Echoes of Tomorrow (14 page)

She felt like a delicate flower in his arms.  With her hands clasped behind his neck, she snuggled closer while his long strides ate up the length of the hall to the foyer.

Was he as excited as she?  She had a feeling his staccato heartbeat was not from taking the stairs two at a time.

Elise's fantasy was on its way to having the perfect ending when it stopped with jarring abruptness halfway up the staircase.

The front door flew open so hard it banged against the wall, slammed shut, and was kicked open again.

Reed spun to face the door.  Elise's trailing gown fluttered out around them.

Every muscle in her body tensed.  She was going to jail for homicide, if she didn't kill herself first for leaving the door unlocked.

"My, my, what a touching scene."  Jeffrey's eyes looked like it was all he could do to keep them open.  Even from this distance she could see his dilated pupils.  "What?  D'ya have to get dressed up to get laid around here now?"

His words hadn't had time to register before Elise found herself standing on the stairs alone, watching Reed throw a nasty right into Jeff's jaw.  The door took more abuse when Jeff bounced against it.

Amazingly, he didn't fall but sprang back, swinging at the air inches from Reed's face.  He didn't seem to realize none of his punches hit their target.  Reed hadn't moved a muscle to dodge them.

"You sonofabitch.  I'll teach you to move in on my territory.  I marked her long ago!"

That did it!  Elise kicked off first one high heel and then the other.  She stomped down the stairs with murder on her mind.

"You pompous piece of slime.  I am not your territory.  And don't degrade the dog species by elevating yourself to their level.  You may have made me feel like you'd hiked your leg on me more than once, but you, you under-endowed, under-achiever, have no claim on me whatsoever.

"I hate your guts!  Do you hear me?  I...hate...your...guts!”  She poked his chest with her pointed index finger.  “So get out of my house and out of my life!  GET OUT!"

She punctuated her last words with a mighty shove.  He staggered backward, but not far enough for her to slam the door.

He grabbed the doorknob and pushed his face right up into Elise's.  The sour smell of scotch urged her back, but she refused to budge.

"Don't think this is over, Elise.  We're not through yet."

Reed grabbed a handful of Jeffrey's eighty dollar tie and lifted him up to meet him nose to nose.

"I'm afraid it is over, my disgusting friend.  You see, Elise and I are to be married."

Elise's eyes flew to Reed, and she fought to keep her heart from exploding.

Reed seemed as surprised at his words as she.  His head shot back and he turned and searched her face for her reaction.  Her huge, brilliant smile and barely perceptible nod gave him all the answer he needed.

"The next time you see her, she will be Mrs. Reed Blackwell.  And unless you are somewhat masochistic, when next we meet I suggest you turn and go in the opposite direction.  In fact, that advice applies now."  Reed spun Jeff by the shoulders and gave him a shove right between the shoulder blades. 

This time he not only shot through the door, but he landed with a close up view of the veranda floor.

Before she closed the door, Elise leaned her head against the edge of it and sighed dramatically.

"You know, Jeff, shoving you out this front door is beginning to get tiresome.  What say we don't do it anymore?"

With a flick of the wrist, she left the door to close itself.  He wasn't worth the energy of a slam.

Jeff was out of her thoughts the minute he was out of her sight.

Did Reed mean what he said about marriage, or was it just something he'd blurted out in the heat of his anger?  When she turned from the door she looked up into his soul-searching eyes.  His face was impossible to read, but she felt his gaze delve deep into her heart.

Finally, he reached out and took her left hand in his.  His movements were so slow and deliberate, it might have been happening in slow motion.

He brought her hand up to cradle his cheek as he sank to one knee and stared up at her through thick, black lashes.  His other hand caressed the fingers of her free hand.

"Yes, I meant it," he said, and she wondered if she'd spoken her earlier thoughts aloud.  "I love you, little one.  I want to spend the rest of my life with you, in whatever century that might be."  Elise fought the shiver that jolted through her body.  "Will you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?"

Her heart melted.  It literally melted and trickled like warm honey into every pore of her body.  Reed stared up at her with those electric blue eyes.  He still held her hand to his cheek, and her fingers rasped against a trace of stubble.

The tears came totally unexpected and hovered on her lower lashes.  She'd never expected a proposal from Reed, and now that he'd asked, she couldn't even choke a "yes" past the huge lump in her throat.  Instead she blinked hard and nodded, and tried like crazy to stop her chin from quivering.

A gentle tug on her hand brought her down to perch on his knee.  Her face nuzzled against his neck, and he sifted his fingers through the back of her hair.

"Can I take that to mean a ‘yes'?"

She giggled and raised her head to look at him.

"Just try backing out now, darlin'."

*******

"Why does he need a fake I.D., Elise?  This isn't good.  And here I'd decided he's the perfect man for you."  Jan fired a couple more questions in Elise's direction, but Elise held up her hand in the time-out sign until all questioning stopped.

"He
is
perfect for me, Jan.  You have to trust me on this one.  I could lie to you and say he lost his birth certificate and we don't want to go through the hassle and wait of getting another one.  But you're my friend.  The truth is, he just flat out doesn't have one, or any other form of I.D., and we want to get married right now."

Jan's voice had long since lost all the bleary traces of sleep.  It’d been three a.m. when Elise had shown up on her doorstep.  She'd known Jan would be able to help.

"Why are you in such a hurry?  You're not pregnant, are you?"  Jan’s eyes dropped to Elise’s midsection.

Elise laughed.  That was a joke.

"No, Jan.  I can definitely tell you that I am not pregnant."

"Then why?  Why are you in such a hurry?  How can this guy exist without any kind of identification?  Elise, take your time with this.  Don't do anything stupid."

