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He rocked her until he felt the tension seep from her body and then began to caress her again, bringing her slowly back to the peak they had approached before. When he entered her the second time she went rigid, then sighed deeply, making a sound of fulfillment that echoed his own.
“Yes?” he said hoarsely, his face buried in the damp curve of her shoulder.
“Oh, yes,” she breathed in reply.
He took her at her word.
* * * *
“Are you awake?” Heath said softly.
“Mmm,” A
“Do you want to take a shower or something? I’m sure Amy wouldn’t mind.”
“Shower?”
“Aren’t you bleeding?”
“Just a little.” A
“Are you feeling okay?” Heath asked anxiously.
“Stop fussing, Heath. I’m all right,” A
Silence reigned as they dressed.
“A
She turned and embraced him, kissing his bare shoulder.
“Not for a second,” she replied. “I’m just thinking about what we’ll do tomorrow. And the day after that.”
“I’ve been thinking, too,” Heath said quietly, holding her. “I wasn’t going to tell you this just yet but I didn’t realize things would go this far so fast.”
A
“Come here and sit down,” Heath said, leading her by the hand back to the sofa they had shared.
A
He took a deep breath. “I have a cousin in Georgia who manages a marina there. I’ve been in touch with him and he says he can give me a job.”
All the color drained from A
“I’ll move if you’ll come with me,” he replied quietly.
A
“I’ve already checked, and seventeen is old enough to get married there. We’ll get a place and I’ll work full-time. I know it won’t be much at first but we’ll be together. That’s what’s important, right?”
A
“The only thing I’d feel bad about is you leaving school....” he said in a worried tone.
“I can take the high school equivalency exam, that’s not a problem. I’m sure I could pass it right now,” A
“Then why are you crying?”
“I’m so happy.” She sniffed loudly.
“Look, Princess, I think you should take some time to consider this idea. If you come with me you’d be giving up a lot—your home and security, your whole past life—to go off with a guy with an uncertain future.”
She put her hand over his mouth. “My decision is made. Just name the time and the place.”
He searched her face and saw that she was serious. He nodded, exhaling forcefully. “Okay. I’ll need a couple of days to work out the details. Once we get to Georgia, we can stay with my cousin until we find an apartment. It will probably be crowded at first—he has a couple of kids, but he said that there’s a spare bedroom fixed up in the basement.”
“Oh, Heath, I don’t care, I don’t care,” A
“I have enough money saved for bus fare for both of us, and if I sell my bike I’ll have more...”
“Don’t sell your bike!” A
“It won’t exactly be the most comfortable trip,” Heath said dryly.
“That’s all right.”
“You can only bring one duffel bag to put on the back of the bite,” he said warningly.
“That’s fine. Anything you say.”
“I can let you know through Amy when and where to meet me,” he said, his arms tightening around her.
“Good.”
“We’ll do it,” he said, his tone confident.
“We will,” she echoed, her lips curving unconsciously into a smile again.
All her problems were solved.
* * * *
Three days later A
Her throat closed at the sight of him.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Henry Talbot said to his daughter.
A
“Packing,” she said calmly.
“To go where?”
“To Georgia with Heath. I’m of age to get married there and he has a job at his cousin’s marina. I suppose you know something about this or you would be asleep, not standing here in the middle of the night demanding an explanation.”
“Luisa overheard one of your phone conversations with Amy, and she alerted me.”
“Is she on your spy payroll now, too?”
“She’s very fond of you, A
“I’m not getting into trouble, I’m getting married.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Yes, I am. Seventeen is old enough to get a license in Georgia. You can’t stop me.”
“I certainly can. Seventeen is still minority in Florida, and I believe your paramour is of majority age. That means any intercourse between the two of you constitutes statutory rape. If he takes you across state lines, as you say he plans to, he is also in violation of the Ma
A
“You can’t prove anything,” she finally answered, keeping her voice steady, trying not to show how frightened she was. “I’ll never give evidence against Heath.”
“If necessary, I will bring in a doctor to confirm that what I suspect is true,” her father said flatly. “But I doubt that you will let things go that far. If you care about this boy at all, you won’t want to see him in jail. And I assure you that if you pursue this foolishness, that is exactly where he will land. The usual sentence for statutory rape is several years, I understand.”
A
“I have already arranged for you to stay with Mildred Plunkett. You remember my friend in Massachusetts. I called her earlier this evening. I want you to leave for New England in the morning—I’ll take you to the airport myself. I will arrange a transfer to the Hampton School for Girls in Longmeadow for the September term. You will leave without ever seeing this boy again, and you will not communicate with him in the future. Please remember that I can raise the rape charge at any point. Don’t consider contravening me, or Heath Bodine will pay dearly for your defiance.”
A