said. “I’m sorry. I should know better than to take anybody at face value. We show a face to the world that we don’t show in private.” There was something dark in his eyes as he made the remark, quickly erased. “I think your reasons for marrying are sound,” he added, “and I’ll be very happy to officiate at your wedding. You mentioned next Saturday?”
Jake and Ida stared at each other blankly. The actual date was something they hadn’t really discussed.
“Do you have a marriage license?” the minister added.
They both stared at him.
“I’ll get one today,” Jake said, mentally flogging himself for having forgotten. He’d been involved in a long-distance, very tricky business deal, and the wedding had gone right out of his mind. He wasn’t telling Ida that, of course.
Tolbert smiled. “Then if you get the license tomorrow, I could marry you both on this coming Saturday morning. If you like,” he added. “And you won’t have to wait a week.”
“Well?” Jake asked Ida.
She had doubts. She had concerns. She didn’t really know Jake that well. What if he was like Bailey when they were really alone?
He touched her cheek with the tips of his fingers. “I would never hurt you,” he said softly, and the truth of it was in the silver eyes staring so intensely into her own.
She relaxed. She did trust him. “Saturday morning would be fine,” she said after a minute.
He smiled. “Okay.” He wasn’t sure why he wanted to marry her. He was only sure that he did.
* * *
“I FORGOT SOMEONE. I want to invite Pam Simpson and her husband,” Ida said as they sat drinking coffee at the kitchen table, while Maude pottered around cooking things for their dinner much later in the day. “And, Maude, you have to come, too,” she added.
Maude was surprised. She liked Ida very much, but she felt her place in the household. She had to be browbeaten into even eating with them in the dining room. “Me?”
“Yes, of course, you,” Ida replied. “You’ve been so kind to me. Kinder than anyone in recent years,” she added softly. “You can be my matron of honor, and if you need a fancy dress, Jake and I will take you out and get you one.”
Maude felt lighter than air. She smiled from ear to ear. “You’d do that, for me?” she asked with visible excitement. She flushed a little. “You see, we don’t have much money for extras, although Mr. McGuire pays me a lot more than I’m worth. My husband has a disability check. His back was broken years ago, breaking horses, so I’m the only one working.”
“Of course we’ll get you anything you need,” Jake said, beaming. “And I do mean anything. You might have noticed that we’re both a little better off than most people.”
“I think the Mercedes and the Jaguar emphasize that,” Maude said, tongue-in-cheek.
They both laughed.
* * *
AND THEY DID take Maude shopping, all the way to Los Angeles to one of the most expensive boutiques in town.
Maude was like a little girl in a candy shop. She went from garment to garment, looking as if she’d won the lottery, while an affectionately amused couple watched her.
“She’s such a sweet woman,” Ida murmured to Jake when Maude took two dresses into the fitting room, either suitable for a fancy wedding.
“She is,” Jake replied. “We might consider giving her a raise. She’s worth rubies.”
She grinned. “She is. I’d like that, too.”
He slid a careful arm around her shoulders, just a sign of affection, but it sent a thrill through his tall, fit body. He hoped she didn’t feel it and become afraid of him.
She did. She was feeling the same thing. Like a jolt of lightning, she told herself, but a sensual one. She was shocked that it pleased her so much, being close to him. Unconsciously, she moved closer to him, and the arm tightened, just a little. It was a shock to both of them. They looked at each other with faint surprise on their faces.
They didn’t speak or move until Maude came out wearing one of the dresses, the color of faded antique pink roses. It made her plain face glow.
“That one,” Jake said before Ida could. She just nodded and smiled.
Maude came up to them, smiling at the saleslady. She leaned toward Jake. “Sir, do you have any idea what this dress will cost?”
“I don’t care,” he said.
Ida grinned. “Me, neither,” she teased. “We want you to be the most well-dressed