As if she sensed that Janet was about ready to bolt, Jessie laid a soothing hand on top of hers. “Look, we all like you and we love Harlan. You seem to make him happy. He’s crazy about Jenny. I doubt the two of you would have gone sneaking off and tearing down that lane in the middle of the night, if you weren’t more than fond of him. So, what’s the deal?”

“It’s complicated,” Janet summarized.

“Nothing’s too complicated it can’t be worked out, if two people love each other,” Melissa declared, distributing milk shakes without even being asked. “I can vouch for that.”

“Me, too,” Jessie said.

“And me,” Kelly added. “We had three of the most reluctant bridegrooms in Texas and look at us now. We’re all deliriously happy.”

“Well, most of the time,” Jessie amended. “After all, those Adams stubborn streaks didn’t vanish overnight.”

Two “Amens” greeted the comment.

“Anyway,” Melissa said. “You clearly have Harlan in the palm of your hand, yet you’re throwing away the chance to marry him. How come? Is Jessie wrong? Don’t you care about him?”

“I love him,” Janet forced herself to admit to these three women who were clearly so concerned with their father-in-law’s future that they’d ganged up on her. “That’s why I can’t marry him.”

“Huh?” Kelly said blankly. It was echoed by the others.

Janet pushed aside her practically untouched shake. “I can’t explain. Not to you, anyway. I can’t even make myself tell Harlan all of it.”

“Are you still married or something?” Melissa asked, eyes wide.

Janet grinned. “No, it’s nothing like that.”

“Then you can work it out,” Jessie said confidently. “Just tell him what’s on your mind. Harlan loves to fix things up for the people he cares about.”

Kelly nodded. “He doesn’t lay on some heavy guilt trip like a lot of men would. He just takes care of things.”

Janet wondered if she could bring herself to tell Harlan that she had wanted the very land he was living on. If she did, would he ever believe that she was marrying him for any reason except to get her hands on that land? It didn’t seem likely.

“At least think about it,” Jessie prodded. “You won’t regret marrying Harlan.”

That had never been her fear, Janet thought. She was far more concerned that Harlan would regret marrying her.

That night, now fully aware that her every move was being scrutinized by fascinated relations, she drove all the way up the lane at White Pines to the house to pick up Jenny. She had almost managed to convince herself to lay all of her cards on the table and tell Harlan everything. She would test Jessie and Kelly’s theory that Harlan would somehow make everything right and forgive her.