Christmas With the Billionaire Rancher (10 page)

“Yeah, just lining up a few things that I need to take care of next week when I head back into the office.”

Nate dried his hands and came up behind her. His arms wound around her waist and he hugged her close before planting a slow kiss to her neck. “I was thinking about maybe getting a Christmas tree. This place isn't exactly overflowing with holiday cheer. Wanna head out to the lot downtown and buy one this evening?”

She needed to talk to him about Travis. She wasn't doing anything underhanded or sneaky and she didn't want Nate to think that she was. It was business, plain and simple. “Sure. I want to talk to you about something first, though. It's about the foundation.”

He kissed her neck again. The wet heat of his mouth soaked right through her until Chloe wondered how her legs could still be holding her upright. Nate's effect on her was instant and visceral. It didn't matter how much time they spent together, it never subsided.

“Sure. I'm going to go change and then I'll start up the barbeque.” He kissed her again and murmured against her skin, “We can talk over dinner. You wouldn't believe how hungry I am.”

Chloe's insides clenched at the seductive tenor of his words. With each passing day she fell further under Nate's spell. The past week had been a dream full of passion, peace, and a domestic bliss that caused her chest to ache with want. As Nate pulled away and headed for the stairs, Chloe wondered if she'd get everything she wanted or if she'd be forced to give up her dreams—the foundation—in order to keep the man she might just love.

Ten

Something niggled at the back of Nate's mind as he threw on a fresh pair of jeans and a clean T-shirt. He didn't want anything to cast a shadow on the past several days spent with Chloe but his stupid brain wouldn't quiet down. The same past doubts that had sparked their earlier argument gnawed at him. Was Chloe truly here for him, or something else? He wished he could tell his damned brain to shut the fuck up once and for all.

Nate didn't want Chloe there for any other reason but
him
. He'd only known her for a short while but it was enough to know that he didn't want whatever this was between them to end. In fact, the thought of her walking out on him after their fight had damned near thrown him into a panic attack. He couldn't continue to dwell on shit that wasn't going to do anything but fuck with his head. Instead, he let his stomach do the talking, and headed downstairs to fire up the grill.

“Just in time,” Chloe remarked from the kitchen. “The steaks are seasoned and ready to go.”

What would it be like to come home to her every single day? To know that Chloe was
his
. He took the plate from her outstretched hand. Her brow knitted as she studied him.

“You okay?”

He flashed a reassuring smile. “Yeah. Starving. I could eat an entire side of beef.”

Chloe grinned. “Sorry, but a T-bone is going to have to do. I made salad and pasta, though. I think we might have half of a baguette somewhere around here, too.”

We
. Was it too soon for them to be a we?
Not at all
.

*   *   *

“I'll keep the money, the shares in the company, all of it. If you want me to.” Sometime while staring into the flames of the gas grill, Nate had come to a decision. He wanted Chloe. Not just for a night or a week or a couple of months. He wanted her for as long as he could have her. And if was important to her that he take that goddamned money of his father's, he'd do it. For her.

Chloe looked up from her plate, her jaw slack. “What are you talking about?”

“I'm saying that I won't sign my inheritance over to Miranda. If I have to, I'll live with it. If that's what you want me to do.”

“This isn't about what I want you to do.” Chloe set her fork down on her plate and fiddled with the stem of her wineglass. Her eyes met his, luminous gems that sparkled. “Nate, I just want you to be happy.”

Nate swallowed down the emotion that threatened to cut off his airway. “You make me happy.”

A slow, sweet smile spread across her face. “You make me happy, too. And you'd make me happy whether you had ten or ten million dollars.”

He made her happy. Nate felt as though his chest might burst. She wanted him and it wasn't because of the money.

“You were right earlier when you said that I didn't know anything about your relationship with your dad,” Chloe continued. “It's not my decision to make for you. The only reason I wanted you to keep it in the first place was because of the good it could do for you. Your life could be easy if you wanted it to be. And I truly do believe that your inheritance is your father's apology to you and your brothers. I think it was his way of telling you that he cared about you. Loved you. I just don't want you to throw that away.”

