by Silver James
Twenty-One
Savannah was floating on air—or would be if she wasn’t riding Cimarron. She’d done it! Champion All-Around Cowgirl! She even had the belt buckle to prove it. And the saddle. And the prize money. The endorsements. The trailer. Not that she needed one, considering Chase’s generosity. She couldn’t wait to see him, to fall into his arms for a big hug and a searing kiss. He’d be proud of her, proud for her. Ever since the night he’d stood up for her, taking on his father on her behalf, their relationship had deepened. Tonight, they were both winners.
Chase talked about when. When they went here, when they did this or that. He spoke in future terms and never with an if. Convinced he wanted a future with her, believing he shared the same feelings for her that she held for him, she’d let her guard down. She’d opened her heart and welcomed him with open arms and unconditionally. She loved him. She’d admitted that to herself in Cheyenne after the thought of him being with another woman left her devastated and so angry she couldn’t breathe between the sobs.
In the months following, he’d done everything in his power to show her how much he cared. He’d gotten her to trust him. And she was ready to be honest and tell him how she felt about him. Coming out of the arena after accepting her awards, she’d expected him to be behind the chutes waiting for her. He wasn’t.
She pulled her phone from her hip pocket. No text. No missed call. Concern now colored her excitement. Dismounting, she led the big paint horse to the competitors’ holding area. She could put him in a stall while she searched out Chase. She knew he was here. She’d seen him before her last run, had seen him in his box cheering as she rode into the arena to collect her prizes when she was announced the winner.
Standing, unsure of what to do or where to go, Savannah was surprised when one of the candidates for rodeo queen sauntered by with an insincere smile on her face. Great. Just who she wanted to run into. Twyla Allan, the same girl who’d been draped all over Chase back at the Clark County rodeo right after her marriage.
Twyla stopped and with a catty look on her face asked, “Looking for that gorgeous hunk you claim is your man?”
Something about the other girl’s demeanor worried Savannah, but she nodded her head, unable to stop the gesture.
“Saw him back that way, headed toward the competitors’ lounge.”
“Oh. Uh, thanks.” Savannah walked away but glanced back over her shoulder to find Twyla watching her go, a hand on one hip, her eyes smoldering and a smirk crinkling her lips. Something was wrong. Like the chick knew something Savannah didn’t. That was bad. Very bad.
All but trotting, she jogged past the holding pens. People clogged the area behind the chutes and she ended up playing running back as she dodged and cut between cowboys, officials and others. She waved off shouted congratulations with a distracted smile and hand flick. The closer she got to the area under the arena where the hospitality room was located, the more panicked she became.
One of the bigwigs with Wrangler jeans caught her, staying her forward progress with a hand on her arm. He wanted to talk about a sponsorship. Accepting his card, with a promise to call, she rushed on. The leather soles of her boots slipped on the incline leading from the staging area floor up to the first level, where hospitality was located. She reached the landing and made a sliding turn. When she regained her balance, she stopped dead at the sound of Chase’s laughter. His deep, sexy, only-for-her laughter.
He stood twenty feet away, surrounded by paparazzi he’d most likely tweeted to get there. A curvy, blonde cowgirl stood on his left. She had her arm around his neck and his hand rested comfortably on her hip. The Stetson on her head was tipped back, and she was laughing at what Chase was saying. The camera flashes lit up the hallway as though it was the Fourth of July. A second woman stood tucked against his right side. Her thick hair was a dark chestnut with red highlights. She was as gorgeous as the blonde, and her hand was splayed across Chase’s abs.
Savannah’s stomach cramped and she had to bend over, her hands braced on her thighs. Two women. Both beautiful. And definitely cowgirls from the way they were dressed. Real cowgirls, not the kind who would shop in Leather and Lace.
Somebody tapped her on the shoulder, and she jerked upright. Twyla.
“Just wanted to check to make sure you’re all right, hon.”
Yeah, Savannah just bet she did. She straightened without looking at the girl with the tiara attached to her cowboy hat. “I’m fine, Twyla. Just a little light-headed from all the congratulations.”
