Chasing the Runaway Bride (23 page)

It had frightened him enough he’d almost slept at his grandfather’s house the night before.

And here they were today. He’d walked away from a silly fight over bread because his body had gone to DEFCON Five again. His worst fears were being confirmed. He might not be like his father, but he had bad blood. Finn had missed the worst of it because he was the youngest. Devon had pushed himself beyond it. But Cade? He’d stayed away so long he’d missed a part of the natural healing process.

Piper turned from the little fight she’d just resolved and headed for the cashier’s cage. With a deep breath, Cade walked into the office.

After what seemed to be only seconds, she burst in the door, walked over to him, turned him around, and kissed him. Hot and demanding, her mouth pressed against his, and, God help him, he responded. Her little victory had put fire in her blood and her fire always sparked his.

Just as quickly as she’d kissed him, she pulled away, her eyes two green glowing embers. “I did it.”

He didn’t have to ask, “Did what?” He knew. She’d inherited the grocery store a frightened shell of herself. She’d faced him, faced the people who made sport of her life, faced a pregnancy and the revelation of their relationship when they announced their wedding. She’d faced it all and become strong.

And he was only now seeing his weaknesses. Forget about facing them. That might take years.

He stepped back. Confusion would have been better than the riot of truth stampeding his blood. “I saw.”

“I honestly did not care what they thought. I knew my responsibility and I did it.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “It’s like I’m free.”

“You are free.”

Her eyes popped open. “I know.”

She reached out to hug him, but he stepped away. Her head tilted in question, but he couldn’t answer her. So many thoughts poured through his brain.

He scrubbed his hand across his mouth.

She smiled weakly. “You know, you were so quiet when you got home last night that I didn’t ask about your dad.”

“It might have been best that you didn’t.”

“Did the conversation go badly?”

He put his head back, sucked in a breath. How did a man explain that one stupid conversation had shown him things he should have been seeing all along but was too stupid to look for?

“Honey?”

The endearment hit him right in the heart. He called her darlin’ all the time, but she’d never called him a term of endearment. The fact that she had, warmed his blood and made him want to relax and just be normal. Not so much because it was a sign she loved him, but because it was a sign that he was softening, mellowing. That he belonged to her.

But did she belong to him?

Did she deserve him?

A broken man who pretended he was fine? A man who only did well when he was alone—

Oh, God. That was the truth of it. Finn and Devon may be able to acclimate, but how he’d chosen to deal with their dad was solitude. A ranch so far away from everybody he didn’t have to worry about the past. But now he wasn’t going to run the ranch. At least not full-time. He was going to help Devon manage their investments. If they stayed in Harmony Hills, he’d face his past every day. Worse, if he married Piper, every time he got angry he would worry. Not about her. About him. He was so much like his father—

“I don’t think I can do this.”

“What?”

He grasped the back of the office chair and squeezed his eyes shut. “The talk with my dad yesterday?”

She walked over to him. “Yeah?”

“It
didn’t
go well.”

“You always knew your dad was going to push for half of your mom’s share of the money—”

“No. That’s not the problem. Devon threatened him with a countersuit that might cost him half of what he has, and Finn threatened to give his name to a crew that’s doing a documentary on powerful men who are abusive. He couldn’t handle the scandal of that. He may not sign today or tomorrow, but he’ll sign.”

She put her hand on his, and he jerked it away. “So what’s wrong? What happened?”

“I saw myself in my dad…or maybe my dad in me.”

“That’s absurd.”

“Really? Finn all but laughs at our dad. It’s like he knows a secret. And maybe he does. Devon has the power of the law. He can also bluff. And knows when to push.”

Piper softly said, “He
is
a lawyer.”

“And I was a Marine, then the foreman of a ranch. I dealt with big tough guys all day, and I ruled with an iron hand.”

She sidled up to him and put her palm on his chest. “That’s because you’re a big strong guy.”

“Or maybe it’s because that’s all I know how to do.” He moved away from her. “I’m like my dad. I don’t punch people, but I push people. On a ranch, everyone expects it. In a grocery store? Raising a child? Living with a wife?” His eyes met hers. “I might not be the husband you think I’m going to be.”

