The Texan's Secret (13 page)

“Oh, oh.” Darcy made a dash for the front door. “I hear Chance’s truck. He’s here.”

Shay checked the roast in the Crock-Pot, letting Darcy have this time with Chance. He strolled into the kitchen, Darcy in one arm and a bag in his other hand. Shay’s heart knocked against her ribs at the gleam in his eyes.

“What do you have there?”

“Besides Darcy, I have ice cream.” He held up the bag.

“What kind?”

“Blue Bell Rocky Road.”

She licked her lips. “I love chocolate.”

“Me, too.” Darcy didn’t want to be left out. “May I sit in your truck, please?”

“Sure thing, hotshot.” He lowered Darcy to the floor. “The windows are already down.”

Shay went into his arms and kissed him slowly, savoring the taste and feel of him. “Thank you,” she whispered.

“If ice cream has this effect on you, I’ll bring it every night.”

She poked him in the chest. “It’s not about the ice cream, which by the way is very cold on my butt.”

With a grin, he released her and put the ice cream in the freezer.

“I was talking about the rings,” she said when he turned around.

“I had nothing to do with that. That was Renee’s idea.”

“You sent her here, though, and it was good to talk to her—to apologize.”

“I’m glad.” He leaned against the cabinet. “Was Blanche happy?”

“Ecstatic.”

“I’d like to meet her. Maybe after supper.”

Shay’s hand shook as she reached for plates. “She doesn’t like people to see her the way she is.” Shay cringed at the partial white lie. Blanche didn’t like
people to see her faded beauty, but she’d jump at the opportunity to talk to Chance—only to hurt him.

“Oh. I wouldn’t want to make her uncomfortable.”

There was hurt in his voice and Shay couldn’t stand it. She put the plates down and leaned against him, playing with his shirt buttons. “Meeting my mother would not be a pleasant experience. She’s everything you’ve ever heard about her, and I won’t have her hurting your feelings. You’ll have to settle for Darcy and me.”

He wasn’t satisfied, though. “Does she hurt your feelings?”

“All the time, but I’m her daughter.”

“Still…”

“She’s in the last stages of lung cancer and she’s bitter and angry. I try to remember that.”

He opened his legs to pull Shay tight against him. She pressed into every hard angle. “You’re amazing,” he whispered into her mouth.

The kiss was long and drugging. The slamming of the front door had them breaking apart.

Darcy chatted nonstop through supper. She wanted Chance to know everything she did and everything that crossed her child mind. Shay thought she was going to have to tape her mouth shut.

“Whoa, hotshot.” Chance finally made a time-out sign. “My head is spinning and I’m not sure I believe that fairy godmother story.” He carried his plate to the sink.

Darcy followed him. “She was here, Chance, but Mommy wouldn’t let me talk to her.”

He leaned back against the cabinet, his arms folded across his chest. “What would you say to her?”

“Fairy godmothers grant wishes, right?”

“I suppose.” He bent down, his hands on his knees. “You have a wish you wanted to ask her?”

Darcy’s head bobbed like a cork.

“What was it?”

She twisted her hands. “I can’t tell you. It won’t come true.”

“It’s just between you and me.”

“Well.” Darcy’s voice dropped low so Shay couldn’t hear, but she heard every word. “My mommy needs a husband and I need a daddy.”

“Oh.” Clearly, Chance was shocked by the wish. “Do you have someone in mind?”

Darcy nodded vigorously.

“Who?”

“No. No. No! I can’t tell.” She went screeching into the living room.

Blanche was going to love that. But it was Darcy’s home, too.

Shay looked up and caught the gleam in Chance’s dark eyes. He knew who Darcy was talking about.

So did she.

And it made it that much harder to do what she had to.

C
HANCE DECLARED THAT
he and Darcy would do the dishes. Shay had worked all day and cooked supper, so she needed to put her feet up.

If she had been granted a wish to conjure up the perfect man, he would be just like Chance. He was absolutely perfect in every way. She didn’t understand why fate had thrown them together, only to tear them apart.

The ringing of the phone interrupted her thoughts. “I’ll get it,” she called, “since I’m not allowed in the kitchen.”

