Page 20 of Married at Midnight

“No,” Connor replied with a laugh. “I’ve been in laboratories most of my life. There are no rivers or lakes there.”

James clapped Connor on the back in a friendly, fatherly way. “Well, you’ll have to go fishing with me this coming weekend. The season is winding down. Clear your schedule for Sunday. I’ll pick you up at four a.m. We’ll try this little baby out.”

“That early?”

Her dad studied Connor with increasing contentment. “That’s when the fish are biting, son.”

Ellie scowled. Her parents knew her history with Connor, yet none of that seemed to matter. In fact, having her parents like Connor so intensely would only make their eventual divorce that much worse. They would blame her for the failure, for not giving the marriage her all.

Coming here was a big mistake.

“Ellie,” her mother said, coming to stand before her, “do you have a minute for a walk in the garden?”

This was the mother she was more used to—the one who would speak to her in private about her mistakes. Even though she’d expected such a response, Ellie’s stomach fluttered with nerves as she stood and followed her from the room.

Her mom stopped beside a back doorway and handed Ellie one of her old sweaters that still hung on a rack. “You’ll need this.”

“Thanks, Mom.” Slipping the sweater over her shoulders, Ellie followed her mother out into the cool evening air. Shades of pink and lavender and blue blurred the edges of the day as it turned into night.

They walked in companionable silence as they made their way across the huge expanse of green grass that made up the backyard. With every step, Ellie’s nerves coiled tighter and tighter. What did her mom want to talk about that they had to discuss alone?

“I hope your dad didn’t hurt your feelings with the comment about the cruise,” her mom finally said. “We’re both just so happy for you to finally have found someone.”

Ellie sighed. “I’m not trying to be alone, Mom. I just haven’t found anyone . . .”

At her mother’s quizzical look, she amended, “Until Connor.”

Her mom stopped walking. “I’m happy to hear that. Almost as happy as I am to learn about the baby.”

“The baby?” Ellie felt as if she were suddenly falling and there was no one there to catch her.

“Well, of course. Why else would you go to Las Vegas and come home married?”

Feeling off balance, Ellie drew a shaky breath. “I’m not pregnant.” At least she hoped she wasn’t. She didn’t even know if they’d had sex! “We’ve only been married a few days. Why on earth would you think I was pregnant?”

Her mom’s eyes twinkled. “A mom knows these things.”

A nervous laugh filled the space between them. “In this case you’re wrong, so very, very wrong.”

She took Ellie’s hands and suddenly regarded her with a slightly suspicious air. “Is everything okay?”

Ellie forced a smile to her lips. Part of her wanted to confess right then and there that her marriage to Connor wasn’t real before her parents became too invested in finally having the son they’d always wanted, but she forced that desire down deep inside. “Everything’s fine, Mom. It couldn’t be better.”

Fine.

One word that held infinite meanings.

Connor watched as Ellie and her mother strolled past the back windows while he and her father finished tying the pink fly they would use this weekend on their fly-fishing adventure. James continued to talk about where they would go and what they would do. All Connor could think about was the pained look in Ellie’s eyes when her parents had welcomed him without hesitation. In the past two days he’d figured out why Ellie had reacted so badly to his missing the prom. It wasn’t that he hadn’t shown up. It was that he’d been one more person to set her feelings aside and treat her as if she weren’t important. He’d known about her issues with her family back then, yet he’d done exactly the same thing to her.

And today, when tears threatened to push past her facade of strength, he’d almost dropped to his knees. In that moment, he knew he had to do something to equalize the situation—to give her a long-overdue apology.

Suddenly James stopped talking. “Do you love her?” he asked, following the path of Connor’s gaze.

Love her? I did once. Do I love her still? Connor frowned. “How can you ask that?” he replied, avoiding the question. Her dad’s eyes were watchful, perhaps too watchful, as Connor shifted his gaze to the floor. “I married your daughter and intend to honor that commitment as long as she’ll have me.” The words were true enough, and they must have satisfied James because he thumped Connor on the back in a gesture of bonding.

“Be good to my little girl. Besides her mother, she’s all I have.”

“I will,” Connor replied with sincerity. “Ellie’s a special person. She always has been.”

James nodded. “I’m glad you recognize that.” He pushed away from the hobby table. “Follow me. Julie and I have a wedding present for the two of you. It’s a Hawthorne family tradition.”

Connor followed him down the hallway to the living room, uncertain what to expect.

The older man stopped before a grandfather clock. “This clock has been in our family for six generations. It came to this country with my ancestors from England. It’s been handed down from Hawthorne male to Hawthorne male.” He shrugged. “Since I have no sons, it goes to Ellie . . . and to you.”

They’d only been married for two days, and they were already getting bogged down in family traditions and lies. When he’d asked Ellie to stay married to him for Viola’s sake, he hadn’t considered all the people who might be hurt in the aftermath of their charade.

“Thank you for this very generous gift, James. How about we leave the clock right here until Ellie and I are more settled?”

“Not a chance,” he protested. “Not only is this clock a tradition—it’s good luck to the marriage of those who own it. There’s never been a divorce in our family for the past six generations or more. This clock is the reason why. You must take it with you right now.”

“I doubt it will fit in my car,” Connor said, cringing at the man’s words. James might like him now, but the man would hate him when all this was over. The darn clock and its good luck would be broken. All because of him.