“Sure, you let the old man carry the saddle while you carry a blanket?” he said with a low chuckle.
Tucker flashed a quick smile. “I’m not stupid.”
He followed Tucker into the barn and returned the saddle to the empty spot next to the rest of the saddles.
“You don’t look like the political type,” Chase said.
“Beg your pardon?”
“You’re a cowboy,” Chase said. “It’s clear you’re more at home here than in a suit and tie like Tate.”
“So?”
He shrugged. “Just that I’m having a hard time figuring where this bad blood is coming from. You don’t follow your brother’s political aspirations. So my guess is it’s about that pretty girl I saw you with earlier.” He grinned. “Like I said, it’s about a woman.”
Tucker grabbed a pail and propped it under the faucet before turning the water on. “I think you think too much.”
“You know when I left here all those years ago, your father wasn’t too happy with me. Some of that unhappiness is still in him. I left him with a load of work on this ranch and all the responsibility to keep it solvent.”
“The ranch runs just fine.”
“That’s what I’m saying. It runs this way because of what Zeke put into it. What he taught you. And it continues to run because of the love and care you put in it.”
Tucker turned off the water when the pail was full. “What’s your point?”
“I left for my dream. My passion. It pissed your old man off and because of that we spent a lot of years not speaking to each other. Only now when I look at you I see that same thing brewing between you and your brother. That girl Hannah, she doesn’t seem so much like the type of woman Tate would be interested in given his political goals.”
“She’s a veterinarian. She loves animals. Loves being out on the ranch.”
“Not the type to hold fancy parties just to impress a bunch of uptight people that can further Tate’s political career?”
Tucker chuckled. “Are you saying my dad is uptight? He has been the mayor of Storm for a long time.”
“I think your mom keeps him grounded just like this ranch does.”
Tucker nodded and gave him a warm smile. “I think you’re right about that.”
“See, the thing is, I’d hate to see years go by before you get to the bottom of whatever it is that’s really causing this distance between you and Tate. If it’s this woman and you really care for her, then you need to get it all out in the open and eventually he’ll accept it. If she’s just some passing fancy, it’s not worth her driving a wedge between you and your brother.”
Tucker glanced up at him uncomfortably, then grabbed the pail of water. “It’s not a passing fancy. What’s happened can’t be undone, Uncle Chase. It may not have happened the way it should have, but it is what it is.”
“Tucker?”
The deep voice that boomed in the open aisle of the barn told Chase that Zeke was none too happy.
“Back here, Dad,” Tucker said. He glanced at his father and took in the cold glare he was giving Chase. Tucker looked at Chase and then his dad. “I need to bring Pringles in.”
“Then get to it,” Zeke said.
Tucker walked out of the barn holding the bucket of water.
“You all of a sudden have an interest in fixing my family’s problems as if you know anything at all about them?” Zeke said, his jaw clenched tight as if his teeth would break under the pressure.
“Fixing?”
“You may share his blood but you’re still a stranger to that boy, Chase,” Zeke said. “You haven’t been with him every day of his entire life. I don’t need you walking into his life and shaking things up any more than they already are.”
Chase couldn’t argue that point. His sole contribution to his niece’s and nephew’s lives had been Christmas and birthday presents.
“He’s still my nephew. He’s family.”
Zeke shook his head just enough to show his disgust. “You don’t exactly have a good track record with family.”
“What you’re really saying is I have no record at all. No wife. No children. Isn’t that right?”
Zeke cast him a cold glare that bothered Chase more than it should have because it was deserved.
“I have no idea what your life was like back in Nashville, Chase. Quite frankly, I couldn’t care less. The music world is as foreign to me as having tea and crumpets at a Sunday social. Your escapades are your own business. But what’s happened here in this family, on this ranch, is my business. You have no right giving my son advice about something you know nothing about.”
“And what’s that?”
“Family.”
“I never stopped being family. Nashville didn’t change that.”
“How about loyalty? Responsibility? Is any of that something you know about? You know, you didn’t exactly leave a smile on the faces of the people who cared about you when you left. Some people had to carry the burdens you left behind.”
“I’ve never been a rancher, Zeke.”
“That’s true enough. There are no accolades securing barbed wire to fences in Texas. The cattle don’t care much about the songs you’re playing on the guitar. But people here sure do care. This family cares. And you left.”
“Just like Tate?”
Zeke cast him a sidelong glance. “My son went to college. He became a respected lawyer and made something of himself here in Storm. That’s a lot more than you ever did. Stay away from my sons, Chase.”
He started to walk away, but then turned around.
“What makes you think you can come back to Storm and step in like you never left? What the hell kind of life experience do you have to offer them for their troubles? You have no children of your own. No life mate. The only woman who was worth loving is the one you tossed aside for fame and fortune. You left her, Chase. And then you never looked back. I had to pick up the pieces of the debris you left behind. You have lived a life with no responsibility. No one to sacrifice anything for.” Zeke waved his arms with anger and his eyes flared with fire he could barely control. “You’re staying on this ranch because this was our father’s home and I can’t turn you out. But I can tell you this. Stay away from my children. I’ve spent a lifetime raising them and loving them. I don’t need you fouling up their lives with your fool advice.”
