Bound by Honor Read Online Free PDF

don't even know you." He planted his hands on his hips, baffled by the fact that she was truly serious about this outrageous idea.
    "Within three months," she continued in a rush, "I'm certain I can win them over. I can prove to the Elders that I'm worthy to raise Lily. They'll see me everywhere with her. I'll attend all of the community functions. I'll even participate. You have gatherings and special celebrations, right? I read about them in the paper all the time."
    She didn't wait for an answer. "And anytime we're away from the ranch, I'll play the part of a loving and devoted wife so no one will ever know of our marriage pact. I promise you that the truth will never come out. I'll need to learn all I can about your culture if I'm to teach Lily. I can't start too soon with something so important, right? The Council will love my at titude on that subject, don't you —"
    "Jenna! Stop!" She went quiet.
    "I can't do this." He let the words sink in, and then he firmly repeated, "I can't."
    He braced himself for more tears, but what he hadn't prepared himself for was the tenacity that firmed her jaw.
    "So your life isn't worth three measly months of your time?"
    Accusation made her question uncomfortably sharp. Without breaking eye contact with him, she sniffed and reached up to rub the tip of her nose with the back of her hand.
    Shame fell on his shoulders like a load of cinder blocks. He tried to shrug the feeling off, but it only grew heavier. He frowned.
    He would not allow her to humiliate him into doing something —
    "Do you owe me, Gage Dalton? The day of the storm, you made this Life Gift sound like a very serious thing."
    She had no idea just how serious.
    Chagrin shot through him like white-hot lightning, and she clearly sensed it. He knew she could tell what her allegations were doing to him. And it only made her d oggedness all the stronger.
    She folded her arms across her chest. "So . . . are you going to pay your debt, or aren't you ?"
    Jenna Butler had him backed into a corner, and there wasn't a damned thing he could do about it.
     
    "And you have proof that this marriage is actually going to take place?"
    Disapproval tightened the shaman's wrinkled face. Of all the Elders sitting at the long oak table, Chee'pai had presented Jenna with the most vehement resistance. A contrary man, he'd been adamant from day one that Lily not leave the reservation.
    "Of course," Jenna told him. Nerves writhed in her stomach, turned her knees jelly-weak, but she made every effort to keep her hand from trembling when she offered the marriage license to him. He took it from her. Although he hadn't ever been blatantly disrespectful, Jenna never failed to feel the mighty weight of his condemnation during the many Council meetings she'd attended. The man was simply and clearly opposed to her gaining custody of Lily.
    He didn't bother to look at the legal document but demanded, "Why did you not tell us of your plans to marry before today?"
    Jenna squared her shoulders. "You didn't ask."
    Chee'pai scowled at what he obviously perceived as impertinence.
    "I have answered all your questions," she reminded him. She let her gaze trail down the row of men and women. "I have held nothing back. Not one of you can say differently. How could I have answered questions that haven't been asked?"
    No one offered an argument.
    "And this man is Indian?" another council member asked.
    "He is Delaware," Jenna said. "He lives on Broken Bow. And Lily and I will live here, too . . . with him. We'll be married at the courthouse in Forsyth just as soon as the blood test results are in."
    Montana's required test for rubella was all that stood between Jenna and Lily.
    "It shouldn't take long. The lab tech promised to rush things for me." She clamped her lips shut. She was talking too fast, submitting too much information.
    Gage had offered to come with her to this meeting, but Jenna had felt the need to face die group alone, to see this fight to the end on