by Lori Wilde
“But you had so much chemistry that things went kaboom, right?” Trent asked.
Chase wasn’t about to discuss his sex life. All he was willing to say was, “Sort of.”
Rather than appearing contrite, his brothers grinned once again. Great. So much for finding a sympathetic ear around this place.
“You want to know what your problem is?” Nathan asked.
Chase glared at him. “No.”
Without hesitating, Nathan said, “You never see what’s standing directly in front of you. Megan has been in love with you for years, but you never saw it.”
“We’re friends. At least we were. I don’t think we are anymore.” Even saying the words hurt. Megan had been a great friend to him. He was going to miss her.
“You’re a jackass,” Trent said, standing and retrieving the ball. It went through the hoop with a whoosh. “Megan loves you. You love Megan. And if I’m understanding you right, the two of you howled at the moon in the bedroom. So that’s that. Bing. Bang. Happy ending.”
Nathan nodded. “Seems pretty easy to me as well.”
“Megan wants love and forever. Let’s face it. No one we know is happily married, and Megan already turned me down when I suggested we keep things casual.”
Nathan stood and walked over to Chase. “Sometimes love does last. I can think of a lot of couples who are still going strong after twenty, thirty years.”
“Name one of those couples,” Chase challenged.
Just as he expected, Nathan couldn’t immediately list one.
“You can’t think of one, can you?” Chance said.
Nathan shrugged. “Give me a moment.”
Trent laughed. “I’ve got one. Conrad and Amanda Newman. They’ve been married forever.”
Nathan nodded, his expression turning smug. “That’s right. And the Monroes. They’ve been together a long time.”
“And Earl and Fran. Married for years.” Trent bounced the ball as he said, “Guess you’re wrong, buddy boy. Lots of couples last.”
Although his gut instinct was to dismiss what his brothers were saying, Chase had to admit they were right. Those three couples had been together a long time and still were happy.
“I guess,” he eventually conceded. “Maybe some people know the secret to making love last.”
“I don’t think there’s a secret,” Nathan said. “I think they work at it and don’t take each other for granted.”
“It’s kind of like this ranch. You work hard to keep it going. I believe you’d work equally hard on keeping your marriage happy.”
With effort, Chase swallowed past the lump in his throat. “Marriage? I’m not even sure I love her.”
Trent shoved him. “Sure, you love her. That’s why you miss her so much. And you should be thinking about marriage. You can’t take a woman like Megan away for a wild weekend of crazy sex and not ask her to marry you.” He shook his head. “Damn, Chase, I thought you knew better than that.”
Indignation filled Chase, more on Megan’s behalf than on his own. “I didn’t say we had a wild weekend of crazy sex.”
“Oh, give it up, Chase.” This came from Leigh, who had walked out the kitchen door. “You’re not fooling anyone. You and Megan made love. Everyone knows it. In fact, I was in Palmer’s Grocery yesterday, and Betty Ann said she thought you and Megan had been fooling around for years.”
“No, we haven’t,” Chase said.
“I don’t think I believe you. I think Betty Ann may be right,” Leigh countered.
“No, she’s not. Megan and I never made love until—” He caught himself, but not in time. He was wasting his breath. “It doesn’t matter.”
“When you first made love doesn’t matter,” Nathan said, patting him on the arm. “But the fact that you’re in love with Megan matters a great deal. You have to accept that you love her.”
Trent bobbed his head. “Yep. It’s either that, or you need to forget about her.” His expression brightened. “Hey, if you’re not interested in Megan, maybe I could—”
Chase silenced his brother with a glare. “Don’t you dare say it. Not about Megan. If you try to make a move on her, I will tear you apart.”
“Spoken like a man in love,” Trent said.
Chase had to agree. As soon as the words had left his mouth, he’d realized their importance. The raging jealousy that filled him at his brother’s teasing crystallized his feelings. He really did love Megan. Loved her more than anyone else he knew. Over the past few weeks, he’d seen both himself and Megan in a new light. He couldn’t believe it had taken him so long to be ready to accept her as more than a friend.
He really was one dumb cowpoke.
But one fear still gnawed at him. “What if we can’t make it work?” He scanned the faces of his brothers and his sister. “What if this doesn’t last? I couldn’t stand to see Megan hurt like that.”
Nathan smiled and said with confidence, “You’ll just have to make certain your love does last. Shouldn’t be a problem. Your friendship has lasted for years.”
So many questions roared through Chase. Could his siblings be right? Could he make the love he felt for Megan last a lifetime?
Leigh sighed. “Chase, answer me this—are you willing to never see Megan again?”
“No,” he said without hesitation. “I couldn’t take that.”
“Are you willing to stand around while she marries someone else?” Leigh asked.
“No,” he said firmly. Just the thought of her marrying someone else made him crazy.
“Then that’s your answer,” Nathan said. “It’s like the old saying goes, sometimes you don’t know what you’ve got until you lose it. Well, you’ve lost Megan. What are you going to do about it?”
“I might already be too late,” Chase said.
“She didn’t fall out of love with you this quickly. Convince her you mean business,” Leigh said.
