Magic Moment (12 page)

Climbing the steps, Chase shivered as the early morning wind brushed his bare upper body. His hand shielded his eyes from the sun. He recognized Harry, the portly, middle-aged security guard. Harry stood on the dock, hanging over the rail and looking down into the boat.

“Morning, Mr. Donovan. Sorry to wake you.”

“You didn’t,” Chase said.

“I have an urgent message from your father.”

Chase’s voice was sharp. “My father?”

“Yes.” Mistaking Chase’s curt tone for concern rather than irritation, Harry went on. “He can’t get you on your cell phone, and is calling marinas where he knows you dock. He sounds real worried and wants you to call him. Right away. If your cell’s not working, you’re welcome to use the office phone.”

“My cell phone is fine. I had it off.”

Harry winked. “I don’t blame you, Mr. Donovan. I’ve seen that pretty sweetheart you’re with. You should call your father,” he advised. “As a father myself, your kids never get too old and you never stop worrying.”

Chase was courteous. “Thanks, Harry.” The man was being polite, doing his job. Fatherly concern had nothing to do with Dick Donovan’s persistent search. “Hey, did you hear anything about a window?”

“The shop was already closed after we spoke,” Harry replied. “I left the information with Marie. She’s the secretary in the office. Stop by in about an hour, and she’ll have something to tell you.”

Chase thanked the man, bid him a nice day, and watched him walk down the dock and fade into the parking lot.

When he returned to the cabin, Laura was clad in her plum nightshirt. She stood in the doorway, her arms folded across her chest, having heard everything.

“Is that a smirk I see on your pretty face?” he asked playfully. She did have her cute nose turned up at him.

“Call your father.” Her tone was much nicer than the facial expression she wore.

“Can I have a kiss first?”

Her lips curled upwards, and a crooked index finger beckoned him.

Smiling, Chase followed that finger, dipping his head and meeting her lips in a gentle kiss.

As she drew away, her hands cupped his face. “Call your father.” It was more an order than a suggestion.

Chase was wickedly unrelenting. “Okay. Let me take you back to bed, we’ll fool around, and then I’ll call.”

Laura wasn’t deterred. “Chase, please listen.”

“What?” He took her hands from his face and held them tightly in his. She didn’t pull away.

“Can’t you see what you’re doing?”

“Yes, I can. I had a beautiful woman in my bed last night, and I’m trying like hell to get her back in there.”

She disregarded his playfulness. “Just because you’re not returning his calls, doesn’t mean your father’s involvement isn’t there. It doesn’t mean you won’t have to deal with it. Ignoring him makes the situation worse.”

“Laura, the — situation — isn’t one that can, or should be, discussed on a cell phone.”

“At least, call him,” she said, her eyes pleading. “Tell him you’re not ready to talk. Please don’t ignore him, and what’s happening around us.”

There was a significant pause. “If I call my father, do you promise to get back in bed with me?” He smiled.

She crawled back onto the mattress. Drawing her knees to her chest, she draped her arms around them. “I’m here.” She grinned devilishly. “Let me see you do your part.”

Chase picked up his cell phone from the desk. A half smile, half smirk covered his face. “Having sex sure does make you a bossy little gal.”

“You’re not pushing the buttons on your phone.”

He flicked the top of the phone with his thumb and entered his father’s private telephone number at the warehouse.

Dick Donovan answered on the second ring. Chase figured he recognized the telephone number on the caller ID.

“Chase, what the hell are you doing?” Dick barked.

“It’s a pleasure to speak to you, too, Dad. I can’t believe you’re tracking me down like I’m some wayward teenager,” Chase said tersely. He wanted to be careful what he said, not wanting to upset Laura.

Dick made no reference to Chase’s comment. “I want you to listen.” His tone was rigid. “The guard said you have a woman with you. It’s her, isn’t it? You have a lot of explaining to do. Why did you interfere, Chase? There are plenty of women around for you to screw. I want you to bring that one back. Now!”

“Excuse me?” Chase took offense to the command and clipped manner. And his father was the one with a lot of explaining to do.

“I can’t believe what you pulled,” Dick fumed. “You were supposed to be having dinner with me, damn it. You have no idea what you’ve gotten us into, the trouble your interference caused. You turn that friggin’ boat around and get back here. With that woman!”

