The Bride Backfire (22 page)

“Wake up, Lucy.” Diggory shook her awake, and for a blessed moment, Lucinda didn't realize why she lay half sprawled on the kitchen table instead of snug in bed.

Then she saw Larry—just as she'd left him when the tears finally carried her to oblivion. Dressed in his Sunday best, arms folded across his chest, freshly shaven, and looking every inch the wonderful son she'd raised. And lost.

She lost the distance she'd gained upon waking, when she'd half risen before reality came crashing back upon her. Knees seemed such flimsy things to stand up to such a blow. But somehow they managed the task when her husband scooped Larry's body into his arms and headed for the door.

“No...” The cry emerged as a raspy whisper, her throat too raw from sobbing the night through to manage any volume now. So she followed, stumbling a little in the bright morning light as Diggory carried their son away.

Lucinda blinked away the bleariness by the time her husband stopped—carefully laying Larry in a wooden box he must've cobbled together the night before. Parson Carter stood at the ready, a whole group of people surrounding a fresh-dug grave.
A funeral. Larry's funeral.
Recognition dawned.

An insane urge to throw herself over her son and demand he be given back warred with gratitude toward her husband and friends for arranging the respectful farewell Larry deserved. The battle lasted only as long as it took for her to identify those gathered to mourn him.

“What is
she
doing here?” An aching throat lent itself well to her hiss of rage as Lucinda threw away polite manners and pointed at the Speck Murderess, only to realize the entire contingent of Specks surrounded the dealer of death. “What are
any
of you doing here?”

“Paying our respects.” Willa's was the last voice she expected, but her daughter stepped forward, and she realized belatedly that Ben's presence meant they'd both returned. “To my brother.”

“So now you remember your family?” Somehow, the words snapped out before Lucinda could snatch them back. Now it was too late to rush to her only girl and envelop her in a hug that would never end.

“I never forgot.” Willa didn't recoil or even have the grace to look abashed. Even worse, Ben reached out and clasped her hand while she spoke. “But I remembered that we're no better than anyone else. The Specks are a part of our family now, Ma. Between Ben and Opal, we're joined forever.”

“The pair of them aren't worth Larry! The whole Speck family isn't!” Her voice broke through the soreness in a screech. “I won't have it. I won't have Larry's murderer attend his funeral when inside she's laughing at our loss. Willa, come home. Adam's annulling his sham of a marriage. We can all be together again.” She stepped forward and reached a hand toward each of her errant children. “Don't let Larry's death be in vain.”

“Larry died to save Opal,” Dave piped up, walking up to his sister-in-law. “Pa says it was brave.”

“It was.” The cause of all their woes smiled down at her youngest son, sending a shaft of fear straight through Lucinda's heart as neither Willa nor Adam moved to join her. “I'll never forget Larry's selfless courage.”

“No.” Lucinda grasped Dave by the soft, fleshy part of the arm, just above the elbow, and hauled him to her side. “I won't lose any more of our family to Speck machinations. Dave isn't permitted to speak to any Speck!”

“Not even me, Ma?”

“You're still a Grogan, sis.” Dave wriggled in an attempt to break free, but Lucinda held on tighter. “Ma didn't mean you.”

“Yes, I did, Dave. You aren't to visit your sister if she stays with the Specks. Only if Willa comes back home.” Willa's gasp sent a surge of satisfaction through her.
There. Let her see what she's given up. Nothing comes without a price.
Lucinda's gaze fell on the makeshift coffin cradling her middle son and fought a surge of dizziness.

“No.” Diggory pried her hand off Dave's arm, letting him rush to hug Willa. “Larry died to make amends, Lucy. I won't let it be for nothing. The Specks are here to honor what he done right, and I won't take that away from any of us. Davey can talk to any of the Specks any time he wants.”

“‘Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins,'” Parson Carter broke in. “Your son's death epitomizes one of my favorite verses.”

“I won't support this.” Another sob caught in her throat, swelling until she thought it would swallow her whole. “You know where to find me when you come to your senses.” Lucinda headed back to the house, stopping only to plant one last kiss on Larry's cheek before losing herself in the loneliness she'd dreaded so long.

During his mother's outburst, Adam slid one arm around Opal's waist. It felt right, and her wordless acceptance eased some of the tension from his neck. Opal's nearness affected him that way, relaxed him, put him at peace. Question was, had he discovered it too late?

The night before, when she'd revealed Larry's abuse, he hadn't trusted himself to speak. Hadn't trusted himself to keep from scooping her up and taking her home, where he should have taken her long ago.
But it wouldn't have been right to ask her to be my wife after all she'd been through yesterday.
Instead, he'd gone back to the dugout and thrown himself into the finishing touches. Too little, too late, when he should have protected her all along, but he had to make it perfect before he would show her that he offered her more than he'd given so far.

