Tangled Web (18 page)

“I guess you do at that,” Chase replied softly.

She couldn't tell if he approved of that or not; she only knew a rapid change of subject was in order. “Back to Joey, though,” she continued, steadying her voice with effort, trying hard not to be so aware of the thoughtful look in Chase's hazel eyes, “I had expected him to be having an asthmatic episode by now.”

At the mention of her son, Chase exhaled slowly. “I half expected it, too,” he admitted, frowning. “I'm glad he hasn't run into any triggers out here.”

“So far,” she added cautiously, almost afraid to hope.

He studied her, looking serious and concerned. “When exactly did you find out about Joey's asthma?” Chase asked softly. He leaned forward to stir the fire. “I remember Dad telling me,” he said. “I just can't recall any of the details. It's been so long.”

Nor would he have wanted to recall them, considering how he had distanced himself from his father's new family, Hope thought.
But perhaps that, too, was understandable. It would be hard for any guy to see his father start his life over again, just as he himself reached adulthood.

Wrapping her arms around her bent knees to ward off the chill of the night, she answered Chase's question in a quiet, reflective voice, “It was when he was four. He had a cold he just couldn't seem to recover from. He eventually ended up in the hospital because he was having trouble breathing. That's when he was diagnosed.” She closed her eyes, unwillingly remembering that stressful, fear-filled time. “At first I kept thinking there had to be a mistake.” She met Chase's eyes and saw he not only understood but empathized with her denial. “But our doctor helped us understand what to do.” She released a long breath. “That was the easy part. The hard part has been dealing with other people's reactions to him. Sometimes kids are so cruel.”

“Like the Bateman twins,” Chase empathized softly.

“And their father,” Hope added.

Not wanting to talk about that, she got up and carried the bag of marshmallows back to the metal supply chest in the truck. Chase followed her. “I'm sorry,” he said penitently, from behind her. “I didn't mean to upset you, bringing that up.”

“You didn't,” Hope reassured. It was just that talking with Chase this way made her feel so vulnerable and close to him. That disturbed her. She wanted to see him as Edmond's son. She didn't want to be attracted to him. She didn't want to yearn to reach out to him or feel as if she was under his spell.

“This trip wasn't just for Joey, you know,” Chase said gruffly.

“I wanted you to have a good time, too. I know how much stress you've been under. And—” he took a deep, ragged breath, as if it pained him to admit it “—I know I've been the cause of part of it.” Apology radiated in his eyes. “I'm sorry.” Most of all, he thought, he was sorry for the way he'd come on to her the previous night.

Caught off guard, Hope flushed. Was he talking about her work at Barrister's? Or was he really talking about the passionate way he had kissed her? “Chase, you don't have to apologize—”

“I think I do,” he said gruffly. “So, will you forgive me for going to see your mother?”
And for kissing you the way I did, with no holds barred, as if you had never been married to my father.

Twenty-four hours before, Hope hadn't thought it possible. Now, having spent the day with him, she knew it was. “I think it's already happened,” she said shyly. But for Joey's sake and her own peace of mind, she intended to hang onto this unofficial truce they had called. Anything was better than risking another angry flare-up between them, or worse, another ardent kiss.

“Good, because I've discovered something,” he said softly. His eyes held hers for a brief, honest second. “I don't like having you mad at me.”

Hope didn't like being mad at him, either. And that, too, was a revelation.

“Where have you been?” Rosemary demanded first thing Monday afternoon. “I've been trying to get you all weekend. Well, say something,” she demanded impatiently. “What did you find out about Hope and Russell Morris?”

It felt strange to be back in a suit and tie after spending all weekend in jeans and Chase fought the urge to loosen the knot of his tie. Knowing he had to tell his mother something, he said finally, “I met her mother.”

“And?” Rosemary waited for details with bated breath.

Talking about Hope made him feel disloyal. However, he realized if he didn't give enough detail, that Rosemary would go looking for Hope's mother herself. His only way out of it would be to offer what information he could without doing serious damage to Hope, while still satisfying his mother.

Recalling his visit with Louise, Chase summed up her character dryly, “Hope's mother wasn't exactly warm or maternal. She doesn't seem to have any love for her daughter and her father didn't even care enough to be there. From what little I saw, it's no wonder Hope doesn't keep in touch with her family.”

Rosemary looked briefly disappointed. Wafting forward in a cloud of Poison, she sat down in a chair and crossed her legs at the knee. “What about Russell Morris?”

Chase shrugged. There, unfortunately, he was still stymied. And not because he hadn't tried. He wondered if Hope would ever be able to confide in him. And how he would feel if she couldn't. At the moment, her continued silence on the subject hurt like hell. “Apparently there was, as Russell Morris hinted, some sort of
romance or relationship between the two,” Chase admitted, working to keep his tone pragmatic, emotionally uninvolved.

“And?” Rosemary waved her hands impatiently.

“The result was Hope's family got thrown off the tenant farm in midseason.”

Leaning forward, her petite figure swallowed up by the high-backed chair, Rosemary ate up every delicious detail. “Why?” she asked, her eyes glimmering with malicious delight.

