by Debbie Mason
He reached down to pick them up. They were advertisements for wedding dresses and caterers. He slowly raised his eyes. “Vivi, honey, I told you—”
She opened her computer. “Don’t worry, McBride. They’re not mine.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Vivi sat at the island eating a bagel while rereading her comment on the computer screen. Cujo, sitting on the floor by the stool, growled. She raised her brow at the Yorkie, reminding the dog of their deal. Cujo’s head went down. Then she stretched out on the hardwood floor and gave a couple of yips. “Good doggie,” Vivi said, breaking off a chunk of her bagel. She tossed the piece to Cujo at the same time the door off the garage opened.
Vivi closed her sister’s Facebook page and brought up the Chronicle’s before swiveling to face Chance. “You were gone early.” Her voice came out kind of whiney, and she covered an inward groan with a smile. What the heck was wrong with her? She was getting as bad as the women who wrote to her. Then again, she shouldn’t be so hard on herself. He’d been gone before she’d woken up, and being woken up by Chance McBride was pretty spectacular.
He ambled toward her with a lazy grin on his face, which was pretty spectacular, too. “Happy to see you two getting along, but you have to come up with a new strategy, Slick. You’re gonna make her fat.”
Focused as he was on Cujo, he obviously didn’t pick up on Vivi’s whiney voice. “The way she tears around the cabin, I don’t think you have to worry about her not fitting into her tutu.” She didn’t mention that, thanks to her, Cujo had probably lost a pound the night before last. Who knew death by chocolate was possible. Vivi’d since Googled what she could and couldn’t feed the dog. She had no intention of messing with what worked. Her toes and butt were quite happy she and Cujo had reached a detente.
Chance patted the dog dancing at his feet, then lowered his head to kiss Vivi. “I missed you, too,” he said against her lips. She didn’t bother protesting; she was too busy indulging in one of her favorite pastimes.
He broke the connection, leaving her breathless and frustrated. She scowled at the reason for the loss of Chance’s talented mouth on hers. Cujo yipped, scratching at her master’s jean-clad leg. He picked up the dog, rubbing her belly. “Did you take her out this morning?”
“Of course, I did. We went for a long walk.” She took a bite of her bagel. Good thing talking wasn’t in the dog’s repertoire of tricks or Vivi would be busted. She’d sat on the front step with Cujo on a shortened leash while the dog did her business.
“Sure you did,” Chance said with a knowing grin and headed for the patio doors. He returned a couple minutes later without Cujo, leaving her, Vivi presumed, in the dog run.
Something she hadn’t done this morning, for good reason. “You do realize bald eagles can eat dogs the size of Cujo, right? They swoop—”
“Honey, you don’t have to worry about her. There’s mesh at the top of the run.”
“I wasn’t worried. I just thought it was something you should know.” At the twitch of his very fine lips, she changed the subject. “So, where were you this morning?”
He grabbed a coffee mug off the shelf. “Dropped by the hospital to see Ray while I waited for the hardware store to open. I want to replace the shingles on the roof before we head to Dad’s.”
The storm two weeks ago had damaged the roof. Vivi couldn’t help but hope Chance’s repair job would last all day and they could avoid the Father’s Day barbeque at Paul’s. Nell would be there. Chance’s aunt had hijacked the latest issue of the Chronicle. Instead of being devoted to advertising the Christmas in July celebration as Vivi had planned, summer weddings took center stage. When Vivi confronted her about it, Nell said it was part of her plan to get Paul and Liz back on track. But she’d had a look on her face that made Vivi nervous. And when Vivi overheard the three older women talking about the next book in Nell’s series about Christmas, she got really nervous. The book’s title was Wedding Bells in Christmas. She returned her attention to Chance, who’d practically broken out in a cold sweat when he got a look at the issue.
“Ray remember anything?” Chance’s former deputy had finally come out of his coma ten days ago. Once his injuries healed, he would be fine with some rehabilitation.
“Nothing. Last thing he remembers is spotting the Mustang.”
