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“You are trying to help.” The quaver in her voice hit him in the gut. “You could get into trouble because of me.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time.”
Their gazes met and held, and then she smiled. Just like that, he knew he wasn’t over her. He had never been over her. She was the reason every woman he’d dated since high school seemed to lack something vital, only he hadn’t understood that until now.
“Why the hell are you marrying Chet Dever?” Joseph braced himself for her to say, “Because I love him.”
“I don’t know,” Erin said.
“What do you mean, you don’t know?” Relief mingled with pain as raw as it had been more than ten years ago. “How can you marry a guy if you don’t love him?”
“I must love him. I said yes, didn’t I?”
“Why are you asking me?”
Erin scrunched her nose the way she used to do when an idea hit her. Like defying her parents and going to play Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus at a Christmas party for poor children rather than attending their school’s winter formal. Joseph treasured the photo he’d kept from that escapade.
“I don’t remember saying yes,” she said.
“Excuse me?”
“That whole morning is a big blank,” she explained. “He’d proposed the previous weekend. The morning of the accident, I phoned and said I couldn’t wait another day to tell him I wanted to be his wife. That’s what he told me.”
Joseph hadn’t expected anything like this when he decided to inject himself into Erin’s wedding day. “Whoa. Is it just me or does something smell rotten around here?”
“Smell,” she said.
“What?”
“I just remembered. Something smelled sweet. Flowers.” She blinked. “I’m sorry. I must be thinking of the hospital.”
She was so confused she could hardly follow her own train of thought. “You’re in no shape to marry anybody.”
Erin gestured at her wedding dress. “I made a commitment, and I always keep my promises.” Her voice wavered slightly as she added, “Besides, I’m sure it’s what I want.”
“You don’t sound sure to me.”
She hesitated. “I guess I’m wondering why I didn’t accept his proposal right away, why I waited. If I could just put my finger on what happened that morning, I’d feel better.”
In a little over half an hour, this woman was going to walk down the aisle with a man who, in Joseph’s estimation, was both cunning and amoral, and who would dearly love to come into possession of Erin’s millions. She had only his word that she’d agreed to marry him.
He gripped his notepad. Erin wasn’t his problem. As far as this town was concerned, he had no business getting anywhere near her.
Not only weren’t the Lowerys in the same league as the Marshalls, they’d been virtual outcasts since his father, a former policeman, was arrested and convicted of murder eleven years ago. The fallout had destroyed his relationship with Erin. It had destroyed his father, too.
Although Joseph and his mother had stood by him, very few people shared their belief that Lewis Lowery had been framed. After he died in prison and the years ticked by without new evidence emerging, the chances of clearing his father’s name had become negligible.
Erin was another matter. If she’d just become engaged, surely she had confided the happy news to someone. There was no reason to rely on Chet’s testimony.
“Is there a friend you might have talked to that day?” he asked.
“My boss, Bea,” Erin said. “We were working together at the carnival.”
“Do you know her phone number?”
“It’s in my organizer.”
He retrieved her purse from a chair. “May I?” It might take her a while to get those gloves off.
“Go ahead. It’s in the side pocket.”
He found the number and dialed her cell phone. While it was ringing, Joseph handed it to Erin.
After a moment, she exchanged pleasantries with her boss. He heard her ask if, before the accident, she’d mentioned her engagement.
“I don’t understand,” Erin said. “What do you mean you didn’t know I was engaged?… Well, to Chet, of course. You received the invitation, didn’t you?… What?”
He’d thought she was pale before, but some previously unsuspected color drained from her cheeks. “Oh, my gosh,” she said. “Oh, Bea. You won’t believe—well, I don’t have time to explain. Thank you. Yes. This helps a lot. I’ll be in touch.” She clicked off.
“Well?” Joseph said.
She swallowed hard. “I didn’t promise to marry Chet. I told Bea I was going to turn him down.”
Much as he welcomed the news, Joseph had to make sure it was valid. “Could there be a misunderstanding?”
“She talked to me that afternoon, right before I got hit.” Erin spoke in a dull, shocked tone. “I said the whole thing with Chet was a mistake. I planned to give him the bad news in person the next day.”
Joseph couldn’t believe Dever had lied so baldly. “Maybe you accepted him and then had a change of heart.”
“I don’t see how that could have happened,” Erin said. “Chet described how overjoyed I was when I called. He said I could hardly wait to walk down the aisle. I’m not the kind of person who would say that and then change my mind a few hours later.”
“When he told you, didn’t you wonder why you’d agreed? I mean, you ought to know whether you love him or not.” He knew he was being rough on her, but it was nothing compared to the storm that would sweep over Sundown Valley if Erin Marshall left Chet Dever at the altar.
“I believed everything I was told. I couldn’t rely on my memory or my feelings.” She sounded dazed. “I didn’t trust my perceptions.”
What a violation! What Dever had done might not be a crime, but it ought to be. “You can’t marry him.”
Erin dropped her cell phone into her purse. “What a mess! Everyone’s going to be so upset. I don’t know how I’m going to deal with them.”
“The only person you have to deal with is your fake fiancé,” he said.
“No.” Tears welled in her eyes. “There’s my mom. And all those people out there.” She started to shake. “I’m sorry. I know I ought to be able to take care of myself, but I can’t think straight.”
