Runaway Bride (2 page)

She'd think about all of this later,
right now, they had to make some quick decisions and she had to
form some kind of plan for
her
life. Some kind of future. A future without Chad. It seemed
so dismal, so hopeless.

"A month," she said slowly.

"A month?" he wailed. "Oh God,
Savannah, I don't know if I can do it in that time."

"You have to."

"But you won't be able to see their
faces, the hurt, and anguish. How can I ruin that smile on Mama's
face?" He asked sincerely once more. "She's wanted us to marry for
years. How can I possibly tell her now?"

"That's something she'll have to learn
to get over, as I will." Savannah took Chad's hands in hers, "Look
Chad. You chose this life. It was your decision, now you must face
up to that decision. You have to tell them. Within a
month."

Chad paced, and Savannah watched him
sadly. She couldn't weaken. She had to be strong for them both. But
if she was strong why were her limbs trembling so? Why did she feel
as though her whole life was suddenly in ruin?

"Maybe Douglas will help you." She
offered.

"Oh God...Savannah. I'm not sure I can
do this." Chad said and flopped into the recliner again. "We didn't
plan it. Honestly. I'm not sure how it happened, it just
did."

"It doesn't matter now. It's done. You
have to face it, Chad, for both our sakes. I'm leaving you at the
altar. Everyone is going to blame
me.
But you know..."

"Yes, it's
my
fault!" He practically choked on his own
words.

"Then you will tell them?" Savannah
encouraged.

"Give me two months." He pleaded with
her.

"Two?" Savannah found her temper
rising. Didn't he realize she was barely keeping herself together,
and he was
begging
for two
months? Never had she seen Chad so despondent. But it certainly
wasn't her place to tell her parents or his that he was gay. He had
chosen that life, now he had to face the truth about himself and
his life.

Savannah might have been furious with
him, had it been any other problem she might have handled it, but
this...she couldn't. She simply didn't know how. She couldn't
explain, and he wouldn't.

"Three at the very most," he was
whining. She'd never heard him whine in all the years she had known
him. Dear God, how could thirty minutes change so much in their
lives?

Savannah took a deep breath. Inside she
was seething with some unspent rage. A rage that cried he had no
right to do this to her. But he might ruin both their lives yet, if
he didn't tell his parents, and hers.

What would she do out west with an Aunt
she barely remembered? She wasn't even sure her Aunt Lucy would
know her now.

"Three months, that's it," she decided
firmly. "I can't put my own life on hold any longer than that. As
it is, I'll lose my job. My parents will worry themselves sick, and
blame me. You have to straighten this out. Face your life, Chad.
You've chosen it, now you have to face it."

"I know. Just give me the three months.
I'll find a way to tell them." Chad nodded slowly as though
everything were going through his head at once.

Savannah smiled and nodded, "Okay Chad.
By the end of summer, you'll have to tell them."

"I do love you, you know." He leaned
towards her.

Savannah nodded slowly, sadly, "Yes, I
know." How hollow those words sounded now.

"Didn't you ever once suspect?" He
asked curiously. "I mean... we never..."

"I just thought you were being a
gentleman," she felt a tear slip down her cheek. The dream that she
was saving herself for her husband seemed totally foolish and silly
now. And yet, it was so much a part of her belief that she refused
to let Chad or anyone ruin her ideal. "That's one of the things I
loved about you most."

"I'd thought about...at least trying,
for your sake." He admitted. "You're such a gentle sweet person, it
wouldn't be hard. I could have loved you both."

"Good thing you didn't. You know, Chad,
you are the only man I've ever been serious about."

At that moment she mused the fact that
she hadn't told him she had loved him. Perhaps it was a little
false pride holding her back. Or perhaps there was something
lacking in her own make-up that kept her from it.

"I never meant to hurt you, Savannah. I
never meant for this to happen...it just did. Funny thing is, I
didn't know myself till last summer. Remember, when we went
swimming with Douglas and his sister."

Savannah felt suddenly queasy, dizzy.
She needed to leave. She didn't want to hear anymore, and yet, this
was Chad. Her Chad, till only moments ago. How could a few precious
moments destroy something so lovely? The boy next door she'd grown
up with, fell in love with. It was a fairytale, a dream, it wasn't
reality. And in one moment that whole illusion was spoiled. And
everything she thought she knew about men, seemed very
little.

She couldn't lay all the blame on Chad
either, because she had been a part of it all, too. Chad had simply
chosen another life. She sincerely wanted Chad's happiness, and her
own.

"I've got to get out of here, Chad,"
she said backing away from him as he stood up and started to
approach her. She didn't want him near her. Not right now. It was
simply too soon. She didn't want to hear about Douglas, she just
wanted to escape, so she could cry in private. It hurt holding back
the tears.

There was hurt in his eyes, she saw it.
But it was all too fresh in her mind. She needed time to assimilate
what she had witnessed. Seeing him and Douglas in the garden,
kissing, passionately, destroyed something inside her, facing that
issue was just too much right now. She wasn't sure what it was, but
something was very different, and she knew deep down she'd never
trust her feelings so easily again.

"I've got to go," she said quietly, not
quite meeting his eyes.

"Savannah, forgive me for hurting
you."

"I—I forgive you, Chad. I don't think
you could help it. I hope you and Douglas…can make a
life."

"Thanks, sweetie, I knew you'd
understand, somehow."

Savannah smiled sadly at him. "Good
luck!"

"Okay...Savannah?"

"Yes," she didn't turn around to look
at him,

"I do
love
you, you know that don't you? In my fashion,
I'll always be here for you. You know that!"