Chase sighed. “It's not hard to guess,” he said, making his impatience known. “There was a romance going on.”

Rosemary nodded knowingly, “The Morrises wouldn't have approved.”

“Probably not,” Chase agreed. In fact, having met Russell, he would imagine the Morrises were livid.

Before he could say anything else, there was a knock on the door. Not waiting for him to answer, Hope stuck her head in. Like him, she had rushed to shower and change the moment they got home. She had twisted her dark hair into its usual topknot, but he could still remember the way it looked falling down around her shoulders in loose waves. He could still remember how leggy and slim and curvaceous she had looked in her cotton sweaters and jeans.

“Chase?” Hope grinned energetically, before rushing on.

“About the weekend. I just wanted to tell you you were great with Joey and I—” She broke off abruptly, her face ashen as her gaze rested on his mother. “Rosemary.” Realizing her impetuous words had been overheard, Hope looked as if she wanted to fall through the floor. Chase knew exactly how she felt. Hope's timing was incredibly bad today.

Rosemary turned to Chase. “Darling?” She spoke as if underlining every word. “What was going on over the weekend? Something I should know about?”

Not if he'd been able to help it, Chase thought. Ashamed of his cowardice, yet wishing their camping trip could have remained private, instead of fodder for the cosmetic counter gossip, Chase met his mother's astonished look. “I took Joey camping.”

Rosemary's expression went from surprised to aghast. “You. Chase, why?” she breathed.

Irritated, he spelled it out for her. “Because I wanted to, that's why.” And the trip had nothing to do with his familial ties to
Joey, he'd realized belatedly, but everything to do with his increasingly fond feelings for Hope.

Sensing the storm clouds up ahead, Hope backed out the door. “I can see this isn't a good time. I'm sorry I interrupted.” As quickly as she had come, she was gone, the door closing behind her.

Chase sighed. In the awkward, heavy silence that fell, Rosemary looked at Chase. “I think,” she said slowly, “you had better explain.”

 

H
OPE WAS GOING
over the ads for the All New Barrister's sale when Rosemary marched in and delivered an ominous warning. “I don't know what you think you're up to, but I am warning you right now it is
not
going to work.”

“I don't know what you're talking about,” Hope said, getting up from her desk and crossing the room to get a glass of water. Nor was she sure she cared.

“I'm talking about that little camping trip you machinated.”

And what about the search-and-destroy mission you machinated? Hope thought. But not about to sink to Rosemary's level, she kept her thoughts to herself.

“How pathetic, to have to stoop to using your child to gain a man's attention,” Rosemary continued.

Hope felt angry color rise from her neck to her face. Insults to herself she could take, but the mere mention of Joey's name was off limits to the vindictive socialite. “I have never done that,” she asserted flatly, sending Rosemary a warning look.

“Oh, no?” Rosemary's brow rose. “Then why did you ask Chase to step in as a big brother to him?”

“First of all, Rosemary, I didn't ask. Chase volunteered. Second of all, he is his half brother.”

“Not so anyone could have told, not at least until recently, until Edmond died! The two of them were like strangers!”

The thought that Rosemary might try to step in and destroy the new relationship between Joey and Chase made Hope resent the vengeful woman even more. “What exactly are you trying to imply?” she asked tightly.

“You're after my son,” Rosemary retorted with complete confidence.

“After?” Hope repeated incredulously, unable to believe her ears.

“And let me tell you something, your attempts to steal my son are not going to work because I'm going to tell him the truth!”

Hope froze. Here it was. The threat she had been dreading from Rosemary all along.

“Do you think I don't know how you hoodwinked Edmond? How you poisoned his mind against me and our marriage?”

“I never said anything against you!” Hope asserted hotly.

“No?” Rosemary quirked a dissenting brow. “Perhaps you didn't have to. Perhaps all you had to do was play the helpless female, and make him think he was doing something supremely noble by marrying you because you were pregnant!”

“That isn't true,” Hope said feebly, both hurt and shaken by the extent of Rosemary's knowledge. “He loved me!” That was why they had married.

Rosemary laughed bitterly and shook her head in patent disbelief. “Right. And who did you love? Certainly not a man old enough to be your father.”

Hope clenched her hands until the knuckles turned white. “I loved Edmond with all my heart.”

“You must really think I'm gullible if you expect me to believe that,” Rosemary said.

“No,” Hope countered, “you must think I'm gullible if you think I don't know that even if I hadn't come along, Edmond would have divorced you.” He had told her so many times. “So don't come to me with this holier-than-thou attitude. I happen to know the truth,” Hope finished.

Rosemary reeled as if she had been slapped. “You may have stolen my husband from me but you are not going to steal my son! Do you hear me?” Her face was white with fury. “You are
not
going to steal my son!”

“What the hell is going on in here?” Chase asked roughly, storming in. He shut the door behind him, then advanced furiously, until he was standing between the two women. He looked as if he wanted to throttle them both. “You can hear the two of you shouting all the way down the hall.”

Rosemary glared at Hope, the threat implicit. “I've said what I had to say,” she said calmly. She tossed her head. Then to Hope,
she added icily, “You've been warned. Stay away from him. And keep your illegitimately conceived son away from him, too!”

