by SJ McCoy
Chance sighed. “Maybe. You know I told you I met a woman who made me feel something.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Well, it turns out she’s staying right next door to me. We ended up spending the day together yesterday.”
“Okay.”
“And, I don’t know, Mase. I like her. We’ve said we’re going to hang out while we’re here. In fact, since it’s you, I’ll tell you. She asked me if I wanted to have a fling with her, and I said yes.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah, wow.”
“So, was I right, did you have a late night?”
Chance sighed. “No, I didn’t. I hightailed it out of her place at eight o’clock.”
“Why?”
“Because her uncle showed up.”
“Her uncle?”
“Yeah. I forgot to tell you that part. Her uncle is Dr. Johnny.”
“Davenport?”
“Yep.”
“Hang on a minute. Tell me it’s not Hope.”
Chance sucked in a deep breath. He hadn’t expected Mason to know who she was.
“Seriously? Hope Davenport?”
“Yeah.”
“Damn! First Carter goes and snags himself a country singer, and now you’ve landed yourself a supermodel?”
“A supermodel?”
“You don’t know her? You don’t remember that commercial she was in?”
Chance pressed his lips together. He’d never been big on watching TV, and he’d never followed celebrity news or known who was who when it came to famous people. “Should I?”
“Hell, yeah! When we get done on the phone you need to get online and google her commercials. She’s …” He stopped short, seeming to think better of what he’d been about to say. “And Johnny isn’t happy about the two of you seeing each other?”
“What, why?” Chance was still recovering from the fact that not only did Mason know who she was, but that she’d been in commercials.
“You said you hightailed it out of there when Johnny arrived.”
“Oh, that.” He sighed. “No, it was more a case of me using his arrival as an excuse to go.”
“Why?”
“Because I told her everything, Mase. I told her about Chloe and how she died. I told her about you guys and how I ended up in Montana with you.”
“Wow. You opened up?”
“Yeah.”
“And how did that feel?”
Chance thought about. “It felt good while I was telling her. It felt like she cared, you know? She wanted to be there for me. She wanted to help me, but she knew she couldn’t do anything more than listen.”
“I’m glad. I’m glad that, once you finally decided it’s time to talk, you found someone who knew how to listen.”
“Me too, but now I don’t know what to do.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I don’t know. I’ve been thinking about it all night. I let her in as a friend, but now she knows all that, now she knows about Chloe and how I feel about her, how do I let her in as a woman, as a ….” He didn’t know the word to use.
“As a lover?” asked Mason.
“Yeah. That.” It sounded so weird, but it was close enough. “I just don’t know, Mase. As a person, as a friend, she’s awesome. As a woman, as a … lover. She’s amazing, she’s beautiful, she’s smart, she’s kind and caring. But how do you let someone be both? I’ve never done that. I don’t have many real friends, because I don’t let anyone in. I suppose I’ve had my fair share of lovers.”
Mason chuckled.
“Okay, more than my fair share, but only in bed. Only physical lovers, only women you say goodbye to in the morning. I don’t let friends get close and I don’t let women get close. How can I get close to her as a woman and as a friend?” He shook his head. “Especially when I’ll never see her again after next weekend.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“It’s what we agreed to. It’s not as though we could see each other again even if we wanted to.”
“Because?”
“Because she lives in LA and I live in Paradise Valley. She has a business to run and a life to live and I have cattle to run.”
“Stranger things have happened.”
“Yeah, but that’s not the point, is it?” Chance didn’t want to consider the possibility that he and Hope might be able to keep seeing each other.
“Well, if this is it … If the next week is all you have, then why not try it out? Why not see if you’re capable of letting someone in? Why don’t you see if you can be with her, be open and honest with her, as a friend and a lover? If you can do it with her, then maybe there’s hope for you.”
Chance nodded.
“What? What’s the matter?”
“I don’t know. This is going to sound crazy, but what if I find that I’m capable of doing that, but I’m only capable of it with her, because she’s her.”
