Created In Fire (Art of Love Series) (6 page)

“Michael, it’s okay,” she said. “They don’t bother me. I’m used to the way they talk.”

“Is what he says the truth, Carlene? If you’re marrying this man, why haven’t you said anything until now? Your mother said you were all fired up to marry some Tom something or the other, not that any relationship so far outside the natural order of things is ever going to work out for you,” Ethan stated, reaching out a hand to rub the arm Michael wasn’t touching.

When Carrie moved away from him and further into Michael’s arms, Ethan swallowed hard. “Well, I won’t be blessing this relationship either. You can marry this man, who’s practically a stranger to you, but it’s not going to work out any better than the others.”

“That’s an awful lot of judgment,” Michael said, wrapping an arm around Carrie’s waist and pulling her protectively against his side. “She came to tell you about us today. Why can’t you stop fussing at Carrie long enough to listen to her explanation?”

“Now who’s being rude,” Kevin said sarcastically. “And you should keep your hands to yourself until you marry my sister. She’s not your wife yet, Larson.”

Michael looked at Kevin, anger at her brother’s hateful comments making his face flush with temper. Shane would have already been panicking to see his rising color. His father would have been reminding him to make calm decisions.

Thinking of the men in his family helped Michael swallow the venom that was just waiting to pour out on these two.

“Carrie is her own person,” Michael said carefully, working hard to keep an even tone. “But she’s definitely mine to protect. Don’t ever doubt it.”

“Michael,” Carrie said tightly, finding her voice at last and pulling on his arm. “Take me home. It was a mistake to bring you here.”

“Carrie, you need to sit for a while first or the car ride will make you sick. Let me take you back to your sisters. They can take care of you for a few minutes while I finish talking with your father and brother,” Michael said, running a gentle hand over her hair.

“No. Absolutely not. I’m not leaving you alone with Dad and Kevin,” Carrie said, her stomach churning with humiliation as her eyes welled with tears.

“I’m tough enough to deal with their true thoughts about us. You don’t have to fight my fights for me,” Michael teased, keeping his tone light, trying to reassure her, smiling gently at her concern.

“You shouldn’t have to fight mine either,” Carrie said tightly, rapidly losing the one that was letting the waterworks start.

“Dad asked you a question, Carlene. Why are you so sick? You haven’t talked to anyone but Mom in months,” Kevin demanded.

“Why are you still so mean, Kevin?” Carrie asked instead of answering.

“I’m not mean. I’m just looking out for you,” Kevin protested.

“No. No you aren’t. If you genuinely cared about me, you’d be nicer to Michael. Whether you or Dad like it or not, I am going to marry him,” Carrie said, stepping away from the protection of his arm and tugging instead on Michael’s hand. “Come with me. Leave with me. I should never have brought you here.”

“Carrie—maybe they just need convincing,” Michael said softly, and then he turned to her father. “What will it take for you to believe that I love your daughter, Mr. Addison?”

Ethan saw the paleness of his daughter’s face, saw her hand cover and hold her stomach. She looked so much like Maggie did their first year together. It was like seeing the past come to life again.

And then suddenly Ethan knew what was going on with his daughter. His mind reeled from it.

“Are you expecting this man’s child, Carlene?” Ethan asked, his face ashen with the realization that despite all the years of teaching them better, yet another grandchild of his had been conceived out of wedlock.

Carrie stopped tugging on Michael and froze. There was no getting out of admitting a truth that would be all too apparent in a couple of months.

“Yes. I am. I’m having Michael’s baby and we’re getting married. That’s what I came to tell you,” she said, lifting her chin again.

Michael turned from looking at Carrie’s face when she’d made the announcement to see what her father was going to say or do. When the fist connected with his jaw from the side and snapped his head around, it caught him completely off-guard. It didn’t move him, but still hurt like hell.

