Their Child?

by Christine Rimmer

  “You’d let me do that?”

  “If you’re serious. If you want to make Willow Creek Estates wine the absolute best in the country as I do.”

  “If I had a vested interest in the winery, I’d feel like working here meant something, like I was doing something Eleanor could be proud of.”

  “All right. You decide how much you want to invest. I’ll have my lawyer draw up the papers.”

  “I can’t believe you’re doing this. Not after what I tried to do.”

  “I never realized how you felt about my mother. Now that I look back, it’s obvious.”

  “Are you going to tell her?”

  “I think you should tell her, don’t you?”

  Stan sighed. “I suppose so, but it’ll take me a little while to work up some courage. Give me some time.”

  “I’ll give you until the partnership papers are drawn up. Mother will have to okay it.”

  Stan nodded. “Thanks, Chase. Preston raised a good son. I’m sorry I’ve been giving you such a hard time.”

  “That’s going to change now. A lot of things are going to change.”

  Chase didn’t know what the future would bring for Stan and his mother, but he hoped it was happiness—the kind of happiness he was going to find with Jillian.

  When Jillian came into the kitchen with her laptop computer, she felt as if she were sitting at the end of the rainbow and had just discovered the pot of gold. Last night with Chase had been wonderful and she couldn’t wait for many, many more nights like that.

  “Good morning,” Eleanor said as Jillian entered the kitchen. “Sleep well?”

  There was something in Eleanor’s tone that made Jillian think the older woman knew she’d spent the night in Chase’s room. Feeling her cheeks flush, she busied herself with setting the laptop on the table.

  “Fine,” she answered calmly. “And you?”

  “Just fine. Do you think the girls will want pancakes this morning?”

  “Probably. Do you want me to help? I can do this later.”

  “No, I can handle this. What are you doing?”

  “Estimate sheets for this new wedding we picked up.” However, when Jillian opened the case and pressed the switch to start the computer, it wouldn’t boot up. She’d brought the charger along, too. Going over to the counter, she plugged it into the outlet but still the computer didn’t boot.

  “Problems?”

  “This has been giving me trouble. I wanted to replace it, but with everything that’s happened, I just didn’t have the time.”

  “You could use the computer in Chase’s office.”

  Jillian considered that. “I do have everything backed up and he must have some sort of word processing program on his computer.”

  “Sure he does. I’ve written articles on his computer already.”

  “What kind of articles?”

  “For wine-tasting magazines…for the area wine growers’ newsletter.”

  In some ways, Eleanor was as multifaceted as her son and Jillian enjoyed getting to know her. “I’d like to read them some time.”

  “I have copies upstairs,” Eleanor said a bit shyly. “I keep a portfolio.”

  Closing up the laptop, Jillian set it in an out of the way place on the counter. “I’m going to go over to the office. I have about an hour until the girls get up.”

  “If you run into Chase,” Eleanor said with a straight face, “tell him I hope he slept well, too.”

  Jillian felt herself blush and then she smiled. “I’ll do that.”

  Five minutes later, she opened the door into the winery, wondering if Chase was there. She didn’t see or hear any movement. He could be anywhere, checking the vines, talking to his staff. Crossing the tasting room, she opened the door into Chase’s office. Finding the button on the computer tower, she turned on the machine and the monitor, too. His computer booted up in seconds. Fortunately, she saw Chase used the same word processing program she did.

  Sitting in front of the machine, she remembered she’d told Kara she would e-mail her this morning. Kara just wanted to know she’d arrived at Willow Creek safely.

  This morning Jillian felt a lot more than safe! Her smile grew wider.

  Clicking on the icon for Chase’s e-mail program, the screen displayed his in-box with the last message he’d received open on the bottom half of the screen. Her eyes widened at the subject heading—Job Offer.

  She shouldn’t read it. She knew she shouldn’t read it. Yet she couldn’t help but read it. The job offer had come from a contact of Chase’s at the Food and Drug Administration. Along with salary, it offered expenses for Chase to move to Arkansas.

