Taking Catie: The Temptation Saga: Book Three

by Hardt, Helen;

  At four in the morning, Catie arrived in Podunk, Utah. Actually, Applewood, Utah, but it made Bakersville look like a thriving metropolis. Of course, it was the middle of the night. Perhaps it would look like civilization in the morning. There was only one motel in town, and they luckily had a vacancy, though she had to ring the bell ten times before someone came to help her. Finally, an older man, rubbing his sleep-filled eyes, came to the counter and booked her into a room. Sleep came as soon as her head hit the pillow, her eyes swollen from crying.

  * * *

  Where the hell was Catie?

  Chad lay awake, Marnie snuggled by his feet. The minutes crept by on his digital clock. He’d watched two o’clock come and go, and then three, and now four. Damn. Anxiety gnawed at him. She wasn’t at home. He’d called the Bays earlier. He couldn’t call them again. He’d just worry them. She wasn’t with Dallas and Annie, and Zach and Dusty were out of town.

  He got up, paced, and went down to his office. He couldn’t sleep anyway. Might as well get some work done. He took out his business account, wrote out some invoices, paid some bills, and went to settle some of his personal accounts. The grocery bill, the gas for the giant propane tank that fed his house, water, electric, septic system.

  And Linda and Jack needed to be paid.

  He had no legal obligation to the woman and her son, but he wanted to help them, especially after hearing what she’d gone through with her parents. He’d have to tell Catie. Where the hell was she?

  He’d felt a loss when he woke up the previous morning and she wasn’t next to him. He’d pattered down the hallway and found her sleeping soundly in one of his guest rooms. That told him how she felt about him. So much for her schoolgirl crush.

  Yet she responded to him today in the stable, when he’d taken her roughly like a selfish bastard. He was sorry for it. But when he’d seen Grayhawk with his hands on his woman…

  His woman.

  His wife.

  Tonight she hadn’t come to his bed like he’d asked. Aw hell, like he’d demanded. What had he become? What was it about this one little woman that turned him into a feral beast? Well, he hadn’t exactly been nice to her about the whole baby thing. He knew she wasn’t pulling a stunt on him. Warmth crept up his skin, making it tingle. Truth be told, he wanted Catie’s baby. A little person who was part Catie and part Chad.

  He cared for Catie. Maybe he didn’t love her yet, but he sure as hell felt a lot more for her than he had for any other woman.

  An urge to barge into the guest room and force her back into his bed overwhelmed him, but he resisted. He scribbled out a note to leave on the counter in the kitchen. He had to go out of town on business and would be in Denver overnight. He’d leave before she was up in the morning. He checked the coffee machine to make sure Brenda had set it for six a.m. Yep, good. He left the note for Catie and then made his way to his bedroom and flopped onto his big empty bed. He inhaled Catie’s scent on the pillow. Mmm, raspberries and lime. His wife. His wife who should be in his bed. Though he was hard as granite, he was determined to leave her alone. He hadn’t been easy on her.

  One thing was for sure, though. When he got back from Denver, they’d have a serious discussion about their marriage. This was going to work, damn it.

  * * *

  Catie took a deep breath before she knocked on the door of the modest house on Cherrytree Street in the small town of Applewood, Utah.

  It was Saturday, and she hoped Rhine, L would be home. Sure enough, a pretty blond woman answered, smiling.

  “Yes, may I help you?”

  “Are you Linda Rhine?”

  “I suppose that depends on who wants to know.”

  “I’m Caitlyn Bay…I mean McCray. Caitlyn McCray.”

  The woman’s smile faded. “Oh. You’re Chad’s wife.”

  “Yes. May I come in?”

  She sighed and her cheeks reddened. “Of course. Yes. What can I do for you?” She held the door open. “I’m sure this isn’t really what you’re used to.”

  Catie forced her lips upward. No reason not to be pleasant. “Don’t be silly. It’s lovely.” Small and modest, the home was clean and decorated beautifully. Linda clearly loved plants. Greenery adorned every table and nook.

  “Is—” Catie cleared her throat. “Is your son here?”

