The Heartbreaker

by Carly Phillips

  “According to Rick, it was real this time. She reached him and he’s been there all night.”

  “Why didn’t he call?”

  “He did.” He buttoned his pants and pulled on a sweatshirt. “I was too busy to answer.”

  She winced, obviously catching his meaning. “I’m sorry.”

  “No big deal,” he lied. He’d already given her too much insight, too much power over his feelings and emotions. The time had come to rein himself in.

  He grabbed for his keys. “You sleep it off and I’ll update you when I know more.”

  She nodded. If she was hurt by his withdrawal or affected by his need to shut her out, she didn’t show it. And despite his deep need to fortify his defenses and keep her out, a part of him wished for the emotional reaction he struggled not to give.

  He wanted to hold her and let her hold him one more time before heading over to the hospital. Instead, he waved and walked out the door.

  * * *

  The door slammed shut behind Chase and the sound of the truck’s motor quickly followed. Then silence ensued. Any blossoming hope Sloane had held since hearing Chase admit he’d broken up with Cindy crumbled around her. He’d withdrawn and it didn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out why.

  She’d known the Chandler brothers for under a week but she already understood their family code of honor. Family first. Always. And Chase had defied that code last night. He’d ignored the cell because he’d been too wrapped up in Sloane. And now he felt guilty. He probably always would. She’d be better off concentrating on her life and her problems and leave Chase Chandler and his family to their own.

  Picking up her cell, she called her stepmother. Not a morning person, Madeline still answered on the first ring. “Hello?”

  “Hi, Mom.”

  “Sloane, honey, thank God.” Relief echoed in Madeline’s tone. “I needed to hear your voice.”

  A lump rose to Sloane’s throat as did a longing for home she hadn’t expected. Despite the lies, she loved her family. That was one truth that her time in Yorkshire Falls was making clear. “I’m fine. And I needed to hear your voice too.” To her shock, her own voice cracked and she broke down crying.

  “Did you find Samson?” Madeline asked, concern lacing her tone. “Is that why you’re crying?”

  Sloane shook her head, answering, “No, I didn’t find him. He’s taken off since the house explosion, but according to people here, he’s odd and his eccentric behavior isn’t all that surprising.” She blotted her eyes.

  Still trying to keep Madeline in the dark and protected, she kept her explanation to a minimum. “When I left to come here, was Dad upset?” If Michael Carlisle were worried about Sloane, he might send someone after Samson to find him first, which might explain the person Earl said had been looking for Samson.

  “No. He understands this is something you have to do.”

  Sloane bit down on her lower lip. “And the campaign? How is that going? Frank and Robert must be working Dad like crazy, now that they’ve publicly announced he’s running for vice president.” Sloane mentioned Michael’s campaign manager in the hope that Madeline would inadvertently provide helpful information. After all, Frank was the one person who’d threatened Samson. The one with the most to lose, next to Michael, if the campaign were derailed by a loose cannon like Samson Humphrey.

  “Actually, Frank’s been in meetings nonstop while Robert went out of town,” Madeline said.

  “He left town now? At the height of the campaign and excitement?” Sloane asked, attempting to sound surprised.

  “Family emergency. Those things can’t be helped, you know.” Madeline sighed. A long pause followed and then she took a sudden gasp. “You don’t think they’re looking for Samson to ensure his silence?”

  “No! I mean, of course not. I just think Samson’s an old eccentric who disappeared. In the meantime, if Robert says he has a family emergency, I’m sure he does.” Sloane was also sure he’d keep himself hidden if in fact he was in Yorkshire Falls.

  “Okay,” Madeline said, not sounding in the least bit pacified. “At least I know you have someone looking out for you.”

  “Which brings me to my next point. How could you ask Chase Chandler to be my bodyguard?” she asked, calling her stepmother on her overprotective tendencies.

  “I’ll do whatever I have to do to keep my family safe. Chase is a good man, Sloane.”

  “Tell me something I don’t know.”

