Ride (17 page)

He smiled, then shrugged. “I’ve had my hands on enough parts of you to be able to estimate what size dress you take. Do you think it’ll work?”

Her cheeks grew hot at the memory of those hands on her. “Yeah. I do.”

“There’s a pair of shoes in the bag too.”

She raised a brow. “You haven’t had your hands on my feet.” Or had he?

“No, but I peeked inside your sneakers while you were in the shower back in Vegas and saw what size they were.” Chase donned a shy, almost contrite expression.

Leesa laughed. “You did? Why?”

“They looked so tiny sitting there on the floor.” He shrugged. “I was curious.”

“I suppose this dress is just in case we need to, uh, pull over for any reason?”

His grin lit up his entire face. “You never know.”

“You never know.” She couldn’t help but smile too. She had a feeling he’d stocked up on condoms too while he was out shopping for clothes for her.

“There’s also a little white sweater-type thing in the bag too, in case you get cold later.”

She glanced down and indeed there was. She supposed he was getting tired of seeing her in the sweatshirt. She guessed she couldn’t blame him. “Thank you. You’re so sweet. You really shouldn’t have bought me anything.”

Leesa didn’t want him spending money on her when she was going to have to leave and never look back.

Chase dismissed her thanks with a wave of a hand. “It’s nothing, and I really mean that. There is one store in town that has women’s clothes and the choices are pretty limited. I did the best I could, but we can go to the mall one day. It’s about an hour away but there I can buy you something really nice.”

“Chase. I don’t want you buying me things.”

“Why not? I told you, I have money.”

Somehow he’d inched closer. He was so close his chest nearly brushed against hers as his face hovered just inches above. She looked up at him now. “I know, but you shouldn’t be spending it on me.”

“Too bad.” He dipped his head lower and captured her lips. The bag was between them. As he kissed her, he managed to take it out of her grasp and drop it onto the bed next to them. She had a feeling he would like to drop her on that bed too, but would never do that with his mother in the house.

He pressed close and kissed her harder until the sound of rushing footsteps in the hall had him pulling away. Christine flew past the door, then stopped and backed up. “Chase. Mama wants to make sure you’re not here for dinner before she defrosts the steaks.”

Watching her, he waited for her answer.

“Where would we be going?” Leesa knew he could hear the hesitation in her voice.

Chase glanced at her. “Just out in town. It’s a tiny little bar that serves food in the side room. It’s the middle of the week. We’ll probably be one of the few people there. One hour. We’ll eat and then I’ll bring you right home. Promise.”

Leesa drew in a big breath. It was probably safe. Actually, it might be good for her to go. If there had been strangers poking around here asking questions lately, this was a small enough town that word would spread. She was so isolated on the farm she’d never hear it here, but at a bar in town where the locals hung out, she definitely would catch some of the gossip.

She nodded. “Okay.”

Chase grinned. “Good.” He turned toward his sister. “Tell Mama Leesa and I are going out for dinner.”

Christine skittered away down the hall and Leesa felt Chase’s gaze back on her.

“Thank you.”

She raised a brow. “You’re the one taking me out and buying me things. Why are you thanking me?”

“For giving me someone to do those things for.” His hand touched her face and as usual, sent warmth straight through her.

She shook her head slowly. “Why hasn’t someone already scooped you up and claimed you as their own?”

He shrugged. “I guess I’ve been waiting to be claimed by the right one.”

Her heart twisted. Another time, another place, she would love to be that one. “Get out. I have to change.”

“Can’t I stay and…help?” The devilish side crept out through his usual angelic aura.

“No.” She pushed him backward toward the door.

He went easily enough, grinning. “Can’t wait to see you in that dress.”

“Yeah, and don’t think I don’t know why.”

Chase didn’t argue. He just laughed and began pulling the door shut. “See you in a few minutes.”

“Okay.”

When the door clicked shut, Leesa turned toward the bag on the bed. Her gaze caught her reflection in the mirror. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes bright, and her lips just a tad bit swollen from his kisses. If she hadn’t already decided not to be, she’d have to say that she looked like a woman in love.

Chase’s hometown reminded her a bit of her own as they drove down the main street. He parked along the side of a dark colored building with a sign lit by a few bulbs that read
Murphy’s
.

