Cowboy Take Me Away (33 page)

“That's because you haven't spent enough time with me yet,” Chase grumbled, appearing from around the side of the truck. “'Cause if you had, you'd know that I'm way more fun than those two.”

Hope came over all hot again, her head spinning. She looked at Harrison, at his innocent, sweet little face, then focused her attention back on Chase. They were so similar now she had them side by side, but the thought of Chase telling Harrison the truth? It sent an ice-cold shudder down her back. She'd shielded her little man for so long, and …

“Can I show you what we've been doing? Please, Mommy, please!”

She nodded, braving a smile at both of them and nodding toward the house. “Let's go. Show me what you've been up to. And let's take Chase with us.”

Harrison ran on ahead, jumping up the porch steps and disappearing into the house. Hope followed, just at a slower pace, with Chase holding her hand as they walked in. What she wanted was to grab her things, put them in her car, and speed away, because she was scared of change and what might happen, now that it was so real. Instead, she sucked it up and put on a brave face. She could do this.

*   *   *

Or not.
Hope looked around the room, fear lacing every sense she had—her words froze in her mouth, her hands started to shake, and she could hardly figure where to look first.

“Hey, Hope,” a warm female voice called out from the kitchen. Hope stared around, snapping back to reality and turning to see Chloe. She was a familiar face and a kind one, not intimidating like the other three staring at her from the opposite side of the room.

“How was your weekend?” Ryder asked with a chuckle from where he lay sprawled on the floor.

Harrison suddenly appeared from beneath a large blanket that was draped over some chairs. “Mom, we made a tent! I even got to sleep in here with Nate last night! We had sleeping bags and chocolate and…”

“Whoa!” Nate exclaimed, jumping up from his spot on the sofa and grabbing Harrison, planting a hand over his mouth. “What happens in the tent stays in the tent, buddy. Remember?”

Harrison laughed and struggled as Nate first hung him upside down then put him back on his feet. Hope smiled, but inside she was dying. A very, very slow death. Because no matter how funny Nate might have been, it was the more serious, older gaze across the room that was worrying Hope.

“Hey, Granddad,” she heard Chase say, going over to give his grandfather a hug. “What are you doing here?”

“Nate got me out of there again,” the old man said, slapping Chase on the back with what appeared to be a lot more strength than Hope would have expected a man his age to possess. His steel-gray eyes sought out hers over Chase's shoulder, his expression kind if not curious. “Besides, I had to meet the woman who had you all in a bother, didn't I?”

Hope had never been so pleased to see someone when Chloe came to stand beside her, passing her a cup of coffee and bumping her shoulder gently against hers, as if she was trying to reassure her.

“Granddad, this is Hope. Hope, this is my granddad, Clay King.”

The old man nodded and straightened, pushing Chase's hand aside as he considered her and moved forward. Hope sprang into action, crossing the room toward him and holding out a hand, the other clasping her coffee.

“I'm pleased to meet you, sir,” she said.

“Clay,” he corrected, firmly shaking her hand and meeting her gaze without missing a beat. “I remember hearing all about you a long while back. When that boy over there was dumb, young, and full of—”

“Granddad!” Chase interrupted. “Hope knows exactly what I was like back then so there's no need to explain.”

Clay laughed. “Oh, I'm sure she does, son. I'm sure.”

Hope was a wreck; she didn't know whether to laugh or cry, her body wound tighter than an old-fashioned clock.

“So tell us about the weekend,” Chloe asked, clearly trying to break the ice and take some of the pressure off. “You visit some of your old haunts?”

“It was fun,” Hope said, trying to relax when Chase casually slung an arm around her like it was the most natural thing for him to do in the world. “We, ah”—she cleared her throat—“would you believe we did Jell-O shots and Chase sang to an almost-full bar?”

“He what?” Nate roared with laughter.

“Yeah, I did,” Chase admitted, “but I had something to prove so I didn't have much choice.”

Hope stared at the three men, wondered what they really thought of her, if they were just being nice to be polite, because they knew she meant something to Chase. Did they resent her? Did they despise her for what she'd done?

