As the week wore on and Chase thought more and more about Autumn and the suggestions she’d had for the business, he wanted to spit on Michael’s warning.
This morning, as he’d gotten up and done the chores, he wrestled with the idea of driving over to the Hamiltons’ ranch and talking to Janet about the whole thing. Of course, he wanted Michael’s support for his corporate retreat—he needed Michael’s support, but he couldn’t for the life of him understand why he would have to stay away from Autumn.
As he got in his truck and headed over there, something came over him. Some sense of urgency told him he needed to talk to Autumn personally. Call it fate, destiny, or divine intervention. Whatever it was had guided him to the flower shop that morning.
Now, as he saw the malevolence on the man’s face in front of him and saw Autumn looking as frail and defeated as an abused child, he knew he’d come to the right spot.
Adrenaline filled him, and he felt like he was about to get in the chute with the bucking broncs. The only thing Chase knew was this bronc wasn’t going to buck him off.
“I’m not going with you, Brad.” Autumn’s eyes widened, and Chase could see the fear in them.
Brad quietly and pointedly took off his black leather gloves and put them in his pocket. He turned to Chase. “If you’ll please leave, I have business with my fiancée.”
“No, I’m not your fiancée.” Autumn turned away from both of them and rushed toward the counter.
But Brad was fast, grabbing her hair before she could get away. “Autumn, you’re coming with me and going to the governor’s ball on Saturday.”
Chase could sense the fear coming off of her, but that terrified look in her eye combined with the fist around her hair cinched it for him. He knew, this girl was not getting in the car with that guy. “I’d say you’d be best to take your hand off of her.” Chase kept his voice soft, but firm. In a surreal way, it was funny to hear his voice. For a second, he didn’t recognize it because he sounded like his father.
Turning, Brad slowly pulled his hand back out of her hair.
Autumn scuttled away, her eyes big.
If there was one rule Chase’s father had drilled into him his entire life, it was that you always protect women. It wasn’t politically correct. It wasn’t even popular with some women. But Chase didn’t care about being PC or popular.
Right here, staring into this man’s eyes, Chase saw complete rage. He recognized the look. A lot of crazy bronc riders had it. It was part of the reason most of them kept riding as they got older. Anger was fuel. This man, with his refined coat and car-driving-type sissy gloves, was aiming that anger right at Autumn and now at Chase as well.
If Chase’s intuition was right, and it usually was about things like the intention in another man’s eyes, there was no way he was going to let Brad touch her. “Get out,” he said.
A wicked smile flashed across Brad’s face, and he let out a derisive laugh. “Yeah, like some redneck is gonna get me to do anything.”
In one movement, Chase grabbed him by the back of the neck and dragged him back, using the element of surprise to get the jump on him. It was stupid on the guy’s part to let him do that. He must not have had brothers around to tune him up at an early age because if a man had brothers, he would have been ready for that move. “You don’t treat a lady like that.”
Chase slammed him against the door. It flew back, and Brad was thrown on his butt before he could say “redneck” again. Chase wouldn’t lie—he enjoyed doing it.
Recovering quickly, the guy hopped to his feet, vengeance in his eyes. One of his gloves lay forgotten on the ground.
Straightening himself, Chase leveled the man with a glare. “And don’t come back.”
For a moment, Chase wondered if the guy would ram him and start a wrestling match. He definitely didn’t seem the street fighting type, or else he’d already be going after Chase.
The man shook his head and pulled his teeth back like a rabid dog. “This isn’t over.” He threatened as he dove into the black car waiting on the street, and the driver took off.
His adrenaline dropped a notch, and he watched the car drive down the street. Then his eyes fell to the glove. He picked it up and turned back to the store.
She was just inside the door, a hand to her mouth, tears in her beautiful brown eyes. “Why did you do that?” She yelled at him.
Taken aback, Chase didn’t know how to react to her. “Don’t you mean thank you for saving you from that jerk?” Spreading his hands wide, he remembered the first night he’d met her. He’d seen the fear in her eyes. There had been anger too. She was like a young filly trying to decide if she would let him put a saddle on her or not. “It’s okay.”
