Chance For Love (Colorado Blues) (10 page)

Chance woke up to Sherbet barking at the door of the
kitchen. Callie was in the shower, singing away loudly and wouldn’t hear anyway
being under the water. He pulled on a pair of jeans and did them up as he
hurried down the stairs to the kitchen.

“Shush, Sherbet.” There was a woman standing on the
porch looking out over the ranch and his stomach tied up in knots.
No
fucking way, this wasn’t happening
.

He unlocked the door and opened it wide. A pair of
stunning green eyes locked onto him and with a squeal, she threw herself into
his arms. “Chance, I was so worried when you didn’t call me. Seriously,
terrified doesn’t even begin to say what went through my head when I heard
you’d been hurt.” She clung to him, her head resting on his shoulder as the
small sobs reached his ears.

He pushed her away and looked into her eyes. “Libby,
who told you where I lived?”

“What? Oh, um I really don’t remember. But that’s not
important.” She brushed past him into the kitchen and pulled up short when
Sherbet bared her teeth with a low growl coming from her throat. “Shouldn’t
that beast be outside, Chance. My allergies, you know how bad they are.” Libby
stood with her hands up around her face, waiting for him to save her.

He spoke to the dog. “Outside girl. Go on.” When
Sherbet trotted out he shut the door but not before seeing the suitcase on the
porch. This was going to be harder than he thought. “Why are you here, Libby?”

“You need me, darling. I heard about your accident and
caught the first plane I could find that came to this little backwards town of
yours.” She looked around the house and poked her head into the lounge. “Your
brother told me you lived up here, he gave me a lift up the driveway.”

“Great. But you can’t stay. I don’t need or want you
here.” He was determined to get rid of her. Tyson dropped her off, he could
come back and get her.

She pouted at him, her eyes going wide with wonder.
“But that’s not possible, darling. I need to look after you. We mean so much to
each other after all. How would it look if word got out your girlfriend left
you in your time of need?”

“You’re not my girlfriend. We had a good few dates and
got on fine, but that was all there was to it.” He hoped Callie wouldn’t come
down the stairs just yet.

“Don’t be so mean, darling. You know you don’t mean
it. I get you like your independence but really, it is time we got married,
don’t you think?” She ran a scarlet fingernail over the island counter, pulling
a face. “This place could do with a serious revamp though. Not that I want to
be caught living in the sticks but, Chance, for a holiday home it will do I
suppose.”

“Stop. Get it through your head, Libby. You are not my
girlfriend, you are leaving and we are never ever getting married. I don’t need
you to look after me.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I have someone here,
someone who—”

“Oh I know. Your brother told me. She almost got you
killed out in a snow drift.” She
tsked
and
shook her head. “Fancy hiring a manager from Australia. I don’t know what you
were thinking about, darling. It’s obvious to me that you’ve missed me. You
wouldn’t act like this if you didn’t.” She looked up the staircase. “If you
could get your manager to bring my bag up, I’d appreciate it. The flight was
exhausting and so early in the morning too. I hope you appreciate the sacrifice
I made to get here.”

“Stop right there. Don’t move.” Chance reached for the
phone and dialed his brother’s number. When the house phone went to message
bank he dialed the mobile.

“Chance, nice surprise?” Tyson’s voice grated on his
nerves.

“No, it wasn’t and if you’d bothered to let me know,
I’d have told you to put her back on the damned plane. She’s the last person I
want here right now.”

“That’s no way to talk about your fiancé.”

“She isn’t and never will be my fiancé. Come back here
and pick her up.”

“No can do, brother. I’m on my way to pick up some
horses. Won’t be home
til
tomorrow.”

Chance hung up the phone, furious at Tyson. He looked
up when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Callie.
Fuck it.

***

Callie skipped down the stairs but slowed as she
reached the bottom. Chance’s angry voice came from the kitchen followed by a
plaintive whine—a feminine whine at that. Her senses on alert, she slowed her
steps, listening to the voices from the kitchen.

“Now I’m here we can finally let the press know what’s
going on between us. I tell you, Chance, they’ve been hounding me day and night
asking when we’re going to announce our engagement to the public.” She hurried
on, ignoring the protests coming from Chance. “Of course, I had to tell my
manager first. He’ll write up an official release and then we can organize a
photo shoot. I’ve decided we need to go back to the city for that though. I
seriously want to get as much traction from this as possible. Whip up interest
in the wedding of the decade.”

