Loving Lauren

by Jill Sanders

  Chapter Six

  “My, oh my,” Lauren thought as she looked across the shallow water at an almost-naked Chase. It had been years since she'd seen him without a shirt. He'd gained a few more muscles since then and his skin was a wonderful shade of dark bronze at the moment. He must have worked on her roof without a shirt on. The irritation in his eyes changed to humor when he noticed her assessment of him.

  She'd come over here today to apologize, since the cool bath last night had done wonders to clear her head. She'd been a jerk to him. He'd worked hard, along with half the men in town, to get her roof done in one day. Or so her sister Haley had told her when she had finally arrived home. At first she'd been mad that her sister hadn't called her and told her what was going on at the house, but after she explained that Chase had made her promise not to tell, she'd given up and understood she'd been outmaneuvered by a master.

  He walked slowly out of the water like he was the master of the place. Lauren realized he’d always walked around like he was in charge. It was something she found quite entertaining and annoying at the same time.

  Just then Dingo let out a quick bark. She hadn't wanted to bring the dog along, but when she’d opened the car door, the dog had jumped in and refused to get out. It was almost like she knew she was coming to visit Chase. Maybe it was the fried chicken in the basket that the dog had wanted?

  Turning, she caught sight of a small bundle on his front porch. “Dingo, no.” She set her basket down and started rushing towards her dog. “Leave it. Chase, something’s crawled up on your porch to die.” She approached the deck with caution.

  “It's a stray I saved. Found him along Highway 69. Lost part of his back leg.”

  “Oh, you poor thing.” She rushed to the porch and picked up the small creature who was just coming out of the drugged state.

  “I wouldn't go doing...” It was too late. When she picked up the small bundle, it quickly opened its eyes and upchucked a little on her white dress. Chase groaned. “He has some pretty strong drugs in his system right now. He's likely to get sick for the next few hours.”

  She carefully set the dog back on the rug and watched as it whined. “You poor thing.” She started to clean the front of her dress with a towel that had been hanging over the railing. She stopped when she saw him walking across the grass towards her, his wet boxers snug against his body. His legs were as impressive as the top part of him. He was smiling as he walked towards her, water dripping off every inch of his almost-naked body.

  “Here, let me help you.” He took the towel from her hands and started cleaning the front of her dress. She'd lost her ability to think, let alone be shocked at the fact that he was basically touching her breast. “Is that homemade fried chicken I smell?”

  “Huh?” She couldn't take her eyes away from his dark ones. Actually, the more she looked into them, the more she realized they were a very warm shade of brown. She could see stardust speckles in them. It reminded her of a clear evening and watching the stars poking through the darkness of the night.

  “Homemade chicken? In the basket?” He stopped cleaning her dress.

  “Oh, yes. I made you dinner.” She rushed over to where she'd set the basket full of food down. Dingo had sat next to the oversized basket, no doubt waiting for her cut of the meal. When she walked back onto the porch, he was walking out the front door with a pair of faded Levi's on. He'd yet to put on the white t-shirt he was carrying, and she desperately wished he wouldn't. His feet were still bare and he looked like he'd just come off the cover of a magazine she'd seen in the dentist’s office once. He stretched up and slid on the shirt and her mouth went dry.

  “Can you stay?” he asked when his head appeared from the shirt.

  “What?” She shook her head to clear it. “Oh, sure. I suppose. I just wanted to thank you for yesterday. To apologize for my behavior. I'd had a long day.”

  “There's no need to apologize. I had one of those today. I know how they go. Would you like to sit out here or go inside?”

  She looked around. The sun was sinking lower and the breeze had started bringing in cooler air. There was a large oak tree that sheltered half the house. An old picnic table sat halfway between the creek and the house, under another oak.

  “How about we go sit under that tree and have a picnic.”

  “Sounds great. Do you want a beer?” He walked back to the screen door, waiting for her answer.

  “Sure, I'll go set everything up.” She walked to the table and busied herself. She loved cooking and picnics. Her sisters never really got into eating outside anymore unless it was on their deck. Some days she would take along a small basket on her rounds of the property. She'd find a cool tree to sit under and eat her lunch with Dingo and Tanner as company. She didn't mind, but it was nice to have friends to share meals with every now and then.

  She took her time laying out the red and white checkered tablecloth, then set up the white plastic plates and forks. Taking out each Tupperware full of food, she arranged everything nicely. When she turned back around, Chase was there with a handful of white daisies he'd picked from the side of his house. His smile told her that he'd been watching her set the table. Looking down, she realized he'd pulled on a pair of boots and had a small cooler tucked under his arm, no doubt full of ice cold Shiner.

  “You look beautiful.” He handed her the flowers and she laughed.

  “Well, aren't you the charmer.” She smiled and pulled the flowers up to her face.

