“All right, son.” Grandpa had taken the hand piece from his wife. She didn’t argue, as he asked, “Are you all right on supplies?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Everest responded, standing from his chair. Leaning over the table, he said, “I’ll contact you in a few days, out.”
“All right, son,” Grandpa repeated. “Out.”
Everest shut off the two-way. Standing, he frowned. It didn’t make sense. Had Chloe told him the truth from the beginning? Or was Paul really the husband she was trying to keep the truth of her indiscretions from? Everest wanted to believe her. He had been so angry the day she left. But what if she didn’t lie? And then again, what if she had?
Shaking his head, he crossed through the house to his den. The house seemed so empty without her. The isolation had never bothered him before. Everest frowned. Going to the bookshelf, he pulled a book from its orderly place. Looking at the front cover, he read the finely scrolled words, “The Ashes of Littleton by Chloe Masters.”
Flipping the hard cover over, he stiffened as he saw her grinning face. It was an older picture, her hair had been shorter and she sat in an office chair with a furry white cat on her lap. Everest smiled when he noticed the cat’s bright blue eyes were slightly cross-eyed. Tracing his finger over the smooth line of her cheek, he sighed at the photograph. Before he had paid the picture little mind, choosing instead to read the novel. Now he wondered how he could have ever resisted looking at the beautiful woman on the glossy cover.
Carrying the novel with him back to his couch, he sat in front of the fire. He stared at her shining face for a long moment before leaning back and opening her book.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chloe walked despondently through the bright casino, by the endless rows of slot machines and blackjack tables. Her stride was proud as she lifted her head high into the air. She passed a waitress offering free drinks without a second glance. Today, she would meet with Paul Lucas. And she would do it dead sober so there would be no mistakes. Smoothing the black jacket of her finely cut business suit over her skirt, she hid her frown. She drew her face into a blank mask.
“Chloe! Chloe Beaumont! What a small world!”
Chloe froze in confusion at the excited voice. Stopping, she looked around. Seeing a woman coming directly at her, she smiled slightly. Then, as recognition dawned on her, she uttered, “Betsy? From Miner’s Cove? What are you doing here?”
“I left Miner’s Cove,” Betsy asserted with a pleased grin. Her hair swept up to the nape of her neck in sleek fashion. Her makeup was toned down and her clothes looked to be of a very fine quality, though not overly rich. “And I’m never going back.”
“Well, what are you doing in Vegas?” Chloe questioned. For a moment her heart stopped. She glanced over the casino looking for Everest. She couldn’t see him.
“I’ve come to land me a rich husband,” the woman said without embarrassment. “I figured Vegas would be the perfect place.”
“Good for you, Betsy,” Chloe said, though she wasn’t sure she meant it. Then, with a polite smile, she uttered, “I’m sorry, but I have to go. I hope everything goes well for you.”
“I’m sure it will,” the woman mumbled. Betsy opened her purse to pull out a piece of chewing gum. Popping it into her mouth, she waved over a waitress to order a drink. An easy smile formed on her catlike lips. Then, turning, she watched Chloe walk away.
* * *
Chloe paused before knocking. She waited patiently as she heard Paul coming to the door. Opening it, he stared out at her in surprise. A towel wrapped around his waist and his wet hair was slicked back from his face.
Holding the door in his hand, he shot, “Chloe, what are you doing here so early? I thought the wedding was set for tonight.”
“It is,” Chloe answered. “But I came to talk to you about the will. There’s something I need to discuss with you.”
“Can’t it wait?” Paul inquired. He pulled the towel closer to his flat waist to keep it from falling. Grinning slyly, he stated, “I’m not even dressed.”
“Sure,” mumbled Chloe. His half naked state had no effect on her whatsoever. With a frown, she asked, “Can you meet me downstairs in the lounge?”
“Ah, yeah, sure.” Paul began to close the door. Before the wood shut all the way, he uttered, “I’ll be down in fifteen.”
“Fine,” came her stiff reply.
