Last Chance Bride Part 4

"Sharon, you're not listening."

"Oh, sorry, I just meant that I don't want to wait any longer. I want to-"

"Shhh." He stared at her for a long time. Was she saying yes before he even got to ask? No, that wasn't right. She was saying yes to the wrong thing. And he wasn't about to let her do that, as much as he really wanted to drag her off somewhere and get her naked. If he did that, she wouldn't respect him-or herself-in the morning. And that mother of hers would never let her hear the end of it.

"I'm not taking you to the Peach Blossom Motor Court."

She startled and dropped her arms from around his neck. She stepped back, her brown eyes widening. "But on Wednesday you said-"

"I know what I said, and it was shameful. Really. You've made it clear that you don't want to do that. I don't know why I suggested it. I've been going over it again and again, and I realize that I got it all wrong on Wednesday, too. I'm just not good at this."

He dug into his pocket and pulled out the little box Aunt Arlene had given him. He dropped to one knee. "Sharon McKee, will you marry me?"

She looked a little scared, so he figured he should keep talking.

He sucked in some more air and continued: "I know you really value your independence, and I guess we could go somewhere or something, but I want more. I mean, I know that you want more. And I respect you for it. I want you to be mine even if you are independent. I know that doesn't make any sense, but it does if you think about it long enough.

"I'll be gone a lot. And you wanting to be independent is probably a good thing. But, see here, you'll still be my wife. And I want it that way.

"And I did a little research. We can't get married in South Carolina without waiting a bunch of days, but we could drive to Georgia and get married tonight."

He'd run out of words and air. He gazed up at her. She was kind of smiling, but her eyes looked all watery too, like she might cry. His heart raced. He didn't know what else he could do to talk her into marrying him. But he was determined to do it if, even he had to stay here on his knee for the next three hours.

She got down on her knees, too. "You planned this out?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Did you come to the house last night to say this?"

He nodded. "Your mother said you didn't want to see me."

"Mother didn't ask. She just a.s.sumed."

"After she sent me away, I got really mad. And then Sheriff Bennett gave me a speeding ticket. Shoot, honey, I didn't know that carnations weren't as good as roses. I've been out here fis.h.i.+ng all day and worrying that you might think I wasn't-"

"Oh, for heaven's sake, my mother told you that carnations weren't good enough for me? She said that to your face last night? Good grief. Stony, honey, I don't deserve you, but I love you with all my heart. These last few days have made me realize it. I don't ever want to be away from you. You're like my anchor or something."

A fountain of pure joy sprang up inside him. "You think I'm your anchor? Really?"

"Yes."

"Miz Miriam said that exact same thing to me. She said I was supposed to be your anchor. And I want to be that for you, Sharon. I love you so much. I'm going to love you until the day I die."

She gave him a fierce hug. "Don't you say that, Stony Rhodes. I'm so scared for you. Have you heard the news about Iraq?"

"Yeah."

"Well, if you get sent there, just remember that I plan for us to grow old together."

He laughed. "Are you going to make a list to go with that plan?"

"Don't you laugh. This is not funny. You come home to me."

"I promise. We're going to be together forever, honey. We've got Miz Miriam Randall to thank for that."

She kissed him, and her mouth was like a hot summer night, full of stars and moons.h.i.+ne and first-time love. She never really said yes. She just kissed him until he couldn't breathe. And that's when he got off his knees, and carried her all the way to his truck.

"Oh c.r.a.p, Mother's home," Sharon said as Stone pulled his truck to the curb. He responded to this news with a truly filthy curse word, and for once, Sharon wasn't of a mind to object.

"You're sure I need my birth certificate? Wouldn't my driver's license be good enough?" she asked.

"Not according to what the Georgia authorities told me on the phone. Do you know where your birth certificate is?"

She nodded. "Yeah, it's in a file in Daddy's study. Mother doesn't go in there very often. The room is kind of a shrine to Daddy. But still, if she hears me, I'm dead. She thinks I'm at the barbecue, and it won't be long before I'm missed."

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

She smiled at him. "Getting cold feet?"

"No, but I don't want you to get into trouble with your mother. She already hates me."

"She's going to really hate you after we elope, but I don't care. That's her problem. You stay here. I'll be back in no more than ten minutes."

"And if you're not?"

"Then you come busting in like the marine you want to be. Give me ten minutes."

Sharon headed to the front porch, walking on her bare feet, her Watermelon Queen dress swis.h.i.+ng with every step. She opened the front door.

All was dark in the house except for Mother's room, down the hall. She could hear Mother stirring around in there, waiting for her.

Sharon turned the other way, toward Daddy's study. She sat at her father's desk and opened the top drawer. He always kept the key to the file cabinet there. She found the key without any problem. But she hesitated when she saw the little leather ring box sitting right there in the middle of the drawer.

She didn't remember the ring box being there the last time she'd looked for the filing cabinet key.

She opened the box and gasped. It was Daddy's wedding band.

She closed the box and pressed it to her heart for a moment. Daddy had always liked Stony. Maybe this was his way of giving her away.

She quickly opened the file cabinet and found her birth certificate. Daddy had been a very organized man during his lifetime.

Now all she needed was to sneak into her bedroom to collect a few necessities, including the diaphragm she'd gotten from Planned Parenthood. But to get to her room, she would have to walk down the hall right past Mother's bedroom. That would never work. Mother's bedroom door was open. She was clearly waiting up for Sharon's return.

Sharon stood there weighing her options. She decided against going down the hallway. The very last thing she wanted was a big confrontation between Stony and Mother on the day she planned to get married. She would leave Mother's house with nothing but her birth certificate, her Watermelon Queen dress, and Daddy's wedding ring.

Somehow that seemed appropriate.

