скачать книгу бесплатно
She jerked in a breath, wary of inadvertently revealing too much. “That is why you initially came to see me, correct? To lend aid in any way I needed?”
In the kitchen, an “end of cycle” bell sounded.
“Yes.” His mood was suddenly all business.
Mitzy glanced at her watch. The boys would be waking soon for their next feeding. It was time to get a move on. Wishing she weren’t quite so aware of his presence, she retreated into scrupulous politeness. “Unlike my mother, I’m not asking you to find a buyer for MSC.” She pivoted and headed for the kitchen.
Chase stood to the left of her, watching as she opened the dishwasher, pulled out two dozen newly sterilized baby bottles as well as the basket of sterilized nipples and caps, then set them all on the counter.
The way he looked at her then—as if he was thinking what it might be like to make love to her again—sent tremors of aching need tumbling through her.
“And if I could find a buyer?” he asked.
Mitzy shook her head. Aware that every time she got near him her heart beat faster, her senses got sharper and the romantic disappointment she’d felt since their breakup became more acute. All factors, she knew, that made her ripe for a renewed affair. And that could be disastrous, given the fact he was still all business. And she was...now more than ever...all family.
Yes, they still had sparks. And an amazing rapport.
Yes, she was incredibly attracted to him.
And even still enjoyed spending time with him.
But she did not want to end up in the same place they’d been before, with him choosing to pursue a financial bottom line over her feelings, or those she loved.
She couldn’t be with someone who had once felt that semiautomation of the MCS saddle-making process had been the way to go, even if it disrespected her father’s artistry and cost some of their beloved employees their jobs.
She could, however, rely on his expertise in the leather business to help get MCS back on track. And she knew her late father would very much approve of that!
Deciding she had gotten lost in his mesmerizing gaze for far too long, she went to the pantry and emerged with a gallon of purified water and a new can of powdered infant formula.
Promising herself she was not going to let herself fall victim to the attraction simmering between them, she forced her gaze back to the rugged contours of his face. “I could never let the company go.” She set both items on the counter. “Not when I promised my father I would always take care of it.”
His eyes narrowed skeptically. “Did Gus want you to run it personally?”
She made a show of opening both containers, then went down the row, adding one scoop of powdered mix to each bottle. “It’s why Dad left it to me, and made me the CEO before he died.”
“Gus never discussed you selling MCS if it became too much?”
Mitzy flushed. “Well, yes.” She bent her head and added purified water to each bottle, too. “When it became clear my dad’s cancer was terminal and he didn’t have long to live, he and I talked about the possibility.”
“And?” Moving closer, he flashed her an encouraging smile.
Mitzy handed Chase the bottle and gestured for him to continue. While he did, she topped them off with nipple, plastic screw cap and protective cover.
“What did your dad say to you?” he prodded.
“That I could sell if I wanted. But I didn’t want to.”
Chase paused. He slanted her a perplexed look. “Why not?”
“Because his custom saddle company was his baby as much as I was! He started it from scratch in a one-room operation and, over the years, built it into a multimillion-dollar operation with twenty-nine employees. The quality of the work at MCS has always been legendary. Until the last year, while I’ve been in charge,” she admitted unhappily as she lifted the capped bottles and shook them vigorously to mix. “Which is why, more than ever, I have to get things back on track. I have to carry on his incredible legacy, not just for myself, but for my sons! And their offspring, too!”
Chase seemed to understand her need to make this more than a one- or two-generation family business. He stepped in to help with the mixing, his biceps flexing against the soft cotton of his shirt. “Have you talked to anyone at the company yet?”
Mitzy consulted her watch again, then took four of the finished bottles over and put them in the warmers. “No. It’s a holiday weekend.”
“But you’re going to.” He helped her move the rest of the prepared baby bottles into the fridge.
Mitzy nodded. Knowing communication was always key. “Eventually, yes, when I have a better idea of what’s going on.” Chase’s shoulder brushed hers as he put the last of the formula into the fridge. “How are you planning to get the facts without talking to employees?”
Arm tingling, Mitzy stepped back. “That’s where you come in. I was hoping if you looked at the company records with me, via the log-in on my dad’s desktop computer, we might be able to pinpoint how and why and when everything began going wrong.”
“And then what?” He turned his pensive gaze on her.
She adopted a brisk businesslike demeanor. “I’ll talk privately to whoever is responsible for making some of the decisions that have lowered the quality of our saddles substantially.”
He came closer. “Planning to fire them?”
