“We could still do this on the down-low,” I said. “You just have to satisfy the lawyer, right? We don’t have to have a ceremony or all that.”
“We’d need a license,” Mo said. “We’d need a judge. This town is small.”
“You could go over to Watley county,” my father said. “It’s close enough in distance, b
ut they don’t care about Salvation gossip.”
Mo shook his head. “You’re really okay with this?”
My father laughed. “This is the most batshit crazy thing I’ve ever heard of, but, uh, we’re friends. You’re helping me, and I can’t tell you how much that means to me. And, you, too, Brooke, I know it’s a big ask of you. I feel like we’re the three musketeers against Stark.”
I looked at Mo, who was still shaking his head. “This feels so…wrong.”
My father held up his hands. “Then we don’t do it. I don’t want to do anything that puts you out, Mo. You’ve done enough for us already.”
No, I thought. We’d been so close.
“And if you’re worried about the legal issues of being married, I know Brooke would sign a prenup, wouldn’t you, honey?”
I wasn’t planning on getting unmarried, but I nodded. “Yes, of course.”
“Jesus, I hadn’t even thought about that.” Mo dug his fingers into his eye sockets.
“And I’d pay you back. We’ll have a loan agreement,” my father finished.
“Loans are what got us in this trouble,” I said.
“I can’t expect Mo to hand over money for nothing. I’ll put up the parcel by the river as collateral,” my father said.
Mo looked at me. “You’re okay with this?”
I nodded. “I wouldn’t have brought it up if I wasn’t.”
“I can’t believe I’m considering this.”
“Brooke is a good girl—”
“Woman, Dad. I’m a woman.”
“Right. She won’t cramp your style. She’s a great cook. Just don’t play poker with her. She’ll beat your pants off.”
Mo blanched at the pants off comment. “I don’t need a maid or entertainment.”
“I’m just saying, she won’t be a bother.”
Mo shook his head, and I couldn’t decide if I was offended that he did think I’d be a bother or if I was intrigued by the idea of it. Would he be hot and bothered or just annoyed?
He looked at me. “We’ll get an annulment when this is over.”
I tried to smile even though his comment hurt. “Sure,” I said, but I was going to use this time to convince him to give me a chance. We could be good together. I was so sure of it, even though I knew that, rationally, I had no proof of that. It was possible I was carrying a teenage crush too far. But I didn’t think so.
“It’s settled, then,” my father said. “I can’t tell you what this means to me, Mo. I owe you. Brooke and I do.”
I smiled at Mo, hoping I’d have the chance to pay back his kindness and generosity.
9
Maurice