Paul watched her leave through a slight crack before turning around to the bed. A slender woman arched her buttocks into the air. Her dark skin and raven black hair reflected off the mirrored ceiling to give Paul ample view of her naked form. She slightly parted her legs in invitation when she noticed his attention. With a naughty come-hither smile, she cocked her head for him to join her. Licking his lips in devious pleasure, he had to shake his head, denying the naked prostitute.
“I can’t, Maria,” he growled. “I need you to go.”
“Oh, no,” Maria whined. Her voice was thick. She dipped her finger in her mouth to suck on it gently before moving to touch her breast. She lightly circled the wet tip over her dark nipple. Instantly, the bud peaked. She moaned and spread her legs wider. “You can’t leave me.”
Paul growled, liking the trashy appeal of the prostitute. He didn’t even care that her name was probably not Maria. His loins tightened in instant arousal. His towel rose to reveal the imprint of his ready member. Maria giggled excitedly and wiggled her breasts enticingly before him. “I have to—business. But listen, I want you to keep tomorrow night open. Have that friend of yours ready, the one with the big tits.”
“But, what ‘bout me? Are you goin’ to leave your little Maria all hot for you?” the prostitute asked with a lustful glance at the man’s crotch. With an insistent whimper, she begged, “Come on. I’ll let you do me like you like it, dirty man.”
Paul groaned as the woman turned her tanned backside to him and spread her cheeks. Without further protest he threw the towel from his waist and hopped behind her on the silk-covered bed.
Chapter Thirty
Chloe sighed. Taking a sip of her lemon water, she looked at her watch. Paul was ten minutes late. As another waitress tried to approach her with a tray laden with alcohol, she held up her hand in denial. The plump woman backed away with a pout but soon turned to another customer who accepted her offerings.
Chloe looked around the fancy lounge. Even the bar had slot machines in it. She had chosen a private table in the back, away from the noise of the main room. Frowning, she lifted her wrist to look at her watch again. But, before she could check the time, she saw Paul in the entryway. He stopped the plump girl with the tray to order a drink. Then, scanning the lounge for his fiancée, he nodded in her direction.
Chloe stood politely as he came over to the table. As he took a seat across from her, she smiled.
“So, what’s all this about?” inquired Paul pleasantly. The waitress brought his drink. Reaching into his coat pocket, he pulled out a bill and laid it on her tray.
When she was gone, Chloe said, “I need to go over a few details of the will. I wanted to make sure that you still wanted to go through with this.”
“Of course I do,” Paul answered, as if affronted.
“Good,” Chloe tried to force a smile and failed. Taking a sip of water, she said, “Not many people would like the terms of it.”
“Terms?” Paul inquired with a slight raise of his brow. He took a drink of bourbon. “You mean the fact that we have to have a kid in the first two years? I already know of a great private school that we can send him to the moment he turns five. And before that we can hire a nanny. There is no reason to be inconvenienced by it. My parents hardly took a hand in raising me and I’m fine.”
Chloe swallowed her displeasure. “Sure, there is that. Also, I have to keep working. It’s a stipulation. I got the impression you didn’t want me to work after tonight, but I have to. If I don’t, we don’t get any money.”
“Oh,” Paul muttered. Then, thinking that his
wife might be gone all the time on book tours and such, he smiled kindly. Lying, he said, “I just meant to imply that you didn’t have to. But, if it’s what you want, I will support you.”
“That is so kind of you,” Chloe preened through her teeth. She narrowed her gaze into shaded slits. Paul didn’t notice. With a smirk beginning to form, she said, “But, there is more.”
“Whatever it is, I am sure we can find a way to make it work,” he said. Lifting his glass, he ordered another drink before his first was finished.
“I am sure you are right,” Chloe answered. Leaning back in her chair, she waited for the waitress to return.
* * *
“What are you doing here, Chloe? I thought you changed your mind,” Paul slurred drunkenly from the suite’s doorway. His suit was slightly crumpled and he hesitantly brushed down the sleeves. Glancing back at the bed, he waved the red haired woman out of view with a grimace. His eyes grew wide as she shot him a defiant look.
