by Debbie Mason
“For him or for me?”
He smiled. “The only place you’re staying is here with me.”
His feelings for her were evident in his words, in that slow, seductive smile he only ever shared with her. Ellie was right. Just like Abby’s, Sadie’s fears had no basis in reality. Nothing the judge could say or do would change how she and Chase felt about each other. “Your grandfather is staying with us too.”
“Are you sure? Because I—”
“Of course I am,” she said with as much enthusiasm as she could manage with her nerves doing a panicked dance in her stomach. The plan she had to welcome Chase home would have to go on the back burner. The cottage wasn’t all that big, and the walls were pretty thin. But the judge was Chase’s family. The man who’d raised him. “It’s the perfect opportunity for your grandfather to get to know me and Michaela better.” The perfect opportunity for Sadie to win him over. If she didn’t, then surely her adorable daughter would.
Except…the judge wasn’t exactly the grandfatherly type, as their one and only visit to his retirement home had proven. There’d been no oohing and aahing over Michaela. So maybe her daughter, who was as messy as her mother, wouldn’t win him over. But thanks to Chase, Sadie had inside information on the judge that at the very least might soften him up. He loved Italian food as much as his grandson did. “I’ll stop by Zia Maria’s and pick up something for dinner.”
“Okay, as long as you’re sure…” Chase broke off with a wince. “I’d better go. It sounds like the judge and Finn aren’t bonding as I’d hoped.”
So she wasn’t the only one with a plan to win over Jonathan Knight. If Chase’s plan wasn’t working out, she wondered what that said about the chances hers would.
“Everything okay?” her cousin asked.
Sadie startled. Lost in thought after Chase had disconnected, she hadn’t heard Ellie approach. She turned to smile at her cousin and Michaela. “Everything’s fine. Chase is home.”
“You know I can see through you, don’t you? And no, it’s not because I’ve inherited the MacLeod curse.”
She found it interesting that her cousin referred to their grandmother’s gift as a curse but let it go. Ellie had always known when Sadie was pretending everything was fine when it wasn’t. “This is me trying to channel my inner optimist. Chase’s grandfather is with him, and he’s not exactly on board with our relationship.”
Ellie laughed. “You don’t have an inner optimist. You’re the most pessimistic person I know.”
“And you’re the most optimistic person I’ve ever met so tell me everything is going to be all right, and I might believe you. At least I’ll try to.” Her cousin grimaced, and Sadie’s stomach dropped to her toes. “Tell me the face you just made has nothing to do with Chase and me.”
“Sorry. I’m usually better at keeping my feelings to myself. I tend to let my guard down around people I love. When I retrieved your phone, Chase’s grandfather was standing behind him. He was thinking of ways to—”
“I knew it! You did inherit Granny’s gift.”
“Shh,” Ellie hissed, shooting a panicked glance up and down the sidewalk. “The last thing I need is for anyone to know, especially my parents.”
“So it’s true.”
Ellie sighed. “Yes, and obviously it’s not only my feelings I can’t keep to myself when it comes to you. I’m sure everything will be fine but you need to watch out for Chase’s grandfather. He’s here to break you guys up.”
Even though her cousin wasn’t telling her anything she didn’t already know, Sadie’s shoulders sagged in defeat. “Is there any chance you might be wrong? He was on the phone, and it wasn’t like you could touch him.”
“Unlike Granny, I don’t need to have physical contact to read someone. I wish I did. At least it would be easier to control. It really is a curse, Sadie. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.”
She doubted her cousin had any enemies. Ellie was the kindest person Sadie had ever met. “Does Granny know?”
“No.” She tilted her head to the side. “Maybe. But I don’t think she’ll say anything. She knows how my parents would react.”
Sadie’s aunt and uncle weren’t the most open-minded or accepting people. When they’d first learned Agnes had the second sight, they’d been horrified. They’d dragged her to psychiatrist after psychiatrist, threatening to have her committed if she didn’t stop. So Sadie understood why Ellie wouldn’t want them to know.
