by Debbie Mason
“Ignore her, girls,” Maddie called out and got up from the couch. “Natalee doesn’t know us that well. She wouldn’t just—” She broke off when Gage walked into the living room. Covering her mouth to contain a sob, Maddie ran to her husband.
Gage wrapped his arms around her. “Hey, what’s all this about?” he asked when she buried her face in his neck. He stroked her hair.
“I’ll go see what Lily and…” Vivi remembered that the girls were playing with Cujo in Lily’s room. “If Connor’s still sleeping,” she amended.
Lost in each other, the couple didn’t acknowledge her as she walked out of the room. It was difficult to see her best friend upset and vulnerable. Maddie had once been like Vivi, a tough, unemotional workaholic. Maybe there was something to be said for staying single after all.
Twenty minutes later, when Skye and Ethan arrived, Vivi was ready to swear off men and relationships all together. Skye had once been one of the most easygoing, fun-loving, self-confident women she’d ever known. Now she flounced into the house wearing a face of thunder with Evie in her arms.
“Sweetheart, how many times do I have to tell you. I wasn’t practically engaged to Claudia.” Ethan followed his wife into the house carrying a playpen with a pink diaper bag slung over his shoulder.
Maddie arched a brow at Vivi. Gage had worked his magic on his wife, and Maddie was back to herself. Well, not her old self, her married-Maddie self. The one who wore pink. In response to Maddie’s raised brow, Vivi shrugged, and they followed Skye and Ethan into the living room.
“Hey, guys, everything okay?” Maddie asked.
Vivi gave her an are-you-kidding-me look. That was not a question to be asked right now.
“Everything’s just peachy. Ethan’s ex-fiancée and her father were so worried about Liz, they arrived today.”
Oh, oh, this was not good. Not good at all.
Gage, who’d walked into the living room while on the phone, disconnected and said, “Geezus, Eth, they’re staying with Liz? My dad’s going to have a coronary.”
Skye gave her husband an I-told-you-so look. Ethan dumped the playpen and the diaper bag on the floor, throwing up his hands. “What was I supposed to do?’
“Oh, I don’t know, darling,” which came out sounding more like jackass, “maybe you could have told them your wife and sister have everything under control and now wasn’t a good time to visit,” Skye drawled. “But that’s not something you would say, is it?”
“Of course it is. You’ve been amazing with Mom, Cupcake. I—”
“Do not try to pacify me, Ethan O’Connor. I overheard you talking to Richard and Claudia when they arrived. You… you said they couldn’t have come at a better time.” She blinked her eyes while bouncing Evie on her hip. “You don’t think I can look after Liz, do you?”
“It has nothing to do with you, sweetheart. I thought the distraction would be good for Mom.”
“Hey, hope you don’t mind that I let myself in. I knocked a couple of times but no one answered,” Ethan’s sister Cat said, her gaze flitting around the room. “Everything okay here?”
What was wrong with these people? Couldn’t they see that everything wasn’t okay, and by asking if it was, they were going to be subjected to another litany of what was wrong?
“Your brother hurt Skye’s feelings by insinuating she can’t take care of your mother. Skye’s jealous because Claudia is in love with Ethan and now she’s back in town staying with Liz, who made no secret that she would have preferred Claudia as a daughter-in-law. And Gage is mad at Ethan for encouraging the man who asked your mother to marry him to come and stay with her. That about sum it up?” Vivi asked. They stared at her, then started talking at once.
“All righty, I’ll go and wait for Natalee.” Vivi speedwalked to the front door before anyone could stop her. Stepping outside, she breathed in the scent of freshly mowed grass. She sat on the step, the muscles in her shoulders and neck relaxing as she watched the sun set behind the mountains. The O’Connor and McBride siblings should hold their family meeting outdoors, she thought. It might help to keep the tension at bay. Although that may be difficult with Easton and Chloe joining in via Skype.
Vivi drew her attention from the fiery orange–tinted sky as a white four-by-four pulled up to the front of the house. She recognized Natalee in the passenger seat and retrieved her cell, texting Annie to bring out Cujo. She frowned when Natalee didn’t immediately get out. Chance’s sister-in-law appeared to be arguing with the driver. He looked to be about Natalee’s age with curly dark-brown hair.