Blinking, she brought her hands down, and he watched her pull herself back together. She didn’t move, but the emotion evaporated.
He tossed the stupid glove onto the counter and crossed his arms, not knowing what to do. Chase wasn’t the type of guy to kick someone’s butt without knowing why, and he definitely wasn’t the type of guy to go looking for trouble, but part of him suspected Brad would be brewing for round two. “I think I deserve some answers.”
Her eyes fluttered, and she let out a long breath. “Uh, not gonna happen.”
It ticked him off, but he didn’t want to be anything like the guy who’d just left. So he waited.
She turned away. “I gotta close up.” Briefly, she grasped at her shirt collar. When she turned back to him, her eyes had more spunk. “Are you staying or leaving?”
There it was. The phoenix rising from the ashes. The survivor conquering the mountain. He liked that determination, but remembering that guy made him reflexively ball his hands into fists. “You’re seriously not gonna tell me what’s going on? That man had your hair in his fist.”
Flicking up a hand, she cut him off. “Don’t. It’s …” Her heels clicked on the tile of the floor as she walked around the counter, throwing the black glove in the trash. “It’s over. It’s done. I would have handled it.” Her voice carried a false bravado he didn’t want to point out to her, knowing it wouldn’t do any good to point it out.
Obviously, she was still terrified of him.
Jerkily, she began the process of collecting the flowers and taking them back to the refrigerators. Without thinking, he took a bunch of them and helped her, following her to the back of the store.
She paused and frowned. “What are you doing?”
Giving her a frustrated look, he pushed past her and put the flowers on the labeled racks where they belonged. “You know I dated Destiny. She worked here, and I may have watched and helped with the process of putting stuff away.” He returned to the front of the shop and began picking up more bundles.
Looking bewildered, she took more flowers. “You can leave now,” she said.
Chase put the flowers down. Turning toward the door, he muttered. “And women wonder why chivalry is dead.”
Chapter 6
Autumn wore a puffy white snow coat—one of Janet’s with fur around the face—and sat with Lacy in the tree house.
Lacy sat across from her, frowning and folding her arms. “Are you feeling better?”
Last night, when Autumn had gotten back from the flower shop, she’d avoided the family, telling them she was sick. Later, Janet had come out to the guesthouse to check on her, and Autumn found herself telling her all about the encounter and crying on her shoulder.
The whole thing ticked Autumn off. She should have kicked Brad. Punched him. Dodged the hair pulling. Done something.
Chase had beaten her to the punch though. He’d robbed her, totally taken away her chance to prove she could handle it, and it needled her.
This morning Lacy had begged Autumn to come sit in the tree house with her. It was something they’d been doing a lot. She had been such a comfort for Autumn over the past few months, like the little sister she’d never had. Just now though, she was avoiding the little girl’s gaze. Lacy was dang perceptive.
“Don’t do that.” Lacy sternly pointed at her, looking serious despite her pink polka dot gloves. “You know you have to look people in the eye when you talk to them.”
The side of Autumn’s lip turned up. It was funny that Lacy cared so much about her. When she’d first arrived, all they’d told Lacy was that Autumn needed a vacation from her life in Billings, but over the course of the past few months, Lacy had figured out Autumn had a fiancé she was avoiding. All Autumn had told her was that she was trying to be strong.
So Lacy walked around like a mini version of her father for self-empowerment, telling Autumn all the things her father told her about being mentally strong and how to be confident. Autumn actually thought it had helped Lacy a lot to be the “teacher.” She took her role seriously.
“Thanks.” Autumn muttered.
Lacy let out a breath and stood. “I better go get ready for school or Mama’s not gonna be happy.”
Autumn didn’t move. “Yeah, you better. Thanks for the pep talk.”
Lacy started down the tree house ladder and gave her a wide grin. “You’re welcome.”
Autumn listened to the crunch of snow under Lacy’s boots. She sucked in a cold breath and watched as it made warm puffs of air.
