Taken Home (Lone Star Burn) (5 page)

Chapter Five

Two weeks later, Chelle was sitting with Sarah and Melanie in Sarah’s living room. It was the second time that week she’d been invited over for lunch. The discussion the last time had been mostly about the Hawaiian honeymoon Sarah and Tony had just returned from and the little they had actually seen outside their presidential suite. Both Melanie and Sarah looked like they were bursting to tell her something.

Could one of them be pregnant?

Did Melanie and Charles pick a date?

Chelle had done some serious reflecting since her freak-out at Sarah’s wedding. She refused to be the kind of person who couldn’t be happy for her friends just because they were in a better place than she was. In that spirit, she smiled and asked, “I can’t take it anymore. Spill whatever it is you two are sitting on.”

Sarah clasped her hands on her lap. “I spoke to Josie. She said you had gone to her travel agency and picked up some brochures last week, but she hadn’t heard from you since.”

Chelle’s smile faltered. That wasn’t at all what she’d expected her to say. “I’ve been busy.”

Melanie leaned forward, and her skepticism was obvious. “Is that all it is?”

Chelle looked away and shrugged, not comfortable with sharing what she didn’t want to admit even to herself. “Sure. You were right. I do want to travel. I just haven’t had time to decide where I want to go.”

Sarah reached behind a cushion on her couch and pulled out a small gift-wrapped box. “I was hoping you’d say that.” She held the box out to Chelle. “I made this for you, but before you open it, I want you to promise me something.”

Chelle took the gift and held it on her lap while watching her two friends cautiously. “I’ve never gotten a gift that came with conditions before.”

Sarah’s smile widened. “Then today is your lucky day.”

Melanie nodded toward the box. “Sarah made it, but I have to admit I like the idea.”

Chelle lifted the gift and shook it. The contents sounded like pieces of cardboard sliding back and forth. As her curiosity grew, she started to unwrap it, but Sarah quickly placed her hand on it to stop her.

“First, you have to promise to use it.”

Looking back and forth between Sarah and Melanie, Chelle said, “How can I do that before I know what it is?”

Melanie shared a look with Sarah.

Sarah waved a hand at the still-unopened gift. “Do you trust us?”

Chelle thought about how good both of them had been to her. Sarah had been open and kind since the first day she’d met her. And Melanie, well, she took longer to open up, but underneath her tough exterior, she was actually pretty sweet. Neither had ever given her a reason to doubt their friendship. “Absolutely.”

Sarah pointed to the box again. “Then just promise. Let us help you change your life.”

Melanie raised and dropped one shoulder. “I wouldn’t have said it so dramatically, but I do think it’s a nice idea.”

Chelle tipped the box again, trying to guess the contents from the sound inside. What could she possibly use that would come with life-changing rules? “You’re serious?”

Sarah nodded forcefully. “Swear to follow the rules before you open it.” When Chelle didn’t agree immediately, Sarah held out her hand. “Of course, if you’re too afraid to do that, you can always give it back to me.”

Chelle tightened her hands on the gift. Her fears were already holding her back from leaving town; she wouldn’t let them stop her from opening a silly little present. “I swear.”

Sarah clapped her hands. “Then open it.”

Chelle ripped the white wrapping paper off, revealing a simple cardboard box. She removed the tape that held it closed and reached inside. Her hand closed around what felt like a deck of cards. She pulled one out and studied it. It was a regular shiny playing card with a photo of Niagara Falls taped to one side of it. She looked at Sarah in confusion.

Sarah said softly, “Josie gave us a list of everywhere you had taken information about. I glued each destination on a different card and put all of them in there. Now all you have to do is close your eyes, stick your hand in there, and let fate decide where you should go.”

Chelle pulled out a handful of the cards and fanned them out. It was just as Sarah had said. From Paris to Alaska, each represented one of the many places she’d always dreamed of visiting. She dropped the cards back in the box and looked at Sarah and Melanie through tear-filled eyes. “I can’t believe you did this for me.”

Sarah’s eyes shone with emotion. “We both know what it’s like to feel trapped. I can’t speak for Melanie, but I was my own roadblock. It took coming to Texas to break me free. Now I feel like I could go anywhere—do anything. I just happen to want to be here.”

Melanie gave Sarah a hug. “For me, it took watching you charge forward with your life to get me to believe there was something I could do about my own.”

