Going to the Chapel (7 page)

Chase lifted the fishing
poles from the back. “We’ll do better next time,” he assured the
disgusted seven-year-old.

Shane braced his hands on
his little hips and glared up at his daddy. “Why couldn’t we stay
till I caught somethin’? I wanted to give Dr. Caroline a fish so
she’d know I’m a big boy.”

Chase couldn’t help a
smile. When he was frustrated, the kid looked so much like Slade.
An old ache squeezed Chase’s heart. It didn’t seem possible that
Slade had been gone for eight years now. His brother’s death had
left Chase with a big hole in his life. Caroline’s subsequent and
abrupt departure had widened that gaping emptiness. But Chase had
survived. He smiled down at the boy he called his own. Shane filled
that void. Chase didn’t need anyone or anything else. He had his
son and his work. What else could a man want?

The image of Caroline
instantly filled his head, making a liar out of him.

“
Let’s see what Henri’s
made for lunch. You can tell Dr. Caroline all about the fishing
trip after that. She’ll know you’re a big boy whether you caught a
fish or not,” Chase promised.

Shane’s face brightened. “I
can tell’er how I kept havin’ to tell you everything twice,” he
said with obvious delight. “And how you nearly forgot our poles
when we left this mornin’. And I--” he patted his chest “--reminded
you. Can’t fish without poles.”

Chase suppressed a groan as
he watched Shane hightail it for the kitchen door. Chase had been
distracted all morning. He couldn’t keep his mind on fishing or
anything else. Thoughts of his reluctant houseguest kept him far
too preoccupied. He had promised himself that he would not allow
this very thing to happen. And look at him. He blew out a disgusted
breath. He was the one acting childish today. There was no way to
change the past. As much as Chase had loved Caroline, he wouldn’t
change what he had done for anything.

Marrying Tiffany had been
the right thing to do. Small towns in the south had not caught up
with the big cities. Having a child out of wedlock was still
frowned upon. There was no way in this world Chase would have left
Shane fatherless and a bastard.

No way.

Not even for
Caroline.

Chase found Shane, Henri
and Caroline in the parlor. The three were sitting Indian style on
the floor looking at the family photo albums. Another groan swelled
in Chase’s chest as he paused in the doorway.

Shane’s excited chatter
made him smile even if he couldn’t take his eyes off Caroline. Gone
was the sexy black dress. The jeans and the soft pink blouse made
her look more like the Caroline he’d known...and loved all those
years ago. All that thick black hair hung in a long braid down her
back. She still looked so young, nowhere near thirty. He wondered
if she’d lost even one wink of sleep over what could have
been.

The telephone conversation
he’d had with one Tristan Rodgers immediately leapt to mind.
Obviously, she had gotten over Chase long ago considering she was
engaged to Dr. Rodgers. Chase gritted his teeth. The thought of her
with another man shouldn’t bother him...but somehow it
did.

“
Is that you, Dr.
Caroline?”

Shane climbed right into
Caroline’s lap, picture in hand. She looked startled at first.
Chase held his breath. He could only imagine how seeing Shane made
her feel. She smiled and draped her arms around the child as she
studied the photograph he held. Chase relaxed.

“
That’s me,” she admitted.
“I can’t believe I was ever that...”

“
You gots big hair in this
picture,” Shane said.

Caroline laughed. “I sure
do. It was the style when I was in high school.”

“
Young man,” Henri
announced as she pushed to her feet. “We’d best be on our way if
we’re going to make that birthday party in time.”

Birthday party? Chase
frowned. What party?

“
Hooray! I love birfday
cake!” Shane shot out of Caroline’s lap and did a little dance
around her. “And we get hotdogs, too!”

Chase wandered into the
room. “There’s a birthday party today? Now?”

“
Josh Baker’s.” Henri
snagged Shane by the hand. “We’ll only be gone a few hours. I
didn’t think to mention it this morning.”

Chase nodded. “Well, I
could...ah...take him.”

Henri gave him a
conspiratorial wink. “I have to go.”

The frown lines deepened in
Chase’s brow. “You do?”

“
Aunt Henri’s the
magician!” Shane explained, hopping with excitement.

“
Have a good time
then.”

Chase watched them go
wishing like hell he was going with them. What was he supposed to
do now? Reluctantly he turned back to the only other person left in
the room. Caroline was still busy with the albums. He should say
something. Hello at the very least.

“
Oh, my God!” She stared at
the page she had just turned to. “I can’t believe you still have
these!”

Unable to resist, Chase
strode over to where she sat in the floor. He crouched down next to
her. Her sweet scent roused his senses with the first breath he
inhaled.

“
I had totally forgotten
about this hayride,” she murmured, her voice distant as if she were
lost in the memories.

As was usually the case
back then, he and Caroline were sitting side-by-side right smack in
the middle of the festivities. His arm was around her waist, both
hers were draped around his neck. And Slade was holding bunny ears
behind Chase’s head. Chase smiled. That would be the last time
either of them would ever see Slade that happy. Drugs had seen to
that.

Caroline traced the smiling
faces in the photograph. “Has it really been that long?”

Chase remembered. Caroline
had come home for the weekend. She’d started medical school in
Memphis. Chase had just been elected sheriff. They had their whole
futures mapped out...except for one small detail. She wanted to
leave Lucy’s Branch for a while. Just a little while, she had
insisted. To see the world. To make some memories before they
settled down into the rest of their lives. They had argued
vehemently about the whole notion. A few months later Slade had
died and Chase’s whole world had come crashing down around him.
Then it hadn’t mattered what anyone wanted, he had to do what he
had to do.

That duty had cost him the
only woman he’d ever loved.

Caroline closed the photo
album she held. “Well.” She forced a smile and reached to gather up
the strewn albums. “That was a nice walk down memory
lane.”