She saw the caller ID and frowned. What did Sally want?

“Shay, I’m sorry.” Petey’s mom rushed into speech. “I shouldn’t have said what I did about Darcy. I was just upset.”

“And you need a babysitter.” Shay took the portable phone and walked into the living room.

Sally ignored her words. “Petey can get into enough trouble on his own. I don’t know why I was blaming Darcy. I guess to keep from blaming myself. It’s hard raising three kids alone. I’m an awful mother. I never seem to get anything right.”

The hard stance Shay had been planning to take vanished. She knew what Sally was going through. She went through it every day herself.

“And, yes, I need a babysitter,” Sally added. “The restaurant I work at on weekends called to see if I could work the bar. The tips are great and I need the money. My daughter has a date and my older son is off with his friends. I don’t have anywhere to leave Petey.”

“Send him over,” Shay said without hesitation. “Please pick him up by ten.”

There was a long pause on the line. “I have to work till twelve or later, but my daughter will pick him up.”

“Ten, Sally. No later.” This time Shay wasn’t going to let Sally take advantage of her.

“Okay. I’ll bring him.”

Shay went back to the kitchen and put the phone on the hook. There was a knock at the door. Could that be Petey? Sally must have been outside with her cell. Shay shook her head. She was such a patsy.

“Darcy, get the door, please.”

“Ah, Mom, I’m helping Chance.”

“Your mother asked you to get the door,” Chance said in a voice that brooked no arguments.

“Okay.” And just like that Darcy darted off to the door. Shay could use some of that magic.

“Petey,” Darcy screeched. “Mom, it’s Petey.”

“My mom said I could play with you for a while.”

“I got company.”

“Who?” Petey asked.

“Chance.” Obviously Darcy thought he came to see her.

“The guy with the truck?”

“Yep. Maybe he’ll play ball with us.” The two ran into the kitchen to ask him.

“Oh, how nice it is to be popular.” Chance kissed Shay’s cheek and followed the kids out the back door.

Shay sighed and prepared her mom some soup for supper. Blanche still ate very little, but was in a better mood because of the rings. Shay straightened the bed and settled her in for the night.

To get the beauty shop smell from her clothes, Shay decided to take a shower. Afterward she slipped into shorts and a tank top, feeling much cooler and refreshed. On her way to get the clothes out of the dryer, she stopped short in the living room and peered through the double windows.

Chance was playing ball with the kids—not only with Darcy and Petey, but Bruce and Michael, too. What were the Bennetts doing here? They seemed friendly. The group was in a circle and they were throwing the ball to each other. Chance threw to Bruce, who quickly caught the ball and immediately threw it to Darcy, who threw to Michael, who threw to Petey. And on it went. The circle got bigger after each round of throws. She supposed it was a game, because when Petey missed the ball, he sat on the grass and watched. Finally there was just Chance and Bruce left. Bruce tried to throw it over Chance’s head and failed. Chance caught it every time. Didn’t the boy know he wasn’t getting a thing over that long, tall Texan’s head?

Finally, Bruce missed and he fell down on the ground, but he wasn’t mad. He was smiling. The boy
got up and went over to Chance. They were talking, obviously about baseball.

Darcy leaned on Chance, wanting the boys to know he was her friend, not theirs. It grew dark and Chance, Darcy and Petey made their way inside. Chance dished ice cream into bowls for everyone.

“Mom, I forgave the Bennetts for busting my lip,” Darcy said, spooning ice cream into her mouth.

“You did?”

“Yeah. They were hiding in the bushes, watching us, and Chance said we should invite them to play. I said no. They’re mean.”

She swallowed a mouthful of ice cream. “But Chance said good people forgive. I’m a good people, so I forgave them and they said they were sorry, too.”

Shay stared at Chance. “Wow. I’d call that a Chance miracle.”

“Yeah, Mom, he’s good at that.”

“He’s good at a lot of things,” she said with a lifted eyebrow.

“Later I’ll show you how good,” he whispered in her ear as he passed her to put his bowl in the sink.

She giggled like an impressionable teenager and realized how wonderful it was just to have fun.