She heard the frustration in his voice. Earl and Zach were the task force’s prime suspects, but so far they didn’t have enough evidence to bring them in for questioning. They didn’t want to send them to ground, either. Since there had been no further break-ins or sightings of the black Mustang, Vivi thought that may have happened already. It’s why she’d suggested they draw the Drugstore Bandits out with a sizable delivery of narcotics to a pharmacy in nearby Eagle Creek. “Did you mention to Gage what we talked about yesterday?”
“Yeah, we’re going to give it a shot. Easton’s setting up the fake delivery for two days from now. They probably won’t bite, but it’s better than sitting around twiddling our thumbs.” Chance filled his mug and came around the island, lifting his chin at the screen. “What are you working on?”
“Your aunt kicked me off as an administrator on the Chronicle’s page. I’m trying to figure out how to get back on.” Nell had moved her search for Christmas Cutie candidates to social media without, of course, Vivi’s consent. So far one candidate had posted his picture. Vivi was surprised Facebook hadn’t put them in time-out.
“Jesus.” Chance rubbed his eyes as if trying to clear the image of the naked—other than a Santa hat covering his crotch—sixty-something-year-old man. “You shouldn’t have let her set up the page.” Handing Vivi his mug, he nudged her aside. As he leaned in front of her, she took a sip of his coffee and admired the way his back stretched his white T-shirt. He tapped away at the keys for a couple of minutes, then straightened. “You’re good to go.”
“You’re my hero.”
“You’re easy to impress.” His gaze flicked over the piles of paper scattered across the island, and he gave his head a slight shake. “You’re taking over the damn kitchen, woman. It’s time we cleared you out a space to work at home.”
That’s just one more thing she liked about Chance. He never got on her case for bringing work home. The other night, he’d helped her clear out a backlog of Dear Vivi letters. She’d never enjoyed writing her responses as much. It had been fun getting a male perspective. Chance had been horrified when she told him she was renaming the column Dear Vivi and Chance in deference to his input. She imagined he was worried about his alpha-man card being revoked.
But right now, the thought uppermost in her mind was that he wanted to make a place for her here. She warned herself not to read too much into the suggestion. It wasn’t as if he were asking her to move in with him. Once the Drugstore Bandits had been put behind bars, she’d be back to living above the bakery. She pressed a finger to her temple. Dammit, she’d totally forgotten Grace had the place rented in two weeks’ time. She made a mental note to start looking for somewhere to live tomorrow.
Chance watched her, his brow furrowed. “You can’t tell me you like working at the island.”
“I don’t mind. I think it bugs you more than it bugs me. But I can set up…” She was about to suggest the Aspen log trestle table in the dining room when an idea came to her. It wasn’t out of the blue, really. Ever since her visit with Chance’s mother-in-law, she’d been thinking about the third bedroom filled with Kate’s and the baby’s things. In her opinion, it was as unhealthy as Mary’s shrine to Kate. For Chance to be able to move on, he needed to deal with the room.
She took a moment to prepare herself in case he reacted badly to her suggestion, then continued, “In the extra bedroom, if that works for you. That way I can leave everything out, and I won’t have to hear you complaining about my mess.” She kept her tone light and teasing. If she didn’t know him so well, she may have missed the flash of pain in his green eyes. Her stomach clenched. She didn’t want to hurt him. But sh
e knew in her heart this was something he had to do. And while she may not have made the suggestion for selfish reasons, he needed to be able to move on for their relationship to work.
She didn’t realize she’d been holding her breath until he nodded, and the pressure in her chest released on a silent exhale.
“Yeah, okay, but you’ll have to clear some stuff out. It’s pretty cramped in there,” Chance said as he held her gaze, letting her know that he saw through her. He would, wouldn’t he? This man with the all-seeing eyes knew her. Maybe even better than Vivi knew herself. Which, admittedly, scared her at times. Because it meant she couldn’t hide from him. But neither could he hide from her.
“I can do that,” she said quietly.
He nodded again, this time slowly, then he leaned across her. “And while you’re taking care of my shit, Slick, you might want to take care of your own.” He brought up her sister’s Facebook page, turning his head to look into her eyes. “You’re veering into creepy stalker territory, honey. Don’t you think it’s time you reached out to them? They’re adults now. Your mother isn’t around to stop them from having a relationship with you anymore. Give them a chance to get to know you.”
