by Debra Webb
Sherry dragged an extra chair over and propped up her feet. “It’s probably just pre-wedding jitters.”
Julie shook her head. “No, it’s more than that.” She shrugged. “I’ve been having second thoughts for months.”
There was more. Caroline was sure of it. “Then why go through with the wedding?”
Julie closed her eyes and sighed. “Because it’s all planned. My mother would die if I canceled.”
“Listen to me, Julie,” Caroline said, suddenly feeling a little too righteous, whether from the subject matter or the beer she couldn’t say. “This is the rest of your life we’re talking about.” Caroline glanced from side to side to make sure no one was listening. “Think what a mistake it would be to marry the wrong man. I would just have died if I’d married Tristan and then found out what kind of guy he really was.”
Julie and Sherry looked properly horrified. Caroline had already related the Tristan tale in its entirety.
“I have to marry him,” Julie said soberly. “I can’t let my mother down, and I can’t hurt Rob that way. I do care about him even if I don’t ever love him like—”
She stopped abruptly. Caroline raised a speculative brow. “Like?”
“Like I think I should,” Julie answered quickly.
Too quickly.
Sherry and Caroline only nodded.
“Let’s have a toast,” Julie announced lifting her basically empty glass. “To weddings gone awry.”
Caroline clinked glasses with Julie, then Sherry. “To wedding nights spent at the pool hall.” Laughter bubbled up inside her. It had to be the beer. There was absolutely nothing funny about any of this.
“To never being quite that cynical,” Sherry added with a dip of her glass.
They drained their glasses. “So when is Sonny supposed to be back?” Caroline turned the focus of the conversation to Sherry.
“Next week.” She let go a mighty breath. “And not a minute too soon.” She patted her protruding belly. “Eight months ago when the Army sent my Sonny on that peace keeping mission neither of us knew we were expecting. He’d already asked me to marry him. We just didn’t realize we should have done it before he left.”
Julie inclined her head in Sherry’s direction. “She’s determined that this baby isn’t going to be born out of wedlock.”
“You got that right,” Sherry confirmed. “Kids in school can be cruel. I don’t want my baby taking that kind of crap.”
Sounded as if Sherry had some personal experience on the subject. “Sometimes nature has a mind of its own,” Caroline warned.
Sherry rubbed her tummy. “Don’t worry, Doc, I’ve got a good feeling about all this. I’m going to have my wedding first.”
Caroline lifted her glass once more. “To babies.”
Julie chimed in. “May we teach our daughters what we didn’t know until it was too late.”
Caroline drank to the toast. So, she wasn’t the only bride who wanted to runaway.
~*~
Chase paced the length of the kitchen once more. And, if that wasn’t bad enough, he peeked out the window to check the driveway again.
He swore hotly. What was he doing? What was it to him if Caroline stayed out all night long? He wasn’t her keeper. And he sure as hell wasn’t her husband. That last thought sent a wave of yearning so strong through him that he had to grit his teeth until it passed. He was nuts, that’s what he was. He looked at the clock for the hundredth time. Eleven-thirty. What was she doing still out at this hour?
Henri had said that Caroline and a couple of friends had gone to the pool hall for burgers. Ire roared through Chase all over again at the notion. He strode back across the room. What friends? Who had she kept in touch with around here? Julie, maybe? But Julie and her family were neck deep in wedding arrangements...or rearrangements. Caroline’s dramatic return had waylaid Julie and Rob’s big day.
Ironic, Chase mused, that Caroline had run away from her own wedding only to literally crash her used-to-be best friend’s. An image of Tristan Rodgers formed in Chase’s mind. He’d never met the guy, of course. But he could imagine the type Caroline would go for. Everything Chase wasn’t.