Zeke turned and walked out of the barn without another word. Chase had deserved every bit of anger his brother gave him. Chase had left home, leaving Zeke to make things right. Debris? He didn’t know exactly what that was all about. But he couldn’t deny there was a whole lot of hurt with his family and Annie when he’d left.
One of the horses whinnied and bobbed his head over the door of his stall as if he’d been distressed by the tension he’d witnessed. Chase sighed as he walked over to the animal, rubbing his neck until he calmed. If only it were that easy to calm the fury he’d caused with the people in his life.
Chapter Six
The produce looked old, Anna Mae thought as she picked up a head of romaine lettuce and inspected it. Why Rita Mae insisted she come to this market to buy their produce for the bed and breakfast was beyond her. She put the lettuce back in place and moved the shopping cart down to check the peppers, then the radicchio. Nothing looked appealing enough for her to want to buy here.
“You have too pretty a face to look that disgusted, Annie.”
It amazed Anna Mae that she recognized Chase’s voice so quickly, even though it had been years since she’d heard it on a regular basis. That Texas drawl should have diminished some over the decades he’d been in Nashville, but she still heard it as if Chase Johnson hadn’t left Storm at all.
Bracing herself with her hands gripped tightly to the shopping cart, she glanced up to see the blue eyes that had haunted her dreams for years. Ever since he’d returned to Storm, she couldn’t get the image of the young man she’d loved out of her mind. Neither one of them were young like that now. But ev
en though his hair had turned gray and his face was weathered with age, his eyes were still that same deep blue and he was as handsome as he was the day he’d left Storm.
“Not disgusted. Just disappointed,” she said, trying to focus on the produce instead of Chase’s face.
“I’m not sure I like that.”
Her eyes widened as she glanced at him quickly. “You’d rather me be disgusted?”
“I’d rather you be smiling. I like that a lot better.”
She pulled in a deep breath as bitterness filled her. Would that ever go away? “Really? You should have seen me after you left for Nashville.”
It was a cheap shot. After all this time Anna Mae hadn’t realized she was capable of firing off such venom. She’d thought she’d gotten out all her anger and heartache over Chase years ago.
Chase knew nothing about her hard days after he’d left for Nashville. Not just because she missed him, although that alone had brought her to her knees many times. But when she’d lost the baby she was carrying, she grieved alone. She’d never told Chase about the baby. She wanted him to come home to her, not out of obligation. And when the baby who’d comforted her throughout her grieving for the man she loved died in her womb, her entire world shattered. She couldn’t tell Chase about the baby then. He hadn’t come home to her and he would surely resent her for not allowing him to be a part of what little time their child had existed in this world, even if it was only in her womb.
Anna Mae had shut Chase out. It had been her decision pure and simple. She’d chosen to deal with it all on her own. Which wasn’t really fair. Her grief had turned to anger over the years, but it wasn’t his fault. Not for that anyway.
A wave of regret washed over her. Her words had affected him. That much was evident from the way his expression collapsed.
She didn’t want to feel guilty for her cheap shot, but she did.
“Are you going to follow me around the store all day or are you here to shop?”
Chase moved close enough to her so she could feel the heat of his body. The store wasn’t quiet. There were children running down a few aisles away and a young mother telling them to behave. A stock boy was clumsily stacking cans on a shelf not far from them. And the sound of the produce cooler’s motor hummed loud enough to hear. But Anna Mae could swear she could hear the thump of Chase’s heartbeat.
Or maybe it was a memory. She had a lot of those. Some wonderful. Some not so good. Some so heartbreaking that she didn’t want to remember. But his heart beating next to her ear when she laid her head on his chest after they’d made love was a memory that had stayed with her. She couldn’t possibly be hearing his heartbeat now. But the rise and fall of his chest beneath the dusty blue cotton shirt he wore brought it all back.
“Annie.” The deep timbre of Chase’s voice caught her off guard, and her cheeks flamed. He’d caught her in the memory. But if he knew what she’d been thinking, the smile on his face didn’t show it. Instead, his smile was warm and his blue-eyed gaze penetrated her until her whole body tingled.
It had been a long time since Anna Mae had experienced feelings like this. The last time she had, she’d been with Chase.
“I have to finish shopping so I can get dinner started, Chase. I have guests who expect me to feed them.”
“I thought you just served breakfast.”
“Did you check up on me?”
“I asked about the bed and breakfast.”
Disappointment filled her when normally having someone asking about the business she’d built with her sister would give her pride. But Anna Mae foolishly thought for a split second that maybe Chase had asked specifically about her.
“You don’t want me asking around?”
“Well, of course you can,” Anna Mae said, gripping the handle of the shopping cart and moving it a few feet. “Most people around Storm know our reputation. We get a lot of business from people who come to town and ask around for places to stay. I assume the people you asked had good things to say?”
She picked up a cantaloupe. She wasn’t going to buy it but she needed something to do with her hands so he wouldn’t see how rattled she was.
