Angel Baby (11 page)

Chase heard Claudia’s moan as he felt her try to mold her
body even tighter against his. Her robe had fallen open at some point in their
embrace. Chase was very aware of the soft swell of her breasts pressing against
his chest. He slid his hand to her slim waist, then slowly allowed his palm to
glide a path up her midriff, earning another moan for his efforts. When he
cupped her breast with his hand, gently smoothing his thumb over the taut
nipple straining against the lacy nightdress, she whimpered. And while he
kissed her, savored her, gave in to the soul shaking desire he felt for her, in
his mind, he silently chanted,
Just a little longer..

He didn’t know how long the moment might have gone on, if it
might have ended with the two of them lying naked in the lawn making love in
the moonlight. But suddenly, Claudia pulled away, holding a shaky hand to her
neck and cocking her head slightly in intense concentration.

“Sarah,” she said shakily as she raised a quivering hand to
her lips. “I thought I heard Sarah.”

Chase didn’t hear a thing. For a moment, they both stood
completely still, waiting for a cry, but it didn’t come. During that moment,
Chase closed his eyes, clenching his fists as he slowed his ragged breathing. 

“It must have been the wind,” she said, raising apologetic
eyes to him. She reached a shaky hand toward him, as if to touch his face, but
he jerked away. Chase was so angry at himself for giving in to his desire for
Claudia that he couldn’t bear to be near her. He forced himself to back down
the steps and stand in the grass below her.

“Hell, Claudia,” was all he could manage to say.

She stared at him, her emerald green eyes huge and confused.
He stared at her for a moment, noting her swollen lips, and her passion-glazed
eyes. Her robe still hung askew, slipping off one shoulder. She didn’t even
seem to notice that the thin spaghetti strap of her nightgown was sliding down
with it. Chase swallowed hard, forcing himself to look past her toward the
front door of the house.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I swore I wasn’t going to touch you
again, after this morning, and here I am all over you.”

“You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for,” Claudia
insisted. “I knew what I was doing. I’m the one who came to you, remember?

“Yeah, and what a chivalrous Galahad I am,” he replied with
a bitter laugh. “I resisted you for all of about...half a second?”

Chase watched as she finally took note of her appearance.
She quickly pulled her robe up and cinched it tight at her waist, suddenly
appearing shy and embarrassed.

“Chase, look, you don’t have anything to feel guilty about,”
she insisted. “It’s been such a long time since I’ve been physically close to
another adult. Being in your arms was the most physical pleasure I’ve
experienced in a very long time.
I
should be the one feeling guilty for
taking advantage of
you
.”

Chase might have laughed if she didn’t look so completely in
earnest. She nodded her head as if convincing herself that the entire embrace
had been her fault. He knew better, though. If she’d been wearing a fuzzy
flannel nightgown, with her hair in curlers and green goo all over her face, he
would still have found a reason to kiss her senseless.

“And, as for this morning,” she continued when he didn’t
respond, “obviously I understand what a concerned, sensitive man you are. You
simply were trying to comfort me.”

Chase gave a loud bark of laughter. “Sensitive man? I have
to admit, no one’s ever accused me of that before. My accountant says I was a
pirate in my past life. A few girlfriends have told me I have a rock where my
heart should be, and my mother used to call me her partner in crime. But
sensitive? No, never heard that one.”

Claudia heard his bitterness. She watched him cross his
thick arms across his chest and lean against the porch railing. He looked
angry, his frown clearly visible in the moonlight. She could see, however, that
his anger was directed more at himself. He sounded almost as if he believed
what others said of him, which was really ridiculous. If anyone knew the
kindness this man was capable of, it was Claudia.

“I kissed you because I wanted to, all right? Both times,”
he insisted. “You have a beautiful mouth, and a great set of legs, and I wanted
to kiss you. Sensitivity had nothing to do with it.”

Claudia heard his words, she saw the stiff set of his
shoulders and his scowl. And she didn’t believe him one bit.

“Why?”