“Sure, whatever. Anyway, I see you found your husband.”
She didn’t need to see Twyla’s face. Savannah heard the sneer in the way she said that last word. “I did, and now you can get lost.” She didn’t add the name she wanted to call the pushy, two-faced witch.
“Now, why would I want to do that? You think you’re all that because you conned Chase into marrying you. What you see is what you get, and I get to watch you getting it.” Twyla cackled, her glee evident.
What you see is what you get. She’d believed him in Cheyenne, that his brother had masqueraded as Chase. But what if the twins had pulled a double switch? What if Chase had actually stayed in Cheyenne for the rendezvous with Di and Cash had been here in Vegas dealing with those federal officers? Oh, yeah, they could have pulled that off.
She blanked her face. No way would she give Twyla the satisfaction of seeing her crumble. She was Savannah Wolfe and she would keep her chin up. No freaking matter what. Her brain whirled. Should she confront him? Should she just walk up as though she had no problem he was all but making out with two beautiful women? Should she walk away, go back to the hotel and eviscerate him in private?
The decision was made for her when the blonde turned and saw her standing in the hall. The woman leaned closer to Chase and whispered in his ear, her eyes never leaving Savannah. That’s when Savannah knew. That’s when she saw the same look on the blonde’s face as she’d seen on Di Brandenburg’s. That’s when she knew she’d been played for a fool. Frozen in place a moment too long, she watched Chase’s head turn. Saw him recognize her. Saw the moment he understood he’d blown it with her. She watched him shake off the women, watched him take a few steps in her direction, fighting through the throng of reporters.
That’s when her muscles thawed and her brain took over. She pivoted and ducked back down the ramp. By the time she hit level ground, she was sprinting. Cimarron. She’d leave him. He was safe in the pen. She’d call Kade later to come pick him up. Him and Red. She didn’t want them. She didn’t want the trailer. The clothes. Nothing. At the moment, though, what she wanted was to get away. Needed to get away. Someone called her name. She kept running.
* * *
Chase lost sight of Savannah in the crowd. People were staring, but that didn’t matter. All he cared about was getting to Savvie, explaining to her. The look on her face had gutted him. She believed he’d betrayed her. He had to talk to her. Tell her he was an idiot. That what she saw wasn’t what she thought it was.
“Chase! What the hell, bud?” Chance grabbed his shoulder and forced him to stop.
Cord stood next to Chance, breathing hard. “You almost knocked Jolie down. Not cool, dude.”
A moment later, Clay pushed through the mass of people, sheltering Georgie against his side, while he made a path for Cassidy and Jolie. “Want to explain what that mad dash was all about?”
Chase stared at his brothers and their wives. He knew Savannah had seen him with them. Knew she’d leaped to the wrong conclusion. And he knew why. He’d never introduced her to his family. To anyone besides Tucker. Just as he’d been thoughtless about that cheap ring he’d put on her finger, he’d never considered taking her home to Oklahoma to meet his brothers and their wives. To meet Miz Beth and Big John, the caretakers who’d all but raised the Barron boys. He’d made her his wife but he hadn’t made
her part of his family. He’d planned to remedy that, but he’d waited too long.
Cassidy sidled up beside Chance. “Why did she freak out like that, Chase?”
The question was a legitimate one. He’d told no one but Tucker about Cash’s sabotage attempt in Cheyenne. Why he’d felt the need to protect his twin was beyond his comprehension at the moment. Cash had done despicable things to all of them.
Hunter Tate, Clay’s chief of security, appeared, along with several of the Tate brothers and a man Chase vaguely recognized as part of Clay’s security team. His oldest brother was a US senator and had been campaigning for the presidency before following his heart to marry Georgie, Clay’s former director of communications. The football scrum of Barrons and Tates put the three ladies in the middle and moved outside to the parking lot, where they had a modicum of privacy.