Callie walked into the kitchen when her husband’s new
“fiancé” paused for breath. Chance’s eyes rolled and he put his finger to his
lips. “Callie, good morning. I was just about to take Libby back the airport.
She’s come all this way to help out, but I’ve tried to tell her you and I have
everything under control.”

Libby turned on Callie, fire in her eyes. “How dare
you put my future husband in harm’s way.” She walked over and poked a
well-manicured finger at Callie. “You should be ashamed of yourself. Call
yourself a ranch manager, huh. I bet you’re trying to latch onto him because of
who he is. I know your type, missy. It won’t work.”

The woman’s venom shocked her, taking the normally
fast witted Callie by surprise. “I’m not sure that this is any of your
business.”

Libby glared at her and stalked over to Chance,
slipping her arm through his. “What affects my future husband affects me. If
you can’t do your job without putting him in danger, you’ll have to be
replaced.” She pouted up at Chance. “Won’t she, darling?”

“Look, Libby. I’ve already told you, we’re not
together and never will be. You need to leave.”

“But you can’t mean that, darling. Not after what we
went through the last time we were together. The plans we made and the seeds we
sowed wrapped in each other’s arms.” She let tears fill her eyes and dropped
her hand to cup her flat stomach. “Our new life is just beginning. You can’t
throw us out now.”

“What?” Chance stared at Libby before glancing in
Callie’s direction, a look of horror on his face.

Callie couldn’t stand to hear anymore. She brushed
past him and opened the door, slamming it behind her. Sherbet was sitting on
the porch waiting for her and together they ran down toward the barn.

The bastard. How dare he marry her when he’d been
making a life with that, that fluffy airheaded damned actress. If he’d only
wanted a ranch manager and not a wife, she would still have moved over for the
job. There had been no reason to lie to get her here. It was all a joke on his
part and Callie didn’t find any part of it funny. She swallowed a sob, her hand
over her mouth trying to stifle the noise.

They had seemed so good together. Almost too good to
be true how they’d hit it off in and out of bed. She felt dirty and used,
someone to throw away when a better model came to town. And his brother had
brought her up here. Bloody typical. He’d been against Callie from the start
and made it well known too. She might have known he’d do something like this to
get rid of her. And Chance appeared to be in on it no matter what he was
telling her.

It would seem it was time for her to move on and find
another job. Preferably one where there weren’t any lying cowboys who claimed
they wanted to marry her and raise a family away from the lime light. Callie
pushed open the barn door and hurried inside. She let go the sobs rising in her
throat, doubling over in anguish as the tears had their way.

Fancy falling for Chance’s line. It seemed too stupid
now she thought about it. Someone famous like him wanting the quiet life away
from the spotlight and with a small time farmer like her to make a future. Why
would she even think that could be real? Things like that only ever happened in
fairy tales and not to people like her. It was a shame she would have to have
the wedding annulled.

The bleating of the calf snapped her out of the
self-pity wave she was riding on the verge of a major dumping. Callie wiped her
hand across her eyes. She had jobs to do, animals to feed and check on before
she could worry about herself and how to get out of this sham of a marriage.
She fed the calf first, then the horses before downing a large drink of water.
There was no way she was going back to the house for breakfast until decisions
had been made.

By the time Callie was ready to ride the paddock and
check the cows, she had calmed down. Analyzing things made her feel more in
control of the situation. More subdued than normal, she saddled Sultan and
headed out, ignoring Chance who was making his way down the drive toward the
barn with his
girlfriend
watching him from the porch.

Callie kicked her heels up and took off, determined to
have more time to try and sort out her jumbled emotions before talking to him
again.

Chance was waiting for Callie to come back, determined
to have his say and let her know what was going on before he took Libby back to
the airport for her plane. Pregnant or not, she wasn’t staying. More than
prepared to support her if it was his child, he would make sure she had
everything she needed but not at the ranch. Not with his wife already living
there. What a monumental fuck up.

Libby had been fun to be around when he was on the
circuit looking for a good time. She was flirty and not shy about wanting to
drag him into her bed. They had a good time but that was all it was and he
thought she knew that. Chance never said anything to her about settling down.
He hadn’t mentioned it to any women he’d dated and if the marriage word ever
came up, he didn’t repeat the date, preferring to move onto greener pastures.