Enough, Garrett. Why was he doing this to himself? Chase jerked the refrigerator door open and peered inside. No beer. Just tea and milk. Tonight he needed something stronger than what Henri kept on hand for Shane. Maybe Chase would just drop by the pool hall and have himself a beer. After all, he did it once in a while anyway just to keep tabs on the local hotheads. It wasn’t like it would be all that unusual. He loved the burgers they served there as well as the next resident of Lucy’s Branch. Lots of guys went there for the burgers and BS.
Guys. There would be a lot of guys there on a Saturday night. Guys looking to pick up a woman. Chase’s gut twisted with tension. Especially a woman who looked like Caroline. He suddenly wondered what she had worn. Would it be another hot little number like the black dress she’d been wearing this morning?
Chase was out the door and swinging into his Jeep before he had time to consider the answer to his question. Caroline had no business out this time of night. Things were different now than they used to be. There were guys around here who would take advantage of an attractive, vulnerable woman. He floored the accelerator as he pulled out onto the road. Caroline was staying with him this weekend. That made her his responsibility, he rationalized.
Anybody else would do the same thing.
Henri would expect him to be sure Caroline arrived home safe and sound.
He was the sheriff. Taking care of the townsfolk, visitors included, was his job. He was still trying to convince himself ten minutes later when he arrived at The Q-Ball.
Chase was greeted by half dozen or so good old boys as he made his way between the pool tables and headed toward the bar.
“Hey, Sheriff,” Sully, the bartender shouted to be heard above the music and overall hubbub of the place. “What can I get you?”
“I’m good. Thanks, Sully,” Chase answered, his gaze searching every table and darkened corner of the place.
“Let me know if you change your mind. You need to relax every now and then, Sheriff.”
Chase ignored Sully’s comment. His gaze jerked back to a table occupied by two females. Julie and Sherry. Chase frowned. No Caroline. Suddenly a couple moved into his line of vision. The man had his arm around the woman in red’s waist. They’d been dancing and he led the woman to Julie’s table as the song ended. Long black hair flowed down the woman’s back. The guy kissed her cheek and backed away, clearly reluctant to go. Chase knew before the woman turned around that it was Caroline. The sleek curves outlined by the slinky red dress, the long, long legs, the raven colored mane; he would know her anywhere.
A red mist swam before Chase’s eyes. He blinked. Told himself that it was the dress, but that was a lie. He had the sudden, almost overwhelming urge to break something. Specifically the neck of the guy who’d kissed Caroline. He watched, his anger growing, as she settled into a chair and crossed those unbelievably long legs. Another guy stopped by the table. Caroline shook her head in answer to whatever he said.
Chase slowly closed the distance that lay between them. When she looked up and smiled, then frowned when she recognized him, he came unglued.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
He wanted to snatch the words back as soon as they were out of his mouth. But he was so mad he couldn’t think straight. And he’d said just exactly what he didn’t want to say in a way he hadn’t meant to say it.
“What did you say?” Caroline looked at him as if he’d spoken in a foreign language.
He had to think of an excuse...fast. “Henri was worried,” he said in a rush. “She expected you home hours ago. She’s not as young as she used to be. She doesn’t need to be up half the night worrying.”
Caroline looked aghast. “I called Henri. I told her I didn’t know when I’d be in. She told me to have a good time, and that she’d leave the back door u
nlocked.”
“Sit down, Sheriff,” Julie piped up. “Have a beer on us. We’re celebrating the scum of the earth—men.”
Chase wondered briefly how many times they’d toasted the subject already. From Julie’s slightly slurred speech, he’d bet several.
“Come on, Sheriff,” Sherry added. “Caroline can’t go home now.”
“Are you checking up on me?”
He wanted to say no. Dammit. He wished he hadn’t come. But it was too late now.
“It’s late. We don’t usually keep the door unlocked at this hour. I figured I’d better come let you know.” Good one. Chase gave himself a mental pat on the back.
Julie threw up her hands to garner everyone’s attention. “She could always come home with me. Lord knows I’ll be sleeping alone tonight.” She hiccupped, then giggled. “Lord knows I’ve slept alone every night.”
