More Than Friends (15 page)

He glanced around at the crowd. Several people nodded in his direction, but most were careful to avoid his eyes. “No. They can’t make me run.”

She stopped and rested her hands on his chest. “It’s my fault. I should have realized you’d be uncomfortable.”

“Hey, no big deal. I want to win you some big, ugly stuffed animal. Something to—” He paused, then shrugged and urged her to keep walking.

Remember him by, she finished silently. Didn’t he know it was already too late to try to forget?

Chase found several games he liked. After tumbling weighted milk bottles, he shot moving tin bears, then used a squirt gun to blow up and pop a balloon. The only game he didn’t win was the ring toss. Three stuffed animals and a goldfish later, she cried “Uncle.”

“No more,” Jenny said firmly, juggling the giant panda in her arms. “We can’t carry them and my house is too small. Besides, what am I going to do with a goldfish?” She jiggled the plastic bag she held.

“You always said you wanted a pet.”

“I was thinking of something warm and fuzzy.”

He leaned over and rubbed his face against hers. Despite his recent shave, stubble scraped her skin.

“I said fuzzy, not scratchy.”

“I’d be a great house pet.”

She tried not to smile. “Too much responsibility. Now a cat you can leave alone all day.”

“Cats are a little standoffish for me. A dog is always happy to see you.”

She glanced up at him. He had a yellow giraffe under one arm and a huge lime green cow under the other. Her heart filled with hope and regret. There was a time when she would have known him as well as herself-better, even. That time was long past. She realized she didn’t know anything about him or his life in Phoenix. “Do you have a dog?”

“No. The company has one.” He chuckled at her frown of confusion. “We found a mutt on a construction site. He was skinny and dirty. The guys started feeding him, so he kept hanging around. When the job was done, we drew straws to see who would take him home.” Chase shrugged. “First time in my life I wanted the short straw. Anyway, John, one of my partners, got it. He and his wife have a couple of kids, so the dog was in heaven. John still brings him to work a couple times a week.”

They stopped by the hamburger stand. After settling their prizes on a table, they stood in line for food.

“You could have gotten a dog of your own,” she said.

“I still might. But a pet—it’s more for families.”

A lock of dark hair fell across his forehead. Jenny leaned forward and brushed it out of the way. He offered her a half smile, full of promise and pain, desire and defeat.

“You mentioned you aren’t married now,” she said. “Were you ever?”

He stared over her head toward a time she couldn’t see, and shook his head. “Came close once. I met this associate producer working on a movie they shot in the area. But Jolie wasn’t interested in settling down and I didn’t fit in with her world. Last I heard, she’d married some guy and is living the good life in L.A.”

She understood his fury at her mention of Alec a few days ago. She wanted to find this Jolie woman and beat her within an inch of her life. “Do you miss her?” she asked.

“Sometimes. But it’s for the best.”

“So she’s not the one who got away?”

His expression changed from pensive to watchful. “Don’t play games, Jenny. Not now. I can’t be a cold bastard much longer. You know you’re the one who got away.”

The man in front of them picked up his food and they moved to the counter. Chase ordered, then handed her a hot dog and a soda. They walked back to the table.

“I didn’t mean—”

He cut her off with a glance. “I know. It’s okay. I never let myself think about how things could have been because I always thought you’d betrayed me. Knowing what really happened changes the past as well as the present. I never forgot any of it.”

The urge to tell him how she felt swelled up inside. She wanted to erase his concerns with confessions of affection and promises of tomorrows. But before she could speak, an employee from the mill approached them.

“Hey, Chase.”

“Mark. How’s it going, buddy?” The two men shook hands.

Jenny greeted Mark’s wife, then spoke to their daughter. Conversation flowed, as a few more people stopped to chat. Her hot dog grew cold, but she kept talking as best she could. Part of her attention focused on Chase. He seemed to be handling the crowd well. He thanked people for their inquiries about his father. His replies to questions about the mill were vague, and no one pressed for more. She suspected that they, like herself, were too afraid of the answers to want to hear the truth.

“Where’d they come from?” he asked, when the last family had drifted away, leaving them to eat in peace.

“Despite your opinion to the contrary, not everyone hates you.”

