Second Chance Cowboy (22 page)

“
Don’t use that for an
excuse.” Lila shook her head.

Carly knew she’d acted like a foolish,
emotional woman since she left the Swift Wind, but she was
lost.

Her memories had returned. But
unfortunately, she wasn’t content. She couldn’t deny that while
living back at the Swift Wind, her happiness with Chance had been
profound. She’d been unaware of the pain that tormented her for so
long.

Now, at the McAllister, with her
father gone, and the house so quiet, she was reminded how bitter
she was before the amnesia.

Her father’s letter explained why he
asked Chance to keep the truth from her. Her father thought this
was an opportunity for her happiness.

“
I don’t think he’s going
to give up, Carly. He loves you. And you, honey, love him. Admit it
or not,” Lila said with a soft smile.

Carly took a long sip of water,
swallowed, and said in a whisper. “I won’t deny it.” What was the
use?

“
Then why? Why deny
happiness?”

“
I’m scared, Lila. I
trusted the fact that Chance and I had a perfect, solid
relationship. I never would have believed that tragedy would befall
us. Look what trust got me. I can’t go through the pain
again.”

“
And sitting here every
day, crying, beating yourself up emotionally, isn’t painful? In any
relationship, there’s a risk for heartache or unhappiness, but what
would life be if people stopped taking chances? Life isn’t worth
living without taking the risks on happiness.” She ran her eyes
down Carly’s nightgown. “Have you even changed in the last two
weeks?” Her nose wrinkled. “You may try dressing in something
besides sleep attire.”

Carly soaked in her friend’s every
word. She missed Chance. She loved him. Yet fear kept her harbored
at the McAllister. She knew she’d hid away like a criminal. “Our
marriage failing wasn’t entirely my fault. Chance did give up. He
gave up on me. When Devon died, he expected me to move forward at
his pace. He couldn’t understand that I couldn’t…I couldn’t
manage.”

“
Did you try telling him
how you felt?”

No, she hadn’t. Not really. “And
shouldn’t you be looking in the mirror?” Carly bit back.

Lila didn’t seem the least bit
offended. In fact, she smiled broadly. “Okay, this is where you
turn the table and take the heat off yourself and direct it at me.
If it’ll make you feel better about yourself, shoot. Critique me,
but you must handle the same reality check.”

Carly’s back stiffened. She loved her
friend, but it seemed they both were in denial. “You still love
Duke. You can’t handle a sex-only relationship, and you know it.
Duke is all but falling at your feet professing his love. So why
can’t you find it in your heart to forgive him?”

“
One, Duke and I were never
married. Two, Duke and I didn’t have a child, and lose a child,
together. Three, Duke and I aren’t pregnant together. Four, Duke
doesn’t deserve my trust after he threw it away and stomped on it
like dirt.” Her eyes turned shiny and intense. “Shall I
continue?”

Carly looked at her with great
compassion. “You still love him?”

Lila’s features softened. “More than
ever. But honey, Duke and I are at different points in our life
than you and Chance. Duke isn’t ready for a commitment, although he
may think he is. Chance has been committed to you since that
evening at the charity event when you spilled wine down his suit.
Are you ready, deep down ready, to throw all this away?”

Lila’s eyes bore into Carly. “Ask
yourself one question, can you see yourself with anyone else? Can
you be happy for Chance if he is with someone else? If you answered
no to either of those questions, you need to seriously get off your
skinny ass and fight for your husband.”

Carly gulped air. A thought of Leslie
needled its way into her mind. A rush of white-hot anger boiled her
blood. She’d never accept Chance with another woman.

“
Chance isn’t my husband
any longer, remember?”

Lila giggled. “I see you have two ways
of looking at this. One, you can consent to his courting you,
longer than a week this time round. But you better hurry.” Her eyes
fell to her stomach in implication. “Townspeople will have a field
day with rumors of Chance Taylor dating a pregnant woman, even if
it’s his baby. Or two, get your revenge against him for his past
faults by splurging on a second wedding. This time indulge on the
glitz and glamour instead of having a few friends and family over
for a ceremonial picnic. The man can afford an expensive wedding,
make him pay up.” She winked in good intention.

Carly laughed and it hurt her cheeks.
“How do I know he hasn’t given up? He hasn’t stopped by once in the
last four days.”

“
Trust me, Carly. The man
has suffered. Duke said if you don’t come back soon he’s going to
quit the ranch and leave Chance and his attitude. Chance is driving
everyone crazy with his asshole expectations. You know how uptight
he can get when the two of you have an argument.” Lila laughed, but
then she became serious. “I know something and I’m not supposed to
tell you.”

Carly lifted a brow. “And you’re going
to tell me, right?”

Lila sighed and flipped her long hair
over one shoulder. “Of course. I can’t resist.” She saddled up
close to Carly, readying herself to let loose a juicy secret.
“Chance had one of the bedrooms made into a nursery for the new
baby. Duke said he bought furniture and had the walls painted the
color—”

Carly jumped up. “No, don’t tell me.
This can’t happen.”

“
What?”

“
Chance picking out the
color of our baby’s nursery. Oh no.” Carly paced the room in dread.
“Last time he picked out colors for the walls it was God-awful. I
had to have the place repainted. The man has no color coordination,
not even in the slightest.”

Lila bit back her laughter. “What are
you going to do? I guess you could build a nursery here at the
McAllister. It would be the color and decoration you like. I mean,
after all, if you and Chance raise this baby separately, he’ll have
her or him every other weekend, if not more.”

Carly twisted around in horror. “I
don’t think I’ve even thought about how difficult this could be for
our child. Having two homes, two separated parents, parents who
every time they see each other will be jumping each other’s bones
because they can’t keep their hands off one another.”