It was Chase’s turn to frown. “You’re not driving, are you, Julie?”
“Don’t worry, lawman,” Sherry interjected. “I’m taking the bride home.” She patted her ripe belly. “No drinking allowed while under construction.”
Caroline, her face impassive, stood. She smiled, but it was brittle to say the least. “Good night, girls. I had a blast. We’ll have to do it again before I leave.”
Julie smiled, a lopsided gesture that spoke of one too many cold ones. “How about tomorrow night?”
Sherry waved them off. “Run along, I’ll take care of Julie.”
“I’ll drive,” Chase advised. “We can get the truck in the morning.”
Caroline marched through the crowd without a backward glance. Chase had a feeling that she was the furious one now. She ignored the flirtatious remarks tossed at her. He glared at the guys who did the pitching. Though he couldn’t imagine how with those heels and that short dress, she’d climbed into the passenger side of the Jeep before he could round the hood.
She didn’t utter a single syllable the entire trip home. He grew more confused and irritated. He wanted to shake her. To yell at her. But he had no right. He shouldn’t even be feeling this way. It was just plain dumb. He parked and skirted the hood only to find her already out and smoothing the too short dress. She flipped her long, silky hair over her shoulders and shot him a drop-dead look. The porch light highlighted her murderous expression.
“If you ever humiliate me like that again, Chase Garrett, I will do…something.”
Her fury shouldn’t have given him glee. But it did. He took a step closer when he knew he shouldn’t. She was out of the vehicle already. He should just go inside the house and forget this night ever happened.
But he didn’t.
“Like what?” he demanded, taking yet another step in her direction.
She backed up, only to be halted by the Jeep. She blinked, then squared her shoulders as if suddenly regaining her courage. “I don’t know what, but you won’t like it. You’re not my father or my husband.”
There was that word again. God, he hated that word and all it stood for in Caroline’s case. The sound of Tristan Rodger’s polished voice echoed in his head.
“You had no right to drag me back to your house like some sort of...of caveman.”
Chase took another step. He’d lost his mind. That was a given. But every fiber of his being cried out for her, yearned for him to be closer. To touch her. “I took the right,” he rasped, the words low and thick with the lust exploding inside him.
Her breath caught when he closed the final step between them. Her breasts, clearly delineated by the silky devil red fabric, rose and fell with her every breath. He could see the pulse fluttering at the base of her delicate throat. All that creamy, porcelain skin. All that thick black hair.
“Don’t you dare come any closer,” she warned, her voice faltering.
Her gray eyes were wide with expectation. Her lips trembled when his gaze lit there. And the battle was lost. He kissed her. Threaded the fingers of both hands into her hair and held on tight as he kissed her with all the mixed up emotions whirling inside him...with all the fury he’d felt since he laid eyes on her just over twelve hours ago.
She resisted at first, then she relaxed. Her lips grew pliant beneath his. She tasted every bit as sweet and hot as he remembered. More so, maybe. Her fingers fisted in the cotton of his shirt. And he kissed her harder. He plied her lips open and delved inside her soft, welcoming mouth. She tried to pull him closer, he obliged, pressing his hips firmly into her soft belly. Wishing he could bury himself inside her. He wanted to hold her to him, make love to her until she cried for mercy and then he wanted...
Chase stilled. She whimpered.
This was a wrong on way too many levels. He pulled away from her, feeling like the heel that he was. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand in an attempt to dispel the feel of her, the taste of her.
“I shouldn’t have done that,” he murmured thickly.
Her eyes glittering with renewed fury she shoved against his chest. “Well, now that you’ve gotten that out of your system, maybe you can get on with your life.” She stalked toward the porch.
A new kind of outrage burst inside him. Did she think that he wanted her back? That he’d been waiting for the opportunity to have her again?
Chase clenched his teeth and planted his hands on his hips. She could just think again. He didn’t need her. His life was just fine without her. He’d already gotten on with his life.