She glanced at Chloe, saw the concern on the other woman's face. And then she looked at her son. He was busy playing with a rope, working on a knot, and it broke her heart to think that he could have had this kind of upbringing from the very start, that she should have found a way to divide her time between here and home. But it also killed her to think that he might get used to being surrounded by the King men and then have it all taken away if Chase didn't want to commit to something long-term. He'd said he loved her, but they hadn't exactly talked about the future.

“Hope, why don't we take Harrison for a walk? Maybe head out to see the cattle you worked on?” Chase said.

The room was silent until Chloe spoke up and started talking about something trivial, the other men suddenly engaged in banter about the weather as Hope stood and stared at Harrison.

“Hope?” Chase's voice was deep, full of concern.

“Mom, let's do it!” Harrison enthused.

Hope opened her mouth to speak and ended up just shaking her head. “I'm sorry, but we have to go.”

Chase reached for her hand, his eyes searching her face. “But Hope, aren't we going to…”

She pulled her hand from his, reaching down for Harrison's instead. “Sweetheart, show me what room your things are in. It's a pre-K day tomorrow and we need to get back home.”

“But…”

She kept her eyes trained on her boy, giving in to the terror consuming her, the worry over what she had almost done, what she'd planned to tell him.

“No buts, Harrison. Let's go.”

*   *   *

Chase steeled his jaw, staring at Hope's retreating figure. He balled his fists, then released them, trying damn hard to diffuse his anger.

“Hope,” he said, keeping his voice as level as he could, not wanting to alarm Harrison. “How about we go for that walk first? It won't take long.”

She edged away from him when he reached for her, eyes wide like he'd just asked her to commit a crime. “Not now, Chase. I just can't do it right now.”

Hope was talking about a lot more than a cancelled walk. Telling Harrison terrified her. “Hope.” He repeated her name, taking a step closer to her as she walked backward again, keeping her distance. “Don't do this.”

“I'll call you, Chase. Thanks for an amazing weekend.”

“Hope…”

She raised one hand in a wave before pushing Harrison toward the front door when Chase reappeared, not letting him near.

“See ya, Chase,” Harrison called.

Chase forced himself to reply, to not let the kid see how pissed he was. “Yeah, I'll see you again real soon, okay? We can hang out and have way more fun than you've ever had before.”

Hope gave Chase one last fleeting, apologetic look, then the door was shut behind her and she was gone. Chase waited, focused on each breath, on sucking back enough air to fill his lungs until he heard Hope's vehicle start up and pull away from the house. What the hell was going on? How in God's name had they ended up with things going back to this?

“Fuck!” he yelled, marching back toward the kitchen, fists balled at his sides, a wave of fury building like a tidal wave within him.
“Fuck,”
he swore again, this time slamming his fist straight into the wall, pain arrowing through his knuckles and straight up his arm.

Chase stood, shoulders heaving as he extracted his hand.
Damn
. He was pissed, but he hadn't exactly meant to trash the place. He walked into the kitchen, shoulders hunched as he took out a glass and crossed the room to get the bottle of whiskey he wanted.

It wasn't until he'd drained the glass that he realized the room was silent, that all eyes were on him.

“You gonna fix that wall in the morning, son?”

His granddad's deep, steady voice calmed him. There was nothing they'd ever done that had managed to faze the old man, and he doubted anything ever would.

Chase nodded, tipping the bottle to give himself another generous pour, and hastily raised the glass to his lips. “I will.” He should never have done it in the first place.
Damn idiot.

“How about pouring another few glasses and telling us what your Hope did to get you all in a pickle? Why the hell was she in such a hurry to leave?”

This time Chase had to laugh, his brothers joining in. Nate winked as he passed him, getting three more glasses and setting them on the table. Chase poured, pleased to have something other than his sore-as-a-motherfucker knuckles to think about.

“We were supposed to tell Harrison. About me being his dad,” Chase ground out after downing the rest of his second drink.

“And?” Nate asked.

Chase looked up and saw that Chloe was watching him, her brown eyes kind as she listened.