This was crazy. What Chase had interfered with, thank God, had saved Laura’s life. He swore under his breath.

Lucky for his father, Chase couldn’t bring himself to have Laura visit her new FBI friends. If so, the old man might be sitting in a jail cell instead of them having this conversation. Despite an interest in whatever Laura had to say, Chase wasn’t convinced the FBI had her welfare at heart.

It was up to Chase to protect her, from Special Agent Saunders and from Dick Donovan.

“Chase, do you hear me?” Dick was practically foaming at the mouth. “You’re not a little boy anymore, and she’s not some pathetic stray dog you picked up off the street.”

Chase lips tightened. No, Laura wasn’t pathetic and she wasn’t one of the homeless, defenseless strays Chase had encouraged to follow him home so that he could care for it — only to have his father cart the poor animal off to the animal shelter where most likely it ended up dead.

Protecting the vulnerable was a trait Chase figured he acquired having grown up watching his father’s mean-spirited tactics toward others.

Dick fought for control. “Chase! Do you hear me?”

Chase’s gut tightened. He was on a cell phone, and conversation was a challenge. Laura stared at him as he spoke, her eyes wide and questioning. Chase didn’t want to alarm her.

Expelling a deep breath, he stopped himself short of telling his father exactly where to get off. The man seriously expected Chase to return with Laura, fork her over, wipe his hands, and walk away without looking back. She was a woman.

The woman Chase loved.

As usual, the idea popped into his head and Chase ran with it. His voice was strong into the phone. “That woman, as you call her, is my wife, and the mother of your grandchild. When you speak of her, kindly show some respect.”

Finished with his call, Chase placed the phone on the table. He stared at Laura, not saying a word, not blinking an eye. She held her breath, afraid to speak and at a loss for words anyway. She had slept with another woman’s husband? When had Chase gotten married? And why hadn’t she heard? Surely, Chase’s marriage, and the woman who snagged him, would certainly be hot gossip items for Rachel.

“How fast can you get pregnant?” he asked bluntly.

Her green eyes widened. “What?”

“Any chance you already are?”

“Are what?”

“Pregnant.”

“No.”

“In the office, didn’t I hear you on the phone with,” he paused. “What was his name? Jeff? Joe?”

“Jack,” she corrected. “We broke up a few months ago.”

“Really?” His interest piqued.

“Yes. And I haven’t been with anyone … until last night.”

His eyes lit up and he cocked his head sideways. “You’re kidding?”

Laura equated a man in her bed with an exclusive, serious relationship. That was her rule until last night. “I can count the number of men I’ve been with on one hand, and have fingers left over.” She didn’t know whether to feel proud or slighted.

He was amazed. “Wow.” He quickly regained his purpose. “Well, we have to get you pregnant.”

The man had lost his mind.

She laughed, convinced he was teasing her again. “Chase, be serious.”

“Didn’t you hear the conversation with my father?” He stepped toward the bed. “I told him you and I are married. You’re pregnant. We’re on our honeymoon.”

Laura’s jaw dropped.
She
was the wife? His child’s mother?

Chase smiled, obviously pleased with his quickly conceived idea. “What do you think?”

The honeymoon part she had tuned out, probably when she had tried figuring out the dynamics of his marriage. “What do I think?” she repeated. “I think you’ve been snorting the salty sea air. Whatever possessed you to tell your father we’re married? And I’m pregnant?”

His lower lip fell open, and he cocked his head to the side. “You don’t want a baby? You’re a caring person, Laura. You should have a baby,” he emphasized with a nod. “You’ll make a great mother.”

“Thank you. Sure, I’d like to have a baby someday. But it’s not my intention to have one in the near future.”

“I’m not talking near future. It takes nine months. Near future is more like a week or two,” he reminded her.

“Chase, stop clowning,” she chided. “This is serious.”

He turned somber. “I am serious. That old man insisted I bring you back to Philly.”

“We won’t go.”

His brilliant blue eyes widened. “Look, I don’t have a clue to what’s going on back there, or who the players are,” he said. “Whatever the reason for finding you on this boat hasn’t gotten changed, it is merely postponed.”