“And I should be grateful?” He took a bite of his hot dog.

“Word is getting out that you made something of yourself in Phoenix. Everyone knows you left with nothing. They respect what you’ve done with your life.”

He grunted.

“Even my father was impressed, although he’d rather be tortured than admit it.”

Chase swallowed some soda. “Your old man’s not so bad.”

She raised one eyebrow.

“We spoke this morning,” he explained. “I understand his concerns about you. He’s a little myopic about the mill, but…” He shrugged as if to say everyone has their failing.

“Do you think—”

“Aunt Jenny, Aunt Jenny, look what I got!” A five-year-old whirlwind flew into her arms. “It’s a magic wand. See?” She held out the treasure. “It has fairy dust and if I wish real hard, I can make dreams come true.”

Jenny kissed her niece on the forehead, but her gaze was drawn to Chase. If only it were that easy, she thought. There were a couple of dreams she’d like to use that magic wand on.

“It’s lovely, honey.” She pulled the girl up on her lap. “Where’s your mom?”

“Back there.” The little girl waved behind them, then eyed Chase distrustfully. “Who are you?”

“Tammy, this is my friend Chase. And this is Tammy, Anne’s oldest.”

“Pleased to meet you,” he said, formally offering his hand across the table.

The girl giggled and shook it. Then she frowned and glanced up at Jenny. “He’s not the one who’s going to take you away, is he?”

“What?”

“Mommy says that there’s a man here. That he’s going to take you away and shut down the mill. She says that she’d like to take the silver spoon from his mouth and stick it up—”

Jenny covered Tammy’s mouth. “I don’t think you were supposed to hear that, little one. So why don’t you try to forget what Mommy said, okay?”

Tammy nodded. “But you won’t leave, will you, Aunt Jenny?”

“I’m not going anywhere.” She didn’t dare glance up at Chase.

“Are all those stuffed animals yours?” Tammy pointed at the pile.

“Uh-huh. Chase won them for me.”

“That’s a lot. I have stuffed animals.”

Chase picked up the small plastic bag and grinned. “Do you have a fish?”

Tammy’s eyes got round. She wiggled on Jenny’s lap and reached for the container. “A real fish? You mean it’s alive?”

The goldfish spun suddenly, as if it had heard the questions.

The little girl squealed excitedly. “It’s beautiful. Look at the pretty colors.”

“It’s yours,” Chase said. “If you don’t mind, Jenny.”

“I don’t,” she said. “But Anne might.”

“Tell her she can stick it—” he met Jenny’s gaze “—in an aquarium.”

Jenny shook her head. “I’ll never understand why the two of you don’t get along.”

“Maybe because we want the same thing, but don’t trust each other’s motives,” Anne said, coming up behind them. She had a baby on one hip. “There you are, Tammy. Your father is standing in line at the bumper cars. If you want to ride with him, you’d better hurry.”

“Okay.” Her daughter slid to the ground, the plastic bag held carefully in her small hands. “Thanks for the fish. Bye.” She headed toward the rides.

“Wait,” Anne called. “I’m coming too.” She turned back. “Did she say `fish’?”

He grinned. “It’s from me, Anne. I’ll send a bowl and food tomorrow.”

“Damn you, Chase. A goldfish! What am I supposed to do—” She shook her head in disgust and disappeared after her daughter.

“You shouldn’t have,” Jenny said, gathering up her trash.

“But you’re glad I did.”

She paused for a second, then grinned. “Yeah. Come on, I want to ride the carousel horses.”

They ended up going on every ride. When she tried to beg off the Upside-Down Death Spiral, he threatened to win her another goldfish. It was after midnight when they pulled into her driveway. Her stomach was full, her senses had been scattered by the rides, she’d spent time with her family, and a man she’d loved since she was sixteen stood at her side. Life didn’t get much better than that.

“How about a nightcap?” she asked, holding the panda in one arm and digging her keys out of her jeans pocket. When the door opened, she stepped inside and waited for him to follow.

He set the giraffe and the cow on the floor. “I’m not staying tonight, Jen.”

“Why?”

“Because I want you.”

