Jacqueline Diamond - The Stolen Bride

“This is a misunderstanding. This policeman’s been playing on your vulnerability. I don’t know why he’s done it but I’ll find out.” Despite Chet’s conciliatory tone, his pale blue eyes had turned to ice. “What I don’t understand is how you think you’re going to get away with this.”

She couldn’t seem to drag her eyes from Chet’s. It was like staring at a cobra. “Joseph?”

“I’m here.” His evenness broke the spell.

“You can’t stop me.”

“The problem is, you’re not stable,” Chet said in that same persuasive tone. “We’ve all tried to smooth things over, but your behavior this past month hasn’t always been rational. You need someone trustworthy watching over you.”

“I’m an adult,” she told him. “I can watch over myself.”

“Unfortunately, there’s a lot more at stake here than a young woman’s whims,” he said. “You’re half owner of a major company. If you go off half-cocked, you could not only endanger your inheritance but threaten the stability of a large chunk of this town’s economy. Maybe it’s time someone asked a judge to appoint a trustee until you regain your mental health.”

To have a judge declare her incompetent—what would that mean? She couldn’t be forced into a marriage, but could they lock her in a psychiatric facility? The prospect terrified Erin.

She moved closer to Joseph. He was a police officer and her friend. She just hoped he hadn’t changed his mind about helping her.

His next words were reassuring. “Miss Marshall is under my protection. If she wishes to leave the premises, that’s her right. You want to talk to a judge? Fine. My mother works for a lawyer. We’ll make sure Erin’s properly represented.”

“You used to be her boyfriend,” Gene put in. “For all we know, you’re playing on her weakness for your own advantage.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake!” Tina blurted. “She’s not crazy and Joseph isn’t here to trick her.”

“Stay out of this,” her brother warned.

“Why? What’s it to you?”

“Let’s save the family quarrel for later, okay?” Chet was too intent on his goal to let the conversation get off course. “We’ve been going together for a long time, Erin. I could tell when I proposed that you intended to accept. I just simplified matters at the hospital because you needed someone to take care of you. What’s wrong with that?”

Thank goodness he’d backed away from making threats. At the same time, she marveled at how skillfully he twisted the facts. “I’m sorry if I’ve disappointed you,” Erin said. “But it’s useless to argue.”

“You’re going to run off and leave your mother to handle the fallout?” Chet pressed. “Do you have any idea how upset she’s going to be?”

His renewed attempt to corner her annoyed Erin. “I think I know my mother better than you do.”

“Is that why you’ve been asking me to run interference with her this past six months?” It wasn’t a question but a challenge. “You don’t have the first notion what Alice is going through.”

Angered flipped a switch. Andrew Marshall would never have allowed an employee, even a CEO, to address him in this condescending manner. “I’ve been dealing with my mother since long before you came to work for us.” Erin heard her father’s commanding inflection in her voice. “I can handle her without your help, thank you.”

Chet flinched. It was all the encouragement she needed. “Let’s go,” she said, and caught Joseph’s arm.

She did indeed owe Alice an apology. If that meant she had to endure a tongue-lashing, it couldn’t be any worse than facing up to Chet had been.

Adrenaline carried her along the carpeted hallway and outside into the October afternoon and down a walkway toward the guest wing, where her mother had taken a suite for the day. The hacienda-style country club, built sixteen years ago by the Marshall Company, opened onto a landscaped courtyard.

Ordinarily, Erin relished its lush vegetation. Today, she was in no mood to admire the flowers.

Joseph slanted her an admiring grin. “I love the way you pulled rank on him.”

“Is that what I did?” She would have found the notion amusing, except that Chet’s warning still rang in her ears. What I don’t understand is how you think you’re going to get away with this. What exactly had he meant?

“He jumped as if someone yanked the carpet out from under him,” Joseph said. “I think you missed your true vocation. You should have been a drill sergeant.”

The darkness inside Erin dissipated. “He scared me. I couldn’t have done it without you standing there.”

“Don’t underestimate yourself.” The autumn breeze ruffled his light brown hair, which always seems to stick up no matter how short he trimmed it.

“Do you think he was right?” she asked.

“About what?”

“I have been out of the hospital for a month,” she said. “No one forced me to do anything. I could have called it off. I don’t honestly know why I didn’t.”

“The Tustin report mentioned amnesia and post-traumatic stress disorder,” Joseph said.

“That’s what my doctor said,” Erin agreed.

“Mind telling me your symptoms?”

“I’ve had nightmares, and I haven’t been able to think straight. Sometimes the people around me seemed like strangers, even my mother. When it came to Chet, I drew a blank, but I figured that was temporary. Why didn’t I recognize that I don’t love him? It seems so obvious now.”

“Trauma victims often feel detached from their emotions,” Joseph told her. “Does that fit what you’re talking about?”

She nodded. “I didn’t really come alive until today. But I’m not sure that’s an excuse.”

“You’ve always doubted yourself,” Joseph said. “In high school, even when you knew your parents were trying to micromanage your life, you needed reassurance before you would trust your instincts. Between the trauma and your lack of confidence, Chet played you like a violin.”

“You think he did it on purpose?” He’d made a convincing case about believing he was following her wishes.

“He’s as ruthless as they come,” Joseph said. “If you want my opinion, the man’s capable of anything. Of course, I’m not the world’s biggest fan of politicians.”

“He seemed convinced I mistreated him.”

“He may really believe it. In his view, anyone who doesn’t give him his way is mistreating him.”

“That’s true!” She’d forgotten what a great sounding board Joseph made. “You have a gift for putting things in perspective.”

“And you have a gift for being so sweet-natured, you give the world your heart on a platter,” Joseph said. “The problem is, the world’s a tough place, Erin.”

“I don’t want to be tough,” she said.

“And I don’t want you to be.” His voice grew gentle. “But you may have to, for your own protection.”

Stumbling on the rough walkway in her satin slippers, she brushed against him. The contact sent sparkles shimmering through across her skin and Erin registered that she’d been right about one thing. She did remember how he smelled: like a woodland in a spring rain.

He righted her, but otherwise kept his hands to himself. There were none of the casual caresses that had come so naturally when they were younger.

She knew better than to expect a return to their old closeness. Joseph had done more than enough for her already.

When they reached her mother’s suite, Erin saw that the curtains were drawn against the afternoon brightness. Alice had to be feeling ill again, she thought worriedly.

This news was going to be hard to break. Her mom had always been a formidable figure, able to intimidate Erin with a mere lift of the eyebrow. Only since her father’s death had it become apparent that beneath the resolute exterior hid an uncertain sense of self.