  Linda fidgeted with her hands. “Yeah. He’s up in his room playing.”

  “I’d love to meet him.”

  “Of course. I’ll go get him. Please make yourself at home.”

  Catie sat down in a hunter-green recliner. Tiny hooves danced in her tummy. She swallowed, forcing back nausea. So Chad had a son. No big deal, right? He wouldn’t be the first man to knock up a woman out of wedlock. Heck, he’d done it twice now.

  Why hadn’t he told her? Why hadn’t Annie? Instead, she’d looked Catie straight in the eye and said Chad had checked out all the women who claimed to be pregnant with his child.

  Linda returned with a pretty little blond boy who looked nothing like Chad. He was a dead ringer for Linda, though, so he could still be Chad’s kid. Heck, she herself didn’t resemble Wayne at all.

  “He’s very handsome, Linda.”

  “Thank you.”

  “He’s about the same age as Chad’s nephew, Sean.”

  “I don’t know about Chad’s nephew. But Jack’s four.”

  Catie smiled at the little boy, and he smiled back.

  “So Chad told you about us, huh? Last night, when I spoke to him, he said he hadn’t yet.”

  “We don’t have any secrets,” Catie said, wishing to the stars that she spoke the truth. “I wanted to come up here to meet you and his—” The words stuck in her throat like peanut butter. “Jack.” She’d almost said son, but couldn’t.

  “Oh. Can I offer you anything?”

  “No. I won’t stay long.”

  Fifteen minutes of small talk later, Catie left.

  * * *

  Catie hadn’t come home.

  Chad’s stomach churned. Was she all right? Was the baby all right?

  He’d called Wayne and Maria, and then the police. No one knew where she was. Her car was gone though, so she probably hadn’t been taken. Then again, someone could have held her at gunpoint.

  Chad shuffled through her bedroom like a madman, looking for clues. Nothing. Hmm…she’d set up her computer recently. He ran down the stairwell and into his office. He opened each drawer of his desk, of his credenza. Nothing again. He flew to his file cabinet, his heart stampeding, and opened each drawer, searching for something, anything.

  He found it.

  The file on Linda Rhine had been replaced in the cabinet backwards.

  Damn! Catie must have found out about Linda’s son. Would she have gone to see Linda?

  Chad cursed to himself. Damn those conniving people!

  He didn’t mind taking care of the kid. The poor boy didn’t have anyone else. But damned if he’d let this situation jeopardize his marriage.

  He shook his head.

  Did he want this marriage after all?

  Catie’s image—her soft mahogany hair, her big brown eyes, her slender and shapely legs that went on forever—eased into his consciousness. Had her image always been there? Since she’d stumbled back into his life a few weeks ago, she hadn’t left his thoughts for more than a minute at a time. His mind whirled to that fateful night in the gazebo four years ago. God, he’d wanted her, would have given his fortune for one taste of her innocent sweetness. She’d said she hadn’t yet kissed a boy.

  He’d reminded her he was no boy.

  She’d been a kid then—just turned eighteen. A kid in a beautiful woman’s body. He’d summoned every speck of willpower he possessed to reject her.

  Now Hurricane Catie had returned, wreaking havoc in his life.

  Fuck.

  He’d never been so happy.

  Love.

  How hadn’t he recognized it? Had he been so adamant about not making a commitment that he’d been re
ady to let her walk out of his life?

  Her beauty, her intelligence, her love and knowledge of horses, her clumsiness—everything about her touched his soul. God bless that ripped condom. Without it, he’d have let her go.

  Determination rose within him. He’d find her and he’d keep her. Somehow, he’d convince her that his love for her was real.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Catie’s research online at the local library and hall of records hadn’t turned up anything important. Jack Rhine had been born in Salt Lake City a little over four years ago. Linda had lived in this little town of Applewood her whole life. She worked as a secretary for a local realtor. She seemed to be well-liked in town. Her son stayed at the local daycare center during the week. Linda’s mother and stepfather, Dorothy and Blake Smith, lived nearby. No mention of Chad McCray anywhere.

  Would he deny his own son?

