Authors: Nancy Hopper
"Come in." She said sadly.
Tim came in, looking calm, but wary. John and her father flanked him.
She looked at them pointedly. "If you gentlemen will excuse us, please."
"Tasha, John will need to help explain some things."
"You will have to wait outside. Please be available in case Tim has questions." She answered sweetly.
Brent sighed, and tugged on John's arm. "Come on, time is of the essence." He grumbled. He gave Tasha a harsh look. "Just a minute, or two." He insisted quietly.
When she heard the door shut, she turned and looked into Tim's clear, calm eyes bravely.
"What's wrong?" he asked evenly.
"This is very hard, Tim. I've caused you so much pain, already."
He was quiet for a moment. Tasha couldn't look at him, again.
"So, just get it over with." He urged in a grim voice.
Tasha sighed, and tried to look into his eyes. She couldn't do it, her eyes kept faltering. "Tim – I can't marry you today." She said bleakly.
Tim had thought he was prepared for anything. This, he was not quite prepared for. He tried to take it without reacting, but all of a sudden his legs weren't supporting him so well. He found a chair, and abruptly sat down. Then, he looked up at her as if she'd grown two heads. "What do you mean,
today?
Or have you just completely changed your mind?"
Tasha shot him a tortured glance. "No, Tim. I have not changed my mind. My father's lawyer changed my mind."
Tim bit the inside of his cheek hard, while he tried to get his senses restored, get a hold on himself, and what she was saying. He sighed deeply.
"Tasha, you know, I'm kind of a black and white guy. I need things spelled out pretty clearly. If you want to get married, I'm here, and I'm ready. If you don't, just say so. It would be nice to know why, but that's really up to you."
She turned away, and closed her eyes. She covered her mouth to stifle a sob, and Tim looked at her sharply. "Tim, I'm trying to explain. Please. Just ... give me a sec, okay?"
"All right." He agreed quietly. The hurt in his voice stabbed at her heart. She turned and looked at him with such despair that it cut him deeply. He stood up, and went to her. She went into his arms, and cried helplessly while he just held her, kissed her, murmured in her ear how much he loved her.
"Honey, listen to me. There is nothing that we can't work out. You've got to understand; I don't want to do this anymore. I love you, Tasha. Don't let anything come between us. If you love me, go through with the wedding, all right? We'll deal the rest of it, somehow."
"Tim, I can't! Don't you think I fought them? I'm being sued. For millions, by Deming Smith. Enough to wipe out my father, me. And if we get married, you and your parents. My attorney is afraid that we won't be able to fight him. The police records have been altered. There is no record, and the two policemen who came to the cabin and saw what happened, are missing. They both disappeared without a trace, within the past two weeks.”
“
They're taking everybody into protective custody, me included. If I married you, and Deming wins – you'll lose the ranch, Tim. And your parents -- I can't do that. If we wait," she stressed, "to get married until the suit is over, that won't happen to you."
Tim closed his eyes, and shook his head. "This is about
money?
" he asked wearily, as if it were hard to believe. "Honey, listen to me. If we had been married yesterday, that would be a moot point, right?"
Tasha nodded her agreement.
"And you would have heard me say the words,
'for better or for worse’.
Right?"
"Yes." She answered dubiously.
He rubbed her lower lip with his thumb, and watched her shudder inside. "If you will think back, I've already said them. But I'll say them again, right now. I, Timothy, take you Tasha, to be my lawfully wedded wife. To have and to hold, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse.
Now.
What's mine is yours. If it comes to it, I'll give the ranch to this bloodsucker on a silver platter. So, let's get on with it."
"Tim, no! It's not right." She protested. "If I prevail, we can get married, then."
Tim laughed derisively. "That could take years, Tasha. Our marriage is not going to depend on the outcome of some ludicrous lawsuit. He can't win, anyway."
"Tim, you don't know him." She protested. "He's ruthless."
"I don't give a damn!" He retorted angrily. "I'm not going to bend over for this! Tasha, if he wins, God will provide for our every need. I'm not afraid of his threats."
"But Tim, they're afraid for my safety. They want me to go right now."
"I'm not going to let them. Nobody is going to lay a hand on you, especially with about three hundred people present. Let's get married, and I promise you that I will be much more reasonable afterward. Tasha, will you stand with me in this? Think about this. Two people are suspiciously missing. There is a story that has been heavily aired. In your own way, you have already corroborated your innocence, by telling what happened – on television.”
"The story came from someplace. Think about it, now. Do you
really think
they're going to kill you -- the key witness
and
the woman with the money -- at her wedding? Wouldn't that be a bit much?"
He sighed, and let the idea sink in. "What did you say about the police files? They've been altered?"
"They're gone." Tasha reiterated. "Just like nothing ever happened."
"Then, the risk is even higher for them to do anything more. Everybody knows already that
something
happened. Your dad can probably prove that Deming paid him money, and he'll have a hard time connecting it to a business transaction that Brent has no record of.”
