Her gloved hands shook as she gazed at the image before her. A soft moan escaped her parted lips, and then a cry of pain. “He said he’d gotten rid of these.” She shoved it back at him. “No. I don’t want to talk about it.” Hastily, she gathered her gardening tools, and then tried to stand, but her arthritic body wouldn’t cooperate.
Chance rose, helping his grandmother up. Once she was on her feet, she rushed away. “Gran, what could be so bad about the pictures? Tell me,” he called after her.
“No,” she tossed over her shoulder. He swore by the sound of her voice she was beginning to cry.
Puzzled and troubled by her reaction, he wondered aloud, “Now, what in God’s name was that all about?”
***
Hours later, Chance still couldn’t figure out what had gotten into this grandmother. She never was overly emotional. “It’s gotta be since granddad died, that’s all,” he muttered as he swiped down the bar, but he still frowned. Something nagged at his middle and wouldn’t let go.
The bell tinkled over the door, announcing another patron. Chance glanced up to see Father Tom strolling into the nearly empty pub. His heart jumped a little and sweat dotted the back of his neck. “Father Tom,” he said uneasily, knowing why he’d come. “Walter said you’d be stopping by.”
“Ah, so he did, did he?” The older man slid onto a stool with a wide smile on his face. Shaking his head, he heaved a sigh. “I’ve got some tough ones to crack this time.”
Silence stretched. Chance’s curiosity peaked. “Really?” he asked, then cleared his throat as he gripped the white towel a little tighter. “Can’t be half as bad as I was, can they?” He chuckled softly.
Father Tom smiled sadly, tapping his fingertips on the bar’s gleaming surface. “At least with you we had your grandparents. I’ve got four boys and a girl who’ve got no one but foster parents who don’t know what to do with them.”
“Orphans?” The word stuck in the back of his throat.
“Some are.”
“Tough break.” His heart ached for them.
“You would know, son.” The priest watched him closely. Chance nearly squirmed under the intensity of the blue eyes.
Shrugging uncomfortably, he went back to work as he grabbed a nearby mug. “Well, that was a long time ago.” He tugged the draft handle and poured a beer. Placing it in front of the older man, he said, “Here, it’s on the house.”
“Why thank you. But that’s not why I came and we both know it.” He went to push the mug aside and on second thought took a sip, and then smacked his lips in approval. Putting the glass down, he said, “I need your help.”
Chance held up his hands. “Look, Father Tom, I’m only going to be here for a short time and I’ve got the bar and everything else to contend with—”
“So, you’ll do it anyway,” Father Tom interrupted in a firm voice Chance had never heard before. He waved his hand in the air. “Oh, I’ve got Nick to keep them on the straight and narrow and Devon’s teaching them all about the horses, but it’s not the same really.”
Chance let the words sink in. So he’d gotten Tessa’s friends’ husbands to help, too.
“They need you, Chance. They need someone who’s been where they’ve been and come out the other side.” He pointed a stubby finger in Chance’s face. “And they need someone who knows what it’s like to be abandoned.”
A dagger sliced clear through him at that. Lord, the truth hurt. Wasn’t this what he wanted? To help others. But he’d tried once with a kid and failed miserably. He spoke his fears aloud, the words nearly a whisper, “What if I do more damage, Father?”
The priest looked him square in the eye for a long moment. Chance refused to look away. Finally, Father Tom answered with such conviction that it shook Chance. “You won’t.”
***
He’d do it; there was really no way he could turn it down. He wanted, no, needed to help those kids. And, by damn he would.
Thrusting the conversation with the priest aside, Chance walked up the stairs to Tessa and his place. The beat of the music thrummed louder as he drew closer with each step.
Quietly, he nudged the door open and peeked in. His breath caught in the back of his throat and he swallowed hard. There she stood in the front of the group of little girls facing the mirrored wall. Tall and graceful in her pretty pink leotard she conducted the hip-hop class in quick, bouncy steps to the beat of the music.
Chance slumped against the doorframe and stared longingly at her. A soft whine grabbed his attention. Down and to his right, he spotted Max gazing up at him with those wide brown eyes. Something inside him tugged. Between the dog and Tessa he was a goner.
