Cowboy Take Me Away (27 page)

Chase glanced sideways at Nate, then Ryder, before leveling his gaze on Randy, the security light still flooding the area with brightness. “Don't play games, Randy. You're the son of a bitch we just caught red-handed on camera.”

He went to run, dodged sideways, but Chase was faster and grabbed him by the arm to pull him back before landing a punch to the man's jaw.

“You dare to think you could do this and get away with it?” He laughed, towering over Randy as he cowered. “No one fucks with us, Randy, you know that.”

Chase pushed him hard, smiling when he hit the ground, sprawling backward. “Who did this with you?”

“Just me,” Randy panted out. “No one else.”

“You sure about that?” Chase asked, clenching and unclenching his fists. Randy spat out blood and stared up at him. “The quicker you talk the less likely I am to pound your face to a pulp.”

Chase wasn't a fighter. He threw a good punch and knew how to look after himself, but he didn't get off on brawling. But Randy had betrayed them. They'd treated him like family for years, and he'd gone and done this to them.

“It was just me. I was paid to do it.”

Nate stepped forward. “By who?”

Chase looked at Ryder, taking his eyes off Randy for a second, but it was one second he shouldn't have lost his focus. The foreman was on his feet like a man half his age, swinging a punch that clocked Chase in the eye.

“Fuck!” he swore as he threw a punch back, only managing to clip the side of Randy's head. It was Nate who took him down.

“Who was it?” Chase demanded.

“Larry Eaglewood,” Randy finally uttered, nursing his head, blood pouring from his nose. “He paid me to sabotage anything on the ranch that he thought would hurt you. Wanted to see you boys knocked down a peg.”

“Larry?” Nate echoed. “What the hell have we done to piss him off so bad?”

“He's hurting,” Randy continued, clearly happy to talk if it saved him running into a fist again. “Ranching ain't profitable like it used to be, and he's got no oil to drill.”

“Yet he had enough spare cash to pay you,” Chase muttered. He didn't believe Randy for a second, certain he was just trying to get their neighbor in trouble to take the heat off himself. “I call bullshit.”

Randy looked terrified, eyes wide. “I…”

“You want Nate to slam that fist of his into your face again?” Chase glanced at Nate, saw his brother flex his fingers again.

“Fuck! Fine, it was me.”

“Why?” Nate asked. “We've treated you like family all these years and you just decided to betray us?”

“I was sick of seeing you boys drive around in your expensive damn cars, making out like you own the world. I wanted to see you hurt, wanted you to…”

“Enough,” Chase growled out. “I don't give a fuck what you thought or what you wanted, you're done here and I'm gonna make damn sure there's not another ranch in Texas that'll take you on.”

“You should have just paid me that raise I asked for,” Randy muttered.

“You're already paid more than any other foreman I know, a whole lot more, not to mention the house we gave you rent-free to live in,” Nate snapped.

Chase took a step back, not wanting to deal with Randy any longer. There was somewhere else he needed to be.

“Clear out,” he told Randy. “Grab your things and be off this ranch within the hour. Fuck off and don't come back.”

Silence echoed around them. Chase ran the ranch, and that meant neither of his brothers would second-guess his orders.

“You still here in an hour, I'll call the sheriff and have you arrested. You hear me?”

Randy hung his head, nodded even though the movement must have hurt like hell.

“You guys okay if I clear off for a bit?” Chase asked, looking at his brothers.

“Go get her,” Nate said, slapping his back. “And tell her she was bloody well right all along.”

Chase touched his eye and wished he hadn't. “I'll see you soon.”

 

Chapter 15

A noise at the door made Hope jump. She muted the television, put down her half-empty glass of wine, and listened, waiting to see if she could hear anything. A light knock echoed out again and her body froze—who the hell would be at her door at this time of night?
Shit.

She bent and unplugged the table lamp closest to her, clasping it tight and walking toward the door. It might not be much of a weapon, but if she had to defend herself she'd rather have
something
in her hand.

