Sunny Chandler's Return

“Had he and Gretchen been together before?”

“He swore that they hadn’t been, but it didn’t really matter, did it? They had still betrayed me. Gretchen telephoned in tears, begging my forgiveness.”

“So you decided to go through with the wedding.”

“I didn’t think I had a choice. My parents had spent so much money on it. Practically everybody in town would be there. I was so confused, and there was no one I could talk to about it because I didn’t want anyone to know. It wasn’t as if I had weeks or even days

to make up my mind. I had to decide in a matter of hours what I was going to do.

“Don kept telling me that I was being unreasonable to even consider calling off the wedding, that in the scheme of things one night out of our lifetime didn’t matter. He said I wasn’t taking a very modern approach, and that if I really loved him, I’d forgive him. And I thought I loved him. It seemed impossible to back out.”

She fell silent. When she picked up her story, her voice sounded far away, as though she were reliving it. “It seemed impossible until the minister asked if I would commit my life to Don. And in that instant, I knew I couldn’t. If he could take another woman to bed on the eve of our wedding, chances were very good he’d do it again. The least a married couple should expect from each other is fidelity, isn’t it?” She drew a ragged breath. “So when the minister posed the question, I knew that no matter what humiliation it cost me, I couldn’t go through with the wedding.”

For a long while Sunny stared into the darkness, lost in her memories. When she returned to the present, she realized that Ty Beaumont was supporting her and holding her close. His chin was resting on the top of her head. She could feel his breath sifting through her hair. His fingers were stroking the sides of her neck.

Suddenly the staggering consequences of what she had just done registered with her. Ty had tricked her into telling him what she had kept private all this time. Not even her parents knew why she had left the church that day. Ty’s knowing invested him with power over her. Her secret was certainly safe with Don and Gretchen. But now, Ty knew. At best, he pitied her. His pity wasn’t to be borne!

She spun around and faced him belligerently. Tears of mortification filled her eyes. “There! Satisfied? Is that what you wanted to hear?”

“I had no idea it would be anything so painful.”

“Then you shouldn’t have badgered me into telling you.”

“No, we’re both better off for your telling me. What I don’t understand is why you’ve taken the rap for what happened. Why have you let everyone assume that Don was the injured party?”

“You’ll have to figure the rest out for yourself, Mr. Beaumont. I’m going inside.”

She swept past him, but he caught her arm and drew her back. “ Why, Sunny?”

As she gazed up at him, her eyes filled with salty tears. “Don’t you know?”

The truth hit Ty Beaumont with the impact of a .45 slug. He knew what that felt like, and Sunny’s words struck him just as hard. “You’re still in love with the sonofabitch?”

“Good night. I’m going in.”

“Wait a minute.” He pulled her back again. “That’s it? That’s why you took the blame instead of announcing to the whole church full of people that he and Gretchen had been screwing around, which I personally think you should have done.”

“I didn’t ask for your advice, then or now.”

“That’s why, when you saw him tonight, you looked like you’d been poleaxed before you started playing Scarlett O’Hara. How can you love a creep like him?”

“I don’t expect a man with your lack of sensitivity to understand.”

“Want to know what I think?”

“No.”

“I think you’re fooling yourself into believing you still love him. He’s just the only man who ever got your goat, the only one who rejected you and not the other way around.”

“You’re crazy.”

“No, Jenkins is. For driving a spitfire like you away. Why would the dumb bastard risk losing you? I know Gretchen Jenkins. She’s a good-looking lady, but she has none of your fire, your vitality.”

He cocked his head to one side. “Maybe that scared Jenkins. Maybe he knew he couldn’t begin to please a woman like you. On the night before your wedding, he got nervous about it and needed to be reassured of his virility. So he took another woman—not just another woman but one of your best friends—to bed in order to prove it.”

“That’s ... that’s ridiculous! Real men don’t have to prove their masculinity!” Sunny cried.

“Exactly.”