Wedding Bells in Christmas

by Debbie Mason

  She pulled beside the front walkway. Chance drove past her without a glance and parked in the garage. She didn’t get out of the car. If he was going to be a jerk, she’d stay at the apartment. She looked up to see him standing at the garage door, staring at her with that scary look on his face and a large wrapped box in his hand. She flipped him off. Maybe that wasn’t the most mature thing to do, or the smartest, because now he looked even angrier and stalked to her car.

  He shifted the box in his arms to open the driver’s-side door. “Out.”

  “No, not until you apologize. I told you what happened. It wasn’t my fault.”

  “Never is. You don’t think things through and consider the consequences. You shouldn’t have been at Mary’s.”

  “Why? She’s lonely. I was being nice, Chance. To your mother-in-law. I sat there and listened…” She shook her head, swallowing the lump in her throat. “Never mind.”

  “Don’t make me tell you again. Get out of the car.”

  The fight fizzled out of her, and she did what he said. She followed him inside and walked straight to the bedroom. From behind her, she heard him blow out a frustrated breath. She lay down on the bed, curling onto her side. A few minutes later, the mattress dipped, and she opened her eyes.

  He set the box between them, reaching out to gently trace her bruised eye with the tip of his finger. “What am I going to do with you?”

  Love me. “Get me an Advil and some raw meat.”

  His mouth quirked. “I think we’ll go with an ice pack instead.” He nudged the box toward her. “Open it.”

  “You bought me something? Like a present?”

  “Don’t act so surprised.” He crossed his arms and angled his head. “I don’t know why I’m giving it to you. Not after what you pulled.”

  She ignored him, her sole focus on unwrapping the box. Before she could stop them, hot tears rolled down her cheeks.

  “Hey, why are you crying?” He took the box from her and set it on the floor, then drew her into his arms. “I’m sorry. Swear to God, I’ll never get mad at you again. Please, honey, stop crying. You’re killing me.”

  She buried her face in his neck and sobbed. “You bought me an espresso machine.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chance turned the truck onto Main Street. “You want me to stop at the bakery and get you another coffee?”

  “I’m good, thanks.” She lifted the thermal Lois Lane cup he’d bought to go with her coffee machine. If anyone had witnessed her emotional reaction two days earlier, they would have thought he’d given her a diamond ring. Her tears had nearly done him in. He’d never seen her cry before and hoped never to see her do so again. Which meant he had to dial back his temper and his need to protect her, at the same time keeping her away from his mother-in-law. Other than defending her run-in with Earl, she’d been evasive about her time with Mary. But whether Vivi copped to it or not, that visit was part of the reason for the tears. It didn’t take a shrink to know what had happened. He knew what seeing the shrine to Kate, a pictorial montage of their life together, had done to him. So he could imagine how seeing it would make Vivi feel. And his overreaction to the situation with Earl was due in part to Chance being on emotional overload at the time.

  She looked up from the computer opened on her lap. “There’s time to stop if you want one. I’m early.”

  “I’ll get one at the station.” He grimaced at the bruise on her face. The color matched her beautiful eyes. “You should be at home resting.”

  She laughed. “For a black eye? I’m not a wuss, you know. This is nothing. You should have seen…” She rubbed her forehead.

  “Go on, finish what you were going to say.”

  “I bet Earl looks worse than me.”

  No doubt he did, but that was not what she was going to say. The woman was a magnet for trouble. Mostly of her own making. “Remind me to teach you how to block a punch.”

  Her eyes lit with interest. “Really? You’ll teach me to fight?”

  Jesus. “No, I’m not teaching you to fight. I’ll teach you how to protect yourself.”

  “You’re no fun.”

  “That’s not what you said earlier this morning.”

  “I was in coffee heaven at the time.” She gave him one of her rare, radiant smiles. “I love my present, you know.”

  “I got that, honey.” She was giving him the sweet, and like every time she did, his chest got tight. He pulled in front of the Chronicle.

  She groaned when he shut off the engine. “No, no way. You can’t come in.”

