The Price of Trust (21 page)

"I was just joking." Carly laughed, trying to breathe.

"I'm not waiting longer than three months at the most," he said, looking stubbornly at her.

"But where will we live?" she asked coyly, batting her eyes at him.

"She's got a point, Joe," Penny said. "You've got to have somewhere to live when you get married. You can't live with us. Two women in one kitchen never works!" She winked at Carly, making her laugh.

"I'll start working on the house non-stop after my work here is done, and I'll have it close to being finished when we're married."

"Non-stop?" Carly said in mock disappointment. "That means I'll never see you. How will I remember what you look like? What if I marry the wrong guy by mistake?"

"You better watch out, or we're going to have a Christmas Eve wedding!" he said good-naturedly, giving her a kiss on her cheek.

"Well, I guess I better hush up! Good-bye!" she said, shrugging on her coat as Joe walked her out the door with Todd and Kelly.

Penny followed them out onto the porch. "Oh! Carly! If you really want to learn how to make butter and cheese, come by Saturday, and I'll show you."

"Okay, sounds great! What time do you want me here?" Carly asked, opening the door to the car. Kelly was already in saying a quiet good-bye to Todd.

"I can come get you before I do my chores!" Joe said hopefully.

"No way! If I came to help you with chores again, you'll be spoiled and expect me to come help every day." Carly said saucily, giving him a hug.

Penny stomped her feet and hugged herself to keep warm in the frigid air. "Why don't you come by around ten? That's usually the time I start."

"I'll see you Saturday at ten then," Carly said, closing the car door behind her and giving Joe a lingering final kiss good-bye through the open window.

"We're down to three weeks," he said softly, laughing.

"I love you, Joe Baird."

He jogged a little way beside the car as they drove down the drive. "I love you too, Carly Richards! Be careful and call me if you need anything."

Carly woke up early Saturday morning, stretched happily, and admired her ring. She'd slept more peacefully than she had in a long time.

Carly Baird.

It just didn't seem possible. She didn't deserve him, but she loved him and he loved her. God had brought them together, and somehow she knew God would keep them together.

She showered and dressed lazily, having quite a bit of time before she had to leave to go to Joe's house. She ate some of Sue's delicious leftovers that she had sent over for her, reading her Bible as she ate.

Lord
, she prayed silently.
I love you and thank you for Joe. He's wonderful. Thank you for bringing me here to meet him. Please keep us safe from Ian, and keep him safe as he does all that he needs to do today
.

She sighed happily, cleaned up after breakfast, and decided to go and check on Sam and Sue's place early. She was just putting on her coat when the phone rang downstairs. She ran to get it.

"Hello?" she asked breathlessly, leaning on the counter.

"Happy Thanksgiving, Carly," Ian said, his voice icy.

"Thanks," she said flatly, disappointed.

"Not much of a greeting," Ian said, irritated. "I was calling to be nice, and you can't even be polite."

"Happy Thanksgiving, Ian," Carly said unenthusiastically. "Is there something that you needed? I've got somewhere to go."

"I need you, of course. Where were you Thursday? I tried to call all day, and no one answered," he said evenly as shivers went down Carly's spine.

She knew that tone. He always used that tone when he was really angry with her for something. She'd have to be careful.

"I was with some friends."

"With that farm boy again, I presume," he said coldly. "I thought I told you to stay away from him."

Wearily, she sat down on the floor and hugged her knees. "Ian, what will it take for you to realize that we are no longer together, that I don't want to marry you, and that I want you to leave me alone?"

"What will it take to convince you that I want you to come home?" he asked edgily.

"I'm not coming back," she said softly. "It's over, Ian. Please. Just let it go."

"I'm not going to let you go." He was silent for a moment. "Carly," he said gently. "Remember when we were first engaged?"

Silence.

"I haven't forgotten our conversation. I remember you telling me that you wanted to go to the Bahamas for our honeymoon. Do you remember?"

Carly closed her eyes, chilled to the bone.

"I want to take you there for our honeymoon," he went on gently. "Come home, and we'll leave right away."

"Are you telling me that you're sorry for all the things you've done to me?" she asked scornfully, knowing that he was just trying to buy her.

"I haven't done anything to you that you haven't deserved," he said, not quite as calmly as before. "Look at what you're doing to me now. You're costing me a lot of money."