Jolie fisted her hands on her hips and did her best to look tough. The ER nurse got right to the point. “Just say it, Chase. Rip the Band-Aid off fast.”
Chase watched Clay shrug off his leather jacket and drape it around Georgie’s shoulders. She was still recovering from the illness that threatened her life. The tenderness in that gesture floored Chase. He wanted that with Savannah. Inhaling deeply to fortify his resolve, he laid it out for his family.
“Chance knows most of the story. The beginning, anyway. Dad decided I needed to get married. He picked out Janiece Carroll. Tucker got wind of things.” He glanced around the group and realized Kade had joined them. The ranch manager did not look happy. “Since I was supposed to be out of town, Kade arranged to have Savannah stay in my apartment. Only I came home early. And kicked her out.”
He dropped his chin at that admission. “In my defense,” he told the pavement, “I’d just gotten burned by those two singers in Nashville.”
“So you made amends by marrying her?” Kade’s voice betrayed his tightly held anger.
“We made a deal. She needed help. I needed a wife. It was convenient for both of us.”
“Convenient?” Cassie brushed a slap against the back of his head. “What were you thinkin’? Oh, wait. You weren’t thinking. Duh.”
“This doesn’t explain why we’re standing here in the middle of a parking lot on a chilly December night, little bro.” Cord always cut to the heart of the matter.
“I discovered I liked her. A lot. And then I fell in love with her.”
No one said a word. He couldn’t even hear them breathing. He glanced up. Every one of them wore the same shocked expression. “You heard me. I fell in love.”
He went on to explain about Cash. About his father. The ring. His idea to have them all there when he presented her with a real ring and asked Savannah to spend the rest of her life with him. He finished up with “And in true Barron fashion, I’ve totally screwed up everything.”
“Ya think?” Cassie rolled her eyes. “Dude, you really shot yourself in the foot this time. We need to fix this.”
Chance reeled her into his side with an arm around her neck. “No, sweetheart, Chase needs to fix this.”
Twenty-Two
“Where would she go?” Chase considered the question, not realizing he’d voiced it aloud until Cord snorted.
“You’re asking us? Like we’d have a clue because we know her so well.”
He glared at his brother. “Yeah, stick that knife in and twist, Cord. My fault I didn’t introduce her to y’all. My fault she didn’t realize who Cass and Jolie are. My fault.” His voice rose with each sentence he uttered and he finished by throwing his hands in the air.
“Where’s her old truck?”
Clay focused on Kade. “What?”
“She left Cimarron in a holding pen. Big Red is in his stall. The trailer hasn’t moved. I had Security check, and her new truck is gone. That surprises me. I figured she would have left it and taken a cab.”
“What are you sayin’, Kade?”
“I’m sayin’ that I know Sav. She’ll walk away from everything you gave her.” He shoved his thumbs in the front pockets of his jeans. “Let me ask you this. What’s in your apartment? The stuff she owns, I mean.”
Chase considered, mentally walking through the closet. “Her clothes. Her...stuff.”
“All of her clothes? Her duffel bag?”
He searched his memory again. Thought about what she’d taken the first time she tried to run. “Ah, hell.” He stared at Kade. “She kept the stuff she arrived with in that duffel.”
“Yup. And she keeps that duffel in the truck. She’ll walk away with exactly what she walked in with.” Kade’s eyes hardened. “And she’ll walk away from the money she won this year. She’ll consider the winnings payback for your sponsorship.”
“Ah, hell.”
Tucker’s phone pinged and he glanced at the screen before accepting the call. He held up a finger as he listened. “No. Don’t do anything. Just keep an eye on her. We’ll be there shortly.” He returned his gaze to Chase. “She’s in the parking garage at the Crown.”
Chase breathed around the tightness in his chest. “She’s gone home.”
Kade growled in frustration. “No, you idiot. She doesn’t have a home. Except that damn ol’ Ford pickup of hers.”
Hunt stepped closer, his phone in his hand. “SUVs will be here in a minute. We’ll load up and head her off.”
