by Debra Webb
That reality only reminded Chase of the conversation he’d overheard on Caroline’s porch. Tristan, the dumb bastard, wanted Caroline back.
...then again, maybe he wasn’t so dumb. Maybe Chase was the dumb one.
~*~
“Okay, truth or dare?” Julie demanded.
Caroline sighed. She did not want to play this game. At lunch on Wednesday, Julie had insisted on making their girls’ night a sleepover. Now, the night before Julie’s rescheduled wedding, the three of them sat in a circle around Julie’s coffee table playing Truth or Dare.
“Dare,” Caroline relinquished. She wasn’t about to go for the truth. She knew Julie too well.
Julie smiled mischievously. “Call Widow Jeffries and ask her if she has Prince Albert in a can.”
“Julie!” Sherry scolded. “The widow’ll be in bed this time of night.”
Julie tossed the card onto the table. “All right, all right. I was only kidding.”
“Besides,” Sherry muttered, “that prank’s as old as dirt. Who does that crap?”
Julie was in rare form tonight. Caroline wondered if she was still having second thoughts about her imminent nuptials. “You ready for tomorrow, Jules?”
She shrugged, then sipped her wine. “What’s not to be ready for? I dress up, I say I do, and everything else will fall into place, right?”
Caroline chewed her lower lip. This was not a good sign. “If you’re having second thoughts,” she offered, allowing the suggestion to linger in the air.
Julie shook her head. “I think it’s too late for second thoughts.”
“It’s never too late, Jules.” Caroline couldn’t believe a woman as smart as Julie would do this settling thing. “Don’t do something just because you’re afraid it will embarrass someone. Pledging the rest of your life to a mate is not to be taken so lightly. Trust me, I know.” She had almost done exactly that.
Julie searched her gaze. “And if I think it’s a mistake,” she ventured.
“I’ll tell you what you do, girl,” Sherry cut in. “You do just like Caroline did with Tristan, you run like hell.”
Julie shifted uncomfortably. “Let’s talk about something else. This is too depressing.”
Caroline sipped her wine, then fingered the long, delicate stem. “You’re right about that. Way too depressing.” Her whole life had fallen down around her. She was preparing to sell her childhood home and the only man she’d ever really loved had kissed her like he still cared. But he couldn’t possibly. Not really. Maybe it was just the challenge. Maybe he just wanted to see if he could still have Caroline. After all she’d walked out on him. He never even knew she came back to town with the intention of reconciling. Just that once.
“So, what’s the scoop on you and Chase?” Julie asked bluntly.
Heat scalded Caroline’s cheeks. “There is no scoop.”
“That’s not what I hear,” Sherry added. “I hear it’s like old times with you two. In fact, the whole town is laying odds that you’ll stay.”
Caroline lifted a speculative eyebrow. “Really? And I wonder where they would get such a farfetched notion?”
Sherry frowned, concentrating. “I think my Aunt Sadie said that Henrietta Jackson told her that.”
Caroline should have known. Henri had wanted nothing more than to see Chase and Caroline together all these years. Just like her grandmother, God rest her soul. They’d both planned out Caroline and Chase’s lives long before either of them was old enough to have a say in the matter.
Julie looked sheepish. “I might have mentioned to an acquaintance or two that you and Chase still make a beautiful couple.” She grimaced. “Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.”
Caroline released her frustration in a long breath. “Look, ladies, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but Chase and I are not a couple. In case you’ve forgotten, he cheated on me and his brother apparently.” She shifted her attention to Sherry. “Maybe Julie failed to tell you that Chase impregnated the girl while he was engaged to me.”
Sherry looked aghast. “Chase? Sweet, handsome, good-as-gold Chase?”
Caroline nodded. God, she needed something a lot stronger than this wine at the moment.
“That’s still hard for me to believe,” Julie put in. “I mean. I never saw Chase so much as look at the little tramp until a couple of weeks after Shane died.”