  “I’m just going to check on things, and then I’ll leave.”

  “No PDA, and this time I mean it, McBride. It’s unprofessional and winds up Nell, Stella, and Evelyn.” She shuddered.

  “You know, Slick, most women like when their man shows them some affection in public.”

  “When are you going to realize I’m not most women?”

  “You’re a legend in your own mind.”

  She snorted. “Says the guy who calls himself Superman.”

  He slid his hand under her long, thick hair, giving her neck a light squeeze. “I need a little something to get me through my day.” He tapped his lips. “Come on, it’s not PDA when no one can see us.”

  She rolled her eyes, then leaned in and kissed his cheek. He turned his head so her lips ended up right where he wanted them. Then he kissed her. A deep kiss with tongue and heat.

  Someone knocked on the passenger-side window. He lifted his eyes to see his aunt and her friends staring in at them. He couldn’t help it; he laughed.

  “It’s them, isn’t it?” Vivi said against his mouth.

  He lowered the window. “We’ll be right there, Aunt Nell. Vivi had something in her eye.”

  Vivi gave him a you’re-so-dead look as she pushed away from him. “He was—”

  Nell’s eyes widened when she got a full-on view of Vivi. “Whooee, hope Earl looks worse than you, girlie. That’s some shiner.” She turned her attention to Chance. “Heard your brother’s not happy with you right now, so you mind your p’s and q’s, you hear. Already warned Jake we didn’t want any trouble.”

  “Callahan’s here… at the Chronicle?” Chance was already halfway out the door before his aunt answered. He didn’t care that his brother had busted his chops over him punching Earl, he’d have done the same if it were Madison. And if Gage thought he could stop him from having it out with Callahan, he’d better think again. The guy had some nerve showing up here. “You”—he pointed at Vivi—“stay where you are.”

  “Like hell I am.” She jumped out of the truck and raced to the door, barring his entrance.

  He should have known she wouldn’t listen to him. Kate would have meekly done as he asked. There were times, like now, when he missed being with a woman who didn’t question him at every turn. Unlike the woman who currently had her back against the door, arms spread wide. He picked her up and moved her out of the way. “This is between me and him. Keep out of it.”

  “This is my place of business. I’m the boss, not you. You want to come in, you’ll do as I say.”

  He couldn’t help but smile at her attitude, which surprised him, since his blood was boiling at the sight of Callahan leaning against a desk with his arms crossed. Chance turned to her. “Looks like I already am in, Slick.”

  She scooted past him, fast-walking to her desk. “Sit,” she ordered Callahan, who gave her a disconcerted look. One Chance imagined he himself had worn when dealing with Vivi. She wheeled her chair from behind her desk and motioned to him. “Sit.”

  “Slick, I’m not…” She moved behind him, bumping the chair into the back of his legs. Callahan snorted. But he didn’t remain amused for long because Nell did the same to him.

  Chance gave up. Taking a seat, he released a frustrated sigh when Vivi pushed him behind her desk. Nell pushed Callahan in front of it.

  Vivi’s narrowed gaze moved from him to Callahan. “Ladies, I need some pictures of San
ta’s Village for the next issue.” After rifling through her desk drawer, she pulled out a camera.

  “We’ll go later.” The three older women, who had ringside seats, leaned forward in their chairs.

  “Nell.” Chance nodded at the door. She sighed and got up to take the camera from Vivi, her friends following her out the door.

  Vivi waited until they disappeared from view. “All right, here’s how it’s going to go.” She placed her hands on Chance’s shoulders. “No yelling, no fighting, no messing up my place. You first, Jake. Why are you here?”

  “You know why I’m here. You have questions, you come to me. Don’t send two cops into my place of business to snoop around. Did you really think I wouldn’t make them just because they’re hot?”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Callahan. I didn’t—”

  “Wasn’t talking to you, McBride. I was talking to her.” He pointed at Vivi.

  Chance looked over his shoulder. “What did you do?”

  She made a face. “I may have suggested to Cat and Jill that they pay a visit to the Garage. What? They’re single and like a good time now and again. No law against that, is there?”