“I’d say, if that’s the case, then you’d both want to figure out a way to keep seeing each other after your little vacation in Oregon is over.”
“Yeah. I guess we would.” He sighed. “And I’m getting ahead of myself anyway. Ignore me. I think I’m just all mixed up about everything right now.”
“It sounds to me like you’re finally getting straight about everything.”
Chance nodded. “Maybe. Anyway, what’s going on there?”
They chatted for a few minutes about the ranch and the cattle and then they said their goodbyes.
Chance took his mug inside, still mulling over what Mason had said. He had a decision to make this morning. He could back out now and not see Hope anymore. Part of him wanted to do that. He felt as though he’d bared his soul to her last night, and now it would be easier to stay away from her. Or he could man up and continue down this path of letting her get to know him—of getting to know her. He sighed. It wasn’t a decision at all, really. He wanted to know her. He wanted to be with her while he could.
Chapter Thirteen
Chance managed to kill an hour after his coffee. He wandered around the cottage and then out into the little garden. He loved how green everything was here. At home, the valley turned green for a short while in the spring. Between the rain and the run-off when the snow pack melted, everywhere turned lush and leafy for a time. It was known as mud season. Flooding was quite normal and then not long afterward everywhere that wasn’t irrigated was scorched and dry again.
He let himself back inside and picked up his phone. He should call her. He knew he wasn’t going to be able to stay away from her, so he may as well quit tormenting himself and get on with it. He’d wondered if she might call him. Maybe it was still too early? Or maybe she wasn’t the kind of girl who would harass him. He had a feeling that was it. Most of the women he’d known tended to be clingy. They wanted to see him again and to know when they could and when he was going to call. Hope wasn’t like that. She was perfectly okay by herself. He had a feeling it was more than that even. She understood him. She was respecting him and his need to work through his stuff. He sighed. He wondered if she’d ever call him if he didn’t call her. It didn’t matter, he wasn’t going to find out. He tapped in her number and waited while it rang.
“Hey, Chance. Good morning.”
He liked that she answered that way. She didn’t pretend to not know who it was. And she didn’t make a big deal of anything. “Good morning. Can I come over?”
“Sure. Now?”
“Yeah, if that’s okay?”
“It is. Anytime is good for me. It’s not like I’m going anywhere, is it?”
He smiled. She sounded bright and breezy, not in a forced way, just her natural self. “Okay. I’ll see you in a few. Is the door open?”
She laughed. “It is. Don’t worry. Uncle Johnny locked it when he left, but I’ve been practicing walking this morning and I opened up as I was doing my rounds.”
He smiled. “Okay. Shall I let myself in?”
“Of course.”
When he got there, he was surprised not to find her in her usual spot on the sofa. Instead she was sitting at the table in the nook. She had her foot up on a chair in front of her, and her laptop open on the table.
“Hi. Am I disturbing you? Do you need to work?”
She looked up at him with a smile. “No, you’re not disturbing me at all. I was hoping you might come over.” She held his gaze and her eyes told him how concerned she’d been when he ran out like that last night.
He nodded. “I wasn’t sure I would.”
“Neither was I. I’m glad you’re here.”
He nodded again. “Me too.” And somehow that was all that needed saying. He was glad she didn’t want an explanation, and glad he didn’t have to explain everything he’d been feeling that had made him leave like that.
She smiled. “There’s coffee in the pot if you want some.”
“Thanks. I’m all coffeed out. Do you want me to get you a fresh one?” He nodded at the computer. “Do you have work you need to finish?”
She shook her head. “No. I’m just looking things over. I talked to Toby this morning and he had a dig at me about how well things are doing without me. I tend to think I need to be there all the time and be in charge of everything. Of course, I don’t. If I’m honest, I know that. I have a great team. They’re all smarter and more knowledgeable than I am anyway.” She shrugged. “It’s not that I don’t think the business will survive without me; I think it’s more a case of me not knowing what to do without it.”