“Who is it?” she called out, pleased that her voice sounded a hell of a lot braver than she felt.

“It's Chase.”

Hope let out a big gasp of air, her heart pounding so loud it was in danger of beating straight out of her chest. She flicked the top safety lock and then the main one, swinging the door open and finding Chase standing on her doorstep.

“You frightened the life out of me,” she said.

He grinned, the gorgeous smile of his that came complete with a heart-melting dimple and made her forget everything else. For a second at least.

“Were you planning on hitting me with that?” he asked, his smile stretching even wider when she held up the lamp.

“Hey, it seemed like a good idea at the time when I thought an intruder was about to break into my house,” she muttered.

“The kind of intruder that knocks on the door first?”

Hope scowled at him, but she had to admit that it was kind of nice to be joking around with Chase instead of arguing with him. “I'm kind of nervous on my own,” she admitted. “And I have that seriously protective mama-bear thing going on, so yeah, if I'd had to beat down an intruder with a lamp, I would have.”

“He's lucky to have a mom like you,” Chase said, moving closer so that he was standing under the porch light.

“Oh my God, what happened to you?” Hope put the lamp down and moved forward, reaching up to touch Chase's jaw and tilting his head down so she could inspect his face. The side of his eye was a mess, a dark red mass tinged with purple that would only go darker as the night progressed.

“How about you invite me in and I'll tell you all about it.”

Hope looked up, took her hand from Chase's face, and stepped back. Earlier she'd wondered if they'd ever talk again, let alone touch, and now here she was standing with him on her front doorstep.

“Sure. Come in,” she said. “How about I make us some coffee and get some ice for your eye?”

“Sounds good to me.”

Hope walked ahead of Chase, stopping to return the lamp to its rightful place and plug it in. She switched it on, and collected her wineglass, leaving it in the sink and flicking on her coffee machine instead. She knew Chase was following her but she did her best not to overthink the fact that he was in her house. He might not look pissed with her anymore, or at least not like he had the day before, but he could be a wolf in sheep's clothing. What if he'd decided he wanted joint custody of Harrison? Or even worse, that he wanted him to live on the ranch full-time? The thought sent a shudder through her body.

“So are you here to hang out or…”

“I'm here to say sorry.”

Hope slowly spun around, her hands resting on the kitchen counter as she leveled her gaze on Chase. “You are?” He couldn't have surprised her more if he'd tried.

“I'm still trying to process everything that's happened, Hope,” Chase said, taking a seat on one of her barstools, his eyes locked on hers, not letting her escape.

She stayed still, remained completely immobile, waiting for him to continue.

“You were right?” he finally said.

“About what?” She had no idea what he was talking about, but she was grateful that he'd calmed down and they weren't fighting.

“We caught Randy stealing tonight.”

“You what?”
She shook her head. “I'm sorry. It was just a hunch and I wish I'd been wrong.”

“Yeah, but you weren't.” Chase shrugged. “And I should have listened to you.”

“Why?” She turned away and reached up for coffee mugs. “I'm hardly on your list of most trusted people right now.”

“Hey, do you still make those wicked hot chocolates?”

Hope burst out laughing. “You remember those?”

“How the hell could I forget them? I think I almost drank more of those than I did beer when we were studying.”

Hope flicked the coffee machine off and crossed the kitchen, taking out a block of chocolate and a carton of milk. She set them down and opened a drawer, pulled out a small pan, and set it on the gas range.

“I make these all the time for Harrison,” she said, breaking the chocolate into large pieces and dropping them into the pan. “It's kind of our thing.”

Warm hands covering her shoulders made her freeze, Chase's touch like a bolt of heat through her body. Instead of turning around, she reached for a wooden spoon and started to stir, ignoring the fact that a man she'd once loved was standing so close to her that if she just rocked back …

“Hope,” he said, his voice low.

She kept stirring, only stopping when his hand closed over hers and forced her to turn around. Chase was staring down at her, his eyes soft, crinkled at the sides as he watched her.

