Free Shadow of Regret (Shadow #3) by Barbara Goss Page A

shocked. I had no idea you had so much mischief in you. Secondly, I fear you’ve made a big mistake. You have no idea what you’ve done.”
    “You don’t want to marry me?” she asked.
    “I didn’t want to marry again, ever , but it looks as though you’ve taken that choice out of my hands,” he said.
    “Am I wrong in thinking that you return my love?” she asked.
    “No. You aren’t wrong. I do love you. I realized that the day at the cemetery. You’ve spoiled me for other women. But, I can’t…I can’t…it has to be a platonic marriage. I will never, ever make love to you, Rose. No matter how much I want to.”
    Rose got up from the chair and stood by his bed. “Why not?”
    “I will never get a woman with child again, that’s why. And, especially not you . I love you too much to lose you in childbirth. I’m having a difficult time getting over what happened with Martha, and now you expect me to do it all over again—no I can’t. I won’t . She’d be alive today if I hadn’t—”
    “I’ll settle for a platonic marriage, then.  At least I’ll have you. I’ll see you every day and I’ll take care of you,” she said.
    Quinn simply shook his head.

     
    Quinn wasn’t surprised to see the small group appear in his room that afternoon. His soon-to-be mother-in-law, Jonas, Ivy, Rose, and the man who'd appeared in his room earlier, whom he'd assumed was the new minister. Jonas had been rushing around all morning getting the license, having Quinn sign it, and returning to the courthouse to have it recorded.
     
    Jonas had to support Quinn so he could stand before the group. He took Rose’s hand. The minister began to read the vows—the very same vows—that had been read the last time he tied the knot. He thought about how different it would be if he were marrying now for the first time, and was oblivious to the dangers an intimate relationship might bring. If only he and Rose could look forward to a playful and memorable honeymoon—but there would be none of that for them. Even so, he felt nothing but love for Rose, and he squeezed her hand tightly, to make her feel less frightened.
    His Rose looked pale when she repeated the vows. At seventeen, he could only imagine how frightening this situation must be. She still wore black because she was in mourning, but someone had put a white-laced collar around her neck to break up the monotony of her black clothes.
    When his turn came, he repeated his vows, looking deeply into Rose’s eyes. Since the vows didn’t make him say he promised to be intimate, he meant every word of them.
    He noticed that the minister had skipped the part about him kissing the bride. He shrugged. He’d get his kiss later, in private, instead of in front of everyone.
    Two shotgun weddings in one lifetime had left him numb, but he smiled at Rose, all the same. He’d try to make the marriage a good one, for her sake. He’d do almost anything for Rose.
    When everyone had left—he knew there would be no celebration dinner—he was left alone with his bride.
    “Well, Mrs. Iverson, what do we do now?” he asked.
    “You have to heal some before we can leave here,” she answered.
    “Pray tell, where will we go? I’ve lost everything.”
    “What?”
    “No one told you? The couple who shot me stole everything I had, including livery stock.”
    “What about your apartment in town?”
    “It’s small, but it will have to do,” he said. “Will you mind?”
    “Not as long as I’m with you.”
    “I didn’t get my ‘now you may kiss the bride’ kiss," he said with a wink.
    “Mother had Martin remove it from the vows. She said she couldn’t bear to see you kiss me.”
    “She hates me that much?”
    “I don’t think she hates you; she just hates what you’ve become.”
    He studied her carefully. Her mother was right. He had messed up his life. It was his loose living that gave “Daisy” the opportunity to ruin him in the first place. He did love Rose, and maybe