“Easy,” Rick said under his breath. They had a long way to go before he’d indulge in kissing of any kind with this woman who held his heart in her hands. He’d do best starting with the basics. “Congratulations.”
Her eyelids flew open wide. “Rick.” She blinked, obviously startled but not unhappy to see him if the hesitant smile on her face was any indication. “Congratulations about what?”
“You tamed the witch,” he said, speaking of Lisa. A smile tugged at his mouth. “That deserves a round of applause.” He clapped to prove his point as well as to break the tension between them.
“I don’t know if I tamed her.” Kendall laughed, her eyes sparkling. It had only been a few days but God he missed the light in her eyes and her easy laughter. “But I did set her straight.”
He nodded. “So I heard.”
“You were eavesdropping?” she asked, obviously surprised.
“Listening in a public place.”
She rolled her eyes. “Same difference. So . . . how much did you hear?” she asked as she bit down on her glossed lips.
He wanted to take a nibble too. “How much do you want me to know?” he asked instead.
She sighed, shifting from foot to foot, her discomfort obvious. “Rick, I don’t want to get into a game of twenty questions.”
“Neither do I.” He also didn’t want to stand here pining for a woman who’d just reject him again. “So how about you just answer my question. Tell me whatever it is you want me to know.” He stepped closer, taking the biggest risk of his life. But if he’d heard her correctly, she’d finally taken a risk too. If not, this was Rick Chandler’s last stand. “Talk to me.”
Kendall stared at Rick, taking in his beloved face, serious expression, and gorgeous mouth. Now that he stood before her, she didn’t know what to say so she opted for the truth. “I’m scared,” she admitted.
He reached out a hand and stroked her cheek. His roughened skin sent awareness shimmering throughout her body, reminding her not just of their physical connection but the emotional one as well. Obviously their bond remained despite her attempts to shut him out and the relief sweeping through her veins eased her mind a little bit. This was Rick and she could tell him anything.
As she looked into his eyes, she realized how much hinged on her reply. Though she feared he’d reject her, ironically she also feared he’d accept her. The life she’d always wanted and feared at the same time hung just within reach and she wouldn’t be human if she didn’t admit to being petrified.
Drawing a deep breath, she took a huge leap of faith, hoping Rick would be there to catch her. “I’m not leaving Yorkshire Falls after all.”
“Really.” He raised an eyebrow. “Do tell.”
An adorable smile tipped the corner of his mouth and Kendall knew he’d heard her entire conversation with Lisa. But he still deserved to be told firsthand and in a much different tone and manner than she’d taken with the witch, as Rick had aptly called Lisa.
“I . . .” Kendall paused and cleared her throat, nerves nearly paralyzing her. What if he turned away? What if he didn’t?
As if sensing her distress, he reached forward and clasped her hand in his, squeezing tight. For courage. For comfort. “Go on.”
She forced a smile that became easier and more real as she spoke. “I decided to stop running.”
“Because?”
He squeezed her hand harder and she appreciated his show of support, gaining hope. “I don’t know why. One minute I was looking at that blown-up photo and convinced myself the time had come to leave. That you and your family deserved better.”
“Did any of us tell you we wanted better?” He growled and a fierce scowl replaced his smile. Clearly he wasn’t pleased.
“Well no.” No one had planted the idea in her mind. “But you figured you’d make the decision for us. Thank you very much.” He shook his head.
“It was an excuse for me to run.”
“It was an excuse for you to run,” he said at the same time.
She laughed, the lump in her throat disappearing. “You know me so well.”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you all along.” His voice grew somber, serious, and even more sexy if such a thing was possible.
“I wish I could promise you this would be easy.” She gestured back and forth between them. “That I’d have no trouble adjusting.”
“If I wanted easy I’d be with Lisa.” He grinned, slapping his thigh and laughing hard at his own joke.
“Very funny.”
