He looked at Emma Jane with an expression of warmth that convinced Jasper that things would eventually work out. “Emma Jane is also right. We should be doing what we can to support Jasper. Doing everything we can to assist him will keep him much safer than if we’re working against him.”
Jasper’s father held out his hand to Jasper. “I promise not to interfere. And if there are resources I can provide, say the word, and it’s yours.”
This time, the victory felt real as Jasper shook his father’s hand. Even though Jasper could tell his mother was holding back tears. A Jackson did not cry in public, but he knew his mother would be home and in bed with a headache later, the acceptable excuse for sobbing her heart out.
He should feel bad, and part of him did, but he was used to his mother brandishing tears to manipulate people’s feelings. More important, though, were the tears that needed to be shed for a woman who had no one to cry for her.
That had to be his focus. Not guilt over everyone else’s overwrought emotions.
Jasper looked over at Emma Jane, then back at his father.
“Keep Emma Jane safe.” Then he took another deep breath. “I’m sure everything will be fine, but if something should happen to me, take care of her.”
“I will.”
Two words, as solemn as the wedding vows he’d spoken. His father would keep the promise, just as Jasper would keep his.
“I don’t need to be kept safe,” Emma Jane huffed, but her tigress look faded as his father met her eyes.
An unspoken agreement seemed to pass between them as his father turned his attention back to Jasper. “I’m going to get your mother home. I’ll let you have a private moment to say goodbye to your bride.”
His parents turned away, leaving Jasper alone with Emma Jane.
“I think we’ve said all we need to say,” Jasper stated tersely.
“I meant what I said about helping you.”
“You can’t ride out with us.”
Emma Jane nodded slowly. “I wasn’t asking to. But I’ll be talking to the women, and I will get information to assist you.”
Her plan seemed harmless enough, but that was precisely the problem. Nothing about the people he pursued was harmless, and even if the women here knew something they could use, Emma Jane knowing could put her in danger.
“Please don’t.” He took her hands in his. “I know you mean well. But they will kill you, Emma Jane. If they think you know anything that can hurt them, they will kill you.”
He hated being so blunt with her, but he didn’t know any other way to put it.
“Don’t you remember?” she said, too lightly to be anything than covering up her pain. “Everyone thinks I’m an idiot. The only perceived threat people see in me is that I’ve dashed the marital aspirations of every woman in this town. Instead of fearing that the bandits will kill me, you should be more fearful that one of your adoring fans will do it so they can take my place.”
A little harsh, but as he remembered the vitriol aimed at Emma Jane since their wedding, she probably wasn’t too far off the mark. Every woman in town wished them ill. No, not them. Emma Jane. She’d snatched the town’s most eligible bachelor out from their noses. Despite their marriage, the rumors and innuendoes hadn’t stopped.
“I’m sorry,” Jasper said quietly. “I wish it were easier for you.”
Oddly enough, he spoke the truth. Emma Jane hadn’t been the first to try to trap him into marriage. Every girl in town had, at some point, contrived some scheme to attempt to compromise herself with him. Emma Jane had merely been the one to succeed. And they all hated her for it.
“It will be,” Emma Jane reassured him with a small smile. “Once I help you bring down the bandits, everyone will see that I am a credit to you. A credit to this town. A woman worthy of respect.”
“You don’t need to put your life at risk for that. I promise you, Emma Jane, once this is all over, I will do everything I can to fix things. But for now, you have to trust me. Your respectability is not worth your life. Continue to occupy yourself with the pastor’s ministry, but don’t get involved with this case.”
She appeared to consider his words, nodding slowly.
“I really do have to go.” Then he locked eyes with her, squeezing her hand. “The most important part of marriage to me, the part ours is lacking, is trust. Trust me, and stay out of this. If you do this, our marriage will have the foundation it needs for us to have a future. Do you understand?”
Emma Jane’s eyes filled with tears as she nodded again. Maybe there was hope for their relationship, after all.
As they started to turn to leave, Mary and Pastor Lassiter entered the office.
“I was just coming to find you,” Emma Jane said, a happy smile finally filling her face.
As much as everyone talked about Emma Jane’s unfortunate appearance, Jasper couldn’t help but think that many of them had never seen Emma Jane smile. When she smiled, it lit up her whole face, and even her eyes sparkled. Jasper had escorted many of the town’s beauties, and not one had a smile like Emma Jane’s. Jasper shook his head. These thoughts had no business popping up. Not when he had so many more important matters to think of.
Pastor Lassiter returned her smile. “I’m glad to have run into the both of you. Your wedding was such a rushed affair, and then everything that happened with Rose, I fear that I haven’t done my duty by the both of you.”
“We understand, Pastor,” Jasper said smoothly. “I’ve also been occupied. The remaining bandits still need to be caught, and I’ve accepted a deputy position to help make it happen.”
Pastor Lassiter’s brow furrowed. “You should be spending your time getting to know your bride. Emma Jane’s a lovely woman, and she needs the support of her husband right now.”
Why was everyone so worried about Emma Jane? She’d gotten what she wanted—the Jackson name. In the meantime, there were some very bad men on the loose, and another young woman potentially in danger.
“Emma Jane will be fine. We have the rest of our lives to get to know each other.” Jasper didn’t want to add that since there was no love between them, they’d need all that time—and more—to bridge the gap between them.
But if they could build the trust he asked for, perhaps, as Pastor Lassiter had said the day of their wedding, love could grow.
“People are talking,” the pastor said slowly. “I don’t like to give credence to gossip, but in Emma Jane’s case, the longer you remain absent from your wife, the worse it will be for her.”
The pained expression on Emma Jane’s face almost made him feel guilty. He’d been busy for most of the time in the days since their wedding, but he’d seen how people had treated her at the wedding