“But, Chase, I want—”

“No.” He touched his index finger to her lips. “Please don’t say it. It’s not right. None of it. I can’t give you what you need. Hell, what you deserve. There are too many reasons, people really, in the way. I want things to be better, not worse, and making love isn’t the answer.”

“I wasn’t aware anyone had asked a question,” she said softly, surprised at the quiet strength filling her. She wanted him, but she didn’t
need
him. She’d come a long way in eleven years. Maybe she’d finally grown up. “You’re afraid.”

“I’ll admit to that. But I’m not a fool. See you in the morning.”

She felt calm and detached. Was it real, or would the delayed heartache kick in later? “It’s Saturday. I won’t be at the mill.”

“I know. I meant here. I thought I’d work on the roof. You said it was leaking.”

“You don’t owe me anything.”

“I want to do this. I owe you for your hospitality. I’m a contractor in my other life, I think I can handle a leaky roof.”

In the porch light, she could see his expression. He believed what he was saying, that fixing the leaks was a simple thank-you. But was it? she wondered. Or did the house represent something else—was it his symbolic way of trying to fix the past, to fix her?

She rubbed her temple. Too much philosophy at midnight, she thought.

“Thanks,” she said, at last. “I get tired of putting out buckets. But only on the condition that you let me pay for supplies.”

“Deal.” He stepped back. “Good night.”

*

Chase was hard at work by nine-thirty the following morning. He propped up a ladder he’d found in the gardener’s shed at the big house and brought along, then strapped on the tool belt he’d bought at the local hardware store.

“Is that you already?” Jenny asked as she walked onto the porch carrying a cup of coffee. She wore her robe, but bare feet peaked out below. She’d painted her toes a bright red.

“We can’t all be lazy,” he said. “I’ve already got the supplies to fix the roof, been to the hospital and had breakfast. Oh, I also dropped off the bowl and fish food for Anne.”

“I’ll bet she was thrilled.”

“I didn’t stop to ask,” he admitted. “Just left ’em on the porch and ran.”

“Coward.” She sipped her coffee. “Even that’s too ambitious for me. Do you want some?” She waved at her cup.

“No thanks.”

“How’s your dad?”

“He was asleep when I stopped by. I’ll go back this afternoon.” He put a foot on the ladder and checked to make sure it was secure. “Go on about your business. Pretend that I’m not even here.”

“Fine.” She yawned. “I’ll just read the paper and think lazy thoughts.”

He smiled as she stumbled back into the house. God, she was beautiful in the morning. The tousled hair and sleepy eyes made him think of a night making love. Need tightened his groin. He pushed the desire away and climbed.

Once on the roof, he located the loose shingles and made a note of how many needed replacing. Turning Jenny down last night had been a hard decision, but he knew it had also been the right one. Neither of them needed the complication of a relationship. Besides, he wanted to fix things, not make them worse. He couldn’t offer her security or promises; hell, he didn’t even know how long he was staying in town. If his father’s condition continued to improve, he could be out of here in about a week.

Terry’s comments about the old man not getting stronger drifted through his mind, but he ignored them. William Jackson
had
to get better. Chase refused to be responsible for that mill and the town. Pulling a handful of nails out of his pocket, he straightened a loose shingle.

He worked through the morning. It was almost noon when Jenny appeared at the base of the ladder.

“Chase?”

“Yeah?”

“The hospital called.”

He leaned over the edge and stared down at her. All the color had faded from her face. Her eyes were wide and worried.

“What did they say?”

“It’s your father. He’s taken a turn for the worse. You’d better get over there right away.”

J
enny stared up at the big house. Despite the heat of Indian summer and the bright blue sky overhead, she felt a chill clear through to her bones. She folded her arms over her chest and shivered. She hadn’t been warm in days, not since Chase had called to tell her the news. She remembered the stunned quality of his voice as he’d spoken of the arrangements. When he’d asked her to come to the house and wait for the caterers, she’d agreed. It was the least she could do. She didn’t mind missing the funeral. Last night, she’d gone to the mortuary and said her goodbyes to William Jackson.

She glanced around and frowned. The perfectly manicured lawns and trimmed roses should have made the house a showplace. Instead, the yard looked temporary and artificial, as if waiting to be photographed for some trendy magazine. And after the shoot, everything would be taken away and only a naked building would be left.