“
Tasha, it is a bluff!" He argued fervently. "Don't let them rob us! They calculated the timing of this lawsuit, just to hurt you. I'm sure it would give him great pleasure to learn that you had to postpone your marriage indefinitely."
Brent stuck his head in the door. "Tasha. We are out of time."
Tim turned to him with narrowed eyes. "Brent, get your lawyer and get in here." He snapped.
Brent sighed, and threw up his hands. "Tim, I'm sorry, I can't. They are taking her, right now."
"Over my dead body." Tim offered, setting his jaw and standing with arms folded. "Get your lawyer in here."
"I was afraid you'd do something like this." Brent grumbled. "John, come in here." John came in, and so did a police officer.
Tim turned and faced them with calm resolve. "I'm afraid that I'm not convinced that there is sufficient reason for this wedding to be postponed." He told the lawyer, before he could say anything.
Brent and John exchanged a look.
"It is imperative that all potential witnesses be taken into protective custody at once." John explained quickly, with a look on his face that implied any simpleton should get this. "If you care about Tasha's life ..."
"Stop right there." Tim challenged him with blazing eyes. "Don't you even go there. It seems to me that they've already eliminated all the people they can afford to. It would cause no small stir if she were to be harmed at this most notorious wedding." He pointed out with a tinge of sarcasm.
“
They long since made their decisions on such matters. It wouldn't be Tasha, at any rate. If they killed her, all her money could be tied up legally. If they do anything to Tasha now, a settlement wouldn't be reached for years, if ever. They took care of all the people who could give them trouble, before they filed. No idiot would hurt her now." He paused to let them think about it.
"They certainly are not going to burst into a public place and do anything to her in the middle of our wedding. My stars, the lady at the department store knows about our wedding! She heard it on television, for crying out loud!”
"The only reason they filed this suit today, is to try to hurt Tasha by spoiling our wedding. In addition to causing her no small amount of personal pain, it would discredit her – yet again."
"How is that?" John asked incredulously.
"You're not going to tell the world Deming Smith is suing her, are you? Wouldn't be real smart to advertise it, do you think?"
"Probably not." John admitted.
"Then what is the public going to think, if she leaves me standing at the altar? That my fickle little sweetheart just changed her mind?"
"Timothy, son. We can't take any chances with her life." Brent appealed to him. "Besides, you have so much to lose. Your ranch ..."
"I couldn't care less about that!" Tim cut him off immediately. "I could never hold up my head, if I allowed a financial threat to keep me from my wife! Tasha is going to get dressed, and we are going to get married today. Then, we are going on our honeymoon. If you insist on our honeymoon being in protective custody, then lock us up. I promise you I won't complain as long as there's a bed, a shower, and complete privacy. But you are not taking her anywhere, until we're legally married. I'll fight to the death for it. If you're not willing to walk her up the aisle, we'll do it without you."
The policeman looked at Brent with raised eyebrows. Brent sighed and lowered his eyes. When he looked at Tim, he was resigned. "Tim, it's up to the police, but I'll go along with you." He decided.
John made a sound of outraged protest.
Tim nodded his satisfaction. "Brent, I'd bet you my ranch that this suit is dropped the minute he finds out we got married. It's going to cost him way too much money to fight us! He's not going to invite the public – and legal – scrutiny this would cost him.”
“
I'll bet there are ten girls like Tasha in his closet. If we have to fight him, we'll find every one of them and convince them to testify. Believe me, he doesn't want the police going through all of his business with a fine tooth comb. He knows he can't come out of a fight smelling like anything but a skunk. He just filed the suit to assert his innocence. Maybe he hoped to convince his wife that he didn't do anything."
Brent turned to the policeman. "What if we double security inside and out? I'll have Mason and Dwight drive them to police headquarters afterward, in my limo. Tim's right about one thing: the only way not to create a public sensation, is for the wedding to go on as planned.”
He turned to his daughter. “Tasha, you don't get in the car with anybody but Mason and Dwight in the front seat. Do you understand? After she nodded, he turned to Tim. ”And I want you to know, Tim. If anything happens to her ..."
"I'll be dead, Brent. They'd have to come through me, to get to her."
The police officer chuckled, and held out a hand to Tim. "I'll bet on you, Mr. Rain." He offered with respect. "You're quite a guy. Ever think about becoming a lawyer?"
"No." Tim denied vehemently. “Not this farm boy."
The three men turned and left the room. When they were alone, Tim and Tasha looked at one another with amazement and humor in their eyes. They both started laughing. He kissed the end of her nose and hugged her close.
"You get yourself dressed and you come down that aisle as if nothing in the world happened here, today." He coached her gently. "This is all a bunch of garbage, Tasha. A blatant attempt to keep us apart."
"I hope you're right." She sighed, squeezing him tightly.
"I am. It would be far too obvious for him to do anything today. He just hoped to scare us into canceling, so he could have a laugh. He's not stupid enough to do anything to anybody in public."
She smiled, kissed him, and he left her there.
Brent walked Tim back to his dressing room. "I hope you're right about this, Tim."