Now he thought about Maddy instead. And there was definitely no anger there.
“Look, Daddy.” Riley’s voice was excited. “It’s you in the picture.”
Chase glanced to a row of posters along a board fence. They depicted previous AEBR champions, year by year.
Riley surged closer. But the poster he pointed to wasn’t of Chase. It was his father riding Road to Ruin. The bull was three feet off the round, Chase Barrett’s hat was low, his arm extended, his knees bent in a perfect pose. He’d been one hell of a rider.
It took Chase a moment to realize that Riley had gone quiet.
Riley leaned into Chase’s leg, wrapping his arms around it.
Chase’s stomach contracted. He crouched down on one knee.
“Hey,” he said gently to Riley.
“Is that my other daddy?” Riley asked in a small voice, pointing to the poster.
Anxiety coursed through Chase. He knew he had mere seconds to get this right.
“That’s your first daddy,” he said.
“He’s dead?” Riley asked.
“I’m afraid so.” Chase put an arm around Riley’s small shoulders. “He’s in heaven now. He can’t ever come back.”
A beat went by in silence while Riley seemed to digest the information.
“Uncle Zane says there are bulls to ride in heaven.”
“I’m sure there are,” Chase said, struggling to find the right direction to take the conversation. “I bet your daddy is riding one right now.”
Riley slipped up onto Chase’s bent knee. “Are you my new daddy?”
Chase had been thrown, twisted, butted and stomped more times than he could count, but he’d never felt pain like this.
“We haven’t worked everything out yet,” he said, his throat thickening over the words. “But I’ll always be your friend. You can count on me whenever you need me, Riley. I promise you that.”
“’Kay,” Riley said softly. He twisted the fabric of Chase’s shirt cuff between his little fingers.
“You know your mommy loves you, right?” Chase asked.
“I know.”
“And Uncle Zane and Lucas and Eli and Wyatt. There are loads of people who love you and are going to take good care of you.”
“Do you love me, Daddy?”
“Yes, I do,” Chase answered honestly. He gave Riley a squeeze. “I love you a whole lot, buckaroo.”
Riley fell silent, and Chase waited.
“My other daddy.”
Chase held his breath, afraid of what Riley was going to ask.
“He didn’t know how to paint a bike,” Riley said.
Chase strongly doubted that, but he couldn’t help a small smile of relief. Bike painting seemed like a harmless topic.
“Can we paint it orange next time?” Riley asked.
“Sure,” Chase said. He had no idea how they’d work out the details. But he promised himself when the time came he’d move heaven and earth to paint Riley’s bike orange.
“Do you think they’ll have orange soda?” Riley asked, his voice sounding more normal.
“Who?”
“At the hotdog place. Do you think they’ll have orange soda?”
“I’m sure they will.”
“Can I have orange soda?”
“Absolutely.”
“It turns my tongue orange.” Riley sounded quite proud of the pronouncement and stuck out his tongue as a further demonstration as he slipped off Chase’s knee.
“Orange tongue it is,” Chase said, relieved and impressed by how well Riley had handled the revelation that Chase wasn’t his real father.
He wanted to rush off and tell Maddy the news. But he didn’t want Riley to see him making a big deal about it. Going with the flow, keeping things low key and ordinary for the next couple of hours seemed like it would be the best thing for the little boy.
*
Maddy awoke with a vague feeling of disquiet. It took her a moment, but then she remembered the remote expression on Chase’s face at the fairgrounds, the distance he was keeping between them. She’d made such a foolish mistake.
Her headache was gone, but her heartache was still in full force. She glanced at the clock to see it was nearly five. She was grateful to Piper for babysitting for so long.
Maddy sat up and swung her legs from beneath the covers. She was wearing the shorts and T-shirt she’d dressed in this morning. They were rumpled, but good enough to pick up Riley next door. She took a drink of water, ran her fingers through her hair, then headed onto the breezeway to Piper’s room.
