Going to the Chapel (18 page)

She’d made a pretty clean break so
far. She’d left and never looked back. She’d just sold her
grandmother’s house. She should be able to head for Memphis and
start the rest of her life. But she couldn’t. Because no matter
where she went or what she did, Lucy’s Branch would always be home.
And Chase would be here.

Chase.

She watched him stride toward her,
lean muscle, to die for good looks. What woman wouldn’t want him?
She frowned at the thought. Why hadn’t he met and married someone
by now? Surely there had been other women. With a man that
good-looking, there had to be women. There had to be a reason he’d
never committed to anyone else.

“
Morning,” he said as he lowered
his tall frame into the little sports car.

“
Good morning.” She put the car in
gear and spewed gravel as she spun out onto the road. “Oops,
sorry,” she said, blushing. “Driving this thing is considerably
different from driving the truck.”

Chase only grinned. “I’ll stick
with the truck and the Jeep myself.”

Caroline agreed. She’d take a truck
man over a Porsche guy any time.

The three-hour road trip was over
far too soon for Caroline. The conversation had been light and
enjoyable between her and Chase. They’d avoided subjects that would
cause tension. Facing Tristan was about as far from what she wanted
to do as could be gotten. But there he was, Tristan and her old
Buick, at the designated location. Caroline moistened her lips and
took a deep, bolstering breath. She could do this. Five minutes and
it would be over.

“
Are you okay?”

She met Chase’s gaze and felt that
warm, tingly feeling that zinged through her whenever she looked
into his eyes. “I’m okay.”

He glanced in Tristan’s direction.
“You want me to go with you?”

“
Thanks. But I need to do this
myself.”

“
All right. I’ll go in the truck
stop and get us a cup of coffee.”

“
Sounds good.”

Caroline waited for Chase to go
inside before she got out of the car. Tristan waited patiently,
propped against the hood of her car. Taking her time, she emerged
from the Porsche, snagged up her purse and moved slowly in his
direction.

Five minutes, she told herself
again. Five minutes and it would be over.

Tristan smiled one of those
all-American, blond-haired, blue-eyed guy kinds of smiles.
“Caroline, you look wonderful. It’s so good to see you.” He reached
for her, kissing her cheek before she could dodge his
intention.

She stepped back from him quickly.
“Here are your keys.” She passed the ring to him. “I have a long
drive so I’d like to get started. Have a nice life.”

“
Wait, Caroline.” He took her by
the arms and stayed her departure. “We need to talk. I have so much
to say.”

Chase watched from the diner.
Thankfully he’d had the presence of mind to set the two Styrofoam
cups of coffee aside, otherwise they would have crumpled when he
balled his hands into fists at the sight of Tristan touching
Caroline. Chase could only imagine the kind of promises the guy was
making her. He wanted her back, that was more than
clear.

All Chase wanted was one more
chance with her. One last opportunity to make their lives turn out
the way they should have all along. He loved her. He wanted her
more than anything else in this world. He wanted to have children
with her. A brother or sister for Shane.

He’d all but told her so already.
He doubted that small town life would ever be enough for Caroline
now. She’d always wanted to see the world. Lucy’s Branch didn’t
have anything more to offer now than it had eight years ago. Chase
let go a weary breath. Unlike Tristan, Chase had nothing
spectacular to offer Caroline. He wasn’t particularly well-to-do
financially; he didn’t have a fancy job or car. He was just a small
county sheriff.

Chase’s gaze moved back to the
slick guy trying to sway Caroline’s heart. “Come back to me,” he
murmured, hoping God was listening. “I need you. We all need
you.”

Caroline glared at Tristan.
“There’s nothing else to say. I appreciate your apology, but it
doesn’t matter. It’s over. I’m not going back.”

Fury glittered in Tristan’s eyes
now. “Is it him?” He nodded toward the diner. “You’re leaving me
for him? Some small-town hick sheriff?” He laughed. “I can’t
believe this.”

It was Caroline who experienced the
jolt of fury this time. “You don’t know anything about Chase
Garrett,” she said hotly. “He’s a better man than you’ll ever dream
of being. Now take your fancy car and slink back to St. Louis and
the lovely, dumb as a post, Heather.”

“
I swear,” Tristan said, making one
last ditch effort. “It was simply a mistake. She seduced me. I’ll
never let anything like that happen again.”

Caroline shook her head. “You had
your chance, Tristan. You dropped the ball.” She snagged her keys
from his hand. “I’ll arrange for my things to be shipped.
Goodbye.”

She turned her back on him and
started toward the diner.

“
You’ll wake up one of these days
and realize what a mistake you’ve made, Caroline.”

“
Don’t hold your breath,” she
shouted without looking back.

“
You’ll never be happy in Lucy’s
Branch,” he warned.

That remark made her falter for
half a second. Summoning her resolve, she kept on walking. Whatever
her future held, she was walking away from that part of her past
once and for all.

~*~

When Sunday morning came, Caroline
was not ready. She’d called Sherry and Julie and said her goodbyes.
Henri had made a special farewell dinner. Shane had drawn a picture
just for her. A couple dozen folks from around town had stopped by
to have their say—which in no way included goodbye. They still
insisted that she would take over the clinic and they would be so
happy to have her back where she belonged.

But she couldn’t stay.

There was no way to know if what
Chase felt for her would last. Her own feelings were a turmoil of
mixed emotions. She wanted to go. She wanted to stay. She’d spent
the last eight years avoiding risk when it came to her heart.
Tristan was better off without her. She’d never really loved him
anyway. And rat that he was, he deserved a life partner who truly
loved him.

