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between them was out of the question. Not only
were there laws against it, they would be run out
of town on a rail even if they could find a preacher
who would do it anyway. No, what Georgie
wanted, Beau couldn t buy her. He couldn t charm
his way into getting it for her. No amount of his
family s money or prestige could get it for her.
Still, she could not help it. She didn t really just
want to be a wife, she finally admitted to herself.
She wanted to be his wife.
*****
Beau shut his eyes to try to banish the pain.
No matter what he did, it ripped through him,
slicing from heart to the gut. Damn it all to hell!
Why couldn t she be born white, or he black? It
was some kind of twisted Romeo and Juliet tale
that would probably end just as badly.
No! Not that!
Neither he nor Georgie would die; he
would never allow it. But he could not give her
what he knew she wanted, no matter how badly he
might want to.
Georgie was finally asleep, her abused feet
all treated and bandaged. Ida had wanted to do it,
but he could not stand the thought of anyone
else s hands on her. He needed to care for her. It
was his fault after all. He should have waited, just
a little while more, he never should have brought
her here. He should have found a way to whisk
her off to Canada where they could be married.
He just couldn t leave now. Times were
hard, and his family had a responsibility to the
people of Blakeley. His father needed him to try to
people of Blakeley. His father needed him to try to
help dole out as much work as they could, equally
and fairly between hard hit families. Too many
people were leaving. His own best friend s father
had shot himself when the market crashed. Manny
Davis had not been able to face his wife and child
after he lost everything. Beau s friend, Fulton, had
gone west looking for work, wringing a promise
out of Beau to look after his mother. In true
southern fashion, Mrs. Davis refused to admit
anything at all was amiss.
Things like these kept him here, but an
irresistible draw pulled him to Georgie. He could
no sooner leave her alone than he could stop
breathing. He was a selfish bastard. He couldn t
blame her if she hated him. But he couldn t give
her up either. Selfish he may be, but she was like a
drug to his soul, and he didn t want a cure.
Letting out a harsh breath, Beau turned to
go back into the house. He needed to be near
Georgie, to hold her even though she was finally
sleeping. He needed to make sure she was in his
bed their bed. Where she belonged.
Despite the absolute conviction he had in
the thought, he couldn t help but question the
wisdom of making her his as he had. If there had
been any other way&
Hell that was a lie. When her father had
come to him telling him about the offers he was
getting for his baby girl, Beau had seen red.
Georgie was no whore.
You made her one, his mind whispered the
condemnation.
He had wanted her for years, he admitted
that. He d watched from afar as the adorable little
girl had grown into a coltish adolescent whose
promise of beauty was far too evident to his
liking. She had been so damned young when she
had begun to develop curves that had driven him
half out of his mind.
But he had waited. Watched closely as she
matured. He hadn t wanted to ruin the fantasies of
the future he knew she had harbored. Innocent
dreams every girl had, white or black, of a strong
man who loved her, a good decent marriage
complete with children and a little house.
Funny how watching a woman so closely
gave a man insight into things most men never
gave a man insight into things most men never
bothered noticing. She drank in the sights of
happy little families when she went to town. The
look of longing on her face tore him up. Georgie
wore her heart on her sleeve, making it too easy
for others to hurt her. How he wanted to make
those uptight bitches with their snide remarks pay.
Georgie would have never been accepted into
their closed-minded circles.
He had done what he could behind the
scenes. He had been paying for her upkeep since
she turned fifteen, giving her father money
monthly to make sure she had any and everything
she needed. Even when he had been sent off to
school up north, he made sure James had money.
James Willard had been furious at first
when Beau approached him. But James knew the
truth. No decent man would be courting the
illegitimate daughter of the juke joint owner. She
had been considered damaged goods from her
birth; not that she was, but folks in Early County
were simple minded about some things. The
phrase sins of the father was taken as the gospel.
They both knew it. It would have been kinder for
Beau to offer to sponsor her to move away from
here, but she would have never done it. If he were
honest with himself, he would admit he couldn t
have let her go. She had no family elsewhere.
There would be no one to see to her safety. Her
father would not leave, though why Beau didn t
know.
He had researched a place for them;
somewhere they could be together out in the open.
Canada or the far west were their only options. He
didn t want to chance the west, not with so many
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