She didn’t realize how long she’d been out there until Lacy ran out the door and down the driveway, wearing her pink hat and her backpack “Bye, Autumn.” she called out.
“Have a good day, Lacy.”
As Autumn started climbing out of the tree house, Michael appeared from around the house, wearing a winter coat and his shoveling boots and big thick gloves. “Hey.”
She was shocked to see him since he’d only gotten home the night before. Janet must have informed him of the situation. Knowing he’d come out here for a reason, she let him intercept her before she could reach the house.
Michael paused and let out a breath, his eyes concerned. “Chase called me last night and told me what happened. I let your mother know this morning.”
Autumn rolled her eyes. Wasn’t it enough that she’d already messed her life up so much that she was in this situation? Now everyone treated her like a child. “I handled it.” Her voice had a hard edge.
Michael lifted an eyebrow. “From the sound of it, Chase handled it.”
She pointed at him. “Chase shouldn’t have gotten involved.”
Michael shook his head. “I know the Moon boys. They’re good guys, and Chase isn’t a hothead. If something warranted involvement, he would take care of business.” When she didn’t respond, he sighed. “But he probably shouldn’t have because this morning your mother called and said she got a copy of the assault charges being filed against Chase.”
“What?” The same worry she’d felt when she’d broken off her engagement came creeping back. Brad was doggedly determined about things, and the fact he was going to law school in the fall made it seem only right he would use this opportunity to vent all his pre-law anger on someone else. Especially since his pride had been hurt. And now he was hurting someone who had protected. Yes, he shouldn’t have protected her … but still.
Michael exhaled. “I’m putting my people on it today.”
Gratitude and guilt surged through her. “Thank you.”
“It’s fine.”
But it wasn’t fine. Michael and Janet had been more than welcoming and kind to her. She felt like a sister to Janet now, and she felt close to all of them. “I shouldn’t have brought trouble to your doorstep, or to Chase’s.”
Michael put a hand in the air before she could say any more. “Autumn, you’re not trouble. Brad is. But the thing I’ve seen with you the past couple months is even though you know you need to be away from him, I … sometimes you still defend him when you talk about him. Sometimes you focus on all the good things he was. It makes me wonder if you will go back to the guy.”
“I won’t go back to him.” The words came out quickly. “If I seem that way, it’s because I’m trying to …” She trailed off.
“What?”
She couldn’t even talk without tears coming, and she hated that. When she spoke of Brad, she did try to focus on the good. “When I think of what I allowed him to do to me, it makes me feel weak. I hate feeling that way.” She pointed at Michael, just as Lacy had done to her previously. “But I wasn’t going to let him take me. I wasn’t going to go with him, Michael. I was thinking of different ways to attack.”
Michael grinned. “I’m glad you wanted to fight back. But, I don’t know if you’re ready yet.”
“I didn’t need Chase’s help.” She trudged away, feeling badly about the whole encounter and how rude she was being. Still, she didn’t want to lose it in front of him. “I’m just … I’m just going to leave. Go somewhere. I’ll deal with this by myself.”
She didn’t hear a response. He must want her to leave, and who could blame him? She was a guest in their home. Just because she felt like she was family, it didn’t mean they did. Her head felt murky, like she was at the bottom of a pond with soot in it. Getting to the house, she sucked in a breath, wrapping her arms around her chest. Then she cried.
She hadn’t cried last night. She’d done all the mental self-talk, done all the “lrah-rah, you did good. You handled it good. You are strong” crap.
But now, if she was leaving the Hamilton’s home, she deserved a good cry. Especially since she didn’t know what or how her mother could help her, and she worried that if she went back to live with her mother, Brad would destroy her. Them.
No. She couldn’t go home. She’d have to go somewhere else. Leave her mother out of this.
Wiping her cheeks, she shed the coat and boots and gloves and went to her bedroom. She pulled a cardboard shoebox out of the closet and took out the wad of Autumn she’d earned from Janet and Michael. Given they let her live there rent-free, she didn’t deserve to earn anything, but they’d insisted on paying her for certain things: extra time watching kids, extra time at the store.