Joseph couldn’t help it. He knew he was compromising his investigation, but he wrapped his arms around Erin and pulled her against him.
She needed him. He’d never believed such a thing could happen, in view of their past and their relative situations in this community. Regardless of whether he crushed his career along with her wedding dress, he refused to let her down.
“Come with me,” he said. “I’ll help you sort it out.”
“You don’t have to.” She rested her cheek on his chest. “This isn’t your problem.”
“Tell me how many people you trust right now, besides me.”
“My mom,” she said.
“Even if she’s under Lance’s influence?”
“No.”
“So there’s just me,” Joseph pointed out. “That makes it my problem.”
Soon enough, she’d have all the support she needed—from lawyers, security guards, accountants, whatever. But for this small, precious space of time, she needed a friend and she’d turned to him. “Let’s get the heck out of here.”
“Thank you.” Erin’s eyes looked huge as she peered up at him. “I can’t tell you how much this means.”
“Cops are the modern equivalent of knights in shining armor, aren’t we?” he teased, and reached for the door.
Eerily, the knob turned just before he touched it, and someone in the hall pulled it open.
Chapter Three
Erin stared in dismay at the man standing in the doorway. In his tuxedo, Chet loomed larger than life, his chiseled face set in an unaccustomed scowl.
He was a big man, several inches taller than Joseph although less tightly knit, with anchorman-perfect dark blond hair and an air of authority that swept people before him. Until now, Erin hadn’t dreamed of standing up to him—at least, not lately.
Since she’d awakened in the hospital, Chet had taken command of her life the way her father used to do. Bruised and aching, uncertain about what had happened, she’d been grateful for his strength.
She wasn’t ready for this confrontation. She hadn’t weighed her plans or gathered her courage. On the other hand, that might take days, and she needed to stop this wedding in its tracks.
Behind Chet in the hallway, Tina hovered uncertainly. Whatever she’d told the groom, the news had annoyed him. His guilty conscience had to be pricking, Erin thought with a trace of her old resilience.
“What’s going on?” he demanded. “I do not want my bride harassed.”
“I don’t believe we’ve been introduced.” Joseph thrust out his hand. “I’m Detective Lowery.”
Chet ignored his hand. “I know who you are.” It was unusually churlish of him, Erin thought.
“Everyone knows who you are.” This last came from Tina’s brother, Gene. Thin-faced and sharp-featured, he, too, wore a tuxedo, since he was Chet’s best man as well as his campaign manager. He and Joseph had disliked each other in high school, she recalled.
Joseph’s eyes flicked over Gene with the barest of recognition and returned to Chet. His air of quiet watchfulness impressed Erin. “Miss Marshall is assisting with an investigation.”
“Well, Detective, your time is up,” Chet said. “We’re having a wedding here and I don’t recall your being invited.”
“If you’re looking for trouble, take it elsewhere,” Gene added.
Tina’s cheeks reddened. “He just wanted to ask a few questions.”
“He’s exceeding his authority,” returned her brother. “And he knows it.”
Erin felt the tension in Joseph’s body. It was obvious that Chief Norris would hear about his intrusion, given his son’s attitude.
If she planned to retake charge of her life, Erin decided, she had better start now. “Joseph was just leaving, Chet, and so am I. I’m sorry but I can’t marry you. In fact, under the circumstances, you’re the one who should be saying you’re sorry.”
The groom’s reaction was subtle but unmistakable: a tightening around the eyes, a flare of the nostrils. Erin’s chest squeezed. Something about him frightened her.
Tina gasped. “Five minutes ago, you were fine. What on earth is going on?”
“Five minutes ago, I was deluded,” she said. “Tina, I was going to turn Chet down the day of the accident. He lied to me.”
“Tell me what kind of nonsense this man’s been spouting.” Chet reached for her shoulders, a gesture he frequently used, she realized, when he wanted to assert control.
She stepped away. “He didn’t have to tell me anything. I called my boss in Tustin. According to her, I was planning to turn you down before I got hit. I never promised to marry you. You lied to me.”
At some level, Chet must have been prepared for her accusation, because he immediately changed tactics. “You’ve been promising to marry me for the past six weeks. If anyone lied, it was you.”
Erin could hardly believe his nerve. “I was flat on my back in the hospital with a head injury! You convinced me we were engaged.”
“The hospital released you a month ago. You could have called off the ceremony at any time. No one forced you to do anything, Erin.” He spread his hands placatingly. “Look, this is an obvious case of prewedding jitters. We’ve got a whole ballroom full of guests waiting for us to walk down the aisle. Do you want to humiliate your mother in front of her friends?”
This last statement stopped her. By refusing to move home again after her father’s death, she’d already let her mother down once and left her vulnerable to an opportunist like Lance. The last-minute cancellation of her daughter’s wedding would embarrass Alice in front of Sundown Valley society. She didn’t deserve to be treated that way.
That wasn’t a good enough reason for Erin to marry the wrong man, however. And if she hadn’t already been convinced there was something amiss, Chet’s behavior these past few minutes had made it crystal clear. Instead of showing concern for her happiness, he’d done nothing but try to finesse her.
“When I told you I didn’t want to rush things, you described how eagerly I accepted your proposal and how I insisted we get married right away,” she said. “You stage-managed the whole thing.”
“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.”