  Catie shook her head as she closed the last document on the library computer. Perhaps she really didn’t know this man who she’d married. This man she’d loved her entire life. This man whose child she carried.

  Exhausted, she plunked her head on the keyboard. Sadness overwhelmed her, trickled through every vein in her body, yet strangely her eyes produced no tears. Was she truly all cried out over Chad McCray?

  She sighed. The hour was late, and a long drive home awaited her. She stood and pressed her hands onto the keyboard. A sharp pain lanced through her abdomen. She inhaled and looked down.

  A small spot of crimson glared up from the white plastic chair.

  Not the baby. I can’t lose my baby.

  The tears that had refused to fall only minutes ago now gushed forth like torrential rains.

  Help. She needed medical help. She tried to walk to the counter, but a haze filled her head and her legs wobbled. Cramps pierced into her tummy.

  “Ma’am?” An elderly librarian rushed to her. “Do you need help? Oh! You’re bleeding. Let’s get you to a doctor.”

  Mama’s been through this. I want Mama. I want my baby.

  “Please, I just want to go home.”

  “Nonsense. It’s after hours, but I’ll call Dr. Weinstein. We’ll go to his urgent care clinic. He won’t mind. Small-town doctors are used to nighttime emergencies.”

  Before Catie could protest, the librarian had helped her into a brown sedan.

  Catie’s weeping continued. How could this have happened? At least Chad was off the hook. He’d no longer be shackled to a wife he didn’t want, a baby he didn’t want. Hell, he hadn’t wanted Linda’s either. If he had, he’d have married her and taken care of her and the kid.

  Yet he had married Catie. Did that mean anything? Nah. He hadn’t been happy about it. Maybe Linda had refused him. If so, she had strength Catie didn’t possess. She wiped at her eyes with the hanky the kind librarian had given her. Chad would have married Linda. Clearly, he was taking care of their child.

  Soon they arrived at the clinic. A nurse ushered Catie in, took her to an urgent care exam room, and started an IV.

  “I’m giving you something for the pain, Dr. Weinstein’s orders,” the nurse said. “He’ll be here soon.”

  Catie sighed and regarded the needle in her hand. Soon the cramping would lessen thanks to the drugs dripping into her veins. Too bad they couldn’t do anything for her emotional pain.

  She lay on the uncomfortable bed and waited for the doctor to come in and give her the news she already knew.

  She had lost Chad’s baby.

  She had lost Chad.

  * * *

  Because she was so early in her pregnancy, she didn’t need a D and C. She had expelled what little tissue there was naturally. The doctor released her later in the evening with a prescription for antibiotics and pain pills and instructions to take it easy. No sex for four weeks. Didn’t matter. The only man she wanted to have sex with didn’t want her, and she was done having sex with men who didn’t want her.

  Should she have called him? Nah. She shook her head. He didn’t care. If Annie had left, Dallas would have moved heaven and earth to find her. Ditto Zach and Dusty. But not little brother Chad. He didn’t care that his wife had been missing for twenty-four hours. Now that the baby was gone, no reason existed to prolong this sham of a marriage.

  The kind nurse drove her to the library to retrieve her car, followed her to the hotel, and made her promise not to drive until morning, when the pain medication had left her system.

  It was a promise Catie did not keep.

  She packed up her overnight bag and quickly rummaged through her purse. Yes, her procrastinating nature had paid off—she hadn’t yet removed her passport and put it in the safe. She should call her parents. Even Chad. He’d have told them she was gone by now. But she couldn’t. She wasn’t ready to talk yet. Besides, they’d find her easily enough. She hadn’t covered her tracks. She’d call them all when she reached her destination. For she wasn’t going home. She was going straight to Salt Lake City, to the airport.

  Back to France.

  Away from Chad.

  She had friends in Europe who would welcome her. She’d already called and told Dominic that she was coming. As soon as she had her arrival information, she’d text it.

  * * *

  The verge of insanity niggled at the back of Chad’s neck like fingers scraping a chalkboard. A quick phone call to Linda had confirmed Catie had visited, but Linda had no idea where she was staying or if she was still in Applewood. He found her at a local motel, but had come up empty-handed when he tried to call her room. No answer. No answer on her cell either. Was she deliberately avoiding him?

