by Natalie Dean
The man straightened himself and looked surprised by the question. “Yes. What of it?”
“Oh, my family has several accounts with them. Perhaps you know of us. Does the name Miller sound familiar to you?”
All the color drained from his face, and he looked to Ben with wide eyes, completely ignoring how Chastity was still straining against him to possibly rip the man’s face off.
“Millers as in, uh, the Miller Ranch?”
“Yeah. Exactly,” Ben said, feeling the dynamic shift. “I’m Benedict Miller, to be exact. The eldest son. But if this is how your bank treats its patrons, I think it might be time to move our accounts elsewhere.”
“Now wait a minute. I—I see there has been a misunderstanding. Ms. Parker, I will make sure they are convinced to reinstate your father’s arrangement. We want to make everything as comfortable for you as we can in this time of need. Please, don’t hesitate to call.”
“Thank you,” Ben said, barely withholding his smirk.
The man picked up his briefcase, which he dropped before picking it up again, and rushed off, leaving Ben still holding Chastity.
“Are you going to let me go?” Chastity asked after another moment.
“Oh. Right.”
Ben reluctantly released his hold on her, and they both turned to the door only to see Mrs. Parker standing there breathlessly, her hands on her hips.
“Now what in the good Lord’s name was that?” she said sternly, reminding Ben of the time she had caught him and Chastity making out on her bed. “I know that man wasn’t right with God, but that’s no excuse for violence. Chastity. When did I teach you to use your fists instead of your words?”
“Sorry, Mom,” Chastity said, calming down from her previous furor. Ben was surprised that she didn’t argue further, but a quick glance in her direction showed that she looked both embarrassed and tired. He wondered if her shopping trip had been especially stressful for her.
“Well, I suppose it can’t be helped. I—I think I might have used some language I shouldn’t. I...” Suddenly the imposing woman wilted a bit. “I’m awfully tired. I think I should go lie down. Will you two be all right?”
“We’ll be fine, ma’am,” Ben said quickly. Judging by the woman’s pale face and red cheeks, she looked like she should indeed go lie down.
“Please, call me Auntie Parker, like you used to.”
Ben nodded, and she wandered back into the house, leaving only Chastity and him on the front walkway.
“I can’t believe that just happened,” Chastity groaned, holding her head in her hands.
“I can’t believe you just punched a guy.”
“I can’t believe I only punched that guy,” she said with a smirk. “He deserved a lot worse.”
“Yeah, and if I wasn’t here, you might have given it to him.”
“You bet I would have.”
They both shared a laugh, the stress of the situation fading away. Suddenly, all the walls were dropped, and Ben found himself unable to deny how amazingly attracted he was to this woman—whether she was pensively looking out of a window, her dark eyes swirling with concern, or whether she was punching a man in the face, rage radiating from her like a legendary fury.
From the moment their eyes had locked in that funeral home, he’d been caught up in the wonder that was Chastity Parker all over again. He was like a fly in a web, but there wasn’t anywhere else he wanted to be.
“Hey Chastity,” he murmured. She turned her head, and once more he was swallowed up by those perfect, onyx eyes.
“Yeah?”
His heart thundered in his chest, and his blood seemed to rush too loudly in his veins. Part of him, the one that had spent the past ten years shutting himself from the rest of the world and his heartache, told him to keep his mouth shut and go home before he made the same mistake he had made as a teenager. But there was another part of him, the one that he had tried to keep shut away for all these years that urged him onward.
“Wanna go on a date?”
14
Chastity
Chastity brushed her hair up into a tight ponytail, regarding the mirror as she wrangled her long tresses into a sleek but hopefully effortless-looking shape. Her makeup was done, complete with pouty dark lips and eyeshadow, and her outfit was spread out on her bed. She was practically ready, if only her hair would just cooperate.
Wanna go on a date?
Ben’s words echoed through her mind, and she looked to her reflection conspiratorially. She knew that nothing good could come from this idea, and yet—for some reason—she had agreed.
It wasn’t like anyone could blame her. The way he had come barreling out of the house, ripping that man’s hands away from her had reminded her about everything that had first made her fall in love with him. His kindness, his morals, the way he had always tried to protect her, but never treated her as if she was weak herself. He was like a knight in shining armor, but one who also handed her a sword when she needed one.
And, more importantly, took that sword away when she didn’t need it.
She really would have beaten that guy into next Sunday if Ben hadn’t stopped her. And for that, she was immensely grateful. Also, him dropping his family name had completely turned the situation around. Chastity had never been one to use the Miller wealth or prestige for herself, but for once, she was glad for the unforeseen ace up her sleeve.
“I’m crazy, aren’t I?” she asked her reflection, still wrangling some baby hairs that were refusing to cooperate. “This is the man I left ten years ago after he broke a promise to me. I swore to myself I would never look back, and yet, here I am.”
Not surprisingly, her reflection didn’t have an answer for her. It just mirrored the furrow in her brow and the uncertainty flashing through her eyes. Was this stupid? It had to be stupid, right?