  “They weren’t there to have a good time. They were trying to connect me and my brother to the break-ins. With the number of people you pissed off, I’d think you’d have a long enough suspect list without including us.” His steel-gray gaze moved from Vivi to Chance. “But I’ll always be your prime suspect, won’t I, McBride?”

  “You have an alibi between eight and ten on Friday night?” Chance asked.

  Jake pulled out a piece of paper from the breast pocket of his short-sleeve work shirt, tossing it on the desk. “Mike and I were at a meeting in Denver with suppliers. Numbers and names are on there.”

  “What about Zach?”

  Callahan jumped up, his chair flying backward with the force of the movement. He slammed his palms on the desk. “Leave Zach out of it. He has nothing to do with your vendetta against me. He’s suffered enough because of what you put our family through.”

  Vivi’s fingers pressed into Chance’s shoulders. “Sit down, Jake. I think it’s about time you and Chance cleared the air. This thing between the two of you has gone on long enough, don’t you think?”

  “Stay out of it, Slick.”

  “She’s right.” Callahan held his gaze. “I had nothing to do with your wife’s accident. I shot off my mouth because you’d backed me into a corner, McBride. When you put the old man away eight years ago, I had to come home and take care of my family. I was twenty years old and didn’t have a clue how to keep the garage afloat while taking care of my brothers and trying to live down Darwin’s reputation. My old man deserved what he got. We didn’t. And just when I started to see daylight, you decide, because of him, I was running meth. Every time I turned around, there you were, breathing down my neck. You pointing the finger at me scared off half my business.” Jake sat down. Resting his elbows on his knees, he scrubbed his hands over his face.

  The muscles in Chance’s neck and shoulders tightened. He was beginning to think he’d been wrong about Jake. “A confidential informant gave me your name.”

  “Let me guess, Earl Skully was your CI.” He gave his head a brief, angry shake. “The guy should have been serving time with the old man. He was in on it. He gave you my name because he wanted my business. He’d say anything to get it.”

  He was right about Earl. The only reason he wasn’t doing time was because he’d rolled on Darwin Callahan. Chance hadn’t wanted to give him the deal, but it hadn’t been his call to make. “Any reason to think your father and Earl are teaming up again?” For the last six months, Earl had been visiting Darwin in prison.

  “Old man’s a lot of things, but he’s not stupid. He knows who fingered him.” His eyes narrowed. “You think there’s some connection between them and the”—he made air quotes—“Drugstore Bandits?”

  “Your father said something to Vivi that set off her radar.” He smiled at her. She’d been rubbing his shoulders the entire time in what he imagined was an attempt to keep him calm. “She’s got good radar.”

  Jake rolled a shoulder. “I haven’t seen the old man since you put him away. So I can’t say what he is or isn’t involved with, but if he is, he might use Earl as his outside man.”

  “But he knows Earl turned him in,” Vivi said.

  Chance nodded. “Sure he does, but Earl’s a coward, and Darwin knows some not-so-nice people. He could be setting Earl up to take the fall or threatening him, getting him to do his dirty work.”

  “Yeah, sounds like something the old man would do. Not that I feel sorry for Skully.” Jake cracked the knuckles in his right hand. “The old man’s going to drag us down again.”

  “Chance won’t let that happen, will you?”

  “No, I won’t.” Chance held Jake’s gaze. “If your father’s involved, I’ll do whatever I can to protect you and your brothers from the fallout. I owe you, Jake.” He stood up and extended his hand. “I know it doesn’t make up for what I did, but I’m sorry.”

  Jake got up and shook his hand. “I was young and had a smart mouth, said some things I shouldn’t have. I know where your head was at that night. We lost our mother. If I thought someone was involved in her death, I would have done the same.”

  “No excuse for what I did, but I appreciate you saying so.”

  “Jake, it’s obvious you don’t have a relationship with your father, but Zach does, so…” Vivi began.

