by T. J. Kline
Bailey appreciated Chase’s offer. She knew she should take him up on it. She didn’t really want to stay and make small talk, to pretend to enjoy the visit or to ignore the painful ache Chase’s deception had caused to grow in her chest, but she knew they couldn’t just leave. Not with all of the preparations Dylan and Julia had made. Not without raising too many questions from her cousins she wasn’t prepared to answer. She took a deep breath and blinked back the tears threatening to fall again.
Chase frowned and she saw what looked like defeat flicker across his eyes. “I think we need to talk later.”
Damn it, she hadn’t cried this much since her mother left, and she’d sworn to never feel that loss again. It wasn’t fair that she couldn’t give him an answer, any more than it was fair for him to ask for one. It wasn’t fair that she was in this position now. But Bailey knew life had never played fair with her.
Chapter Sixteen
CHASE GLANCED AT Bailey as she stared out the truck window. She’d been avoiding him most of the night. This was not the way he’d planned their first official date going. He’d planned on taking her fishing and then having a nice, relaxing dinner with Julia and Dylan. He wanted to remind her of how simple life was here, with the people who loved you most. It should have been a fun afternoon and a relaxing evening before he took her home and sealed it with a sweet goodnight kiss that would leave her wanting more.
It had been bad enough that he hadn’t thought about the smell fishing would leave on him, but having Bailey end up crying in the bathroom in an attempt to escape his presence pretty well qualified this date as an all-out failure. He wasn’t sure where things had gone wrong. The date had started out relaxing enough and they’d been having fun. He knew she would out-fish him—she’d done it every summer when they were kids—which was why he’d suggested the bet. Even when their conversation turned serious, he’d been able to draw her out. It wasn’t until after they arrived at Julia’s that something changed. She’d gone from warm and welcoming to ice cold.
Maybe it had been a stupid idea to think he could convince her to stay by doing the same things they’d done as kids. They weren’t kids any longer. Midnight tag, tire swings, and cow tipping untippable cows wasn’t going to make her stay, but from what she’d said while they were fishing, it wasn’t so much that she wanted to leave town but that she was trying to make a stand and prove something to her family. He understood that burning desire to prove your worth. He also knew that if she was dead set on leaving town, there wasn’t anything he, or anyone else, could do to convince her to stay, the same way nothing had worked for his father to convince him. But, it didn’t sound like that was what she wanted. It sounded like Bailey was just looking for a reason to stay. “You going to the rodeo this weekend?” Chase wanted to roll his eyes at his own pathetic attempt to start a conversation.
Nice. What’re you going to talk about next? The weather?
“I was planning on it.” She barely even glanced his way. “What about you?”
“I convinced my dad to trade for my Saturday shift. Hopefully it doesn’t get too wild since I have to work Sunday.”
“Planning on getting a little toasted at the dance?” Her tone indicated that she didn’t care one way or the other.
“No. Didn’t Justin tell you?” He glanced across the truck at her.
“Tell me what?”
Chase laughed. “Somehow, your cousin convinced me and Gage to join him as a Cowboy Poker team.”
She spun in her seat toward him, her shoulders stiff and her body a live current of anger. He had her attention now but he wasn’t sure he wanted it any longer.
“Are you guys insane? He has a wife and son now. He can’t pull stupid stunts like this anymore. Does Alyssa even know about this?” She threw her hands into the air. “And you’re the town deputy. You shouldn’t be doing something this dumb either. You’re supposed to stop people from stunts like this. Why don’t you just swan dive off the water tower while you’re at it? Did either of you even explain to Gage what he was agreeing to? I can’t imagine him being okay with this.”
It had been years since he and Justin had participated in Cowboy Poker, but even back then, sitting on plastic chairs, pretending to play poker while an irate bull was turned loose into the arena, had been dangerous enough to be exciting. Thanks to their opponents being first-timers, Chase, Justin, and one of their football buddies had managed to each walk away from the local rodeo event a few hundred dollars richer with only a few bruises on their backsides. While none of them needed the money now, he could sure use the adrenaline rush.