He looked at her in confusion for a moment. She continued,
“Why do you act so hard? I know the real you. I’ve seen you when you don’t have
your guard up. So, why the pretense?”

He gaped at her, then frowned even deeper, furrowing his
dark brows over his flashing brown eyes, and said, “You don’t know what you’re
talking about.”

Claudia stepped down toward him. Chase instinctively took a
step back.

“I know you,” she insisted.

Chase paused for a brief moment, then, suddenly, shook his
head angrily.  “Look, lady, you don’t know a damned thing about me. You think I
was moved to tears by your sorry story today? It would take a hell of a lot
more than a neglectful stepfather to really bother me. You want to talk rotten
childhood...how’s this? How’s not even knowing whether your father’s alive or
dead because he walked out when you were three? How’s coming home to the filthy
one room apartment you share with your drug addict mother and finding her dead
on the floor? How’s being tossed into foster care, certain you’re going to stay
there until you’re eighteen, and determined to run away at your first chance?”

Claudia flinched, closing her eyes briefly as she pictured
Chase as a little boy, a sweet, confused little dark-haired boy, abandoned by
everyone who should by all rights have been protecting and cherishing him.

“But you had Dorien,” she finally said softly.

Chase nodded abruptly and glanced toward his grandmother’s
house.

“At least before she killed herself my mother had the
decency to write to her parents and tell them where to find me. Considering
she’d broken their hearts when she was sixteen and told them she was pregnant,
then ran away to marry my father, I guess it was the least she could do.”

Claudia felt tears slip from her eyes and down her cheeks as
she imagined how pained his young life had been. How foolish she must have
sounded to Chase, to be so bitter about a stepfather who wouldn’t yell at her.

“How old were you when she...died?” she asked softly.

“Ten,” Chase admitted as he roughly thrust his hand through
his thick hair. “Going on thirty. I was as old on that day as I am now, and
that’s not some melodramatic bull tossed around by weak men crying to their
overpaid therapists.”

She nodded. “Of course it’s not. But, still, Dorien, and
your grandfather...”

“My mother taught me survival of the fittest. Any lessons my
grandparents tried to impart were too little too late.”

“I don’t believe that,” she insisted.

“Then you’re a fool,” he replied angrily.

Claudia reached to him, wanting to soothe his pain, but he
jerked away from her.

“Look, I was crazy to come over here. I was crazier to kiss
you again. The last thing you need right now is what I'm
really
dying to
give you.”

Claudia gasped a little at his words.

“But you don’t have to worry,” he continued. “I will not
touch you again. Let’s call this a moonlight experiment and forget it ever
happened.”

A part of her—a huge part—wanted to cry at that thought, but
Claudia knew he was right. She had to force herself to forget her mad moment’s
impulse to, for once, give in to her senses and engage in a purely physical
affair with this man who attracted her like no one else had. She had to think
of Sarah.

But, oh, it hurt so badly to admit that what they’d started
on the steps of her porch was never going to come to its full fruition.

“I know,” she said finally. “We’ll just forget this ever
happened and go on from here, all right?”

He didn’t answer. Nodding abruptly, he turned and walked
back toward the woods. She watched him until he disappeared, noting that he
didn’t look back even once.

During the next couple of weeks, Claudia remained determined
not to behave any differently toward her employer. She felt completely at ease
at Paxton Construction, getting along well with the other office staff. Even
the Sarge seemed to be unbending a bit. She knew a lot of the sub-contractors,
and was well underway with some of her program designs. She liked the work,
enjoyed the challenge...and tried very hard to avoid her boss. He seemed to be
doing the same.

She’d had a few long, sleepless nights though. Alone in her
bed, she mentally replayed their encounters, trying to grasp the feelings she’d
had at the moments he’d kissed her. She found herself wondering if he was
standing outside, near the trees, watching her house in the dark. Claudia was
honest enough with herself to admit that she never got up to look because she
was afraid she’d see him there. Or, worse, that she wouldn’t.  

“Morning, Annie,” Claudia said as she entered the office one
Tuesday morning.