Her stomach gave a nauseating leap. Someone, for some unknown reason, still wanted her dead. She had been so excited, so caught up in spending this time with Chase she had forgotten why they were sailing the Atlantic.

“What do you accomplish by saying we’re married?”

He folded his arms across his chest. “In Dick Donovan’s mind, that I’ve kept you from the police means I’m willing to play his game. He believes I’m getting off on aggravating him, and while I’m at it, keeping you around for a few quick tumbles. He’s demanding I bring you back and go tumble with somebody else.” His tone turned lethal and emphatic. “I’m not doing that, Laura. I’m not handing you over to anyone who wants to hurt you.”

For that she was grateful. However, he wasn’t solving one problem, but creating another. “Chase, we can’t keep on running.”

As if he didn’t hear her, he continued. “My father believes the only means of support I have is the business, and is gambling on me not bringing it down.”

“Married? And a baby? A
baby
, Chase?” Her words weren’t an inquiry, but to force him to see the absurdity.

“Buys us time. There’s no way my father will hurt you if he believes you’re carrying his grandchild,” he explained. “The old man has been bugging me for the last five years to get married and give him a grandson. He wants a little Richard Chase, the fourth, desperately.”

“A what?”

“Richard Chase Donovan. Expand the line,” he said. “My grandfather was Richard, my father Dick. My mother called me Chase because she didn’t want me called Dickie. I’m sure it was the only time in her married life she got what she wanted.”

Laura shook off an anxious shiver. “Chase, I’ve hesitated bringing this up … ”

Suspecting her suggestion, he was explicit. “No. We’re not going to any authorities. Especially the FBI.”

“For heaven’s sake, I’m the one these people want dead!” She knew how a deer felt during hunting season. “Why no FBI? It’s their job to protect me and investigate wrong-doings.” Bringing in law enforcement was the most logical solution.

Anger darkened his eyes. “I don’t trust them. There was no reason for the big, dramatic diner scene. They used you to toy with their real target. Those Saunders types get a kick out of using and frightening unsuspecting souls like you.”

“What’s happening now isn’t frightening me?”

“Laura, you
know
something,” he said emphatically. “Something you don’t even realize you’re aware of.” He took a step toward the bed. “Something that unnerves the hell out of Dick Donovan and Oliver Daniels. Until we know what that is, I want to stay clear of any badges. I don’t want the FBI using you as bait for their fishing expedition.”

“If your father believes I’m already pregnant, I would have to be at least a month,” she pointed out. “If it takes another month … Chase, this won’t work. He’ll do the math. I believe your heart’s in the right place, but we can’t do this.” Why couldn’t she make him see this notion was lunacy?

He chuckled, his expression turning mischievous. “It’s not my heart that needs to be in the right place.”

The blush spread over her entire body. “Chase, I — this — you are — ”

He reverted back into playful mode, his blue eyes gleaming and his lips twitching upwards. “The thought of having my baby leaves you speechless.”

“Chase.” She laughed, finding his jocular moods hard to resist.

He eased on the bed and crawled toward her. “The thought of having my baby leaves you repulsed?”

She never wanted him believing that. “No, not at all.” Laura sat cross-legged. Chase knelt over her. She couldn’t help but grin as he leaned in to kiss her. “Although the thought of having your brain examined leaves me intrigued,” she added.

His hands on her shoulders, he pushed her backwards. “You want to have my baby.” He placed a hand on each of her legs and straightened each limb. “Getting pregnant is one of those daunting tasks that if at first you don’t succeed, you try, try again.” He stretched his long, firm body over her slender one.

“Chase,” she whispered doubtfully, but her arms went around his waist.

His arms encircled her head and he entangled an index finger in her hair. “Please don’t bruise my ego and tell me you find the task a dreary one.” He grinned impishly.

The actual
task
had nothing to do with the misgivings nagging Laura. “Chase … ”

His lips brushed hers. “I kept my part of the bargain. I called my father, and if I remember correctly, you promised we could fool around.”

Her eyes widened. “Chase, we need to discuss your crazy notion.”

His thorough kiss cut off any more of her words.

How quickly the man ignored what he preferred not to deal with — as in reasons why this wife with child idea was an insane one — and how quickly she went along with him.