Her face warmed. He must have seen her lowering the page when he walked into the house. Leave it to her to get involved with a guy nothing got past. “You’re one to talk about creepy stalkers, Superman.”
“I was looking out for you, not stalking you. There’s a difference. What you’re…” He looked back at the screen, then began to laugh. “Lois Lane?”
“Don’t read…” She bowed her head.
“Telling your sister her fiancé has the eyes of a serial killer and attaching a picture of Ted Bundy might not be the best way to start off your relationship. She’s more likely to block you.”
Vivi nudged him out of the way. He moved behind her, resting his hands on her shoulders. “All right, now you look at this guy and tell me there’s not something off about him.”
Chance put his hand over hers on the mouse and clicked through Brooke’s pictures. “Looks like he’s full of himself, loves her old man’s money more than he loves her, and”—he scrolled through some of his comments—“sounds like a controlling asshat.” Vivi’s comment disappeared. Chance grimaced. “Sorry, honey. Looks like she shut you down.”
Vivi shrugged as if losing her only link to her sister didn’t bother her. Maybe she had taken it too far. But the guy did look like Ted Bundy, and worse, he couched snide remarks about Brooke’s career as a joke. Vivi worried that because of Claire’s death from a stroke six months ago, her sister wasn’t thinking clearly. It wasn’t Vivi’s business. She should stay out of it.
“I’ll set you up with a new account, and you can be friends again. We’ll call you Superwoman.”
Since Vivi was pretending it wasn’t a big deal, she should probably tell him not to bother. Then she remembered how well he knew her, and said, “Thanks.” She’d check her brother’s page when Chance wasn’t around. With the ISIS conflict in Iraq, Finn shouldn’t be taking the Time assignment.
Chance tapped his cheek with his finger, and she kissed his stubbled jaw. “That’ll do for now. You can show me how grateful you are when we get back from Dad’s.”
* * *
Three hours later, Vivi surveyed the spare bedroom. She was exhausted. Emotionally done in. She didn’t know who had begun the task of boxing Kate’s and the baby’s things, but she knew why they’d stopped. She picked up the last of the stuffed animals—a pink teddy bear—to put it in the green garbage bag.
“I bought that for the baby,” a soft feminine voice said from behind her.
Vivi screamed, throwing the stuffed animal. The teddy bear said, “I love you,” as it sailed through the air. Her heart beating double time in her chest, Vivi stole a glance over her shoulder. “You nearly gave me a heart attack,” she said as Natalee walked into the bedroom. Vivi lay on the white carpet, placing her arms over her eyes in hopes Natalee didn’t notice her damp eyelashes.
The hammering on the roof stopped. “Slick, you okay?” Chance’s voice came through the open window.
“Good, I’m good,” she yelled back. “I thought I saw a mouse.”
She thought she heard him mutter, “Fearless, my ass.”
“Sorry I scared you. I should have called out or something,” Natalee said, walking to the cradle Princess was trying to get out of. As she picked up the dog, Natalee looked around the room. “Nell left this for me to do before Chance came home. I thought I could, but… Sorry.” She lifted a shoulder, her cheeks stained pink.
“Nothing to apologize for. It’s not easy, Natalee. I get it.” Vivi sat up. “Maddie told me there’s a shelter for abused women and their children, so I thought… I don’t know, do you think that your sister would have liked her and the baby’s things to go there?”
Natalee gave Vivi a small smile, the first true smile she’d had from her. “She’d like that. Katie used to volunteer there. She was a social worker, you know. But after they got engaged, Chance made her quit working. She volunteered instead. It’s not like they needed the money.”
Nervous flutters danced in Vivi’s stomach. She didn’t know what she was worrying about. Chance’s reaction to the latest issue of the Chronicle left no doubt in her mind he was no longer the marrying kind. “I’m sure she was a wonderful social worker.”
Natalee nodded. “Everyone loved her. But she became too emotionally involved with her clients. It’s why Chance made her quit. She was too tenderhearted. She got burnt out.”
Well, that wasn’t a problem Vivi would ever have to worry about.