She knocked, and Piper was quick to open up.
“Feel better?” Piper asked her, drawing the door wide.
Riley was on the floor of the motel room engrossed in a game involving his mini racers and a deck of cards from the casino.
“The headache’s gone.”
“That’s good.” Piper closed the door behind her, drawing Maddy to one side, her expression earnest.
“What’s going on?” Maddy asked, taking another look at Riley to make sure he seemed okay.
“Chase says Riley knows,” Piper whispered.
“Knows what?”
“The big what,” said Piper. “He saw some kind of poster with Chase Barrett on it, and he realized Chase wasn’t Chase.”
Maddy looked immediately to Riley. “How did he take it? Was he upset?”
“Chase said he took it like a trooper.”
Maddy moved to Riley, sitting down on the floor next to his game. “Hi, honey.”
“Hi, Mommy. The red car came in first. The blue one had a breakdown.”
“They’re racing?” Maddy asked, unsure of exactly what she should do. Should she bring it up? Wait for Riley to bring it up?
He made motor noises with his mouth.
“Did you have some lunch?” she asked.
“Daddy bought me a hotdog. It had ketchup, but no chili cheese. I had orange soda.” He stuck out his tongue to prove it.
“Your tongue’s orange,” she observed, guessing that was what he expected her to say.
He grinned and went back to his racers.
She looked back to Piper. “I need to talk to Chase.” She needed to know exactly what had happened.
“I think he’s in his room. He just brought Riley back.”
“Just now?” Maddy rechecked her watch. It had been nearly four hours.
“It sounds like they had fun together.”
Maddy frowned. “And shared secrets.”
“Maddy. I’m sure Chase didn’t do it on purpose.”
Maddy came to her feet. “I need to know.”
“Of course you do. Go. Go, he’s fine here for as long as you need.”
Maddy turned her attention back to her son. “I need to go out for a few more minutes, honey,” she told him.
“Bye-bye, Mommy.”
“You can stay here with Piper.”
“Tristan is addicted to his phone,” Riley said.
“He told you that?” Maddy asked, continuing to be astonished at Riley’s carefree mood. She had about a thousand questions rolling around in her head.
“Piper said so.”
“Zane tried to get him to go steer riding.”
Maddy blinked at Piper. “Seriously?”
“He refused.”
“I don’t blame him. Tristan had probably never even touched a steer, never mind ridden one.”
“Zane says he’s going to try again tomorrow.”
“Zane needs to mind his own business.” In Maddy’s mind, it was downright mean to try to force Tristan into something he’d certainly fail at, and probably get hurt in the process.
“I’m not so sure,” Piper said.
“You want Tristan to ride a steer?”
“He needs to grow up sometime.”
“He’ll get hurt.”
“They have a first-timer’s category.”
“You’re the worst mom ever,” Maddy said. She couldn’t imagine letting Riley
do something so risky.
“Tristan is fifteen, not four. He needs a few knocks and bruises.”
“Did you read that in a book somewhere?”
“You’ll get there,” Piper said. “Now go. Find out what happened with Chase.”
“Yes,” Maddy agreed.
She was annoyed with Chase when she left Piper’s room, for undertaking such a momentous discussion without her. But halfway down the breezeway, the annoyance turned to acceptance. Whatever had happened, Riley didn’t seem to have suffered any emotional trauma. And she couldn’t imagine Chase had broached the subject on purpose.
By the time she got to Chase’s room, her acceptance had turned to gratitude. Thanks to Chase, one of her biggest worries was resolved. And Riley seemed completely fine.
She knocked.
When he opened the door, she drank in the sight of him. His shirt was unbuttoned, his jeans riding low, his feet bare. His expression was still guarded, and the distance made her want to cry.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t see it coming.”
“No.” She gave her head a definitive shake. “I’m here to thank you. Thank you, Chase.”