  “Are you two getting along?” Madeline asked with a definite hopeful tone in her voice.

  She has a lot in common with Raina Chandler, Sloane thought. “He grows on you,” she said, deliberately evasive.

  Madeline laughed. “Well, that’s a start. Will you call if you need me?”

  “I will,” Sloane promised. She disconnected the call and stared at it, her own thoughts coming back to Chase’s withdrawal.

  Damn the man and his mixed signals. Yes, he’d pushed her away, but she’d also seen his eyes darken with need; she’d heard him groan while he was deep inside her. No man could fake that depth of feeling. Not to mention the fact that he’d broken up with Cindy. The hell with not reading too much into things, Sloane thought, rising from the bed. Despite the pounding headache from last night, her mind began to clear. She had a father to find and a life to reclaim. And perhaps Chase Chandler would be a part of it.

  * * *

  Chase knocked once and eased open the door to his mother’s hospital room. This time she’d been admitted overnight instead of being sent home from the emergency room. Guilt gnawed at his insides, and an overwhelming sense of his own betrayal flooded his system. He’d been concerned with reconciling Sloane’s family instead of paying attention to the things that connected him to his.

  “Mom?” Chase called out quietly in case Raina was sleeping.

  “Come on in,” Rick said from a chair in the corner of the large room.

  Chase stepped inside, taking in his surroundings. The walls had muted pastel wallpaper covering them and a television hung from the ceiling. On mute, the picture flickered from the screen. And Raina sat up in the only bed in the large room. Eric had probably arranged for private accommodations, making certain their mother had excellent care.

  Her eyes fluttered open at the same time Chase eased himself onto the edge of the mattress. He lifted her aged hand in his. “How are you?”

  “Much better,” Raina said, pushing herself up higher against the pillows. “I really can’t believe this,” she murmured, her eyes twinkling with a combination of regret and concern.

  “Believe what?” Rick asked, butting in as he always did. “That Chase finally has a social life?” He looked Chase’s way and winked, his attempt to lighten the mood around them obvious.

  Raina laughed. “Leave your brother alone. He’s allowed to have sex without you adding your two cents about it.” She folded her arms over her chest, her expression and tone forbidding Rick to mention the subject again.

  As if Raina’s chiding had ever stopped Rick.

  And she was discussing his sex life. A heated flush rushed to his face.

  “Well, I think it’s about time. Don’t you?” Rick unfolded his body from the chair and stretched, asking his question on cue.

  Chase groaned. “I’d rather talk about how Mom is doing.”

  “Not about what you were doing after you got Sloane home?” Rick joked.

  But not even his middle brother’s ribbing could ease Chase’s guilt.

  “Mom’s going to be fine,” Rick said at last, obviously reading the anxiety on Chase’s face.

  Raina agreed with a squeeze of her hand. “I am. But, Chase, this … incident isn’t connected to the last one.” She blushed red and her discomfort was so obvious he couldn’t bring himself to express his anger at her charade.

  “I know, Mom. And let’s leave it in the past, okay? What’s important now is your health and making sure you don’t have a real relapse this time.” He leaned closer, elbows
on the blanket, his hand never leaving hers.

  Raina blinked. “What do you mean you know?” Her gaze darted from Chase to Rick. “He knows?” she asked her middle son.

  Rick nodded.

  “I would have confronted you about it after D.C., but Sloane showed up and things have gotten out of control,” Chase said. “But no longer. I have my priorities back in order.” He met Rick’s gaze. “What’s the diagnosis?” he asked, wanting to know the worst so he could take control.

  “Angina. Apparently, there isn’t enough blood flow to the heart, and when she overdoes it, she experiences pain as a result.”

  Chase nodded, a feeling of déjà vu overcoming him as he heard this heart problem explained to him, just as Raina had once explained her last “episode.” He realized now just how much information had been missing, how many clues Raina had left that she’d been faking. Clues none of her sons had picked up on because they cared only about making her better.