“I trust you.”

“You
shouldn’t
.” He all but spat the words. “I come from bad stock. You should be afraid. Not naïve.”

“That’s ridiculous. You make yourself who and what you are.”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. Devon and Finn have dealt with this. I haven’t. I didn’t become a guy who can live in a small town and make nice because he needs the town’s business.”

She pressed her hand to her chest. “What are you saying?”

“You deserve better.”

“That’s silly. There is no one better for me than you.”

He turned away and grabbed his Stetson. An ache formed behind his heart, but he ignored it. For once in his life, he was going to do the right thing. The honest thing. The fair thing. Even if it hurt him.

“There are lots of people better than me. And you won’t even try to meet them unless I leave.”

Her eyes widened with fear, and he cursed himself. He felt her pain as if it was his own, and maybe it was. No one had ever made him feel what she made him feel. No one made him long for love the way she did. But he knew in his heart of hearts this was what was best for her. “I will take care of you financially. Once I leave, the store is yours. But I’ll pay child support. If you want to be a stay-at-home mom, whatever you need, I’ll do it. But I won’t tie you to me.”

Chapter Twenty

He walked away and Piper collapsed on the tall-back chair behind the desk. Tears pooled in her eyes and her chest hurt so badly she could barely breathe.

Every cell in her body shook from a loss so great, so intense, it couldn’t even be quantified. He wasn’t just the love of her life. He was her life. He was her breath. Loving him had made her understand what love was supposed to be.

Desperation rose from the pieces of her broken heart. Swinging around, she grabbed her jacket and purse and raced to the office door. It slammed closed behind her, and she didn’t bother locking it. She ran to her car, jumped behind the steering wheel, and headed for the quiet street on which his grandfather had lived.

She was not letting him go without a fight.

With effort, she tempered her speed so Red Garmin wouldn’t stop her for speeding. But she was still going fast enough that when she hit the brakes, her car screeched to a stop. She popped out, ran up the stairs to the front door, and knocked.

And knocked.

And knocked.

When her knuckles were too beaten to knock any more, she realized his truck wasn’t in the driveway. Fear gripped her, but she reminded herself that sufficient time hadn’t passed for him to get home and pack and leave again. So even though he wasn’t here, he might be saying good-bye to his family before he came home and gathered his things.

Determined steps took her to the porch swing. When he came back to pack, she would be here and she would tell him that no matter where he was going, she was going with him.

The sun set.

The moon rose.

Fluffy white clouds rolled by, occasionally blocking its light, then they’d roll away again and moonlight would spill across the wide planks of the front porch.

She thought about how beautiful the house could be with a little love. She could almost hear the laughter of children as they played in the corner where the front porch turned and continued down the side. She could see flowers in window boxes and baskets that hung from the front porch railing. Flowers along the sidewalk. Smell the newly mowed grass of the wide yard.

This house was meant to be a home.

Her home.

The thought surprised her so much that she gasped. This was the house she and Cade were meant to live in. Cleaned up. Spruced up. Changed enough that it could accommodate a laughing, happy family, this house was her home. She could feel it in her bones.

She spent the next hour making plans in her head for how she would remodel it. Where she’d put the master suite and nursery. The kind of kitchen they would need to accommodate their kids. How they’d put a patio and a playhouse in the backyard.

But Cade never returned. She sat on the porch swing until two o’clock. Until it got so cold that the autumn night put a chill in her bones that made her shiver. She didn’t know how he’d gotten home and packed before she’d raced over from the grocery store, but he had.

The porch swing creaked.

The night was as silent as a stone.

He was gone.

And she was as alone as this old, lonely house that nobody wanted.

She hoisted herself from the porch swing and headed back to her car. Tears tried to form in her eyes and she fought them. What had she expected? She was the one who always stopped halfway down the aisle, frozen with fear, absolutely positive she wasn’t meant to be married.

It looked like she was getting her wish.

