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“I see.” Judith’s eyes gleamed knowingly.
She was on to Mitzy, too.
The soft sound of a baby crying had Mitzy heading for the stairs. “I’m going to see if the nannies need any help,” she said.
Judith turned to check on the turkey roasting in the oven, then faced off with Chase yet again. “I’m not sure how I feel about any of this,” she said.
Chase wasn’t, either, if all it was, was a means to the end of him and Mitzy.
“Maybe we should let the young people figure it out for themselves, sweetheart,” Walter said.
“I can’t.” Judith continued, “You broke my daughter’s heart once.”
Chase didn’t mind accepting blame where it was due but he wasn’t about to shoulder all of it. “I think a more apt description was that we broke each other’s hearts,” he clarified gruffly.
Judith paused. In the awkward silence that fell, Chase could see Mitzy’s mother mentally going down the laundry list of all his faults.
As expected, she tried once again to dissuade him.
“The point is, Chase, Mitzy deserves more than you can give her.”
Chase knew he’d been far too focused on fulfilling his ambition then, to the detriment of all else. He nodded. “She deserves more than I did give her, ten years ago.”
Judith’s gaze narrowed. “I’m not just talking about time and attention, although there is that. I’m talking about the financial aspect, too.”
Obviously, although his ex had kept up with his accomplishments, her mother had not.
Chase was still trying to figure out how to disclose his greatly improved status, without sounding like a braggart, when Mitzy came back into the kitchen, an infant in a BabyBjörn carrier, snuggled against her chest. To Chase’s frustration, the infant’s face was turned away from him, so all he could see was the outline of the baby boy’s sturdy little body, encased in the canvas carrier, and the blue-and-white knit cap covering his head.
Clearly, she’d overheard enough of the conversation to know what was going on. “Can we please not talk about money today?” Mitzy swayed back and forth, gently lulling the child. A more natural mother had never been made, Chase thought admiringly. “Besides, haven’t you heard, Mother?” Mitzy added wearily. “Chase is wealthy in his own right now.”
Her spine stiff with indignation, Judith gave the gravy another stir. “Darling, there’s wealthy. And then there’s wealthy.”
Mitzy made a face. She walked farther away from the trio. Giving him an even better view of her enticing backside and spectacular legs.
Judith continued brightly, “The men I have lined up for you to meet at the quadruplets’ debut have fortunes on par with Walter’s.”
Only one problem with that, Chase thought, as he swept another wave of unwanted jealousy aside. Money and/or influence had never been what Judith’s daughter wanted. That had been his ambition.
“Your mother could have a point,” Chase said, playing against Mitzy’s widely stated values.
She met his eyes.
New sparks flew.
He shrugged affably. “The fifty-million-dollar company I started is probably nothing compared to what those dudes likely inherited.” And if their blood was as blue as he imagined, they probably did nothing to earn...
Mitzy shot him a droll look and glided nearer, giving him another tantalizing but maddeningly incomplete glimpse of just one of her four sons.
What was it going to take to get an introduction?
Although he knew very well why she wasn’t showing him her boys.
She was trying to keep at least some boundaries erected between them.
“I want more than money from anyone I’m involved with,” Mitzy said sternly.
Chase was glad to hear that. It meant Mitzy was as deeply romantic as she had once been before practicality trumped all and she had decided to have her babies the new-fashioned way. Sans intimacy of any kind.
“Why do you assume that just because a man is rich he’s somehow not worth having?” Judith demanded, taking the potatoes off the stove to drain.
Chase noted the grinning Walter seemed to agree with Judith that he was very much worth having.
Mitzy continued her gentle waltz about the kitchen. “I don’t know, Mother.” She bent to kiss her baby’s head, then cast a chastising glance over her shoulder. “Maybe your second, third and fourth husbands might have something to do with it?”
Chase knew Mitzy’s previous stepfathers had all been emotionally remote and/or neglectful, at best, often viewing Mitzy as a nuisance. Luckily, she’d had Gus, and her time in Laramie to counter that.
“Exactly why I promptly divorced them after only a year or two,” Judith huffed, handing over a bottle of wine for her husband to open. “They weren’t the right person for me to be married to.”
“But they were increasingly wealthy,” Mitzy pointed out as Walter worked off the cork.
“Well, of course.” Judith refused to apologize for that as she passed the canapés around. “I wasn’t going to fall for anyone who guaranteed us downward mobility!” She paused to put the tray aside then grasped Mitzy by the shoulders. “Listen to me, darling, it is just as easy to fall in love with a wealthy man as it is to fall in love with a poor one. The difference is a truly wealthy man has so many more ways to make you happy! And if you need an example of that—” Judith let go of Mitzy and went to kiss her fifth husband on the cheek “—you need to look no further than my darling Walter.”