Then everything seemed to happen in slow motion as his head came back around and turned to face the man who had hit him. Kevin was breathing heavily and had his fist still clenched. It had Michael bracing for a second blow, and telling himself that he was not going to kill him when he hit him back.

Carrie’s sisters screamed and passed Michael like a blur. He brought a hand up to rub his jaw, watching them both hit their brother like linebackers.

Behind him, Michael heard something drop and make a lot of noise on the patio. He turned slowly to look at Carrie, who was weaving, hand over her mouth in shock.

Then Michael watched in complete shock as her mother ran past her ill daughter to catch her husband into her arms.

Holy shit
, Michael thought, watching the unbelievable scene in fascination. He needed to get Carrie out of there before she ended up on the ground. No one but he seemed to care that she was about to be sick any minute.

So instead of rounding on the man that struck him, Michael reached out and put his arm around Carrie to keep her upright.

“Michael,” Carrie said, tucking her head against him.

“I’m okay,” he said, realizing it was truth.

Then finally Michael looked at Kevin, who was now being restrained by Darla and Alison, who looked ready to kill him themselves. When Kevin almost broke free once, they tightened their hold on him and whispered ugly threats.

Michael’s eyes glinted in the afternoon sun as his gaze narrowed on Kevin Addison.

“Come ahead, Kevin. Hit me again when I’m expecting it and I will take great delight in beating some sense into you while your whole family watches,” Michael warned.

“I can’t believe Kevin hit you,” Carrie moaned, clutching his shirt. “I’m sorry. So sorry I got you into this.”

“Why? It’s not your fault your cowardly brother decided to behave like an ass today,” Michael said, his voice soft with her.

When Carrie sobbed, Michael scooped her up into his arms fully intending to rescue both of them. “Okay, that’s enough of this craziness. We’re leaving now. You don’t have to worry about these people hurting you anymore.”

Michael turned with Carrie in his arms, wanting to laugh when he saw Darla and Alison had Kevin in a firm lock. There was a pale woman holding a child crying pitifully nearby. With a disgusted look on his face, Kevin tried to break free again, but the girls gritted their teeth and gripped him tighter.

It was definitely a scene out of a bad movie, Michael decided. Kevin was a villain. Ethan was a hard, unfeeling man. Maggie was a woman torn.

Only Darla and Alison were exhibiting any sanity, and look what they were forced to do to help Carrie and him. Michael damn well knew where they’d gotten their fierceness from because he was holding the fiercest woman he knew in his arms. So it royally pissed him off that her family could take her down so easily.

Shit
, he thought.
Your family was supposed to help you, not wreak more havoc in your life.

“Darla. Alison. Thanks for the assist. You’re welcome to come see us anytime,” Michael said.

Then he looked over and glared at her parents. “You two are being lousy parents. I don’t know why Carrie even cares about what either of you think about her, me, or the baby. I love your daughter. You can be damn sure I’m going to treat her better than you all have today. That’s more than you deserve to know about our situation.”

Michael turned and walked off with Carrie in his arms, never looking back again.

“I’m sorry I got you into this, Michael,” Carrie said pathetically, sniffling.

“If you cry, I’m going to leave you on the patio and go back to beat your brother up,” Michael told her, walking toward the house and away from her family as fast as he could.

“I’m not really crying. It’s just—stress,” she said, sniffling hard against his shoulder. “I can walk now. Put me down. I’m too heavy to carry all this way.”

Michael stopped at the patio, set Carrie on her feet, and stood there until he was sure she wasn’t going to faint. By then, his temper had cooled at least a couple of notches.

“Now that I’m calmer, let’s try this again. You want to sit and let me go back to see if I can straighten this out with your father and brother? Maybe they were just caught off-guard by the news.”

Carrie shook her head. “No. There’s no use. They won’t listen to reason. All they care about is what the people in the church are going to think when they find out I’m pregnant and getting married again. In their eyes, I keep making mistake after mistake. I feel like that myself sometimes, but I can’t undo things to save their reputation.”