“Good morning,” the petite brunette replied. “Things are a
little crazy around here this morning...”

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s the Courts Building. We’re behind schedule and
everyone’s feeling pressured about it.”

Claudia was getting to know the intricate systems of Paxton
Construction inside out, but she didn’t have a lot of day to day involvement
with actual projects yet. She was, however, aware of the constant difficulties
Chase was having with the multi-million dollar courthouse in Milltown.

"I have heard a little about it. I guess things have
been a little tense around here lately?" Claudia asked.

"You got that right," Annie replied. "I mean,
Mr. Paxton is a great boss, but it's been pretty nasty. It's getting better
though. Once he fired Theresa things improved a whole lot."

"Theresa?" Claudia asked, not familiar with the
name.

"Yeah, she worked upstairs in accounting. She was a
sneaky little thing, and totally awful in her job. For a woman with a degree in
accounting, she sure wasn't too bright. She did a lot of damage before Mr.
Paxton cut her loose."

Claudia remembered Chase commenting during her job interview
about some human error contributing to the company's troubles. Since she'd been
on board, things had been running very smoothly, and she'd nearly forgotten
about it.

“That’s why the picnic’s timing is so perfect,” Annie
continued. “I think everyone is ready for some fun.”

Claudia knew Annie referred to the end-of-summer picnic
Chase was throwing for all his employees and sub-contractors the following
weekend. From what Annie had told her, the annual bash was a huge highlight. Dozens
of people gathered at Chase’s house, and he hired a live band and amusement
rides for the kids. Claudia had half decided to be unavailable that day, but
Melanie had already called and made her promise to come.

“You will be coming to the picnic, won’t you, Claudia?”

Startled, Claudia turned to find Chase approaching them from
the back office. He was dressed in his usual office attire, tailored dress
slacks that hugged his lean hips, and a pristine white dress shirt with rolled
up sleeves. Her heart began beating faster as she watched him approach. In
spite of Annie’s comments about the pressure of the courthouse project, Chase
looked relaxed. No frown marred his strong brow as he gave her a slight,
impersonal smile.

“Yes, of course I will. Though, I imagine I could stay home
and still hear the band.”

Chase nodded. “Probably. This thing does tend to get a
little loud. And this year, I imagine everyone will be ready to blow off some
steam.”

“Annie was just telling me a little about the problem. Is
there anything I can do to help?”

Chase looked surprised at her offer. “Not unless you can
make those computers of yours swing a hammer and pound some nails.”

“Give me a week...I’ll see what I can do,” she replied
flippantly.

Not waiting for his reply, Claudia walked to her office with
his slight chuckle ringing in her ears.

On Saturday morning, Claudia gave Sarah a bath, then dressed
her in an adorable sailor suit Dorien had given her the week before. It wasn’t
the first time Chase’s grandmother had stopped by with "a little
frilly" she’d found on sale somewhere, though Claudia had told her several
times that she needn’t bring the baby a gift every time she wanted to visit.
Claudia had put together a small scrapbook with photos of Sarah which she
planned to give to the older woman as a thank you gesture. She knew Dorien
would appreciate it more than anything else, considering how she already doted
on the child. 

“Now, baby, you need to stay here while Mommy gets dressed,
okay?” Claudia said as she put Sarah in her playpen.

She dressed with care for the picnic. Though already
September, the days were still fairly warm, and Claudia picked out a flowery
yellow dress and flat sandals. About to pull her hair back, she paused before
securing it with a clip. She glanced in the mirror, re-thinking that idea. It
was a picnic, after all, and she was sick of sensible buns and twists. So, tossing
her head rebelliously, she let her hair fall in a riot of waves around her
shoulders

Hearing the screen door open below, she called out, “Is that
you, Mel?”

“Sure is. You almost ready?”

“I’ll be right down. Will you grab a bottle of juice from
the fridge for me and put it in Sarah’s diaper bag?”

Claudia quickly finished putting on a little lipstick and
went downstairs to find Melanie cuddling the baby.