“How?”
Trent grinned, then looked at Nathan and Leigh. “Stick with us. We’ll figure something out. Devious ideas come naturally to the Barretts.”
“This playground is going to be great,” Earl Guthrie said as he came to stand next to Megan. “It’s going to mean so much to the kids of Honey.”
Megan looked around the park. Yes, the playground was going to be great. At least one of her dreams had come true. Too bad the other one hadn’t worked out.
“I appreciate all of your help,” Megan said.
Earl grinned. “I didn’t do anything but help nudge your idea along. You did all of the convincing yourself.” He glanced around. “Big crowd here today, but I haven’t seen Chase. Where are you hiding him?”
The crowd for the groundbreaking ceremony was large. Very large. But she knew for a fact that Chase wasn’t here. She’d looked repeatedly for him.
“He hasn’t arrived yet,” she said.
Earl rocked back on his heels and peered at Megan over the top of his glasses. “Everything okay?”
Now was the time to tell him that the engagement was off, but Megan couldn’t seem to form the words. “Fine.”
He continued to study her. “You sure about that? You seem a bit pale. You feeling okay? Not pregnant, are you?”
Megan almost swallowed her tongue. “No, of course I’m not pregnant.”
“Calm down. Seemed like the logical conclusion, what with you and Chase being so in love.” He pointed at the lone tree in the far corner of the park. “I remember what young love is like. I was so crazy about Fran that I carved our initials in that tree over there. Now we have five children and eleven grandchildren. Falling in love’s the most natural thing in the world.”
Not the way she’d been going about it. There was nothing natural about how she’d tried to force Chase to fall in love with her. But she’d learned all the books were wrong. You can’t make someone love you.
Apparently sensing her unhappiness, Earl patted her shoulder. “He’ll come around. He’s a good man, so don’t worry. It took a while f
or me to come to my senses, too. But in the end, things with Fran and me worked out. The same will happen with you and Chase. I know it.”
Earl was being so kind, Megan felt obligated to be honest with him. “About our engagement—”
Earl winked. “I didn’t just tumble out of the cabbage patch yesterday, you know? But like I said, things will work out.”
With that cryptic statement, the mayor walked away. Megan watched him go, wishing she could believe him. Wishing there was even a glimmer of hope that things would work out with Chase.
But how in the world could they?
“I told you to try the whipped cream,” Leigh said as she came over to stand by Megan. “You look miserable, but it’s your own fault. If you’d tried my whipped cream idea, you’d probably be locked in some tacky motel room with Chase right now, doing things that would make a Kama Sutra scholar blush.”
Megan felt the warmth of a blush climb her own cheeks. “Hello to you, too.”
Leigh studied her face. “Seriously, are you okay? You look odd. Are you pregnant?”
Exasperated, Megan sighed. “Jeez, everyone in this town has a one-track mind. First Earl. Now you. No, I’m not pregnant. I’m just upset that Chase isn’t here today.”
Leigh shoved her sunglasses onto the top of her head. “That’s what happens when you sleep with your friends. Things get confused.”
“If memory serves me, you were all for me having a physical relationship with your brother.”
Nodding, Leigh regarded her closely. “Oh, I was. I still am. I just think you didn’t have enough of a physical relationship. You forgot the whipped cream. That would have cinched this deal.”
Megan opened her mouth to argue with Leigh, but before she could say a word, the younger woman muttered something about being late and took off.
Left alone, Megan scanned the crowd, hoping against hope that Chase had decided to come to the ceremony. But there was no sign of him, so she sat in one of the folding chairs in the front row. She’d worked so hard to make this day happen, and now that it was here, she felt more than a little sad. She’d wanted Chase to share this moment with her. He should be here. Even though things had ended badly between them, he was the co-chair of the committee. He should be at the groundbreaking.
After a few minutes, Leigh came and sat next to Megan. “I guess the speeches will start soon.” She made a snoring noise. “Keep yours short, okay? I have a date this afternoon.”
“I’ll try,” Megan assured her. She pulled her index cards out of her pocket. “I don’t have a lot to say except thank you.”
After a couple of minutes, Earl started the ceremony. First, he recapped the history of the project and how much money the carnival and auction had made. Then he smiled at Megan.
“Now here to say a few words is the lady who made all this happen—Megan Kendall.”
Megan walked over to the podium, stacked her index cards neatly, then looked out at the crowd.
And froze. Chase stood directly in her line of sight, a lopsided grin on his handsome face. Megan’s heart raced, joy rushing through her. He’d come to the ceremony after all.
As she looked at him, she realized she’d been kidding herself. No way could she walk away from this man. She’d told him she didn’t want to continue their relationship if there was no love on his side, but now, looking at him, she realized that was hooey. In his way, she knew Chase loved her. He might not call it the same thing, but she felt his caring in his touch and in the heated looks he gave her.
She could see his love right now in his smile. The man cared for her and would never intentionally hurt her. She was the one hurting herself. Hurting both of them.
Well, that was a mistake that could quickly be remedied. After the ceremony, she’d tell him she was willing to continue being lovers. Anything. As long as they were together.