He wasn’t sure why Gage and Justin wanted to do it this time, but he’d been fighting his attraction to Bailey so long he thought he might explode. He needed something to release this pent-up frustration. The longer he was around her, the more it seemed to build, and a bull running headlong at him while he held on to a plastic lawn chair seemed like a perfect solution.
“Relax, Bailey. It’s not like it’s the first time Justin and I have done it.”
“That doesn’t make it any less idiotic.”
“Look, Justin asked me to do it. I didn’t ask him what his reasons were, and I really don’t care. He’d do the same thing for me. We have one another’s back in every situation.” Chase pulled to a stop in front of her house. Dropping the truck into Park, he turned to face her. “What is your issue? One minute we’re fine and the next you’re shoving me away. You can run from hot to cold faster than anyone I’ve ever met.”
Her spine went rigid and she pressed her lips together. He could see she was trying to control her fury. “I guess I tend to be that way when I feel like I’m being manipulated.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You and Justin. I finally realized why he was so quick to cave and leave this morning and why you were in such a hurry to run off and tell him about us. It’s good to know you’re loyal to someone, Chase. Too bad it’s to Justin and not me. I thought I could trust you, that you—” She shook her head and opened the door, sliding out of the front seat. “You know what . . . never mind.”
Chase had no idea what she was talking about, but he wasn’t about to let her say something like that and run off on him again. He jumped out of the truck, slamming his door behind him, and ran toward the front of the truck, ignoring Gracie barking from the backseat.
“Wait a second.” He caught up to her partway to the front porch. Chase reached for her hand and pulled her onto the porch with him. He didn’t miss the way disillusionment colored her deep blue eyes. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Are you really going to try to convince me that Justin isn’t behind this?” She waved a hand between them. “You said yourself that if he thought there was something that went on, he wouldn’t have been too happy about it. Why would he let you off scot-free unless this was all some kind of a set up between the two of you?”
“You think my coming over last night had something to do with Justin?”
“As a matter of fact, I do.” She jerked her hand from his and crossed her arms over her chest, eyeing him speculatively. “Not to mention that pep talk after I told everyone I was leaving, or this little fishing trip today. What’s the plan, Chase? Did you and Justin decide to try to make me fall for you so hard that I’d stick around?”
He suddenly realized the reason for the change in her and guilt swept over him. Justin had only asked him to talk to her, to explain his experiences. He’d taken it upon himself to take this further without being completely honest with her. While he wouldn’t have worded it the same way, she wasn’t wrong about his plan. She was simply as wrong as she could possibly be about his intentions.
Chase had always known there was a spark between them that could turn into a raging wildfire if he ever fanned it. Now that he had, he wasn’t about to let her douse it with a misunderstanding. “That’s not what happened, Bailey.”
He reached for her elbow but she jerked it away from him. “Of c
ourse it isn’t.” She reached into her pocket and fished out her keys, unlocking her door. Bailey stepped through the entrance and gave him one last look of contempt. “Why don’t you just run back and report to Justin, Deputy? You can remind him that the two of you forgot who you were dealing with. Wild Hart doesn’t fall hard for anyone. Better go back to the drawing board with your little plan, because there’s a moving truck headed for LA in two weeks with my name on it.”
Chase clenched his jaw as she slammed the door shut and he heard the dead bolt click with a finality he’d never thought possible from an inanimate object. If that hadn’t been enough for him to get the hint, her turning off the porch light was one last nail in the coffin.
Instead of convincing her to stay the way he’d hoped, Chase got the distinct impression he’d done the same thing Justin had and pushed her into wanting to leave even more than she already did.
Way to go, McKee. That’s twice in one night you’ve managed to make an ass of yourself.
If only he could go back to last night. He’d have done it all differently. As soon as he’d seen her enter her home with that doctor, he’d have driven away without a backward glance.
