Loving Lauren (26 page)

“Chase…” She pulled back a little. “I don't know what to say.”

Just then the music got louder, and Savannah came and pulled on Lauren's hand. “Lauren, Roy's on. Come on.” Her friend pulled her back into the auditorium.

He stood there, looking at her as she retreated. Then he followed and watched from the doorway as she stood there with her friend as Roy belted out his latest hit. He never removed his eyes from her, even when Grant walked over and started talking to him.

Chapter Fifteen

Lauren was dying to get out of the theater. Savannah kept her arm tight in her hands, keeping her in place. Finally, a few songs into Roy's set, the music slowed and Savannah was asked to dance by Grant. Lauren turned to exit, but when she turned she bumped into Chase's chest. Looking up, she saw determination in his eyes. Without saying a word, he put his hand on her back, pulling her close as he took her hand in his.

They started moving across the floor slowly as other couples swirled around them faster. His eyes never left hers as they glided across the floor. She hadn't realized he'd danced them towards the side doors, but when the cool air hit her shoulders, she jolted awake and was freed from the trance of his eyes.

Dropping her hand, she stepped back and looked around. There was a small patio enclosed by iron fencing. White lights hung on a string overhead that went from tree to tree along the patio. No one else was outside as she walked to lean on the iron fence.

His warm hand came to her shoulder, turning her towards him.

“Talk to me. Tell me I'm not alone in the way I feel.”
 

She shook her head. “No, you're not alone. I just don't...I can't...” She sighed.

“You can. You heard what your sisters said. You've shouldered the burden long enough. Let someone else help you out. I'm here. They're here for you as well.” He pulled her closer and when he leaned down and placed a kiss on her lips, she felt something inside her shift.

How had she denied herself for so long? Why hadn't she seen it sooner? She was in love and it was the farthest thing from what she wanted. She needed time to think. Time to sort out what this meant for her and more important, the ranch.

“Chase…” She looked up into his eyes. “I need some time. I need to understand everything.”

He kept her gaze for a moment, then sighed and rested his forehead on hers. “I understand. Just don't take too long, Lauren.” He pulled back and smiled down at her. “Let's go back in and enjoy the rest of the evening, shall we?”

When she nodded her head, his smile grew. “Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?”

She shook her head, and smiled a little.

When they walked back in, the floor was full of people jumping and dancing to the loud music. Lauren lost herself in the beat and let her worries float away with every soft song. By the end of the evening, her feet hurt, her head was dull from the wine and champagne, and she was still no closer to understanding what she wanted out of a relationship with Chase.

Early the next morning, she decided an overnight trip to the cabin would help clear her mind. She didn't want to face her sisters just yet, so she decided to sneak out her new French doors. She knew she was being a coward, but she needed this time to do some serious thinking. Since she had a new lock she wanted to put on the door and a few other items that had needed replacing at the cabin since the break in, she packed a larger bag than normal, which meant Dingo would have to stay behind since she wouldn't be able to ride up with her on Tanner's back.

“Sorry, girl. It's just this once. I promise you a big juicy steak when I get back.” Dingo sat and dropped her head, appearing to understand the situation as Lauren shut the glass doors behind her, leaving her best friend behind.

The long ride up to the hills helped clear her mind and she made it to the halfway point by noon. Sitting under the tree that she and Chase had sat under a few weeks back, she leaned against the trunk and thought about her future.

It wasn't that she was opposed to being married, she just didn't know if Chase was the right person. She'd always dreamed of having a relationship like her folks had. They'd been quite the team. Her father had taken care of everything around the house, everything except the kitchen. That had been her mother's domain. They had always laughed and enjoyed each other so much and she knew that when her mother died, her father never really recovered from the loss.

She always like to list out the pros and cons of every major decision she had before her, a little trick she learned shortly after signing the marriage license seven years ago.

She started with the cons. Staying married to Chase would mean giving up some of her freedom and her responsibilities around the ranch. Living in a house with two sisters and a husband would get tiring. The old place was big, but not big enough for the four of them for too long.

She couldn’t think of any others, so she started listing out the positives. Chase had always been there in her life. She couldn't remember a time when he or his father had been around the farm. She'd grown up with him being a best friend in school. Would he make a great husband? He seemed to want to take care of her and the ranch. Not to mention he got along great with her sisters. She knew that the physical relationship with him was great, but she didn't really have much to compare it to. It was a nice thought, having someone else there to shoulder some of the burden with the ranch, someone to help make major decisions, to be there to talk to when things got rough.