  “Chase, we really do need to talk about what I did to your brothers, and to you.” Raina blinked and a tear dripped down her face. “I was so wrong.”

  His heart squeezed tighter at her admission. “We have plenty of time to talk, I promise. Right now I want you to save your energy so you get your strength back.” He brushed a kiss over her cheek and rose to his feet. “I’d like to find Eric and get a full explanation of where we go from here.”

  “He’ll be back in a few minutes. I told him I’d gotten hold of you and he said he’d discuss the future with all three of us.” Rick lifted his hand and looked at his wristwatch. “Roman and Charlotte will be in by tonight and Eric said we can all talk again then. I’m being released this afternoon,” Raina added.

  “Good.” If they were letting her go home, things couldn’t be that dire, Chase thought.

  “Where’s Sloane?” Raina asked.

  “Home nursing a hangover, like Kendall, I’d think,” Rick said, his humor tinged with annoyance at last night’s situation.

  “Oh, come now. Neither one of them drinks,” Raina said.

  “How would you know what Sloane does or doesn’t do?” Chase asked.

  Raina splayed her hands over the standard-issue hospital blanket. “I can read her well. She’s a lovely, upstanding woman and she wouldn’t do such a thing,” Raina said with certainty.

  “Perfect daughter-in-law material?” Rick called Raina on her obvious train of thought.

  Her hazel eyes twinkled with delight. “Well, now that you mention it …”

  “Wasn’t it that kind of thinking that got you into trouble in the first place?” Chase asked her.

  She shrugged. “Two down, young man. Do you really think I’m going to give up on the notion of having you settled and happy like your brothers are? My methods may have been suspect, but my motives were pure.

  He groaned. So much for hoping Raina’s now-precarious health would have her backing down from her quest to marry him off. “This isn’t a discussion I’m willing to have.”

  “Because you have your priorities in order?” she asked.

  He gave her a curt nod. “Exactly.”

  She pursed her lips and let out a sound of pure motherly frustration. “If you had those priorities in order, you wouldn’t stay here with me now that you know I’m fine.”

  He knew exactly where she was leading, yet he was powerless to prevent the conversation. “Where would I be?” he asked resignedly.

  “With Sloane.”

  Rick chuckled, not bothering to disguise his laugh as a throat clearing or anything else.

  “Sloane can get along just fine without me,” Chase muttered.

  “Why should she have to?” Raina asked.

  His mother’s dirty look reminded him of the times he’d been caught doing something wrong as a young kid. Times that had ended quickly when he’d assumed his role as head of the Chandler house. “So I can take you home?”

  “That’s something Eric can do. Even Rick is going home to his wife, aren’t you?”

  Rick nodded. “I sure am. After I hear you read Chase the riot act about his life.” With a smirk on his face, he leaned against the wall, clearly enjoying watching Chase on the spot.

  “Take a hike, young man. I want to talk to your brother.”

  “Oh man. I miss out on all the fun,” Rick said.

  “Now that was a perfect imitation of yourself as a kid,” Chase said, recalling the times he and his mother would have serious discussions that precluded his younger siblings. Only today, Chase’s love life was the topic.

  “Chase just nailed the problem. He’s spent too much time being the parent to you boys and not enough time enjoying his own life,” Raina pronounced. “It’s not natural.”

  Chase blinked in surprise. That Raina would realize how unusual his life had been was shocking. “Let’s drop the subject.” He didn’t want to delve that deeply into his psyche.

  “No. I’ve ignored your needs for too long,” Raina said in a more determined voice than he’d ever heard before.

  “I’m out of here before she starts focusing on my needs,” Rick muttered, making for the door.

  “Coward,” Chase called after him.

  “Better a coward than the subject of Mom’s analysis. See you at home tonight. Kendall and I will drop off dinner, so don’t even think of lifting a finger to cook,” he warned, then blew his mother a kiss and disappeared out the door.

  Chase faced his mother and, in doing so, faced his past. She appeared as frail and wan as she had in the early days after his father had died. He’d seen the need to take care of her then and had stepped in without thinking twice. He saw that same need now.

