The Bride (The Bride #1)(6)
“Ellie…” Jake started.
“I’m not. I’ll leave Riverbend. Everyone can think what they want, but I’m not living with some strange family. I need to know how much cash my father has.”
“Ellie, you’re not running away.” See, that’s how close Jake and I were. He totally got where I was going with that. Except it wasn’t his call.
“Jake, no offense, but you have no say in this. You got your out. You’ve got your money, you can buy your land. You’re cool. But this is my life and I’m telling you I’m not going to live with some strange family.”
“There is another option…” Howard started, then stopped.
I wanted to hit Howard in that moment. All this time there was another option and he was only now getting to it? What kind of monster… and why was he looking at Jake like that?
“You’ve been researching this too, haven’t you?” Howard asked him.
Jake nodded. “As soon as you told me there was no legal guardian in the will.”
“Okay. Time out. Holy shit, what is happening right now?” I was screeching. I knew I was screeching and it did not sound good. But this was my fucking life!
Howard leaned forward in his chair. “There is a provision in the Montana State Constitution that says with parental approval a sixteen-year old-can apply for a marriage certificate.”
My first thought was eww. I don’t know why, but my mind immediately went to one of those religious communes where the creepy old guys have all these young child brides.
“Now, you obviously don’t have parental approval, but I think I can petition the judge to waive that in this case.”
“What? Wait. You’re going to marry me?”
Super gross. Howard was the same age as my father and plus there was his wife. Mirry would not be happy.
“No,” Jake said. “I would.”
Okay less gross, but still weird. “No way.”
“In name only,” Jake said. “Obviously. We get married. You get to stay here. When you turn eighteen we get divorced.”
“Let me get this straight,” I said, turning back to Howard. “The state won’t approve him as my guardian, but it’s okay if he’s my husband?”
“Legally, yes.”
“That’s jacked up.”
Howard huffed out a laugh. “I agree. But it is the law. What do you think, Jake?”
“I think there isn’t a thing in this world I wouldn’t do for Sam Mason and Ellie too for that matter.”
I leaned back against the couch. Only this time more in shock. “You would do that?”
“I would.”
“What about Janet?”
“I would explain the situation. We’re only talking a year and four months.”
Married. To Jake. Only not really married married. Basically it accomplished what I wanted. I got to stay in my house, stay in my school. There would be some legal document that said we were married, which would make it all okay. And he was right, it was just a year and four months. If he wanted to propose to Janet tomorrow, they would probably be engaged for at least a year anyway.
“What about your land though? You wouldn’t be able to work both this ranch and your own.”
“That can wait too. The leasing rights mean no one else can swoop in and buy it out from under me. Another year of saving at my current salary and I’ll have more to work with to get it going again. I’ve been patient this long. I can wait another year.”
“And four months.”
He smiled at me. “And four months.”
There was only one thing left to do.
“Jake Talley, will you marry me?”
Because it was the twenty-first century and a girl could ask the guy if she wanted to.
Three
Jake
This wasn’t going to be fun. I knew it going in, but as soon as I opened the door to the diner I felt dread settle in my stomach. Janet and I had lunch here every Sunday. It was our standing “date.”
Not that it was much of a date, but the diner was the only place in town to get food unless you counted the hot dogs at the gas station.
She never complained, though.
Sometimes I would think about taking Janet somewhere nice. A place with cloth napkins and candles, but between her schedule and mine there never seemed to be the time.
She hinted at getting away and taking a real vacation, but that would cut into my savings, and my savings was everything. Except when I said the word savings she would get this shy smile and I could guess what she was thinking. That part of what I was saving for was a ring.
I had thought about it. Taking a chunk of money and buying a nice diamond ring. But every time I did the math in my head, a ring cost me at least a year in getting my land back.
That was unacceptable.
My land was everything, and now because of Sam Mason I was closer than ever.
Which meant no matter how bad this was going to suck with Janet, I wasn’t not going to do it.
Janet was already in our booth. Third one on the right. She heard the bell ring overhead when I opened the door and lifted her head in anticipation. She smiled like she always did when she saw me.
She had a menu in front of her, but I never understood the point. It wasn’t as if we both didn’t know every item on the menu and everything Frank would make for us that wasn’t.