She sighed and stood up, dusting off her pants. She was picking up her water bottle when she heard the gun shot. She jolted up and automatically reached for her gun. Looking around, she gauged that the shot was less than a mile east of her position.

She doubted any of her men were up this far, since most of the cattle were down in the valley. Rushing over to Tanner, she decided a quick scout around couldn't hurt.

Tanner danced around a little as she put her foot into the stirrup; she didn’t hear a sound until she was flying through the air. Lauren heard a loud shot as a bullet passed right by Tanner's ears and landed in the tree that Lauren had been sitting under. She tried to hold onto Tanner's reins, but the horse went up on his hind legs, causing her ankle to twist in the stirrup. For a moment she thought she could get him under control, but he bolted when another shot landed right at his feet. Her foot popped out of the stirrup and she lost hold of the reins as she was thrown back several feet. She landed on her back as her head connected with a large rock and then everything went dark.

Alex was tired of being treated like she was a trophy. Maybe Lauren was right about Travis. After their fight last night at the ball, she just didn't want anyone else to tell her what to do or how to act again. To top it all off, she was having serious doubts that his relationship with Savannah had been a one-time thing.

Alex and Travis had broken it off several times in the past, but nothing as long as the whole month they’d been apart last winter. He'd told her immediately when they'd gotten back together about the one night he'd gotten drunk and stayed with Savannah. But after the way he'd hung on her last night at the ball, she worried that it went beyond a one-time thing.

It was bad enough that Alex couldn't stand the woman, but to be slapped in the face with the knowledge that her fiancé had slept with the viper had almost been too much to bear.

Then her mind turned to Lauren and the hurt tripled. How could her sister have kept such a huge secret from them? Finding out that her sister had gotten married without telling her was hard, and the fact that she'd kept it from her for seven years made it harder.

It wasn't as if she and Haley didn't do their fair share around the ranch. Alex only worked three or four days a week at the diner, and even then she gave up half her pay to her sister to help pay for the bills. She helped out plenty with the animals and was always there to herd the cattle at auction time.

Haley did her part, as well. The girl had missed a great opportunity to go to college down south. Instead, she'd chosen to stay here and help out with the ranch, giving up her dream of becoming a veterinarian altogether so the financial burden wouldn't be too much for her sisters.

Maybe she should leave town? Now that she knew Lauren and Chase were married, she could break off her engagement to Travis, head into the city and...what?

She leaned back on the front porch and sighed as she watched the sun setting. Just then she saw Chase's truck turn into the driveway. She smiled and waved as he pulled to a stop in front of the house.

“Hey, is your sister around?” He stepped onto the porch.

“You mean your wife?” She crossed her arms and did her best pouting face.

“Yeah, well...” He rubbed the back of his neck and looked at his boots.

“I'm not mad at you. After all, you were gone for the last seven years. It's my sister who should shoulder most of the guilt, not you.”

“Yeah, well, I still should have told you when I came back into town.”

“Chase…” She waited until he looked at her. “It wasn't your place.” She sighed and shook her head. “Lauren decided to head to the cabin for the rest of the weekend. I guess she's still having a hard time facing us after what she did.” She shook her head. “It's not like waiting two more days is going to change how Haley and I feel.”

“She went there all by herself again?” Alex saw the worried look cross his face.

“Yes, why? What is it you're not telling me?” She stood slowly, seeing his fear intensify.

“Damn.” He walked off the porch and started walking towards the barn.

She caught up with him as he opened the doors. “What?” She yanked on his shoulders and turned him towards her.

“Last time we were up there, someone had broken in and been squatting at the place. Poachers, most likely, but there have been rumors about illegals hiding out and some narcotics passing through the woods. I told her I didn't want her going up there alone until we could get things checked out.” He turned and started getting Buster ready.

“I'm going with you.” She walked over to Haley's saddle and started getting Olivia ready.

“Does she at least have her cell phone on her?”

Alex shook her head. “She left it and Dingo here.”

“Damn. You stay here. I have my cell phone and I'll call you when I know that she's safe. No use in both of us trying to make it up the hills in the dark.”