Going to the Chapel (10 page)

“
Just a little.” She sipped
her chocolate. “I think I’m just embarrassed more than anything
else.” Pink darkened her cheeks.

“
They’ll talk about it for
years, you know.” Chase couldn’t prevent a little chuckle. He and
Caroline had always managed to be the talk of the town. Everyone
had expected them to marry and live happily ever after. The town’s
golden couple—a sheriff and a doctor. What more could any small
town want?

But fate had stepped in and
changed everything.

Chase forced the painful
memories away. He’d beaten himself up enough already over that
kiss. If he hadn’t been so angry he would never have done
it.

But, God, somehow, he just
couldn’t completely regret it.

“
Well,” Caroline offered
with a little chuckle of her own, “as my grandmother used to say,
‘when they’re talking about me they’re letting someone else
rest.’”

“
I still miss her.” The
words were out of Chase’s mouth before he could stop them. He was
having a lot of trouble that way lately.

Caroline’s gaze met his for
the first time since she’d entered the room. “Me, too.”

“
Thank you for rescuing me
today,” she added abruptly. “I’m sure that fall would have been
much worse if you hadn’t stepped in.”

“
It was nothing,” he
assured her, then hesitated. “About last night—”

She held up a hand. “Let’s
not go there, okay?”

Chase shrugged. He watched
her closely, determined to tell whether that kiss had affected her
as much as it did him. “If that’s the way you want it.”

She leveled a gaze on his
that gave away nothing. “That’s the way I want it.”

Disappointment slid through
his veins. The response he’d imagined in her had been just
that—imagined. Too bad he couldn’t pretend he hadn’t had one
either. But his had been far too evident. A man couldn’t exactly
hide the way he felt when it came to a woman. But he didn’t have to
admit that it was more than just physical. Besides, it wasn’t...was
it?

~*~

Monday morning hadn’t come
soon enough to suit Caroline. She shoved the gearshift of Chase’s
old truck into park and got out. She stared up at the two-story
Victoria style house she’d called home for most of her life and
experienced the sudden, near overwhelming urge to weep. The
grandmother she’d loved so dearly was gone...nothing was the
same.

Before Caroline could give
in to her sentimental urges, a car pulled up behind her in the
driveway. Felix Reems. He’d had another breakfast appointment so
he’d asked to meet her here rather than at Chase’s. Caroline had a
feeling he wanted her alone rather than surrounded by
back-up.

“
My, it’s a lovely day,”
Reems said as he exited his meticulously maintained sedan.
Everything about Felix was always immaculately kept. From his
pressed suits and bow ties to his shiny leather oxfords.

“
Good morning, Mr. Reems.”
Caroline pushed a cheery smile into place.

“
I called Amos Saturday
morning after I saw you at the sheriff’s office and took the
liberty of having the power and water turn on.”

Understandable. “Thank
you.”

“
We can’t show a dark
house.” Felix led the way onto the porch and unlocked the door. He
swept his arm in the direction of the open doorway. “Welcome home,
Caroline.”

She swallowed the renewed
urge to cry. She should have smiled or something but emotion had
her by the throat. Instead, she entered the house, turning on the
entry hall light just like she’d done thousands of times before.
The smell of dust and disuse permeated the air. Caroline forced one
foot in front of the other until she made her way to the parlor.
Sheets draped the furniture making them look like waiting
ghosts.

Everything was exactly as
she had left it. Caroline’s heart made an extra little beat. It was
the one thing she could always count on, home never changed. And
this was home. She frowned and tears once more burned her eyes. But
she didn’t live here anymore. This wasn’t
her
home now. Her St. Louis townhouse
flitted through her mind. That wasn’t home either. She compressed
her lips into a firm line to hold back the fresh surge of emotions
welling inside her. Who was she now? Where was she going? And where
was home?

“
Come along, Caroline, and
I’ll show you the only room that worries me.”