Yet, as stupid as it might be, she couldn’t help but feel excited about it. When Ben was holding her in his arms again, his warm chest and abs pressed against her back, she was instantly drenched in all of those old feelings she used to have for him. Even after a decade, he still made her heart skip and her belly flip like a trapeze act.
Finally, her hair cooperated, and she went to change. After Ben had uttered that fateful sentence, asking if she wanted to go on a date with him, she had stared at him for a good minute before her English finally came back to her. Thankfully, she was able to keep some of her wits about her and asked him where it would be while her mind tried to catch up on whether she wanted to say yes or no.
That was when he suggested a nice place on his land. Normally, Chastity would insist on neutral locations for meetups, but this was Ben. She knew him and his family and trusted them implicitly with her safety.
Just maybe not with her heart.
Her alarm went off, signaling an hour until Ben arrived. Once more, she found herself questioning why she was doing this. She and Ben had broken up for a reason. There was no need to rehash all of that again.
And yet her heart was thundering, as if it was their first date all over again. She remembered the first time he had asked her out, shoulders broad, and hair flopping over in the way that was popular at the time. Even though they had become friends, she had stared at him like he had declared he was an alien from another planet. And honestly, that would have been plausible to the teenage version of herself.
She had been chubby, didn’t use makeup, and kept her hair in a permanent bun. She was awkward anywhere but on stage, and she loved books and plays more than most people. So naturally, when one of the most handsome guys in school—who just so happened to be incredibly rich and sought after—showed interest in her, she assumed it was some sort of joke.
But it hadn’t been. And thus, had started a three-year relationship that ended dramatically, as teen relationships were wont to do. But she had loved him. The head-over-heels, can’t-breathe-without-you kind of love. And he had broken her heart.
So why was she going back in?
She
could keep asking herself that question as many times as she liked, but she wouldn’t have an answer anytime soon. Instead, she busied herself with looking over her outfit one more time before traveling into the hall.
“Oh, my goodness, you look lovely.”
Her mother’s voice drew her eyes up from the cute flats that she was wearing. Part of her had wanted to wear heels, but she knew better than to do so on a date with Ben.
“Thank you, Mom,” Chastity said, giving her mother a small smile. When was the last time Mrs. Parker had seen her all dressed up? Even before she started skipping out on holidays, she still preferred to lounge around in sweats and loose clothing. Had the last time been… prom? Goodness, that was long ago.
“This brings me back, it does. It really does. If only Charles—” she cut herself off, her eyes watering. “Well, let’s not think about that, shall we? Just look at my little girl, my beautiful, gorgeous little girl.”
She held out her arms, and Chastity walked into them, giving her a warm hug. Funny, she had spent so much time running away from home, trying to never look back, and now she was feeling guilty for having missed so much. Was this what growing up was like?
Eventually they parted, then headed down the stairs to wait. Her mother put some tea on, and they reminisced about the old times. It seemed like she did that often. It probably wasn’t healthy to spend so much time in the past, but she had far too much on her mind to worry about that now.
As the clocked ticked down to Ben’s arrival, Chastity caught her mother staring at her several times. Fearing another episode, the young woman cleared her throat.
“Are you okay, Mom?”
She nodded, her voice warbling again. “Just hoping that one day I’ll get to see you in a wedding dress.”
Chastity felt herself color. What a thing to mention before a date. “I wouldn’t count on me ever doing that.”
Her brows furrowed ever so slightly. “Why ever not?”
“Romance isn’t for me.”
“Nonsense! You and Ben used to be quite a pair. I still remember the way you two used to look at each other, even after all these years. You can’t love like that and then shut it off for the rest of your life.”
“Can’t I?” Chastity answered noncommittedly. Her mother opened her mouth to continue, and Chastity sighed. “Could we please change the subject? This is making me so uncomfortable I’m thinking about canceling the date altogether.”
“All right then, I’ll mind my business.” But still, that knowing, motherly smile was on her face, and it drove Chastity mad. She knew that this date was a bad idea. She should have never agreed to it.
“Don’t forget that you’re getting a visit from one of the nurses today. She’ll be here in about half an hour.”
It had been hard convincing her mother that there was a need for medical personnel in the house at all, and even harder to convince her insurance, but with the help of the town doctor and the one in the city, she’d gotten them to agree to send a night nurse twice a week for four hours. It wasn’t a ton, obviously, but it was enough to allow Chastity her moments of freedom and to get out of the house. Thankfully, her mom’s episodes had leveled off and didn’t seem to be escalating. Unfortunately, the fact that her mom had called her so many different people’s names lately kept Chastity from feeling totally at ease.
There was the sound of a car pulling up, and then Chastity’s phone went off. She checked it and saw the text she had been waiting for.
He was here.
“I’ll be back home later tonight,” Chastity said, hopping to her feet and giving her mother a kiss on the cheek. “Don’t wait up for me. The nurse will be here soon, so try to be nice. You have my number if you need anything, anything at all.”
But her mom didn’t seem even remotely concerned about the new nurse she was getting. “You know, you’re old enough where you could stay out all night if you so wished.”