  His wants, his desires, didn’t matter. Not in the face of a family crisis. And despite the fact that she was being released today, Raina’s health was a true family crisis. Feigned or not, the last time had sent all three sons reeling into a coin toss that changed Roman’s life.

  Though Chase understood the severity of the situation, he wouldn’t be letting Raina manipulate him this time around. “Mom, it’s time to drop this subject.”

  “After I have my say.”

  Knowing she’d talk no matter what, he settled into Rick’s abandoned chair. “I’m listening.”

  Raina turned toward the window, giving Chase the chance to study his mother some more. She’d aged but still had maintained the beauty she’d had in her youth. She’d also kept the wisdom and heart that led her to do impulsive things in the name of protecting her family. Chase couldn’t imagine his life without her in it.

  “I’ve made many mistakes,” Raina said finally. “And manipulating you boys into thinking I was sick was a doozy. But it wasn’t the biggest mistake I made.”

  Chase couldn’t help it; he laughed. “Sorry, but I’m hard pressed to find a bigger one,” he said.

  “Aah, but I can. Letting you take over as parent when your father died. That was an error I can’t ever take back.” She sighed, slowly turning toward him.

  He could see how difficult she found it to face him but didn’t understand why. “What else could you have done?”

  “Sent you off to college, for one thing. Run the paper myself, for another. Raised your brothers like a single parent without relying on you, when you were just a boy yourself.” She shook her head and he was shocked to notice tears falling from her eyes.

  “I was more than capable of handling things,” he reminded her, at a loss over what to do about her emotional state. Women and tears had never been his thing.

  Which, he realized now, was probably why he’d stepped in so quickly and taken over when his father had passed on, not giving Raina the chance to make her own decisions or control their futures. He’d seen himself as the man of the house and acted accordingly. But in doing so, he’d denied all of them different paths. “What’s done is done, Mom.”

  “I agree.” She pulled a Kleenex from the tissue box on the side table and blotted her eyes. “But the future doesn’t have to be a replica of the past. Th
at’s what I need you to understand.

  He pinched the bridge of his nose, wondering how to explain. “I’ve come to terms with things. I have a great life. I have a great family. So what if I gave up a few things on the way? Who doesn’t make sacrifices?” he asked. “But it’s my time now and I intend to reach for my dreams.”

  “I’m glad.”

  A rosier glow touched his mother’s cheeks and relief washed through him. He’d obviously gotten through to her and she wasn’t going to worry about him when she should be taking care of herself.

  “Just make sure you realize two things,” Raina continued.

  “And what are they?”

  “Make sure those dreams are present ones, not ones born in the past. And accept the difference between helping me raise your brothers, who were already half-grown pains in the ass, and the joys of raising a family of your own.” Laughter tinged her voice but didn’t negate the seriousness of her point.

  She wanted him married with children. That much hadn’t changed. “I hear you, Mom.”

  “But you aren’t listening, are you? Life is short. It’ll pass you by before you know it, and if you let Sloane walk out of your life, you’ll have regrets. I don’t want you—after all you’ve done for us—to have regrets.”

  He shook his head. “No regrets. I never look back.” Yet he didn’t want her holding out hope that he wanted to settle down like Rick and Roman had either. “But my future’s mine to determine, and like I said, I have my priorities in order.”

  “The Chandler way,” Sloane’s familiar feminine voice said from the doorway. “Family first, kids never,” she said jokingly, paraphrasing his words the first time they’d made love.

  Safety first, kids never.

  Chase turned to see Sloane standing in the room, a strained smile on her beautiful face. After all they’d been through together, she knew him well. Though his words and thoughts wouldn’t surprise her, he saw her obvious dismay. His gut churned, letting him know in no uncertain terms that he didn’t like disappointing her.

  He ran a hand through his hair, then stood and walked over, drawing her into the room. “What are you doing here?” he asked, unable to stop the smile on his face.