“Well, obviously, he’d done more than look,” Caroline snapped. “Tiffany had to be pregnant six weeks before she and Chase married.”
“Whew!” Sherry patted her ripe belly. “What a kick. I think he’s going to be a football player.”
Caroline studied Sherry for a moment. “I don’t know how much longer you’re going to carry that load, Sherry. Has your due date already passed?”
Sherry smiled. “It’s two weeks from today. But I told you I’m not having this baby until I’m properly wed to his daddy. He’ll be home next week.”
“Not a moment too soon in my opinion,” Julie noted aloud.
“Nor in mine.” Caroline had a feeling that Sherry didn’t have two weeks, more like two days. She looked really ready. But Caroline supposed that her obstetrician had warned her at her most recent appointment.
“So, Caroline,” Julie prodded hesitantly, “do you still feel anything for Chase? I mean do you still tingle when he’s near?”
Caroline smiled nervously. “I’ll take the fifth on that one.”
Julie grinned. “You do! I knew it! And I know he still has the hots for you. I saw the way he looked at you the other night. He was as mad as hell that you’d danced with another man.”
Shaking her head, Caroline tried not to let the warm, fuzzy feeling Julie’s words invoked take root. “He might still feel a little territorial, but that’s all. He made his decision eight years ago.”
“I’m telling you, Caroline, Chase still loves you.” She fixed Caroline with a steady gaze. “He loved you then.”
Caroline laughed, a humorless sound. “Well, he had a hell of a way of showing it.”
Chapter Eight
Caroline sat rather stiffly on the old wooden pew. She didn’t look relaxed at all. But she damn sure looked sexy in that royal blue dress. Another short, silky one. Chase exhaled a tight breath. Jesus, how many dresses like that did the woman own? The Caroline he had known all those years ago would never have dressed so provocatively. She didn’t have to. She’d been immensely beautiful and appealing even in jeans. He remembered how she’d looked last Sunday in jeans and a tee-shirt and admitted that she looked just as good—maybe even better—that way, too.
He’d hardly slept at all last night. Between his haunting thoughts of Caroline and the troubling nudges his mind kept giving him concerning Rob, he’d done nothing but toss and turn. Something just wasn’t right with Rob. And nothing at all was right where Chase and Caroline were concerned. He knew better than to feel this way—to let his emotions get carried away like this. But he just couldn’t help himself. No matter how hard he tried, “what could have been” kept playing in his head.
Caroline could have been his wife...Shane could have been their son. Though Chase did not regret what he’d had to do, he did sincerely regret what it had cost him. He could deny his feelings until the fat lady sang, but the truth of the matter would remain—he still loved Caroline. He hadn’t stopped. But she didn’t feel that way. Maybe she never had. After all, she’d been a few years younger than he. Had been hell bent on seeing the world. Maybe she hadn’t really known what love was. Any feelings she felt for him at the moment might be nothing more than rebound attraction.
And who was to say that Caroline and her fancy fiancé weren’t going to get back together. Chase’s gut twisted at the thought. He didn’t want Caroline to marry anyone else. He...Chase sighed...had no clue what he wanted.
Forcing his gaze from her, he studied the fine decorating job Julie’s mother had done. Balloons and streamers in pastel colors and angelic whites floated above the crowd gathered in the wedding cha
pel. The red carpet that ran the length of the chapel from the entry hall to the altar was littered with white rose petals. The end of each pew, on either side of the red carpet, was graced with a huge white satin bow.
Chase supposed, as weddings went, this one was one of the nicest he’d attended. The reception would take place in the banquet hall at the Country Club shortly after the nuptials were exchanged and pictures taken.
Studiously keeping his gaze focused on anything but Caroline, Chase shifted his attention to his two friends and the minister. Rob and Zac, both looked darned elegant, and almost as stiff as Caroline. Chase’s brow furrowed. He took that back. Rob looked stiff, a little too tense maybe. But Zac looked down right pale and taut. Chase was pretty sure he’d never seen his buddy look quite that bad. What the hell was Zac worried about? He wasn’t the one tying the knot.