He’d left Libby at the house after making sure her
seat was booked for the afternoon flight and she’d sulkily agreed he would
drive her.

Callie was out on Sultan doing her check on the cows
and calves and he knew she would be back soon, it was just a matter of waiting
for her to get his story across. She had to come to her senses and believe him,
she just had to. Callie was the only wife he wanted and he wouldn’t let her go
without a fight; that much he knew.

Chance leaned on the paddock gate, his gaze roving
over the young bulls. A bark caught his attention and he looked over his
shoulder to where Sherbet was running toward him. He could see his wife riding
closer and he smiled. This had to work in his favor. He couldn’t lose her. He
wouldn’t lose her.

Sherbet sailed over the wire and ran toward Chance,
pausing to sniff his leg before pushing through the fence toward the bull
stomping one of his front feet in the dirt. Terror was standing still, his head
hanging low. Sherbet ran toward him and slinked down low to the ground the
closer she got. When the dog was ten meters away, she lay down and froze in
position.

Chance pushed his hat back and looked. The bull wasn’t
worried about the dog which was strange in itself. He’d never seen Terror not
attack anything that got too close to him. He climbed up on the fence to get a
better look and saw the tangle of old wire wrapped around the bull’s back legs.

Bloody hell.
Without giving himself time to think, Chance acted on
instinct and climbed the fence, making his way calmly toward the bull. Terror
snorted but made no attempt to attack.
Which means he knows he’s in trouble
and needs help.
His voice low and soothing, Chance walked toward the back
of his bull but kept his distance until he reached the rear of the animal.

The wire was rusted and tangled, both back legs caught
up and bleeding. He wondered how long Terror had been caught like this.

The beat of horse hooves sounded and he looked up.
Callie was sitting on Sultan at the gate, watching him work the legs free from
the discarded fencing wire. Chance lifted a bleeding leg and hurried to pull
away the wire. He breathed a sigh of relief when Terror stamped his now free
hooves and clutching the wire, Chance eased away from him.

Sherbet made her way on her belly between the bull and
the man, giving him time to make a break for the fence.

Callie cried out as the sound of thundering hooves
pounded the ground behind Chance. He turned to look over his shoulder to see
the huge grey bull charging down on him. He threw himself down on the ground
hoping to avoid the sharp horns angled his way. The last thing he remembered
was sailing through the air and the scream coming from his wife.

***

She watched in disbelief as Chance tried to get the
wire from around the bull’s legs. She would have herded him into the small holding
pen before attempting anything quite so foolish. After all, he was aggressive
as Chance knew from experience. What the heck was he thinking? A scream rose in
her throat as the bull charged Chance when he walked away. Even Sherbet tried
to come between them but it made no difference.

She looked on in horror as her husband threw himself
on the ground only to be picked up and thrown through the air. He landed,
hitting the ground hard. Callie waited for him to attempt to get up and escape
the bull but he didn’t move. Terror pawed at the ground and ducked his head
down, ready to attack again.

Callie turned the horse, rode to the gate, and slipped
the latch, pushing her way through. She kicked Sultan’s ribs and headed
straight for the bull, waving her hat and screaming at the top of her lungs.
She rode between bull and man, pushing the bull further away from the prone
body lying still in the grass.

“Move you big bastard. Move I say.” She herded Terror
away from Chance toward the holding yard, not stopping until he was forced
inside and the gate was shut behind him. She hurried back to Chance and jumped
from the horse before it stilled. Callie crouched beside him. “Chance, please,
please be alright.”

Sherbet barked as a flash of red outside the fence
caught her attention. Libby was standing there, her dress blowing in the
breeze.

“Go back to the house and call an ambulance. Now!”
Callie screamed orders at her until the woman turned and did as she was told.

Chance remained still and unconscious. There was a
smear of blood across his temple but that was the only mark she could see on
him. He was breathing, so there was nothing she could do but wait for help to
come and pray that he lived.

Callie sat holding his hand until the siren sounded.
The ambulance barreled up the driveway and she stood up, waving her arms as
they drove past the house. She stood back as the paramedics drove through the
paddock and jumped out. “He’s unconscious but breathing. The bull threw him.
Please hurry.” Tears filled her eyes now the shock was setting in.

