Merry Christmas, My Love

Chapter 9

Priscilla awoke in Mitch’s arms. They were both still undressed but wrapped in the blankets, nestled together like spoons in a drawer. The area between her legs was sore, but since Mitch had made love to her three times during the night, it would be a miracle if she could even walk.

Mitch shifted and she felt him nuzzle her neck. “We have to talk.”

Priscilla turned toward him and stretched, feeling like a contented cat. “About what?”

“Marriage.”

She frowned. “Whose marriage?”

He tucked a curl behind her ear. “Ours.”

“What do you mean?” She edged back then sat up, wrapping herself in the blanket.

“Honey, we spent the night together. We made love. Three times, in fact. We have to get married.”

She stood and dragged the blanket with her, heat rising to her face when she left Mitch naked. She turned her back and bent to scoop up her discarded clothes. “I don’t have to do anything.”

“Priscilla. There is no choice.” Still sitting, he tugged on his pants, then his socks and shoes.

She shimmed into her dress, smoothing down the skirt. “There is always a choice.”

Mitch stood and grabbed his shirt. “Yes. And we made that choice last night. It’s a final decision.”

“How dare you?” She rounded on him. “There is no ‘final decision,’ Mr. Beaumont. I don’t choose to get married. I don’t want to get married.”

He dragged his hand down his face then rested his hands on his hips. “Honey—“

“Stop calling me that.”

Taking a deep breath, he said, “Priscilla.”

She walked across the room and looked out the window. “The snow isn’t too high. I think we can probably head home.”

Mitch shook his head, then grabbed his coat and tossed Priscilla hers. “Fine. We’ll leave.” He helped her into her coat and escorted her out the door. “This conversation is not over.”

With the storm finally ended and the snow not too deep, Mitch was able to steer the buggy away from the cabin and onto the roadway. Priscilla was bundled up in her coat, scarf, gloves and hat. They had the blanket wrapped around both of them. She stared at the passing scenery, the snow on the trees glistening in the sun like diamonds. But even their beauty didn’t distract her from her thoughts.

Marriage. Not likely. When her cousin Ellie married Max, the school board forced him to fire her. Said they didn’t employ married women. Such a stupid policy. As if once you got married, you all of a sudden lost your brain. She wasn’t about to give up the job she’d just started.

Aside from that, if and when she ever married—a long time from now—it would be to a man who offered a better proposal than “we have no choice; it’s a final decision.” She snorted. So romantic. No talk of caring, or a future, or how much he wanted to marry her. No. It was all about “we have to get married.”

Mitch’s jaw ached from biting down so hard. How could Priscilla possibly believe they would not have to get married? When the townspeople learned they’d spent the night together in an abandoned cabin, all alone, she would be fired. Teachers had to maintain certain standards of behavior.

But aside from that, what was so horrible about marriage to him? She didn’t want to get married. Well, hell, neither did he, but he was ready to do the right thing. Of course, the idea of crawling between the covers with that luscious body every night made marriage appear a lot more palatable.

“Until we can make a decision on this, I suggest we keep our little adventure to ourselves. I can make sure Ian doesn’t say anything. It will give us more time to work out our issues.”

Priscilla sighed and turned to him. “You don’t understand, Mitch. There are no issues to work out. For some ridiculous reason you believe it is absolutely necessary for us to take a permanent step for no other reason than ‘it’s the right thing to do.’”

“Has it occurred to you that you might be carrying my child?”

He gleaned a certain amount of satisfaction from her face paling, which assured him that was something she hadn’t considered. “It is possible, you know.”

“And hardly likely. Getting pregnant so easily is not probable.” She chewed her lip. Perhaps she was not as sure about her assertion as she sounded.

Luckily since they’d left the cabin not long after dawn, the streets of the town were quiet and no one saw them on the main roads. He drove her directly home and helped her out of the buggy. Holding firmly onto her elbow, he guided her up the path through the snow to the house. “The town generally dispenses with school after a big storm, but since today is Saturday anyway, you will have the day to consider my proposal.”