Melba Tarken settled herself on the bench before the antiquated organ and hit a preparatory note before beginning the wedding march. Those gathered stood and turned to watch the bridesmaid’s and bride’s grand entrance.
Sherry Woods, looking far too ready to drop that kid, slowly sauntered up the aisle. Her pink taffeta dress rustled with every step she took. Once Sherry was settled on the side of the minister opposite Zac, all heads turned back to see the bride. The wide entryway was empty save for the sprawling ferns stationed atop white carved pedestals on either side of the door.
Melba hit the bride’s musical cue once more.
Still no sign of Julie.
Once more, the cue from Melba...
Julie’s father rushed through the entryway, a stricken expression on his face. “Julie’s gone!”
Chase was down the aisle, crushing rose petals as he went, in three seconds. “What do you mean she’s gone?” he demanded firmly in an effort to draw Mr. McGill’s harried attention.
The older man shook his head and extended the crumpled note he held in his right hand in Chase’s direction. “I don’t know what it means.”
Caroline, Rob, Sherry, and Zac had piled up behind Chase. Waves of murmurs washed over the crowd still standing amid the pews, necks craned to see what was taking place in the back. Chase opened the crumpled note and stared down at the feminine handwriting.
Daddy,
Please tell Mom that I’m sorry, but life is far too short to make a mistake
this monumental. I love you both. Don’t worry, I’ll call and let you
know where I am. Tell Rob I’m so sorry.
Love,
Julie
P.S. Please tell Caroline she was right. She gave me the courage to do
the right thing.
Outrage streaked through Chase. He turned to glare down at Caroline. “You,” he accused. “What did you say to her?”
Caroline staggered back a step from the fury glittering in Chase’s eyes. “What are you talking about?”
He shoved the note Julie’s father had given him toward her. Her heart pounding, Caroline accepted the note and read it. Oh, God. Julie was gone. She’d taken Caroline and Sherry’s advice to heart and made a run for it. It’s never too late. You do just like Caroline did with Tristan, you run like hell.
“What does this mean?” Julie’s mother wailed. She had rushed to her husband, and he had, apparently, relayed the contents of the damning note.
“It means,” Chase ground out, “that Julie isn’t getting married today.” He glared at Caroline. “Way to go,” he muttered. “It wasn’t enough that you screwed up our lives, you had to screw up Julie’s too.”
His words slammed into Caroline like a runaway logging truck. She almost wilted with the hurt. How could he think? Caroline turned to look behind her, seeking Sherry, who was attempting to console Rob. Zac had slumped onto a pew, his face even paler than before. The whole crowd was now staring at Caroline in mass confusion.
“I should go,” she mumbled, more to herself than anyone else. “Maybe I can find her.”
“Why don’t you?” Chase demanded. “You’ve done nothing but cause trouble since you got here.” He shook his head. “I don’t know why you bothered to come back.”
With those hurtful words still ringing in Caroline’s ears, he walked out.
“Honey, it’s okay.” Sherry was at her side now. “Mr. and Mrs. McGill, this isn’t Caroline’s fault. She’s only guilty, just as I am, of hearing Julie out. She was having second thoughts about getting married today. She’s probably just trying to figure out her life. Give her time. She’ll call and everything will be fine. You’ll see.”
Caroline simply stood there in a kind of shock as the crowd slowly dissipated. Most hesitated and told her not to worry that Chase hadn’t meant what he said that he was only angry. Everything would be fine, they assured Caroline. She could only nod, anything else she might have done or said would have released the deluge of tears mounting.
Sherry eventually walked Caroline to her car. “Let me take you home, girl, you look out of it.”
Caroline nodded once more. She didn’t want to talk. She didn’t want to think. She only wanted to go home and cry where no one would see just how much Chase Garrett could still hurt her.
It wasn’t enough that you screwed up our lives...Chase really believed this was all her fault. A jolt of anger shook her. How could he think that when he was the one who’d married someone else? Of course, he only did that after she refused to say yes to his proposal and then left him.