“Hey, pal, how you doing?” he whispered. He inched his way into the room and silently closed the door behind him. Then he carefully sat down beside Max on the gleaming hardwood floor, trying to go unnoticed. The dog lumbered closer and stuck his nose in Chance’s palm. A smile played around Chance’s mouth at the gesture. He petted the dog’s back while turning back to watch his wife.
The music pounded through his body. With each thump that pulsed through his blood so did his growing desire for her.
Tessa had spotted him in the reflection of the mirror the moment he walked through the door. There was something inexplicable that always drew her to him. Magic.
The song finally ended and her nine talented students heaved a sigh of relief, and then clapped for their own efforts. Tessa joined them.
“Great job, you guys. Okay, gang, that’s all for today. See you same time next week.” She helped the littlest ones with their gear, and then waved to them as they scampered to the door, their feet shuffling across the hardwood floor. As they passed by Chance he gave them high fives and heaped on the praise. They beamed at him. Tessa’s heart tugged a little bit more. He was great with kids.
She went to her last remaining student, Sydney, then, trying to shove Chance’s endearing ways out of her mind. “Hey, you, wanna leave your stuff here until after we clean up?”
“Sure, Auntie.” The little blonde-haired girl smiled, her dimples showing. Her blue eyes sparkled as she put her hand in Tessa’s outstretched one and said, “It was the best, wasn’t it?”
“Better than best, sweetie pie.” Just then she looked up and found Chance not more than two feet away. She dragged in a shaky breath. With a little shrug of her shoulder, she asked him, “So what do you think, competition material?”
His eyes bore into hers, but she swore his gaze lingered over every inch of her. Gulping hard, she waited for him to answer.
“Without a doubt, sunshine.” His voice had a husky edge to it and she shivered in spite of herself.
Sydney’s giggle dragged her attention away from her husband. “You betcha, Uncle Chance. Auntie Tessa could teach anybody anything, isn’t that right, Auntie?”
Smiling widely at her friend’s daughter, Tessa said, “Oh, I don’t know about that, honey. If someone doesn’t want to learn than it would be impossible.” She nearly whispered the last as she gazed into Chance’s gray eyes.
“Impossible,” he repeated, clearly reading her hidden meaning. She couldn’t teach him how to stay or how to make amends with her granny.
“She’d come around for you, you know,” Tessa pointed out. “Granny has been a changed woman since you made that kinda, sorta deal with her.” She raised her eyebrow still unsure of what that deal entailed, but certain it involved her.
He practically snorted. “He-Heck,” he’d changed the curse word as soon as he dropped his gaze to the little girl, now calling softly for Max. The dog’s nails clicked along the floor as he made his way to them. “It’s because she knows the end’s in sight. Less than six months and I’m history.”
His smile, small and tight, couldn’t disguise his real feelings about leaving.
She picked up on that and something else, something indefinable. “So, you’ll let her win by railroading you out of your hometown? Tsk, tsk, Chance Deveraux, I thought you had mor
e gumption than that.” With a fisted hand she nudged him in his middle. “Where’s that fighter I used to know, huh? Where did he go? You letting an old woman decide your future for you, now that’s a laugh.” She smiled sweetly up at him.
There, he twitched, and then his smile turned into a steely grin. “Oh, really? I know what you’re trying to do, sunshine.”
“Is it working?” she baited.
“Damn, woman,” he muttered under his breath.
“Yep, it’s working,” she said, winking at him. “Come on, Sydney, we need to get ready for our date.”
“Date?’ Chance squeaked out, clearly shaken up.
Sydney looked up from petting Max and smiled knowingly. “Oh yeah, Sean’s gonna be there. He’s my boyfriend, he just don’t know it yet, though.”
At that, Chance chuckled hoarsely, searching Tessa’s eyes intently. “Yeah, I bet there’s a lot of things the men in you and your friends’ lives don’t know, isn’t there, sunshine?”
Gasping, a chill raced through her body. Had his question just been innocent curiosity?