She gave her cousin’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “I promise, no one will hear about it from me. But I’m sorry it feels like a curse and that you’re the one who has to bear it, Ellie. If there’s anything I can do to make it easier for you, just tell me.”
“I will.” Ellie leaned in and gave her a quick hug. “I’ve missed you, Sadie.”
“I’ve missed you too. It’s nice to have you home.”
Her cousin glanced at her phone. “Speaking of home, I’d better get back to the inn.” Ellie kissed Michaela on the top of her head and then set off down the sidewalk. Turning as she reached the stoplight, she called out, “I’ll get a room ready for Chase’s grandfather. Just in case.”
Chapter Three
You know what your problem is? You have a hero complex,” Chase’s grandfather said from where he sat at the opposite end of the couch from Finn, a pillow in his hand to shoo the dog away if he dared to come close. “The only reason you’re with this girl is because you think she needs saving.”
“If you knew Sadie, you’d know how far that is from the truth,” Chase said as he leaned against the island in the kitchen, keeping an eye out for Sadie’s SUV.
“I don’t have to get to know her, nor do I wish to. The investigator I hired provided enough information about Sadie Gray and her family that I know exactly the type of person you’ve gotten yourself mixed up with. You’ve thrown away everything you worked for to play house in this shack in the woods.”
Chase ground his back molars together to keep from saying something he couldn’t take back. He knew why the judge was lashing out at Sadie. In his grandfather’s mind, she had ruined Chase’s career, but more importantly, she was the reason Chase had left DC. The judge was old and lonely. The reminder helped Chase rein in his anger but not the need to set his grandfather straight. He opened his mouth to do just that but apparently the judge wasn’t finished making his case.
“She’s manipulating you, my boy. She’s no doubt put those hacking skills of hers to good use and discovered my net worth. Now she’s just biding her time until I die. She’ll be in for a shock when she discovers I disinherited you. You’ll not get a single penny of my estate if you stay with her.”
“Sadie wouldn’t hack into your finances.” He didn’t bother denying that she had the ability to uncover any and all of his grandfather’s secrets. Like her brother, Sadie had inherited their late father’s talents. Only, unlike their father, Sadie and Elijah Gray used their tech skills for the greater good. At least now her brother did. “She doesn’t care about your money, and neither do I.”
“I find that hard to believe. You always had a taste for the finer things in life.” His grandfather looked around the cottage, his upper lip curling in distaste. “Obviously, that is no longer the case.”
Chase had spent the first eight years of his life going to bed hungry, never knowing where his next meal would come from. All that had changed when his grandfather took custody of him and his younger brother. But those early days had left a mark, and Chase had worked hard to ensure he’d never go hungry again, no matter what life had in store for him. Except the small fortune sitting in his bank accounts—thanks to his baby brother’s investment acumen—hadn’t filled the void. Sadie’s love for him had, and he wouldn’t let anyone, not even the man who’d raised him, damage what they had together.
At the sound of a vehicle coming down the gravel road, Chase pushed off the counter. “If you were anyone else, I would have thrown you out for what you said about Sadie, J
udge. But I love you, and I understand what this is really about so I’m giving you one more chance. Don’t make me regret it.”
He saw a flicker of fear flash in his grandfather’s eyes before he covered it with a contemptuous snort. “Or what? You’ll throw me out? Choose a woman you’ve known for seven months over me, the man who raised you?” The judge gave his head a bitter shake. “I’m disappointed in you. I thought you were smarter than this. But I guess you are your mother’s son, after all.”
Chase’s cheeks burned as if his grandfather had slapped him. They rarely talked about his mother, the judge’s daughter. Twenty-four years ago, his grandfather had given her an ultimatum—either leave the man she lived with at the time or he’d have Chase and his brother removed from her care. His mother had chosen the man over her sons. Three years later, the judge’s prediction that Chase’s mother’s involvement with the man would lead to her death had proven correct. He’d killed her in a drunken rage.
