“I have tea,” she said as she quickly placed the tray on the desk and left to their thanks. The tray also held some delicious looking sugar cookies, but Ellie's stomach was so wrapped up in knots she knew she wouldn't eat a bit.
Micah’s hand tightened around hers. “So, what would we have to do in order to fight the will?”
Mr. Goddard studied them a moment more before responding. “Well, first I’d like to have the circuit judge in the area take a look at these papers. It’ll take me a week or two, as his schedule always changes a little, but I think I can catch up with him this week. I’d like to find out if my suspicions regarding the child requirement being unenforceable are correct. If he agrees, you’ll have to go back to California and argue your case against a judge in that jurisdiction. I can have the circuit judge here send a letteralong with you which will hopefully help sway their decision, but it would help matters if you were married.”
Ellie gasped. Married? There were only a couple of men on the whole Earth who didn’t make her break out in an anxious rash being around them. Her face grew hot, and her breaths came in short pants at the very idea. Returning to California? It was too awful to even imagine, like a lamb being led to the slaughter.
Her vision had started to cloud around the edges and noise felt like it was coming through water when suddenly Micah knelt before her and cupped her cheeks with his hands. “You don’t have to marry, Ellie. I know you want this money, but you do have the choice. I promise, we won’t let you be out on your own whether you let the timer run out or not. You’re safe here.”
Her breaths slowed a little, as did her racing heart. “I don’t have to marry,” she repeated. “I can stay here as long as I need to.” Reassuring herself she was safe proved to calm her system even more. “I’m sorry, Mr. Goddard, I …I haven’t had the best experience with most of the men in my life. Marrying isn’t in my plans.”
Micah nodded, his lips pressing into a line as he moved back to his chair, but he didn’t speak. Mr. Goddard softened his gaze even further, clearly realizing this wouldn’t be a simple fix. “Micah’s right. You don’t have to marry anyone, and you certainly don’t have to decide anything today. If there’s someone you trust, you do have the option.”
They discussed a few more particulars of the document while Ellie’s heart rate continued to slow to a pace less reminiscent of a hummingbird. It didn’t hurt Micah had returned his hand to hers, his thumb gently stroking back and forth on the back of her hand. By the time the meeting concluded, Ellie didn’t feel any more confident in her options, but at least she knew what they were.
The two of them waved goodbye to the Goddards and moved out into the bright blue January day. The weather was chilly, but not so cold she could see her breath. Micah still held her hand, and she made no move to pull away. “How are you feeling about everything Mr. Goddard said?” The lawyer had committed to running the paperwork by the judge within the next week, but he felt confident the stipulation regarding a child was unenforceable. There was still the weight of marriage hanging over her head. Micah waited patiently for her to respond, his navy eyes kind and curious.
“I suppose we have to wait until Mr. Goddard hears from the judge, but I don’t really have much choice in the matter. I don’t have a beau back in California, and I can barely speak to any of the men here. Even if he does say I need to marry, I suppose I’ll have to forfeit the money.” The words tasted sour in her mouth, not because the money itself was important to her, but because of all it represented. Grandfather would win once again, as he always had.
Micah’s eyes narrowed, darting to their joined hands before coming back up to meet her gaze. “You do have a choice here, El. I’d marry you, and I’d be honored to do so. The money’s yours, and it’ll stay that way. We wouldn’t be the first folks to marry out of convenience rather than a relationship.” She didn’t speak, couldn’t with the way her mouth had fallen open, and he hurried to continue. “I won’t put one lick of pressure on you about this, but I can promise you good treatment and protection if you take my name. I’ll provide for us, and your money can sit in the bank for the rest of our lives if you want, but you can be sure no other scoundrel will get his hands on you even if we do have to go back to California.”
His eyes held promise, but how could she possibly trust his words? Sure, he’d been nothing but kind since she’d arrived, but other men in her life had acted the same way. Even her father,the man her mother fancied herself in love with, had doted on her until she became pregnant.“Don’t ever trust a man, my love,”Mama had said with every bit of conviction she had.“They’ll show their true colors eventually, and it’s best you’re out of the firing line when they do.”
The words spilled out before Micah even realized what he was saying, but he meant every word. “Like I said, I won’t put pressure on you, but you do have an option.”
Ellie didn’t speak for a moment, shutting her eyes tightly as though wading through the waters of her past and the mountain she’d have to climb to reach her future. Tears dampened her eyes when they opened, breaking Micah’s heart as one rolled over her cheek. “Micah,” she whispered. “I can’t.”
