Going to the Chapel (5 page)

Recollections of the home
she had grown up in trickled through Caroline’s mind, whispers from
the past. She hardly remembered her parents. They had died when she
was very young. Her grandmother had served as both mother and
father, loving her as if Caroline had been her own child not merely
a grandchild from a son who rarely called much less visited. Though
raising a child at her age had been an unexpected burden personally
as well as financially, Colleen Gregory had never once complained.
She had simply loved Caroline like the daughter she never had. And
that house was all she’d had left to leave Caroline.

Caroline blinked away the
memories. “I don’t know, Mr. Reems, I—”

“
Don’t make a decision now,
girl.” Felix gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “Take a few days
to think about it. You’ll still be here on Monday won’t
you?”

The last of the starch
seeped out of Caroline’s resolve. “I’m not sure.” She shook her
head in weary confusion. Too much had happened entirely too
quickly. She suddenly felt like Dorothy after having landed in Oz.
As if she had been swept out of her comfortable life and into some
strange place where nothing was as it should be. Home, but not
where she belonged. Surrounded by friends, yet a stranger to those
around her. Now if she could only find the yellow brick road that
would take her to Dianne’s.

“
Of course, she’ll still be
here on Monday,” a familiar voice boomed from the still-open
door.

Caroline lifted her gaze to
meet the newest arrival to her Ozian adventure.
Henrietta
. Sweet, kind Henrietta.
Grandma Colleen’s oldest and dearest friend. A widow and with no
children of her own, Henrietta had claimed Caroline as a niece of
sorts. The caring woman had been Aunt Henri for as long as Caroline
could remember. Affection rushed through her chest, propelling her
to her feet. Firm, yet gentle arms engulfed her as they had
hundreds of times while she was growing up.

“
Sweet Jesus, little girl,
it’s good to see you,” Henri murmured against Caroline’s
hair.

For the first time in eight
years, Caroline wanted to cry. To cry for the loss of her parents,
for being an only child, for God taking away her grandmother when
Caroline still needed her so. And for Chase. Caroline closed her
eyes and forced the pain and tears to retreat. She couldn’t do this
now. She simply could not break down like this in front of
him.

“
It’s really good to see
you, too, Aunt Henri,” Caroline whispered. She drew back and looked
into the dark eyes of the last remaining soul on earth she could
even come close to calling family. Churning emotions made her weak
with regret. “I’m sorry it’s been so long. I should have
called.”

Henri smiled, the beauty of
it peeked past the marring lines of age. “Yes, child, you should
have.” She pulled Caroline against her once more. “But you’re here
now.” Keeping one arm around Caroline’s shoulders, Aunt Henri
turned to Felix. “Leave the girl be and give her some time to
think, Felix,” she scolded. “Can’t you see our Caroline’s been
through an ordeal? She’ll give you an answer on Monday.” Henri gave
Caroline’s shoulders a loving squeeze.

“
I’ll call on you on Monday
then, Caroline,” Felix offered, visibly deflated that he couldn’t
have his answer sooner.

“
Come on over to our place
for breakfast Monday morning,” Henri piped up. She smiled at
Caroline. “Our little girl certainly can’t stay at Colleen’s old
place. There’s no electricity or water service. She’ll be staying
the weekend with us.”

Us? Caroline wondered.
Behind her, Caroline heard Chase groan. Us? That couldn’t
mean...

Caroline’s eyes widened in
disbelief.

No way
.

Chapter Three

Caroline took a slow,
calming breath as Chase braked his Jeep Wrangler to a stop in front
of the two-story home in which the Garrett family had lived for
five generations.

Pristine white siding with
classic black shutters dressed the exterior. An array of blooming
flowers and shrubbery decorated the wide verandah as well as the
landscape. Brimming, green ferns hung in strategic locations for
eye-pleasing appeal. Pretty clay pots of begonias and impatiens sat
here and there, showing off their vibrant colors. Wicker chairs
lined the shaded verandah, and a wide, matching swing hung across
the far end. Thick, striped cushions boasted an almost irresistible
invitation to sit a spell. Caroline remembered spending lazy summer
afternoons in that swing sipping lemonade.