Chapter 14
Tugging on her brown suede boots, Tessa smiled inwardly as Chance answered the door in the outer room. He’d been unusually quiet since Sydney had announced their ‘date’ earlier.
“Sean’s here,” Sydney cried excitedly, jumping off the bed and rushing through the small apartment to the door. Max barked once, and then soon followed his friend.
Two deep male muffled voices came to her and she wondered what Chance and Jewel’s husband Devon were talking about. No doubt the upcoming night and what it involved. She secretly hoped Chance would join them by coming to the baby-sitting classes she, Devon, Sean, and Sydney had signed up for with the pending arrival of Bree and Jewel’s babies.
“One can only hope,” she muttered under her breath as she rose and smoothed the wrinkles from her long brown skirt. Crossing to the mirror above her dresser, she brushed back the long springy tendrils of her hair.
Absently she marveled at the transformation in the tiny rooms. With a lot of elbow grease, buckets of paint, second-hand furniture, and yards of material, she and her friends had made a home out of a cold and dreary cubbyhole. Chance had joined in, good-naturedly covering the plain tan walls with the cheery lemony yellow color.
Shaking her head, Tessa focused on her now troubled features. She didn’t have to look into her cloudy green eyes to know she’d been getting nowhere lately where Chance was concerned.
She gulped hard, thinking how she’d pressured him earlier. But, for the last few days, she’d been considering why he wouldn’t give her a baby when he’d promised her. Of course, he’d been right about her granny not wanting to raise his child, the child of her sworn enemy. That’s why she’d never told granny about…
“Hey, sunshine, your ‘dates’ are here.” She heard the smile in his voice. Catching his eye in the mirror, she gave him a cheeky grin.
“You could always join us, you know.”
“So I’ve already been informed.” Coming into the room, he jerked his head in the direction of the doorway. “Your friends have made it plain that I’m invited to these baby-sitting classes.”
He came up behind her, settling his hands on her shoulders. The heat of his touch seeped through her thin pale yellow sweater, making her suck in a breath. Swallowing hard, she forced out words. “You gonna take us up on it?”
“What’s going on here, Tessa?” he asked softly. At the sound of her name on his lips, she shivered.
Shrugging slightly, she felt the welcome weight of his hands. She pulled her gaze away from his penetrating one. Tessa grabbed her handbag and dropped her lipstick in it, and then zipped it up. The sound ripped through the quiet air. Trying to break the building tension, she chuckled. It came out on a puff of air. “Well, you know, with all the baby making going on, all of us who don’t have experience want to make sure we get it right…” She trailed off, knowing her explanation wasn’t what he wanted.
“You know that’s not what I meant.”
Taking the bull by the horns, she jumped in with both feet. “So, I still want a baby, is this so wrong? What, you afraid if you come to this class it will change your mind?” Bravely, she twirled to face him, brushing her backside against him in the process. He groaned and dropped his hands away, balling them into fists. Her body shook and she hugged herself tight.
“Not about the baby, no. But, if you keep doing that, I’ll damn sure change my mind about making love to you.”
She sucked in a sharp breath. His desire seemed to pulsate in the air between them. “I want you, you want me. Why is that so wrong, Chance?”
For long drawn-out moments she was captured in his hot, burning stare. Molten steel, she thought fancifully.
“If it was just the two of us, sunshine, it wouldn’t be wrong.” Hesitantly, he reached out, gently rubbing his thumb over her cheek. “But, we have others to consider here. Maybe I have you to consider above everything else.”
Frowning, she asked, “Me? How so?”
He stilled, dropping his hands and drawing away. Her chest hurt at his growing distance. “I don’t think I have to spell it out for you.” His curt tone felt like a dagger slicing through her middle.
“Well, humor me, Chance, spell it out,” she said through gritted teeth.
The muted voices in the outer room grew in a shared chuckle, making her suddenly aware of time rushing by. Jerking back to him, she repeated, “Well?”
He threw up his hands, saying, “Hell, Tessa, I don’t want to be your first, all right?”
