Free GHOST HUNTER by Jayne Ann Krentz

be spending even more time at the office. What were you thinking, anyway, going straight for a full Covenant? If we were going to try any kind of relationship at all, we should have gone for a limited Marriage of Convenience."
    "Thought I knew what I was doing," he said.
    The marriage laws had been relaxed slightly in the past two centuries, Cooper reflected, but not a whole lot. The rigid rules had made sense two hundred years ago when the colonists had found themselves abandoned on Harmony.
    The settlers' primary goal in those dangerous early years had been to establish a strong, cohesive social fabric. The personal happiness of individuals had been a distant second. The social scientists, philosophers, and elected leaders had known that the basic building block of any society was the family. They had concluded that if the small, fragile colonies were to stand any chance at all of survival, the social structure had to be founded on strong family units.
    The desperate, determined Founders had drawn up a Constitution and a series of laws designed to ensure that families remained intact, regardless of the price that had to be paid. Hence, the institution of the Covenant Marriage, a bond which, generally speaking, could be severed only by death or an act of the Federation Council.
    But the Founders had also understood the need to provide an alternative for those who were not ready to take the big leap. The Marriage of Convenience was a legally recognized arrangement that had to be renewed regularly by both parties involved. It could be terminated at any point. There were pitfalls, however. Couples had to be particularly careful about birth control. The arrival of a baby automatically converted the short-term status of a Marriage of Convenience to that of a permanent Covenant Marriage.
    Families encouraged their offspring to experiment with MCs while they were young and more at risk of being swept away by the glittering lures of romance, passion, and plain, old-fashioned lust.
    Covenant Marriages were supposed to be carefully thought out business and social arrangements reserved for those who were more mature and ready to settle down.
    Guys like him, Cooper thought. He'd had it all so carefully planned.
    "Well, don't blame yourself too much." She patted his shoulder in much the same way that she had just patted Rose. "After all, I accepted your proposal. I thought I knew what I was doing, too. And Guild tradition is a powerful force. Guess we both had a narrow escape."
    "Guess so." Conjugal relations was the last subject he wanted to think about just now. But he couldn't seem to move on. "You ever tried an MC?"
    "Who? Me? Nope. Left at the next corner."
    "Why not?" he asked, unable to stop himself.
    "Let's just say that an MC is easier said than done in a small town where everyone knows that you're the daughter of one of the members of the Guild Council. I always had to worry about the real motives of the men who showed an interest in any sort of arrangement with me, short-or long-term."
    "Men like Palmer Frazier, do you mean?"
    "I think we'd better avoid the topic of Palmer Frazier." She paused. "What about you? Ever been in an MC?"
    "No."
    "Why not? Too busy working your way up through the Guild?"
    He moved one hand slightly on the wheel. "That was one of the reasons."
    "Are there any others?"
    "None that I'm prepared to discuss tonight."
    "Oh." She sounded chagrined. "I don't have the right to ask those sorts of personal questions, do I? Turn right."
    He followed directions obediently. There was no reason to mention that he already knew how to get to Ruin Lane because he had cruised past St. Clair's Herbal Emporium earlier today, immediately after he had arrived in town.
    As was the case with all of the other major city-states, Cadence had grown rapidly, pushing out into the surrounding countryside. Predictably, the Old Quarters had been treated with benign neglect. Over the years many of the neighborhoods near the great walls