She shook off the lingering
nostalgia. When, she wondered, had Henri moved into Chase’s home?
Henri had lived alone on her family farm forever. Maybe alone was
the key word here. Henri had always appeared so happy and full of
life to Caroline. But time changed everything. Maybe Henri simply
got lonely after losing Colleen.
And
me
. Regret mounted a little
steeper.

Still reeling from the
morning’s harrowing experiences as well as the previous night’s
life-altering event, Caroline slowly surveyed the lovely old house
nestled against the backdrop of trees. An all too familiar sense of
home settled over her. Treasured moments from the past flooded her
consciousness. Words and deeds meant to last a lifetime, but
somehow falling short, whispered through her mind.

Everything looked the same,
as if nothing had changed. Only her heart...her trust...her whole
life...

She couldn’t do
this.

“
I can’t do this,” she
heard herself say, her voice uncertain. She shook her head. This
house had been like a second home to her. She had been in love with
Chase Garrett since she was twelve years old. His brother Slade,
and Caroline’s best friend, had been the first to tell Chase after
she confided in him.

“
This is
insane.”

Beside her, Chase heaved a
breath. “Look, I don’t like this any more than you do.” His voice
was tight, his words forced. “But arguing with Henri is useless.
She’s not going to have it any other way. Besides, there isn’t a
hotel for at least forty miles in any direction. We’ll just have to
deal with it until you’re out of here.”

Anger slammed into
Caroline, driven by his sharply spoken words. She turned to face
him and feigned an accommodating smile. “Well, don’t worry, Chase.
I’ll be sure to stay out of your way. And Monday won’t come soon
enough to suit me.”

Those blue eyes blazed with
a barely checked rage of their own. “Knowing you, you’ll probably
take off before Monday.” A muscle jumped in his handsome
jaw.

Dumbstruck with equal
measures rage and dismay, Caroline could only watch as he hopped
out of the Jeep. In her peripheral vision she watched him reach
into the back and grab her suitcase. Seething, she resolved to find
some way out of this mess. Did any of her old friends still live
here? There had to be someone she could call.

Mr. Hadley, the gentleman
who took care of her grandmother’s yard, would know. After all, he
was the one who told her about Chase’s divorce less than one year
after his marriage. Caroline had pretended not to care at the time,
but she had. Later that same year Mr. Hadley had been the one to
inform her that Chase’s parents had retired to Florida, and that
Chase was left all alone to raise his infant son.

The memory of Slade’s death
had simply been too painful for the older Garretts to stay in
Lucy’s Branch, she supposed. And Mr. Hadley apparently thought
Caroline wanted to stay on top of the local news. Each time she
touched base with him, he related some tidbit of information,
mostly about Chase. As time passed, she conducted business with the
well-meaning broadcaster by mail. Lucy’s Branch represented the
past and Caroline was not looking back.

Then or now.

Drawing back to the
present, she realized Chase was watching her. She had no idea how
long he had been standing next to her door, his hand extended and
waiting to help her from the Jeep.

“
Sorry,” she murmured with
as much contrition as she could marshal. She sent a skeptical
glance at the ground several feet below. Knowing she would never
get out of the blasted Jeep on her own without showing the naughty
lingerie she had foolishly donned last evening, she reluctantly
accepted his offered hand. A callused palm and long fingers closed
around hers, butterflies immediately took flight in her empty
stomach. She silently swore. Things just kept getting better and
better.

Cautiously, she eased one
leg toward the ground and the hem of her dress rushed to the top of
her thigh, displaying her pre-wedding night garter. Jerking her leg
back as well as her hand, she quickly smoothed the silky material
down to cover the lacy reminder of her broken engagement. She
glared at Chase. “Just—” she shooed him away with her hand “—turn
around and I’ll figure this out.”