She was too happy to take offense at anything Jan might say.  Besides, she knew it was all said with her best interests at heart.

"Jan, I know I've always marched to the beat of a different drummer.  I've been accused of getting a wild hair and being eccentric.  But, think about it.  Have I ever done anything really stupid?"

A long stretch of silence followed the question.  Elise watched Jan search her mind for an act that qualified as stupid.

"No, I guess not," she said slowly.  "But there's always the first time."

Elise laughed and hugged her friend.  "I know this sounds crazy, but trust me.  I know all about Reed.  He's not a criminal, or an illegal alien.  I know why he doesn't have any I.D., and someday I'll explain it all to you.  But right now I want to get married!"  She wiggled her eyebrows at Jan in a conspiratorial way.  "Are you in?"

Jan groaned, long and loud, but she finally dragged herself to her feet and headed for her office at the back of the house.

"This is what I get for telling you what a computer graphics artist can do.  Little did I know you would engage me in illegal activity.  Now give me your damn birth certificate."

Elise watched, fascinated, while Jan took the document and managed to create a duplicate with all of Reed's information on it.  She did a quick calculation in her head when Jan asked for Reed's year of birth, but that was the worst of the procedure.

Actually, the worst part was waiting for Jan to get through.  By the time Jan handed over the finished product, Elise held it to her breast like a precious artifact and forced Jan to dance around the room with her.

They both fell into a sprawl on the wicker sofa in the office.  Jan arched a cynical brow at her.

"So when is this wedding going to take place?"

Elise flopped into the corner of the couch and slid the birth certificate between thumb and forefinger.

"As soon as we can get a marriage license and find someone to marry us.  Hopefully this afternoon, ‘cause I gotta tell you, if it doesn't happen soon I'm going to explode.  Can you imagine?  Reed insists on having the wedding night after the wedding."

Jan's eyes widened, and a new look of respect for Reed lit them from within.  Then she frowned.

"Well, what are you wearing to get married in?  Not
that
I hope."  She eyed the jeans and tee shirt Elise had thrown on as if she believed she might actually wear them.  "Never mind."  Jan cut Elise off before she had a chance to answer.  "If you're going to do this, you're going to do it right.  Have you changed your security code at the house?"

"No, but..."

"Good.  Go get your marriage license, then be back at your house around, oh, noon."

"But what if..."

"Noon.  If you can fly a plane, you can be at your house at noon.  And, oh!  You might want to pick up a ring."

*******

The paperwork involved in obtaining a marriage license was tedious.  Reed let Elise take charge of all the forms, and she grumbled over some of the blanks which asked for numbers.  Whatever a Social Security Number was, she'd decided to make one up.

After their trip to the courthouse, they stopped by a jeweler's to pick out a wedding ring.  He agreed with Elise to have a special set of matching rings made.  Nothing the jeweler had in stock did justice to their feelings for each other.  The man promised the custom-made rings would be ready in four weeks.  Elise said she could wear her mother's birthstone ring at the ceremony.

Now that those details were taken care of, all Reed wanted to do was find a Justice of the Peace and get himself married to this woman.  His morals wouldn't allow him to sleep with her again before marriage.  He'd slipped up once in the heat of the moment, and the experience made it nearly impossible to stick to his beliefs.  It would have happened again last night if not for Jeffrey's questionably timed appearance.  His resolve slipped more by the moment, and it was only a matter of time before Elise's appeal canceled all his best intentions.  The fact that he loved her was the driving force behind his desire to get married, but he'd be lying if he said it was uppermost on his mind right now.

"I want to get married, too, darlin.'"  Elise massaged his knee while she drove.  Her hand worked its way up his thigh, and he slid a little lower on the seat to make his leg more accessible.  "But Jan's taken charge here, and we've been given orders to be back at the house at noon.  And if I know her," she said with a smile, "we'll be married just as quickly, but with a lot more style."

Her hand left his leg and returned to the wheel.  Reed gave a sigh of relief.  Even though he'd enjoyed the impromptu massage, his mouth had gone dry, and the car had become entirely too small to get comfortable in.

The Sevier's car sat at the end of the avenue of oaks.  Elise parked beside it and leaned across the console to plant a long, promise-filled kiss on Reed's lips.  When she drew away she gave him a look so provocative it had every nerve in his body standing at attention.  Then she bounced back into her seat and threw open the door. 

"So!  Let's go get married!"

A groan rumbled in his throat at this unpredictable woman.  One thing was certain.  He would never worry about boredom.

Elise grabbed his hand after he'd unfurled himself from the interior of the car.  She slid her arm around his waist, and he draped one arm across her shoulders on the walk to the house.

The front door swung inward before they ever reached it.  Jan stood there, beaming.

"It's about time."

Jan's digital watch beeped the noon hour as she spoke.

When they stepped through the door Elise inhaled a deep, appreciative breath at the sight before them.

Ropes of fragrant, green wisteria vines spiraled up the banister of the cantilevered staircase and decorated the archways above the doors leading off the foyer.  Purple blossoms dripped from the vines, and white roses with delicate, lacy bows dotted the greenery.  Milky tapers stood clustered together in every available candle holder, ready to be lighted.  The windows flanking the front door had been opened, and the white sheers rippled inward on a gentle breeze.

Elise spun in a circle, murmuring a soft "Ohhhhhhh."  Her gaze took in every detail.  She cried out with delight at the sight of the dining room.  Reed tagged along behind her when she ran in to get a better look.

The table was draped with an antique, battenburg lace tablecloth. Two bottles of Dom Perignon nestled amid a mountain of ice cubes in sterling silver buckets, and several pieces of Baccarat crystal waited to be filled.  In the very center, surrounded by a ring of waxy magnolia blossoms, stood a three-tiered wedding cake.