He didn’t immediately jump out to run and open the truck door for her, something she’d learned to wait for him to do so he didn’t kill himself trying to get around the hood only to find her already out of the vehicle. That was her clue he wanted to say something. “Something wrong?”

“Um, not really. It’s just that this is a small town.”

She nodded. “Yeah?”

“Everyone here knows me. They have since the day I was born.” He looked pained. “I think maybe we should take our rings off before we go inside.”

Leesa felt a little twinge in the vicinity of her heart. “Oh. Okay.”

Chase grabbed both of her hands before she had a chance to absorb the meaning of what he’d suggested. “Listen to me first. It’s not that I’m not proud to have you on my arm, because I am. But if we’re gonna end this thing, it will be easier if no one in town knows. The gossips will chew on this forever and I…I don’t want that. Do you understand?”

Two things struck Leesa. One was Chase’s use of the word if.
If
we’re gonna end this thing. The second was the expression on his face, as if it would cause him pain later on to be reminded by town gossip that they’d once been married.

Leesa shook that theory from her mind. She was thinking like a silly girl with a crush, assuming he felt the same way. Chase was young and attractive and in the midst of building a great career. He was in the public eye. He probably had girls hanging all over him all the time. He could be with someone new the minute she was gone.

“Okay. That’s fine. I totally understand and I agree.”

She pulled her hands away from his and slid the ring off before he could say anything else to cause her imagination to run away with her.

He pulled off his and held his hand out. “I’ll stick them both in the cup holder for now.”

Leesa nodded, not letting on how she’d kind of wanted to hold onto it. In case they never put them back on, she wanted it as a memory. Something to look at to make her feel bad about what she’d missed out on when she was somewhere else, doing something else. She’d eventually have to figure out where and what that would be one day very soon.

With the rings stowed safely in the truck’s console, Chase turned to her. “Okay. Ready?”

She nodded and waited for him to come around and open her door. There were only two other vehicles in the lot. An old rusty truck and a tiny hatchback. She couldn’t picture Bruno and the goons arriving in either of those, even if they were trying to be inconspicuous. She relaxed a bit and decided to try and enjoy her night out with Chase. It may be her only one.

Of course the owner knew Chase. The older woman who greeted them, Mrs. Murphy, asked about his family and how long he’d been in town, all the while keeping one eye on Leesa, waiting for an introduction, she supposed. Chase didn’t supply Mrs. Murphy with any information, not even when she said, “I’ll seat you and your…guest.”

“Thank you. I appreciate it.” Chase didn’t give Mrs. Murphy her adjective of who Leesa was and what she was to Chase.

Once they’d been seated and the owner went through the kitchen door to get them water and rolls, Leesa smiled. “That just about killed you didn’t it?”

“What?” Chase looked up from the single page menu on the table in front of him.

“Not introducing me to her. You’re so polite. I could feel how badly you wanted to.”

He shook his head, looking horrified. “I am so sorry. I did badly want to introduce you. I just didn’t know what to call you.”

She knew it. Leesa knew him so well, even though they’d only been together for a few days. “Chase. Honestly. It’s okay. I totally understand.”

“No, it’s not okay. I should have just called you my friend or something. I’ll introduce you when she comes back.”

Reaching out, she covered his hand with hers. “No. Really. Leave it. It’ll give her something to wonder about for a while. Maybe make her slow night go a little faster Besides, I kind of like being mysterious.”

Chase let out a snort. “You are mysterious enough already. Believe me.”

He squeezed her hand then withdrew his just as Mrs. Murphy came back out. Leesa didn’t have time to ask him what he’d meant. Not that she had to. That was probably a conversation better left alone. In fact, once they had rolls, water and had ordered off the menu, Leesa thought it best to change the subject totally.

“Tell me how you started riding.”

He glanced up at her. “You really want to know?”

“Of course I do. I mean it’s not every day a guy decides to jump on the back of a bull. At least it’s not normal where I come from.”

“Where do you come from?”

Uh oh. She’d walked right into that one. “A little town no one’s ever heard of. But I asked you first. How did you start riding bulls?”

He sighed, looking dissatisfied. “Well, I started riding rough stock when I was in elementary school.”