Chase rolled his eyes and
promptly gave her his back. He dropped her Louis Vuitton bag in the
dirt and crossed his arms over his chest, then muttered something
under his breath. Caroline didn’t quite make it out, but she felt
relatively certain that it wasn’t pleasant.

Summoning to mind a dozen
crude adjectives that appropriately described him, she slid to the
edge of the seat. She tugged her too-short dress back down and
wondered why men had such a fetish with “big.” There was absolutely
no reasonable explanation for the size of the tires on this stupid
vehicle. Taking a deep breath, she resigned herself to jumping. The
worst that could happen was a broken leg, a fractured ankle, maybe.
She appraised her black stiletto heels. Definitely a twisted ankle.
Probably worse.

She couldn’t
jump.

Swearing softly, she
extended her right leg toward the ground. Anchoring her left foot
with one ridiculously spiked heel, she clutched the open door and
eased her bottom from the seat. The heel snapped and she almost
pitched face first into the dirt. With a curse and shriek she
clawed her way back onto the seat.

Arms still crossed over his
mile-wide chest, Chase turned to face her. She scrambled to jerk
her dress back to a decent level. “I wasn’t finished yet.” Heat
flagged her cheeks.

“
Oh, yes, you
are.”

Caroline drew back when he
advanced the two steps necessary to invade her space. “What are you
doing?”

His gaze never leaving
hers, he grabbed her firmly by the waist and lifted her off the
seat. Startled, Caroline gripped his shoulders for support. “Put me
down!”

“
Gladly.” He lowered her
feet to the ground, but didn’t release her. Something she couldn’t
quite label held her still when she should have struggled. Whether
it was the feel of his wide hands on her waist or the undeniable
spark of desire in his blue gaze she couldn’t say for sure. She
only knew that she couldn’t move.

After what felt like half
an eternity, he spoke. “Why did you come back here, Caroline?” His
voice was low and rough, filled with the same emotions clutching at
her own defenses.

It was a mistake, she
wanted to shout. She hadn’t meant to take this particular road.
Hadn’t meant to crash into the chapel. Had she? Caroline gave her
head a little shake of denial. She did not belong here. She hadn’t
belonged here in a very long time. Not since...

Indignant, she pushed out
of his arms and stepped back, staggering a bit on the broken heel.
“It’s a free country.” She smoothed her clammy palms over her
dress. “I don’t have to have an explanation for being here.” She
waved her arms magnanimously. “But this is your home. If my being
here bothers you somehow, then I’ll walk back to town. I’m sure I
can find someplace to stay.” Caroline straightened her shoulders,
drawing up to the full height allowed by the one intact
heel.

Chase’s square jaw
tightened, a muscle ticked in protest. “Why would anything about
you bother me?”

Caroline lifted her chin in
defiance, emotions teetering precariously between outrage and
desire. She would not allow him to see how he affected her. “I
don’t know, Chase. You just seem a little tense, that’s
all.”

“
Trust me, Caroline. It
doesn’t have a damned thing to do with you.” He pivoted, snagged
her suitcase and strode toward the house, leaving her to do as she
pleased.

Seeing red, but determined
not to be outdone by the past, Caroline hobbled after him. Aunt
Henri had invited her here. And Caroline wasn’t going to disappoint
Henri again. As she started up the flagstone walk, the front door
opened and a small boy with curly, raven-colored hair flew across
the verandah and down the steps.

“
Daddy! Daddy!”

Chase abandoned Caroline’s
bag on the walk and crouched down to receive the little boy’s
enthusiastic hug. “How’s my boy?”

Chase’s
son
. Mr. Hadley had told her the child was
a boy. Caroline swallowed the unbidden envy constricting her
throat. The expression of love on Chase’s face tugged at something
deep inside her. She wanted to close her eyes against the scene
before her, but couldn’t. She had to look. To see the fruits of
Chase’s short-lived marriage to another woman.