“Can I have a word?” Her nod had him guiding her across Grogan lands, knowing she expected him to take her to her father's farm.

She hadn't protested when he took her to her father's last night—didn't ask to stay. Why would she? Opal busily did everything in her power to fit in on the Grogan farm, only to have it flung in her face. She'd made every possible move to make their marriage work ... and he'd rejected it.

Because I didn't understand. But will such a woman as this give a fool a second chance? God, please help me to do this right.

“I'd like to show you something.” He waited for her nod before picking up the pace. Adam knew he shouldn't move faster, shouldn't do anything that could scare her. But his Opal didn't scare easily, and he didn't want her changing her mind.

The dugout looked much like any other hill from a distance. It wasn't until they drew closer to the structure they could make it out for what it was. The hollowed-out hill stood, at its tallest, about eight feet high, with natural earth for three walls and the roof. A stovepipe stuck through the top.

Adam made earth bricks for the fourth wall out of the dirt he'd excavated from the hill. Into this one, he installed the door and covered the window openings with leather flaps until he could order glass.

“Adam?” Her voice made his name a question. “What is this?”

“Home.” He swallowed. “If you want it to be.”

“You built this?” Her eyes caught the brilliance of the sunlight. “For us?”

Adam couldn't manage much more than a nod. But she didn't say anything either, just stared at the dugout, and he knew now was his last chance. “Opal?” He took both her hands in his. “Now isn't the ideal time, but I'm coming to accept that there will never be an ideal time. And if I don't say something now, I may lose my chance.”

“Your chance for what, Adam?” If words could carry color, hers sounded like they'd be the pale green of hope.

He shoved aside the fanciful thought and plowed ahead. “Weeks ago, I didn't choose you to be my bride.” He held fast when she made a small sound of distress and tried to pull her hands away. “But I should have seen it as a gift, I should have watched over you more diligently. If you can forgive me for being so slow to realize how blessed I am to have you as my wife, Opal, I ask you to choose me as your husband.”

“Truly?” She stopped trying to pull her hands away, her fingers curling around his. “You want me as your wife?”

“I want you, Opal. I want you in my house, I want you by my side.” His voice dropped. “I want you in my bed, without any misunderstandings between us. I want what you said that day on your family's farm to be true—I want to be the father of your child, Opal Grogan. What say you?”

“I say...” She tilted her head and bestowed upon him the loveliest smile he'd ever seen while she drew out her answer. “We have a lot of lost time to make up for,”—Opal leaned close—“husband.”

“Then let's get started,”—Adam swept her up into his arms and headed for the door—“wife.”

Image I

Life doesn't wait, and neither does Kelly Eileen Hake. In her short twenty-six years of life, she's achieved much. Her secret? Embracing opportunities and multitasking. Kelly received her first writing contract at the tender age of seventeen and arranged to wait three months until she was able to legally sign it. Since that first contract five years ago, she's reached several life goals. Aside from fulfilling fourteen contracts ranging from short stories to novels, she's also attained her BA in English Literature and Composition and earned her credential to teach English in secondary schools. If that weren't enough, she's taken positions as a college preparation tutor, bookstore clerk, and in-classroom learning assistant to pay for the education she values so highly. Recently, she completed her MA in Writing Popular Fiction.

Writing for Barbour combines two of Kelly's great loves—history and reading. A CBA best-selling author and dedicated member of American Christian Fiction Writers, she's been privileged to earn numerous Heartsong Presents Reader's Choice Awards. No matter what goal she pursues, Kelly knows what it means to
work
for it! Please visit her Web site at www.kellyeileenhake.com to learn more.

A VOLATILE FUED

Opal Speck knows good and well that the longstanding feud between her family and the Grogans makes for volatile relations. So when Adam Grogan—the man who saved her life two years ago—comes chasing after a stray cow on Speck property, there's no way her family will forgive him for his trespassin'.

A DESPERATE DECLARATION

Determined to keep bloodshed at bay, Opal blurts out the one declaration she knows will stop them in their tracks: Adam's the father of her unborn child!

A GUNPOINT DECISION

Adam has two choices: deny any involvement with Opal and die at the hands of her family, or accept the slur to his name and marry a gal who's trying to pass off another man's child as his!

Can a gunshot wedding be the way God will end the hatred between these two feuding families? Or will its repercussions fuel an already blazing animosity?

KELLY EILEEN HAKE
has been writing since she could hold a pen and was first published at the tender age of eighteen. A readers' favorite author in series romance, she recently completed her masters in writing popular fiction.