Caroline slumped into the passenger seat of Sherry’s car. None of it mattered now. Caroline knew she was not at fault for what Julie had decided to do...or not to do as the case turned out. Julie would set him straight when she came home. All Caroline had to do was make sure her grandmother’s house looked its best for next Wednesday’s showing. Tristan’s car would be ready on Saturday, one week from today. Then she could be on her way. For good this time. She would never, ever set foot in Lucy’s Branch again.
It was past time to get on with her life once and for all.
~*~
“I just don’t understand,” Rob fretted as he paced back and forth on the red carpet now matted with crushed rose petals. “How could she do this to me?”
Chase looked to Zac who merely shrugged. Something was definitely up with this guy. But Rob’s was the more pressing issue at the moment. Chase had been so angry that he’d had to take a walk to cool off, but he’d come back. He knew Rob would need him.
“Maybe she just got cold feet,” Chase offered. “Don’t forget that you were suffering a few reservations yourself last night.”
Rob braced his hands on his hips. His suit remained unwrinkled, his bow tie still snug around his neck. Did the guy never relax?
“Having second thoughts is one thing, but to leave me standing at the altar...” He pivoted and paced a few feet in the other direction. “It’s unspeakable. How will I ever face the people of this town again?”
Zac stood. He shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his trousers. “Look, I’ve got to go. I’ll talk to you guys later.”
“Take it easy, buddy,” Chase called after him.
Rob continued to pace without so much as a goodbye.
“Somehow Caroline did this,” Rob suddenly announced. He whipped around and faced Chase. “She blew off her own fiancé and poisoned my Julie’s mind against me.”
“I don’t know if I would go that far.” Chase didn’t understand his need to jump to Caroline’s defense. He’d certainly been madder than hell at her just a few minutes ago.
Rob waved his arms. “You said the same thing yourself.”
The ugly words he’d hurled at Caroline echoed in Chase’s ears. “I know what I said,” he confessed. “And I shouldn’t have accused Caroline without knowing all the facts.”
Rob glared at him. “Now you’re on her side.”
Chase shook his head. “It’s not about sides. We don’t know what Julie or Caroline said.” Rob rolled his eyes. Chase tried to understand how he felt, but his patience was wearing thin...as much with him
self as with Rob. “You’re acting like this is over, Rob. Maybe you want it to be over. Maybe this was just the excuse you were looking for to get out of this wedding yourself.”
“Don’t be absurd.” Rob started pacing again. “If I’d wanted to delay the wedding I would...simply have said so.”
Chase stood. “Let’s go have a burger and a beer and think about something else for a while.”
“I think I just want to go home and forget this day ever happened.”
“Come on.” Chase slapped him on the back. “I’ll drive you.”
“Good idea,” Rob mused. “My car has wedding decorations all over it. I sure don’t want to drive it home.”
“Zac and I’ll take care of your car later.”
Rob shook his head as they exited the wedding chapel. “I just don’t understand.”
Chase paused next to his Jeep and stared back at the chapel. Neither did he. According to local legend anyone who said their vows within those walls would be together forever. How had he and Caroline fallen so very far apart? Didn’t the promises they’d made on those steps all those years ago mean anything?
He considered the way Caroline had walked out on him, and then the life-altering events that had followed. Events he’d had no control over. Then he thought about the way he still cared about her...
But it was too late, wasn’t it?
As if in answer to his question a gust of wind sent the chapel doors flying inward. Frowning, Chase strode back to the chapel and closed the doors. He stood on the steps for a long moment and remembered the night he and Caroline had pledged their love to each other...and then the way they’d made love for the first time afterwards. His chest tightened at the memories. But that’s all they were...memories.
Maybe it wasn’t too late for them to be friends. He didn’t want Caroline to leave feeling like he’d made her feel today. This was her home. He wanted her to feel welcome here. He wanted her to come back someday.