Who was he kidding? He’d never been able to turn his back on Bailey, no matter how much he’d wanted to. There was no way he was going to admit that Justin had been right.
Cowboy Poker was looking like a better idea with every minute that passed. Getting hit by a bull square in the chest this weekend couldn’t hurt any more than her rejection.
THE SHRILL RING of the phone grated on her last nerve as Bailey punched the button for the outside line. “Hart Veterinary, please hold.” She didn’t even wait for a response before clicking back to one of the three lines blinking erratically, signaling callers already on hold. “Thank you for holding, Mr. Morris. Dr. Hart said you’re welcome to bring him in, but he wanted me to tell you that it’s going to be a long wait and suggested you give your cat some mineral oil and watch him tonight. You can always call the doctor after hours if anything happens. The service will get through to him.”
She looked up in time to see a large black shepherd dragging its owner to the door and, for a moment, her heart leaped into her chest when she thought it was Chase. She wouldn’t admit that she hoped it was him, but there was no denying the way her pulse sped up and her stomach began rolling like a gymnast doing floor exercises in the Olympics. She’d been so angry last night—still was—and no matter how many times Justin denied knowing anything about their date, it didn’t lessen her suspicions about the pair. It also didn’t lessen her attraction to Chase, which, unfortunately, had kept her tossing and turning all night.
As soon as the dog reached the door, she saw an exasperated Michael Walker tugging the leash behind it and cursed the disappointment that washed over her.
I’m glad it’s not Chase, she scolded her heart.
Are you?
“Michael? When did you find this guy?” She wasn’t the man’s biggest fan, especially considering that he’d tried to end their one and only date by copping a feel after she’d told him in no uncertain terms that there would be nothing more than a chaste goodnight kiss. It also hadn’t helped his case that he’d gone around town the next day telling anyone who would listen how she’d given him a blow job then sucker punched him for no reason. But he was one of Justin’s biggest clients—at least his father was—and it was her job to be a professional.
“I found him wandering one of the pastures this morning. From the way he gobbled up the food I gave him, I don’t think he’s had regular meals in a while. I don’t suppose Julia would want him? I’d rather not take him to the shelter.”
Bailey wasn’t used to seeing the rancher looking frazzled, like he was at an utter loss. Usually he was calm and collected, almost too put together for a cowboy, which probably came from the fact that his father owned one of the biggest cattle spreads in Northern California and, while he’d never worked a day in his life, he stood to inherit the entire fortune. The man was confidence personified.
“Hang on a sec.” She held up her finger before answering another of the phone lines, still blinking erratically. “No, Mrs. Davis, we don’t have that medication ready yet, but I’ll have it for you by four o’clock, just like I promised. Okay, we’ll see you then.” As Bailey hung up the phone, she reached for a clipboard and passed it across the counter. “I really don’t know if she’s looking for any dogs right now. We’ll have to see what Justin says about him first. You don’t want to keep him at your place? What if someone claims him?”
“I might. He needs his shots first, and I’ll have to see how he does around the cattle.” He winked at her as he reached for the clipboard. “I don’t suppose you’d want to come by my place and help me get him settled.”
She didn’t have time for his advances today and she’d already made her position on his overly handsy approach to dating clear. “Why? Are you looking for a shiner on the other eye?”
Mrs. Bale, seated in the waiting room with her Yorkie, tried to hide her giggle as she cooed to her dog. Michael’s brow curved down sharply and he looked confused. Just because the man wasn’t used to hearing the word no didn’t make it any less valid, and if it took her fist connecting with his face to keep his drunken hands off her, then that was what he’d get—again.
He leaned over the counter and reached for her hand. “I already apologized, Bailey.” The shepherd chose that moment to spot Mr. Frisky, the office feline, and jerk Michael sideways, knocking him off balance. He tried to right himself while maintaining his composure, not quite managing to pull it off.
“Yeah, after your grandmother ripped you a new one.” She arched a brow at him, daring him to contradict her.
