Tse bends down, “You wouldn’t know it, but Sophie’s got a false leg.”
Oh. He’s right. Watching her managing even though her belly’s so large she looks like she’ll topple over, I start to feel optimistic. At least my injury should heal, maybe I’ll be left with a slight limp, but if Sophie can manage, so can I.
I’ve only been here a few days when Sophie goes into labour. Her old man, Wraith, looks more worried than her when he takes her to the hospital. Included in their circle, I wait to hear the news, which seems to be a source of amusement to everyone when we hear she’s given birth to another girl.
There’s going to be quite an influx of babies on the compound. Sam’s due to give birth in a few weeks, Ella a couple of months later, and Rock’s woman, Becca, is pregnant too. It makes me wonder if there’s something in the water.
Watching the bikers with their old ladies makes it easier to understand how they pulled together to rescue me fromColombia. These men are fiercely protective. What I find so intense about Tse is mirrored in the rest of the guys. Slowly I begin to find him less domineering as I start to understand what drives him. It’s about protecting their way of life as much as the people on the compound.
“Hey, Ma.”
“Drew.” He comes over to where I’m sitting on the couch. I wrinkle my nose. “You stink,” I tell him.
“Yeah, just got back from Jacob’s. I’ll go shower in a moment.”
“How did it go?” Tse, coming over, asks.
“Got a headcollar on Niyol and groomed him,” my brother says proudly.
Tse slaps his back. “Good going, Buddy.” His expression suggests he’s impressed.
“You’re going to have to come and see him, Ma.”
I’ve heard so much about the stables Tse arranged for him to visit. First to give him something to think about while I was being rescued, and then simply because Drew enjoyed working with the horses so much. I’d love to meet Jacob as I’ve heard so much about him. Just got to get more mobile first.
“You ready, Mariana?”
As Peg’s loud voice booms out, I pull the crutches toward me, shake my head when Tse goes to help, and gingerly get myself vertical, offering a smile of success as I achieve it. Peg’s a hard taskmaster, but his help with the physical therapy is taking effect. I doubt if I’d have done any better in rehab.
As it turns out, when the trailer was trashed, Drew had looked for and found the box I’d kept hidden. It contained my precious social security card. A return visit to that trailer park by Tse had found my new driver’s licence had arrived in the mail.
Just like that, I had everything I needed to apply for a marriage licence.
The two weeks I’ve spent in the clubhouse have helped me feel slightly easier about the man I’ve agreed to tie myself to, but I remain convinced I was getting the better half of the bargain. The more I learn about him, the more I admire him. When he appears, my heart misses a beat at his sheer beauty. When he’s close, when he touches my hand, strokes my cheek, parts of me come alive. The way he treats Drew, the respect he has from his brothers, makes me appreciate him even more. That he’s an honourable man is obvious.
Everything I’ve learned about him both excites me and worries me. Despite his protestations to the contrary, I remain convinced he’s only marrying me as a step to try to make me a permanent resident. A way of fixing my problems, like he’s always been doing since that first day when he mended my car’s light. That somehow he’s taken responsibility for me, and in doing so, has persuaded himself he can make this work. That makes more sense than anything. I can’t deny there’s sexual attraction between us, even though I’m too nervous to admit mine to him, but why else would he want me? I’m nothing exceptional, whereas he would take any woman’s breath away. Ours has been as far from a conventional courtship as you could possibly imagine. Though my heart tells me I like him, more than that, already part of me loves him, but the future lies out long in front of us. How long would he be satisfied with a convenient wife he’s only married as a final step toward saving her? By agreeing, am I backing him into a corner? Will he soon start having regrets?
“You ready?”
He’s standing in the doorway to Drew’s room. I shake my head.
“What’s up, darlin’?” Coming over, he kneels in front of me.
Tears prick in the corners of my eyes. “Whenever I thought of getting married...” My voice falters. I hadn’t really consideredit at all. Knowing my future was so uncertain I couldn’t plan anything.
He completes my sentence for me. “You thought you’d have a man in front of you on his knees.” He grins, looks at the position he’s in, and changes slightly so he’s now on one knee. “Mariana, will you do me the honour of becoming my ol’ lady, my wife?”
“You can’t want me,” I whisper, wishing this could be real.
“Oh, sweetheart. I want you enough to ask you to marry me. The question is, do you want me?”
Do I? I don’t know tears are running down my face until he wipes them away. It’s only then I look at him, see the question in his face. Read the expression in his eyes.He’s hurting.I’m still uncertain, but the thought I’d be disappointing him if I said no, drives me to give him his answer.
“Yes.”
Leaning forward, he plants a soft kiss to my forehead. Then his strong arms pull me up and hold me as he passes me my crutches. “Let’s go do this, then.”
It’s simple enough. We drive into Tucson, show the necessary identification, obtain the marriage licence. The next day we go down to the city again and quietly get married in the registry office. No fanfare or celebration.