Feeling like a cartoon anvil had been lifted off her head, she smiled back at Chase.
“Remember what I told you last time,” Leigh said, not even attempting to keep her voice down. “If you’re nervous during your talk, picture Chase naked.”
Megan laughed, as did most of the people sitting near Leigh. Megan’s gaze met Chase’s, and his grin only grew. He knew what she was picturing in her mind.
“Megan, honey, why don’t you go ahead and give your speech, then you and Chase can go someplace quiet and stare at each other all day long if you want. I need to get home in time for supper,” Earl said.
Megan blinked and looked at her cards. That was love for you. She was standing in front of most of the town of Honey making puppy eyes at Chase.
As quickly as possible, she ran through her speech. Thank goodness for her index cards. Without them, she would have forgotten everything she planned on saying. But she did remember to thank everyone who had helped with the fundraiser. Finally, she looked at Chase. “Of course, a big thank you goes to Chase Barrett, for helping me when I needed him most. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
The crowd hollered and clapped loudly, and Earl stood, apparently ready to move on. But when Chase started walking toward the podium, silence fell over the crowd. Everyone swiveled their heads between Megan and Chase, watching the two of them closely.
“Mind if I say something?” Chase asked no one in particular. “I never made a secret of the fact that I wasn’t keen on being on this committee. But I have to say, I’m glad I was. Not only so I could help the kids in this town get a sorely needed playground, but also because I learned a lot of things while helping out. I learned Earl never hears the word no, doesn’t matter how loud you say it.”
That comment brought a chuckle from the crowd. Chase continued walking toward Megan. “I learned that my brothers and sister might be a massive pain some of the time, but when it really counts and I need them, they stand by me.”
Another chuckle rolled through the audience. “Finally, I learned the most important thing I’ve ever learned. I learned Megan Kendall loves me.” Megan sucked in a tight breath, waiting anxiously for what he would say next.
“And I learned I love her back.”
Stunned, Megan stared at Chase. Had she really heard what she thought she’d heard? “What did you say?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
But she could read the answer to her question on his face. Love lit his features and danced in his deep-blue eyes.
“I love you,” he said, his gaze locked with hers. “I have for a long, long time.”
Happiness filled Megan, and she smiled. “Me, too.”
Chase smiled back at her. “Just so Megan and everyone in this town never forgets how I feel, my family and I made a little something for the park.” Nathan and Trent appeared at the back of the crowd. With a lot of jostling and teasing, they slowly made their way forward. They carried a large object wrapped in a thick striped blanket. When they were directly in front of Megan, they set the object next to Chase.
“Megan, I didn’t want to hurt that poor tree, but I wanted a way to show you and the entire town of Honey how I feel.”
With that, Chase pulled away the blanket. Underneath was a handcrafted wooden bench. Megan had never seen anything so beautiful. The workmanship was amazing.
But what amazed her most was the message carved into the back of the bench. It read: Chase loves Megan.
She felt the warmth of tears trickle down her face, but she couldn’t seem to stop them. For so very long, she’d dreamt of having this wonderful, caring, sexy man return her love. Now he finally did.
She took a step toward him, but before she could reach his side, he went down on one knee. More than a few of the citizens of Honey were standing on their chairs to watch, but Megan didn’t care. All she cared about was the man kneeling in front of her.
“Megan Kendall, will you marry me?” he asked.
Through her tears, Megan nodded, unable to get the words out. In her entire life, she’d never been at a loss for words, but she was now.
She rushed to Chas
e and tugged him back up to his feet. Then she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. A loud “ah” came from the crowd, but Megan just kept kissing Chase.
“You really love me?” Megan asked when they finally stopped kissing long enough to catch their breath.
“Yes. I’m sorry it took me so long to come to my senses.” He cupped her face in his hands. “I can’t believe I almost lost you.”
She smiled, knowing their life together was going to be filled with love and laughter and many, many happy years. “You never even came close to losing me. I’d already decided I wasn’t giving up yet.” She kissed him again soundly, then explained, “See I still had one last trick I hadn’t tried yet.”
“And what would that be?”
“It involves showing up at the ranch wearing racy underwear and carrying a couple of cans of whipped cream. I was assured that you’d fall in love with me long before both cans were empty.”
Chase grinned. “I like that idea. A lot.”
Megan was kissing Chase again when Earl pointed out they needed to wrap up the groundbreaking ceremony. And as she stood next to the man she loved, she used her shovel to break ground on the playground she knew her own children would one day use.
“Ready to go home?” Chase asked almost an hour later.
Megan anxiously nodded. Although she’d enjoyed the ceremony, she was dying to be alone with the man she loved.
“Want to come to my house or go to the ranch?” she asked.
“Let’s go to your house. It’s closer, and I’m anxious to get you alone.” They were almost to the parking lot when he added, “But I need to make a stop on the way.”
“Where?”
His smile was wicked and downright wonderful. “Palmer’s Grocery. I thought we’d pick up some whipped cream.” With a wink he added, “And maybe a few cherries.”
Dear Reader,
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