And Chase hadn’t appeared, just as Jessie had promised.
Raine was convinced Luke would waste no time telling his brother. She knew if anyone could make use of the information, it would be Chase.
While Raine and Trey were saying good-night to the McCloud clan, Chase and Ren were being ushered into the plush town home of Madelaine Harris, wife of the state senator Bill Harris.
“Good evening, gentlemen. Please,” she gestured toward two armchairs facing the divan where she sat. “Have a seat.”
“Thank you for agreeing to talk to us, Mrs. Harris.” Chase took the chair nearest the silver-haired woman.
“You’re welcome, Chase.” She leaned forward, her eyes twinkling, and lowered her voice. “Don’t tell my husband we had this conversation. He doesn’t like Harlan Kerrigan any more than I do but unlike me, he has to work with him on occasion. Politics make strange bedfellows.”
“We won’t tell a soul where we got the information,” Chase assured her.
“Excellent.” She opened a drawer in the mahogany end table next to the divan and removed a folder, handing it to Chase. “When you called me, I knew I might have what you’re looking for. These photos were given to me by a young woman whom Harlan seduced and them dumped. I gathered from her comments that he ended the relationship with an appalling lack of kindness. She was so outraged that she recruited her brother to follow Harlan and confirm her suspicions he was involved with another woman. The brother took the photos.”
“How did you get them?” Chase asked, flipping through the six glossy 8x10’s before passing them on to Ren. Handwritten names and dates were scribbled on the back of each print. The envelope also held the negatives.
“The young woman is the daughter of a friend of mine. She couldn’t bring herself to use them against Harlan; I suspect she still harbors feelings for him, despite his treating her so badly. She came to me in hopes the photos might be useful if my husband reached an impasse with Harlan on a capitol construction project they’re working on.” She eyed Chase shrewdly. “I think perhaps they may be better used by you.”
“Who’s the woman in the photos?” Ren asked.
“She’s the wife of a junior legislator from a mid-central voting district. Her husband ran on a moral values platform; I’m certain he’d be very unhappy if those photos were made public.”
“Not to mention what he’d do to Harlan,” Chase said when he realized which well-known state legislator was married to the naked blonde in the picture.
“Ah, yes.” Mrs. Harris’s blue eyes twinkled with amusement. “That’s the part of this scenario I thought might aid you.”
“It does.” Chase stood and bent to kiss her cheek. “Thank you.”
“You’re most welcome. Tell your mother hello for me, will you.”
They were outside on the sidewalk before Ren spoke.
“You’ve got friends in the right places, McCloud. How did you know she’d have something on Kerrigan?”
“Madelaine Harris has been around politics since she was a baby—her father was a senator—and she married a successful politician. If skeletons are hanging in anyone’s closet, Maddy knows about them. I should have told you to contact her but I didn’t think of it until I drove into town.”
“Are the photos enough for you to talk to Harlan?” Ren asked as they fastened their seat belts and left the upscale neighborhood.
“Oh, yeah,” Chase said with satisfaction. “I’d like you to stay here and follow up on the construction project in the morning, see if you can find any proof Harlan’s bribing legislators to get it passed. I’ll go home and have a talk with Harlan. After that I’ll check in with Trey and Andy to let them know they’re officially relieved of guard duty.”
Then I can talk to Raine. Finally.
He hoped she’d listen.
And then forgive him for lying to her.
The following evening, Raine closed up the restaurant, then walked down the hall to say good night to Trey.
But the bartender wasn’t Trey. Raine swept the room, quickly eliminating the Monday-night crowd.
“Kelly, where’s Trey?” She raised her voice to be heard above the jukebox.
“He went upstairs—said to tell you he’s tired and he’ll call you later.”
Raine knew Trey hadn’t slept well the night before so she merely nodded, slung her purse over her shoulder and headed for the door. She sidestepped a boisterous couple trying to dance and was only a few feet from the exit when Chase entered.
Raine stopped abruptly. She wanted to walk closer until she could put her arms around him, feel him hold her in return, breathe in the mix of soap, leather and man that was uniquely Chase.
The thought that she didn’t have the right to do so broke her heart.
She steeled herself against the pain and the tears that choked and burned in the back of her throat, sheer will keeping her in place. She was afraid to speak for fear her voice would break.
Chase stared back at her, the only evidence of emotion a muscle that flexed along his jawline.
“I’m looking for Trey,” he said finally.
“He’s upstairs.”