He smiled. “I don’t have any answers for you on that one, at least not in the normal run of things, but I can tell you that for the next week you can do all sorts of things.”
“Oh, yeah? Like what?”
All he’d meant was that they could do what people did when they were on vacation. They could explore the little beach towns that dotted the coast and explore the countryside inland. But the gleam in her eye suggested she thought he had something else in mind. The sorts of things that they could do right here—in bed. He smiled and deliberately didn’t pick up on the innuendo. “I heard there’s a really cool little market on Thursdays. Do you want to go check it out?”
Her smile faded, and he felt bad. Part of him would love to take her into the bedroom and keep her there for the rest of the day, maybe the rest of the week. But another, bigger part of him couldn’t handle the thought of sleeping with her. It was crazy, but true. Chloe was the only woman who’d known him as a friend and as a lover. He wasn’t sure he could allow Hope to do the same. He wasn’t sure he could allow any woman to.
She recovered quickly and her smile was back. “Yeah, that sounds like fun. I think I should be able to get around okay, too. My ankle seems much better this morning.”
Chance looked at it. It did seem less swollen, but the bruising looked angry. “Are you sure? I thought we could maybe get you a wheelchair.”
She sputtered her coffee as she looked up at him. “A wheelchair? Where on earth would we find one of those, even if I was prepared to use one?”
He laughed. “Err, at the clinic, maybe?”
“Oh.” She laughed with him. “Yeah. I suppose that was pretty dumb of me.”
“I never said that.”
She laughed again. “No, you wouldn’t dare.”
He narrowed his eyes and tried to give her his best hard look, but he couldn’t pull it off. He was smiling too much. “I’ll warn you now. Don’t ever dare me.”
“Ooh! I’ll remember that.”
He laughed. “You’d be better off to forget it. So, what do you reckon, shall we head over to the clinic and see if we can borrow a wheelchair?”
“Yes, and would it be okay if we popped in while we’re there? I’d like to at least say hi to Toby’s mom. I feel bad that I haven’t been over there at all.”
“Sure. I’d like to see my dad, too.”
“Great. Let’s go.”
~ ~ ~
When they reached the clinic, Hope opened the passenger door and pulled herself to her feet before Chance made it around to help her. He frowned at her. “I was thinking I could go and get you that chair before we went in.”
She shook her head rapidly. “Come on. I have a twisted ankle. That’s all. I’d feel like a total fraud riding around in a wheelchair while all those people who are recovering from strokes are working their asses off to be able to walk again.”
Chance smirked. He was even more gorgeous when he did that. If she had to describe him, she’d say he was broodingly good-looking, but the more she saw him smile, the more she wanted to. “I guess you’ve got a point there. Is there any point in me offering my arm?”
“Yes, please.” She leaned on him gratefully. “It still hurts like a bitch.”
He laughed. “And here I was thinking you were such a lady.”
She laughed with him. “I am a lady—a lady who knows the appropriate words to use on any occasion.”
“Good to know.”
She smiled up at him as they made their way into the reception.
“Miss Davenport, should I let your uncle know you’re here?” The girl sitting at the reception desk sat to attention when they came in. Hope’s heart sank. So much for the hat and dark glasses.
“No, thank you. No need to disturb him. I’m just popping in to see a friend.” She tugged on Chance’s arm, wanting to escape from the busy area where all eyes were now watching them.
Chance got the idea and hurried her as best they could down one of the corridors. “Sorry,” he said once they’d turned the corner. “Do you know where you need to go? I just brought you toward my dad’s room.”
She smiled. “No problem. Toby’s mom is down here, too.”
Chance slowed as they approached one of the doors. “My dad’s in here.”
“And, let me guess, you don’t want him to see you walk past with some strange woman? Would it be okay if I come say hi?”