  Jake’s gaze shot to Vivi. “No, he doesn’t. We cut off all communication with the old man years ago.”

  Chance hated to break it to Jake, but he needed to know. “Unless someone’s forging your brother’s signature, Zach’s been visiting your father once a week for the last five years.”

  Jake looked like he’d been sucker punched. He put his hand behind him, reaching for the chair, and slowly sat down. “I don’t believe this. Why would he do that? He knows how we feel about the old man.”

  “He was young. No matter what you think of Darwin, he’s his father. Maybe Zach was willing to overlook things you weren’t,” Vivi suggested. She would know. She’d visited her father in prison, bailed him out, and helped him get on his feet.

  Zach scrubbed his hands over his face. “I watched the kid like a hawk. How could he… He’s too smart for his own good. I should have forced him to go to college.”

  “It’s not too late. I could, ah, look into schools for him, if you’d like. What was his area of interest?”

  Chance knew what Vivi was up to. For Jake and Mike’s sake, he hoped she hadn’t nailed it. But she did.

  “Computer science. And I appreciate the offer, Vivi, but unless the school’s around here, he won’t go.” He cast Chance an uneasy look. “Guess by now you know he’s with Natalee.”

  “Yeah, I do.” He kept his expression neutral. “How do you feel about their relationship?”

  “Too damn young. No offense to Natalee, but they’re too locked into each other. It’s not healthy.” With a sheepish grin, he said, “But what do I know? I’ve never had a relationship that lasted more than a few weeks.” He glanced at his watch and came to his feet. “I better get out of here. I’d appreciate it if you keep me in the loop.”

  “If you hear anything or your father tries to contact you, let me know.” Chance took his wallet from his back pocket and handed him his card.

  “I’ll keep my eyes and ears open. But the old man won’t contact me. He knows better.”

  As soon as Jake headed out the door, Vivi nudged Chance out of the way and sat down at her desk. She pulled out a pad of paper. “It’s always about the money, right?”

  He rested his hip on her desk, watching her as she wrote Earl’s and Zach’s names. “Pretty much, jealousy and revenge a close second and third.”

  “So let’s think about this. For all intents and purposes, Darwin Callahan will be a free man in a month. He’ll need money, and Jake and Mike aren’t go
ing to help him out. But then we have Zach, who obviously has, and wants to maintain, a relationship with his father. Darwin Callahan is smart; he’s charming and a con. He’d know how to play on Zach’s sympathies. And he’d teach him the ropes.”

  Like her father had taught her, but Vivi had a strong moral compass and strength of character that Zach possibly lacked.

  “All true, but it’s circumstantial.” He rubbed his chin. “And I’m liking Earl for this.”

  She looked up from her notes, studying him as she tapped her pen on the pad of paper. “Be careful, Chance. Don’t let your guilt over how you treated Jake make you back off Zach.”

  He opened his legs and pulled her between them, burying his face in her neck. He inhaled her soft vanilla scent. She was right. “You think it’s Zach, don’t you?”

  She nodded, playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. “Yeah, I do, and I wish I didn’t. Jake is going to have a tough time if it’s Zach.”

  “No doubt. He gave up a career in NASCAR to raise him, you know. Bets were on that, in a year or two, he’d be at the top.”

  She leaned back. “How do you feel now that you know Jake had nothing to do with Kate’s accident? Did it help?”

  He eased her out of his arms. She thought it was good for him to talk about Kate and the accident, but he disagreed. And he knew what she was really asking. Did knowing Jake wasn’t involved ease his own guilt? “No. You didn’t know her, Vivi. She wouldn’t drive in a blizzard. She wasn’t like you. She was cautious. She wouldn’t do something stupid.”

  She blinked. “Oh, okay.” Flipping her hair over her shoulder, she lowered herself into the chair. “I better get back to work.”

  He’d seen the hurt in her violet eyes before she’d looked away. He crouched beside her. “Hey.” He lifted her chin. “You know what I mean, Slick.”

  “Yeah, hard not to.” She moved her messenger bag and a bunch of glossy brochures fell onto the floor.