Her voice sounded tight.
Chase could feel her tension. His own had risen to an almost
intolerable level. As much as he hated to admit it, he wanted
simultaneously to hold her and to push her away. To make her see
that he’d done the right thing, and at the same time, to pretend he
didn’t care if she ever understood.

Instead of doing any of
those things, he stood. “I have to go to the office for a few
hours.” She looked up at him when he spoke. He could see the same
battle he fought taking place in her eyes. “If you need anything
you can give me a call.”

He turned and walked away
before she could respond. He wasn’t about to let even a glimmer of
the truth show. He would not allow Caroline to know the truth now,
after all these years. Because it wouldn’t change a thing. She
would still leave come Monday. And he would still want
her.

Nothing had
changed.

~*~

Caroline busied herself
with picking up the photos and albums and pretended not to notice
Chase was leaving. She blinked furiously to hold back the tears
welling in her eyes. Why did she have to be so sentimental?
Whatever she and Chase had once shared was gone. He’d cheated on
her. Married someone else. She shoved the albums back onto the
shelf where they belonged. It was ridiculous for her to have those
foolish thoughts for him now.

She hugged herself at the
remembered feel of holding Chase’s son in her arms. Another woman’s
child. The child that should have been hers.

Caroline squared her
shoulders and forced those thoughts away. Chase had no feelings
left for her, otherwise he wouldn’t have run for the hills the
moment they were alone. Anger shored up her crumbling resolve. She
wouldn’t be feeling any of this if Tristan hadn’t cheated. All she
had to do was get through the next forty hours or so and she could
get out of here. She would find a way to get to Dianne’s one way or
another. Zac could bring the Porsche to Memphis when he finished
the repairs. Caroline absolutely would not stay in Lucy’s Branch
one moment longer than necessary.

Like Chase, all she had to
do was find something to distract herself until the weekend
passed.

Julie!

Henri had told Caroline
that it was Julie’s wedding she had ruined by smashing into the
chapel. Caroline hurried across the room and plopped down on the
sofa. She opened the end table drawers until she found the
telephone book. A few seconds later she had Julie’s number. A night
out with the girls was what Caroline needed. She certainly didn’t
need Chase Garrett.

~*~

By dark Caroline was ready
for some girl time. She had met with Zac and gotten his estimate on
the car. If all the parts were readily available, and he wouldn’t
know for sure until Monday, he could probably have the Porsche
looking as good as new in two weeks. She’d been more than a little
depressed that she would have to wait two weeks. But there was
nothing she could do about that.

Her next step had been to
call Dianne at her hotel in Nashville. Unfortunately she wouldn’t
be back in Memphis for another week and a half. But she had
insisted that Caroline make herself at home anytime she was ready
to go on to Memphis. What should have been a ten-minute call had
stretched into an hour. Dianne threatened to hire a hit man to do
Tristan bodily harm. She, of course, felt certain that Caroline was
better off without the sleazebag. Caroline agreed. Though it still
hurt just a little—her pride more than anything else. Strange thing
was, the idea that it hurt mostly her pride proved a little
startling. How had she talked herself into spending the rest of her
life with a man who could hurt nothing more than her
pride?

That, she decided, was
entirely Chase Garrett’s fault. He had damaged her too
badly.

With that realization
ringing in her ears, Caroline had gone home. Or, at least, to the
house she used to call home. She didn’t go inside. She simply sat
on the front porch steps and reminisced about the past and her
sweet grandmother. She barely remembered her parents. They’d died
in an automobile accident when she’d been so young. But her
grandmother had stepped in and given her all the love a little girl
could ever want. Caroline couldn’t recall ever having felt as if
she’d missed something. Her grandmother and Henri had filled every
possible void.

Her grandmother was gone
and all she had left was the old house. Mr. Reems had been right.
The house looked sad. Empty and sad. As badly as she hated to, she
knew it was time to let go. The house was her only remaining tie to
Lucy’s Branch. Why not sever that hold once and for all?

Eventually she drove to
town, anything to avoid the Garrett place. She parked Chase’s old
truck in the parking lot in front of the pool hall and climbed out.
Julie had said she’d meet her here at eight. Caroline smoothed a
hand over her too short dress and dragged in a deep breath for
courage. The only clothes she had with her were her newly purchased
honeymoon wardrobe. The jeans she’d worn today were the lone ones
she’d packed. She would just have to make due with what she had. It
wasn’t as if it was a crime to wear a short dress. It just wasn’t
Caroline’s usual attire.

Especially not this short
and this red. She peered down at the matching red high heels and
chewed her lip. Maybe she’d better go back to Chase’s and
change.

“
Caroline!”

Julie wove through the
numerous vehicles and threw her arms around Caroline. “God, it’s
good to see you.”

Caroline hugged her friend.
“I can’t believe I let so much time pass.”

Julie drew back and studied
Caroline. “Girl, you look good.” She looked her up and down and
arched an eyebrow in speculation. “Are you looking to knock every
guy in this place for a loop?”

Caroline shook her head.
“It’s a long story. I’ll explain it later.”

“
You ought to know that I
can’t be racing across no parking lots,” a very pregnant, very
pretty young lady groused as she came up beside Julie. “I don’t
want to have this baby before Sonny gets home.”

Julie giggled. “Sorry.
Caroline, this is Sherry Lands. She’s new to Lucy’s Branch and a
very good friend. Sherry, this is my old pal—the one who
postponed
my
wedding.”

Caroline accepted the
newcomer’s brief embrace. “Any friend of Julie’s is a friend of
mine.”

“
Likewise.” Sherry assessed
Caroline. “Mercy, girl, you may start a riot in there. I don’t know
if I can stand the excitement.”