Lies of the Heart (23 page)

“Did not.”

“Did so.”

Witnessing the exchange, Chance thought he was watching two little girls playfully bickering with each other. He shook his head, wondering if he were hearing correctly.

“Gabe said I did,” Mrs. W. said, her words pelting Chance with what they revealed.

Gran snorted. “Hah! What did he know back then anyway? He was too drunk to know anything.”

“Not all the time, Missy.” Mrs. W. thrust her shoulders out one at a time as if taunting his grandmother.

Shock rained down on Chance like icy drops of water plopping down his spine.
No, it can’t be.
Then realization hit him. The feud must have started with them, not long before as he’d always been told. What could have happened to cause the huge, gaping rift?

“That’s right, I got him sobered up, didn’t I?”

“And how many years did that take, huh?” Even from here, with her back slightly turned to him, Chance could imagine the lift of Mrs. W.’s brow offered along with the question.

That did it; his grandmother gripped the arms of her chair and glared at the other woman. “You always have to be nasty, don’t you? That was always your problem and still is for that matter.” She threw up a hand, saying, “That’s why you’re in this predicament. No nurse to care for you because you fired her and the one before her. And you’ve gone and shoved your granddaughter away, too. What a miserable old woman you’ve turned out to be.”

Heavy silence filled the air, the tension building as Mrs. W. glared at his grandmother. Then Chance thought he saw Mrs. W.’s chin wobble, but he couldn’t swear to it.

“Well, you think you’re so much better than the rest of us. Why your grandson rushed out of town as fast as he could the moment he graduated and didn’t come back ’til now. Did that show he cared a hoot about you?”

Chance cringed inwardly at that.

“He cares.” The conviction in her words warmed Chance’s heart. She didn’t feel he’d tossed her aside.

“Hah! My Tessa stayed and devoted her whole life to me.”

“You mean you kept her in prison until Chance came along.”

“Don’t start with that, Della.”

“I’ll start and finish it if I have to, old woman. That girl has been kowtowing to you all her life because you made her feel you’d done her a favor by taking her in and raising her and she had to repay you. It turns out she has, in blood. If you ask me, she’d have been a lot better off if you’d have let the state take her in.”

The shocked gasp rent the air. “How dare you! Why I sacrificed everything I had for that girl.”

“Including your husband.”

Stunned silence hung in the air. Mrs. W. pressed her lips tightly together and clasped her hands in her lap. “Leave, this moment,” she bit out between gritted teeth.

“Will not.”

“Will so.”

“Make me, Theresa.” His grandmother leaned back in her chair, folding her arms across her chest and smiled smugly at the other woman.

“Bitch!”

“Royal bitch.”

At that, the unthinkable happened; they burst out into hearty laughter. Another ripple of stunned wonder raced over Chance. He couldn’t be dreaming this, could he?

Grabbing a nearby hanky, Mrs. W. dapped at the corners of her eyes. “Oh, that was just like old times, wasn’t it?”

“Yes and deedy.” His gran swiped the moisture from her eyes. “We had some good times, didn’t we? Hey, remember how Violet used to wear those god-awful clothes to school and thought they were the cat’s meow?”

So they’d gone to school together, that made sense.
He didn’t know why, but he’d never considered that before.

“She still does.” Mrs. W. fluffed up her silvery hair and threw out her left shoulder. “And pranced around like she’s Queen Sheba to boot.”

A mental picture of Mrs. Baker flashed through Chance’s mind. He grinned at that, thinking the woman hadn’t changed one iota.

Suddenly animated, Chance’s grandmother waved her hands and sat forward. “Oh, Theresa, you haven’t heard the latest.”

“Now don’t keep me in suspense like you used to. Spill it, Del.”

“She’s gone and snagged old man Saunders!”

She gasped loudly. “No! It can’t be. Why his wife hasn’t been cold for, what, six weeks?”

“Five, but who’s counting?”

“We are.”

They giggled like schoolgirls then, carrying on like all the years of animosity never happened.

Watching them, Chance glimpsed a side of both of them he’d never imagined. Something warm filled his heart at the way they bickered, and then made up like two old friends. Hope sprang in Chance’s being. If he could just figure out what had started it all he could end this feud once and for all.

