A Daring Proposal (3 page)

“To Belle and Steve, truly, I wish you all the happiness the world has to offer. To the happy couple.” His glass raised in the air he caught sight of Chaney. The chandelier above her cast a shimmer on her face. Tears? The image shocked him so, for a moment he forgot to take a drink to mark the toast. After he did, he looked at Chaney again. He decided it must have been a trick of the lighting. She was laughing, smiling, and hugging Belle. Besides, Chaney never cried.

The evening continued and Jed found himself dancing more than he liked. With extreme patience, he took each of the bridesmaids out on the floor. Each tried but couldn’t distract his mind from bouncing between the upcoming custody battle and Chaney’s kiss. The kiss had taken him back to the past, reminding him of what he’d given up. He’d never kissed anyone the way he did Chaney. Doubted he even could. She had been his first love. Back when he believed in love.

A
lmost three years older than her, Jed hadn’t gone away to college after high school. By then he knew he loved her. He had to bide his time until she turned eighteen. Staying on at his uncle’s ranch allowed him to be close at hand to watch Chaney’s metamorphosis from wild teenager to caring, desirable young woman. She had still been wild, but their relationship changed. Teasing friends became devoted lovers. Those had been the best days of his life. Jed remembered those days now as he twirled Chaney’s sister around the dance floor.

Jed knew Chaney loved Belle dearly. Still, he remembered all the times he’d listened to
her tell him her father would never miss her since he had Belle. Though she said it straight out, not asking for sympathy, Jed knew it hurt her. Now he danced with Belle and her melodious voice cut into his walk down memory lane.

“Steve tells me you’re going to stay around for a while,” Belle said, bringing Jed back to the present.

“Hmm. Oh, I’m looking into it.”

“He’s so excited. You’re all he’s talked about lately. I’m sure there are others that will be glad you’re staying, too.”

“I can’t think of any.” Jed heard himself reply before his brain could stop his tongue.

Belle teasingly slapped his shoulder. “Oh you, like you haven’t noticed half the attendees at this reception have been drooling over you.”

Jed chuckled. “Steve’s right, you are good for a man’s ego.”

“Thank you, sir,” Belle said, fluttering her eyes in what Jed assumed to be her imitation of a southern belle. “But I only speak the truth.”

“Truth or not, I hadn’t noticed anyone of consequence drooling in my direction.” Damn it, why couldn’t he keep his tongue under control today?

“And who would it have to be for you to notice?”

Jed gave her a spin before answering. “I’m sure Steve’s mentioned my divorce, Belle. Let’s just say it left a bitter taste in my mouth. I’m not interested in sampling any other flavors for a long time.” A wife might help his custody battle, but he didn’t really want one.

Unless it
’
s Chaney
.

No, he thought smiling down at Belle. He didn
’t want a wife, period.

“My, my, my but you do speak beautifully. I’ll bet that’s why Chaney loves you.”

Her comment caused Jed to trip over his own feet. When he recovered, he again looked down at her smiling face and frowned. “I think you’ve somehow mistaken hate for love.”

Belle shook her head. “Chaney wouldn’t know how to hate anyone. She has the softest heart in the world. I know. I tested her patience more than once.”

Jed grinned. He knew she spoke the truth. She had driven Chaney crazy when they were younger. “In my case she’s made an exception.”

He hoped Belle would take his word for it. She didn’t need to hear the story of his relationship with Chaney and its untimely demise courtesy of their father. No one needed to hear that.

“We’ll see,” Belle said as the song ended.

Jed had to admit it was nice to see someone who still believed in dreams coming true. “Be happy.”

“Of course she’ll be happy,” Steve exclaimed pulling his new wife to his side. “She has me.”

Jed grinned and listened as they planned t
heir escape from the reception.

***

Chaney waved as the limousine pulled away from the reception hall a short while after watching Belle dance with Jed. Seeing Belle laugh and smile, she had wondered what they were talking about. Actually, she had worried about it while Steve tried to distract her by twirling her on the dance floor. It hadn’t worked. Chaney had no doubt that Belle arranged this surprise reunion in hopes that Jed would solve Chaney’s marriage issue. Too bad her sister didn’t understand he was the one man she would never consider.

As the taillights of the limo faded in the distance, a sigh escaped her. It was finally over and Belle and Steve had left for a two-week honeymoon. She smiled. She could finally get out of this danged dress and away from the cloying scent of lilies and gardenias made worse by the day’s heat. She whirled and slammed into a wall. No, not a wall, that would have been preferable to wha
t, or rather whom she ran into.

“Jed.”

“Did you think I’d disappear when the car pulled away?”

Chaney wasn’t sure which bothered her more, being flustered by his nearness or her forgetfulness. She didn’t want to think about it either. “No, of course not, I-I just forgot you were here. Well, not you, but anyone.”

“Leave that much of an impression, do I?”

“You should know better than to fish for compliments from me, Jed Sampson.”

Belatedly realizing his arms were still around her from stopping her fall, she pushed away. His hands lingered for a moment, a very long moment. When they finally dropped from her waist, he raked one through his thick blond hair again. Chaney remembered tunneling her fingers through that hair. How it would tickle her palm.
Damn it.
She forced the memory back to the darkest closet of her mind.

“We were friends once,” he said, pulling her gaze up to his face.

His voice so quiet, so sincere she almost believed he cared about her response. Then reality kicked back in. Jed didn’t care about her. Was friendship all he remembered? She’d thought her heart was beyond hurting, the ache in her chest told her she thought wrong.

Buck-up, girl. You don’t need him or anyone else, remember?
Thank God for her conscience.