Chase held his grandfather’s gaze. The old man had the good grace to look contrite. It didn’t matter. Chase wasn’t about to let him hurt Sadie like he’d hurt him. “I’ll book you a room at the inn. You can stay there tonight, and I’ll drive you to the airport tomorrow.”
“You said the girl…Sadie,” his grandfather corrected at Chase’s pointed stare, “was picking up food for our dinner. It would be rude for me to leave before we ate.”
“She’ll get over it,” Chase said as he walked to the front door.
“Wait!”
Surprised at the pleading note in his grandfather’s voice, Chase turned.
“You said you’d give me a second chance. I’d like to stay.” His grandfather stood, glancing from Finn, who was watching him warily from the other end of the couch, to the kitchen. “At least for dinner.”
Chase gave him a curt nod and opened the door. From where she sat behind the wheel of the SUV in the driveway, Sadie looked at him, her warm smile turning into a frown when she got out of the car. As Chase walked toward her, he worked to clear the anger at his grandfather from his face. It wasn’t as difficult as he thought it would be. Then again, he shouldn’t be surprised. Sadie had that effect on him. His life was so much better with her in it. He took her in his arms and bent his head to kiss her, the last of his anger fading away at the feel of her soft, welcoming lips beneath his.
She brought her hand to his cheek, breaking the kiss to search his face. “Are you okay?”
“I am now.” He turned his head to kiss her palm. “I’ve missed you. And you too,” he said when Michaela started babbling and clapping her hands in the backseat.
“Dada, dada.”
His jaw dropped. “Did you hear that?” Without waiting for Sadie’s response, he jogged around the SUV and opened the back passenger-side door. “You missed your dada, didn’t you, my sweet girl?” He kissed her button nose while getting her out of the car seat, scooping her into his arms. “Can you say dada? Come on, say it again for me. Dada.”
She gave him a drooly smile and patted his cheeks. “Dada.”
His chest got tight, and his throat clogged with emotion. He’d had a similar reaction the night he’d helped bring Michaela into the world. She’d captured his heart the moment he’d first held her.
He cleared his throat. “That’s right, my brilliant baby. Dada. Get out your phone, honey. We need to record this,” he said to Sadie, who’d come to stand at his side.
Sadie didn’t want to burst Chase’s bubble but it had sounded more like blah blah to her. She lifted her phone, suppressing a laugh as she filmed Chase encouraging Michaela to say dada again. Seconds later, the urge to laugh gave way to an emotion that blurred her vision. She switched from video to photo, capturing the two people she loved more than life itself.
The sunlight glinted off Chase’s honey-blond hair and her daughter’s auburn curls, the two of them smiling at each other with the forest of autumn-colored leaves in the background. Sadie picked out a frame and matting for the photo in her mind. She’d give it to Chase for Christmas.
“Did you get it?” Chase reached for her phone. He frowned when she handed it over. “Are you okay? You’re not upset she said dada first, are you?” he asked, looking a little guilty.
“No.” She laughed out loud this time, taking Michaela from him so he could watch the video. “It seems only fair since you’ve spent every waking minute coaching her.”
“I haven’t spent…okay, so maybe I have.” He grinned, his brow furrowing as he watched the video. He brought the phone to his ear. “Something must be wrong with your sound card. It sounds more like blah blah than dada.”
“I’ll have a look at it later. We should probably get inside before your grandfather wonders what happened to us.” She forced a smile, reaching past him for Michaela’s diaper bag. The disgruntled look Chase shot at the cottage didn’t help combat the nervous flutter in her stomach. “What’s wrong?”
He kissed the top of her head. “Nothing.” But the smile he offered her seemed as forced as her own. He closed the back passenger-side door and then opened the front passenger side, retrieving the takeaway bag from the seat. “Smells great. What’s this?” he asked, tucking their food under one arm to pick up the bag from Blushing Bridal Boutique.
“Don’t—” She sighed when he looked in the bag, and his eyes went wide. “It was another welcome-home surprise, but it’ll have to wait a few days until your grandfather leaves.” Thinking of Chase’s plan to move the judge to Highland Falls, she grimaced and opened her mouth to correct herself but didn’t get a chance.
