Make Mine a Marine

by Candace Havens

  Then he remembered. The comment about him hurting her worse than her ex ever could. That meant she cared enough to be hurt.

  Jumping up, he started for the door.

  Hold it. Might be a good idea to go in with a bribe. There was a small framed painting in the study in the main house that she’d admired more than once. He’d give it to her. It wasn’t enough, but maybe it would be a start. He ran to the house.

  Sure enough he found the painting. It was one of his mom’s favorites. And then he was running back through the house but skidded to a stop by the French doors. The sliding glass ones were gone, and it looked so much better. As he glanced around the kitchen, he took in all the new details she’d added. Her pops of color. He called them the Chelly touches. He toured the house as if seeing it for the first time.

  It was a home. His stomach tightened as it hit him. His mom’s vision—the sketches had come to life, and perhaps were even better in person. Chelly had kept the idea of what his mom had wanted, and then made it...more. A place anybody would want to call their own.

  And she’d done the same out at the river house.

  She was really good—at her job.

  So that meant...

  He’d messed up. Huge. How many times had she told him about her parents always being disappointed in her, because she refused to let them control her? And the guys she’d dated before always finding fault with her in some way.

  But he didn’t. He thought she was pretty close to perfect.

  In his heart, he had been trying to help, but it was understandable why she didn’t see it like that.

  Yep. He’d messed up big time.

  Outside, he noticed the lights were off in the pool house. It was early for her to be asleep, but maybe she was tired. Or she might be in the shower. He started toward the building, but stopped.

  No. He wouldn’t rush her. She probably needed time to rest. First, he’d write a note and ask for her forgiveness. She loved his notes.

  Yes. Good plan.

  An hour later, the painting propped on his coffee table, he grabbed his letter and went to knock on her door.

  But she didn’t answer. “Chelly, I have something for you. And an apology. I get it now.”

  Still no answer.

  “Did I mention I have something I’d like to give you?”

  Silence.

  Normally, he’d respect her privacy, but he was worried.

  He tried the door and it was unlocked. He stuck his head in. “Hey, I won’t bother you if you’re tired. But—”

  No. The closet door was open and it was empty. “Chelly?”

  After a quick search, he left the painting on one of the patio tables and checked the garage. Her truck was gone.

  She was gone.

  A muscle tugged in his chest.

  That might have been his heart breaking.

  * * *

  “TELL ME EXACTLY what she said,” Mari asked as she examined Chelly’s painting. Matt had texted Brody, not knowing where else to go for advice. He was also hoping Mari might know where Chelly had gone. For almost an hour after realizing she’d left, he’d just stood there and stared at the empty space in the garage where her truck had leaked oil.

  He’d tried to convince himself it was for the best. Wasn’t like he was relationship material. And besides, she deserved better than him. That lasted a good five minutes before he knew living without her wasn’t an option.

  That’s when he called for reinforcements. Well, texted for them. He was glad Brody had brought his wife.

  He repeated his conversation with Chelly.

  Mari frowned. “Something happened at the party. She was upset, but she didn’t want to talk about it. Do you remember what you said when you were speaking to Carissa? What it was that first set her off? I saw her face. She looked stricken, like she was ill.”

  He shrugged. “We spent most of the evening hanging out with you guys. Carissa was asking a million questions.”

  Mari rolled her eyes. “Like what? Be specific. Did she hit on you? She’s kinda known for that sort of thing.”

  “No. Not even when she asked if we were serious and I said we were having fun.”

  Mari’s eyes widened.

  Brody’s eyebrows shot up.

  “But we are having fun, or we were. Chelly and me. What’s the big deal?”

  “Please tell me you aren’t that clueless?” Mari pointed an accusing finger at him. “Another woman, a beautiful one, asks you if you’re serious about your date and you say it’s only fun?”

  He obviously was that clueless. “I don’t understand.”

  Mari snarled at him, actually snarled.

  “I got this,” Brody said, quickly jumping in as his wife sat there shooting daggers at Matt.

  He felt like he should take cover. He really had a way with women—a way of ticking them off.

  “Matt, let me help you out here,” Brody said. “When you’re with a woman, one you care about, if someone asks if you’re serious, you say yes. That she’s the love of your life and you couldn’t imagine your world without her. Especially if the person doing the asking is a man-eater like Carissa.”

  It took a few seconds. “Oh. Oh.”

  “Exactly,” Mari said. “And then you made her feel like you didn’t respect her work ethic, either, so you hit her with a double whammy.”

  “But she’s good at what she does. Look at this place.”

  She nodded. “Yes, but you trying to help isn’t allowing her to do her job. If she asks for your help, like she did with the online storefront, that’s one thing. But what you did with Cal, is quite another. She’s trying to establish a career in this town. And she can’t do that with you contradicting her.”

  “But I didn’t mean to. It’s impossible to understand how she organizes things. It all gets done and on time and under budget, but she—”

  “Earth to Matt. You’ve just said she gets it all done and under budget. Why would you step on that? Simply because she does things differently doesn’t mean she’s wrong. You and Brody are organized to a fault, but we try hard not to make fun of your lists and your need to have everything clean at all times.”