“All glowing praise. You’ve done well for yourself, Anna Mae.”
She liked his praise but it came with a cost to her heart. Her chest tightened. She placed her hand over her chest where she felt the squeeze.
“I didn’t do it alone,” she said quietly. “I had my sister. And then of course when Mary Louise got older she helped a lot too.”
His eyebrows lifted. “Are you going to buy that cantaloupe or just hold it until it’s good and ripe?”
She chuckled and put the piece of fruit back on the pile. “Contemplating.”
“Ah.”
“To answer your question, yes, we just serve breakfast. But I need to eat too, and so does the rest of my family. I love to cook.”
“I remember that about you.”
Her mouth dropped open just enough to show her surprise. “You do?”
He leaned forward. “Anna Mae Prager, I remember every single detail about you.” He drew in a short breath and let it out slowly. “I always have.”
Emotion bubbled inside her and rose up her throat. She didn’t know if she could trust opening her mouth to speak.
She should be angry with Chase for all the nights she’d been alone crying for him. And for their baby. But she had no right. She’d given him her blessing to leave, albeit reluctantly. What woman wants to let go of a man like Chase Johnson?
But she wasn’t going to be responsible for keeping him in Storm. Some men were meant to dig in roots. Some were gypsies, just like the gypsy ladies they sang about in country songs.
But that wasn’t her. She wouldn’t have lasted a week on the road living like that. Sure, she’d wanted excitement when she’d gone to New York City. She’d loved being there. But even in New York, she’d been grounded. She’d had a small apartment and a job in a restaurant. It wasn’t quite what she’d expected when she’d gone to New York. But she always knew that if she worked hard, she’d be happy there.
But then Rita Mae had needed her. She’d come home to help her sister deal with the loss of their parents as well as the far-too-early death in Vietnam of the man Rita Mae had dearly loved. It didn’t seem right to return to New York after that. And then she’d met and fallen in love with Chase. And when he’d left, Rita Mae was still so broken. How could she have followed Chase when that would have meant leaving Rita Mae all alone?
“Didn’t you come here to buy something?” Anna Mae said, pushing the grocery basket again. She couldn’t stand there any longer feeling unnerved by Chase. It was as if everyone in the grocery store knew what she had been thinking, could see what she was feeling. Especially Chase.
He had to know how much Anna Mae had loved him. And she’d known how important it had been for him to go to Nashville and reach for his dream of making it big in music. But even though she’d given Chase her blessing to go, a big part of her hadn’t thought he’d leave.
She’d found out she was pregnant after he’d left. But how could she tell him then? He would have come home out of duty, not for her. No, if Chase Johnson was going to return to Storm, Anna Mae wanted it to be because he’d loved her so much he couldn’t live without her.
But he’d never come home. And the love they’d had died along with their unborn baby. Anna Mae was too old to look back and have regrets on what might have been if she’d made different decisions. She had to move forward.
“I came to see you,” Chase said with a wide smile that melted her heart the way it had the first time she’d seen it when he was a young man and she was a naïve girl.
“How did you even know I’d be here?”
“I stopped by your place.”
She blinked. “The bed and breakfast?”
“Yeah. Your sister wasn’t there but the kid who mows your lawn told me you’d left for the market. By the way, where is Rita Mae?”
“Ah,
she went to a craft fair in Fredericksburg. It’s not like we don’t have enough crafts to choose from right here in Storm, but she wants to fill up the house and the cafe with more trinkets. Sometimes the guests and diners like to buy souvenirs even if they’re not made in Storm.”
“Sort of like fine English teacups made in Japan?”
Anna Mae chuckled, but then waved him off. “Something like that. Look, I really have to finish this. Maybe we’ll bump into each other again before you leave.”
She only managed to push the shopping cart a few feet before she heard his deep voice at her back.
“Don’t you even want to know why I was looking for you?”
She did. “No.”
“Liar.”
A fingernail of irritation scraped up her spine. She turned around slowly. “What did you say to me?”
“You heard me.”
“I was hoping I didn’t.” Anna Mae could hardly contain her anger. Chase had the audacity to call her a liar?
“You’re dying to know why I came to see you, Annie.”
“Don’t call me that. No one calls me that.”
“I’ve always called you that.”
“I know. And I don’t want you to.”
“You’re too stubborn, Annie. You see, I think you secretly like it, but you don’t want to admit it. Just like you don’t want to admit you really want to know why I came to see you. But you won’t ask. You’ll wait until I tell you. But I’m not going to.”
“How does that make me stubborn?”
“You didn’t come with me to Nashville.”
“You’re the one who left.” She was only vaguely aware that her voice has risen and she was still standing in the middle of a crowded grocery store. She looked around and didn’t see anyone looking at her.
She tried to pull herself together, acknowledging how much seeing Chase again had thrown her off center. From the first moment she’d seen him in Storm, she’d known she’d have trouble dealing with her residual anger. But she hadn’t thought it would shatter her as it had all those years ago. And yet here she was, an absolute wreck.
She sighed. When the hell was he leaving Storm?
Brave the Storm, Season 2, Episode 3 (Rising Storm) Page 4