Going to the Chapel (4 page)

Caroline had trouble
drawing a deep breath with her heart in her throat. She had never
been arrested before. That it was this man doing the honors didn’t
help at all. “It looks as if I don’t have a choice.”

“
No, Caroline.” He wrapped
those long, tanned fingers around the hand she reluctantly
relinquished. His touch sent another shiver skating down her spine,
magnifying the trepidation now catapulting inside her. “You don’t
have a choice.”

Tired, confused and feeling
like the champagne might just make a distasteful reappearance,
Caroline allowed him to usher her out of the truck. What a
homecoming. The whole town was likely talking about her already.
The entire scenario suddenly appeared hilarious. She almost
giggled, but caught herself. She stole a glance at Chase’s grim
profile. God, she was getting hysterical. A wave of something
unpleasant abruptly washed over her.

Caroline stopped, her spine
stiffened. “Chase,” she murmured, then swallowed hard.

He released a loud,
impatient breath and slowly turned back to her. “What
now?”

Her eyes rounded in horror.
“I think I’m going to be sick!”

~*~

Caroline sat perched on the
edge of her seat. Chase watched her intently as the voice coming
across the telephone line droned in his ear. Her knuckles were
white where she gripped the chair’s wooden arms. Her face was
ghostly pale. Chase couldn’t help wondering if she was about to be
sick again. Not a betting man, he would, however, wager his life at
the moment that she would never drink another drop of champagne. He
almost smiled, but frowned instead when the man on the other end of
the line said something that caught his attention.
Engaged
. This Dr. Tristan
Rodgers stated again, apparently due to Chase’s inability to
respond, that he and Caroline were engaged.

Chase’s gaze darted back to
the vulnerable looking woman on the other side of his desk, then at
the diamond glittering on her left ring finger. Why hadn’t he
noticed that before now? Caroline was engaged. Something shifted,
then tightened in his chest. Why would her pending nuptials matter
to him? She hadn’t belonged to him in a very long time. Hell, maybe
she had never really belonged to him.

Rodgers apologized
profusely for the mix-up. He hadn’t known that Caroline planned to
borrow his car. When he noticed it was gone he assumed that someone
had stolen it. Chase gritted his teeth. He had never even met the
guy, but already he didn’t like him. He sounded like a pompous ass.
Chase couldn’t imagine what Caroline saw in him. But, then, that
wasn’t any of his business. It hadn’t been his business since the
day she left town.

And left him. Chase’s jaw
hardened at the memory before he banished it.

At the other man’s
prompting he extended the telephone in Caroline’s direction. “He
wants to speak to you.” Silently, he cursed himself for what he
knew was plain old unjustified jealousy.

Caroline licked those
luscious lips and stood. She took the receiver in one hand and
smoothed the silk of her too-short dress with the other. “Hello,”
she said quietly. She turned her back to Chase then, stretching the
phone cord around her slim waist.

His gaze traveled slowly
from the top of her dark head, down those slender shoulders, to the
firm derriere pressed against the edge of his desk. He licked his
hungry lips. Damn it. He had to be crazy as hell to be feeling this
way about the first woman to walk out on him. The first woman he
had ever loved...the only woman he’d ever loved. Chase closed his
eyes and silently swore at his stupidity.

“
No, Tristan, I’m fine,”
she murmured. “Everything is fine. Yes,” she added, irritation
clear in her tone. “Your Porsche is fine, too.”

Chase’s eyes popped open
and a grin tugged at one corner of his mouth. He wondered how she
planned to pull that off. The damned foreign job was far from fine.
Zac Phillips had shaken his head before pulling it away with his
tow truck. Chase had to admit that Zac was a pretty damned good
body man, not to mention the best mechanic in the county. Maybe he
could fix her car back as good as new.

That grin spread unchecked
across Chase’s face. Then again, maybe he couldn’t. Old
Tristan
would probably be
as mad as a mashed cat when he found out the truth. The good doctor
hadn’t stopped talking long enough to give Chase the opportunity to
relate the rest of the details regarding Caroline’s situation. And
she obviously didn’t intend to tell him.