As his thoughts spun in his head, Chance half-listened as they continued to gossip like two magpies. His grandmother cracked a joke about someone in town and they laughed. Chance joined in.

The women cried out, twirling to face him standing just outside the door. Shocked features soon turned into angry ones directed at him.

Caught, red-handed.
He swallowed hard, and then said, “Hello, ladies.”

“Chance Deveraux, how long have you been standing there?” Mrs. W. asked with fire in her eyes.

“Long enough.”

The two women said in unison, “You dog, you.”

“I prefer devil to dog, ladies.” He grinned wickedly and they scowled deeper. “So, why don’t you two tell me about this feud we’re all having?”

“Tessa, wake up, will you?” Chance shook her gently, and then when she didn’t so much as twitch, he shook a tad harder. This time she moaned in her sleep. “Come on, you gotta hear this. You’re not going to believe what I just witnessed.”

“Go away, Chance, I have to get up early tomorrow.” She tugged the covers up higher, tucking them under her chin.

“Oh, no, you don’t,” he said, whipping the blankets off of her. “I can’t hold this one in until the morning.”

She swatted at his hands as he nudged her arm once again. “Anything can wait.”

“Not this, sunshine.” His patience, as little as he had, finally vanished. “Guess who I found with your granny tonight?” He didn’t let her answer. “My grandmother.”

Tessa sat up quickly, banging her forehead with his. “Ouch.”

“Damn.” He swore he saw stars for a moment. Sitting there, he rubbed his sore spot while she did the same to hers.

“Are you serious about our grannies or was that just a way to wake me up?”

Excitement bubbled inside him as he tried to fathom his earlier discovery. He jumped up off the edge of the bed, and began pacing back and forth. “It’s real. I would have never thought so the way those two went at it at our wedding, but, man, you should have seen it.”

She’d woken up fully and now sat on her knees on the bed, following his every move. “Tell me everything, don’t leave out one teeny tiny bit.” Her voice rose as in glee and cupped her hands over her mouth to contain a giggle.

He halted for a second to just stare at the incredibly sexy picture she made with her red hair tousled around shoulders, her green eyes sparkling, and the pink flush from sleep still on her cheeks. Something electrical, he thought, zapped through him and captured his heart along the way. Sucking in a sharp breath, he shook his head in denial
. No, it can’t be. I can’t be falling in love with her, not now.

“Yes, tell me now or I’ll have to shake it out of you.”

She’d mistaken the shake of his head for an answer. Gulping hard, he cleared his throat and tried to focus on the events of just an hour ago. But in the back of his mind he was trying to deal with the shock of his own personal admission.

Like a trooper, he brushed aside the troublesome idea of loving, truly, unconditionally loving, Tessa. “Well, I just couldn’t park my truck in her driveway, you know, so I parked down the street some…” He went on with his story, attempting to bring it to life for her so she could see the scene unfolding right before her. Nearly a half-hour later, he summed it up. “I had to ask them about the feud, but I didn’t figure I’d get an answer to that one, but I had to give it a shot, didn’t I?”

She shrieked in delight. “Isn’t this great? If they were friends once, and it seems so, then they can be friends again.” She crawled out of bed and caught him by the arms, dancing him around in a circle. “And if they can be friends, then we can be, too, at least out in the open, right? Then husband and wife in the open.”

Her enthusiasm was infectious, making him hope, for a brief second, that all could be as she imagined. But her wide smile tugged at his heart when he realized how impossible it would be for him. He still couldn’t be anyone’s long-term husband, especially not hers. Sometime, somehow he’d screw up. Old habits died hard. He couldn’t stay long enough for her to begin to hate him; that would cost him his soul if Tessa ever despised him.

Gathering her close to him, he hugged her tight. What he pushed away moments ago, he finally acknowledged and never could before.
God, I love this woman, heart and soul.

***

With his mind occupied with thoughts of Tessa, Chance tried to go about business as usual. He could wing it most days, but, like today, his heart was heavy. He knew, the more they came together and united the worst the parting would be in the end. How could this happen after all these years of wanting her and aching for her to be closer? He shook his head, trying to dislodge the horrible thought of hurting her eventually, and then having to leave her. This time for good.