“Don’t worry, miss. He’s in good hands.” They checked
his pupils and his breathing before rolling him over to look for major
injuries. It seemed like hours before they glanced at each other and lifted
Chance onto a stretcher, strapping him down. As they pushed the gurney to the
door of the ambulance, Libby hurried over.

“I’m coming too. He’s my fiancé.” She glanced at
Callie, a hard gleam in her eyes and climbed in beside Chance.

The driver turned to look at her. “We’ll be taking him
into town to the local hospital. They can decide what to do with him from
there.” He slammed the door and with the sirens screaming, took off with her
husband.

Callie stood shell shocked. She should be the one at
Chance’s side, not the woman who’d arrived this morning throwing her world into
disarray. Making the decision galvanized her into action. She grabbed the horse
and hurried to the barn, unsaddling him before letting him out into the
paddock. She fed the calf, knowing he would survive if she missed the next feed
now he was on his feet and warm and dry.

Callie hurried to the house and changed into clean
clothes before telling Sherbet to stay. On impulse she grabbed the phone book,
checked for his number, and then rang Tyson, leaving a message on his answering
machine. She snatched up the keys to Chance’s truck and headed into town to
find the hospital. It wasn’t hard to follow signs in the small town. At the
reception desk, she asked for him by name and was shown to a waiting room where
Libby was sitting, her shredding a tissue on her lap.

“What are you doing here?” She glared at Callie daring
her to answer.

“Have you heard anything? How is he?”

“No. Not that it’s any of your business. If you’d done
your job properly, he wouldn’t be in here. I hope he fires you and if doesn’t,
I will.”

“It’s not your place to do anything.” Callie wasn’t
going to let go of her husband without a fight.

“Now you look here. Chance and I have an understanding
and we’re going to be—”

She broke off as a doctor in green scrubs entered the
waiting room. “Relatives of Chance Watson?”

They both stepped forward. Libby spoke first. “I’m his
fiancé. What can you tell me, doctor?”

“We’ve done a scan. No broken bones but he has a bleed
on the brain. We need to operate and release pressure. Are there no relatives
close by?”

“I called his brother and left a message.” Callie
ignored the look from Libby. “Is there anything we can do for him?”

“I need papers signed so we can go ahead and operate.
Can you call him again? We don’t have much time.”

“But, Doctor, can’t I sign being his fiancé?” Libby
pushed her way in front of the doctor.

He shook his head. “I’m afraid not. I need a legally
binding agreement here.”

“I can sign it.” Callie crossed her arms and looked
the doctor in the eye. “I’m his wife.”

“What, no you can’t be.” Libby paled and dropped into
a chair.

“We were married in Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago.
Chance hasn’t had a chance to share the news with his family just yet.”

“Fine. I’ll organize the paperwork and we can
proceed.” The doctor looked between the two women and shaking his head in
confusion, walked away leaving them alone.

“How could he do this to me?” Libby put a hand over
her forehead and leaned back in the chair. “I had it all planned out. Where we
would get married and the house we would buy. What am I going to do now? How am
I going to tell my fans that my life has been ruined?”

“Your fans? Look lady, I’m not giving up my husband
without a fight but I will make sure he knows I’ll help him support your child.
As far as your public life, I don’t give a toss about how you look to your
fans. That’s your problem.” Callie turned away, horrified by the shallowness of
the woman. She was more concerned than how she looked than her love for Chance.
No wonder he wanted to get away from the shallowness of the people he was
connected to on the circuit. It would have driven her crazy in no time. She
placed more importance on genuine relationships than the woman flicking though
her phone.

Callie signed the papers when they were brought out,
then sat down in the chair to wait. Each time the door opened she would stand
up, hoping for good news. After a couple of muffled phone calls, Libby gave her
a deadly glare, tossed her head, and walked out muttering to herself. Callie
sighed with relief and took advantage of the solitude. She ran over the
conversations she’d had with Chance and the plans they’d made for their
together, hoping to get a rein on her emotions before Libby came back but an
hour passed and she didn’t return.

Footsteps pounded down the hallway and Callie looked
up expectantly. Tyson strode into the room. “What the hell’s going on? I got
your message and then a mad phone call from Libby to tell me you just about got
Chance killed.”