Maybe Chloe was right. Nate couldn't help but wonder if he'd been so insistent that he off-load his inheritance because he didn't want the headache, or because he wanted to spite his father. Sort of one last middle-finger to the old man for the way he'd betrayed him. The more Nate thought about it, the more childish it seemed. He wasn't spiting his father. He was spiting himself. Nate would be the only one hurt by giving it all away.

“I think I want to keep it. Maybe you can help me figure out what to do with it.”

Chloe gave him a blinding smile. “I could probably do that.”

“Now that that's settled, what did you want to talk to me about? The foundation, right?”

From the counter, Chloe's phone rang. Nate leaned back in his chair, reaching to the counter to retrieve it for her. He caught the number on the caller ID from the corner of his eye and the chair came back down on its front legs with a snap as he lent his full attention to the screen. “Why is my brother calling you?”

Chloe's expression fell and her cheeks bloomed with color. “I can explain.”

What in the hell was there to explain? Nate swiped his finger across the screen and brought the phone up to his ear. “Travis?”

“Nate?” A pregnant pause filled the space between Nate and his brother. “Did I dial the wrong number?”

“Depends,” he said. “Who are you trying to call?”

“Chloe Benson from the Youth Sports Foundation of Dallas.”

Nate's heart sunk like a stone to the bottoms of his feet. “You dialed the right number.”

Travis gave a nervous laugh. “She must've changed her mind about hitting you up for a big fat donation, huh? But dude, why are you answering her phone? Does a cool three million get you access to her iPhone or some shit?”

The hand clutching the phone went numb as Nate's grip tightened. His eyes met Chloe's and he knew everything he needed to by the guilt that pinched her usually soft expression. “Travis, can I call you back?”

Travis gave a nervous laugh. “Sure, but uh, could you have Chloe give me a call? My financial manager has a few questions that I need answered before I can green light this donation. She needs a commitment by Christmas and it's going to be tough to finalize everything in time.”

“Sure. Talk to you later.” Nate ended the call and set the phone down on the table. Hurt and suspicion sliced through him and he tried to swallow it down, but his throat was already so goddamned clogged with betrayal that he couldn't get the knot in his throat to budge.

“Nate, before you jump to conclusions, you need to let me explain.” Chloe's voice quavered. Her green eyes glistened with an emotion pretty damned close to fear and she pushed her chair slowly away from the table.

“Did you fuck my brother, too?” The words spilled out in an angry rush. Chloe's jaw dropped and Nate shot out of the chair. He braced his hands on the table and leaned over it, his entire body quaking with rage. “Answer me, Chloe! Is this some sort of fucking scam?”

*   *   *

Nate's words knocked the air from Chloe's lungs. She'd planned to tell him that she'd contacted Travis. In fact, they'd been about to cover that very subject when her phone rang.

“Of course it's not a scam. And I didn't sleep with your brother! How could you even suggest that?” Nate cocked a brow and it was all Chloe could do not to throw her fork at him.

“You got me to keep the money and it didn't even take a full two weeks. When were you going to spring it on me? Tonight? Tomorrow? Were you going to use the foundation excuse on me, too? Beg for a donation and then take the money and run?”

Nate's eyes blazed with an angry fire that threw off enough heat to make Chloe sweat. “My foundation isn't an
excuse
!” Chloe railed. The weeks of stress and worry finally caught up to her and she cracked under the emotional strain. “Do you want to know the truth, Nate? I'm closing my doors if I can't come up with the operating funds by close of business Christmas Eve. And I'd do anything to save my foundation and the kids it helps. I went to your father's memorial service absolutely prepared to get down on my knees and beg you for that money.”

Nate snorted. “You got down on your knees all right. You just forgot to ask for a check afterward.”

Tears sprung to Chloe's eyes and she couldn't stop their ceaseless flow. “How could you say that?” Her voice was nothing more than a pained whisper.