Chase had VIP parking and his Jag was close. “I can’t wait.”
* * *
Savannah finally found her old pickup. Breathing heavily, she leaned against its rusty fender and bit her lip to stave off her tears. Her hands shook even though she pressed them against the hood. Her nose burned and her vision was blurry. This corner of the hotel’s parking garage was cloaked in shadows. No one could see her. No one would know that Chase’s betrayal shattered her heart into so many pieces she’d never find them all.
Stiffening her spine, she pushed off the hood and stood straight. She was better than that. Stronger. She wasn’t her mother. She didn’t need a man to define her. Support her. Take care of her. She’d been taking care of herself since she was twelve. Wiping her sleeve over her cheeks, she squared her shoulders.
She was done with anything bearing the Barron name, including the prenup, checking account and her winnings, all bought and paid for by Chase. She couldn’t keep any of it and walk away with her pride intact.
She had to dump the contents of her purse to find the keys to the old Ford. She unlocked it and transferred her belongings from the new truck. She’d leave the key with the security guard at the exit. Settling in behind the steering wheel of her Ford, she inserted the key in the ignition and turned it.
Nothing happened.
No click. No whirr. No grinding chug. Nothing. And didn’t that just sum up her life? She had nothing but a couple pairs of worn blue jeans, some old shirts, a pair of boots she didn’t pay for but was keeping because she didn’t want to go barefoot and a heap of a truck that wouldn’t even start.
In the distance, she heard the rumble of life on the Strip. Closer, tires squealed as a driver took the circular ramp too fast. She got out, popped the hood. Everything looked okay. She jiggled the wires on the battery. Back in the driver’s seat, she cranked the ignition. Nothing. Just like her. Her mother had been right—she was a loser. At least Chase had listened and not paid her old lady a cent. Savannah slumped, her forehead resting on the steering wheel as she let the tears fall.
Tires screeched right in front of her, and she looked up to see Chase’s Jaguar blocking her truck. She had just enough presence of mind to slam her door and lock it. He stalked to her, but she couldn’t decipher the expression on his face. Anger. Hurt. Concern. At the moment, anger was the primary emotion.
He jerked the door handle and his face clouded. “Open the door, Savannah.”
“No.”
He jerk
ed again, then pounded on the window. “Open the damn door, Sav.”
“No!”
More vehicles arrived. Black SUVs. People climbed out. She watched, slightly disconnected from the scene. Chase continued to bang on the window and shout.
“Open the door or I’ll break the window.”
Three women appeared—the blonde, the auburn-haired beauty and a third woman with short hair. They were accompanied by three men. Savannah blinked. She recognized Senator Clay Barron. His arm encircled the short-haired woman. Savvie swallowed hard. She vaguely remembered some news reports about Clay stopping his presidential campaign to be with his fiancée while she fought cancer. Savannah’s gaze tracked to the other two women, and the men with them. She didn’t recognize the men beyond the fact that they had to be Barrons. Chase’s brothers?
“Dammit, Savvie! Swear to God I’m gonna rip this door off if you don’t open it right now.”
What was going on? She popped the lock, and in less than a breath, Chase had jerked the door open and pulled her out. He gripped her biceps and shook her.
“What were you thinking? Why did you run away?”
Her gaze remained glued on the two women. “I saw you.”
“I know, kitten. But you didn’t see.”
“Yes, I did.”
“No, you didn’t. You saw what you wanted to see, not what was really there.” He inhaled sharply and backed up, tugging her with him. “This is not the way I wanted to do this. Not the way I planned. At. All.” He pointed to the women. “My sisters-in-law. Cassidy Barron. She’s married to my brother Chance. That’s Jolie. She married Cord and is the mother of my favorite nephew.”
Cord snorted. “CJ is your only nephew, bud.”
“You didn’t see her back at the arena, but that’s Georgie, who is Clay’s wife.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Uh-huh? That’s all you have to say?” He stormed away several steps and turned back. “You didn’t trust me, Savannah. How can I do this if you don’t trust me?”