As Darcy and Petey fell down in front of the TV, a car honked outside.

“Petey, your sister is here.”

“Gotta go.” He ran for the door.

Shay looked outside to make sure it was Petey’s sister, then walked back into the living room and saw Darcy almost asleep on the floor.

“Bathtime, sweetie.”

“Ah, Mom. It’s summer and I’m tired.”

Shay expected Chance to say something, but he didn’t. At that moment she realized she was leaning on him too much. She had to stop that. She reached down and took Darcy’s hand, lifting her to her feet, then marched her into the bathroom. Since her child was practically asleep, Shay bathed her. She didn’t want her to drown in the tub.

Wrapping a big towel around Darcy’s body, Shay thought how thin she was. But the doctor said it was nothing to worry about. Darcy had a lot of excessive energy—Shay just had to make sure she ate a healthy diet. Like Sally, Shay wasn’t sure she was doing all the right things. Motherhood was trial and error, she found.

As she tucked her in, Darcy mumbled, “Bruce thought he could beat Chance. No way. Then Bruce wanted throwing tips. Gotta make it burn, Mommy. That’s what Chance says. Gotta make it burn.”

Shay kissed her forehead, smiling. Chance had all the kids enthralled—including her.

She walked back into the living room and stopped in the doorway. The room was in darkness except for the light streaming from the kitchen. Soft music from the TV played in the background. Her heart pounded in anticipation.

Chance sat on the sofa and she walked over to him, straddling his lap and pressing her breasts against his chest.

“Ah.” He kissed the side of her face while removing
the clip from her hair. “I’ve been waiting for this all day.” His hands trailed through her long tresses.

“Me, too,” she whispered against his lips.

“I like these.” He tugged at the hem of her shorts. “And I love this.” His hand slid over her thigh. “Actually, I love everything about you.”

“Even my daughter.”

“Even your daughter.”

Shay slowly unbuttoned his shirt. “You’re a special man, and sometimes I think you can’t be real and that you’re going to disappear in a puff of smoke.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” His hands slid under her tank top to her breasts. “Oh, no, I’m not going anywhere.”

At his kiss, his touch, her brain shut down and she went with the feelings that were surging through her—warm erotic feelings he created in her. His lips took hers in a burst of need. She pressed closer, needing to feel his skin against hers. The kiss went on and on until thinking was a problem.

“Whoa.” Chance eased his lips to her cheek. “I see a red light coming, and if we don’t stop there won’t be enough cold water in this town to help me.”

“Chance.” She buried her face in his neck.

He stroked her hair. “Do you know how much I love you?”

Shay froze and moved away from him to sit on the sofa.

“What’s wrong?” She could feel his startled eyes on her.

Desperate words flew from her mouth. “You can’t love me. You can’t love me.”

“What?” He sat up straight.

The fallout was here, and she should run for cover, for shelter. But she could do nothing but accept the inevitable.

“I told you from the start that I couldn’t get involved. It’s too complicated. I have a kid…”

Chance stiffened. “That’s bull. Tell me what’s really wrong.”

She swallowed the wad of cowardice in her throat and forced the words out. “I don’t love you.” They tasted bitter on her tongue and she had the urge to throw up.

He stared at her, and even though she couldn’t see his eyes clearly, she knew he was stunned, angry even.

“So…these past few weeks…what has that been about? Was it just sex for you?”

Her throat locked in pain and she couldn’t speak. How did she explain? With the truth, maybe? But it was buried so deep she couldn’t bring it up.

“Was it?” he demanded.

“Yes,” she lied, and felt the ache of that lie sear through her.

Tense silence ate up time.

“You’re lying,” he finally said. “It was more than sex. You know that. I know that.”

“Chance.” She stood and stepped away from him. His pain was a tangible thing she could feel. “My mother dated a lot of men and used them to get what
she wanted. She never loved them. I don’t want to be like her.”

He jammed a hand through his hair and buttoned his shirt. “You’re not like that.”

The words were in her throat and she had to say them again. “I don’t love you.” She hated hurting him like this. Ending it now was best for both of them, though. She should never have gone on that first date. Even so, she should have had enough sense to end it long ago, but she’d selfishly hung on to him, knowing full well there was no future.