She scoffed and backed up until her spine rested against the quartz countertop. “No! These people are all family.” Her heart ached at the mere idea. “I’ll just make sure they understand, we’ll make a course correction and that will be that.”
He asked, tone matter-of-fact, “You have access to all the company records?”
Glad he was there to help her navigate the unfamiliar inner workings of the business, she said, “Every last one.”
He kept his eyes locked with hers. And leaned forward close enough for her to inhale the brisk masculine scent of his aftershave lotion. “Is everything computerized?”
She ignored the comforting warmth of his body, so near to hers. Frowning, she pushed back the unwanted emotion welling up inside her. “I think so.”
Concentration lines appeared at the corners of his eyes. “You’re not sure.” His expression remained genial, but otherwise inscrutable.
Reluctantly, Mitzy admitted, “I’ve never actually looked. I gave everyone the autonomy to make the decisions they felt necessary, just the way my dad did when he was first diagnosed with stage four bone cancer and began undergoing treatment.”
“Which was a year ago, October.”
Mitzy was surprised Chase remembered that so precisely, since he had still been living in Fort Worth at the time.
Throat tightening, she went to him and laid an entreating hand on his forearm. “The point is, Chase, when I go to them, with whatever the situation is, I want to also have the solution at the ready.”
He nodded. A mixture of understanding and acceptance came into his eyes. Covering her hand with his own, he asked gently, “So what is your timetable?”
Mitzy savored the warmth and strength of him. “I want this all wrapped up before the MCS annual Christmas party, on the twenty-second of December.”
His brow furrowed. “That means we’re going to have to get started with the audit right away.”
Taking comfort in the fact she wasn’t going to be locked in this stressful situation all on her own, Mitzy nodded. Chase might not know her as well as she had always wished, but he did know business.
She frowned as she heard the sound of a fussing baby on the monitor.
She dropped her hold on Chase and stepped back, then headed for the stairs. Remembering to add, “And one more thing, Chase. This all has to be done in secret.”
* * *
Of course it did, Chase thought, as he followed Mitzy up the staircase to the second floor. Trying and failing not to admire the snug fit of her yoga pants over her gently rounded derriere. She cast him a warning look over her shoulder. “I don’t want people worrying unnecessarily, Chase. Especially not during the Christmas season!”
Of course she didn’t.
Just like her father hadn’t wanted her to worry when he was sick.
I’d sell MCS to you right now, Chase, if just the idea of it weren’t so upsetting to my daughter,Gus had said, from his hospital bed, that last week.
Heartsick at the way the disease had ravaged the body of his mentor, and almost father-in-law, Chase had pulled up a chair and taken Gus’s frail hand in his. Did you try talking to her?
Yes. And she took that to mean I was giving up. My death is going to be hard enough on her as it is, and we both know it’s coming, Gus had grimaced, a heck of a lot sooner than I would like.
Unhappily—because no good had ever come from keeping someone deliberately in the dark—Chase had guessed, So the plan is to humor Mitzy?
Gus had nodded. Until the end of the fiscal year. By then, she should have realized she’s not cut out for the business world, any more than I was ever meant to be a social worker. I want you to help her let MCS go, Chase...so she can move into the future, unencumbered...
“Chase?” Mitzy came back to the nursery door, to find him barely clearing the top step. “Did you want to see the babies?”
Abruptly, he realized she had been talking to him. He’d been so lost in the poignant memory of her dad, he hadn’t heard a word of what she’d said.
“Sorry.” He lifted an apologetic hand. “Thinking...”
She looked stressed. “The volunteers are going to be here in another half an hour, but I don’t think the boys are going to make it that long. They’re usually pretty hungry upon waking.”
It was easy to see why she might feel overwhelmed in the moment. He didn’t know how she had made it thus far. “Not to worry. I’m here.”
Glad he was there to come to their rescue in a way he hadn’t been in the past, when he hadn’t spent nearly enough time understanding where Mitzy was coming from or why...never mind tried to meet her halfway on anything...or persuade her to do the same with him... He hurriedly closed the distance between them and followed her into the nursery. He and Mitzy had been too young before to realize just how incredible and rare the love they had was. But they were older now, wiser. So if they ever got even half of what they’d had back, he was damn sure not going to squander it. And he wouldn’t let her do so, either.
In the meantime, he’d help her—and her sons—in every way he could, as a way of making amends.
He wanted her to see she could count on him, the way her father had hoped, and more. And so could her boys.
“Wow,” Chase said, as he caught his first glimpse of Mitzy’s four adorable new sons.