  Arkansas.

  Why hadn’t Chase mentioned this?

  Was he keeping it from her?

  The girls loved Willow Creek and so did she.

  Then all Jillian’s doubts came flooding back. Chase was still Marianne’s legal guardian. He was Abby’s father, and now he had proof of that. If he wanted to leave and cut Jillian out of the picture…

  She had to find out now. She had to find out what he was planning. She had to know if last night was a true meeting of hearts and souls, or if Chase was just using her until he made a new life with the girls…without her.

  Chapter Fourteen

  When Jillian emerged from the wine-tasting room, she scanned the grounds as far as she could see for any sign of color. Almost out of sight, along the trellises bearing Aurora grapes, she saw two figures. The taller man was Chase.

  Her heart both soared and sank. Had last night been simply a dream? Had she deluded herself about Chase as she had with Eric? If his wife still filled his heart, how could he make room for her?

  Taking off at a run, she hardly noticed the creek running fast and furious, pushing at its banks. As she covered the distance between them, she sank into mud from the spring rain. Closing the gap between her and Chase, she saw he was talking to Stan. His uncle was pointing north toward the crest of a hill.

  So deep in their discussion, Chase didn’t see her until she was practically upon them. His smile turned to a worried frown. “Is something wrong?”

  “I need to talk to you.”

  Stan looked from one to the other and said to Chase, “And I need to talk to your mother.”

  As Stan left, Chase curved his arm around Jillian’s shoulders. “What’s so important?”

  Pulling away, she gazed up at him, searching his face. “My computer crashed and Eleanor said I could use yours. I opened your e-mail program to send Kara a message that I arrived safely and—”

  Chase’s expression changed. It closed and became somber. “And?” he repeated.

  “And…Why didn’t you tell me about the job offer from the Food and Drug Administration?”

  “You were in Florida when it came in.”

  “I’ve been back since yesterday afternoon. Are you going to take it?”

  Where his expression had been serious before, now it turned angry. He was dressed in a green T-shirt and tight-fitting jeans, and he had never looked more powerful or masculine or confident. “I thought after last night you finally trusted me.”

  “Trust goes two ways,” she returned defensively. “You called Loretta and you didn’t tell me.”

  “That was when I hardly knew you. I explained last night why I didn’t tell you I’d talked with her.”

  “Because you wanted me to confide in you on my own. That’s a convenient excuse, Chase. We could have gotten it all out in the open—”

  “You wouldn’t talk about your marriage.”

  “I told you about my marriage. You know everything about me now. So why didn’t you tell me about the job offer?”

  “I didn’t tell you because I’m not considering it. What did you think I was going to do? Break our engagement? Take the girls to Arkansas and leave you here?”

  When she didn’t respond, he muttered, “My God. That’s what you thought. Jillian, are you ever going to trust anyone again? Don’t you realize
I’d never do anything to hurt Marianne or Abby and that includes taking them away from you? If you believe I would do that, we shouldn’t even consider marriage. If you can’t trust me, we’ll never be more than co-parents.”

  Jillian felt devastated, mortified and ashamed. “Chase, I’m sorry. I was afraid—”

  “I’m sorry doesn’t cut it. And being afraid that I’m going to turn around and betray you at any time will ruin a marriage. We’d better rethink our plans before we make a mistake we can’t rectify.”

  Then Chase was walking away from her, furious at her, leaving her standing alone in the vineyard he loved.

  On Monday, Jillian put the to-do list for Sherry and Tom’s wedding aside, unable to concentrate on anything. It had been two days since her argument with Chase, two days since she’d accused him of betraying her, two days since she’d realized trust could be a choice as well as a feeling. She’d let her marriage to Eric color her entire world and now her inability to get beyond it had possibly destroyed her future with Chase.

  He hadn’t come near her since that morning, not unless the girls were around. Even then, his eyes held no warmth, and his lips no smile. She knew an apology would never be enough but she couldn’t figure out what to do or say. She wanted to be his wife.

