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So he’d been curious about her and what was going on in her life? She was curious about him. “So, tell me what you’ve been doing for the past ten years. In Scotland, you explained you’d never work for your dad because he was manipulative and hard, and he had to control everything.”
“Yes, I told you that. After Scotland, I joined a construction crew, but I found I missed the horses on the ranch. So I signed on as a trainer at a quarter horse spread. I liked the work, and I liked being separate from my family.”
“But then?” she prompted.
“But then Dad had a stroke. At first we thought his one side would be completely paralyzed. But it’s amazing what rehabilitation can do now. I helped him with it. He’s so stubborn and independent that we set up a home gym. My mom asked me to live there and watch over him. When he went back to work, she asked me to be his right-hand man there again.”
“He didn’t ask you?”
“Are you kidding? He always expected me to work there, so that’s where I’ve been the past five years. But it’s time for a change. It’s time for me to leave. My plans are in the works. That’s where the loan and me finding out about our marriage have come into play.”
Because Lucie had known Chase before, she felt she could read into his expression and his words. He’d felt trapped for five years, and he couldn’t wait to break free. Now, however, he was trapped in a marriage he’d assumed had been dissolved.
“You want out. You want to be free.”
His gaze locked to hers. “Don’t you?”
She did, didn’t she? In a month, she’d be in Guatemala working on a new orphanage. In a month, Chase would be putting his plans into action. At that time, they’d be going their separate ways. That was the plan, wasn’t it?
Gazing into his eyes, she wasn’t so sure.
Chapter Three (#u687f5750-2664-5b2a-9049-1fb12c9a9fa7)
Lucie sat beside Chase in his truck as they drove back to her apartment. She folded her hands in her lap, and she could swear they were trembling a little. Why was that?
After their initial dip into what she was doing and what he was doing, they’d talked about mundane things. Maybe because both were afraid to go too deep into anything...maybe because the tension between them was evident to them both. There was tension for lots of reasons—regrets, resentment, something unfinished. Most of all, sexual tension remained. When his knee had brushed hers...when her fingers had tangled with his, reaching for a creamer...
Touch was taboo.
Suddenly Chase said, “You said you’ll be in Austin for a month. Is that a solid deadline?”
“Yes, it is,” she answered. “I’m meeting my mother in Guatemala on the first of April. She has set up introductions to officials who can get the ball rolling as far as construction goes.”
“You have a site picked out?”
“We do.”
He changed the subject a bit. “So you’re officially a Fortune?”
“Yes, I am. When my mother found out about her heritage, that she had a long-lost sister and brother, she changed her name to Josephine Fortune Chesterfield, and I changed mine. It seemed right. Her sister and her family have come to mean everything to Mum. Now that Jensen and Brodie and Amelia all live in Horseback Hollow, our visits can become more raucous than royal.”
Chase chuckled. “Would you say your family’s become closer?”
“Amelia and I have definitely become closer. I know that seems odd, with her living in the United States and me living primarily in England. But when we were growing up, there always seemed to be a wall between us. I’m not sure exactly why. Maybe because we had nannies and were at boarding school. Maybe because our lives were very formal.”
“With her married to a cowboy, is her life as formal now?” Chase asked.
“Quinn is down-to-earth. With their baby, Amelia’s just like any new mom. Maybe we all just seem more human in Texas. I don’t know.”
When Chase drove into the parking garage, Lucie was almost sorry. In spite of the tension, she’d enjoyed breakfast and all of their conversations. He was more mature now, with a broader view of life than he’d had at twenty-one. She could tell he wasn’t as impulsive and he thought things through. He wasn’t so wild, though she could still see deep passion in his eyes. His father’s stroke had apparently changed his focus on life. Now he seemed to know what he wanted for his future.
Chase said, “I’ll park and walk you back to your apartment.”
“It will be safer if you don’t do that,” Lucie informed him. “You can watch me until I’m in the elevator if you’d like, but then I’ll be safe from prying eyes or from a stray reporter. The wig and the clothes help, but anyone who spies on me regularly could probably identify me. We don’t want anyone to identify you with me.”
Chase was silent as he drove up to the second level, through the garage and around the bend and then followed the exit sign to another ramp. No cars trailed them. No one with a camera was evident. Chase should probably change the level he parked on if they ever did this again.
There was no reason to do this again. Legal documents could be sent back and forth by courier.
Instead of just pulling up outside the glass doors that led into the elevator bank, Chase slowed, braked and then backed into a parking place.
“What are you doing?”
“If I’m going to stay until you get on the elevator, I don’t want to block traffic.”