Would she ever find happiness as
Sherry and Julie had? Who knew? But, right now, she had to
go.

“
Well, looks like you’re all
set.”

Henri, Shane clinging to her legs,
met Caroline at the front door. Chase appeared from behind Caroline
and took her suitcases. Henri had insisted she spend her last night
with them.

“
I guess I am,” Caroline managed in
spite of the lump welling in the back of her throat.

Henri hugged her fiercely. “Come
back to see us, child. Don’t stay away so long this
time.”

Tears spilled past Caroline’s
lashes despite her best attempts. “I will,” she
promised.

Shane tugged on her pants leg.
“Who’s gonna be our doct’r when you go?”

Caroline crouched down and gave him
a hug. “I’m sure someone really special will come
along.”

Shane pouted for a second. “My
daddy told me you was spec’hel.”

Caroline’s heart skipped another
beat. “Well, that’s only because we’ve been friends for a very long
time.”

Shane nodded. “Okay.”

Caroline mussed his hair and stood.
She forced a shaky smile. “Thanks, Henri.”

She hurried out the door, knowing
Chase followed with her luggage. But she had to go now or she
wouldn’t be able to. And she had to go. She just couldn’t stay and
take the risk.

Chase loaded the luggage into the
trunk and came around to the driver’s side door to stand directly
in front of her. Caroline suppressed the urge to jump into the car
and speed away.

“
Drive safely.”

Caroline swiped her cheeks with the
backs of her hands. “Will do, Sheriff.”

He laughed a choked sound. She
managed a weak smile.

“
Let us hear from you.”

She nodded and turned to open her
door.

Chase grabbed her and pulled her to
him. He kissed her hard. Need and desire swirled inside her,
mingling with the other already dizzying emotions tugging at her.
But most of all, regret welled inside her. Regret for what she
would never have.

When he at last drew his mouth
away, he held her against his chest a moment longer. “If you ever
change your mind, I’ll be waiting.” He released her and walked
away.

Caroline stood there, stunned, and
watched him go.

Driving away was the hardest thing
she’d ever done. She cried all the way to town. At Doc’s office,
she stopped and stared at the lonesome clinic. Surely they would
find someone who would take over the clinic. Someone who cared
about the people in this town. Someone who knew them.

Someone like her.

Caroline shook that thought away.
She couldn’t stay. How could she go backwards? Take that risk? What
if it was a mistake?

Gathering her courage, Caroline
drove out of town. Just when she thought she had her tears under
control, she saw the wedding chapel in the distance. She drove up
to the small building and parked. The minister’s car was there.
Cleaning up, she supposed. Or maybe preparing for another
wedding.

Weddings. She hiccupped a sob.
Everybody was happily married except her. She was a mess. She
didn’t know what she wanted. She was leaving the only man she’d
ever loved because she was too afraid to risk her heart.

If she gave her heart to this man,
to this town, and it didn’t work out...

Caroline shook her head. She and
Chase’d had their chance and now it was past.

She closed her eyes and reached for
calm. She would get over him eventually.

Yeah, right.

Maybe in the next
lifetime.

~*~

“I can’t believe you’re going to
just let her go,” Henri fussed. Her hands braced on her hips, she
paced back and forth in front of Chase.

Chase threw up his hands. “What do
you want me to do? I all but begged her to stay.”

“
Did you tell her that you love
her?” Henri demanded.

She’d always been able to see
through him. “I didn’t come right out and say the words,” he
hedged. “But neither did she.”

“
You’re a fool, Chase
Garrett.”

He frowned. His heart was breaking
here. He didn’t need this grief from Henri, too. “What is it you
think I can do?”

“
Go after her,” Henri told him.
“Tell her you love her. If you leave now you can probably catch her
before she gets out of town.”

Chase started to argue, then he
thought of the way it felt to make love with Caroline. The way that
only she completed him, made him feel whole.

He was out the door and in his Jeep
in ten seconds flat.

Inside, Henri snagged up the phone.
“Chase is going after Caroline, pass the word. We need to show her
how much we want her to stay.” Henri hung up and dialed the next
number. She wasn’t going to sit back and let this happen all over
again.

~*~

Unable to help herself, Caroline
got out of her car and headed into the chapel. She had to see it
just one more time. Something deep inside her told her that this
was one thing she had to do before she left for good. She felt
compelled to go inside. It was the strangest thing. It was as if
she didn’t, something really bad would happen.

Caroline pushed open one of the
double doors. As she suspected, the minister was busily making some
sort of preparations. The chapel wasn’t decorated, but she supposed
there could be something planned. Just her luck, she couldn’t even
have this one final moment alone.

He looked up and smiled. “The
ceremony isn’t until noon,” he explained.

“
I...I just wanted to look for a
moment.”

“
Go right ahead.” He went back to
his work and Caroline stood there...just watching.

Finally, she shook her head and
chastised herself for feeling the need to stop here. She was being
ridiculous, she decided as she turned back to the door. Pushing out
into the daylight she held back the tears that wanted to brim once
more. Enough, Caroline, she ordered.

“
I was hoping I would catch
you.”

She looked up to find Chase waiting
on the steps. She shivered with feelings she could no more control
that she could the turning of the earth. “I just stopped to stay
goodbye to...to the minister,” she improvised.

Chase nodded.

“
Well.” Caroline forced a smile.
“Goodbye.”

“
Don’t go.”

She halted on the second step, even
with him. Her gaze met his. “I have to go.”