Natalee got out of the Jeep, said something over her shoulder, then smoothed down her short black uniform skirt before coming up the walkway.
“Hey, Natalee. Thanks for coming to pick up Cu… Princess. The girls will bring her out in a minute.”
Natalee nodded, fiddling with the strap on her purse. She avoided looking at Vivi by focusing on the wedge sandal she drew back and forth over the pavers.
“So, good day at work?” Vivi asked in an attempt to break the uncomfortable silence.
She shrugged, then lifted her gaze from her feet, biting her bottom lip. “I heard about—” She broke off when the Jeep door slammed, casting a nervous glance over her shoulder.
Tall and lanky, the Jeep’s driver bounded up the lawn. He stuck out his hand as soon as he reached Natalee’s side. “Hi, I’m Zach.”
“Hey, Zach. Vivi.” She shook his hand. Friendly guy, she thought, taking in his wide, genial smile.
Natalee’s gaze flicked from Zach to Vivi. “We gotta get going. Could you get Princess now?”
“Sure.” She sent another text to Annie. “Sorry to keep you waiting. They’ll be out in a minute.”
“Hey, no problem,” Zach said, lacing his fingers through Natalee’s. “Guess everyone’s upset about the accident and all. Shame about Ray. He was a nice guy.”
Natalee gasped, looking like she might cry. “Did… did Ray die?”
“No. In fact there’s been some improvement in his condition in the last hour.”
“Is that right? Well, that’s good to hear, isn’t it, Nat?” Zach said.
The younger woman jerked her hand from his and practically ran up the steps when Lily and Annie opened the front door. Natalee took the dog from Lily.
Vivi sighed when Princess snarled, then realized the dog wasn’t growling at her, but at Zach. She chuckled. “Nice to know I’m not the only one she doesn’t like.”
Zach’s peach-fuzzed upper lip curled. Natalee’s boyfriend didn’t look so friendly now.
Then he shrugged with an easy smile that made her wonder if she’d imagined the sneer. “She doesn’t like to share Nat’s attention with me, do you, you spoiled mutt?” He retrieved the dog’s belongings from Annie, who narrowed her eyes at him.
“Bye, Princess,” Lily said, reaching out to pat the dog. But Natalee was already moving down the steps.
“Natalee, is Princess up-to-date on her shots?” Chance’s sister-in-law turned and nodded. “Great. Thanks again for picking her up. Nice to meet you, Zach.”
“Same.” He waved, then went to put an arm around Natalee. She pulled away from him when Princess growled. “Shut up, mutt,” Zach grumbled.
“I don’t like him,” Lily said.
Annie crossed her arms. “Neither do I.”
“Yeah, I’m not getting the warm and fuzzies, either.” Vivi stood up and started down the steps. “Natalee,” she called out as the younger woman opened the passenger-side door, “if you and Zach have plans, the girls don’t mind taking care of Princess till Chance picks her up.”
“No, it’s okay. We don’t have plans,” she said and got into the truck.
Vivi shoved her hands in her jean shorts’ pockets as she watched them drive away. Zach waved, Natalee gave her a tight smile, and Princess growled at Vivi through the passenger-side window. It was possible, Vivi decided, that she’d overacted.
* * *
Chance sat beside Ethan
at Gage’s dining room table. “Can’t you shut her up?” Chance angled his coffee mug at the computer screen. He’d arrived half an hour late for the family meeting, and Chloe O’Connor had been talking the entire time. The dark-haired beauty with pouty red lips hadn’t changed. She was still a drama queen. Even her sister thought so. Cat had deserted them ten minutes earlier to hang out with Vivi, Madison, and Skye.
“Would someone just unplug the computer or shoot the damn thing,” his baby brother Easton said through the phone. He was on speaker.
“I can hear you two, you know. And need I remind you, Chance, you’re the reason we’re having this meeting in the first place.”
“I don’t know, Chloe. From what I hear, your mother’s in love with another man. Looks like I saved my dad a whole lot of heartache and embarrassment.”
