by Linda Conrad
Gus nodded then tipped his chin. “Odd to think of a Severin owning the rice mill instead of a Beltrane. But then, at my age I’ve discovered there’s plenty of unexplainable surprises in one’s lifetime.” He turned his head to look at Kate again. “And here a Beltrane’s involved now, too. Isn’t that right?”
He ushered them out to the table and chairs set up on his terrace. “The doctors only allow me iced tea these days. But I’d be pleased to scare up a bloody Mary or have a batch of julep mixed if that’d suit y’all better.”
Kate smiled. Older…grayer…than she remembered, Gus St. Germaine was still every bit the Southern gentleman.
“No thank you, Gus. Chase found a notation about the mill still carrying an outstanding debt to you. We’ve…”
“Nonsense, Kate.” Gus politely held her chair and they all sat down around the table. “I wrote that account off years ago. I’d always thought of it as a gift in your grandfather’s memory, not like a true bad debt.”
Chase acknowledged the generosity, then outlined the reason they’d come. “Do you know of anything that we could try that might help us bring the mill back to its former glory? For instance, can you tell us why you don’t have your rice milled there anymore?”
Kate poured the iced teas, making sure Gus’s was just as he liked it. And then she nodded, encouraging the old man to speak plainly.
Gus sat back and sipped his tea thoughtfully. “My time is almost done, son. I have a granddaughter who manages the St. Germaine Plantation’s farming operations these days. She’s brought us right into the twenty-first century.”
Gus smiled wryly. “Sometimes kicking, screaming and dragging our heels, mind you. But there you go. We don’t even grow rice anymore. Not profitable enough now, she claims.”
“Your granddaughter manages the entire operation?” Kate was stunned. She’d never heard of a woman plantation manager before.
“Sure enough,” Gus told her. “That one’s smarter than all the rest of us by a mile. You remind me of her some, Missy Katherine. Full of that womanly Southern charm you were born to. But by the same token, you strike me as one female who stays ten jumps ahead of every man around you.”
Kate murmured a thank-you. But instead of the feminine blush expected of a Southern lady, she lifted her chin and glanced over at Chase. She wondered what he thought of her capabilities, but imagined that she would never know for sure. The black day when he would be leaving the parish—and her—behind seemed to be getting closer every minute.
“Are all the farmers around here switching their crops and not planting rice?” Chase asked.
“I’d say so,” Gus allowed. “Those that haven’t sold off farms to oil companies or land developers, that is. Gotta keep up with the times. St. Germaine’s farm even got us a computer system that decides what to plant and when to harvest. Damnedest thing.”
There wasn’t much left that Gus could tell them, so they finished their tea and bid him goodbye. Their next stop turned out to be just as depressing. That old rice grower had sold off all his land several years back and now was enjoying a wealthy retirement sitting on his veranda.
Back in Chase’s convertible on the way home, Kate wasn’t sure what to say. “It certainly looks hopeless for the mill, doesn’t it?”
“I’m sorry, chère. I don’t see any way out of it.” Chase shook his head sadly. “Even if your father hadn’t mismanaged the mill, it’s in a dying industry. Eventually everything would’ve come to the same result. Are you horribly disappointed that your family’s heritage can’t be resurrected?”
The sun shone brightly on their bare heads, highlighting the chestnut streaks in his hair. He flipped his sunglasses out of the glove box and slid them in place.
Chase looked so handsome, she thought as they raced along the country blacktop in his Jaguar with the top down. Dressed in a pair of black jeans, a charcoal-gray T-shirt, and with a saddle-colored suede jacket slung over the backseat, he reminded Kate of every erotic notion she’d ever had.
She had been touched to hear Chase actually say he was sorry for the loss of her family’s dream. And though empathy wouldn’t save the town, his tenderness amazed her.
Her heart twitched and had her wishing she could reach for him right here. Instead she clasped her hands in her lap. Tonight couldn’t come soon enough.
“I’m not disappointed about the mill.” She decided to tell him the truth, trying to make things easier between them. “It was never the actual mill that I cared about. I just wanted to give all the employees their old jobs back. It’s the town and the people I was desperate to keep alive, not that broken-down old mill.”
Chase slanted a glance in her direction, and for a second his expression turned quizzical. He studied her. Kate wasn’t exactly sure what she’d said that bothered him, but in a few moments he turned back to concentrate on the road ahead.
She was grateful the discussion of the mill had stopped, though. It was too nice a day for that.
A minute later he raised a wicked eyebrow and asked, “You ready for that picnic lunch Shelby packed for us, chère? I have someplace special in mind where we can be alone, if you think you’re ready to eat.”
Kate was starving. Starving for a few last hours alone with the love of her life.
“I’m hungry,” she said with a wide smile. “And more than ready.”
Chase turned down the old country lane that headed off through Blackwater Bayou toward the river. He heard Kate gulp in a breath and knew she’d finally figured out where they were headed. He would’ve thought she’d known the minute he had said it was a special place.
