happened!”
“I know that. You know that, and so does Mr. Slade. But the old ways of looking at things are pretty much set in stone. It would take a strong person to flaunt those customs. Are you that person?”
Blythe sighed. She knew she wasn’t. She hated strife and turmoil and being the topic of conversation. And she hated the notion of being forced into a marriage with a man she didn’t even know. “You did.”
“I didn’t have much choice after Lucas kicked me out and took my boys from me.” She smoothed the hair away from Blythe’s face. “I think we should take a wait-and-see attitude. A lot will depend on how much pressure Win puts on Mr. Slade, and a lot will depend on Mr. Slade’s character.”
Libby rose from the bed. “You sleep for a while. Things may look different after a few hours.”
“She talks like she isn’t going to do it,” Libby told her son as he ate the breakfast she’d fixed for him while he returned to his house to get ready for Sunday services.
“She’ll marry him,” he said, pinning his mother with a determined look. “We have to do something to stop this insane course she’s on.”
Libby sat down across from him and rested her forearms on the table. “What insane course is that, Win?” she asked with a lift of her shapely eyebrows.
Win frowned. “She’s obviously not very good at making the right choices. She needs a strong man to keep her in line.”
“Oh, good grief!” Libby cried, losing all patience with her stepson. Having borne the brunt of a man’s controlling nature herself during her first marriage, she had little tolerance for some of the ridiculous moral codes one was expected to live by. “She helped a sick man, Win! She didn’t run off with him.”
“Not this time,” he reminded.
“That isn’t fair. You know as well as I do that she had no idea who Devon Carmichael was or what he was up to, just as I had no clue about the kind of man Lucas Gentry was when I married him. Any young woman might have done the same.”
“Maybe,” Win acknowledged.
“There’s no maybe to it. You know I’m right. Your poor sister was almost destroyed when she found out the truth about Devon, and she’s a long way from being over it. I know time can change things, but I fear she may never trust another man with her heart.”
Win’s mouth twisted into a wry smile. “She’ll be the better for it, believe me.”
Libby looked aghast at the comment. “I cannot believe you’ve become so cynical. Please tell me you don’t mean that, that you haven’t given up on finding love again.”
Seeing the concern in her eyes, he sighed. “To tell you the truth, Mother, I don’t know if I have or not. Love can be extremely painful. I’m starting to think that marriages of convenience are the best way to go.”
“I’m sure there are advantages, but there is nothing like the love of a devoted spouse and a good marriage to bring you happiness.”
“Like Blythe found?” he quipped with a mocking lift of his eyebrow.
“Are we back to that?” When Win didn’t answer, Libby said, “I guess her choice does play a huge part of her future, doesn’t it? I just thank the Good Lord that we found out the truth about Devon before she had a baby or two.”
“That is a blessing,” Win said. “And you’re right. Her past does have a direct bearing on her future. You know as well as I do that finding a decent husband in Boston was out of the question, and the selection of suitable men around here is slim at best. If you factor in what happened last night—which will be all over town by noon—I think you’ll agree that an arranged marriage is an ideal solution. There are no expectations beyond the basic, no broken hearts.”
Libby’s narrowed eyes told him that she did not agree with his assessment at all. “Sometimes I wonder if you even have a heart. You flirt with every female who crosses your path and flit from woman to woman, but all you’re doing is toying with them. It’s almost like you buried your heart when we buried Felicia.”
“Maybe I did,” he told her. “She may have been the love of my life.”
Libby saw the sorrow in his eyes. “Even so, it’s been a long time, Win. There are different kinds of love, and it’s time you started thinking about a wife and a family.”
He didn’t reply.
“What about Ellie Carpenter? I know you feel something for her.”
“She’s a very special woman,” he said, nodding in agreement. “And she won’t give me the time of day.”
“Well, her situation is complicated.”
“Her situation could be fixed with a visit to a lawyer’s office. A notice in some major newspapers and a couple of legal papers filed at the courthouse and she could have the scoundrel who abandoned her declared legally dead. She hasn’t. Why do you think that is?”
“I have no idea.”
“Neither do I, but the most logical thing is that she still cares for him, lowlife though he certainly is.”
“Or,” Libby offered, “maybe she’s afraid there’s no one out there who’s willing to take on a woman with a background like hers and a child like Bethany. It’s something few men would assume willingly. On the other hand, maybe she uses her husband as a way to keep from getting too close to anyone for fear she’ll be let down again, the same way you use your flirting.”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” Win confessed. “Which is all the more reason that love should be left out of the equation. It simplifies everything if you go into a marriage as a business arrangement.”
“You’re impossible,” she said with a shake of her head.
“I’m serious. Everyone says Slade was devastated when his wife walked out, so it would be a perfect arrangement for him and Blythe. Two brokenhearted people bound only by a marriage license.”
The expression on Libby’s face was almost comical. “Win, this isn’t some struggling business that you think you can fix. We’re talking about two people’s lives here. You can’t treat this like a merger.”
“I don’t see why not.”
Seeing that she was getting nowhere with him, Libby asked, “When do you plan to pursue this ridiculous course of action?
“As soon as Slade is well enough to be reasoned with.”
Libby stood and reached for his empty plate. She’d done all she could do for the moment. “If he’s as hardheaded as you say he is, this could get interesting.”
After his mother left him, Win recalled the things Blythe had said during their conversation on the way home. She’d asked if he really wanted her
