Free The Loner by Joan Johnston

drawing some imaginary line down the middle of the bed.”
    “What do you suggest?” she said with asperity.
    “I suggest we forget the whole idea.”
    She shook her head, her ponytail swinging across her shoulders. “No. We’re friends. We can manage this, Billy.”
    “I doubt that,” Billy said under his breath.
    “I can live without sex if you can. After all, this is simply a marriage of convenience.”
    “It won’t be at all convenient to live without sex,” Billy said, lifting a sardonic brow. “But I sure as hell don’t want to end up with another child I have to fight to keep.”
    “I can use birth control if we change our minds later,” she said.
    “I’m not going to change my mind.”
    “Fine,” Summer said. “So we won’t make sex a part of the bargain.” She couldn’t explain the knot that had formed in her stomach. After all, Billy was making this easy for her. She was going to get independence from her parents at a very small price. Knowing the courts, it would take two years for her parents to untangle their affairs enough to get a divorce. Meanwhile, she would be free of their machinations.
    “When are we going to do this?” Billy asked.
    “We can go to the courthouse and do it right now, as far as I’m concerned,” Summer replied.
    “What about that fancy wedding your mother has planned?”
    “She’ll have to cancel it.”
    “What’s your father going to say when he hears what you’ve done?”
    “I don’t really care,” Summer said. “Starting right now, I’m making all my own decisions, without regard to what my parents think.”
    “They’re going to be furious,” Billy predicted with a grin.
    “I really don’t give a damn,” Summer said. “This is my life. I’m going to live it my way.”
    “You’ll lose Bitter Creek,” he said.
    Summer laced her fingers together over her knees. “Maybe part of growing up is admitting I’ll never be mistress of Bitter Creek and figuring out where to go from there.”
    Billy stood and reached down to grasp Summer’s hands and pull her to her feet. He looked into her eyes, his face as serious as she’d ever seen it.
    “I want to be sure you realize what you’re getting into,” he said. “This has to look like a real marriage—at least for two years. There can be no backing out, no running away. If push comes to shove, I need to be able to show the judge I can make a stable home for Will.”
    “Of course,” she said. “I—”
    “I’m not finished,” he said, his hands tightening on hers. “I’m going to need to borrow that $25,000 you get when we marry. I’ll pay you back—every cent. But that much money in one lump sum—and the promise of more along the way—might be enough to get Debbie Sue to drop the custody suit.”
    “It’s yours,” Summer said.
    “Thank you, Summer. You don’t know what this means to me. I…” He dropped her hands. “Just thanks.”
    She saw the relief in his eyes and something else, a troubled look she couldn’t identify. “I’m just glad I can do this for you.”
    “You have from now until we get to the courthouse for second thoughts,” he said. “After that, it’ll be too late to change your mind. Between here and there, think long and hard about what you’re doing.”
    “Don’t worry, Billy,” Summer said. “I know what I’m doing.”
    “I doubt it,” Billy replied. “Just remember. There’s no backing out once we’re married. A quick marriage and an even quicker divorce would look worse to the courts than no marriage at all. Are you
sure
you want to do this?”
    Summer looked into Billy’s worried eyes. He flinched as she reached up to brush a lock of dark hair from his forehead. “Don’t worry, Billy. You can count on me. I won’t let you down.”
    He unsaddled and unbridled his horse and put the tack in the back of her pickup. “Target can find his way back to the stable. Let’s go.”
    “Maybe I should stop by the Castle first and get some of