“Mother,” Chastity reprimanded. “That doesn’t sound like something a godly woman would do.”
But she just shrugged, giving a mischievous look. “I’ll pray for his forgiveness if you make me a godly grandmother.”
Chastity sputtered a laugh and ducked out the door before her mother could get anymore brilliant ideas. Goodness, something had gotten into her, and Chastity wasn’t sure if it was her illness or that strange way all mothers got when they wanted their progeny to pump out their own offspring.
But thankfully, she was suddenly out on the porch, the twilight sky dripping from golden honey into the soft velvet kiss of night. There, in front of their house, stood Ben’s now-familiar silver pick-up. How she hadn’t noticed it when the bank man had been visiting was beyond her, but that didn’t matter now.
Chastity looked down at her black slacks with the lace detailing on the sides and her loose, floral top. It was simple, but she didn’t want to wear a dress or skirt on the ranch. She had learned that lesson when she was younger and got saddle-rash on her thighs.
She walked up to the truck, but before she could get there, Ben was out of the car and walking around to open the door for her. Ever the gentleman, he was. She remembered always admiring that about him. Some guys did it to be showy, or to prove how amazing they were, but it wasn’t like that with Ben. He seemed to do it as a matter of course and didn’t expect any praise for it. Chastity knew a lot of men who could learn from him.
“Thank you,” she said, getting in and taking the hand he offered her. Once more, it was like electricity shot through her, filling her with a rushing warmth that was full of so much hope and promise. She had spent all these years thinking that it was the big city that was cold, but maybe it was just her.
No, that was too ridiculous.
Wasn’t it?
Such introspective thoughts were going to ruin her lighthearted mood worse than her mother, so she cut them off. Thankfully, Ben was already in on the other side and starting his truck up.
“So, where is your silver steed taking us?”
“The ranch,” he answered.
“Well yeah, you said as much when you first asked me out. But the Miller Ranch is huge. I was more curious as to where we were going on your land.”
He smiled at her, and Chastity could see a streak of the mischievous boy he had been. “You’ll see.”
Chastity sighed and shook her head. She couldn’t resist smiling even though he was frustrating her.
He laughed, and just like that, she was totally relaxed. Apparently, being with Ben was like riding a bike once she stopped fighting it and telling herself she couldn’t.
On the way to the ranch, Chastity asked about his family and what each of his brothers was up to. After what seemed like no time at all, they passed the front gates of his family’s ranch. It was crazy to think that it had been there for hundreds of years, first founded by the Millers before Montana was even a state. It was just one big area of the country that was in unorganized territory back then.
They pulled off of the main road and hit a light set of tire tracks that stretched across the green field. Chastity vaguely recalled going this way once but couldn’t remember where it led.
That didn’t matter though, because she was feeling a long-lost sort of contentment. Something about the green grass, the fresh breeze, and the slight whiff of livestock in the air made her feel secure. Like nothing bad could ever happen to her here.
Except that wasn’t quite true, was it? There was a very specific spot, under a tree and by one of the ponds where he had broken her heart. It had been a long walk back home from that particular fallout, and she wasn’t interested in repeating it.
But certainly, that wouldn’t happen today. After all, this was only a simple date. A nice hang out between two adults. Nothing expected of them, and certainly no relationship.
And honestly, the lack of pressure was nice. It was what it was. She could feel whatever she felt without her mind coming in and complicating everything.
Finally, a familiar buildi
ng loomed over a gentle hill, and Chastity recognized it, letting out a slight gasp.
“The horses?” she whispered, hardly daring to believe it.
But she knew those lavender walls and the dark blue shutters. They had been painted that way by Ben’s great-great-great-grandfather, who had wanted to impress the local schoolteacher by painting it her favorite colors. Apparently, it had worked, because she ended up being Ben’s great-great-great-grandmother.
“You remember,” he said, that crooked smile growing a bit.
“Did you think I could forget? This was where we went on our first date on your ranch. I met… oh what was your horse’s name at the time? Greta? No, Genevieve! She almost bit my hand off when I first gave her an apple.”
“And then she didn’t, and you proceeded to spoil her until—” he cut himself off, frowning, but Chastity knew what he had been going to say.
“Until I left,” Chastity finished for him. She didn’t see any reason in beating around the bush. Was their past uncomfortable, dramatic, and full of heartbreak? Yeah. But it was how they had gotten to this point and ignoring that just seemed silly.
“Yeah. Until you left.”
A quiet settled over the truck, as they pulled up to the barn. However, it wasn’t out of awkwardness, or discomfort, but rather because Chastity was caught up in all the nostalgia of everything that she was seeing and feeling.
Hay tickled at her nose, and she could almost hear the idle wuffling of the many horses inside. While the Miller family didn’t raise horses for shows or pageants, every one of them had their own mount, and they would often raise and train them as gifts for their workers or extended family members. Chastity remembered that Ben had once promised her one as a wedding gift.
It was a shame that was never going to happen now.
But she tucked those thoughts out of her head and hopped out of the truck as soon as it stopped. Happy that she was wearing flats with a good sole, she marched right up to the barn.