And, one way or another, before she left Lucy’s Branch again he’d prove it to her.
Chapter Five
It was just like she remembered. Caroline surveyed the friends and neighbors gathered to repair Garrett County’s famous—or infamous, depending on how one looked at it—wedding chapel. Growing up in Lucy’s Branch she had watched the townspeople rally together in times of need. Whether it was a devastating act of nature or simply a barn raising, all turned out to do their part.
Though Caroline no longer belonged here, Henri had insisted that she come. It was, after all, Julie’s wedding at stake. If the repairs weren’t accomplished in a timely manner, the wedding would have to be postponed yet another week. Feeling immensely guilty about the whole situation, Caroline had readily agreed to help out. She would, however, have given her right arm not to have to spend the afternoon with Chase.
Her face reddened at the memory of that kiss. She blew out a disgusted breath and grabbed a bucket of paint and a brush. If she’d only managed not to respond, the kiss wouldn’t have been so bad. But she had responded. She’d melted against him, pulled him closer, and welcomed the feel of him. There was no way he could have mistaken her reaction. Caroline hesitated before she rounded the corner of the chapel. She closed her eyes and savored, just one more time, the memory of that kiss. It could never happen again, of course. But now, for only a moment, she wanted to relive how it felt to be kissed by Chase. The taste of him made her long for more. The feel of his hard, muscular body made hers burn for him.
It was as if all this time had not passed...as if it was eight years ago and they were still truly, madly, deeply in love with each other. How could he command such power over her even now? Caroline forced her eyes open and started forward again. There was nothing between them anymore. Just left over feelings from the past. They’d both been angry last night. Their anger had overridden their better judgment, that’s all. Chase probably regretted kissing her as much as she regretted his having done so.
Her gaze landed squarely on him at precisely that moment and the zing of desire that shot through her belied her words. Clad in his usual attire of jeans and a t-shirt, he was hammering away at the final pieces of replacement siding. She watched the muscles in his powerful arms flex and contract as he swung that hammer. His expression was intent, the chiseled features of his face even more handsome than eight years ago. She wondered vaguely how that was possible.
She shook herself and turned her attention to the matter at hand. She’d volunteered to do some of the painting. Now that the damaged framing and s
iding had been replaced, all that was required was a couple of coats of fresh paint. Another crew worked diligently to set the interior to rights. Next Saturday at 10 a.m. Julie’s wedding would take place—Lord willing and the creek didn’t rise, as Henri would say. Caroline smiled to herself. And barring any unforeseen traffic incidents.
As she climbed onto the ladder to begin at the highest piece of newly installed siding, she considered Julie’s complaints about her husband to be. Caroline didn’t remember much about Rob other than he was nice enough and somewhat handsome. She’d learned from Julie that he was the president of the local bank now. From all accounts, he would appear the perfect catch. But something wasn’t quite right. Julie wasn’t happy. Caroline could only hope her friend wasn’t making a monumental mistake.
Like you almost did? a little voice taunted.
Caroline refused to dwell on her own mistakes or anyone else’s. She dipped her brush into the bucket of paint and made one broad stroke. She would put the past out of her mind as easily as she concealed the raw wood with primer and gleaming white paint. She had a whole new future to look forward to that didn’t include the past. Looking back or reminiscing would be a waste of time and very definitely pointless.
~*~
Caroline’s arms felt like limp noodles by the time she’d finished most of the upper part of the replaced siding. She moved down the ladder a couple more rungs and started on the mid section. This area was wider and a bit more difficult to reach the edges on either side of her since her ladder was set up pretty much in the middle. Straining, Caroline managed to reach the right side. But the left proved considerably harder. The thought crossed her mind that the best solution would be to simply climb down and move the ladder, but she wanted to finish as quickly as possible. Knowing that Chase wasn’t far away made her edgy. She just wanted to do her part and get as far away from him as possible.