She couldn’t stop herself. She stepped in and wrapped her arms around him, laying her cheek against his chest. “Thank you so much.”
The door swung shut behind her.
“Maddy.” His voice was strained.
“I don’t know what you did, but it was right, and I’m so incredibly grateful.”
“You don’t…” He rasped in a deep breath. “I can’t…”
She looked up.
“Oh, hell.” His arms went around her and his lips swooped down to hers.
She all but melted under his kiss. Memories of their lovemaking kicked in, desire and passion cascading through her. She opened to him, parting her lips, her tongue tangling with his.
His hands, warm and strong, callused and steady, slipped under her thin T-shirt, stroking her lower back. She stepped closer, her hips pressing against his thighs.
He groaned and his hands dropped to her rear, pulling her intimately into the vee of his thighs. Desperate to get closer still, she stripped off her shirt. They met skin to skin. He flicked open her bra and it fell away. Her nipples tingled against his chest.
“I’ve missed you so much,” she whispered against his mouth.
“You’re all I can think about.” He scooped her into his arms, crossing the few steps to the bed.
There he sat down, her in his lap, and his hands closed over her breasts.
“Chase,” she gasped.
His kisses deepened.
It was hot, and she was dying for him. She scrambled out of her shorts and panties. Then she straddled his lap. The denim of his jeans grazed her tender skin. Her arousal ran deep and insistent.
He cradled her cheeks, kissing her swollen mouth, his lips hot and tender, his breath sweet as it fanned her face.
She’d never wanted like this. She’d never felt like this. She’d never known with such a deep, unwavering certainty that something was so absolutely right.
His gray eyes darkened and he turned her onto her back. She pushed off his shirt, clinging to his strong shoulders. He kissed her neck, her shoulders, her breasts, making his way downward, tasting every tender spot on her body.
She squirmed. Then she gasped for air. She dug her fingers into his hair.
Then he was rising, stripping off his jeans, coming down on top of her, as she welcomed him with a moan of completion.
He stilled while pulses throbbed from her toes to her brain.
She tried to move, but he captured her hips, holding her still against the mattress.
“This,” he said, looking straight into her eyes.
She could feel arousal pushing insistently through her.
“I’ll remember this forever.” And then he was moving and her world took flight.
Colors danced before her eyes, and sounds clanged in her ears. His hands were everywhere. His lips worshipped her. And his thrusts were strong and deep, perfectly timed, matching her wants, until her body exploded, shuddering, pulsing as pleasure overtook her.
She cried out his name, and he answered with hers, groaning his own completion as his weight settled on her, solid and reassuring.
After a few moments, he rolled so that she was on top. He held her close, and their breathing synchronized. Neither of them spoke as the bedside clock counted off the minutes towards the evening’s rides.
Maddy had no desire to move. Her world was perfect, and she wanted to keep it that way as long as humanly possible.
“You awake?” Chase asked softly.
“Yes.”
She would have liked to pretend she was asleep. Maybe they could have lain there for another hour or more. But she knew they couldn’t. Real life was outside the motel room door waiting for them.
He shifted them again, lying her beside him. Then he came up on his side.
She focused on his handsome, sexy face. “What happened?”
“Riley saw a poster of his dad. At first he thought it was me. But I guess having us side by side showed him the truth.”
“What did he do?” Maddy sat up, cross-legged, pulling the sheet across her lap.
“He asked if Chase was his first daddy. I told him yes.”
Maddy’s chest tightened to painful. “Was he upset?”
“He was thoughtful. He’s one amazing kid, Maddy.”
“I know he is.” Whatever else Chase Barrett had done, together they had produced an extraordinary child.
“He asked me if I was his new daddy.” There was something in Chase’s expression. Something wasn’t right.
A chill came over her, and she swallowed. “What did you say?”
“I told him I would always be his friend.” Chase sat up and stepped into his jeans. “We have to talk, Maddy.”