“Honey, you’re just living your life the best way you can like the rest of us. Those men need to learn some life lessons about compassion,” Michael said fiercely. “Regardless of their opinion, they still had no right to talk to you that way. Everyone deserves to be treated respectfully. They’re lucky my Dad didn’t hear them.”

“They don’t hurt my feelings much anymore. I’m just embarrassed for you. I need to make a quick restroom stop, and then I’ll be ready to go,” she said, escaping from him as he followed her into the house.

Carrie was just coming out of the hallway restroom when her mother walked back in and came straight to her.

“Carlene. Are you okay?” she asked. “Ethan—your father—he said you were having a child.”

“Yes. I am. I’m a little over two months along,” Carrie said, lifting her chin once again, finding it harder to do each time. She was so tired of being on the defensive with everyone in her life. “I came to tell you all about the baby, and that Michael and I were getting married. I’ve moved in with Michael already because I’ve been so sick. He’s—he’s taking care of me.”

“Carlene—please try to be patient with your father. It’s just a lot to accept. You know he has trouble with your unconventional life,” Maggie said, her voice as conciliatory as she could make it.

“It wasn’t like I chased Michael down and got pregnant just to make Dad’s life miserable. Michael’s family gave their support in a single instance of meeting me. It’s hard not to compare how accepting they are with the way Dad and Kevin go out of their way to make sure I feel bad about my life,” Carrie said, her voice sad. “I didn’t mean to get pregnant, Mom. Whether you and Dad believe it, it’s still the truth.”

“What happened between us happened because of how passionately we feel about each other, Carrie,” Michael stated firmly, his gaze fierce on hers. “It’s not shameful. It’s not wrong. And you know I think the baby is a gift. I meant that when I said it.”

Carrie couldn’t stop the tears from spilling over and flowing so hard that they fell in the floor at her feet. It’s what Michael told her the night she told him about the baby. She didn’t believe him then, but there was no disputing his sincerity now. His every action since had proven to her that he sincerely wanted the baby. If there was a silver lining to the cloud of her pregnancy, that was it for Carrie. The father of her child at least wanted it.

Margaret swung a respectful gaze to the man standing at her daughter’s side. “Well, for what it’s worth you have my blessing, Michael Larson. I believe you.”

“Best offer I’ve had so far today,” he said, surprising Carrie’s mother with a quick, uninhibited hug. “I love your daughter, Mrs. Addison.”

“Maggie please—and I believe that too,” Maggie stated, saying a quick thankful prayer, and then another behind the first that one day her daughter would believe it. She knew all too well why her daughter stood crying instead of being joyful and proud.

Carrie swayed again, and Michael swore as he caught her. “Sorry for the swearing, Maggie. Carrie, we have got to talk to the doctor about the fainting.”

“It’s probably low blood sugar. I had that when I was carrying Kevin. Drink some soda or orange juice, Carlene. It will help a little,” Maggie said, rubbing Michael’s arm that was so supportive around her daughter. “In a couple of months, you’ll be right as rain.”

Michael nodded and scooped Carrie up in his arms. “Let’s get you home so you can rest.”

“You don’t have to carry me to the car. I can walk,” Carrie complained, but laid her head on his shoulder.

Maggie hurried out the front door after them, and opened the car door so Michael could tuck Carrie into the front seat.

“Thanks,” Michael said, straightening and hugging Carrie’s mother again.

*** *** ***

Maggie stood in the gravel driveway, watching her eldest daughter being driven away. For the first time in many years, she wasn’t worried about Carlene. It was easy to see that her daughter was marrying the right man this time. Those other two had crumbled. It was obvious Michael Larson cared more about Carlene than he did about what other people thought.

Maybe it was time she did that herself, Maggie decided, feeling some of the old, bone-deep sadness she had lived with so long give way just thinking about speaking her mind.