"I know how to save you some money," she said bitterly. "You can call off all those people you hired to find me and harass me. I'm sure that'll save you a lot."

"You will be home with me by the New Year, even if I have to come there to get you myself. You will not belong to anyone but me, and you might want to remember that and stay away from your little farm boy before he gets hurt. Do you understand me?" She could imagine the spittle flying from his pursed lips as he shouted into the phone.

"Don't you even think of bringing him into this mess!" Carly said, her voice rising. "He has nothing to do with this!"

"Really," he said, dangerously calm. "I think I've just hit a nerve. I'm not the one who brought him into this, remember? You did when you went out with him the first time. How much do you care for him, Carly?"

Silence.

"Do you love him, Carly?" he asked, agitated.

More silence.

"Answer me!" he said through gritted teeth, making her jump.

"Please," she begged, dangerously close to tears. Crying was the last thing she wanted him to hear as it would only please him. "Please, Ian. Just leave me alone."

"You belong to me! If you get involved with him anymore than you already are, you will regret it!"

"Do you know why I left, Ian? I was tired of being bullied and beaten by you. And now that I'm free, I'm not going to let you tell me who I can and cannot be with. You don't own me, you aren't my husband, and I'm not going to listen to you. Do you understand what I'm saying? I'm not going to be your little robot anymore, and I'm not leaving here!"

He sneered contemptuously. "Can he give you all the things I can give you? Can he afford to take you to the Bahamas or anywhere for that matter? Can he give you the cars, money, clothes, and homes I can?"

"No, he can't," she said softly. "And I'm happier now than I ever was with you."

"What can he give you that I can't?" Ian asked coldly.

"Love," she whispered. "He can give me the one thing you never could. Love."

"Love?" he asked scornfully. "I loved you and I still do. I'm not going to let you throw yourself away like this, Carly."

"You don't have to call me anymore, Ian."

"Wait!" he said quickly before she could hang up. "All right. Maybe there were a few times I was a little too hard on you, and maybe things moved too fast after your dad died, but we can make this work, Carly, I know we can. Give us another try," he said, changing tactics.

"It's too late. I don't want to give us another try. We're over. Please don't call me again."

She could just imagine his furious countenance as he bellowed into the phone. "You and I are not over! I will come and get you, and bring you back!"

She hung up in the middle of his tirade, shaking. She sat on the floor for a little while, calming her nerves. The phone rang. She didn't pick it up, knowing it was Ian. Instead, she got up, buttoned her coat, grabbed her keys, and headed out the door, the phone still ringing insistently behind her.

She walked to Sam and Sue's house quickly, thinking of her conversation with Ian. Would he hurt Joe? Would he really come up there and force her to go back? She shuddered at the thought. She had been afraid to talk to him so boldly after he'd beaten her when she'd confronted him about the other women. She trembled to think what he might do to them both if he came to get her. He didn't forgive and forget. She knew that she'd hear from him again and was worried that it might be face to face.

She watered Sue's plants quickly, checked for any messages, and locked the doors behind her, walking tentatively to the garage, unsure if she should drive the truck or not.

Sam had insisted and made her promise that she would drive it, but she was still nervous. She wouldn't be able to forgive herself if something happened to it while they were gone. She opened the garage door, got inside the cozy truck, and turned the key, wincing.

The truck roared into life, seemingly anxious to get out onto the road. She eased it out of the garage, closed the door, and carefully headed out toward Joe's. She became more confident as she drove, taking extra precautions not to damage it.

She drove into their driveway at exactly ten and parked next to Joe's truck, thrilled to see Joe coming out of the barn to meet her.

"Good morning!" He kissed her. "Sam let you drive his truck? He must really like you." He grinned, checking out the truck admiringly. "That's a nice piece of work there, but I've got to admit, you sure do make it look a lot better!"

She smiled wanly, taking comfort from his hug. "Good morning. I'm so glad to see you."

"I missed you," he said softly into her hair.

"Guess what I got this morning?" she asked, stepping back to look up at him.

He smiled lazily. "What?"

"I got a phone call," she said grimly. "From Ian."

"What did he have to say?" he asked, his face tight with concern.

"He told me to stay away from you again, and he asked me if I love you."

"What did you say?"