For once, the talk around town had been right on the mark. The quadruplets were gorgeous, just like their mom, with dark hair, fair skin and big, long-lashed blue eyes. As Mitzy surveyed them, she beamed with pride. He could see why. They were just perfect. As was the nursery she had set up for them.
The four full-size white cribs were fit together in the middle of the room, like a foursquare. All were decked out in “baby boy” blue. Colorful, eye-catching mobiles were attached to each bed. The babies all wore engraved bracelets that coincided with the names written across the tops of all the side railings.
Mitzy made the introductions proudly. “This is Joe.” The most social, Chase guessed, taking in the long lashes. “He is always smiling and laughing and cooing.”
She moved to the next bed. “And this is Zach.” Who still seemed sleepy, Chase observed, as the little one yawned. Mitzy smiled. “He’s my little Zen baby. Peaceful, content, never complaining.”
She moved on to the third crib, announcing proudly, “Here’s Alex.” The little fella had worked one arm out of his swaddling, Chase noted with admiration. And was attempting to free the other. “He’s going to be my athlete,” Mitzy proclaimed.
“And then—” she paused at the fourth crib “—there is Gabe.” The infant was staring up at them, intent, seeming wise beyond his days. “He seems to be the most perceptive of the four,” she said softly. “He’s always vigilant, always aware.”
Chase started to speak. Briefly, he was so overwhelmed with emotion it felt like he had a frog in his throat. Finally, he managed to say in a rusty-sounding voice, “They’re amazing.”
“I know.” Mitzy’s eyes gleamed suspiciously, too.
Chase took her in his arms, hugging her. “Congratulations, Mom,” he whispered, his voice still sounding a little hoarse.
She nodded, overcome.
Hanging on to him until it became clear if this continued they would kiss, she cleared her throat. Blinking, she extricated herself and turned away. Chase could hardly blame her. The situation between them was precarious enough as it was.
Plus, the babies needed to be fed.
There would be plenty of time in the month to come for them to explore the rest of their feelings. And hopefully discover why they shouldn’t search out closure...
Mitzy took the elastic from her wrist in one hand, captured the thick silky length of her hair with the other and secured it in a high bouncy ponytail on the back of her head.
Smiling, she pushed up the sleeves on her close-fitting T-shirt, all earth mom now. “Would you mind pushing the play button on the stereo, then starting all the mobiles? The combination helps keep them calm while I change their diapers.”
“Happy to.” Glad she was finally including him in this part of her life, Chase did as asked. The soothing sounds of orchestral lullabies filled the room. He edged closer, wanting to be more than a bystander. Waiting until she was done with the bottle of hand sanitizer, he then helped himself to some and asked, “Can I give you a hand?”
“You know how to do this?” Still rubbing her own hands together, disinfecting them, she shot him an astonished look, reminding him he hadn’t been much for babies when they had been together.
“I helped my brother Jack with his three little ones after he lost his wife.”
She handed him a couple of clean diapers, some wipes. “I remember you being in town a lot for a while after.”
A long while, actually, Chase thought. “He had a nanny, too, but he needed family.”
Mitzy sent him a commiserating glance. “Don’t we all.”
They worked in silence. Unsnapping. Diapering. Until all four boys were clean, dry and comfy.
“Now what?” Chase couldn’t imagine how she faced this alone. Even for a moment. Although to her credit, all four babies were still calm. Patient.
Mitzy smiled, looking both grateful for and appreciative of his help. “We take them downstairs.”
A feat that took two trips for each of them. He was looking forward to giving bottles, too. Would have, if a few members of Mitzy’s volunteer army of other women hadn’t arrived.
The next thing Chase knew, the two helpers were with the babies, and he and Mitzy were alone on the front porch.
She’d waved off his offer to wait while she got a jacket—probably because she wanted to keep this goodbye short—and instead stood, arms crossed in front of her chilled breasts. “So about what we were talking about earlier. I know you have your own work to do during the days.” She lifted her chin to search his eyes. “Would it be possible for you to get started helping me tomorrow evening?”
The sooner he could make inroads on restoring his friendship with Mitzy, the better. “Sure,” he agreed, glad to help her in any way he could. Even if she wasn’t exactly making it easy. “What time?”
She raked her teeth across her lush lower lip. Shivering harder now. “Between eight and ten?”
Chase felt the sharp urge to haul her against the warmth of his body and kiss her again. But instead, he tamped down that desire and settled for touching her hand briefly, telling himself their time would come. “I’ll see you then.”
Chapter Four (#u84c59c1f-c695-516c-b530-9ab9ad85c15f)
Mitzy’s heartbeat accelerated the minute she heard the doorbell ring the following evening.