“
Yeah, poor kid. No kid
wants to believe their mom and dad still have hanky-panky.” She
wriggled in disgust at the thought. “My mom and dad quit having sex
the day I was conceived. You’ll have the kid traumatized before it
can talk.”

“
I don’t want to be without
him, Lila. I love him.” She started toward the door. “I’ve got to
go.”

“
Go where?”

“
To win back my cowboy.”
She stopped and turned back toward Lila, offering her a wide,
grateful smile. “Thank you, Lila. I owe you one.”

“
Don’t mention it.” She
said with a wave of her hand. “But you might want to put some
clothes on and take a shower—” Her words filled the empty room.
Carly was long gone.

* * * *

Chance raced up toward the house and
saw Carly’s car. Lila called his cell and told him to get his ass
home right away because a surprise waited.

He rushed through the door so fast he
almost tore the screen door from the hinges. His heart slammed like
a heavy metal tune against his ribs. He rushed up the stairs two at
a time. When he made it to the top floor, he panted, more from
nerves than the struggle of climbing the stairs.

His mind tussled with the fact that
she was there. Was she ready to pick another fight? Or had she come
to work things out?

He ran down the hallway peering
through each open door into empty rooms. He finally came to the
last one on the right.

Carly stood in the middle of the new
nursery holding the framed picture he placed on the white dresser.
It was a picture of the two of them taken at the Fourth of July
picnic. It was his favorite. She smiled sweetly in the photo and
his eyes were on her. “Carly.”

She spun around, her eyes glazed with
tears. “Oh, Chance.”

He stepped toward her, close enough
that he could reach out and slide his arm around her waist. But he
didn’t touch her. He couldn’t pressure her. He was afraid that
she’d run again.

“
You like the room?” he
asked, scratching the five o’clock shadow on his chin.

“
Chance, it’s
perfect.”

“
Can’t take all the credit,
I’m afraid,” he said humbly.

“
You had help?” She lifted
a brow.

“
Lila gave me some hints on
the colors and decorations you would like for the baby. She led me
in the right direction and I took off.” He shoved his hands into
his pockets.

Carly laughed.

His gaze dropped leisurely over her
attire. “Nice outfit.” She looked beautiful. Her hair tousled
around her face, her eyes were bright and her cheeks were rosy,
making her look lovelier if possible. The gown clung to her slender
body, giving service to full breasts and rounded hips. Even the
flip-flops on her feet did wonders for him.

She slid her hands over the thin
cotton gown. “I didn’t have a chance to change.”

“
I’m not complaining.” He
ached to touch her. Two weeks was a long time to a starving man. He
held back. “Why are you here, Carly? I need to know. Is it only to
see the nursery?”

“
I’ve been stubborn,
Chance. I needed time to come to grips with it all. I hope that you
can forgive me for pushing you away.”

“
There’s nothing to
forgive. But you have to tell me what you want. I need to know that
you won’t run away again.”

She moistened her lips. “I want you,
Chance. I’ve always wanted you.”

He remained still. “For a month, for
years or a lifetime? What’s it going to be, Carly?”

“
Forever.”

“
What if—” He had a
difficult time continuing. “—what if something painful happens
again? Will you still want forever? Or will you push me
away?”

She answered without hesitation. “I
will never run again. No matter what happens, it’s you and
me.”

He moved closer. His hands remained
tucked into his pockets. “I need to tell you everything. There
should never be any secrets between us.”

Carly opened her mouth and he stopped
her.

“
I need to finish. Leslie
and I are not lovers and we’ve never been. I cried on her shoulder
many an evening, but that’s it. While we were married, I used to
hang out at Maloney’s a lot but very seldom did I indulge in more
than one drink. I sulked in my misery.”

He pulled his hands out of his pockets
and crossed his arms. “I went along with this scheme to allow you
to believe we were still married because I still loved you. I saw
this as my opportunity to have you in my life, to prove that we
belong together. Call me a liar if you choose, but I’m a loyal,
honest liar.”

She smiled. “I understand. My father
pulled you into the plan and even I realize he had good intentions.
He told me the truth in the letter. I guess he needed to clear his
conscience in case something happened.” Her eyes flashed with
pain.

“
I didn’t have to go along
with the plan. I could have done the right thing, but I chose to do
what I thought was best.”

She stepped toward him, covering his
lips with her forefinger. “You did the right thing. You proved to
me that no matter what, I will love you.”

“
Can you forgive me for the
wrongs I’ve committed?”

“
There’s nothing to
forgive, remember?” She dropped her hand to her side. “Now I have a
confession.”

“
That you are crazy over me
and can’t live another day without me in your life?” His eyes
twinkled in mischief.

“
That’s true, but there’s
something else. Chris Whitfield and I were never an item. When I
decided to file for divorce, I needed something, or someone, to
prove to you that I moved on in case you decided to fight the
proceedings. I knew all it took was to ask him to stop by on
occasion at the McAllister, take me to dinner once in awhile, and
people would start talking and it would get back to you that Chris
and I was an item.”

“
Chris went along with
this?”

She smiled. “Chris became a good
friend, and that’s all. Father didn’t even know the truth, that is,
until he approached poor Chris after I fell. In the letter, Father
told me that Chris told him the truth about our friendship and he
took Father upon his offer of an all-expense-paid trip to Hawaii.
Not that Chris needed an all-expense-paid trip. But he’s rich
because he knows good deals when he hears them.”

“
Did you speak to the man
and tell him it’s safe to come home?”

She nodded. “I did. I’m afraid he
won’t be coming back to Shelby. He met someone in Hawaii and she
took him back to her hometown in Colorado, and he’s asked her to
marry him.”