Cowboy Take Me Away (29 page)

The past was the past now. He was a dad, and nothing was going to change that. Hating Hope for what she'd done was only going to make him bitter and twisted—the only choice he had now was to move on and be the best damn dad he could be.

He pulled the covers up a little, covering Harrison, and turned around to Hope. The light from the hallway cast shadows into the room, pools of light that allowed him to see her face. He stepped closer and kissed her cheek, squeezing her hand.

He was going to fix what was broken between them. Starting now.

 

Chapter 16

Hope glanced in the rearview mirror at Harrison, a pang of guilt hitting her hard. She'd hardly ever had a night apart from the little guy, so an entire weekend was making her feel like the world's worst mom. She knew she deserved a break, but still. Nothing about leaving him was easy.

“You're sure you'll be okay?” She also shouldn't be asking him so many times, because the next time she asked him he'd probably say no.

“Do you think I can ride the pony again?”

Hope smiled, a weight lifting off her shoulders as they turned into the driveway. Something about King Ranch was very settling, calming somehow, and it reminded her a lot of home. Harrison had made the transition from home to living in Texas remarkably well. He hadn't been that close to his stepdad in the end, not after months of him being distant and spending little time with them before finally leaving. It was his grandparents she knew he missed terribly, because he'd been used to spending hours with them every day of his life, doing everything with them.

“I'm sure you'll be able to ride the pony,” she finally replied, swallowing her emotion away.

“Awesome.”

Hope pulled up outside the main house, putting the car in park and taking a moment to gather her thoughts. Part of her thought that agreeing to go anywhere with Chase was pure madness, but the other part was screaming the exact opposite. This was their chance, to go back in time and to deal with what had happened—maybe it would lead nowhere. Although the butterflies in her stomach were telling a completely different story.
Something
was going to happen, of that she was sure.

Chase appeared on the porch before she'd even gotten out of the car, running down the steps and opening her door for her. She tried to disguise her smile but it was impossible. The magnetism of Chase's gaze was like an infusion of confidence straight to her soul, just the way it always had been. She'd been more herself around Chase than with any other person, and having him close was reminding her of that feeling all over again.

“Thanks,” she said as she stepped out.

He grinned and ducked his head back into the car to look at Harrison. “Southern manners,” she heard him say. “You're never too young to learn to open a car door for a lady.”

Hope couldn't believe the change in him. She knew he was probably still struggling to come to terms with everything, but she had to give him full points for trying.

“So you're ready to roll?” he asked, one hand trailing slowly up her arm, stopping just above her elbow.

Hope shivered, his touch ice cold and burning hot at the same time. “I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about turning around and driving the hell out of dodge.”

He bent his head closer to hers. “And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't freaking out about the whole being a parent deal. So I guess we can call it even.”

“Mom!”

She spun around, emerging from Chase's web and opening the back door for Harrison. “Sorry, sweetheart.” She unbuckled him and grabbed his overnight bag, swinging it over to Chase because she knew he'd insist on carrying it in for her.

“How about we hang out with Harrison for a bit, let me spend some time with him?” Chase asked. “Then we can settle him down with the others and wait till he's having fun before we leave.”

Hope nodded and went to reach for Harrison's hand, laughing when he ran ahead, completely forgetting about his mom now they were at the ranch.

“Something tells me he's going to be just fine here,” she said, letting Chase take her hand as they walked. He pulled gently, making her stop, and when he dropped Harrison's bag to the ground and circled his hands around her waist, she knew she was in trouble.

“Despite all the bullshit,” Chase murmured, “I'm looking forward to starting over with you.”

“Me too,” she replied, leaning back in his arms and studying his strong, angular face. She was lost in his dark chocolate eyes immediately, caught in his web with no chance of release.

Chase cupped her face and dipped down, his big frame folding around her as he closed his mouth over hers. At first it was soft, so soft his lips were like feathers against her own, like he was waiting for her to do something about it. Hope moaned as he rocked his body into hers and she crawled her fingers up his body, loving the hardness of his chest and the muscles of his arms as she traced every inch of him. So much for holding back until they were on the road.

“Huh-hmm,” came a loud, deep rumble. “Hands off the kid's mom.”

Hope jumped back, eyes darting to the house and thankful Harrison wasn't watching, that he'd run on ahead. That was something she didn't need to explain to him just yet. Instead she met the amused gaze of Nate, his arms folded like he was the security at the door instead of the owner.

“Ah, thanks for having Harrison this weekend.”

“Mmmm-hmmm,” Nate muttered, before laughing and jogging down the steps. Chase put his arm around her protectively, hugging her against him.

“We'll hang around a while before heading off,” she told him. “So don't go waving us off just yet.”

“I'm just coming out to check the car for Transformers. According to your son, there's a few to come in still.”

“You're amazing. Thanks, Nate.”

“Just don't break my brother's heart, okay?” Nate said, heading past her and calling over his shoulder. “We'll forgive you once, but there's an old saying about never crossing a King twice.”

Hope wasn't about to be intimidated, but she doubted Nate was actually trying to scare her off. She was just thankful that Chase's brothers had been so welcoming after everything that had happened.

“Come on darlin',” Chase drawled, his body hard against hers as he walked them toward the house. “Let's play before we roll outta here.”

She glanced up at him as they walked, her hand looped around his waist and tucking into his pocket. His butt was rock hard. “Are we just going to hang out, or are we actually going back there?”

“We're going back to all our old haunts,” he told her with a grin. “We're going to our favorite bar, our favorite restaurant, and we might even take a wander around campus.” His chuckle was more of a low roar, a rumble befitting a lion. “And then we're going back to a certain motel.”

Her cheeks were on fire, heat shooting through her. “We are?”

“Damn right we are.”