“
I don’t know,” she
protested with a shake of her head. All that dark silk tumbled
around her shoulders. “I’ll call you in a few days.
No
. I’ll call you,” she
repeated firmly. “Good-bye, Tristan.” Pivoting sharply, she shoved
the receiver back at Chase.

Caroline looked pretty
ticked off at the moment, he noted with pleasure as he dropped the
receiver into its cradle. The irritation had put a little color
back in her porcelain cheeks.

“
Are we finished here?” She
brushed her hair back from her face and plunked one hand on her
hip, unconsciously emphasizing the sleek fit of her dress. “I have
to get to Memphis.”

Chase shrugged. “Your
boyfriend—” she glared at him “—got you off the hook with the car,
and technically you weren’t
driving
under the influence.” He struggled to keep a smile
in check. “And since your insurance will pay for the property
damage, I suppose you’re free to go.” Denial rushed through him,
making him want to snatch those last words back. He mentally cursed
himself again for the fool he was. Caroline Gregory had always been
his weakness.

She collected her purse
from the chair and Chase got another glimpse of one lacy black
garter as she leaned over. Hunger stirred in his gut. He crushed
it.
Engaged
, his
twisted mind repeated. Caroline and
Tristan
. Chase frowned. If they were
engaged, why would Caroline be rushing off to Memphis—apparently
without her fiancé’s knowledge? His gaze narrowed. Unless, the two
love birds had had themselves a little spat. His lawman instincts
hurdled into overdrive.
Maybe
, sweet little Caroline was
running out on Tristan, too. Chase’s frown relaxed into a faint
smile. So, big city life wasn’t so rosy after all.

“
I do wonder, though,” he
ventured aloud, some sadistic urge propelling him. “Exactly how are
you planning to get to Memphis? Do you have a friend coming to pick
you up?”

His question gave Caroline
pause. Her face puckered into a slight frown. “I’ll need to rent a
car I suppose.”

Chase shook his head slowly
from side to side, suppressing the grin that wanted to make an
appearance. “Lucy’s Branch still doesn’t have a car rental
agency.”

She rubbed her right temple
as if a headache had begun there. Good, Chase decided, she had damn
well given him one.

“
Zac could lend me
something from his daddy’s used car lot,” she suggested cautiously.
“He’s known me all my life. It’s not like I’m some...stranger.” She
blinked as if belatedly realizing the contraction in her
supposition.

“
Sorry.” Chase couldn’t
quite prevent the little surge of glee. “Mr. Phillips doesn’t do
that anymore. Insurance complications,” he explained when that
silvery gaze questioned his.

Those slim fingers stopped
massaging her temple and slipped down one soft cheek to tap those
full lips. Her pretty forehead creased with concern. Regrettably he
watched each move with frustrating fascination.

“
You said you had a friend
in Memphis,” he ventured nonchalantly. He was fishing and it
annoyed the hell out of him.

Caroline glanced at the
fancy watch on her left wrist. “Yes, but she’s on her way to
Nashville.” She chewed that plump lower lip a moment. “She won’t be
back until Monday.”

He could—No! He absolutely
would not do that, Chase ordered that damned cursed protective
inclination. But she looked so lost. He almost groaned. Before he
could stick his foot fully into his mouth and offer her a ride to
Memphis, the door to his office flew open.

“
Caroline
Gregory!”

Felix Reems rushed across
the room and threw his arms around her. He drew back from the
embrace and beamed at her. Caroline looked as surprised as Felix
looked overjoyed. Chase wondered briefly why the local real estate
tycoon would be so all fired tickled to see her again. Of course,
the whole town probably knew she was here by now. Julie McGill’s
mamma had likely already called the guests expected at this
afternoon’s wedding to give them the headline-making story behind
the cancellation.
The prodigal daughter
returns
. Chase shook his head. He could
hear the rumors now. And, unfortunately for him, he would be
connected to them all.