  “You're the one that brought me fried chicken.” He set the cooler down and pulled out two beers, opening one for her and handing it to her. She took a drink and let the cold liquid wet her dry throat. He opened his and took a deep drink.

  “I needed this.”

  “The beer?” She sat down and smiled when he followed suit and sat across from her.

  “No, although it doesn't hurt.” He smiled and set it down and looked across at her. “I needed some good company. I needed to know that we were okay.”

  She shrugged her shoulders. “Of course we're okay. Why wouldn't we be?”

  He mimicked her move by shrugging his shoulders. “I know you think I overstepped my boundaries.”

  “Don't. Let's not talk about it. Let's just eat and I'll be thankful I have a new roof and a new water pump.” She smiled.

  “Fair enough.” He smiled over at her. They sat in silence for a few minutes, each filling a plate full of goodies she'd spent a few hours in the kitchen making.

  She'd had plenty of time last night, since she couldn't sleep very well. Her mind kept running over his words, his actions from yesterday.

  “You know why. You've always known why.”

  Did she know why? And more important, what was she going to do about it? She didn't want Chase to get the wrong impression with the food offering today. She wasn't condoning his actions, just trying to smooth things out between them. She still didn't want his help around the place. It was hers, and her sisters’. She still felt like she could have taken care of everything herself, given a little more time and a little more money.

  The money she'd been adding into their joint account was going to be his, even if she had to sneak behind his back and get it to him. Two could play at this game and now that he had established that he wasn't going to play fair, her options were unlimited.

  She smiled over at him and watched as he took a bite of the honey biscuits she'd baked earlier. “Grant was telling me that it would only take a few weeks to have our marriage annulled.”

  She watched his face go blank, then turn bright red as he started choking on the bite of biscuit. When his face turned a deep purple, she rushed over and started pounding on his back as he coughed. Finally, she handed him his beer and he took a large swallow followed by a few deep breathes. He startled her by standing up and grabbing hold of her shoulders.

  “We are not getting an annulment,” he growled out. His face had yet to return to its normal color, causing his eyes to s
tand out more.

  “Why not? We haven't slept together. Besides, it's not like we're in love.”

  His hands dropped to his sides and he looked at her blankly. Slowly, his normal coloring seeped back into his face. Then he turned and sat down again. “We just aren't. It's the principle of it all.”

  “The principle?” She marched over and stood on the other side of the table. “The principle? Are you telling me that there is no way we are ever going to stop this joke? It's gone on long enough, don't you think?”

  “Joke?” He took another drink of his beer and looked at her, humor flooding his expression and eyes.

  She started pacing, waving her hands around as she babbled and explained what she'd practiced saying to him all last night and this morning as she'd cooked.

  “Sure, this is a joke. I mean, who goes and gets married all because of a loan between two friends. I mean, this is so seventeenth century. It’s not like we had an arranged marriage.” She turned and glared at him when he chuckled. “It's beyond my comprehension why you insisted on it in the first place.” She started walking below the low branches of the tree again, back and forth. “I was too emotional after losing my father to think clearly. There I was, my father gone, the weight of the ranch on my shoulders, along with my responsibility for my sisters, and then the new debt I owed your father and Mr. Holton. You waltzed in with an offer to remove all it. All I had to do was sign on the dotted line. Of a marriage license.” She turned to him again. “You took advantage of me.” He'd continued eating while she ranted, but upon hearing her last words, he slowly placed his hands on the table and stood up. His eyes heated.

  “Lauren, you're playing with fire.”

  She looked at him and knew that she'd crossed the line. He hadn't taken advantage of her. There were so many other ways he could have, but he hadn't. He'd been a total gentlemen about the whole thing. A friend. That's all he'd been. She'd just always assumed that once she'd paid him back in full, that they would quietly get a divorce.

  But the other day, when Grant had been over, she'd mentioned a friend of hers who'd entered into a marriage and wanted out. He'd told her all about annulments and filled her in on what it would take to have her friend get one. She had a new goal instead of divorce, now.

  “Are you telling me that I'm stuck with you?” She put her hands on her hips, waiting for his answer.

  He just looked back at her with a blank face, then slowly a smile crossed his lips. “Yeah, I guess I am.” He turned and sat back down, picked up a chicken leg and bit into it.

  She couldn't believe her ears. Did he honestly think she'd stay married to him? She didn't have any immediate plans to marry someone else, but she'd always thought it would happen in the future. Someday she'd find someone she'd want to settle down with. He'd have to want to live and work on the ranch, be liked by her sisters, and most importantly, not be Chase Graham.

  She turned and, without a word, left him sitting under the old oak, eating her food. When she opened her car door, Dingo jumped in. “Yeah, I'm done here, too.” She slammed the door a little louder than normal. Chase looked up and waved as she drove off, a huge smile on his face.

  “Can you believe he won't give me a divorce?” She looked over at Dingo. The dog hung her head out the window and enjoyed the breeze. “We will just see about that.”

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