She didn’t sleep that night. Sorrow turned to anger, which became confusion. Neither of her potential grooms had ever asked her why she’d run. Neither had ever fought for her. And maybe, just maybe, Cade needed someone to fight for him.

She dressed for work but, trusting April to open the bakery on her own and Bunny or Jen to open the cash registers, she headed for Finn and Ellie’s. She considered going to Cade’s mom’s, but she wasn’t sure LuAnn would be up at this hour. Finn and Ellie both had work. Both always got an early start.

At a quarter till seven, she knocked on the door of the brown brick house. Ellie opened the door wearing dress slacks and an auburn sweater that brought out the best in her red hair.

“Piper?” Her eyes narrowed as she took in Piper’s appearance, and she stepped forward, catching Piper’s shoulder and helping her into the house. “Oh, sweetie.”

Holding onto her emotions by the barest thread, Piper said, “I suppose you heard that Cade left town.”

“We did.” That came from Finn, who ambled into the foyer from the kitchen of the open-floor-plan house. “I am sorry, Piper.”

“Hey, I’m fine.” Big lie. But necessary. “I’m more worried about Cade.”

Ellie led her through the kitchen and directed her to sit on one of the two sofas that flanked a beautiful fireplace. “We weren’t exactly thrilled that he left.” She glanced back at Finn as if seeking moral support for what she was about to say. “He was too calm, too quiet when he left.” She caught Piper’s gaze. “He’d never been as happy as when he’d talked about you. And he wants your baby. He wants to be a dad. To tell you the truth, we’re not even sure why he left.”

“He’s afraid he’s like his dad.”

Finn swore. “That’s ridiculous.”

But something about the house got to her. Warm and calm, it spoke of people truly settled in. People who loved each other. Easily. Casually. Naturally.

What was she doing? Begging a man to love her?

Because technically, that’s what she was doing. She wanted big, huge, I-will-love-seeing-you-disheveled-in-the-morning love. And Cade didn’t feel that.

Hell, he didn’t even feel normal love. He’d never panted an I-love-you during sex. He’d never tossed an I-love-you when he said good night.

He’d never said I love you.

The pain of it nearly paralyzed her. But she shook her head and smiled at Ellie. “I’m okay.” She rose. “I guess I’m sorting through things. I’m sorry I bothered you. Eventually it will all make sense.”

Ellie rose, too, and grabbed her hand. “If you need anything, Finn and I are here for you.”

“Because of the baby?” She batted her hand in dismissal. “I’m fine.” She pressed her hand to her stomach. “We’re fine.”

With that she headed for the front door. Finn caught up to her before she could leave. “We’re serious. Cade’s all over the board right now. He didn’t talk much when he came by before he left. He basically told us he’d left his gear in the house and we should just toss it.”

Piper smiled weakly. At least that explained how he’d gotten away before she reached his house to stop him.

“But your baby is a Donovan. Anything you need, you’ll have.”

She sniffed a laugh and turned to open the door. “I have what I need. The store. A way to support us.” She straightened her shoulders. “A place in the community.” She shook her head. She now had everything she wanted except the man she loved. She supposed it was poetic justice, payback, Karma for leaving her two fiancés.

And maybe she deserved the pain burning a hole in her heart.

That morning she assembled her staff and told them Cade had gone back to Montana. She didn’t beat around the bush or even look sad when she made the announcement. She held a clipboard, talked a bit about profits, gave them the schedule for the following week, and headed back to the office.

But at night, alone in the bed she’d shared with Cade, the woman in her wept on the pillow that still had his scent. In the shower, she put a bit of his body wash on her fingers and closed her eyes to remember the fun they’d had. The way they fit. She cried in her orange juice. Wept on the drive to the store.

Then wiped her eyes, sucked in a breath, and got down to business. Because she had a child to support.

Billionaires or not, the Donovans didn’t have to take care of her. She could now do it herself.

She entered the store and did what needed to be done for seven days. An entire week. She glanced at the calendar, realizing that her wedding should be taking place next Saturday, and her lungs froze. This time she could actually cancel her wedding before she made a fool of herself.