That made sense. She fingered her purse, a simple, natural leather bag that didn’t snag anyone’s attention. She knew she had to look at him. That was only proper. But she also knew that when she did, she’d get caught by the dark, knowing expression in his eyes.
Stalling, she unfastened her seat belt, but then she angled toward him and realized he was already gazing at her. “I enjoyed breakfast.”
“The chocolate chip pancakes there are the best.”
“It wasn’t just the pancakes,” she admitted. “It was good catching up with you.”
He unfastened his seat belt and turned toward her. She wasn’t really so very far away from him. She caught a whiff of either soap or aftershave. Like lime, and manly. She fell under the spell of his dark eyes and the way his hair dipped over his brow. He’d tossed his Stetson into the back, and she could remember the feel of the thickness of his hair sliding through her fingers.
The tremble was back in her hands, and she felt she had to make conversation to hide her nervousness. “I like to do things that make me feel like a real person. This breakfast did that.”
He moved only slightly, but he was big and the cab of the truck seemed small. He was closer to her now as he reached out a hand and smoothed strands of hair from her wig away from her face. “You are a very real person, Lucie Fortune Chesterfield. I’ve always known that.”
“Even when the tabloids make me look like a cartoon?”
He smiled but didn’t move his hand from her cheek. She was both hot and cold and afraid to move.
“You could never look like a cartoon. You’re much too beautiful for that.”
Her father had called her beautiful, and her mother told her she was. But they were her parents. She accepted compliments as the polite conversation they were, but this was different. This one came from a man she’d once loved and was still sorely attracted to. She didn’t know what to say. Maybe it was better she said nothing, because they were both leaning toward each other.
Chase’s thumb swept across her cheek. “Ten years have given you refinement, polish and a generous spirit.”
He was going to make her cry. No, he wasn’t. She wouldn’t let him. When she found her voice, she whispered, “Ten years have made you wiser, stronger, motivated.”
“So this really was a get-to-know-you breakfast.”
“Maybe so.”
But then she asked herself the important question: Why were they getting to know each other when they were going to end something between them?
As if he sensed that question flitting through her mind, he said, “We may be clarifying that there was no marriage between us, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a friendship.”
Clarifying that there hadn’t been a marriage? But they had been married, and they’d done what married people do. How did you just wipe that away forever?
Now he reached out his hand to the other side of her cheek and held her face between his palms. “Are you happy?”
“We all define happiness differently. But yes, I am. I have every earthly need met. I’m helping children, so they can have their own needs met. My family and I are closer than we’ve ever been. Amelia’s baby daughter is such a blessing, and I love her deeply. My only regret is that Dad isn’t here to see it all. Sometimes I wake up and my heart hurts because I want him to be involved in all this, too. The Fortune Chesterfields are changing, and I want him to see that change and be as excited about it as I am.”
“I can believe he’s with you, Lucie. I can believe he nudges you in the right direction when you might go in the wrong one. Energy is energy and it doesn’t disappear. Your father could be your personal guardian angel whispering in your ear.”
“And who’s your guardian angel?”
“My guardian angel is a college friend I lost. He died way too young, without accomplishing a quarter of what he wanted to. I feel him sometimes pushing me. Really, I do. And not in the direction my father wants me to go, but one that will give me the most fulfillment in life. Not money, but value. Value that can help horses and people, too.”
“As I said, you’ve matured.”
“And you have grown into a woman many men would be proud to be married to.”
His face was before hers, and hers was before his. Neither of them were blinking. Neither of them were breathing. If she didn’t breathe soon...
He brought his lips very close to hers. “Do you want to kiss?”
“If we kiss, we could be starting something instead of ending it. Is that what you want?”
“I want to know what’s beneath the Lady Fortune Chesterfield facade.”
Lucie thought about her task here for the Fortunes. She considered her upcoming mission in Guatemala and her responsibilities as a Chesterfield. She considered the way her mother had depended on her since her dad died. She didn’t have time for a dalliance.
Chase ran his hands down over her arms and held her hands. “Do you want an annulment?” he asked.
There was only one answer. “Yes. I’m committed to my life. I don’t see it changing. What about you? Do you want it?”
“Oh, yes, I want it. Starting over at my own place, with no one telling me what to do but me, taking responsibility for it all, the horses, the finances and management, the vet bills. I’ve been counting the years until I could do this.”
When he talked about the work, she could see it made him happy. “So one day you’re going to leave your dad’s and not go back again?”
“No, it won’t be like that. I’m grooming someone in my office to take over my position. Jeff has been apprenticing with me, and he can do it. He just needs to have the confidence that he can. I’ll stay part-time for a while until everybody gets used to the idea. Then I can slip away and just be used for consulting services.”