Leesa had no idea what rough stock was, but she didn’t care. She knew once Chase started talking about riding, he’d get so absorbed he wouldn’t think about anything else, such as where she was from and what she was hiding from him.

She was right. He had started talking and kept going. “I was raised on the farm, and even though we don’t have a whole lot of acreage we’ve always owned a horse or two. I was riding before I was walking. In fact, she doesn’t talk about it much, but my mother is a former barrel racer.”

“Really.” Not sure what exactly a barrel racer did, Leesa nodded suitable encouragement so he would keep talking, which he did.

“We used to go to see the pro rodeo that came through these parts every year. I guess that’s what inspired me to want to go pro when I got a little older, but when I was young I just liked it. I started riding bucking stock when I was six. I entered sheep riding contests.”

“Sheep? Really?” She pictured a little curly headed, six-year-old Chase hanging onto a sheep and smiled.

“Yeah. It’s a good time. You should go to a competition. I’ll be riding in a rodeo here in a few weeks. I mean, if you’re still here.” His eyes dropped.

In a few weeks she’d likely be long gone. That thought made her more determined to enjoy what little time she had left with Chase.

He cleared his throat. “Anyway, I moved on to steers about two years later and worked my way up through the junior ranks. I even qualified for the National High School Rodeo Association. I was on the rodeo team in college. Turns out I was good enough to go pro. I was very lucky. I won Rookie of the Year.”

“I somehow don’t think luck had much to do with it.”

“Thanks.” He blushed and she couldn’t help but smile.

Meanwhile, she found herself mesmerized by the way his lips looked so sexy. Her gaze dropped to his hands, clasped politely on the table in front of him. She flashed back to all the places they’d been on her body and how good they had felt. She wished she could hold them now, without old lady Murphy seeing them.

“Okay. That’s my story. Your turn. How did you end up in Vegas?”

She supposed she could safely tell him part of her story. It might appease him enough he’d stop questioning her about the stuff she couldn’t tell. Leesa drew in a deep breath and launched into the tale.

“I was about to go into my senior year of college.”

“Where?”

“California.” She hoped he wouldn’t ask any more questions. In fact, once he’d heard how stupid she was, he probably wouldn’t want anything more to do with her. He’d be running to the divorce lawyer and she wouldn’t blame him. That would probably be for the best anyway. “I met a guy and was silly enough to believe we were in love and that would be enough.”

The full weight of her stupidity hit her hard as she told the story. How she’d dropped out of school after the deadline to get the semester’s tuition back that her parents had already paid. It was a considerable sum and she still felt so guilty about it she couldn’t bring herself even to voice it out loud.

Leesa glanced at Chase as he watched and waited for her to continue. “Anyway, I left school and followed him to Vegas where he proceeded to run up tens of thousands of dollars worth of credit-card debt. Then he left me with three months worth of back rent to pay.”

“He left you?”

She nodded.

“Tell me the credit card wasn’t in your name.” Chase was leaning forward now.

“Um, sorry. I wish I could.” She cringed knowing how absolutely foolish she sounded.

He leaned back in his chair and shook his head. “Wow. What a shithead.”

“Yeah.” That she could agree with easily.

“What did your parents say?”

“I didn’t exactly tell my parents the truth. They think I dropped out of school because I got offered a great job with a huge salary by a corporation in Vegas.”

He frowned. “Why would you lie?”

“I’m too embarrassed to tell them the truth. And besides, I figure it won’t be a lie one day. If I work hard enough, I can pay off the credit-card debt. Then I’ll pay for my last year of school, get my degree and then get that great job they think I already have.”

He shot her a doubt-filled look.

“I know. I’m crazy. It seemed like a good idea at the time. First I started temping with a secretarial agency. That was too sporadic and didn’t pay that great. So I started waiting tables in a restaurant at one of the casinos. I pretty much sucked at that so my tips were really bad. I was already working the night shift so I thought why not try one of the clubs. I’d talked to one of the other waitresses who’d worked…you know…doing what I ended up doing. She said the money was phenomenal. I figured I could make enough at the club to get out of the hole within a year. But living expenses are so high in Vegas and the interest on my credit cards.” She shook her head. “Have you ever looked closely at your statement? The part where it says if you pay the minimum balance you will pay this balance off in thirty-nine years or whatever. It’s insane.”