by SJ McCoy
“Do you want to bring her for dinner on Thursday? It’s our turn to host everyone. I didn’t know if you’d want to bring her or if you’d want to skip it.”
Chance sucked in a deep breath. He didn’t know what he wanted to do. Part of him liked the idea of introducing Hope to the brothers and their wives—of her getting to know them, and them her. Part of him liked the idea of going to one of the family dinners with his girl by his side. But then again, another part of him thought it was a really bad idea. It would be giving himself a glimpse of what life could be like if she stayed—and knowing that she couldn’t stay. He met Carter’s eye. “Can I let you know?”
“Of course. That’s why I wanted to ask you now. Give you time to think about it before you have to decide.”
“Thanks, bud.” The others might tease Carter for being so thoughtful, but he was a big guy with a big heart, and it was usually helpful; the guys just didn’t like to admit that.
“You should take some time off while she’s here. The guys can handle it, can’t they? Is she at the cabin?”
“No, she was supposed to be staying at her cousin’s house, up by Dr. Johnny’s. She’s gone back up there today.”
“Which cousin?
“Oscar. The one who has a house up there.”
Carter smiled. “They all have houses up there. Have you met them?”
“No. She hasn’t talked about them much. Just said that she grew up with them. She said she’d been here for Oscar’s party a couple of years ago, but it sounds like she doesn’t see much of them.”
“I don’t know what you’ll make of Oscar when you meet him. He was okay back then, a bit of a big head, but he was a lot of fun. I haven’t seen him in years, but whenever he’s in the news, he seems to be some kind of playboy.” He smiled. “Not your kind of guy, at least not on the surface.”
Chance shrugged. “I probably won’t even meet him. From what Hope said he doesn’t come up here much.” And Chance couldn’t allow himself to consider the possibility of running into Oscar anywhere else. He couldn’t think about getting to know her family—why would he?
Carter smiled. “I never thought I’d meet Matt McConnell or the one and only Clay McAdam either. You just don’t know what turns your life might take when you meet the right woman.”
Rick shouted and waved his arm, signaling that he needed help keeping the herd together. Chance tipped his hat at Carter, glad for the excuse to end the conversation. “I’d better go help, I’ll let you know about Thursday.”
“Okay.”
He started to ride away, then turned back. “And, Carter.”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks.”
~ ~ ~
Aunt Jean set a glass of lemonade down in front of Hope with a smile. “I hope you’re going to tell me all about this handsome cowboy of yours. Your uncle thinks he’s wonderful.” Her smile faded. “But I gather your father doesn’t.”
Hope nodded and stared out of the window for a moment. She loved this house. She loved all the memories it held and the feeling of warmth and happiness that her aunt and uncle just seemed to generate around them. “You know what he’s like,” she said sadly.
Aunt Jean sat down opposite her at the table. “I do. I didn’t mean to bring that up. Let’s focus on the good, and worry about the obstacles later, why don’t we? I’ve seen Chance around; he comes up to help with the cattle sometimes.” She waggled her eyebrows. “He’s rather yummy.”
Hope had to laugh. “He’s very yummy; there’s no denying that.”
“And from what your uncle tells me, he’s a wonderful human being, too. He’s decent, honest, hard-working, he has high standards. He sounds like a wonderful package.”
“He is, he may be the most decent human being I’ve ever known.”
“But he comes from the wrong side of the tracks? Is that the only problem?”
Hope shook her head sadly. “No, if that were all, then I think Dad would get over it quite quickly. There’s a lot more to it than that.”
“Do you want to tell me about it, or would you rather I keep my nose out and turn the conversation back to mundane tittle-tattle?”
Hope smiled. “You’re no good at tittle-tattle, you don’t care enough about who’s who.”
Aunt Jean laughed. “Or who’s doing who. That’s all the gossip ever seems to be about. I do care when it comes to you. I want to like this Chance. I’d like to meet him, though I’m certainly not going to put you under any pressure on that. But what I care most about is that you should be happy. Is he someone who can make you happy? And even if he is, are you going to be able to be happy if your father doesn’t approve?”