“We’re on the verge,” she said softly.
With his gaze unwavering, he agreed, “We are. I enjoyed breakfast, too. Maybe we can do this again.”
When he tilted his head, she thought he was going to kiss her. It wasn’t full-blown. He kissed her on the cheek. She still felt it all the way down to the toes of her boots. She almost grabbed him and laid one on his lips, but she’d been taught better. Decorum could be everything. She’d never been forward and she wouldn’t be now.
She hurriedly opened her door, slid over to it and dropped her legs around to take the giant step down from the running board.
When it seemed as if he was going to come around the truck, she shook her head vigorously. “No, you stay. I’m fine.” Shaky, but fine.
She could feel his eyes on her as she walked through the glass door into the bank of elevators and greeted the security guard. She pressed the button and the doors swished open immediately. She stepped inside. Fortunately there was only time for a small wave before they closed in front of her.
She breathed a sigh of disappointment, regret, but also joy. She’d enjoyed being with him. She’d enjoyed feeling alive with him. She’d enjoyed the fact that Chase Parker still turned her on.
* * *
At his desk later that afternoon, Chase tried to concentrate on examining the work records, evaluations, and overall résumé of Jeff Ortiz. Jeff was now Parker Oil’s CFO, and had done a bang-up job ever since Chase hired him three years ago. He was a good manager with great public relations skills. Not only that, he was intelligent, informed about the industry and would go far either at Parker Oil or for some other company who might try to steal him. He was Chase’s pick to replace him when he left. The feat would be getting his father on board with the idea.
Turning away from his computer, Chase thought about breakfast as he had on and off all day. He couldn’t shove Lucie out of his mind. Had it been easier ten years ago? He’d had no choice then. If she hadn’t been so young, maybe things would have been different. If he hadn’t been so young, maybe he would have known better what he wanted.
He took his cell phone from his belt, pulled up his contacts and studied her number. She’d given it to him in case he had to reach her about the paperwork...about the annulment...about ending something that had hardly started.
He jabbed the green phone icon.
He half expected her voice mail. After all, she’d said she was going to look at more properties this afternoon with a real estate agent. But he didn’t get voice mail. She answered.
“Hi, Chase.”
Her tone was cautious, but at least she hadn’t avoided his call. Without preamble, he asked, “Are you finished with business for the day?”
“I just got home.”
He hesitated only a moment. “We have about an hour of daylight left. How would you like to see the ranch I plan to buy?”
Her silence lasted a few moments and he realized he was holding his breath. But then she answered, “I can be ready as soon as you get here. But you’d better pick me up on a different level this time. Let’s try level two.”
“I’ll be there in ten minutes,” he assured her.
When he ended the connection, he wondered how she lived her life like this. She had to think about every twist and turn in the road, and how the public would view it. When did she ever get to do what she wanted to do? Would she be wearing her wig again?
Standing, he pushed in his desk chair and realized he couldn’t wait to find out.
Ten minutes later, when she ran to his truck and hopped inside, he saw instead of a wig she was wearing a baseball cap with a large bill that practically hid her face. Jeans, a plaid shirt and boots rounded out her outfit. She didn’t look royal, and he supposed that was the idea. She used a persona for her public appearances.
Who was the real Lucie?
They didn’t speak until they were well out of Austin. He noticed her checking the rearview mirror a few times. He had checked it, too. From what he could tell, no one had followed them. She seemed to relax the farther from Austin they drove.
Finally she said honestly, “I was surprised you called...about your ranch.”
She was obviously wondering why he’d asked her to come along. He wasn’t entirely sure. “Maybe I just want a second opinion on the place.”
“No one else has seen it?”
“No one else.”
“How many horses do you plan to run on this property?”
“I’m bringing five over from the Bar P. I adopted two out last month, but I’d like to triple or quadruple that. A lot has to happen first, though. Some horses have to be quarantined. Others need their own pastures. There are no wild mustangs, per se, in Texas. That’s the way most people think about horse rescue. But in stiff economic times, people are abandoning horses on private and public lands. As far as the wild mustangs go, the Bureau of Land Management has adoption events in Texas. I purchased a few, gentled them, and then sold them.”
“It’s a wonderful idea. What made you start doing it?”
“Dad added property to the Bar P when I was a teenager. It was a rundown ranch. The owner was selling. Two of his horses were malnourished and hadn’t been cared for. I convinced Dad to let me take them on that summer. I turned them around. One of them became Mom’s favorite to ride. After Dad’s stroke, I guess I needed an outlet for living there again, something else to keep me occupied while I was there. So I began rescuing horses.”