“Thanks.” He eyed her moodily. “Raine…”
“Kelly said Trey left early because he was tired,” she broke in, afraid Chase was about to tell her he was sorry. She couldn’t bear to hear him apologize for not being able to love her. “Don’t keep him up too late.”
She brushed by him and left the Saloon, not looking back.
An hour later, she lay in bed, unable to sleep. She tossed back the covers and padded out of her bedroom. She was halfway down the stairs when the doorbell rang.
“It’s nearly midnight—who can that be?” she murmured, hurrying the rest of the way down the stairs.
A quick check through the window drapes revealed the tall, broad shape of a man. A man she recognized instantly.
She bit her lip, hesitating before switching on a lamp and letting him in. “What are you doing here?”
“We need to talk.”
Raine crossed her arms and sat on the arm of the sofa. “Did you see Trey?”
“Yeah, I talked to him. Why didn’t you tell me as soon as you knew about the carjackers using Lonnie’s name?”
“We told Luke—I knew he’d tell you.”
“You promised me you’d come to me if Lonnie bothered you again.”
“He hasn’t been near me,” she protested. “I heard Harlan sent him back to Helena after he was arrested for fighting with you at the Saloon.”
“Just because he’s out of town doesn’t mean he can’t stir up trouble.” Chase stepped closer, until his legs bumped her knees and she had to tip her head back to look up at him. “I don’t like you being alone here.”
“I feel perfectly safe, Chase.” Raine couldn’t bear being so close to him. She slid sideways and off the sofa, moving several steps away.
He took a step toward her. “I need to explain—about Harlan and…other things.”
She took a step back. “Never mind. I don’t want to hear and I’d like you to leave. It’s late and I have to work tomorrow.”
He stared at her, his frustration palpable. “I know you don’t want to listen, Raine, but I need to tell you.”
“I thought you said you didn’t want to see me again. I assumed that meant we wouldn’t be talking.”
“Hell.” He thrust his fingers through his hair. “I knew you wouldn’t make this easy. I lied to you when I told you I didn’t want to see you again,” he said. “I’m sorry and I wish I hadn’t had to do it but I couldn’t think of any other way to keep you from following me. And it was too damned dangerous to have you along.”
“Following you?” she said, stunned. “Where?”
“The two men who carjacked Trey were Carl and Bobby Rimes. The sheriff identified them by the fingerprints they left in Trey’s SUV. I tracked them to South Dakota and lost them when they boarded a flight to Belize.
“Then I wen
t to Helena,” he continued when she was too speechless to respond, “where Ren and I uncovered information about an affair Harlan’s been having with a politician’s wife. I paid a visit to Harlan today, gave him copies of the photos, and told him if he so much as said hello to either you or Trey in the future, I’d send the originals to the newspapers. I don’t think we need to worry about him or Lonnie bothering you again.”
Raine felt her eyes widen in shock.
“I know,” Chase said with a wry grin. “Blackmail isn’t the method I would have chosen to control him, but at the moment, it’s the best I’ve got.” His expression turned sober. “I want you safe, Raine. And I don’t trust Harlan. If he was connected to Trey’s carjacking, then you’re in danger, too. It was sheer chance you weren’t in the car with Trey that night.”
He reached her in one long stride and cupped her shoulders in his hands. “I’ll do whatever’s necessary to keep you safe. I never thought I’d feel this way about anyone. I love you. I want to marry you, if you’ll have me.”
Raine couldn’t speak past the rush of tears. She slipped her arms around his waist and buried her face against his shirt.
“I’m hoping you’re crying because you’re happy.”
“I’m happy,” she whispered.
“Forgive me?” he murmured, tipping her face up to his.
“Yes, but I reserve the right to yell at you tomorrow.”
“Absolutely, tomorrow is good. Tomorrow is much better than tonight.” He brushed kisses against the corners of her mouth and down her throat. “I haven’t seen you naked in days,” he murmured, his voice full of emotion. “Let’s go to bed.”
“Yes, let’s,” she breathed, her skin blooming with heat where his mouth and hands touched and stroked.
He bent and slipped an arm under her knees, swinging her off her feet. She linked her arms around his neck and nuzzled his throat.
“You are going to say yes, aren’t you?” he said.
“Of course,” she said. “What was the question?”
“Will you marry me?”
Her arms tightened and she leaned back to look up at him. “Will you settle down and make a home with me here? Can you promise me you won’t spend the rest of your life searching for a way to prove Harlan set you up when Mike died?”
“Don’t you want to know what happened that night?”
“Yes. But I want closure. I want to share my life with someone focused on our future, not on the past.” She waited for his answer, watching the struggle of emotions on his face.