"Goodbye, Chad. And…I love you too! I
only wish I'd known sooner, that's all." her voice broke and she
ran from the room. Out into the garden, she ran, quietly, stopping
only long enough to take her high heels off, she carried them in
one hand, her beaded bag in the other.

She headed for the church parking lot
across the street where her parents’ car was parked. Climbing in
she checked under the rug for the key. It was there. Good ole
predictable dad. She started the engine, it purred.

In a moment she would be driving away.
She saw Chad on the lawn, waved and peeled out into the noonday
traffic.

No one saw her, but him. Thank
God.

She couldn't stop herself from looking
in the rear-view mirror. Chad had gone inside. What would he say to
them, how would he explain it to them?

There wasn't time to worry about what
she was doing, or whether it was right or wrong. Her parents would
be furious. She was stealing their car. Not only that, but she was
leaving with no explanations. But until Chad could come to terms
with his own life, she could do nothing more. . . except cry, and
as she looked once more in the rear-view mirror she saw the tears
streaming down her face, and she pulled over for a few minutes. It
was time to cry.

CHAPTER ONE

Jumping out of the car, slamming the
door, she kicked at the flat tire and glanced at the steam rising
from the hood.

"Damn, just what I need," she swore
aloud. "Not just one problem, but two!"

In one swift movement, Savannah bent
through the window of the car and jerked her keys from the
ignition, breaking a fingernail in the process. She grimaced.
Walking toward the rear of the car, she stopped when she heard a
ripping sound.

"Oh good grief...." She knew exactly
what that sound meant. She already heard that same sound today. Her
sleeve had caught on the door of the car. She opened the car door,
and pulled the sleeve back in place. Pressing her lips together in
one fine line, she went to the trunk of her parents’ BMW and
unlocked it.

She stared aimlessly inside. She had
never changed a flat tire in her life, but surely it wasn't that
hard to do. She'd seen it done in a million movies. It looked
relatively simple.

There in the right corner of the trunk
was the jack, bolted down tight as though it hadn't meant to be
used. As she fumbled with the bolt another finely manicured
fingernail broke. She grimaced but kept on working. Her state of
dress, and fake fingernails were the least of her
worries.

"My God, I'll need a crow-bar to pry
that thing loose," she wailed after several minutes of struggling
unsuccessfully to loosen the jack.

Determination wasn't enough she needed
a quick education in self-survival. She didn't have any plan. She
had left the church because she simply didn't know what else to do.
That and the fact that she couldn't marry Chad under the
circumstances had suddenly changed her life forever.

What was she doing out here in the
middle of nowhere? What was she trying to prove? She had a level
head on her shoulders. Didn't she? She had a master's degree in
fine arts, she could play the harp like an angel, and she knew how
to take pictures. And up until yesterday she had been a very good
real estate agent. But for the life of her, she didn't know what
she was going to do next with her life or this blasted
car.

Thoughts of Chad briefly interfered.
She wanted to be married. It was something she instinctively knew
she'd be good at. Some women had their careers, but all Savannah
ever really wanted was to marry Chad. She'd taken odd jobs ever
since she finished college just to look busy and give Chad the time
and opportunity to pop the big question. She hadn't wanted to
appear the spoiled little rich girl, waiting on the boy next door
to make up his mind.

Talk about bursting bubbles. That's
exactly what she had become, the spoiled little rich girl. The dumb
little rich girl. The
sweet
little rich girl.

Thank God her camera equipment was
still in the trunk. She'd planned to take pictures at her own
wedding. What a fantasy that was! She knew every shot she wanted,
seeing Chad's face for the first time yesterday morning, the
flowers, and her young cousin bearing her ring, the wedding cake
that nearly didn't arrive. So many things, so many pictures, now
destroyed.

She'd wasted so many years with Chad.
It had been such a comfortable relationship, Chad never forced
himself on her, and she had enjoyed their dating. They did
everything together, went everywhere, and enjoyed the good life.
Looking at it from a distance she supposed she had become the
spoiled little rich girl with such ease, with not a care in the
world.

That was over, a voice reminded her.
Things had changed drastically since yesterday morning. She had
thrown herself into real life and she didn't have a clue as to what
to do next. She didn't know how to fix the car, get a job, or even
manage her own life.

She was twenty-six years old, and
getting older by the moment, and she still didn't know much about
life, men, or marriage. Everything she thought she knew had been
turned upside down. What she needed was an education in life, and
it certainly looked as though that was about to happen.

"It takes longer with some people," she
reasoned aloud. "But I can do this. I can manage my own
life."

She eyed the jack again and crossed her
arms over her chest.

"I learned a valuable lesson with Chad.
I won't be making that mistake again," she scoffed aloud as she
stared aimlessly down the long deserted highway. But the dream of
marriage lingered in the recesses of her mind. Perhaps it wasn't
Chad she had loved so much, as the thought of marriage itself. Yes,
she was in love with marriage.

She had a level head on her shoulders.
She didn't need a man! Did she?

No, she didn't need one...she simply
wanted one. She wanted that happily ever after picture. Okay, so
she was a romantic, she silently fumed. She had believed in
fairytales. But she could change, couldn't she? She could wise up,
couldn't she?

She had wanted the marriage so much,
she had looked forward to days and nights spent with
Chad.

However, reality had played a trick on
her, and saying "I do" was going just a little too far, when the
best man was who Chad really loved. It seemed like a nightmare,
now.

At twenty-six she was about to grow up,
and fast.