“She just got the hell out of dodge, in case you hadn't noticed.”

“It was kind of hard to miss the sound of your closed fist connecting with the wall,” Nate said dryly.

“Fuck you,” he snapped.

“Did it ever cross your mind that she's just trying to protect your son?” Chloe asked in a quiet voice, her hand resting protectively over her stomach.

“I'm not exactly a threat to the boy,” Chase replied.

Every man stayed silent as Chloe spoke, her soft voice low yet commanding. “You've probably told her how you feel about her, Chase, but have you told her how you feel about Harrison? Told her what you actually want?”

“I'm not following.” He put down his glass, feeling like a dumbfuck for not even getting what Chloe was trying to tell him.

“Chase, she needs to know that you want her son as much as you want her. She's protected him all this time, so she's hardly going to let him get hurt by getting close to you, unless she's absolutely sure, is she? She's a two-for-one deal, Chase. And she's not exactly giving me the vibe that she wants to play things casual with you.”

Chase stared at Chloe. How could he have been so stupid that his sister-in-law had had to spell it out for him?

“You're right,” he said, slowly pouring himself one more shot of his favorite liquor and drinking it, savoring the slow burn as it traveled down his throat. Chase discarded his glass and made his way over to Chloe, slinging an arm around her and pressing a smacker of a kiss to her cheek. “She wants me to prove myself? Then fuck it. I'm up for the challenge, just you watch me.”

He backed away from Chloe when Ryder as good as bared his teeth at him, warning him off his woman. Chase just laughed, dropping into the sofa opposite Nate and kicking his boots off so he could stretch out with his feet up.

“So how about you guys tell me all about Harrison.”

His granddad took a sip of whiskey then coughed, holding up his hand to stop any of them from rushing at him. Chase slowly took his feet down, ready to move if he had to but respecting his granddad enough not to treat him like an invalid before he actually was one. It broke his heart to see him coughing, hacking away like it might never stop. They all stayed silent and waited him out.

“The boy's just like you lot were,” Clay said quietly. “A heart like a lion and a mind so damn curious it'll get him in trouble one day.”

“So there was no doubt in your mind he was a King, Granddad?” Chase asked.

“Not a doubt, son. Not a single doubt.”

Chase held his granddad's gaze and then eased back into the sofa. From the moment Hope had told him, he'd never once doubted her, not for a second, but it meant a lot to hear his granddad reiterate what he already knew. Harrison was his son, and Hope was the woman he'd let get away once, and he sure as hell wasn't going to let it happen again.

She wanted a grand gesture? Chase grinned to himself. Then he'd damn well give her one.

 

Chapter 19

“Chase?” The look on Hope's face was priceless, a combination of confusion and what he hoped was happiness at seeing him. “What are you doing here?”

Chase shrugged. “Aren't I allowed to just swing past and say hi?”

“No,” she said, leaning into the door as she watched him. “I'm already running late and I have to get Harrison to pre-K and…”

“No, you don't.” He'd tried phoning her and she'd screened his calls, which is why he'd decided that coming by was the best option. Now that he was here, he wasn't giving her an option but to come with him. Both of them.

Hope placed one hand on her hip, eyes narrowed. “What are you up to, Chase?”

“Let's just say that your boss isn't expecting you at work today.” Chase laughed. “And I may have called in and told Harrison's teachers that he wouldn't be in today, too.”

“You what?” She looked angry, and angry wasn't the reaction he was going for today. “Chase, what are you playing at?”

“I need you to grab a day bag, Hope. Put whatever you need for you and Harrison for the day. We'll be back before bedtime.”

“Chase…” She still had her hand on her hip, but her expression appeared less angry and more curious now. “Is this because of what happened the other day? Because I just needed some time to think.”

“Just trust me, darlin',” Chase said with a wink. “It's gonna be fun. And I'm not planning on holding the other day against you.” He'd been pissed at the time, but he got it. She was Harrison's mom and she was super protective over her boy—it was frustrating, but it was also understandable. As far as he was concerned all it meant was that he had to work a little harder to prove himself.