He’d liked the way Kate had started out the day, all neat and tidy in light gray slacks and silky silver blouse. Her hair had been tied up and the soft black curls tamed. She’d appeared to be every bit the businesswoman as they’d made their calls to the plantation owners.
Now the wind had stirred more than a few of her curls out of their bounds, the sun was pinking her nose and the tails of the blouse hung loose to her hips. He’d decided he liked the vision she made this way a lot better. It was much more Kate than Katherine.
“We’re so not going to that old willow,” she said as her jaw tensed and her shoulders tightened. “It’s going to be all muddy from days of rain. Besides, you really don’t want to bring up all those bad memories, do you?”
“You think there will be ghosts in our old place, chère? Perhaps we need to exorcise them. Cast them out with the other devils from our past.”
Chase was beginning to feel rather tense himself. But he’d dreamed of this place and this woman for ten long years, and today they would close the book on that miserable chapter in their lives. Start again fresh.
Her father was gone. The mill was about to become just a memory. Everything was different for them these days.
He needed the closure. There would be no leaving town again until they’d come full circle.
Kate leaned back and closed her eyes to the harsh sun. It wasn’t that she didn’t want him. It wasn’t even that she minded making love to him in the middle of the day and outside under their old tree. She didn’t.
What troubled her was having to face her guilt head-on. If they made love in their old place today, she knew the truth would come out.
She’d almost told him a dozen times over the past two weeks, but held the words in, knowing it would probably mean the end for them. Now that the future of the mill was no longer in question and the construction workers would begin restorations on Live Oak Hall tomorrow, her time with Chase had clearly narrowed down to a few more days at most.
Wiping away the lone tear leaking from the corner of her eye, Kate swallowed back the pain and decided to make the most of their last few hours. She owed him that much.
First they would have their picnic. Then they would lose themselves in each other’s arms, just the way she imagined he’d been dreaming about for all these long years. And finally she would give him his answers.
; For she too had dreamed. Dreamed of going back to change everything. And, today was that day. The end of dreams.
“Look, Kate. Our willow is sitting high and dry. The course of the river must’ve changed over the past ten years.” Chase pulled the car to a stop a few yards away, jumped out and headed for the trunk and the picnic supplies.
As he stuffed the car keys back into his pocket, he spent just a second running his fingers over the smooth surface of his lucky egg. Wondering if the river’s change of course was a good omen, he figured maybe he and Kate were about to have a change in the course of their lives as well.
Being here might be as difficult for him as it was for her. But they needed a new beginning, and what better place to start again?
Deep in the shadows of Blackwater Bayou, the old gypsy woman nodded her head and cackled. “You have no idea how much the course of your lives is about to change, young Severin.” Lucky egg—indeed.
Gypsy magic took no luck. It took only skill and true belief.
Everything was in place and ready. She slipped the crystal into her pocket and rubbed her hands together. It wouldn’t be long now.
Surely she had made the best preparations possible. This young Steele heir would shortly be forced to accept his inheritance. The true magic would make all the difference.
Promises would finally be kept and secrets would be revealed.
Kate lay back on her elbows and watched as Chase peeled an orange. She was feeling languid and lazy and fat as a tick. The poorboy sandwiches had been terrific and as usual they were more than filling. Shelby was really clever to pack fruit for dessert instead of loading up the basket with a heavier sweet after all that food.
Waiting for Chase to take the first bite, she was surprised when he held a slice to her lips. “You first, chère.”
There was no mistaking the look in his eyes. His hunger had certainly not been sated by food. The heat in those deep-gray eyes made it clear what he wanted next. And it wasn’t an orange.
He slipped the slice into her mouth. She took it along with the tips of his fingers. Savoring both, the citrusy taste along with the erotic touch of skin caused explosions on her tongue. Sweet and absolutely perfect, she couldn’t help the small moan of pleasure as juice escaped her lips and dribbled down her chin.
Chase’s eyes narrowed…darkened. He pulled his fingers free just as she’d swiped a hand across her chin to contain the juice.
He captured that hand and ever so slowly licked each finger. When he ended by drawing circles with the tip of his tongue across her palm, Kate began to pant.
Picking up another juicy orange slice, Chase took it into his mouth, then leaned in to slant a kiss across her lips. A riot of flavors and sticky sweet juices turned the plain orange into a sinful treasure shared in their mouths.
She mumbled words of shock and disbelief against his lips, letting the juice roll down her neck and flow between her breasts. Kate could swear there was a steamy orange juice mist rising between them.
There would be no help for Chase’s frantic craving to have this woman beneath him. Neither of them were exactly the same people as they had been ten years ago. But he’d ached to have her here under their tree again for all that time. Why fight it?
Leaning over her, he possessively molded her breasts with his hands. Her body began to vibrate under him, sending sizzling currents through them both.
Sweet and sticky, he nibbled his way down her neck at the same time he used one hand to unbutton her shirt. “You are so…” No words could describe what he was feeling at the moment. Every image, every adjective was inadequate and paled in comparison to the reality of Kate.
She melted into him, going soft and fluid just as he went hard. Their need was suddenly insane and rash.