“I loved you,” Chase said simply. “When we were in college, I was in love with you. I had a crap way of showing it, but I need you to know that.”

She sucked back a lungful of air, finding it ridiculously hard to breathe. “I loved you, too.”

He let go of her and she turned back to the pan, not wanting the chocolate to burn, and wanting even more to put some distance between her and Chase. Having him so close to her and saying those words—it wasn't what she needed right now. Hope slowly poured milk into the pan, still stirring, trying hard to concentrate on what she was doing.

“We need to talk.”

She nodded, still not turning back around and breathing a sigh of relief when he moved away. When she glanced over her shoulder she saw he hadn't gone far, and was resting on the kitchen side of the counter, but it was enough to give her some space. She finished stirring and turned the gas off.

“I don't want to argue, Chase. I meant what I said yesterday.” It was true—she'd beaten herself up for years over what she'd done and she didn't have the energy to fight with him.

“How about we drink some of that chocolate and I tell you all about what went down with Randy,” Chase suggested, one eyebrow raised in question. “Then when you're good and ready you can talk me through what happened after college, and I promise just to listen.”

Hope smiled at Chase, and this time she didn't have to force it. “That sounds like a good plan.”

She grabbed the two mugs she'd taken out earlier for coffee and poured hot chocolate into them instead, passing one to Chase and then wrapping her hands around her own. There was something comforting about a sweet, warm drink, and right now she needed it.

“I'm pleased you came around tonight, Chase,” she said, taking a sip.

“Me and my shiner of an eye?” he asked with a laugh.

Hope put her drink down and hurried to the freezer. “I forgot all about icing it!”

Chase chuckled. “Don't sweat it.”

She ignored him and took an ice pack out, wrapping it in a kitchen towel and crossing back toward him. She reached up and pressed it gently to the side of his eye, grimacing for him.

“It must really hurt.”

“Yeah,” he grunted, wincing when she moved the ice pack slightly.

“So he just slammed his fist into the side of your face?” she asked.

“Not exactly. We confronted him, he tried to get the hell out of Dodge, and I took a punch.”

“Double ouch.” She took the ice away and inspected the redness, then pressed it back gently again.

“He's in worse shape. I think Nate broke his nose.”

“And did he tell you why?”

Chase didn't say anything straightaway, but he did look at her, his dark eyes taking her prisoner and holding her captive. “He'd worked on our ranch for almost twenty years, and we'd paid him pretty darn well. But I guess he got bitter and twisted about our family money or something. Tried to pin it on another rancher paying him off but we got the truth out of him eventually. Probably hated that I was running the ranch and telling him what to do as well.”

“It's hard to believe someone could betray you like that,” she murmured, thinking aloud. “After so long.”

“Yeah,” Chase agreed, covering her hand with his and guiding the ice away from his skin. “It is. But we've got some great guys working for us, and we'll start searching for a new foreman straightaway. Someone with experience, someone who appreciates what we pay and how we look after our employees, and doesn't think he can betray us and get away with it.”

Hope's heart started to hammer away again, her body betraying her as Chase's fingers stroked against her skin, still holding her hand. Suddenly she wasn't sure if they were still talking about Randy or not.

“I'm sorry,” she whispered. “I'm sorry a thousand times over, Chase. You have to believe me.”

“I don't know if I can forgive you, Hope. I really don't,” he said. “But I do want to listen.”

Hope couldn't help herself. She leaned into Chase, eyes still on his, completely lost to the power of his touch and his gaze, drawn to the powerful man standing in front of her. They stood like that for too long, until Chase took the ice from her and put it on the counter before placing his hands on her shoulders.

“Is it wrong that I want to kiss you?” he asked, head dipped down, mouth so close to hers.

Hope watched his lips as they parted, her breath ragged. “Yes.” She wanted the same thing.

He dropped a slow, warm kiss to her mouth, his lips hardly moving. She wanted to wrap her arms around his neck and tug him closer, to rub her body hard up into his. But when he pulled back only a few seconds later, she stepped away instead of closer.