missed the comfort and wisdom of her mother in difficult times.
“Now, Oscar, the girl oughta have a say in her future.” Scott’s defense of her was unexpected. So much so that she lifted her face to meet his eyes. “I know you’re dealing with a serious situation, but it is Rena’s life.” She swallowed when his words made her want to smile in gratitude.
But Papa was right. She had no reason to speak against anything he tried to do to help her.
“It’s not just about her. If word of her—” her father cleared his throat “—condition gets out, there will be a scandal. The likes of which we haven’t seen in the leadership of Gran Colina since you and I worked so hard to get crime under control and make this town a safe place for people to settle.” He shook his head. “And with the election coming up in just three months, we could both lose our jobs.”
This sentence caused Scott to drop onto the edge of the settee. He’d jumped to his feet at her father’s initial request. She could see the fight drain out of him as he considered the possibility of losing his badge.
“I’m truly sorry, Papa.” She wouldn’t cry. Not in front of Scott.
Her father didn’t look at her. He’d barely looked at her since she’d told him what happened. “Sorrow is good for your soul, but it won’t fix your future. We have to act now.”
Scott turned to her. “Are you certain?”
She couldn’t pretend she didn’t know he was asking about the child. She lowered her gaze and nodded. Nothing could force her to vocalize the truth again today. Within an hour of telling her father at breakfast, he’d summoned the sheriff and put his plan in motion. Only the plan had stalled with Scott’s resistance.
Her father spoke again. “I’ll need your promise that you won’t share a word of what we’ve discussed. I’m not sure who I’ll find to step up at this point.” He shook his head. “If only I had more time. But there’s just no one else I’d trust to know this.”
Rena had waited to tell her father until she was certain Eugene Rodgers wasn’t coming back. A postcard had arrived the day before. A pretty drawing of a big city in California covered one side. The other side held a bold, scribbled note. It was the only time she’d heard from him in the two months since he’d left her and Gran Colina.
Signed on as a seaman leaving for Alaska tonight. I wish you a happy life. My short time in Gran Colina will always be a fond memory, but the world is big, and I wish to explore it.
Her hope that he would return and make an honest woman of her was gone. It was sailing across the Pacific to places unknown.
Scott asked, “Is there no aunt in the East or cousin in Florida to give you a home?”
“There is not.” Rena forced the words out with torturous effort. “I’d have preferred that to imposing on you, but Papa is my only living relative.”
“Is there no chance that the father will do his duty by you?”
“None. He is gone forever.”
It was clear to her now that Eugene had wanted to keep their engagement secret because he’d had no intention of marrying her. No one, not even her closest friend, had known they were seeing one another.
He’d convinced Rena that their marriage would take place the following morning. No one would know they’d been together. His smooth words had led her foolish mind to accept and trust him.
Oscar said, “She told me it was that wretched Rodgers fella.” He clinched his fists at his side. “He gave her his promise.”
“Papa, don’t. If I’d lived the way you and Momma taught me—” She paused, garnering the courage to continue. “It’s my own fault.”
Shame covered her soul. Why had she believed Eugene? How had she allowed herself to be so stupid?
* * *
“Eugene Rodgers?” Scott ground his teeth at the memory of the young man with slick manners. “I was glad to see him get on the train the day he left Gran Colina. I had no idea he was running from his responsibilities.” He’d disliked the man on sight. Those sly ways and pretty words could woo a woman, but Scott had been leery of him from the start. He should have paid closer attention. Maybe he could have prevented this situation if he had.
Rena’s next words surprised him. “He didn’t know about the child.”
“You kept it from him? A man has a right to know about his own flesh and blood. Have you written to inform him?” He would be hard-pressed to forgive such a thing if it happened to him. A child deserved a father. One to love and provide for their needs.
“I didn’t know he was leaving. He left me no way to contact him.” She shook her head and didn’t look at him. “He left the morning after...” She choked on her words and didn’t finish.
“Have you heard from him since he left?”
“Only a postcard saying he won’t be back and has gone to see the world.”
Scott wanted to find Rodgers and drag him back. He should never have left Rena like this. But a man like that would be untraceable—and unworthy of a good wife and a child.
There were several men in Gran Colina who would be glad to take Rena on as their wife. Men who wouldn’t appreciate her stubborn ways or determined mind. And if they knew about the child, she could be treated poorly.
No woman deserved that. Not even after so obvious a sin.
“Rena, what do you think of your father’s proposition?” She sat with her arms crossed and her face taut. The green eyes that often held laughter and mischief were sober. Her dimples made no appearance. Not even the childlike freckles from her youth softened the sorrow in her countenance today.
Her voice was low, but steady, as she answered. “I have presented him with an impossible situation, and he is trying to protect me. As well as everything he’s done to improve Gran Colina. If scandal breaks out now, he’ll lose the election for sure.”
As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. “Do you wish to marry?”
“It was my fondest wish before—” She held his gaze. He knew she chose her words with care. “I know it is best for my father and my child. And for myself. It is not how I ever intended for my life to unfold.” The straight set of her pink mouth reinforced the sincerity of her answer.
Oscar said, “I don’t see any alternative. You are the best choice, Scott. The only choice, actually. Anyone else could use this to undermine my work as mayor. You remember how unruly Gran Colina was when you first came to town. All our work could be undone in a matter of weeks if this isn’t handled discreetly.”
“Oscar, will you leave us to speak privately?”
The mayor seemed to have aged overnight. He looked from Rena and back to Scott. “I’ll go out to the kitchen and make us some coffee.”
When he left them alone in the front room, Scott turned to Rena. Her slim neck was stiff. “Are you well? You look as though you’ve lost weight.”
“I