Chase wanted to disagree with that, but couldn’t. Not entirely, anyway. It was a heck of a lot easier to be happy if you didn’t have to worry about putting food on the table or a roof over your head.
Mitzy frowned. “I’m not disputing the fact that Walter is wonderful, Mother, or always has been.” She sent Walter an affectionate smile, which he returned. “But it’s not his money or his talent with investing that makes him so exceptional. It’s his kind heart and generosity.”
Judith took the turkey out of the oven and set it on the back of the six-burner stove. “You think Chase has your best interests at heart?”
Mitzy paused, a little too long for his comfort. Which meant he had a lot of work to do to get their relationship back on an even keel.
“Yes. Of course,” Mitzy said finally. She added as a caveat, “Now, anyway.”
Still managing the meal prep with a former chef and caterer’s ease, Judith turned to him with a raised brow. “I assume you’ll attest to the same?”
“Absolutely.” Chase held Mitzy’s pretty aquamarine eyes. If the past few days had taught him anything, it was that he wanted a fresh start with his ex-fiancée. And that yearning had nothing to do with any secret deathbed promise he’d made to Gus.
“Then prove it.” Judith threw down the gauntlet with customary flair. “Use your clout within the industry to find a buyer for Martin Custom Saddle, or purchase it yourself, so Mitzy can finally be free of the company that’s ruined our family from the get-go. And then help my daughter understand that much as she might want to be, she’s not a superwoman.”
Maybe not in Judith’s view, Chase thought wistfully. But in his, she was pretty darn close. For a mortal, anyway.
“Mother,” Mitzy groaned, putting one hand to her head.
Ignoring the entreaty, Judith carried on. “So if she wants her babies to have the fabulous first Christmas they deserve, she needs to put off all this closure business...”
Like hell they would, Chase thought.
“...say goodbye to you. Leave Laramie for good. And come and live with us in Dallas, ASAP.”
* * *
“Thanks for coming by,” Mitzy told Chase at eight o’clock Sunday evening. She ushered him inside the Craftsman-style bungalow she had inherited from her father. As Chase walked in, he took a moment to look around.
Many changes had been made since Gus had passed. Walls in the living area had been opened up. The interior had been painted a welcoming ivory, which attracted tons of sunlight and contrasted nicely with the newly refinished pine floors. Plantation shutters replaced the dated drapes, comfortable neutral furniture had been brought in to replace the old faux leather pieces. And of course the kitchen, family room and dining area between, where they had spent most of Thursday, had all been redone and redecorated with the same classic understated elegance for which Mitzy was known.
Only one room downstairs appeared to have been left untouched, he had noted the other day. Gus’s dark, paneled study. And most of the time, Mitzy left that door closed.
Chase turned his attention back to Mitzy. She was dressed in figure-hugging gray yoga pants and a long-sleeve white T that did equally nice things for her lush breasts. The need to haul her into his arms and make love to her intensifying, he lifted his gaze back to her face. “You said you needed to see me?”
“That’s right, I did.” Mitzy took his jacket and hung it in the coat closet. Then led him toward her father’s old study, where it seemed she had set up quite an organizing operation.
“What’s all this?” Chase looked at the four large bulletin boards set up on easels around the room.
One held sticky notes of calls needing to be made to various colleagues at the DCFS office. The next a schedule of baby-wrangling volunteers for the week. A third, a list of Christmas errands and chores to be done. The fourth was blank except for the initials MCS, the family saddle company.
A glimmer of ambition lit her pretty eyes. “I think of it as my war room.”
He pointed to the holiday to-do list, slanting her a concerned glance. She had at least one activity slated for every day. “You’ll definitely need a battle plan to get this all done. Even without four babies.”
Mitzy’s lips set in a deliciously kissable moue. “Don’t start. You’ll sound like Mother.”
Brought up short by the comparison, Chase lifted a staying hand. “Sorry,” he said brusquely. After that tension-filled Thanksgiving dinner he was pretty sure that Mitzy lamented him impulsively agreeing to attend, that was the last thing either of them wanted. Him criticizing or undermining her at every turn, even in jest. “You deserve my unbridled support,” he said soberly. “I’m here because I plan to give it.”
Their eyes met. Another shimmer of heated desire sizzled between them. “Thank you,” Mitzy choked out emotionally. “I appreciate that.” Her cheeks pinkening, Mitzy swept a hand through her tousled hair. Shoving it away from her face, she went on with difficulty, “I asked you to come over tonight because I wanted to apologize for what happened on Thursday. It was...” She paused, clearly at a loss for words.