“And now you and Jace spend your holidays traveling with Charles. Did you ever think you’d be a world traveler?”

Melanie met Chelle’s eyes. “Never. I didn’t think I deserved more than I had, and I was afraid to open myself up to disappointment again. Maybe we’re wrong, Chelle, but is that where you are?”

Chelle wiped away a stray tear. She hugged the box to her stomach and nodded.

“Then decide today that you are going to take a leap of faith,” Sarah said cheerfully. “Pick a card and go wherever the card tells you to. No second-guessing. No procrastinating. Take that card to Josie today and choose your first adventure.”

“I’m doing it. Here goes.” Hope replaced fear. Chelle put her hand into the cardboard box and closed her eyes. She shuffled through the cards, fervently hoping the right choice would come to her. In a comically dramatic voice, Chelle said, “Oh, magical recycled cardboard box, help me choose where I should go. Show me my destiny.”

She pulled out a card and held her breath. Would she be buying a bikini, hiking boots, or tickets to a Broadway show? Wherever the card said, she suddenly felt ready to embrace it. Her heart was beating wildly when she finally opened her eyes.

Disappointment quickly followed as she looked at what she had chosen. “The paper must have fallen off this one. It’s just the king of hearts.” An image of Mason came to her, but she dismissed it as ridiculous. She tossed the card on the table. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do with this game, Sarah, but maybe this isn’t how I should make a big decision like this.”

Sarah picked up the card from the table. “Wait. How do you know this isn’t it?”

Chelle put the box aside, brought her legs up onto the edge of the couch, and hugged her knees to her chest. “A blank card? If that’s really an answer, then what does it mean? That I’m not meant to go anywhere?”

Sarah turned the card around between her fingers. “Or you’re not supposed to go alone. The king of hearts. Maybe the love of your life is waiting for you at the destination you choose.”

Melanie rolled her eyes. “Or, Sarah, you didn’t use strong enough glue.”

Sarah swatted at Melanie. “Don’t discourage her. You agreed this was a good idea.”

With a sigh, Melanie conceded the point. “Fine. Please pull another card, Chelle, or I’ll never hear the end of this.”

Chelle glanced at the box with doubt. She didn’t really want to raise her hopes again, but in the face of her friends’ urging, she didn’t see a whole lot of options. She reached inside again, this time not bothering to even close her eyes, and pulled out the first card her fingers brushed.

Sarah grabbed the card as Chelle tossed it on the table, and exclaimed, “The Golden Gate Bridge. You’re going to California!” She turned to Melanie. “Mason is out there. I bet he has single friends he could introduce her to. Oh my God, that’s perfect.”

The heat of a blush spread up Chelle’s neck and warmed her cheeks. “I should pick again.”

“Oh no,” Sarah said as if she were a high authority. “You have your answer. Besides, you told me you were concerned about traveling alone. Now you don’t have to. You’ll have someone who can show you around. Trust me, Mason won’t mind. I’ve known him half my life. He talks like he thinks he’s God’s gift to women, but he’s a good guy. Just tell him you’re not into the wild crowd.”

“I can’t,” Chelle said curtly.

Melanie shot a pained smile at Sarah. “You were too busy to notice, Sarah, but Chelle and Mason had a little thing at your wedding.”

“A thing?” Sarah asked.

Chelle tucked a long blonde curl behind one of her ears. “It was nothing.”

“Oh, it was something,” Melanie countered. “Charles wasn’t really happy with him about it, but they’ve both gotten over it.”

Sarah waved both hands in the air. “Hold on. Rewind. What did I miss?”

Chelle grimaced and admitted, “I may have kissed Mason at the reception.”

“Oh.” Sarah bit her lip. “Chelle, he’s a huge flirt. He probably kissed ten women that night.”

“I was the only single woman there,” Chelle said in protest.

Sarah bobbed her head a few times. “That doesn’t always matter to Mason.” She studied Chelle’s face intently for a moment. “Do you have any feelings for him?”

“No,” Chelle said slowly.

“Then California is still an option. Trust me, to Mason a kiss is like a handshake. He’ll be perfectly fine introducing you to his friends.”

This is awkward.
“I can’t meet his friends.”