He pinched his lips into a thin, irritable line. “You know, I heard a rumor yesterday that Wild Hart was planning on leaving town. There are a lot of people making bets that smart mouth of yours gets you into some trouble in LA.”
“You think so, Walker?”
Bailey looked up to see Justin in the doorway gripping a file in his fists. “See, I’m betting that Bailey manages just fine. She’s had plenty of practice putting men who don’t know how to keep their hands to themselves into their place.” Justin closed the distance between them in just a few steps and lowered his voice so only the three of them could hear. “And if you know what’s good for you, you’ll watch how you talk to her, or I’ll be the one giving you a black eye the next time.”
Bailey watched the men glare at one another. She didn’t want to be the reason there was any more animosity between the two of them, especially over something as stupid as some drunk groping. “Michael, let’s get this boy into Room Three.” She pushed against Michael’s shoulder, urging him away from Justin and toward the exam room. “Justin, Mr. Green is waiting in Room Four with his parrot. Go.”
Michael glared at Justin as he moved away and dragged the dog into the exam room. Justin reached for the file Bailey held out to him.
“What the hell are you doing?” she whispered through clenched teeth. “Are you trying to kill your business? You have too many ears in this room for you to be starting fights with guys like Michael Walker, whose father happens to be one of your biggest clients, even if his son is a jerk.”
“I’m not letting any guy treat you like a piece of meat.” He tapped the file for Mr. Green’s parrot, Daisy, against her arm. “Plus, I’ve been dying to find a reason to hit that guy.”
“You mean, you don’t want a guy to treat me that way unless it happens to be you or Chase.”
Justin ran a hand through his short hair and sighed. “Bailey, how many times do I have to tell you? I did not tell Chase to take you on a date.”
“I heard you, Justin,” she muttered through clenched teeth. “You said he was supposed to talk to me.”
“Talk, yes. Date, no. As a matter of fact, I told him—” He took a deep breath and shook his head.
“What?” she prodded.
Justin pinched his
lips together. “Nothing.” He ignored her and headed down the hall toward the room where Mr. Green and his temperamental bird waited.
“Justin, we are not done with this conversation,” she yelled after him.
“Yes, we are. Why don’t you take lunch?”
“There’s no time for lunch and you know it.” Bailey wasn’t about to be distracted by his diversion attempts, but the shutting door cut off any further conversation and she felt herself tense, her fists clenching around the edges of the file folder in frustration.
Mrs. Bale laughed as Bailey growled, tossing the file jacket she’d prepared for Michael’s new dog onto the counter.
“Girl, this town is going to be so boring without you in it.”
“You’re probably the only person who thinks so, Mrs. Bale. There’s a long list of people who’ll be happy to see me leave.”
The old woman laughed again and waved Bailey’s comment off. “Dr. Hart is going to be absolutely lost without you. And I don’t think that list is nearly as long as you think it is. Just because people love having something, or someone, to talk about doesn’t mean they won’t miss you. I, for one, am going to miss your spunk.” Mrs. Bale pointed her finger at Bailey. “I know you feel like a big fish in a little pond, but if you’re really planning on making a go in LA, you’re going to need to find people who have your back like you have here. Without that, you’re going to get caught up in some whirlwind of trouble and someone is bound to get hurt.”
“Thanks, Mrs. Bale.” Bailey smiled at the woman as she reached for her Yorkie and led her into an exam room. “I have friends waiting there for me.”
At least she hoped she still did.
JD had stopped returning her calls altogether, and now he wasn’t returning her texts. There was a good chance he’d found out she was asking around about him and his reputation. At this point, she didn’t really have any other choice but to go.
After last night, she could only conclude that all of her cousins were somehow involved in Chase’s manipulation so she wasn’t sure she could ever put her trust in them again. They might all think they had her best interest at heart but she felt betrayed. Leaving was going to hurt but far less than the regret she’d shoulder if she stayed. Sometimes, the best thing for a person, in the long run, was the most painful. Leaving was going to hurt, but Bailey prayed she could find a way for her music to quench the ache in her chest.