He might as well prepare
for the inevitable. He and Caroline had once been the town’s
favorite couple. He almost laughed out loud at the memory that
their senior year in high school the two of them had been voted the
couple most likely to marry and live happily ever after.

“
Right,” Chase grumbled
under his breath.

“
Look at you, little girl.”
Felix smiled widely, oblivious to Chase’s muttered sarcasm. “My,
my, how you’ve grown up on us.”

“
Thank you, Mr. Reems.”
Caroline’s smile looked a little dim. “It’s nice to see you,
too.”

Another “right” almost
launched from the tip of Chase’s tongue. Obviously Caroline was
just thrilled to be here and getting reacquainted with her
past.

“
I’m so glad you got my
message, dear,” Felix explained. “I was afraid I wouldn’t be able
to catch you before you got away on that honeymoon of
yours.”

Chase shifted in his
chair.
Honeymoon?
Was Caroline getting married right away? Why did that make any
difference to him? He forced his attention to the accident report
on his desk. This whole thing had nothing to do with him. Nothing,
he reiterated firmly as he signed off on Manning’s rendition of
this morning’s events. He would just ignore Caroline until she
left. Chase clenched his jaw. And she would leave.

Just like
before.

Caroline shook her head at
Felix’s words, confusion cluttering her weary mind. What on earth
was the man talking about? “I’m sorry, what message?”

“
Why the message I left on
your machine in St. Louis. I called the hospital, too. I’d just
about decided I’d missed you.” Felix literally wiggled with
excitement. “I have a very interested buyer for your grandmother’s
house.”

Caroline took a small step
back at his words. A dozen emotions flooded her at once. “But my
grandmother’s house isn’t for sale.” She blinked, once, twice, then
shook her head. “I’ve never considered selling.” Though she could
certainly have used the money back in med school, she couldn’t
bring herself to rent the place out to help with the upkeep, much
less sell it. She had simply closed the house, leaving everything
just as it was when her grandmother died.

Felix gently patted her
arm, drawing her attention back to him. “I know it’s a big
decision, Caroline.” As if sensing that her legs had gone unsteady
beneath her, he guided her back into the chair.

Caroline purposely kept her
gaze averted from Chase while Felix dragged a chair next to hers.
But there was no blocking the effects of Chase’s presence. Her
whole being reacted to his nearness as if nothing at all had
changed between them. But she had changed. Caroline stiffened her
spine. She was not the same person who grew up in this little town.
Nor was she the same foolish girl who fell head over heels in love
with Chase Garrett.

Caroline Gregory was all
grown up now, physically as well as emotionally. She was a
respected physician in a large hospital in a major metropolitan
area. She no longer needed the approval of the residents of Lucy’s
Branch. She had stopped needing anything this town had to offer
eight years ago.

“
I’m confident you have no
plans to return to Lucy’s Branch, and the house—” Felix sighed
dramatically “—well, without the proper attention it’s only going
to fall into ill repair. The signs of neglect are already visible.”
He shifted his attention to the sheriff. “Isn’t that right,
Chase?”

Chase’s head shot up. He
looked from Felix to Caroline, then back at Felix. “I haven’t
really noticed.” Disinterest loitered in his tone.

Ha! Caroline clamped down
on her lower lip to prevent the rebuttal from spewing past her
lips. Chase Garrett didn’t miss a thing. The Garrett men were known
for their keen attention to detail. Chase’s father used to laugh
and say that Garrett men were part bloodhound. A frown nagged at
her. Except for Slade. Chase’s younger brother had been as wild as
a buck, and about as opposite from the other Garrett men as humanly
possible. Slade had died young, and a rebel, but he had been her
friend. Caroline forced away the unpleasant memory. Felix was still
sputtering about upkeep and maintenance.

“
Oh, you know what I mean,
Chase,” Felix protested irritably. “Sure Caroline has the lawn
tended and she pays the taxes, but that’s not the same as really
taking care of a place.” He patted Caroline’s hand, smiling
affectionately. “That fine old place needs someone to live in it,
to love it and take care of it like your grandmother did. And it
offers everything my client is looking for,” he added with a sage
nod.