Hope shrugged. “I don’t know is the answer to all of those questions. Being with him makes me happy. He’s wonderful, Aunt Jean. But it’s not as simple as that. He’s a great guy, but he has a sad past, and he’s not entirely over it.”
Aunt Jean raised an eyebrow and waited.
“His childhood sweetheart died when they were eighteen. Just when they were supposed to start their life together, her life ended, and he’s never got over it. He still loves her. He never stopped wanting the life they were going to have together.”
“Until now? Until he met you?”
“It seems I’m the first person he’s met who’s made him even consider being with someone new. But he’s still struggling. Being with me makes him feel disloyal to her.”
“And how does that make you feel?”
“It doesn’t hurt me. I’m not jealous of her or anything. He seems to think that I will be, but I’m not. He thinks he needs to leave her behind before he could move forward with me, but I disagree. I don’t think he can ever leave her behind, nor should he. She’s a part of him; she helped make him who he is.” She shrugged. “I don’t understand what it’s like to lose your partner, the person that you love that way. But I think I do understand a little bit. I couldn’t ever give up my mom.”
Aunt Jean nodded and patted her hand. “I know; you shouldn’t have to, and Chance shouldn’t have to give up the girl that he lost, but I think many women would feel threatened by her memory. No one wants to feel like a second choice. Is that your father’s problem with it all?”
Hope shook her head vigorously. “No. I don’t think he’s even considered the feelings involved. Dad has a problem that Chance isn’t from money or even famous. It pisses me off that he didn’t mind Drew, but that’s beside the point. Dad’s problem is that he found out what Chance did after Chloe died.” She met her aunt’s gaze, wondering what she might think, but the kindness she saw in her eyes gave her the answer—Aunt Jean would understand. “You see, Chloe drowned. She went out on the lake at night with another guy after she and Chance had a fight. The next morning the guy brought the boat back in, but Chloe was gone. Chance never believed it was an accident. When he saw the guy again months later, he beat him up—very badly. He was sent to prison, and from what he told me, he just made it worse for himself while he was in there. He didn’t care about anything anymore and did more bad things, fighting and such that got his sentence extended.”
“He told you all of this himself?”
Hope nodded. “He did. He knows he did wrong, but ….”
“But what?”
“But if he were put in the same situation, he’d do the same thing again. He has strong protective instincts—maybe a little too strong. If someone threatens or hurts someone he cares about, he can’t let it go.”
“That’s what he’s told you, or what you’ve found?”
Hope shrugged. “A little of both, I guess.”
“Have you ever felt afraid?”
“Oh, my goodness, no. Not for myself, at least, but he went after the man who took the photos of us in Oregon, and yeah, I was a little scared of what he was going to do to him.”
Aunt Jean looked thoughtful.
“What do you think?”
“I think you’ve got a tough road ahead of you, dear.”
&nb
sp; Hope chuckled. “Tell me something I don’t know. But that’s if there even is a road ahead for us. All we’ve committed to is spending time together for the next few weeks while I’m here.”
“That’s all anyone can ever really commit to, no matter what we think or what we say. We never know what’s around the next corner.”
“I know, all we can do is make the most of today. I’ve tried to live by that since Mom died. Chance has made me want to think about tomorrow, though.” She met her aunt’s gaze. “He’s the first person who’s made me want to think about the rest of my life.”
Aunt Jean reached across and patted her hand. “I thought as much. I know I said I don’t want to push you, but I’d like to meet him.”
“I’d like that, too.”
“And how long do you think you’ll stay?”
“I’ve said a couple of weeks. That’s what I told Toby. They don’t really need me in the office or anything.”
“And what will you and Chance do when you go back to LA?”
Hope shrugged. “I have no idea. His whole life is here. He doesn’t get a lot of time off, but he’s said he would come to visit me. I can take as much time as I like, but it doesn’t seem right to just come up here and hang around, you know?”