Natalee let Princess down and picked up the teddy bear. “Do you mind if I keep this?”
“No, gosh, no, keep anything you want. You can go through the bags, too. But I, uh, did put a few things aside for you.” Vivi got up from the floor and walked to the two piles on the dresser. She’d made one for Chance, too.
“You did?” Natalee said, walking to Vivi’s side with Cujo trotting behind her.
Vivi kept a wary eye on the dog. “I know your mom has lots of pictures, but there’s some really nice ones of you and Kate.” She pointed to the jewelry box. “I kept a couple of pieces for Chance, but I thought you might like the rest. And…” Vivi spoke past the tightness in her throat, inwardly cursing the emotion’s stranglehold grip, “This is Kate’s wedding dress.” She smoothed her hand over the box. “I think you should keep it.”
She briefly closed her eyes at the sound of Natalee’s choked sob, then put an arm around the younger woman’s narrow shoulders. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. I don’t think the pain ever goes away, Natalee, but it should get easier.”
“It won’t. It can’t. It was…” She turned into Vivi’s arms and cried.
“A horrible accident. A horrible tragedy for all of you.” Vivi rubbed Natalee’s back. “I didn’t know Kate, but I’m sure she would want you to be happy. To remember all the good times you had.” Vivi leaned back to wipe the tears from Natalee’s cheeks. “I’ve seen the pictures. You had a great relationship with your sister. Not everyone’s so lucky.”
Natalee rubbed her eyes and stepped back. “You don’t have a good relationship with your sister?”
Vivi gave a startled jerk. There was no reason for Natalee to know she had a sister unless she or Zach had been involved in the break-in and had seen Vivi’s computer. No, she was overreacting. It had been a generic question. “I don’t have a sister. But I do have my best friends. And if God forbid anything happened to one of them, I can tell you what they’d do if they thought I wasn’t moving on with my life.”
Natalee gave her a watery smile. “Kick your butt.”
Vivi laughed. “Maddie would kick my butt. Skye, she’d probably do some weird cleansing thing.” Her throat ached as she thought of the one thing she had left to do. She walked to the cradle. Cujo growled. She shot the dog a look. Cujo obediently hit the floor. “Good doggie,” Vivi said, then t
ook a hunk of beef jerky out of her pocket and tossed it to the dog.
“Umm, Vivi, what did you give her?”
“Just some of this.” She held up the beef jerky, then shot a panicked glance at the dog. “Don’t tell me she can die from this, too? I fed her chocolate the other night. But I’m sure the website said this was okay.”
Natalee pressed her lips together as though trying not to laugh. She knelt down and pulled the hunk of beef jerky from Cujo’s mouth. “It is, but you’re supposed to give her only a tiny bit.”
“Oh, well, that’s good. But that”—she pointed at Natalee’s fingers—“is really gross. You’re covered in gunk.”
She shrugged and wiped her hand on her jeans. “I don’t mind.”
“Obviously,” Vivi said with a shudder as she went to stand beside the cradle. “I didn’t want to give this away. It looks handmade.” There were pictures of a glowing Kate knitting by the fire, and Vivi had kept the pink-knitted baby clothes, too. “Do you know…”
Natalee’s lightheartedness of a few moments ago disappeared. “Chance made it.”
A beautiful cradle made by a beautiful man for his beautiful wife and their baby-to-be. She couldn’t give it away. Maybe someday Chance would have another child. Vivi squashed the thought. No, there would be no child or wife for Chance. A girlfriend, yes. But he wouldn’t put his heart at risk again. And there was a part of Vivi that didn’t blame him.
“Okay, we’ll keep the cradle.” But at least for now, she thought it might be best kept out of sight. “I’ll put it in the attic.” She thought about the mice. “Or I’ll hold the ladder and you can.”
“I’ll take care of it.” Chance’s voice came through the open window.
All she could see through the screen was the side of his sweat-slicked bare chest and muscled arm. As far as she could tell, he seemed okay. “Great,” she said, then turned to Natalee. “Do you want a soda or something?”
Once again Chance’s voice drifted through the open window. “Nat, hide those cookies from her. There’ll be nothing left for me if she gets at them.”
