Meant-To-Be Marriage
Page 54
She nodded, afraid to look at him once she’d backed away from him. Already she was finding out what it felt like to come in second-best.
The Church will always have a claim on him, her mother had prophesied.
“H-how much does he know about me?”
“Everything,” Jarod answered solemnly.
“Even the kiss we shared?”
“Yes. He had to know it all.”
She let out another cry. “He must despise me.”
“No, Sydney. It’s not in his nature.”
Her heart raced like a runaway train traveling toward its doom. “You must have some idea of what he wants—”
His eyes grew bleak. “I could make a few guesses, but since he never uses the phone to discuss personal matters, I’m as much in the dark as you are. He’s asked me to come as quickly as I can.”
“How long will you have to be gone?” She couldn’t bear it.
“I’m not sure, but you don’t have to worry. I’ll be back in time for our wedding.”
“Does he know we’re getting married?”
“I didn’t tell him, but it’s possible he’s already talked to Rick.”
“Then it’s probable he wants to stop you before it’s too late!”
“I can’t answer for him. The only thing important here is that I’m marrying you on Saturday.”
“Maybe, maybe not.”
“Sydney—”
“I’m frightened, Jarod.”
“I know you are. I wish I could take that fear away. You’re going to have to trust me.”
&
nbsp; Her first test…
She tried to pull herself together. “When are you going to leave?”
“Right now.”
Her pain was excruciating. “There aren’t any flights to Bismarck this time of night.”
“The Church has a plane for emergencies. He’s sent it for me. There’ll be a car waiting at the airport to take me to the rectory.”
The bishop had sent a plane for him?
Her pain translated into borderline anger. She fought to control it. “If you knew about this before we went out for the evening, why didn’t you tell me? We didn’t have to go to that movie.”
“Because I wanted to be with you tonight. I wouldn’t have missed the evening you planned for anything.”
“Don’t you think I realize how important his call was to you?” she cried. “You could have caught a commercial flight earlier. If I’d known in time, I could have found a substitute for tomorrow and flown to Bismarck with you.”