He tried to hold on to sanity, but found that nearly impossible to accomplish. They began tearing wildly at each other’s clothing. One last fleeting rational thought reminded him of the foil packets he’d put into his pocket in anticipation of being here with her.
So as he scrambled out of his slacks he dug one up, tore it open and covered himself. He stopped then, for just a moment, hovering over her and savoring the sight of her lying naked looking up at him. It was his dream.
Her eyes were glazed with passion as she reached out to run her hands across his chest. A flash of memory clogged his throat, and the wistful sting of remembered desire clouded his eyes.
Kate arched up to him and nipped at his nipples, using her teeth and tongue to push him on. The pleasure verged on pain, jumbling in his mind.
He bent to her, teasing, tasting, driving them both upward on a fast hot ride.
Kate gasped, ran her fingers through his hair and held him in place. She dug her nails into his back as she arched her hips.
“Chase,” she whispered. “This…this is so different. I feel…so different.”
He managed a smile as he held himself slightly above her. “Different good? Or different bad?”
“I don’t know,” she said on a low moan. “It’s just more. I’m desperate…frantic…to feel you inside of me. If I don’t have you there soon, I think I might die.”
“My sentiments exactly, chère.”
Giving in to his body’s command, he pushed inside her on one long, slow, exquisite glide. Chase closed his eyes and experienced the velvet feel of her body surrounding him, wrapping around him like a sensual vice grip.
His mind blanked as he heard the word “more” repeating in his ears. She was more. Together they became more. More than just one.
Rocking his body into hers, the blood rushing through his veins, he pulled her with him as he urged her to climb higher. He thrust and she met him, time and again.
Too soon he felt her internal muscles sucking him deeper into her body and releasing the flood of dizzying stars that would quickly capture them both.
Kate screamed his name. His voice broke on hers. They collapsed in a heap, holding each other as the pleasurable ripples subsided.
When the blood stopped rushing in his ears, he rolled to one side and spat out a curse.
She sat up, gasping for a ragged breath. “What’s the matter?”
Chase sat up, too, and rubbed a hand over his eyes. “Please tell me it doesn’t matter that the condom just broke.”
“I…” She reached for her blouse. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Wish I was. We need to figure out how bad this might be. Where are you in your cycle?”
Shoving her arms through the sleeves of her blouse, Kate tried to calm down and think. But the math betrayed her. This simply could not be happening. Had she learned nothing at all from her past?
“I’m four days late.”
“Oh, God.”
She blinked her eyes and decided it was time to panic. Scrambling to get dressed and using his own words, she mimicked, “My sentiments exactly.”
Chase paced down the hallway right outside the bathroom. “How long has it been now?”
“Time will not go any faster if you ask that same question every ten seconds.” She glared at him.
He glared back, shrugged and paced the hall.
Kate hugged herself around the waist but refused to stare down at the pregnancy test wand sitting on the counter. She stormed down the hall in the opposite direction.
This was too much a repeat of the past. She couldn’t face it. She’d been lying to herself and wasn’t strong enough. She hadn’t even had a chance to tell him what had really happened the night he left town.
Guilt, panic, hysteria…they all combined to drive Kate over an edge. “You might’ve at least gone out and bought a new box of the damned things,” she snapped. “Just because it was a fifty-pack, you didn’t have to rely solely on me for our supply.”
Chase turned and paced toward her. “Are you implying that a twenty-year-old box of expired condoms might not be totally reliable? What a shock.”
“And that would be all my fault…how?”
“Dammit, Kate
,” he said with a grimace. “Maybe you’re late due to stress or something. Just because one condom in the box was bad doesn’t mean they all were.”
“Hey. Wishful thinking is always such a big help in a crisis. That’ll make everything so much bet….”
“How long has it been now?” he interrupted.
She checked the wall clock. “Three minutes. It’s probably ready.” But her feet refused to move.
Chase hesitated, looked at her for a second, then walked into the bathroom and picked up the wand. “We’ll both look at the same time, okay?”
Her heart moved into her throat. “Right. On three. One…two…”
Ten
“We’ll get married.”
Kate shoved at Chase’s chest, then fisted her hands. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Why is that ridiculous? When people make babies together, they get married.”
Since the moment they’d both seen the plus sign, Kate’s mind had been racing. Right along with her heart.
She folded her arms across her chest with a grimace. “But not us. You said you wanted things to be temporary. Why would you marry me?”
He took a step toward her, then hesitated, as though changing his mind. “I’d have thought my feelings would be rather easy to guess after the last couple of weeks.”
Not so much, she thought wryly. There had been times when she’d imagined that he really cared for her. But then, in the next instant, everything would dissolve into a lust-filled haze, blurring whatever other feelings might exist between them.
She knew he wanted her—craved her—exactly the way she craved him. But what else was there to fall back on? Nothing but distrust.
That had been the real reason she had not told him the truth of their past yet. She loved the fact that he still desired her body. And she hadn’t wanted to see the end of their time together come too soon. It was selfish, sure. But there it was.