“That’s okay,” he hurried on. “It’s completely up to you, but know this. I believe you deserve to have that money to do with what you want after all you’ve been through.” He didn’t add he’d love the chance to plant his fist in the nose of all the men she’d ever come in contact with, but he felt it nonetheless. “You’ve been trapped your whole life, and I’d never ask you to walk back into another prison cell, even if I’d pray everyday you wouldn’t feel that way about a life with me.”
Prayer. Yet another word which spilled out without his consent, but he meant it too. It’d been a long time since he’d prayed with any conviction. Pastor Jim’s words over the past few weeks and the way his brothers had been growing in their faith had touched him somehow.
His relationship with the Lord had begun in rocky soil. He liked to picture it as a bird dropping it on the ground, but still it grew. Despite everything, it had started to grow and flourishlike Pastor Jim said it could. Would there come a time when he'd look up and realize he’d been transplanted by the water? Jim assured him he would if he'd stay in the Word and ask God for guidance.
“Micah,” she said through tears. “You’re not a prison cell. I don’t know if I can do it, and you shouldn’t have to. Everything that happened, it’s not your fault. I know you blame yourself, but-”
“That’s not what this is about.” It wasn’t. What had begun as Micah’s guilt over allowing Brent to recapture Ellie in the first place quickly turned into feelings he didn’t recognize and honestly didn’t know what to do with. One thing he knew beyond doubt, he’d do anything for Ellie Cartwright. “You deserve all the joy God can give in life, and if getting your inheritance means you can have it, I’ll do whatever it takes to make it happen.”
There wasn’t an ounce of fear in him as he spoke, though some part of his brain acknowledged there should be. It was as though his path in front of him had never been clearer than it was in the moment, and it was as though he’d never been so sure of anything. He could fall in love with Ellie Cartwright - he was already halfway there - but it was her decision.
Again, she didn’t speak, studying him for what felt like hours but could’ve only been a moment. “All right,” she said with a trembling voice. “Mr. Goddard was certain the marriage stipulation would be upheld, so let’s move forward.” Her hand trembled in his, and he knew the courage it took her to make such a decision. “Let’s get married.”
Chapter Seven
Ellie felt the bite of her nails pressing into the palms of her hands as she struggled to get control of her nerves. Lawrence Junction wasn’t far from Cloverdale, and it was where the circuit judge stayed most of the time as the town was the largest in the area. Her stomach rumbled, the bouncing of the rig nothing compared to the swirling inside her. Her heart pounded in her chest, and catching a deep breath felt nearly impossible.
She’d noticed Micah looking her way more than once, the unspoken question of whether she was really sure about all of it on the air. She’d done her best to smile and reassure him, but she knew it likely looked like more of a grimace than a real smile.
Mr. Goddard, who’d accompanied her and Micah from Cloverdale, stood at the bottom of the steps to the courthouse and reminded her of how she’d always imagined a concerned but loving father would look. “Are you two sure about this, Ellie? Micah?”
Removing his Stetson, Micah nodded. “I’m sure, sir. Thank you for coming with us, and for verifying with the judgeregarding the stipulations of the trust. I know it’s not a perfect solution, but at least it feels like a solution.” He turned to Ellie, his navy eyes darkened in a concern altogether different but no less meaningful than Mr. Goddard’s. Finally, he spoke the words hovering behind his eyes the whole time. “Are you sure? I stand by everything I said. We’ll help you until you get on your feet regardless of what happens here today, and you’ve got a place with us as long as you want one.”
He meant it. She knew he did. With Isaac and Louisa engaged and Jacob and Callie newly engaged themselves, there would be room once more in the cottage for her to live. In fact, she and Micah had decided she’d stay there for the time being even after they said their vows. It was too much for her to move in with a man when she still woke most nights in a cold sweat from nightmares. Louisa was always kind, acting like Ellie’s thrashing hadn’t woken her, but Ellie knew better.
“I’m sure. I trust you, and this is the way I can finally beat my grandfather at his own game.” It was true, and she meant every word. If her grandfather was still alive, she wouldn’t have wished any ill will to him, but the cruelty he’d shown her and her mother over the years was too much to ignore. The money was hers, and she’d donate it or put it in a box under her bed or build something beautiful with it - whatever she chose. “Decisions have been made for me my entire life. The money means I can make some of my own.”
Micah smiled softly, reaching up and smoothing a lock of her blonde curls behind her ear. “You’re the strongest woman I’ve ever met.”
Guilt pricked at her regarding his role in all this. Could she really ask Micah to marry a woman who’d likely never be able to share a room with him? Much less a bed? After years of her mother’s instruction to never trust a man and the rough wayBrent had treated her during her capture, the idea of sleeping in the same space as a man sent chills down her spine.