He reached for his hat on the coffee table. “I don’t know what’s going on here but…”

“Please. I want you to leave.”

“Does love scare you that much?” he asked, and she knew he wasn’t giving up easily.

“Chance…I…”

“Okay.” The entreaty in her voice must have gotten to him. “If you want me to go, I will, but I know something’s not right. Maybe one day you’ll have the courage to tell me what that is.” Swinging around, he headed for the door.

“Chance.”

The door slammed shut and then she heard the squeal of tires on the pavement. He was gone—for good this time. Her stomach cramped and she wrapped her arms around her waist. Why did she have to fall in love with the one man she couldn’t have? When he found out the truth, he would hate her. But all the pain he was experiencing now would vanish, and he would be glad he wasn’t involved with her.

She sank to the floor, pulled up her knees and buried her face on them.
Don’t break Chance’s heart.
Renee’s words came back to her like a dart through her heart. But it wasn’t over yet. There was still more pain to come.

“I love you, Chance,” Shay murmured, bracing herself for a future without him.

C
HANCE DROVE AND DROVE
, unable to go home to a lonely apartment. But no matter how far he traveled he couldn’t outrun her words.
I don’t love you.
Had he misread the signs? Was the relationship all on his side? He didn’t think so, though that just might be his ego talking. Rejection burned like a rope across his skin.

In a matter of a few minutes his world had shattered, much as it had twenty-two years ago. He’d survived that, and would survive this. He wished he understood why, though.

He’d called a Realtor and told her what he was looking for—a big house with acreage. He wanted to have horses, so Darcy could learn to ride, and he wanted to get them out of that crappy neighborhood. His whole world centered around Shay and Darcy. He couldn’t wait to get off work to be with them. They made him happy. They eased the pain of the past. And now…now it was over. A pain gripped his chest. Why?

He looked up and realized he was on the Katy Freeway going nowhere. Turning the truck around, he headed back to Houston and his apartment.

But he still didn’t understand why.

C
HANCE PLANNED TO WORK
nonstop. At least Cadde would be happy. That was the only way to put the pain behind him. He was in his office early, mapping out his route for the day. They had a rig in the repair shop and he had to check on that.

Kid breezed in. “Hey, you working today? It’s Sunday.”

“Yep. I’m working.”

Kid sat on the edge of Chance’s desk. “Why aren’t you with the girlfriend?”

“We broke up.” Chance looked at his brother. “Or more to the point, she broke up with me. Evidently she’s not into a serious relationship.”

“You’re kidding. Every woman I’ve ever dated has wanted the ring, marriage and babies—the whole chain-around-the-neck thing.”

“Shay’s not like that,” he said quickly, and then caught himself. He didn’t really know her, so he couldn’t say. He knew her body, though, every soft curve, every sensitive spot that made her moan, and her Try Me button was—

“Mind if I call her?” Kid flopped into a chair. “Sounds like the perfect woman.”

“Yes, I mind if you call her,” Chance replied, his voice heavy with umbrage. “Leave Shay alone.”

“Damn.” Kid snapped his fingers. “Sounds as if you’re not over her.”

He decided not to answer that. “What are you doing in the office this morning?”

“Date last night didn’t go the way I’d planned, so I thought I’d get some work done.”

“You wanted hot sex and she didn’t?”

“Something like that.”

Chance closed the folder he was writing in. “Are you ever going to grow up?”

“Lordy, I hope not. Life’s too much fun this way.” Kid propped his boots on Chance’s desk.

Chance just shook his head. “Well, I’m off to…” His cell phone beeped and he hurriedly picked it up, hoping it was Shay. It wasn’t.

“Hey, Sam.” Sam was the tool pusher on Crocker Number One. “What’s up?’

“We broke a pipe.”

“Damn it. Start pulling the pipe out. I’m on my way.”

“What happened?” Kid asked. Chance told him.

“Man, Cadde’s going to be pissed.”

“I know.” Chance picked up his hard hat. “I’m on my way to tell him, and then I’m heading to the well.”