“I thought so,” he said, then shrugged. “Seriously, sweetheart, all I want is you, in one place. With me. The rest will come naturally, I promise. A few bumps in the road maybe, but every married couple deals with those sooner or later.”
“Married?” She stepped back in surprise and hit the wall behind her.
He followed, leaving no room for retreat. “We can do this one of two ways. Slow and easy or fast and hard.” He braced one hand on the wall over her shoulder. “I don’t want to push you into more than you’re ready for but I do have to lay my cards and intentions on the table so there’s no mistake.”
She nodded. She wanted that too. Honesty, up front, no mistakes, no surprises. No retreat.
“I want to marry you.” He stroked her cheek with his other hand. “I want to spend the rest of my natural life with you. I want to help you raise your hellion sister along with a couple of kids of our own. And I want to do it here, in Yorkshire Falls.” He tipped his head close, his forehead touching hers, his breath warm against her cheek.
She inhaled deeply and felt as if she’d come home. “I want those things too.” Her voice cracked and a tear dripped down her cheek. “But what if I panic? I’ve never lived in one place for very long, never looked to the future. The first sign of a problem and my instinct is to run—to reject a person or a place before they can reject me. I realize that now. What if—”
“Shh.” He placed a finger over her lips. “There are no what ifs. Not now that you understand why you’ve been running. If that panic comes over you, I’ll know it. Or you will and you’ll come to me because that’s what people who love each other do. And I’ll talk you through it,” he said, then sealed his mouth over hers, promise and love evident in the broad sweep of his tongue and the possessive way he took command of her senses.
He knew her, he understood her, and he accepted her in spite of it all. She brought her hands upward, cradling his face between her palms, giving herself better, deeper access to the moist warmth of his mouth before finally pulling back. “I never thought I’d find home,” she whispered.
“It’s right here, sweetheart.” His lips hovered over hers. “With me.”
“Mmm.” Despite the lingering fear she knew she’d spend more time coming to terms with, Kendall felt safe, loved, and wanted for the first time in her life. A feeling she’d pass on to her sister and to kids of her own. Warmth filled her chest and expanded inside her.
“Cool beans!” Hannah’s yell echoed in the hallway. “Jeannie, get in here and see this! And bring Mrs. Chandler. I mean Raina. Bring Raina. Woo hoo!”
Kendall felt herself blush, the heat rising fast and furious to her cheeks while Rick merely straightened to an upright position and laughed. “Guess I’d better get used to this kind of an interruption, huh?”
“Maybe she’ll learn to knock?” Kendall asked hopefully.
“We’re staying? Are we staying?” Hannah asked, her eyes huge and hopeful.
Kendall grinned. “We’re staying.”
“Where are we gonna live? Can we move to the main house? Pearl said Eldin’s back would do so much better in the guest house but she didn’t want to tell you that with the scandal on your mind,” Hannah rambled on.
Kendall glanced up at Rick, her head spinning.
“We haven’t gotten that far, squirt,” he told Hannah. “Okay well fine. We can talk about it later. I want my room to be purple. Can you paint whatever room I get purple, R
ick?”
Kendall stared in shock at her suddenly exuberant sister. “We’ll discuss the purple room another time. How did you get in here anyway? Didn’t Norman say he didn’t want to see your face around here until next century?”
“Yeah but I charmed him,” Hannah said with a huge amount of sass.
Rick turned toward her sister. “And how’d you do that?”
“I helped him wash a few dishes this morning and he was putty in my hands. Does this mean I can call you Dad? Or Uncle Rick? Or how about Hey Copper?” Hannah giggled, happier than Kendall had seen her. Ever.
“I don’t know what you should call him, but you’d better call me Grandma,” Raina said, coming up behind Hannah. She met Rick’s gaze. “You see? I told you I had grandchildren in my future.” She wrapped her arms around the young girl, squeezed her tight, and kept squeezing.
“I can’t breathe,” Hannah squeaked.
“And she can’t talk either. Keep hugging her, Mom.” Rick chuckled while Hannah shot him an annoyed scowl that quickly turned back to a big smile once Raina released her.
