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"I realize your , but after what happened with your brothers and sisters, all I ask is that you cut us a little slack"

"A little slack," he snorted "Marriage is a serious step A man doesn’t make that kind of decision one minute and march up the aisle the next"

"I used to feel that way myself, but it’s pretty much what happened with Taylor and Russ, as well as Christy and Cody They ht ahead and did it"

"All right, all right," Jason s were spontaneous, to say the least Sae is a serious step," his father went on calmly, "but if you’re in love with Charlotte and intend tothe ball rolling"

The ball rolling She’d started an avalanche "Don’t you think Moreed ah "But you can’t really blaht up in the excitement of thesort of fell into place Itti Charlotte as you claiht talk yourself out of it"

"Do it," Jason echoed "You ra to make any more headith his father than he had his ht? That’s all I ask"

"Aren’t you forgetting soht say no"

His father laughed "Charlotte’s as much in love with you as you are with her She’ll marry you in a New York minute and we both know it"

"But, Dad…"

"Just think about it overnight That’s all your o through with this, then phone us in the "

"I don’t need to sleep on this," Jason argued "I can tell you right now that I’in a feeeks! I was thinkingthe lines of two or three years!"

A heavy silence followed his words "Then you must not be as much in love as your ," his father said and hung up the phone

Jason was too furious to stand still He paced his living rooainst his thigh He tried to smooth out the crease in the bill, realized he couldn’t and tossed the hat on top of the television

Earlier that evening, he’d been talking to Charlotte about this very thing--peopleothers Well, he wasn’t about to fall prey to it now Especially not with his parents

If he allowed hiswhere she’d stop The next thing he knew she’d bewhen it was time for hi breath to clear his head

His assessment of his mother was unfair, he told himself a few minutes later His parents hadn’t interfered in his brothers’ or sisters’ ested Leah and Paul get married, but that was common sense Leah and Paul should have seen it the and hard about confronting the

But arranging his e to Charlotte was an entirely different h…although he did understand how easy it ht up in the heat of thein motion, and before either of his parents were aware of it, they’d planned the whole wedding

As he recalled from his dinner conversation the day before, Jason had told histhe wedding She’d done a bit est what type of flowers to use in the bridal bouquet, however

No, it was out of the question

Jason flatly refused to be a pawn When he was ready to marry Charlotte he’d…

Married He and Charlotte

He needed at least a year just to get used to the idea A e didn’t surrender his freedoht

Then he re Charlotte in his ar her, and the si tiine what his life would be like without her and discovered he couldn’t So his belief that he wasn’t ready flew out the

But e, he told hiauilty--a ould ed and controlled, didn’t they?

Charlotte was a woman, but she wasn’t like the others he’d known She’d been controlled and ainst it Jason couldn’t in all honesty believe she’d try the same tactics on him