“There you are,” Walter said as Chance rounded the corner to the bar.

“Been looking for me?” He punched in a few numbered codes into the cash register. Pulling out a pencil from behind his ear, he tapped it on the counter as he waited for the machine to spew out the required tape reading.

Walter pointed a beefy finger at the pile of pink message slips tucked near the register. “Some boy’s been calling all morning for you.”

Frowning, Chance stopped his drumming and picked up the papers. “Did he leave a name?” He flipped through each one, growing curious. He stilled at the last, the phone number all too familiar.

“Said you’d know who it was.”

“Rehab?” Chance barely got the word out of his suddenly dry throat, all his attention focused on something other than his wife for once. Glancing quickly at Walter, he asked, “Boy, you said? About how old?” The shrug he received had frustration welling in his belly.

“Don’t know for sure. All kids sound the same to me.”

Pulling at straws, he asked, “’Bout my age, would you say?”

“Nope. Younger for sure.”

Chance blew out a lusty breath, trying to sort it all out. Who did he know in rehab that young who’d call him here, who would even know this number? “There’s only one way to find out, I guess,” he said to himself as he walked away, patting Walter on the shoulder. “Thanks, old man.”

He grunted in reply.

Once settled in his office, Chance stared at the phone, his palms sweating. That was a lifetime ago for him. The dorm-like, Spartan rooms, hours of group therapy, one-on-one counseling, and then agonizing withdrawal symptoms had imprinted themselves on his mind. It had been the hardest six weeks of his life. But he’d made it and never looked back. Now, he had to step back, if only for a phone call, and delve into that existence.

He wiped his hands on his jeans and reached for the receiver. With a shaky finger he punched out the number, thinking how granddad used to call him every week to bolster his spirits.

“Riverside Recovery, may I help you?” the cheery female voice asked.

He cleared his throat. “I sure hope so. I got a message from this number.” He grabbed at the last slip Walter had written on, glancing at the time listed. “About an hour ago. Let’s see, it says Vernon on it.” He chuckled uncomfortably. “I guess that doesn’t give you much to go by.”

“Oh, but it does. That’s got to be Doctor Vernon. I’ll connect you right away.” She put him on hold before he could say another word.

Little droplets of perspiration gathered on his neck. He rubbed them away.

“Vernon, here, how can I help you?” The guy’s voice seemed to rip through Chance.

“Yes. I’m Chance Deveraux.”

“Oh, Mr. Deveraux, I’m so happy that you called. I have someone who wishes to speak with you.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You will. Hold on.”

Chance heard murmurings in the background as the phone was shifted from one person to another.

A second later, a young man choked out, “Hello, Uncle Chance.”

His stomach dropped and he gripped the edge of the desk. Closing his eyes, he clamped down on the well of tears rushing up from the deepest part of him. “Leo,” he said hoarsely.

“You remember.”

“How could I ever forget?” His heart thumped a mile a minute. Inside he screamed over and over again.
I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.

The kid on the other end let out a deep, shaky breath, and then said, “I don’t know where to start.”

“Me, either.”

“I’ve been messed up for a while.”

“Since I killed your dad,” Chance said, pain vibrating in every word. The memory of that night on his motorcycle rushed back to him: The rain slick road, the crash, the sound of metal, and the screams from his best friend haunted him even today.

“Yeah, but I wasn’t so good before then either, to tell you the truth.”

That brought Chance back to the moment. “You didn’t have such a fair shake with your mom deserting you and all.” He kicked himself mentally for bringing that up.

Another heavy breath came rolling through the wires. “Nope. I went looking for her, you know, after dad died. She was so wasted. Even had a couple more rug rats. Man, I felt sorry for those kids. They were so dirty and picking at the dog’s food. I guess she hadn’t fed them that day.”

Chance cursed under his breath.

“Yeah, tell me about it. I went and got the little ones some fast food stuff and you should have seen them gobble it up. I booked outta there after that and stopped at the first pay phone I could find. I turned her in.”

“Good for you. You helped those kids out.”