“That friendship ended a long time ago. Look, I appreciate your toast for Belle and Steve. It was beautiful, but they’re gone now, so we can stop pretending. We’re not friends. We’re not even enemies. We’re nothing.” Her spine straightened a little with each word. At the same time, she feared her heart would shatter. She needed to get away from him. From herself. She needed to work. “It’s been a long day. I have to get back to the ranch.”

“Of course you do. It might disappear if you don’t get back before midnight.”

Her eyes though burn
ing with angry tears at his sarcasm, managed to glare at him. “No, the ranch won’t disappear. Unlike people, it can’t run away when things get tough. Good-bye, Jed.” Gathering her pride around her like a suit of armor, Chaney turned and walked away.

Jed couldn’t move. The old sarcasm had come too quickly and easily to his lips. He couldn’t believe he still resented the damned ranch. Even if he did, what happened to his self-control? He wasn’t a wild teenager wearing his heart on his sleeve anymore.

Really? Even Trish could see you still want Chaney.

Growling at his conscience, he rolled his shoulders and shook off the stupid thought. The only thing he cared about was winning custody of his daughter. He’d thought Chaney could be the answer. He’d been wrong. That’s why the old animosity took over. Fear, plain and simple. Still, she didn’t deserve his anger.

He deserved hers. She believed him a coward and, twelve years ago, he had been. He understood her anger. She’d been barely eighteen when he’d walked away. Granted, crawl would be a more appropriate term, but leave he did. In his defense, he had tried to call and talk to her only to find her cell phone had been disconnected. He could never get anyone to put him through on the house line. It hadn’t taken long to realize her father had given everyone strict orders not to accept Jed’s calls.
He obviously never exposed his role in my disappearance either
. He hadn’t seen her again until his aunt’s funeral seven years later. By then, courtesy of a drunken binge on the anniversary of her father’s ultimatum, Jed was married.

His hands fisted at his sides.
As bad as remembering the past felt, the present felt worse. Chaney was right about one thing, it had been a long day. The only person he knew he could trust to help him win custody of his daughter had given him the proverbial boot. The same person had stirred up his insides simply by being within ten feet of him. That was an amazing feat, considering Jed hadn’t had a flicker of desire burn in him since before his divorce.

The damned disco music spilling from the reception only soured his mood more. Being around a bunch of half-drunk people didn’t thrill him. Not that driving to his uncle’s house held much more appeal. At least there, he could be miserable in silence. Tired, cranky, and spoiling for a fight, he walked to his car before he found one of those half-drunk people and gave in to his baser nature.

In the safety of his car, Jed opened the glove box. He searched it for his stash of cigarettes. He’d quit two years ago, but always kept a pack in the glove box. Whether to torture himself or prove he didn’t need them he didn’t know. He just kept them there. There were no cigarettes.

He slammed the glove box shut then slammed the steering wheel for good measure. While he took several breaths to rid himself of the frustration, he remembered why he couldn’t find cigarettes. Driving back to Crescent had put a lot of tension in his shoulders. He knew the temptation would be too much. If cigarettes weren
’t available to him in the middle of the highway, he wouldn’t give in. He had tossed them out at a gas station. One state later, he started to replace them. Thankfully, the ridiculous cost of a pack stopped him.

With forced calm, Jed backed out of his space and drove away from the country club. He pushed the button to roll down the window while he drove through Crescent. Scrubbing a hand over his tired face, he was amazed he could focus enough to drive. It was exhaustion, he told himself. Exhaustion and being in a place that was an emotional mine field.

He’d come here after his parents’ death and his recovery from the accident that claimed them. Here he had been tagged the town bad boy. Here he had endured his uncle’s looks of displeasure. Here, to his amazement, he’d found someone who understood the pain that caused him to act out in a bad way. Also, it was here that the choice to disappear or have charges brought against him for something he hadn’t done had been delivered.

The thought of his ship sinking had never scared him as much as coming back here. For that very reason, he had only come back for his aunt’s funeral. At that time, he’d still been married and figured he’
d be safe from McBride’s wrath.

He’d been right. Actually, he hadn’t seen McBride. The man hadn’t attended the funeral. Chaney had though.

The second their eyes met, he knew it had been a mistake to return. He guessed somewhere in his subconscious he had already known his marriage was a failure and had come back hoping to find that there was still something between them.

There was.

Anger.

Though she had been polite and considerate at the funeral, when they ran into each other a couple of days later, she made it perfectly clear how she felt. She had said the same thing today.

Driving down the solitary road to his uncle’s ranch, Jed replayed Chaney’s parting words.
We’re not friends; we’re not even enemies. We’re nothing. We’re nothing. We’re nothing
.

Jed’s foot smashed the brake pedal to the floor, skidding to a dead stop in the middle of the road. He was a few hundred feet from his uncle’s driveway. If he drove to the top of the rise ahead, he would see McBride’s Pride. Chaney’s ranch. He wondered how things were going now that her father had died. Chaney had a knack for ranch work like some women had for baking pies. There wasn’t any reason to believe things had changed since McBride died six months ago.

Shaking his head, calling himself every kind of fool, he took his foot from the brake. It didn’t matter if things were wonderful or terrible. Chaney would never turn to him for help. Still, he remembered the tension in her voice during that call before they had danced. The uneasy feeling that something was wrong prickled along his neck as he pulled onto his uncle’s property.

Parking outside the barn closest to the house, Jed stepped out of the car. Closing the door, he leaned against it. He tipped his head back and looked up. Man, he’d forgotten how man
y stars you could see out here.

He remained motionless in the silence for several minutes. Mixed in with all the bad memories of his years here, he remembered a peace. Even right after his parents died. When things had been so bad he wanted to cry, though everyone knew boys didn’t cry, even then he could find somewhere to be quiet. Eventually, calm would settle over him.

The porch light came on and the screen door squeaked open. Jed turned his head and saw his uncle standing in the doorway.