  “That’s not always true, this morning—” Brody stopped when she held up a hand.

  “You’re not helping, either,” she said. “I didn’t say we don’t comment. I said we don’t make fun of it or belittle you.” She turned toward Matt. “You didn’t purposefully set out to hurt her, but you have more power than you think. She’s head over heels for you, and my guess is she’s feeling as if you don’t care about her in the same way. Like you don’t think she’s good enough for you.”

  “Well, that’s about the dumbest thing anyone could ever say.”

  “Marine!” Brody jumped up. “Apologize!”

  “What? Oh. Sorry, Mari. I didn’t mean you were dumb. I meant, she’s way too good for me. I wanted to tell her a million times how I felt about her. But whenever I tried, she got that look in her eyes, like she wanted to run. I never knew where I stood.”

  Mari chuckled. “Have a seat, husband,” she ordered, “we’re going to be here a while.” Brody did what she’d said. No one messed with Mari.

  Then she tapped her finger against her chin. “There might be hope for you yet, Marine,” she told Matt. “So here is what we’re going to do...”

  18

  CHELLY STOOD IN the middle of Carrie’s recording studio and pursed her lips. Part of her still couldn’t believe she was here in Nashville. Well, technically, she was about thirty miles outside Nashville, at the estate of one of country music’s biggest stars.

  Totally surreal. When she’d called Carrie’s assistant to tell her she’d take the job, she’d been put straight through to the singer. Carrie had inf
ormed her that her private jet was en route to pick her up and that she’d be staying with her the next few weeks. Chelly hadn’t had time to think. But she couldn’t leave her stuff at Matt’s, especially knowing the house might be up for sale at any moment.

  Riddled with guilt for running, she did it just the same. She wasn’t strong enough to say a proper goodbye. Not yet.

  She’d made arrangements so that she could handle both jobs without missing a beat.

  She wasn’t even sure she was ever going back, except to pick up her truck, which she’d left at the private airplane hangar.

  While flying somewhere over North Texas, her heart had seriously broken in half and she’d started to doubt her actions. Leaving probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but she needed a break. Time to think about what happened.

  She’d overreacted, of that she was certain. But while things had been good between her and Matt, there were control issues—or, not that exactly, but that she wasn’t sure she could ever live up to his expectations of what he wanted her to be.

  Maybe she wasn’t the right woman for him.

  “The equipment will be here in two weeks,” Carrie said, drawing her attention. “We start recording in three. I know it’s fast, and I’m asking for a lot. But can you do it?”

  She gulped. That wasn’t much time, but the space was only about eighteen hundred square feet, and a lot of that was taken up with sound boards and speakers.

  “Yes,” Chelly said. “But if we’re moving that fast, you have to make decisions quickly and stick with them.”

  The singer laughed. “Bossy much?”

  “Well, if you’re hiring me to do a job, I want to do it right.” She’d said almost those same words to Matt. That hadn’t worked out so well. Not true. The projects were in fantastic shape.

  It was just her heart that was an unmitigated mess.

  “I hear ya. Sometimes I need a little reality check. And I trust you. You’re the first designer I do trust. Any ideas so far?”

  “Neon lights for sure. Do you have a slogan or some kind of motto you live by?”

  Carrie held out her wrists. Dream Big was in a fancy scroll on one. And then Be Bold was on the other in the same script.

  “That’s cool,” Chelly said. “And they would make a great sign.”

  “You’re right,” Carrie said, glancing from her wrists to the wall. “I love the idea that when I’m recording, I can look out and see that. I knew your designs would be a good fit. Just knew. My gut is always accurate, a hundred percent of the time, except when it comes to men. If you only knew, Chelly. I just can’t get it right with the opposite sex.”

  And so, in front of the biggest star she’d ever met, Chelly sobbed. Loud. There was no mistaking what was going on. Tears streamed down her face.

  “Oh, my. Girl, you got it bad. Who was he?” Carrie asked, her hands going to her hips.

  Chelly shook her head. “Just the best man I’ve ever met. And I left. I just left him. And I’m here,” she cried. “Sorry. I want to be here. I want the job. This is so unprofessional. I’m embarrassed.” With no ready alternative, she had to use her sleeve to dry her eyes.

  Carrie burst out laughing. Then she covered her mouth with her hand and immediately apologized. “I’m so sorry. I don’t mean to laugh at your pain. But the sleeve thing reminded me of my little brother. He used to do that all the time and it drove our momma nuts. Let’s get you some tissues, hon, and I’ve got a bottle of wine with your name on it. Heck, I’ve got one with my name on it, too. We can—what’s that word when people are miserable together?”

  “Commiserate?”

  “Yeah,” Carrie said. “We’ll do that.” She slipped an arm around her shoulder. “I’ve had a few broken hearts over the years, so I have a lot of experience with that sort of thing. But I’ve made a good livin’ off that pain, so there’s that.”

  * * *

  “THEN THERE’S THE two divorces where the rats tried to take everything I own. And I’m only twenty-six. Don’t be embarrassed about crying. I once fell to my knees in front of forty thousand people the night after the love of my life dumped me. I was singing a song we wrote together, and I just lost it. One of the worst nights of my life. Tabloids had a field day.”