She followed him along the
hall and to the kitchen without speaking. Her heart pounded, her
head ached. She did not want to be here...but she owed it to her
grandmother to do the right thing.

He waved his arms
magnanimously. “The kitchen just needs a bit of freshening up.” He
braced his hands on his hips. “A coat of paint would do nicely, I
believe.”

Caroline took a deep
breath. “You’re right. A little painting wouldn’t hurt.”

“
I’ll call Mr. Hadley.” He
stroked his chin. “The prospective buyers will be in town next
week. That would be plenty of time for Mr. Hadley to whip the place
into shape. Mrs. Hadley still does a bit of housecleaning. I’m sure
she’d be happy to pitch in and help her husband out.”

“
I’ll do it.” The words
were Caroline’s. She just hadn’t expected to say them.

Felix arched a skeptical
brow. “You’re sure you want to do the painting
yourself?”

Caroline’s cheeks heated at
the remembered paint fiasco at the chapel the day before. “I’m
certain,” she stated unconditionally.

“
Well, if you’re sure,” he
acquiesced reluctantly. “But it’ll be an awful lot of work. We
certainly want it finished before the arrival of the
buyers.”

“
Don’t worry, Mr. Reems,”
Caroline guaranteed, a new conviction in her voice. “I’ll have the
house ready. It’s well past time I sold it to someone who will love
and take care of it the way my grandmother did.”

“
Very well.” Felix reached
into his jacket pocket. “Here is the list of items I would suggest
that are taken care of.”

Caroline surveyed the items
and nodded. “Mr. Hadley will take care of the yard as usual. If I
need his help with any of this I’ll let him know.”

“
I’ll check your progress
later in the week then.”

The realtor said his
goodbyes and hurried away leaving Caroline alone with a lifetime of
memories. She walked slowly from room to room and considered the
task before her. Zac had said that the car would be ready in two
weeks. Why not stay here until she could take it with her? That
would prevent having to make a return visit. She could cut her ties
to Lucy’s Branch once and for all. She would be busy with preparing
the house for sale so the time would pass quickly. Now that the
water and power were on she could stay here, thus alleviating the
problem of being too near Chase.

And the whole project would
give her the time she needed to think about what she wanted to do.
Going back to St. Louis was not an option, at least not at this
point. But perhaps she would change her mind once she recovered
from the humiliation Tristan had wielded. There were plenty of
hospitals and clinics there. Why did she have to run away just
because Tristan was an ass?

A smile crept up on her
lips as she wandered through her old bedroom. She considered the
pictures and banners on the walls. Maybe staying here wouldn’t be
so bad. She could pack up all the things she wanted to keep and
dole out the ones she wanted to pass along to old friends of her
and her grandmother. She could pack up the past once and for all.
What did she mean leaving everything like this all these years? Did
she somehow believe deep in her heart that if it all stayed the
same that somehow she might be able to come back one
day?

“
Foolish, Caroline,” she
muttered. This was the past. There was no going back. All she had
to do was put it in its proper place.

Memphis was where she was
going, she decided as she marched back down the stairs. She wanted
a whole new, fresh beginning with no history to get in the way. And
just maybe she could put the past behind her once and for
all.

As Caroline took the last
step down into the entry hall the telephone rang, startling her.
Felix didn’t tell her he’d gotten the phone turned on, too. How did
the man do so much so quickly? Caroline laughed, shaking her head.
Felix had connections. He was a mover and a shaker in this little
town.

She picked up the receiver,
still awed that he’d accomplished so much in such a short time.
“Hello.”

“
Caroline?”

It was Julie. “What’s up,
Julie?”

“
I called Felix and he said
you were getting the house ready to sell.”

The whole town probably
knew by now. “Yeah, it’s time.” Caroline heard the note of sadness
in her own voice.

“
I was wondering whether
you’d be interested in one final girl’s night out before my big day
on Saturday.”