  He could drive to Applewood, but that would take hours. His PI buddy, Larry Parks, could easily track Catie down in less than half the time. He put in the call and wasn’t surprised when Larry called back in less than an hour.

  “What’s the good news, Lar?”

  “I found her, Chad.”

  “Yeah? Where is she?”

  “She’s—” Larry cleared his throat.

  “What? Tell me!”

  “She’s on a flight to Paris.”

  Had a Taser gun hit him? Chad’s body suddenly went numb. “What?”

  “She’s on a flight to Paris.”

  He shook his head, his body tingling. “But why?”

  “I can’t get into her head, Chad. I don’t have a clue why she’s on a flight to Paris, but it may have something to do with the fact that she paid a visit to a doctor last evening.”

  Fear gripped him. “A doctor? Why? Is she okay.”

  “Yes, yes, she’s fine,” Larry assured.

  Chad sat down limply. “Thank God.”

  “There’s something I need to tell you though.”

  He stood up again, his pulse thundering inside his ears. “What is it?”

  “She lost the baby, Chad.”

  “Damn.” A cannonball settled in Chad’s gut. Anger, sadness, worry cascaded over him. He threw his phone down and then picked it up again. “You still there, Lar?”

  “Yeah, I’m here.”

  “What’s her flight number?”

  He scribbled the information on a legal pad, thanked Larry before he hung up, and made a quick call to his travel agent.

  Within five hours, Chad was on his way to Paris.

  A flirty flight attendant brought him wine and pillows and helped him lean his seat back when the pilot turned off the cabin lights.

  “Can I get you anything else, sir?” she asked. “A blanket, maybe?”

  “No, honey, I’m perfectly comfortable,” he said. No one sat in the seat next to him, so he had the first class row to himself. He leaned into the soft, though not comfortable, headrest and closed his eyes.

  Catie, I’m coming for you, he thought. I love you. I’ve loved you for so long that I can’t imagine not loving you. Somehow I’ve always known it would be you. I feel lost when you’re gone. I feel like a part of me’s missing. I’ve always known, Catie, I’ve always known…

  As he drifted
into slumber, a fateful evening four years earlier drifted into his mind.

  “Hi there, Chad.”

  “Hey, Catie. Happy birthday. You sure look pretty tonight.”

  “You actually noticed?”

  “I’ve been noticing for a while now. You’ve grown into a pretty girl.”

  “Woman, Chad. I’m eighteen. I’ve grown into a pretty woman.”

  She walked closer, her breath coming in short puffs. A silky green sundress sheathed her nubile body. Warm mahogany tresses fell over faintly freckled shoulders. Kissable shoulders… Damn, she was a beautiful woman. Girl, he corrected his thoughts. Catie was a girl. He willed his heart to slow before he spoke.

  “Eighteen ain’t a woman in my book, little bit.”

  “Why do you call me that?” she asked coyly.

  “You know why. When you were four and I was fifteen, working at your house with Angie on a school project. You kept bugging us, and Angie bribed you with cookies just to leave us alone for a little bit.” He chuckled. “Course you always came back for more.”

  “Well”—Catie edged closer to him—“cookies have always been my downfall. Good thing I’m not prone to weight gain.” She backed away for a moment and stuck out her chest, the soft clingy satin making her pert nipples apparent through the fabric.

  Chad’s groin tightened. For a moment, he imagined biting one of those hard little nubs right through the green satin.

  “What do you think? Do I need to lose any weight?”

  Chad gulped, silently he hoped. “I have no opinion on the matter.”

  What a crock. He had an opinion on the matter. Not one change needed to be made to that perfect young body. Had her legs always been that long? Damned if they didn’t go on forever. The gift that keeps on giving…

  Catie leaned over the redwood railing. “Angie and Cal Tucker used to make out here in high school. I’d sneak over and spy on them.”

  “What were you? Five or six then?”

  “About five. I always thought, someday, I’d make out with the man of my dreams here too.”