“I want that, too,” he said at last, “and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen.”
Raine could breathe again. “Can we have babies?” she teased softly, her heart soaring with happiness.
“All you want.”
“Good. Then I’m definitely going to say yes.”
“You won’t be sorry,” he vowed. He dropped her onto the bed and followed her down. Nudging his leg between hers, he covered her mouth and body with his.
Chase surveyed the neatly cut grass and the square plot of bright wildflowers around the base of the gray headstone. “It’s nice here, calm and peaceful.”
Raine slipped her arm through his. “Have you visited the cemetery since you moved back home?”
“A few times. I brought flowers to Granddad’s grave.”
“The bouquet of roses I found here a few months ago—they were from your mother’s garden, weren’t they.”
“Yes.”
“I wondered who’d left them. Thank you,” she said softly.
He covered her hand with his and pressed a kiss against her temple. “You’re welcome.”
“We were here, you know,” Trey put in. “Up there.” He gestured toward the hill. “The day your grandfather Angus was buried.”
“No wonder I didn’t see you,” Chase said.
“Did you look for us?” Raine said.
“I didn’t expect you to be there, but yes, I looked.”
“Mom would have been furious if she’d known we were here. We knew the gossips were sure to tell her.” Raine looked at the hill, feeling the wind and cold chill of that long-ago day. “So we hid behind a sagebrush. I’m sorry we couldn’t let you know,” she murmured.
“You two said you had a specific reason for asking me to meet you out here today.” Trey said, changing the subject. “Not that I mind visiting Mike.” He laid his palm on the waist-high granite marker. “But I’m curious.”
“I asked Raine to marry me last night,” Chase said. “And she said yes, if I could let go of the past. As of today, I’ll stop searching for whoever wrote the letter you received. I’m going to concentrate on being her husband and hopefully, someday a father to our children. We thought it was fitting to tell Mike—” He paused to clear his throat before continuing. “To tell Mike what we’re doing, and why, and ask for his blessing.”
“You can’t be serious.” Disbelief vibrated in Trey’s words. “You’re really going to leave it like this? Just turn your back and walk away—never follow up on the only clue that might uncover what really happened to Mike?”
“I’m not saying I’ve forgotten how Mike died that night, nor that I wouldn’t like to see Lonnie brought to justice. But I want a life with Raine more.” Chase’s voice rang with quiet conviction. “You need to let it go too, Trey. Mike wouldn’t want you to waste your life searching for proof that might not even exist.”
“We want your blessing, too, Trey,” Raine said, worried by his blank expression.
“You have it,” he said. “Of all the people in the world, no one is more deserving of a chance to start married life free of old history.”
Tears dampened Raine’s face. “Thank you, Trey,” she whispered.
Wordlessly, Chase handed her his handkerchief.
“I’m sure Mike would say the same.” Trey left the granite marker and held out his arms.
Raine walked into them and he hugged her tight.
“Be happy,” he whispered against her hair before he released her to Chase.
Later that evening, Raine lay in Chase’s arms, naked and replete with bone-deep contentment.
“Do you think we convinced Trey this afternoon?”
“When I told him Mike would want him to move on with his life?” Chase asked, threading strands of her hair through his fingers.
She nodded, the movement tugging her hair from his loose grip.
“I’m not sure.” He smoothed his palm over the inward curve of her waist before stroking the sensitive skin of her bottom. “I doubt it. He doesn’t have the incentive I have.”
“And that would be…?” she murmured.
He wrapped his arms around her and rolled, settling atop her, his weight holding her captive. “You.” He brushed kisses against the corners of her mouth. “Let’s get married tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” Startled, she stared up at him. “We can’t get married tomorrow!”
“Sure we can. Las Vegas is only a few hours away by plane.”
“I want a wedding like your sister’s.”
He lifted his head, clearly surprised. “You do?”
“Until I met you, I hadn’t really thought about having a grand wedding but now—” She trailed off, mulling over the idea. “I want to walk down the aisle and see you look at me the way Zach looked at Jessie.”
“Honey, I look at you like that all the time,” Chase said, his voice husky. “I’m crazy about you. Haven’t you noticed?”
She had. She loved it. She loved him. And wonder of wonders, he loved her.
“I love you, too,” she whispered, just before he kissed her and the world fell away.
ISBN: 978-1-4592-1678-5
CHASE’S PROMISE
Copyright © 2006 by Lois Faye Dyer
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*The McClouds of Montana
Chase's Promise Page 15