Chapter 15
Melanie looked at the fake, cheap, metallic gold ring on her finger. Then she looked at the fake cheap metallic gold ring on Bryce’s finger. Then she looked at the marriage certificate printed on cheap, plain white paper. Then she looked at Bryce, who was still in a state of semishock.
They were married. Husband and wife. Till death do them part. The old ball and chain. She had married Bryce Landry. She was Melanie Landry now. She had to admit, she liked the sound of her new name.
Unlike the flight to Vegas, they were unable to purchase first-class tickets on such short notice, so the only seats available to them were those in coach at the very back of the plane. By the restrooms. The stench was atrocious.
Melanie had barely uttered a word since she’d confessed to Bryce that, even though she had been told by the horrible woman at the adoption agency that she wouldn’t be able to adopt a child unless she was married, she’d gone ahead and had her application processed anyway. She said that she knew it was selfish and foolish of her.
She was flabbergasted when he told her there was no time like the present, that he would’ve married her anyway. He said it was his destiny.
“I told Ashley when I got married she could be my maid of honor.”
Bryce took her hand in his. “Let’s worry about one problem at a time. We can always have another wedding. Now, tell me again what this woman Carla said.”
Melanie’s eyes flushed with unshed tears. “It’s like something right out of a novel. Apparently there was an eight-car pileup on I-70, nothing new there. A couple in their early thirties died at the crash scene. Carla said there were no relatives, no foster parents available. So I guess the next step was World Adoption Agency.
“According to Carla, Olga Krause has been stealing the state practically blind. She believes Olga is hoarding away money for when she retires. There are eleven other children in need of a home. Those poor little kids; I should’ve known something was wrong. And to think that old bat was in charge of all those innocents! She reminded me of Scrooge—I remember thinking that at the time. She just had a mean look about her. I hate to judge, but I hope that woman is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Let her live the remainder of her life behind bars. Carla said the children were malnourished and frightened. Oh, Bryce, what in the world have I gotten myself into? And you, too.”
Bryce squeezed her hand because, for once, he really didn’t know what to say. The only thought that kept beating against his skull was the fact that he’d married Melanie. They’d been dating for less than one week, and he’d married her. What he couldn’t get past was the fact that he’d never felt such pure and complete happiness. Yes, it had been a crazy thing to do when Melanie told him she wouldn’t be able to adopt a child unless she was married. Like the gentleman he was, he’d quickly made arrangements for a Vegas-style wedding, and now they were on their way home to Denver. Melanie had called her parents, telling them she was returning sooner than planned and that she would pick up Odie and Clovis as soon as she could. She had neglected to mention she was coming home a married woman.
Bryce had a feeling this Christmas was going to be unlike any other. Past and present.
“We’ll work things out. I have lots of friends in Boulder.” What he didn’t say was that he wasn’t sure if any of them would be willing to take in thirteen children.
* * *
Less than twenty-four hours after leaving Denver International Airport, they’d returned to Placerville. Seated in the rear seats of the private jet Melanie had engaged, they were the last ones to exit the plane. Neither spoke while they waited for the other passengers to retrieve their book bags, diaper bags, and the like from the storage compartment.
Bryce would’ve been happier seeing Cher, but Melanie and the thirteen kids were much more important. Being in academia, he was around young adults most of the time. Of course, he was beyond thrilled to be Ella’s uncle, but would he pass muster as a parent if it came to that? He could only hope. Now more than ever, he wanted to be the stand-up kind of man his father would’ve been proud of.
After they had gotten to Denver, Carla had explained that there was no prohibition on single-parent adoptions in Colorado—that Olga must have deliberately misled Melanie on that score, because anytime a child left the orphanage, the funds available for Olga to embezzle decreased. But neither Melanie nor Bryce had the least regret about the solution Bryce had come up with for Melanie’s adoption woes. Married they were and married they would remain. Till death do them part.
With a renewed sense of purpose, Bryce vowed those thirteen children were going to have the best Christmas ever.
He would make sure each and every child found a home, and, maybe, if he was lucky, each and every one of them would have a home before Christmas.