She could see the struggle on his face. She shouldn’t have asked. “It’s okay. I’ll wait here while you go tell him that you’re just helping a pathetic hobbler to go a few doors down and you’ll be back in a minute.”
He smiled. “No, I’d like you to meet him.”
“You’re sure?”
He nodded. “Yeah, come on, let’s go in.”
“Chance!” Hope smiled. There was no mistaking the man sitting on the bed was Mr. Malone Senior. He had the same dark hair and skin and light blue eyes as his son. “What are you doing here?” He looked at Hope and raised his eyebrows. “Top of the morning to you, young lady. And what are you doing here?”
A woman appeared in the doorway to the bathroom and beamed at them. “Don’t be so rude.” She smiled at Hope, then Chance. “This is a nice surprise. Come on in.”
Chance nodded. “Hope, this is my dad, and Alice. You two, this is Hope.”
His dad grinned. “You can say that again.”
Hope laughed as Alice slapped his arm.
“Well, I can honestly say, I’ve never been so happy to meet Hope before.” He looked at Chance. “And I know he hasn’t.”
Alice beamed at them. “A Hope and a Chance, how perfect is that?”
“Yeah, yeah, all right,” She could see Chance was smiling beneath his bluster. “We can’t stop. I need to get Hope to her friends. I’ll be back in a minute.”
“Nice to meet you,” said his dad with a smile. “Hope, we’ll see you again.”
She smiled. “I’d like that.” She clung to Chance’s arm as he led her back out.
“Sorry.”
“What for?” she asked.
He shrugged. “I guess it wasn’t too bad, huh? It was nothing compared to what I’ll get when I go back in there.”
She laughed. “What will you tell them?”
He shrugged. “I dunno. The truth, maybe.”
She nodded. Part of her was pleased with that answer. At least he wasn’t going to make something up, dismiss her as just someone he’d run into in the corridor. On
the other hand, a part of her wished the truth could be so much more than it was.
“Here we are,” she said when they reached Toby’s mom’s room. “I can make it from here.” She let go of Chance’s arm and grabbed the door frame.
“Are you sure?”
She nodded and Toby came out. He smiled when he saw them. “Hey. This is a nice surprise. Mom will be pleased to see you.” He looked up at Chance.
“It’s okay.” Chance smiled at him. “I’m here to see my dad. I’ll leave you in charge of keeping her upright.”
Toby laughed and Hope huffed. “I’m perfectly capable—”
“I know.” Chance’s eyes were soft when he smiled at her. “Will you let me know when you’re ready to go?”
She nodded.
“I’ll bring her to you.”
“Thanks, my dad’s just down—”
“I know,” said Toby with a smile. “We’ve become good buddies while mom and Alice hang out.”
Hope was pleased to see that Chance looked happy about that.
“Great. I’ll see you whenever you’re ready then.”
~ ~ ~
Chance met his dad’s gaze when he let himself back into the room. “What?”
His dad grinned, which was a rare sight. “So, you found Hope, huh?”
Chance nodded slowly. “It feels like it, but don’t go getting carried away. She’s only here for a short time while Toby’s mom—”
“Rita,” said Alice with a smile.
“While she’s here at the clinic. Just like I’m only here while you are. She’s nice. We’re hanging out, but don’t go making it anything more than that.”
His dad continued to grin at him. “It doesn’t need to be anything more than that, son, though I hope it is. Just seeing you come in here with her on your arm like that …” He shook his head. “I can’t tell you.”
Alice came and gave him a hug. “Were you with her yesterday?”
Chance nodded. He still felt guilty that he was spending time with Hope instead of here with them, even though he wouldn’t have been here with them the whole time, even if he hadn’t met her. How fucked up was that?
“You make the most of it, son. You don’t need to be coming here hanging out while I do my exercises. You need to be out there, enjoy the beach and everything else that’s here. When was the last time you took a vacation? I don’t want you wasting it coming in here, I want you to spend it with her.” He nodded approvingly. “I like her.”