Chase guessed at what she was about to say. “One of the most stilted holiday meals either of us have ever had?”
Mitzy laughed ruefully. As did he.
Resisting the urge to pull her into his arms, Chase continued with a shrug, “The food was amazing, though.”
“Still, I should have known better than to let Mother have access to you. She’s never forgiven either of us for canceling our wedding at the last minute. Even if it was the right decision.”
Maybe at the time. Now, seeing Mitzy again, kissing her and feeling those emotions rekindle, Chase was not so sure.
He also knew his ex-fiancée was a “one step at a time” person. He couldn’t rush her into anything.
She reached over to turn on the woefully outdated desktop computer located in the center of the desk. “So, as far as Mother’s third degree about the scope and success of your business. Never mind her wild idea about you finding a buyer for MCS...”
Or purchasing it myself, Chase added silently.
Mitzy winced as the computer slowly—and noisily—booted up. “Or talking me into moving back to Dallas in time for the holidays, in exchange for her blessing on our monthlong closure process...?”
Sensing she needed her space, he moved to the overfilled bookcases. “You’d prefer I earn it some other way.”
Mitzy made a seesawing motion. “I’m not really sure that’s possible,” she admitted, tossing a candid glance his way, “even if you were to do everything Mother asked. As you might have noticed, the women in my family can hold a grudge.”
He sure as heck had.
Mitzy lifted her chin. Totally serious now. “Still, I’d like to call a permanent truce between the two of us.”
Gratitude welled.
He ambled toward her. “I’d like that, too, darlin’.” He paused on the other side of the desk. Noted the quick, excited jump in her pulse and decided to just go for it. “So does this mean you want to start seeing me again instead of just working on ‘closure’?”
Her smile faded. She arched a censuring brow. “I’m seeing you now.”
He shook his head and moved around to stand next to her. “Seeing you as in dating you.” He tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear. “The sparks are still there, Mitzy.” Evidenced anew by the erratic nature of her breathing. “We proved that the other day.”
With a smile, she danced away. “Actually, I was thinking we might try something else while we work our way out of the animosity that has plagued us for the past decade.” She moved one of her easels slightly, before spinning back to him. “Something more platonic and casual.” She met his level gaze with familiar stubbornness. “Like friendship.”
Which was nothing remotely close to what he wanted.
Sifting through his disappointment, Chase took a moment to consider.
In the past, he would have told her it was his way or the highway. She would have said the same to him. That approach had never worked. So if he wanted to pursue any kind of relationship with her, he would have to do more than simply pick up where they had left off. He would have to revise their way of dealing with each other into something that would weather hardship and stand the test of time.
“Okay,” he said, willing to give this friendship thing a whirl, at least for now. Anything to avoid the permanent “closure” she’d been talking about. “I’ll give it a try.”
“Good.” She smiled, mirroring his enthusiastic tone. “Because I need your help.”
“Putting up Christmas decorations?”
So far, she’d done absolutely nothing on that score. Which was unlike her. Usually, Mitzy went to get a tree and started hauling out the decorations the day after Thanksgiving.
Amazing, how easily he could envision himself helping her decorate for the holidays. When he was on his own, it wasn’t really his thing. Although he was always around to help his parents and his sibs.
She tilted her head, as used to denying herself what she wanted as he was in going after it no holds barred. Openly curious, she queried, “Are you volunteering?”
Aware he’d do anything that might bring them closer, Chase nodded. “I am.”
“Well,” she said, mischief sparkling, “I could use someone to help with the heavy lifting.”
Given how fit she was, he doubted she really needed it. “Want” was something else entirely, however. Bolstered by the idea she might privately yearn for more with him, too, he aimed a thumb at the center of his chest. “Then I’m your man.”
Mitzy raked her teeth across the soft lusciousness of her lower lip. “I could also use your help with a few other things, as well...”
Though so far he’d had only a brief, blocked glimpse of one of her four infants, it stunned him to realize how much he wanted to meet them and help her with them, too. “The babies?” he asked eagerly.
She shook her head. Her gaze darkened worriedly. “With figuring out what’s really been going on at MCS.”
Chapter Three (#u84c59c1f-c695-516c-b530-9ab9ad85c15f)
Mitzy wasn’t sure how Chase would take her request. Especially after the “conditions” her mother had thrown out. His long pause indicated she had been right to worry. She could feel him sizing her up, trying to figure out the exact nature of her innermost feelings about him. When she didn’t really know herself.
All she knew for certain was that she had appreciated his kindness. Enjoyed kissing him—way too much! And that she wanted the cold war between them to end, so she wouldn’t have to keep going out of her way to duck his sexy presence, now that he was living back in Laramie.
He continued to study her wordlessly.