“First?” she sputtered out, thinking how funny it sounded coming from him. If only you knew. “Hah, now that’s a good one.” Jamming her hands on her hips, she stood tall, facing him. Her cheeks grew warm as blood rushed into them. “I’ll have you know, Mr. Chance Deveraux, you don’t have to be concerned with that.”
“How so?” he asked, frowning darkly.
“Listen up, I am not a virgin,” she emphasized each word in a harsh whisper, shoved at his chest, and then flounced past him. His shocked, paper-white face would remain etched in her memory for the rest of her life.
***
Chance eyed Tessa across the baby-changing table. She simply ignored him, as she’d done since making her bold announcement over an hour ago.
The buzz of voices from the other classmates in the cramped room played in the back of his mind and he could see their movements in his peripheral vision, but his thoughts centered on his lovely, mysterious wife.
Shock still raced through his veins each and every time he thought of the end of their exchange. I am not a virgin. Who had she slept with? And when?
He dropped his gaze to survey her body. Desire kicked in the deepest part of him. But, jealousy quickly became its companion. Who had touched her so intimately?
“No, you do it like this,” Tessa said, quietly correcting him on how to diaper a plastic doll.
He tossed up his hands in disgust and backed away a step.
“Oh, no, you don’t.” Tessa reached over and grabbed ahold of his wrist, tugging him back. “You, Mr. Deveraux, will learn how to do this.”
The determination in her voice stopped him cold. He should have gotten angry, but, for some reason, he didn’t. A smile formed of its own accord. “I love it when you get your knickers in a knot, sunshine.”
Her gasp rent the air as she dropped her hold on him. “Why, you…you…” she sputtered.
“Devil, sunshine, the word is devil.” He couldn’t hide the delight in his voice. He’d found a way to penetrate that wall between them.
“Is that so?” Her gaze narrowed, but not enough for him to miss the twinkle of mischief in her green eyes. Suddenly, she grabbed the container of powder and squirted it at him. A cloud of white dust flew out and toward him.
In the nick of time, he ducked. The fine flakes grazed his shoulder and sailed over his head.
“Uh oh,” Tessa cried out, and then clamped a hand o
ver her mouth.
Behind him he heard a sharp intake of breath and the room grew unusually silent. A baby’s cries soon followed. Slowly, Chance stood, glancing into Tessa’s horrified features as she dropped her hand, and then twisted to see the damage she’d done.
“I’m so sorry,” Tessa said quickly. “I didn’t mean- He just brings the worst out in me.” Her voice grew high and desperate.
Chance encountered the scowl of their short, stocky teacher, well, what looked like a dark foreboding look behind the mask of white powder she now wore. In her arms she held a red-faced, squirming baby dusted in the same fine powdery mess. The infant screamed even louder, making Chance wince at the high decibels so close to his ears.
Just then he caught another cry, and then turned to see tears rolling down Tessa’s cheeks. “I didn’t mean to hurt the baby,” she wailed. “I didn’t mean to hurt him. Truly I didn’t. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to kill the baby.”
Stunned, Chance could only stand there and stare. He felt ten times a fool when Devon came to Tessa’s rescue, trying to put his arm around her. She pulled away and raced out of the room.
“Go after her,” Devon ordered, jerking his head in the direction of the door.
“Please, Uncle Chance, help Auntie,” Sydney, now near him and tugging at his jeans, pleaded. Her big, soulful eyes cut through him like a knife.
“Sure thing,” he choked out, not really believing he could. Finally, he could move his feet, and then his legs. In a minute, he was out the classroom door, rushing down the stairs, and then out into the cold dark night. All the time, his mind raced with the memory of her tortured face and the jumble of words pouring from her. It was as if she’d irreparably hurt the baby, not just giving him a harmless coating of powder, but killed him, she’d said. What in the world would make her think she’d ever kill a baby?
***
Tessa ran until her sides ached, and then ran some more. But the pain inside her was far worse than any physical trauma she’d endure. Tears streamed down her face and she gasped in breath after breath trying to run as far away as she could from the baby boy she’d hurt.
Lies of the Heart (Heart Romance #3) Page 11