The prostitute ran soundlessly to the bathroom. Spinning back to the hall, he looked at the covered figure that silently held out her hand to him. Squinting, he stared at her trembling fingers before taking them in his own. He took a deep, irritated breath, “Is it time for the wedding?”
“Yeah, Paul, it’s time. Come on, I have a bottle of whiskey out in the limo for us. I think we’re going to need it.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Chloe frowned as she shut the last of her suitcases. Taking a last glance around her New York apartment bedroom, she sighed in thought. Outside her window she saw a stray cat crawl over the fire escape. She watched it hop down from a railway before scurrying past.
Chloe took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Seeing a sock on her cleaned floor, she bent over to pick it up and threw it into a laundry basket. After getting back she had cleaned her entire apartment until it sparkled. She sadly thought of Everest and his lodge. Then, going to her vanity, she lifted the lid to her makeup case and hurriedly threw in several small bottles of perfume, an extra lipstick and her nail file.
Grabbing the case in one hand, she lifted her suitcase off her bed with the other. She carried them into the living room and set them by the door. Inside, she felt dead. The Vegas trip had gone exactly like planned. Paul had been predictable. Shaking her head, she refused to think about it. It was over.
Wandering into her kitchen, she stopped at the box she had left on her counter. She opened the lid and dug through its contents. Hesitantly, she pulled out her research notes. Devon had brought them back with her from Montana. Packing the notes in her briefcase, she carried it over to sit with the rest of her luggage. Going back to the box, she threw the empty container away.
Chloe stared at the discarded package, trying not to cry. It was hard though. She felt a sob gather in her chest as she thought of Everest. Betsy might have wanted to get out of Miner’s Cove, but Chloe wanted to spend the rest of her life there.
She missed the mountain haven. The city only seemed noisy and irritating to her now that she was back. Before, the smell of the streets had never bothered her. Now she found herself longing for the fresh, clean scent of a snowdrift and the stout odor of burning wood in a fireplace. Her body longed for all the times and places she had never made love to Everest on the mountain. His embrace still burned her skin, branding her and forever ruining her for another man’s touch.
Shaking herself out of her self-pitying trance, she eyed her airplane ticket. Opening it, she scanned the bold print.
“Switzerland,” she mumbled, “first class, no layover.”
Seeing her purse, she pulled it to her and shoved the ticket inside. Then, pausing, she pulled out a worn piece of paper. Her hands shook as she unfolded it. It was her wedding certificate to Everest. She knew she should throw it into the trash or even a file somewhere that no one would ever see. Tracing the firm strokes of his precise handwriting, she smiled in remembrance. It was neat and orderly like the rest of him.
Going over to her briefcase, she rummaged through it until she found the divorce papers. His signature stood out boldly from them, matching the wedding certificate perfectly. Folding them together, she put them away.
“Yeah,” she hollered when the doorbell rang. Taking a few steps to the door, she pulled it open. Seeing Devon, she smiled and waved her in.
Devon eyed the suitcases wearily as she walked around them. “Are you all packed?”
“Yeah, I leave tonight.” Chloe went back to the kitchen to grab her purse. Setting it by the luggage, she motioned Devon into the living room.
“Wow, did you hire a maid?” Devon asked in amazement as she looked around.
Chloe laughed wryly, “No, I finally picked up.”
“Picked up?” Devon shot in skepticism. “I’d say you spent nearly ten hours on this place. I have never seen it so clean.”
“Uh, thanks,” Chloe muttered, as she rolled her eyes. “I just got in the habit when I was in Mon…”
Suddenly, Chloe stopped. Devon turned to her and frowned. Chloe’s blue eye filled with pain as she squeezed them shut. Behind her lids all she saw was the potent form of Everest’s naked body as he came over her. Shivering, she turned away.
“Did you ever try to talk to him?” asked Devon, all the time knowing Chloe hadn’t. There was no way to get a hold of him in the mountains.