"I told him that I wasn't going to be pushed around anymore and that he could stop calling me. But I didn't tell him that we're going to get married," she said awkwardly.

"Why didn't you tell him? Maybe he would have left you alone," he asked, upset.

"I didn't tell him because I was afraid that he'd come here and try to hurt you," she said, noticing Joe's hurt expression.

"Ah." He nodded his head knowingly, refusing to meet her gaze. "I see. Well, Mom's over there in the cheese room as we call it, waiting for you." He cleared his throat. "I've got to finish my work here, so I'll see you later." He walked away quickly.

She followed after him, catching his arm and turning him around to look at her. "Are you mad?"

"Why would I be mad?" he said evasively, shrugging off her hand and walking into the barn. She followed him, grabbing his hand tightly.

"Will you talk to me?" she pleaded. Tom and Todd turned to look at them in surprise. "I can't fix it if you don't talk to me," she said, fighting back tears.

"Okay," he said, nodding his head impatiently. "Why didn't you tell him we were getting married? Are you ashamed that I can't afford to buy you everything he could?" His face was red with jealousy and anger.

Penny came out of her room, wondering what the commotion was all about.

She lowered her voice, embarrassed that his family was watching them argue. "I told you why I didn't tell him. And I don't want all those things he gave me. I want you. That's it. Nothing else," she said, tears welling up in her eyes.

Joe looked at her silently, unconvinced.

"I just don't want him to hurt you," she said, tears starting to streak down her face. "I want you to be happy. I'll do anything to make you happy." She looked at his family, watching them silently. "Do you want me to leave?" she asked sadly, wiping her tears away, afraid he would want her to go.

"I don't want you to be ashamed of me!" he said fiercely.

"How could I ever be ashamed of you? I love you, Joe," she said as he turned away.

She looked at Penny helplessly. "I'm sorry, Penny. I can't stay and help." She turned away, her voice breaking.

"Nonsense!" Penny said, taking her hand quickly. "You came to help me, and I'm not letting you leave." She cast a bewildered look at Tom, ignoring Joe completely. She led Carly to the back room and closed the door quietly behind them.

"You can sit here until you feel better," Penny said kindly, offering her a chair. She busied herself, giving Carly time to calm down.

She covered her mouth and sobbed involuntarily, feeling as if her heart would break. Penny hugged her fiercely, rubbing her back and rocking her gently.

"Shh," she whispered comfortingly. "It's okay. It'll all turn out right. He'll come to his senses. He may get upset quick, but he's even quicker to forgive. He doesn't hold grudges. Shh."

She looked at her desperately, anguish written across her face. "It's all my fault. What if he doesn't want me anymore?"

"Joe? Not want you?" Penny smiled incredulously. "Joe wouldn't throw you away if his life depended on it. Anyway, if he stopped loving you because of a misunderstanding, then it wasn't worth much. You just give him some time to think about things. Right now he's jealous and hurt, and if I don't miss my guess, he's more afraid of losing you!" She smiled comfortingly.

Carly sighed, wiping her eyes. "I love him so much, Penny. I don't want to lose him for anything or anybody. Especially Ian."

"You won't. Trust me," Penny said, tying her apron and handing one to Carly. "Here, you're going to need this."

"Thank you, Penny," she said with a small smile as she tied her apron around her waist. "I feel better."

Penny hugged her again, smiling. "Hey, what are future mothers-in-law for?"

They worked well together, Penny explaining what she was doing and what Carly needed to do. They finished quickly, enjoying the time they spent together.

"That seemed to go by quick," Penny said, her face flushed. She sat down, fanning herself.

"Are you okay?" Carly asked, concerned.

She leaned over in her chair and grimaced. "I don't feel too well."

"I'll help you to the house." Carly helped her up, wrapped her in her coat, and led her out of the room. She looked hastily for Joe or the others. Not finding anyone, she helped Penny to the house, holding her securely so she wouldn't fall.

"Where do you want to go?" Carly asked, taking her inside the kitchen. She sat her down in a chair, helping her off with her coat and boots.

"I'll just go lie down on the couch," Penny said weakly, trying to stand up on her own. "On second thought," she whispered, holding her stomach. "I think I need to go to our bedroom. I think I need to rest for a while."

Carly led her into her bedroom and helped her lie down.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" she asked anxiously, sitting on the edge of the bed.