“Days? Are you kidding me? No way I’m waiting that long to see you in this, babe.” He lifted the barely-there red lace negligee out of the bag and waggled his eyebrows. “I’ll take the judge to the inn as soon as we’ve eaten. And Mommy will put you”—he gently tapped a finger on Michaela’s nose—“into bed as soon as Daddy steps out the door.”
She knew she should leave it alone. She was totally on board with his plan, but she couldn’t help feeling Chase was keeping something from her. “I thought we agreed your grandfather was staying with us.”
“He’ll be more comfortable at the inn. We’re not really set up for guests.”
It was true. But Chase’s unwillingness to meet her gaze said the change of plans had nothing to do with their lack of space.
“Let’s get this over with,” he said, confirming her suspicions.
She didn’t like to see him this way—tense and angry, no doubt worried how he was going to keep the peace between her and his grandfather. “Hey.” She reached for his hand when he went to open the door. “Don’t let your grandfather’s feelings for me cause a rift between you. I understand where he’s coming from. I can stand up for myself. You don’t have to protect me.”
“I know you can. But you shouldn’t have to.”
“Maybe I won’t. Maybe we’ll have a perfectly delightful dinner together.”
He made a face. “Don’t hold your breath.”
An hour later, as they sat around the dinner table, Sadie wished she’d kept her mouth closed. Either Chase was taking her at her word or he didn’t realize that his grandfather’s smiling face and congenial manner were a ruse. She’d spent the entire dinner tiptoeing around the conversational minefields the judge set up for her.
“So when’s the big wedding?” he said with a smile, and then winced as if he’d mistakenly stepped on the biggest minefield of all.
Sadie wasn’t buying it. The judge had an agenda. She could tell by the speculative glance he cast in Chase’s direction.
“We haven’t decided on a—” Sadie began, looking at Chase to help her out. But he was imitating an airplane with Michaela’s rubber spoon, trying to get her to open her mouth.
“I shouldn’t have asked. You’ll have to forgive an old man for wanting to see his grandson happily married before he dies.”
Sadie caught Chase’s broad shoulders rise and fall on a sigh and waited for him to say something. But al
l he did was make the sound of an airplane sputtering in a death spiral before crashing it into Michaela’s bowl of rice cereal—much to the delight of her daughter, who giggled.
While the two of them laughed and smiled, Sadie was left to reassure Chase’s grandfather. “I’m sure that’s not something you have to worry about, Jonathan. Chase and I just haven’t gotten around to talking about wedding plans. Have we, honey?” She wondered if the man she loved picked up on the help me out here in her voice.
“No, we haven’t,” Chase said, getting up to walk to the refrigerator.
Sadie stared at him. Did he think that was helpful? He could have been a little more enthusiastic.
“I’ve made a mess of it, haven’t I? I hope you’ll accept my apologies, Sadie. The last thing I want is to create problems between you two.”
As if she’d believe that, Sadie thought, while her gaze remained on Chase.
The judge leaned toward her and patted her hand. “I’m sure it will be different for the two of you. He was much younger when he asked Gwen to marry him.”
“Gwen?” She realized her mistake as soon as she blurted the woman’s name. She should have simply smiled and talked about it with Chase later. Instead, she’d given the judge the opening he’d obviously been looking for.
“Oh my, I seem to have put my foot in my mouth again. Sorry, my boy. I’d assumed you would have told Sadie about Gwen. She played such an important role in your life. His first love, you know. They met at Yale.”
“It was a long time ago, Judge. I’m sure Sadie isn’t interested.” Clearly uncomfortable with the conversation, Chase squeezed the banana puree he’d retrieved from the refrigerator into a bowl for Michaela with a little more force than was necessary.
But he was wrong. Sadie was very much interested in this woman who’d obviously been important to him. A woman she’d heard absolutely nothing about. “Of course I am. Please go on, Jonathan.”