  On the other hand, part of her was wondering if he closed himself off because he wasn’t ready to go on, either. Maybe he wasn’t ready to leave the memories of Fran behind and form lasting bonds with her.

  Eleanor had taken the girls outside for a walk so she could work. She couldn’t work. She might as well find them and enjoy their company while she figured out a way to ask Chase to forgive her.

  As she walked out the back door, the screen door banged behind her. Looking to the west then the east, she spotted Eleanor and the girls and Buff walking through the grass between the winery and the creek. Rain yesterday had made everything even greener. The trees, the grass and the flowers were bursting with new life.

  The unevenness of the ground didn’t stop Buff from playfully darting in and out of the peony bushes along the winery. It didn’t stop Marianne and Abby from chasing him and then falling behind when Eleanor called them to her.

  The day’s temperature could hit eighty, and as Jillian walked toward the winery, her gaze on Marianne and Abby, she realized she’d soon have to buy summer clothes or ship everything from her town house to here. No matter what happened with Chase, she was staying. She loved him. Maybe some day he would believe that.

  Her thoughts on Chase, she was barely aware of Buff scampering away from the girls. Then her attention was drawn to him as she realized he was chasing a squirrel. She could see Eleanor catch Marianne’s hand, but she wasn’t quick enough to catch Abby’s. Abby zoomed off after Buff, determined to catch up.

  In the next few moments, panic turned to fear and then horror as Buff headed for the creek after the squirrel. Taking off at a run, Jillian saw Buff scamper down the bank, Abby close behind him.

  Then Jillian’s heart stopped as Abby slipped on the muddy bank and toppled into the creek. Swift water rushed past her and swept her away.

  Jillian didn’t think. She ran even faster to the edge of the bank, stumbled down through the mud and jumped into the water. Buff was scrambling up the muddy bank and finally found footholds in some laurel.

  Abby’s terrified cries wrenched Jillian’s heart. The current was stronger than she ever expected as she swam toward her daughter with every ounce of strength in her body. Each moment that passed, Abby seemed only a fingertip from her grasp.

  When she dipped under the water, Jillian shouted, “Abby!”

  Abby bobbed up again.

  Finally Jillian’s arms were around her daughter. With her arm around Abby’s chest, Jillian managed to swim to a fallen tree near the far bank and grab hold of a branch that extended into the swiftly flowing water.

  As Abby coughed up water, Jillian hung on to her, saying, “You’re going to be all right. We’re going to be all right.”

  The problem was, if she let go of the branch, she didn’t know if she could get them out of the creek.

  Chase was examining new buds and checking the leaves on the Aurora vines east of the winery when his mother’s shout startled him. A moment later, a child’s terrified cries lanced through him. Racing toward the creek, he assessed the situation in an instant. Fear gripped him as it had the night Fran had been taken to the operating room after she’d delivered their baby.

  He knew the current could be swift, and he was prepared for it as he scrambled down the bank and started swimming. With long strokes, he headed for Jillian and Abby, trying to keep his mind blank to the danger posed to them, believing soon they’d both be safe in his arms and back on the bank.

  When he looked up to get his bearings, he saw the fear on Jillian’s face. She’d been through so much. Yet he knew she’d give her last breath to save her daughter…his daughter.

  Even though he’d asked Jillian to marry him, he understood now that he’d kept walls around his heart. He’d kept memories of Fran padlocked inside, thinking they’d keep forever that way. But they wouldn’t keep like that. He had to open his heart and let them fly free. He had to open his heart to Jillian and let her see his love. If he lost her…

  The cold water began numbing his legs and arms, and he thought about his father and the years he’d lost with him. As he headed toward Jillian, he suddenly understood how easy it was for a man to screw up in a weak moment…or in a blind one.

  “I’m sorry, Dad,” he mouthed, not knowing if the words even left his lips. But then he felt a lightness easing the weight of the cold water dragging him down and he knew his father had heard.

  Three long strokes later, he reached Jillian and Abby. Grabbing his daughter, he said, “I can’t take you both at the same time. I have to get Abby out first.”