Pivoting on her heel, Rosemary slammed out of the office. Chase turned to Hope impatiently. “You want to tell me what that was all about?”

Hope suddenly felt tired. “She disapproves of our friendship. And under the circumstances, Chase, maybe she's right. People
will
talk if they see us together. They'll make all sorts of remarks about the fact that I was married to your father.”

His jaw took on a stubborn tilt. Looking handsome and indomitable in his suit and tie, he folded his arms across his chest. “That's no reason to do or not do anything.”

If it were just herself, Hope wouldn't care, either, but she wasn't like Chase, footloose and fancy-free. “I have Joey to consider,” she said stubbornly. “I don't want Joey hurt.”

“Neither do I.”

Hope sighed. “Your mother would hurt him, Chase.”

To her relief, he didn't argue that point with her, but he did seem to think the problem was something that could be managed.

“I'll handle Rosemary,” he said firmly. He turned to go, as if it were all just that simple, when sadly, Hope knew it was not.

“Chase—” She wished she had his courage. She wished she could pour out her heart to him, regardless of the consequences, regardless of how her confession might affect their future relationship. But she couldn't. She wasn't that brave. Her throat dry, Hope worked to mask her growing feelings for him and continued nervously, “Maybe your mother is right. Maybe we are getting too close.”

No, Chase thought, the problem was they weren't close enough. And considering the way Hope kept putting up walls between them, they probably never would be.

 

N
OT SURPRISINGLY
, Chase kept his distance from Hope the next few days. He was there to help with the cocktail party and the transition of the store. He spent time with Joey. He attended another fund-raiser thrown by his mother to underwrite his research. And he helped out at the store in countless ways, his most valuable contribution being the fact that he kept Rosemary so busy and so
far away from Hope that the two women didn't have a chance to get into another fight.

Hope should have been relieved he had done as she asked and given them both time to reconsider the wisdom of their actions. She wasn't. By the time their preopening party began the following Sunday evening, she missed him so much she ached. As she stepped to the front doors of the store, where their fabulously dressed guests were emerging from black limousines, all she wanted was the chance to see and speak to Chase alone again, even if it was only for a minute.

“So glad you could be with us this evening, Governor,” Hope said, greeting the distinguished politician and his wife at the door. Born wealthy, and considered two of the prime movers in the state, both politically and socially, their support was considered critical.

He looked around, clearly impressed. “This is quite a party.”

Yes, Hope thought with satisfaction, it was, through no small effort of her entire staff. Waiters circulated with sterling-silver trays of finger sandwiches, Godiva chocolates, and champagne. Musicians played on nearly every floor. The formally attired crowd was busy inspecting the new layout of the store. But Chase, bless him, was nowhere in sight.

Board of Directors member, Cassandra Hayes, joined Hope and the governor and his wife.

“We're very hopeful about the changes,” Hope continued, wishing Chase would appear so she could at least get a glimpse of him.

“Yes, well…” the governor's wife, never one to mince words, said, “The new merchandise is lovely, Hope, but it's rather pedestrian, don't you think?”

No, Hope didn't think so. Trying hard not to take offense, she informed them brightly, “Our couture lines are all on the third floor now.”

The governor's wife lifted a penciled-in brow. “Won't that be a little crowded?”

“Why don't you go up and see for yourself,” Hope suggested.

Cassandra frowned after the couple had left. “The consensus seems to be you've dedicated too much of the store's floor space to ready-to-wear.”

Calmly Hope reminded her, “We expected this sort of reaction
from all our old base customers. What happens when we open tomorrow at ten to the general public is my main concern.”

“The ads in today's papers were well placed, eye-catching,” Cassandra murmured approvingly before her brow furrowed worriedly once again. “We'll just have to see what happens tomorrow.”

In other words, Hope thought, if the sale's a disaster I will probably be run out of town on a rail.

Cassandra walked away. Rosemary appeared at Hope's side, her black silk gown as outrageously sexy as Hope's was demure. “I told you this was a mistake,” she hissed. “Tomorrow is going to be a disaster.”

Hope smoothed the pleated skirt of her long-sleeved rose silk gown and smiled out at the crowd. “Let's not continue with the doom and gloom speech, okay?” she said beneath her breath, her patience exhausted. “I've heard it before.”

“And obviously paid no attention.”

Not wanting a public scene, Hope walked briskly to the elevator, a smiling Rosemary snipping at her heels. The two of them stepped inside. Hope punched a button. If there was to be a scene, she wanted it on the executive floor.

“You just don't want to face reality. First you ruin my marriage—” Rosemary continued as the elevator sped upward and lurched to a halt “—and now Barrister's, too.”

Hope had taken a lot from Rosemary the past few weeks. But this was the last straw. Her temper snapped as the doors slid open and they stepped out onto the floor.

“First of all, Rosemary, let's get this straight. I did not ruin your marriage.”

“Like hell you didn't.”

Hope continued flatly, “The two of you were never happy. The only reason your marriage lasted as long as it did was because of Chase. Once he was at college, Edmond felt there was no reason to prolong the agony and that's why he wanted out.”