She wanted to shout no. She wanted to shut him up. She wanted to throw herself into his arms and keep the magic between them alive for just a few more minutes.
Someone pounded forcefully on the door.
Maddy jumped.
“Chase!” came Eli’s deep voice. “Open up.”
Maddy felt the blood drain from her face. “Don’t answer.”
“I know you’re in there,” Eli called out.
“I have to answer,” Chase said.
Maddy searched for an escape route. She spied the bathroom and darted for it.
“He already knows,” Chase told her as she crossed the room.
Maddy didn’t care what Eli did or did not know. Her brother was not catching her naked in Chase’s hotel room.
*
Bare chested, Chase opened the door to Eli, prepared to take whatever angry words Eli felt he needed to throw, but not prepared to take another undefended punch. If Eli got physical again, Chase was fighting back.
Eli strode into the room. “What did you tell Zane?”
Chase was instantly off balance.
Eli didn’t even seem to notice the messy bed and Chase’s state of undress.
“Zane?” Chase asked.
“He thinks I’ve messed up the land deal. They all think I’ve messed up the land deal by taking a swing at you.”
“You didn’t.” Chase would never hold that against Eli.
“You deserved it,” Eli barked. “You know you deserved it.”
“Eli, stop—”
“And you could have hit me back. You could have stood up like a man. You didn’t need to go behind my back and destroy our chances with the Douglas Ranch—”
“Eli, shut up.”
“I’m not going to—”
“Maddy’s here.” Chase canted his head to the closed bathroom door.
There was a whimper and a thud on the other side of the door.
Chase threw Eli an impatient look.
Eli might hate that Chase was sleeping with his sister. But a far worse thing would be Maddy overhearing her brothers had made a deal behind her bac
k.
Eli stilled, his expression clouding. He was clearly stunned, and clearly debating exactly how angry he should be and for which reason.
“Maddy?” he called out to her, his calm voice at odds with his angry expression. At the same time, he glared daggers at Chase, his expression saying their conversation was far from over.
“Come out here, Maddy,” Eli said.
“Go away,” she cried.
“I’m not mad.”
“I don’t care.”
“I need to talk to her alone,” Chase said to Eli.
He wasn’t backing out of the Douglas Ranch deal because Eli had hit him. But he was backing out. The situation with Maddy was completely untenable.
He couldn’t go into business with her brothers. It would be feeding into the impossible fantasy all three of them, Maddy, Riley, and even Chase had built up in their minds.
“We’re all adults,” Eli called to Maddy. To Chase he said, “She needs an explanation.”
“Not from you.”
Eli’s tone turned authoritative. “Madeline, get out here.”
The bathroom door cracked.
“Maddy, wait,” Chase cautioned.
He needed for Eli to leave, not to elaborate. Events were running out of his control, and there was no way this conversation ended well for any of them.
But Eli was too quick. “Chase is buying a ranch with us.”
The door yawned wider, and Maddy appeared wrapped in a white robe.
“That’s why we’re all here in Missoula,” Eli said.
“I don’t understand.” Her gaze darted to Chase, her confusion clear.
Eli kept talking. “We’re here to discuss the details of buying the Douglas Ranch in Marietta Montana.”
“Eli,” Chase interrupted. “I need to talk to Maddy alone.”
“You’re buying a ranch?” Maddy asked Chase.
“It’s not that simple.”
“We’re not going to be able to buy our land back, Maddy,” Eli said. “It’s just a fact. I’m sorry, but it’s not going to happen.”
Maddy was still looking at Chase. He could see the hope in her eyes. He could even guess her thoughts. She was seeing herself and Chase and Riley living happily even after on a Montana ranch surrounded by her entire extended family. He understood why she’d want that. He also knew why it could never happen.
“The Douglas Ranch is a real opportunity,” Eli said to her. “We can start over, together.”
Chase (American Extreme Bull Riders Tour Book 2) Page 15