  She was following Carrie through the long hallway back to the house. “Was that one of your husbands?”

  “Oh, no. They were all replacements. Every man since then has been. But it took a long time for me to see it. But this isn’t about me, it’s about you. C’mon to the kitchen. I’ve got ice cream and pudding. I might even have some whipped cream. And if it’s a really sad story, I might make you some of my Crock-Pot Heaven.”

  Chelly laughed. “What is Crock-Pot Heaven?”

  “Girl, you have been missing out. Chocolate cake mix and pudding. You ever have lava cakes? It’s like that. There have been times when I’ve eaten the whole thing in one sitting.”

  “Can’t go wrong with chocolate cake and pudding,” Chelly said, already feeling a little better. Carrie truly was a superstar and a lot more down-home than she’d been expecting.

  “You are my kind of people. That’s exactly what I say. You tell me your sad story, and I’ll take care of you. Singing is about all I’m good at, but like I said, broken hearts are my specialty.”

  Maybe this was where she was supposed to be. Getting on that private jet wasn’t such a bad idea, after all. “Thank you for being so kind.”

  Carrie turned and gave her a quick hug. “You know what, sometimes you just meet people and you know it happened for a reason. I felt that way when we met in Mari’s office. I mean it about not being embarrassed. We’ll get you sorted. That’s what my momma used to say. She’d get so mad when I got worked up over a man. She always said there wasn’t a man made who was worth cryin’ over. She’s been married to Daddy for thirty years, so I’m not sure what that says about their marriage.”

  They laughed.

  “Come on now.” She motioned to one of the twenty stools around the enormous bar. “Tell me everything.”

  So Chelly did. From the reason she left Nashville to what happened with the Marine.

  “I hope you don’t mind but I might start taking notes. This has got country song written all over it.”

  Chelly chuckled. “You can call it Wrong Turns.”

  The other woman nodded. “You might be on to something there. So this hot fella cooks, cleans and worships your body? Remind me again why you split?”

  Chelly looked away. “Well, when you say it like that, I wonder, too. But he was always up in my business, wanting to take over. I never felt like I was good enough. I can’t take that.”

  “I don’t want to judge, but it sounds like maybe if you guys were a little better at communicating with each other, things might have been different. Did you ever tell him that you loved him?”

  “Love? No. It’s not love,” she said vehemently.

  Carrie waved a hand in the air. “Darlin’, it so is. You can’t have a busted heart, sob in the middle of my studio and think it’s not love. You’re a bright girl, you know the truth in your heart.” She winked at her.

  Love. Hmm, love. Nah. It couldn’t be.

  She was most definitely not in love with the Marine.

  Except...that she was.

  Carrie was watching her closely. “Yep, Crock-Pot Heaven coming up. Don’t you worry, hon. We’ll figure this out.”

  Chelly sure hoped so because she’d made another wrong turn.

  * * *

  MATT WORE A path in the floor of the upstairs garage apartment as he paced back and forth. “What do you mean you don’t know where she is?” He was about to lose it. “You’re one of her few friends, Mari. If she was going somewhere, she would tell you.”

  “Whoa,” Brody said. “Sit down and s
top yelling at my wife before I have to bust your chops. She’s pregnant. With. My. Child. Now calm down before I make you.”

  Matt ran a hand over his head. They couldn’t find Chelly. She wasn’t answering texts and he was worried about her. “Sorry, Mari.”

  Mari gave him a quick, knowing smile. She was talking on her phone. “What? When? Then that has to be where she is. That little stinker. No, it’s okay. I’ll call her in the morning. It’s late. Thanks, Abbott.”

  He was about to come out of his skin, but it looked like she had news. “She’s in Nashville—at least that’s what Abbott thinks. Carrie’s assistant asked Abbott to email over the contracts so she and Chelly could sign everything tonight. That has to be where she is.”

  Matt sat down hard on the sofa. How was he supposed to talk to her if she wasn’t even in the state? Why had she run away? She’d done exactly what he thought she would. Still, it didn’t give him the best feeling.

  He figured she wouldn’t take his calls since he’d texted her a half dozen times, with no answer.

  “How’d she get there so fast? It’s only been a few hours. And where’s her truck?” he asked.

  “Just a second,” Mari said. She was reading something on her phone.

  Then his dinged.

  It was from Chelly. He shut his eyes and took a breath, never more wary of words in all his life.

  Hey. Sorry I left the way I did. This job came up in Nashville. A good excuse at the right time and I took it. I was wrong. You were wrong. But I need time. I’ve got to figure some things out.

  That was it.

  Then his phone dinged again.

  I saw your email. I appreciate that you believe in me. I think I have to do that for myself now. We’ve got your jobs covered. Everything will be exactly as you wanted it, and on time. Take care.

  Take care?

  Heck. That sounded like a see ya later.

  “What does it say?” Brody was asking. “Is she all right?”

  “She’s fine,” Matt said. His voice flat. “She is in Nashville. She’s got the jobs covered.” He kept staring at his phone.