“
Sounds great. When did you
have in mind?” Caroline certainly had no plans other than those
involving the house.

“
How about Friday night?
I’ll invite Sherry.”

“
I’ll look forward to it.
Maybe we can do lunch Wednesday?” By then Caroline would likely
need a break.

“
See you Wednesday
then.”

~*~

It was well past dark on
Monday evening when Chase parked his Jeep in Caroline’s driveway.
He stared at the covered basket in the passenger seat. Henri had
insisted he bring Caroline dinner and use the excuse to check up on
her. He didn’t know why Henri couldn’t do the chore herself, but
she’d insisted that she had plans. Marvin was taking her to dinner.
Shane was spending the night with a friend. There was absolutely no
logical excuse why Chase couldn’t do it.

Except that he didn’t want
to see Caroline. He’d struggled with distracting thoughts of her
all day. The feel of her in his arms...the taste of her on his lips
had haunted him ruthlessly. The last thing he needed was to see
her. Hell, even the sound of her voice was too much.

But Henri could be a
powerful persuader. Chase frowned as he considered the fact that
Henri had gone out to dinner with Marvin every Monday night for the
past month. Surely...no, he didn’t even want to think about that.
He needed Henri too much to even consider she might be thinking
of...Forget it, Garrett, he told himself.
You have enough problems now without borrowing
trouble
.

Chase climbed out of the
Jeep, basket in hand. He might as well suck it up and get this over
with. He just wouldn’t go inside. He’d make the delivery right
there at the front door. He walked across the front porch with
purpose, but then hesitated at the door. The windows were raised to
allow the house to air out, he imagined. But that wasn’t what had
given him pause. He could hear Caroline talking to
someone.

“
I only called to tell
you...no, Tristan, I’m not coming back.”

Chase stiffened. She was
talking to her fiancé—or ex-fiancé, it seemed. Good. Wait. He
wasn’t supposed to care who Caroline spoke to or who she
married.

“
No. You can’t come down
here. I don’t want to see you.”

Chase could hear the pain
in her voice; it twisted the knot already tied in his
gut.

“
Yes, you can have your
damned car back.” Pause. “In two weeks. I’ve already told you.”
Longer pause. “I don’t care. You can drive the Buick. It won’t kill
you. In two weeks, I’ll meet you half way and we’ll exchange
cars.”

She was going to see him
again. A sinking feeling dragged through Chase.

“
Fine. I’ll think about it,
but I don’t want to see you or hear from you until then.” Pause. “I
said I’d think about it, but I’m not making any
promises.”

He wanted her back. Chase
wanted to kill him.

“
Goodbye,
Tristan.”

The phone slammed into the
receiver.

It wasn’t until that moment
that Chase realized he’d been holding his breath. He exhaled, the
effort proving more than a little difficult. Gritting his teeth, he
raised his fist and rapped on the door.

It opened. She blinked in
surprise. “Chase. What are you doing here?”

Nothing like a warm
welcome. “I brought this.” He extended the basket in her direction.
“Henri worried that you wouldn’t eat right if she didn’t send over
something.”

“
How sweet of her.”
Caroline accepted the basket. “I’ve been so busy I hadn’t even
thought to eat.”

She’d always been bad to do
that. Chase felt contrite now. It was a good thing Henri had
thought to send something over. Though Caroline looked tired she
seemed more rested than yesterday afternoon. Or maybe it was just
that she’d worked off some of the stress he felt certain had played
a large part in her look of fatigue. But he wasn’t supposed to
notice...or care.

“
Well, you...ah...have a
nice evening then.” He backed up a step.

The longer he stood here
the more likely he was to say or do something stupid. She looked
entirely too enticing in that ragged old t-shirt and those
well-worn jeans. His gaze jerked back to the t-shirt. It was from
high school. An old Raiders shirt. He’d received the shirt from the
coach, the entire football team had gotten one. And Chase had given
his to Caroline.