“Could you move here?”
The question surprised her. “Honestly? I could. It’s not like I couldn’t pop back to LA whenever I’m needed, but what would I do?”
“That’s what you need to think about, isn’t it? It’s all very well hoping for a future with him, but what kind of future might be possible? I know you don’t want to get carried away this early in your friendship with him, but I think you need to decide quite soon whether there’s a future worth getting carried away about.”
Hope nodded. It was true. She couldn’t go letting her imagination run wild about what might happen between her and Chance without giving some real thought to what a shared future might look like.
They both looked up at the sound of the front door opening. Uncle Johnny came into the den where they were sitting. “Oh, dear. What are the glum faces about?”
Hope smiled. “Nothing, just pondering life, the universe, and everything.”
Uncle Johnny chuckled. “And let me guess, everything includes a certain cowboy in a black hat?”
“Yeah, you know me too well.”
He came and patted her shoulder. “I do. I know that you’ll work it out and I hope you know that you’ll have our support.”
She smiled up at him. “Thanks. That’s one thing I’ve always known, and I love you both for it.” She got to her feet. “I’m going to go back down to Oscar’s and let you get on with your evening.”
Uncle Johnny smiled. “Have a good evening yourself. Is he coming here or are you going back down there?”
“He’s coming up here this evening.”
“Ooh, don’t be too surprised if you see me out for a walk later, then,” said Aunt Jean with a smile.
Hope laughed. “I won’t.”
Chapter Twelve
Chance smiled to himself as he turned into the driveway at Dr. Johnny’s place. He’d been here often enough in the past, but that was always to help with the cattle. This was different. Tonight, he was here to see Hope, and he couldn’t wait. He slowed the truck as he approached the big house. Dr. Johnny and his wife were sitting out on the porch. He put his window down and brought the truck to a stop. As much as he couldn’t wait to get to Hope, he felt he needed to say hi to them. He also wanted to get a feel for their reaction to him. Johnny had been brusque with him on the phone last time they’d talked. He didn’t know Mrs. Davenport, other than to wave to. He hoped she didn’t disapprove of Hope seeing a ranch hand. There was only one way to find out.
“Evening,” he called.
“Hey, Chance.” Johnny grinned at him. “She’s down at Oscar’s place. You know which one it is, don’t you?”
“I do, thanks.” He smiled at Mrs. Davenport. “Nice to see you, ma’am.”
He was relieved when she smiled back and gave him a little wave. “Not as nice as it is to see you. Go on, she’s waiting for you, and if you linger around here, I’ll only invite you both up for a drink so I can get to know you.”
Chance smiled. “I’ll go bring her up if you’d like?”
Mrs. Davenport shook her head with a laugh. “That’s very sweet of you, but I don’t think Hope would be too pleased with me. Perhaps another time? You two enjoy your evening.”
“I’d get out of here while you can if I were you,” said Johnny with a grin.
Chance tipped his hat to them and carried on down the lane. He’d wanted to see how they reacted to him. He couldn’t have hoped for better than that.
Hope was standing on the front steps waiting for him when he pulled up. Oscar’s place was pretty grand, especially considering he only used it a couple of weeks a year. Hope looked perfectly at home standing there in front of the huge oak door.
She came down the steps to greet him when he got out of the truck. “Hey. Did you have a nice day at the office, dear?”
He laughed. “It was an okay day. The cows and the horses mostly behaved themselves; the hands were a bit rowdy, but nothing I couldn’t handle. The roughest part of the day was that it took so long.”
She smiled. “Mine dragged. I missed you.”
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and drew her to him. “I missed you, too, honey.”
She looked up to meet his gaze. For a moment her eyes were full of questions, then they were gone. She nodded as if to dismiss them. “Well, you’re here now, and that’s all that really matters. Come on in. I hope you’re hungry; I made us a big salad and a lasagna.”
He raised his eyebrows. “You cook?”