“Does this mean you’ll lay off Chase?” Rick asked. “You’ve got Roman and me settled. I think we should go on over to The Gazette and tell him the truth together.”
“What truth?” Kendall asked, lost and curious.
“I’ll tell you later,” Rick whispered in her ear. “When we’re naked and alone,” he said in an ever softer voice. He nuzzled her cheek as he spoke.
“Eew,” Hannah said, watching them. But the grin didn’t leave her face.
And as Kendall met Rick’s heated gaze, she knew exactly how her sister felt. Giddiness, happiness, disbelief, and a tremendous amount of love settled inside her when she thought about her future. All possible because she’d faced her past.
Kendall had come to town running and ended up finding the life of her dreams and the home and family she’d never had. She’d tamed both her personal demons and the town’s playboy. Not bad, if she did say so herself.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Award-winning, best-selling author Carly Phillips is an attorney who has tossed away legal briefs in favor of writing hot, sizzling romances for Harlequin and Warner Books. Since her first sale in 1998, Carly has sold a total of eighteen books. She lives with her husband, two young daughters, and frisky Wheaton terrier who thinks he’s child number three. When not spending time with her family, Carly is busy writing, promoting, and playing on-line! She loves to hear from her readers and you can write her at P.O. Box 483, Purchase, NY 10577 or E-mail her at [email protected].
No one can resist . . . a Chandler man! Meet all three Chandler brothers! For excerpts, contests, and more information on her fun, sexy trilogy from Warner Books, (The Bachelor, The Playboy, and The Loner), visit www.carlyphillips.com.
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THE LONER
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CHAPTER ONE
Chase Chandler walked out of the gate into Dulles International Airport and inhaled deeply. Each breath of air outside his hometown of Yorkshire Falls, New York, represented true freedom. At last.
“Hey, big brother!” His youngest sibling, Roman, pulled him into a bear hug. “Welcome to D.C. Good flight?”
“The best kind. Short and on time.” Chase hiked his duffel bag over his shoulder and started toward the exit. “How’s the wife?”
A ridiculous smile settled on Roman’s lips. “Charlotte’s amazing. Getting bigger by the day. My kid’s growing inside her,” he added, as if he hadn’t reminded them all of Charlotte’s pregnancy one hundred times before.
“A few months ago a wife and kid was the last thing you wanted. We had to toss a coin to decide which of us would give Mom the grandkid she wanted so badly. Now look at you. A husband and soon-to-be dad, and happy about both.” Chase shook his head, amazed and pleased with the changes in his little brother. The kid was settled and happy, which made Chase happy. He’d done his duty by his family.
Roman shrugged. “What can I say? That was before. Now I’m a changed man.”
“Before you grew up, you mean?” Chase winked and his brother chuckled.
Both men knew Roman had fought long and hard until he concluded that marrying Charlotte wouldn’t mean giving up his foreign correspondent lifestyle, merely trading it in for something more fulfilling. Now he had a job with The Washington Post as Op-Ed columnist, a wife, and a family.
“You have no idea what you’re missing,” Roman said. “A woman to come home to, a warm body in bed, and someone who loves you unconditionally.”
Like religious fanatics, both Roman and Rick, his middle sibling who’d also recently gotten hitched, had begun to preach the benefits of marriage. Chase wasn’t buying. “Trust me, I can live without it, thank you very much. If I get that lonely, I’ll find myself a dog.”
His dreams didn’t include a wife and family. His brothers, much as he loved them, had been a handful to raise. He didn’t need little rugrats of his own. From the time he’d turned eighteen and his father had unexpectedly passed away, Chase had been the male parent and role model. He’d taken over as publisher of The Gazette and helped his mother raise his brothers, two jobs he’d never resented. Chase was never one to look back, only forward. And now, at thirty-seven, he was free to move on with a life of his own and grasp the dreams he’d put on hold. Starting with this trip to Washington.