  He could see Jillian was cold and shivering but there was no hesitation in her voice as she said, “Just keep her safe. Please keep her safe.”

  He didn’t want to leave Jillian there, but he had no choice. As the three-year-old wrapped her arms around his neck, he told Jillian, “I’ll be back. I promise, I’ll be back.”

  Jillian had a death grip on the tree branch and if she didn’t relax, he knew she’d tire that much sooner.

  He had to swim a good twenty feet until he found a place at the bank on the winery side of the creek where he could get a foothold and carry Abby out. He spotted Ralph holding on to Buff in the brush by the bank, then Chase realized Stan was hurrying toward him, towels and blankets in his arms.

  Looking scared to death, his mother was holding on to Marianne, who was crying.

  A moment later Chase was scrambling to the crest of the bank and lowering Abby to the ground beside them. She was shivering, but breathing normally as his mother swathed her in a blanket. She’d only been in the water a few minutes, though it had seemed like centuries. “Call 911. I have to go back for Jillian.”

  “Stan already called,” Eleanor shouted to him as, without wasting another moment, Chase clambered down the bank into the water again. Adrenaline pumped through him as his long powerful strokes fought against the current. Then he was there at the tree, and thankfully Jillian was still hanging on for dear life.

  Her lips were blue and her teeth were chattering. “You won’t be able to swim back with me.”

  Staying calm, he assured her, “Oh, yes, I will. I’ll carry you on my back if I have to. Now, come on. You’ve got to get out of the water.”

  Moving closer to her, he wrapped his arm around her waist. “Come on, Jillian, you have to let go. You have to trust me.”

  Although still panicked, Jillian’s eyes became a darker green, and she took a deep breath. “I do trust you, Chase. I do.” Then she let go.

  The swim back was anything but easy. Jillian could swim, but the water was cold and she’d been in it longer than he had. Somehow, though, he managed to swim them both to the muddy bank. After he dragged her out of the water, he sc
rambled up first, then stretched out on his stomach and reached down to her. Her hand found his, and he pulled her up until she was sitting on the ground beside him, as muddy and exhausted as he was.

  Still, she barely gave herself time to catch her breath. Then she was on her feet, stumbling toward Abby and Marianne. Abby was wrapped in a blanket, and Jillian reached arms around both girls.

  Chase saw Jillian’s shoulders shake and he knew she couldn’t hold back sobs—sobs of relief, sobs of joy, sobs of love.

  “Mommy, you’re crying,” Marianne said, obviously worried.

  After Jillian buried her face in Marianne’s neck for a moment, she anxiously studied Abby. “I’m just happy we’re all safe.”

  Shaking open a blanket, Eleanor wrapped it around Jillian’s shoulders as sirens wailed in the distance. “From what I can see, Abby’s fine—just chilled, but paramedics are on the way. They need to check you over, too.” Eleanor’s voice was full of motherly concern and Chase could see that affected Jillian, too.

  While they waited for the paramedics to arrive, Jillian turned toward him. Color was coming back into her lips now, but her teeth were still chattering. “Can we talk, Chase? I know you’re angry with me—”

  Before he could tell her that anger was the farthest thing from his mind, Ralph was there with a blanket for him. He shook his head. He didn’t need a blanket. He needed to tell Jillian he’d been a self-righteous fool and ask her to forgive him.

  “Let’s wait until the paramedics check you and Abby. Then we’ll talk.”

  The hot, stinging nettles of the shower fell onto Jillian until she was finally warm. The paramedics had examined Abby as well as Chase and her. After communication with a doctor at the E.R., transport to the hospital had seemed unnecessary. She’d made sure Abby was one hundred percent okay before she’d left her in Eleanor’s care, drinking a mug of hot chocolate. Now, as Jillian toweled her hair and then her body, she tried to figure out what she could say to Chase to close the gap between them…to connect their hearts again. She’d heard his shower running before she’d stepped into hers. Maybe if she dressed quickly, she could catch him before he went downstairs.