Ethan slumped in his chair. “Did you have to bring that up again?”
Chance waggled his eyebrows at Ethan. Finding out Richard Stevens was in town was the third-best piece of news he’d had all day. Vivi staying put came in at a close second. But nothing beat hearing, barring any unforeseen complications, that Ray would more than likely pull through. “Sure did, Einstein. Appreciate you taking the heat off me.” Feminine laughter filtered through the screen door off the deck. “Sweet Cheeks forgive you yet?”
“Gage, does he really have to stay? There has to be someone else you can deputize.”
More laughter wafted into the dining room. His brother ignored Ethan, obviously more interested in what was going on outside. “You know,” Gage said, “if we wrap this meeting up before midnight, we could join the girls in the hot tub.”
At the thought of getting in the hot tub with Vivi, Chance shifted in his chair. That would be more temptation than he could resist. Despite his worry about Ray, he hadn’t been able to get the image of Vivi in that bikini out of his head. Touching her warm, soft skin hadn’t helped. Pressing his mouth to her gorgeous ass? Yeah, that had probably been the stupidest thing he’d done in a long time. Then again, she seemed to have the ability to make him say and do things that were stupid. But he couldn’t help himself. Just like he couldn’t get rid of the uncontrollable need to keep her safe. To that end, he had to get back out there. He pushed away from the table and stood up.
Gage frowned. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“Break time’s over, little brother. Gotta get back on the job.”
A snort of laughter came from the phone. “You two won’t last a week working together,” Easton predicted.
“We’re not working together. He’s working for me.”
Chance narrowed one eye at his brother. “You might be right, E. Are you—”
“This is not a McBride family meeting, you know. And Chance is not the only one with somewhere to be. I have to get back to work, so here’s what I suggest you all do.” Chloe stood up, shrugging out of a black satin robe to reveal…
“What the hell, Chloe? Put your clothes back on,” Ethan yelled, reaching across the table to hide her from view.
“Are you telling me she just stripped in front of you guys?” Easton didn’t wait for them to respond, not that they could after getting an eyeful of a woman they all thought of as a little sister. “She always was an exhibitionist,” his baby brother muttered over the line.
“Ethan, calm down. You’re such a prude. It’s a bodysuit. I’m filming a love scene.” Chloe’s disembodied voice came from the computer. “And I didn’t hear you complaining last time you saw me naked, Easton McBride.”
“Wait, what? You saw my sister naked?” Ethan stared down at the phone.
Easton groaned, and Chance picked up the phone, taking his brother off speaker. “Saved you again, baby brother. Take it easy. And next time we talk, I wanna hear all about you and Chloe.”
Ethan motioned for the phone. “I want to hear about it right now. Give me the—”
“Never say I don’t have your back,” Chance told his brother and disconnected. When Chloe started spouting through the computer, he reached over and unplugged her. “My work here is done.”
Gage raked his fingers through his hair. “We’re no further ahead than when we started.”
Chance cocked his head. “And that surprises you because…”
His brother rolled his eyes. “I don’t know why I even bother. You know what, you and Ethan figure it out. You two are the reason—”
“Hey, don’t lump me in with him. My mother called off the wedding because he—”
“Okay, listen up. Dad and Liz have already dealt with losing the two people they loved most in this world. It nearly destroyed them. Do you really want to see them go through that again?”
“They’re not going—” Ethan began before Gage cut him off.
“Eth, let me. Chance, Liz and Dad aren’t—”
Jesus, why didn’t they get it? “You two don’t have a clue what it’s like to go through what they did, but I do. It’s like someone ripped out your heart. Nothing matters anymore, not without that one person by your side. That one person you shared everything with. The one person who knew you better than you knew yourself. Who made it worth getting up in the morning.”
“And you don’t think it’s worth finding out if you can have that again, if my mother and your dad can?” Ethan asked quietly.
“I can’t, and neither can they.”
“If you’d give yourself a chance, I think you could,” Gage said.
“No, there will never be another Kate.” He put up his hand when his brother went to cut him off. He needed them to understand once and for all. “She was my first love and my last. I don’t have anything left to give.”