Justice Henry J. Pearsall had a little house with a room set up as a wedding chapel of sorts. He lived on the outskirts of Augusta and a.s.sured Stone that he was quite used to being awakened in the middle of the night for drive-by weddings.

The license cost less than twenty bucks.

And now Stone stood in an itty-bitty room wallpapered in pink roses and containing a dozen folding chairs arranged to make an aisle. Mrs. Pearsall, wearing a Georgia Bulldogs sweats.h.i.+rt and a pair of flannel PJ bottoms, banged away at the upright piano, playing the wedding march. The door at the other end of the room opened.

And suddenly the slightly tacky surroundings faded to gray.

Boy, Sharon looked like an angel wearing that Watermelon Queen dress. It wasn't exactly the standard-issue white, but the cascading shades of pink and green suited her tanned skin. She had a carnation in her hair, and a bunch of them clasped in her hands.

Carnations were the only flower they could find at the all-night Bi-Lo. He would have bought her roses if he could have found some. But Sharon said that carnations were good enough for her, and besides, they were just the right shade to match her dress.

He didn't know about that. He really didn't know about much of anything, because one glance at her and his heart took flight. If he lived to be a hundred, he would never forget the way she looked right at this moment, walking so slowly and softly toward him with a tiny smile on her pink lips.

He caught her spicy scent as she drew near. His heart nearly burst as she gazed up into his eyes. She was his-his beautiful, amazing, wonderful bride.

Mr. Pearsall started speaking words that floated beyond Stone's complete comprehension. But when it came time for him to speak his vows, he said them solemnly and with his whole heart. He would honor and protect and keep her all the days of his life.

He put the ring on her finger.

And then she spoke to him, her eyes dark and wide and liquid. And when she suddenly came up with a wedding ring, it seemed almost like a miracle. She took his hand in hers and slipped the plain gold band over his knuckle. It fit perfectly. He smiled down at her. It was a comfort to know that he would wear that ring all his life.

And then it was time to kiss the bride. And time stood still until he carried her back to his truck and drove like a demon all the way back to Allenberg, where they rented the honeymoon room at the Magnolia Inn.

It wasn't much better than the Peach Blossom Motor Court, but he wasn't paying that much attention to the decor. He was too busy taking off that incredible dress and discovering the wonderful woman underneath.

EPILOGUE.

August 16, 1990 Sharon wrapped her arms around Stony and hung on for all she was worth. The hot summer sun beat down on her shoulders as she buried her nose in the soft fabric of his polo s.h.i.+rt. She looked up at him and gently pushed the lock of hair away from his forehead.

She was not going to cry.

"I guess the next time I see you I won't have to worry about your hair."

He nodded. His green eyes sober. "I'm going to be okay."

"Of course you are," she said, her voice oddly bright. But she wasn't a fool. Just yesterday the U.S. Marine Corps had sent more than forty thousand troops to the Persian Gulf. The United States already had a naval blockade in place, and everyone was talking about the possibility of reservists being called up for active duty.

"I'm going to be fine, honest. You'll come to my graduation ceremony in November?"

"Of course I will. I can't wait to see you all spit and polished." She ran her fingers through his hair again. "But I'm going to miss your cowlick."

"You know I won't be able to contact you much during boot camp."

"I know. I'll be busy at Carolina."

He gave her a sober-eyed look. He was completely fine with her going to college, but she knew he didn't like the idea of other guys. .h.i.tting on her.

"I'll be studying," she said.

"I'll be able to call you this afternoon to let you know I got to Parris Island, but I won't be allowed to say anything else."

"I know, Stony, I've read all the material the Marine Corps sent about the first call home."

"Okay. Just so you know. I love you. I'm going to be okay. You have fun at Carolina, okay?"

She nodded and choked back the tears. She was not going to let him see her cry. She was not going to let him know how scared she'd been by the news reports on CNN.

Of course he knew that already; otherwise he wouldn't keep saying he was going to be okay. He was probably scared himself, but Stony would never show that.

She rose up on tiptoes and gave him the hottest kiss she could muster. She hoped with all her heart that her kiss told him what he needed to know. She would be waiting for him when he got home.

She let him go. It was the hardest thing she'd ever done.

His mother, father, little brothers, and sister were there. He hugged them all, even picking Rocky up and giving her a toss into the air that had her giggling. Boy, that little girl adored her brother. G.o.d keep him safe, Sharon prayed.

"I'm going to be okay, everyone. Stop with the long faces." He grinned. Then he squared his shoulders, turned, and walked purposefully toward the waiting Marine Corps van, which would take him from the Orangeburg recruiting office to Parris Island.

He didn't look back.

Sharon's stomach lurched. She was afraid she would be sick, like she had been this morning. She swallowed back her emotions along with the bile.

They were going to be okay. Miriam Randall had matched them up, and that meant they would have their happy-ever-after ending. It was guaranteed. In fact, they were already the talk of the town. No one had ever run off with a Watermelon Queen. No one had ever gotten married in a Watermelon Queen dress.

Their happy-ever-after ending was guaranteed. And besides, everyone in Last Chance was expecting it.

Sharon and Stone would just have to wait a little bit for it. But it would come. She had no doubt.

About the Author.

Hope Ramsay grew up on the North Sh.o.r.e of Long Island, but every summer Momma would pack her off under the care of Aunt Annie to go visiting with relatives in the Midlands of South Carolina. Her extended family includes its share of colorful aunts and uncles, as well as cousins by the dozens, who provide the fodder for the characters you'll find in Last Chance, South Carolina. She's a two-time finalist in the Golden Heart Award and is married to a good ol' Georgia boy who resembles every single one of her heroes. She lives in Fairfax, Virginia, where you can often find her on the back deck, picking on her thirty-five-year-old Martin guitar.