She laughed. “Yes, I cook. I enjoy it. I couldn’t cook in Oregon, because of my ankle. I couldn’t stand around the kitchen on it for too long.” She took his hand and led him inside. “I hope you’ll like it. I almost called to ask if you even eat lasagna, but …” she turned to look up at him, “I didn’t want to be that chick who bugs you at work, calling all the time to ask about nothing.”
Chance laughed. “You can call me any time you want to. I’d love it. I thought about calling you a bunch of times today, but I didn’t have anything to say. I just wanted to hear your voice.”
The way she smiled told him how much that pleased her. “You don’t need to have anything to say. I just want to hear your voice, too.”
They stood there staring into each other’s eyes for a long moment. Chance’s heart clenched in his chest. She was so beautiful, and she already meant so much to him. He’d never have believed that he was the kind of guy who’d want to call a girl, just to hear her, or stand around like this looking deep into her eyes.
She gave a brief nod. “Sorry, I’m going all sappy on you here. Come on into the kitchen, and I’ll fix you a drink while I dish up dinner.”
Chance gave himself a shake when she turned away to open the fridge. If she was going all sappy, he seemed to have it even worse.
They sat on the deck behind the house to eat. This had to be the most beautiful view of the valley he’d seen—and he considered every inch of this valley to be beautiful. “This is quite a place Oscar’s got here.”
Hope nodded. “He has good taste, expensive taste, in everything. From houses to cars to women, Oscar has to have the best and he doesn’t mind paying for it.”
Chance picked up the bottle of wine, happy to see that it was the same Cab Franc he’d bought for her in Oregon. He filled her glass and waited for her to start eating before he picked up his own fork. “And does he work? Does he earn all this money he spends, or is it family money?”
Hope laughed. “God, no! Oscar is a serial entrepreneur. He’s built and sold at least half a dozen companies that I can think of. He’s some kind of genius. He’s like the bright kid at school who’s so clever he gets all the work done too fast and then has so much time and creativity left over that he g
oes and gets himself into mischief.”
Chance nodded.
“Didn’t you say your brother-in-law built up and sold a tech company in Silicon Valley?”
Chance smiled at the thought of Dan. “Yeah. He’s a genius, no doubt about it. It doesn’t sound like he’s anything like your Oscar, though. Dan’s quiet, unassuming. He’s a computer nerd, through and through.”
“Really? From what you’ve told me about your sister, I wouldn’t have expected her to be with a guy like that.”
Chance chuckled. “Neither would I. They couldn’t be more different if they tried, but they’re perfect for each other. They’re each what the other needs. And Dan’s been the best thing that could ever have happened to my nephew Scot.”
“You really love the kids in your life, don’t you?”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s obvious, whenever you mention Scot or little Ruby, your face kind of lights up and you look softer.”
He shrugged. “I guess I do love them. They’re both awesome kids.”
“Have you ever thought about having kids of your own?”
Chance nearly choked on his salad and put his fork down.
Hope laughed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean anything by it, I just wondered, while we were on the subject.”
Chance shook his head. “Until I met you I haven’t even thought about being with a woman, let alone being a dad.”
“I should have known that. Sorry, but for what it’s worth, I think you’d be an amazing father.”
Chance nodded. He didn’t know what to say. Kids of his own weren’t something he’d considered a possibility.
“Okay. Let’s change the subject, shall we? I seem to be good at opening my mouth just to put my foot in it.”
He chuckled. “Not so fast. Have you ever thought about having kids?”
Her eyes widened in surprise at the question, but she didn’t answer immediately.
Chance waited. It was important to him now to know what she thought.
Eventually, she sighed. “I try not to think about it. When I was younger, kids weren’t a priority. I had my career, I didn’t have a man in my life, and I felt like I had all the time in the world. These last few years, though …” she shrugged. “I’m not getting any younger, am I? I guess I’ve started to feel like my time has passed—and that makes me feel like I’ve missed out on something that would have been very important to me.” She shrugged again.