“Why not?” With a sigh, Sarah admonished her. “You have to stop thinking in terms of what you can’t do, and just grab this idea by the balls.” When her choice of words elicited a laugh from both Melanie and Chelle, Sarah waved her hand dismissively in the air. “You know what I mean.”

“I do,” Chelle said with a smile. “But there is a reason why Mason probably won’t want to introduce me to anyone he knows out there.” Melanie’s eyebrows rose, and Sarah motioned for her to continue. “I’m his fake fiancée.” She gave in and recounted how she had thought Mason liked her, but had learned he’d really wanted to hire her to discourage some fling he’d been having trouble ending. She left out the part about asking David for a condom and kept her focus on how she and Mason had pretended they were a serious couple.

Sarah glared playfully at Melanie. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me any of this.”

Melanie shrugged. “I didn’t know.”

“So you’re fake engaged to Mason Thorne?” Sarah asked with wonder.

Chelle made a pained face. “I guess? Unless we fake broke up? I haven’t spoken to him since.”

Sarah hopped to her feet. “You have to call him.”

Chelle vehemently shook her head.

That didn’t deter Sarah in the least. “Oh, come on. Where’s your sense of adventure? I would head right out there and play along that I was engaged to him. Imagine the parties you could attend. Have some fun.”

Chelle stood, too, and wrapped her arms around her waist. “No. It was a mistake to take the game that far in the first place.”

Sarah raised a finger in the air and stated, “There are no mistakes in life, just different paths leading to where we are destined to be.”

Melanie stood and placed the two cards back in the box. “You say that, Sarah, because you accidentally showered in this house, and that led to you being with Tony.”

“Exactly,” Sarah said. “I’m happier here than I’ve ever been anywhere else. All because I made a mistake. And you, Mel, should agree with me. Sure, you talk about how you regret spending years hiding on this ranch with your son, but look how that turned out. Jace is amazing, and you’re marrying into my family. You needed to be here, and I needed to get lost or we never would have met. And if you had never met me, you wouldn’t have thrown a glass of lemonade in my brother’s face and won his heart. See? Fate.”

Melanie rubbed her face and laughed. “I can’t even argue with her, Chelle. She talks so fast, who can keep up?”

Chelle let herself imagine what Mason would say if she showed up on his doorstep with the intention of perpetuating their cover story. That talk would probably be a lot like the one where he explained that he didn’t want to sleep with her.
Yeah, I’ll spare myself that.
Chelle glanced at the clock on the wall. “I have a few calls I need to make for my dad, so I should get going. Sarah, I really appreciate the time you put into this. I really do.”

“That’s it,” Sarah exclaimed as inspiration hit her. “We don’t have to sit around and wonder if you can go out there or not. We can call Mason and ask him.” When Chelle didn’t immediately reach for her phone, Sarah asked, “Am I the only one who is dying to know if you two are still engaged?”

Melanie brought a hand to her mouth and said, “Okay, I’m curious.”

Chelle took out her cell phone. “First, I don’t have his number. Second, what would I say?”

Sarah snatched her phone, typed in a number before hitting “Call,” and handed it back to her. “Ask him if his fiancée can come for a visit.”

The phone rang once. Twice. Mason’s deep voice answered. “Mason Thorne.”

Sarah made a grabbing motion with both of her hands.
By the balls.

Chelle laughed nervously, then cleared her throat. “Hi, Mason, it’s me, Chelle Landon.”

“Chelle.” The way he said her name was a warm caress of its own. “I didn’t expect to hear from you.”

Chelle took a step back from the two women who were leaning in to hear him. “Is this a bad time? I can call back later if it is.”

“No, it’s fine. How are you?”

“Good. And you?”

“Why do I have the feeling you didn’t call just to see how my day is going?”

“I’m considering a trip to California. I was talking to Sarah about it, and she suggested I contact you. I completely understand if you’re too busy, but Sarah said you might enjoy showing me around.”

“Enjoy showing you around?” He repeated her request slowly, and Chelle began to doubt herself.

She didn’t want him to think she was throwing herself at him again, so she blurted, “She said you could take me to parties and introduce me to your friends. Who knows, I may even hit it off with one of them. That is, unless we’re still fake together. Are we? Still together? Because I can go somewhere else if we are.”

Mason was quiet for a long moment. “You’re calling to ask me to hook you up with one of my friends?”