“No,” Chloe stated. Her tone left no room for argument. “And I won’t. He made himself clear. He doesn’t want anything to do with me. If he did he would have sent a note or something with you.”
“Chloe,” Devon interrupted, “he doesn’t know me. A man like that wouldn’t send a personal note with a complete stranger. Maybe he wants to talk to you.”
“No,” Chloe denied with a firm shake of her head. “It’s over.”
“I don’t think it has to be that way.”
“Did he say something to you?” Chloe asked, a little too eagerly. Her eyes sparked with hope for a moment before going dead.
“Chloe, I am one of the best attorney’s in the state. I read jurors, judges and witnesses. But, Everest Beaumont? I couldn’t read a damned thing.” Devon let loose a frustrated moan. “Chloe, if he feels for you even half of what you feel for him then it’s worth giving it a try. Maybe you can work something out. Maybe later—”
“Don’t. Do not say that maybe later we can be together. I can’t afford to think of that. It wasn’t meant to be. I can’t…It’s too late for that.”
Suddenly, Chloe began to cry. She hid her face in her hands. Shaking her head against the pain, she fell over to bury her face into the cushion of her couch. Hitting the soft material in frustration, she shot angrily, “I can’t think of it. You don’t know how bad it hurts to think of it. Damn it, Devon. I love him. I love his smile, his quietness. I love that he makes his own clocks and doesn’t sell out to big business. I love that he eats eggs no matter how many times I cook them for him. And I love the way he looks, the sexy half smile he gets when he wants me.”
Devon listened quietly. Slowly, she stood. “All right, I won’t push. I just want to see you happy.”
“I know,” Chloe’s voice was hoarse in her misery. Sitting up, she swallowed down a sob and turned her glistening eyes to Devon. “I’ll be fine. I just need a little time to adjust.”
“I came to say good-bye and good luck. I’ll leave the address at your hotel in Switzerland when you get there.”
“Thanks.”
“Oh, I almost forgot to tell you about Paul,” shot Devon with a smile suddenly forming on her amused face.
“What?” Chloe queried, confused. A feeling of dread curled in her stomach.
“That night you left him in Vegas he got married to another woman. I guess he got drunk and she showed up at his door wearing a wedding veil. He thought it was you.” Devon started laughing so hard that she had to stop to take a calming breath. “The next day he called my office blaming me for setting him up. But I swear I know nothing about it. It’s too bad. I’d like to be able to
say I did it to him.”
“Who?” Chloe asked in amazement.
“It was that waitress from Miner’s Cove. Somehow she followed him to Vegas.” Devon shook her head at the irony. “I guess his family has threatened to disown him and without a prenuptial, he’s pretty much screwed.”
“You mean Betsy?” Chloe shook her head, bewildered. Unable to stop herself, she giggled. “I guess she got her rich husband after all.”
“What did you tell him to make him change his mind anyway?” asked Devon when they were able to stop laughing long enough to speak.
“I told him the other stipulations to the will,” Chloe mumbled. Her cheeks turned red with embarrassment. “The ones you forgot to mention—the one in the last amendment.”
“What other stipulations? I told him everything that was required.” Devon came back to her chair and sat down. She narrowed her gaze in confusion.
“Oh, that he had to work a nine to five at the Kansas City office for six of the ten years. You see my father was really big into work ethic and he wanted to make sure my husband would be too.” Chloe chuckled before trying to force an innocent expression to her face. She failed miserably. “I also said that in total we had to have at least six children and they had to live with us until their eighteenth birthday.”
Devon shook her head in astonishment. “You are quite a writer Chloe. I never would have thought of that, but I can’t believe that was enough to put him off. He seemed to want the money pretty badly. What else did you tell him? And what are you not telling me?”
Chloe gulped. Her face paled a little in color before she looked Devon in the eyes. Licking her lips that had suddenly gone dry, she whispered, “I’m pregnant.”
“What?” Devon sat straight up in her chair.
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