He walked around a slow-moving couple and headed for the sign marked PARKING GARAGE. He glanced at Roman. The dim-witted gaze hadn’t dulled and Chase grinned. “I guess I can call Mom and tell her you’re strutting around like a proud papa?”
“Don’t bother,” Roman said, falling into step beside him. “When we’re not in Yorkshire Falls so she can see for herself, she checks in once a day with Charlotte by phone.”
Chase nodded. That was his mother, Raina, meddling and proud of it. “Well, I couldn’t be happier for you.” He patted his brother on the back.
“And I’m glad you’ve left the paper in someone else’s hands and decided to put yourself first for once.”
Chase answered Roman with a grunt. After all, the kid was right. Not once in the years since he’d taken over had he abdicated responsibility for The Gazette.
“The car’s parked in the lot.” Roman gestured in the direction they needed to go and Chase followed, nearly tripping over a young kid who’d decided to play tag.
“Thanks for picking me up,” Chase said, noticing the wayward kid had been corralled by his parents. Roman and Rick had been eleven and fifteen respectively when their dad passed away. They’d been old enough to take care of themselves and Chase hadn’t had to deal with their toddler years. Thank God. Their late teens had been tough enough.
“How’s Mom?” Roman asked.
“What do you mean?” Since realizing he was being conned, Chase wasn’t about to make life easy on his brother.
“Her . . . ah . . . health.”
“Stuttering for a reason?” he asked.
Roman picked up his pace but remained silent. Chase could almost see his brother’s brain churning to come up with a reply. A few months ago, Chase had rushed his mother to the emergency room with chest pains. Later she’d told her sons she’d been diagnosed with a serious heart condition. Though they’d spoken to the doctor, confidentiality had prevented them from finding out anything more than what Raina had told them. Her three sons had danced around her bedside, making sure she took care of herself. Since she’d curtailed all activity, Chase hadn’t thought to question the diagnosis further.
Until he began to notice inconsistencies in his mother’s behavior. Too much color in her cheeks for someone with a weak heart. Too much swigging of antacids. The more recent prescription drug to treat gastric reflux. And running up and down the stairs when she thought she wouldn’t be caught. As a newspaperman with damn good instincts, he began to suspect fraud and blatan
t manipulation. He also suspected his brothers, who seemed less concerned with their mother’s health lately, knew something he didn’t.
“Rick and I need to talk to you,” Roman said. “About Mom’s fake heart condition?”
Roman stopped in his tracks, causing one woman to nearly bump into him and a man to dart around him, cursing as he passed. “You know?”
Chase nodded. “I do now.”
“Shit.” Roman met his gaze. “We were going to tell you.”
Chase ran a hand through his hair and groaned. He didn’t give a damn that they were in the middle of the airport blocking pedestrian traffic. He’d been itching to confront Roman on this and was damn glad to have it off his chest. “Any reason I was left out?”
“The time was never right. I discovered the truth just before Charlotte and I got together for good. Rick figured things out more recently. And the three of us haven’t been in the same state at the same time since. If Rick could’ve come to D.C. we’d have told you this weekend.” He held his hands out in front of him. “What can I say?”
“You don’t owe me an explanation. Mom does.” Roman raised an eyebrow. “You don’t know why she faked being sick?”
“Explanation’s the wrong word. I know she did it because she wanted grandkids. She wanted us to feel so bad we’d do her bidding. I get that. But she damn well owes us all an apology.”
“If it makes you feel any better, her antics have seriously curtailed her social life. She and Eric haven’t been able to go dancing, date, do any of the things she’d like to do.”
“Small consolation.” Chase rolled his shoulders to release the tension. “What do you say we forget about the family problems this weekend and just have fun?”
“Sounds good to me. We’ll get you settled at the hotel, have dinner with Charlotte, and tomorrow you’ll get your first taste of D.C. politics. Let’s get the hell out of here.”
“No argument here.”
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