Hope was in danger of losing her breath, every part of her screaming out for Chase, desperate to be back in that motel room and reenact everything they'd done so many years ago. And more. The other night in Chase's half-finished new house had been great, but an entire night of leisurely doing anything and everything they wanted to each other? “Mmmm,” she murmured.

“What was that?”

Hope giggled. She hadn't realized she'd made that noise out loud. “Nothing. That was nothing.”

Chase slapped her hard on the ass and she punched him in the arm.

“Didn't sound like nothin',” he grunted.

She shook her head and avoided his hands as he reached for her. Later she'd go out of her way to let him touch her, but right now she needed to stay in mom mode.

“Hey buddy, what are you doing?”

She sat down across from Harrison, happy to sit back and let Chase get to know him.

“Can we go riding?” Harrison asked.

“Now?” Chase raised an eyebrow and glanced at her.

“Yeah. Before you and Mom go.”

He shrugged and looked back again. “Sorry, Mama. Think we'll be sticking around a while.”

She just smiled, happy they were getting on. Letting Harrison get closer to Chase was hard and hurt her because she was so worried about things not working out and Harrison losing someone else from his life, but she just had to trust that everything was working out for the best. Even if it did scare her to half to death.

*   *   *

Chase put his foot down and accelerated, enjoying the power of the vehicle as they headed toward College Station at high speed. They had almost three hours of driving ahead of them, and he was pleased they'd taken his new truck. The leather seats were pure luxury, and he reached forward to flick on the heat for Hope's seat.

“I don't want to get used to this,” she said, her body angled so that she was facing him. They'd had fun playing with Harrison before he left, but if she'd stayed there with him any longer she probably wouldn't have been able to leave him. She was still feeling terrible, even though she knew he was absolutely fine.

“Nothing beats a warm butt on a cold morning, that's for sure.” Chase chuckled, settling back again with one hand on the wheel. “This one even has a heated steering wheel. Crazy the shit they come up with.”

“One day,” she murmured. “I'll get back to this one day.”

“You don't have to worry about money,” Chase said, glancing across at her.

“Yeah, I do.”

He made a noise in his throat, a deep kind of grunt. “No. So long as you let me be part of Harrison's life, I'll make sure he has everything he needs. School fees, clothes…” He shrugged. “Hell, don't sweat anything, okay?”

“I didn't tell you about Harrison because I wanted your money, Chase,” she said, her voice soft. She also didn't want to owe anyone anything—she wanted to make it on her own.

“I know,” he replied. “And that's exactly why I don't mind giving it to you.”

It was true. She'd pissed him off by keeping Harrison a secret, but it was blatantly obvious that she hadn't wanted or needed anything from him. She might have lost her family's fortune, but she was capable of earning good money in her own right.

“I know it's a sensitive subject, but why don't you tell me how you actually lost the ranch,” Chase said, indicating before passing a slow vehicle. He had raw power beneath his foot and he wasn't scared to use it. “We can get all that depressing shit out of the way now, and then when we hit Northgate we can forget everything and just be us.”

“We're actually doing Northgate? I honestly thought you were kidding, that we were just heading to a hotel somewhere.”

“What, you thought I was going to drive you all the way back there and not take you for some Jell-O shots?”

“Jell-O? Man, that takes me back.”

“Vodka in general takes me back,” Chase said with a laugh.

“Hey, you didn't even like Jell-O shots! I still remember that look on your face when I used to talk you into them.”

He shot her a look that was supposed to be fierce but only made Hope grin. Chase grinned straight back—he'd always worked his ass off to keep that smile on her face, and it was worth every effort. When she smiled it was like a pure shot of sunshine.

“They were disgusting then and I'll bet they still are. But this is a walk down memory lane, so we have to do them, right?”

*   *   *

Hope sat back in her seat and he kept taking his eyes off the road for a second to glance at her. She was wearing a low-cut T-shirt and with her leather jacket discarded on the backseat, he was finally getting the kind of view of her breasts that he wanted. Her hair was loose, falling over her shoulders just the way he liked it, her shampoo or perfume or whatever the hell smelling all berry flavored and only making him want her all the more.

“I thought my folks would be around for years,” Hope said, her words taking him by surprise. “I should have been more savvy with my finances, but I loved Matt and I trusted him. Hell, one of the reasons I married him was because he seemed so damn dependable.”

“So you didn't have a good prenup?”

He glanced over and saw her shake her head. “I didn't personally have a lot when we married, and the ranch was always going to be passed to me and any children of mine. I expected that to be decades away, and I also trusted that my husband was telling me the truth when he spoke about how he'd never compromise Harrison's inheritance.”

“So how did he do it?” Chase was keeping his voice level, but inside he was fuming. He didn't even know the whole story yet but if he ever met this deadbeat ex of hers he'd like to wrap his hands around his neck and do the guy some permanent damage.

“He used my inheritance as security against a couple of risky real estate developments, without my knowledge,” Hope said, her voice low. “I was grieving for my parents and trying to do my best by Harrison, and before I realized what had happened I was receiving phone calls from the bank about foreclosure. It all seemed to happen so fast, and then it became blatantly obvious how stupid I'd been not having a cast-iron prenup, letting him manage our finances. My parents had known him since he was a kid so they trusted him too, never pushed me to put anything in place to protect myself. Dad was a rancher, a man of the land, and he took people at face value.”

“Son of a bitch,” Chase muttered.

“What? For stealing my inheritance, going behind my back, or forging my signature?” she asked dryly. “Because the fact he'd practiced that to get it perfect was kind of disturbing.”

“You know where he is now?” Chase asked.

She shook her head. “He disappeared real fast. And if I did know, the answer would be yes.”

He gripped the steering wheel tight. “To what question?”