“You know, at least Miranda was up-front about picking my pocket. She never pretended to be something she wasn't and didn't make up bullshit excuses for why she wanted the money.”

“Piss off, Nate!”

“What about the kid? You pay him off, too? Pick him up on a playground somewhere and offer him twenty bucks if he could play his part and make you look good?”

“You're an asshole!” A sob lodged in Chloe's throat. “I never
once
asked you for money. After that first night together I decided that I was more interested in you than what you could do to help me.”

“I'm supposed to believe that? You've spent the past ten days doing everything in your power to convince me to keep my inheritance. And you've already gone behind my back to wheel and deal with my brother. What else are you hiding, Chloe?”

“Not a damned thing. You know, Nate, for a second there I thought I was actually falling in love with you. But that could never happen. I could
never
love a man who'd suggest I'd give him a blowjob and expect a fucking paycheck in return! I don't care what you decide to do with your money. Have a nice life, Nate.”

Tears streamed down Chloe's cheeks as she snatched her phone from the table and rushed past Nate. She paused only long enough to snatch her purse from the hook before she hurried out the back door. It slammed behind her as she fled across the old deck and down the rotting stairs toward the driveway where her car was parked. She didn't even care that she was leaving with only the clothes on her back. He could keep her suitcase and clothes for all she cared. It was worth replacing all of her makeup and toiletries if it meant she never had to look at his face ever again.

“Son of a bitch!” Chloe's fists came down on the steering wheel. She reached down and turned the key, slamming the car into reverse the second the engine roared to life. Tears blurred her vision, but she didn't care as she sped down the narrow dirt lane that led away from Nate's house. No one had ever hurt her so badly. Cut her so deep. It was a wound that she feared might never heal.

And the worst part? She'd given him the weapon that he'd wielded against her.

The two-hour drive back to Dallas was torture. One hundred and twenty minutes of time alone with her thoughts. Chloe went over, and over, and over the events of the past several days. Wishing she'd done or said something differently. It wasn't like she'd scammed Nate or any of his brothers. And as far as dishonesty, her only mistake was not telling him before she had Hailey reach out to Travis.

Way to fuck yourself over, Chloe
.

Her cell rang and Chloe's heart stuttered in her chest. For the barest of seconds, she dared to hope that it was Nate calling. That he'd apologize and beg her to come back. It would take more than an apology though, wouldn't it? No one had ever spoken such hurtful words to her. So it was a relief that Hailey's name popped up on the caller ID and not Nate's. At least, that's what she told herself.

“Hey, Hailey. I can't talk right now—”

“I hate to interrupt your wild sex romp of a week, but we have a problem.”

Great
. Her eyes drifted heavenward.
Pile it on, why don't you!
“What's the problem?”

“Oh, about three feet, ten inches, and sixty-five pounds of trouble,” Hailey replied wryly. “He was picked up for shoplifting and he told the cops that his foster mom worked here.”

Derrick. That little shit. “Can you drive him to his actual foster parents' house?”

“I tried,” Hailey said in a near-whisper. “He told me he'd bolt if I took him back there.”

“I'm on my way back to the city.” She might as well deal with Derrick. What was one more disaster today? “Can you hang around for another half hour or so?”

“Sure. Why are you coming home early?”

Chloe didn't acknowledge the concern in Hailey's voice. If she did, she'd start bawling and wouldn't stop until she rolled into Dallas. “I need to get some work done and Nate's got ranch issues to deal with. No biggie.”

“All right,” Hailey said slowly. “I'll see you in a bit. Drive safe.”

“Okay. Bye.”

A fresh wave of tears threatened, but Chloe swallowed them down. After what had happened between her and Nate tonight, there was no way she could move forward with Travis. She'd have Hailey call him tomorrow and cancel. With Christmas a week away, the chances of finding another donor were slim. She thought about Derrick. That cute, freckled pain in the ass deserved every leg up in life that he could get. Without the sports programs the foundation offered, it would only give him—and so many at-risk kids—more free time. More opportunities to find trouble.