“Vivi, what’s the holdup? I need…” Skye trailed off.
Gage rubbed the back of his neck, looking beyond Chance with a pained expression on his face. Chance turned. Vivi stood frozen in the open doorway with Cat, Madison, and Skye crowded in behind her.
Chapter Fifteen
Chance’s night hadn’t improved after leaving his brother’s place. It had been long and frustrating, and he couldn’t get Vivi’s face out of his mind. Bracing a hand on the shower wall, he shoved his head under the ice-cold spray. He’d arrived home at eight this morning and crashed. That was four hours ago. He had a feeling today wouldn’t be much better. Chance wanted to stop by the hospital before heading out to question Darwin Callahan, and he had a meeting with the task force at five. Walker, the sheriff from Logan County, as well as agents from the DEA and FBI, were part of Operation Takedown.
Gage had already warned Chance to keep his thoughts on the Callahans to himself. A little late for the warning, since Chance had voiced his suspicions to Walker after the brawl Saturday night and at the latest crime scene. The Drugstore Bandits had struck again. This time in the district bordering Christmas and Logan County.
The call had saved Chance’s ass—sort of. His radio had gone off as he’d locked eyes with Vivi across the room. He hadn’t had time to apologize or give an explanation that would banish the pain from her violet eyes. But he’d spoken the truth, and not a truth she was unfamiliar with. If he could change one thing, it would be that she hadn’t heard how he felt with everyone looking on. He regretted that the most.
There was nothing Vivi hated more than people feeling sorry for her. And it had been obvious that everyone in the room did—including him. He turned off the shower. If he had time between stopping by the hospital and the meeting, he’d pick her up one of those fancy-ass coffees she liked and drop it off at the house. He’d check up on her while he was at it. Make sure she stayed put.
Chance grabbed a towel off the rack and headed for his bedroom. He froze mid-stride at the sight of his sister-in-law coming down the hall and quickly covered himself. “Jesus, Nat, what are you doing here?”
Her cheeks flushed. “Sorry, I called out but you must not have heard me.” Eyes averted, she held up a mug. “I made you coffee. Your omelet will be ready in a minute.”
Princess darted past
her, panting at Chance’s feet, reminding him why Nat was here. She’d texted him last night to say she’d drop off the dog in the morning. He’d forgotten she had a key. Probably time to get it back. Then again, he didn’t want to hurt her feelings. He cleared the frustration and discomfort from his face. “Thanks.” He reached for the mug. “I’ll be out in a minute,” he said and backed into his room.
By the time he’d dressed, Nat had his breakfast laid out on the island. He leaned over to pat Princess, in part to cover his unease. She’d gone to a lot of trouble. The spread looked like something out of a magazine, complete with two white tulips in a small yellow bud vase. It was something Kate would have done.
He straightened and forced a smile, pulling out a stool. “Thanks, kiddo. Looks great. You not eating?”
Her face lit up at the compliment, and she shook her head with a smile. “I already ate. Do you want more coffee?”
“I’m good, thanks,” he said and picked up the knife and fork.
“I can make you—”
“Nat, honey, I’m good. You don’t have to do this, you know. I’m capable of looking after myself.”
“I know. I just thought…” She shrugged. “I wanted to help out, that’s all.”
Again, a flicker of disquiet flared to life inside him. “You’ve been a big help. Thanks for picking up Princess yesterday.”
With her gaze focused on the counter, she brushed off some crumbs. “Did Vivi mention anything about me dropping by?”
He stopped with a forkful of omelet halfway to his mouth. She was nervous, which made him nervous. “No, why?”
“Nothing, really. It’s just that she asked if Princess had her shots, and I thought it was kind of odd.”
Chance held back a grin. “Princess bit her. Vivi was worried she might have rabies.”
“You really don’t like her, do you, girl?” Nat laughed, rewarding the dog sitting at her feet with a piece of toast. Obviously, Princess wasn’t the only one who didn’t like Vivi. Nat’s cell pinged. She straightened, reaching in the back pocket of her white denim shorts. She glanced at the screen and her amusement left her face. She shoved her phone in her pocket without responding.