In total, it was almost a thousand dollars. Her mind worked fast. Where could she go? How long could she last on that much money?
Going back to the closet, she pulled out her suitcase, dragged it back to the bed, and browsed through the closet for the clothes she’d brought. Obviously, all the clothes she had here now wouldn’t fit in the original suitcase. She and Lacy had spent lots of time sewing and creating matching outfits for her and Lacy and Janet. All of them would periodically wear them around Snow Valley together, loving the attention they got when they wore them.
She was folding the clothes and trying to think about how everything would fit when there was a knock on the door. Of course, she knew who it would be. She was ashamed to talk to them, but she knew she still needed to thank them for all they’d done for her and her mother.
When she opened the door, she moved back as Janet and Michael stepped inside. Janet looked determined, even with baby Michael in her arms. “Autumn, we need to talk.”
Swallowing her emotion, she crossed her arms and stared at them. “Yes, we do. Thank you both for everything you’ve done, but I can’t have your family and your town turned upside down by my choices. I’m going to figure this out. I might go home for a few days, but I’m going to get an apartment somewhere and find a job and figure out how to fight him.”
Michael didn’t say a word. He waited for Janet, who was clearly eager to talk. Passing off the baby to Michael, she stepped forward and put her hands on Autumn’s shoulders. “Autumn, you listen to me. I feel like we’re family. Okay?”
Tears welled up in Autumn’s eyes. “I know, but Brad is vicious, and his father is rich—the governor, for heaven’s sake. How can anyone fight that?”
Janet’s arms were around her, pulling her into a hug.
Autumn couldn’t help but hug back. “I’m so sorry.” She cried.
Janet held her for a few moments and then pulled back. “Listen. You came here a broken woman, and now, you’re ready to take him on. By yourself. I think that’s progr
ess.”
Autumn nodded. She looked at Michael. “I really wasn’t going to go with him. Brad was being nasty, but I wouldn’t have gone.”
Michael seemed like he was deciding something. Then he sighed. “Listen, Autumn. I know you think you wouldn’t have gone, and I believe you, but I know guys like Brad. From your previous experience in life, you know he might have hurt you.”
This wasn’t the conversation she wanted to have. She hated the fact she’d been that woman, and she didn’t want to believe she was that woman now.
Michael held up a hand. “Just hear me out. I have a better idea.”
“I don’t want you to just pay for it.” She turned away. “I … I can’t live like this anymore. It’s not fair to you guys.”
“It’s a business proposition.”
This stopped her.
Janet spoke up. “Autumn, it’s a great idea, and it would be helping us out a lot, so I think you should listen to him.”
Turning back, Autumn slowly followed them in the little living room. Janet had already shed her coat and boots. Now she was taking off the baby’s big blanket and pulling him out of his coat.
Michael sat next to Janet. Autumn sat across from them feeling uncertain. She’d already taken so much from them. She would never be able to repay them, so how could this work?
Michael cleared his throat and leaned back into the couch, putting his arm around Janet. “Listen, I’ve been toying with the idea of helping out Chase on the corporate retreat he wants to have on his ranch.”
Hesitantly, she nodded. “I know. I think it’s cool.”
“I told Chase I need him to go to LA today to make a presentation to my other business partners tomorrow. We need to garner business if this is going to catch on.” He cleared his throat. “In fact …” He looked at Janet, and she nodded. “Janet and I want to hire you to go with him.”
Autumn blinked. “What?”
“You’ve worked for us the past couple of months, and you’ve proven yourself trustworthy, smart, and loyal. Given what’s happening with this idiot, you can’t go back to Billings right now. It doesn’t make sense for you to put yourself in that situation. Honestly, it would help me if I had someone working directly with Chase. You would help him present the idea and then give me a direct report of what’s going on. Knowing you were taking care of that would free me up to focus on other things right now. And I would want you to continue working with him as this project moves forward.”
Winter in Snow Valley (Snow Valley Romance) Page 58
