Undercover Christmas

by BJ Daniels

  A thud came from the adjoining room and Chase swore loudly after stumbling into what sounded like a piece of good-size furniture. She smiled, ashamed but no less amused. Served him right for being such a jerk.

  Content, she slipped back under the covers. The embers in the fireplace cast a pale patina over the room. If she had been anywhere else, she might have thought it cozy. Outside, the snow fell in a dense suffocating silence. Marni watched it for a few moments, trying not to think about the other people in this house. The night seemed colder, Marni thought, or maybe it was just knowing the electricity had gone off. She felt alone and far from home. At least Elise and the baby were fine, she assured herself. Then she closed her eyes, hoping for the oblivion of sleep.

  Chapter Five

  December 21

  Morning came like a blessing. But unfortunately, Marni’s nightmares followed her into the daylight. One dream in particular haunted her: Chase standing over her, his blue eyes dark with evil as he told her she would never have the baby. Then something in his hands. An ax? Marni shivered and looked toward the window.

  If the remnants of her bad dreams weren’t enough, she found herself still trapped by the snowstorm raging outside. Wind plastered snow to the windowpanes and sent icy gusts hammering at the glass.

  With a curse, Marni threw off the covers and lumbered from the bed, keenly aware of Sam. She hurriedly dressed, hoping to speak to Chase before he went down to breakfast. But when she tapped softly at their adjoining door, she received no response. She tried the door. It wasn’t locked. When had he unlocked it? She thought about him standing over her in the dream. The dying firelight in his eyes. The ax in his large calloused hands.

  “Chase?” She stepped into his room. What surprised her was the open suitcase lying in the bottom of the empty closet. Marni frowned as she surveyed her surroundings. The room was exactly like the one she’d spent the night in. A guest room. Chase didn’t live here. She shook her head, continuously amazed at how little her twin knew about the man she’d fallen so desperately in love with. The man who’d fathered her child.

  The bed didn’t look as if it had been slept in and Marni guessed it probably hadn’t, judging from the appearance of the chair pulled up in front of the fire. The cushions were crushed as if he’d battled them in the night searching for comfort and sleep. Marni smiled, taking some pleasure in the thought that Chase might not have slept as soundly as she’d suspected.

  As she headed downstairs, she found herself keeping a firm grip on the railing. Her near accident the night before had proved to her just how uncoordinated she’d become thanks to Sam. She couldn’t even see her toes.

  None of the family appeared to be up yet, although it was nearing time for breakfast. She could hear someone in the kitchen banging pots and pans, and smell the rich scent of coffee. Coffee sounded wonderful, although she wasn’t sure a pregnant woman should be drinking caffeine. Marni peeked into the dining room, hoping to sneak a cup anyway.

  “Mr. Calloway and his son are in the library,” a voice announced behind Marni, making her jump.

  She swung around to find Hilda looking harried and flushed. “There’s coffee and juice in the library. Mr. Calloway said you’d be joining him.”

  He did, did he? She wondered which son was with him and hoped it was Chase.

  Without a word, Hilda hurried away and Marni headed down the hall toward the library. The sound of angry voices drifted out, making her hesitate long before she reached the library door. She recognized the two male voices at once, confirming what she’d hoped, that Chase was in there with his father. In the cold light of morning, Marni was more determined than ever to get things settled between them—one way or another.

  She stepped through the open library door and stopped abruptly at the sound of Chase’s angry words.

  “You’re going to get Elise and her baby killed if you don’t do something about this mess.”

  Chase stood, hunched over his crutches, in front of the blazing fire. His father stood next to him, a hand on the thick-timbered fireplace mantel as if he needed the support. Both had their backs to her.

  “Why do you have to be so damned stubborn about this?” Chase demanded. “Isn’t it enough that someone tried to kill you?”

  Marni slipped behind the end of the bookcase, aware she planned to spy on the pair shamelessly. But if Elise and the baby really were in danger—She told herself not even to try to justify her actions. Silent as a mouse, Marni peeked around the edge of the bookcase.

  “Ridiculous,” Jabe snapped, pushing himself away from the fireplace. “It was just some fool in a pickup going too fast. Didn’t see us until it was too late, if he saw us at all.” Jabe dropped into a chair in front of the fireplace and reached to pour himself more coffee from the pot on the end table. “Probably some drunk driver.”

  “Like hell,” Chase said, turning on his father. “A drunk driver tried to run you down only minutes before you were threatening to change your will? Not even you can believe that. You just don’t want to admit you made a mistake in the first place with this first grandchild foolishness. Or is it that you can’t face that it has to be someone in this family or someone closely connected to this family that’s trying to kill you now?”

  Jabe raised his head to look at his son. “Is that the reason you’ve been staying here? You think my life is in danger?” He sounded touched that Chase would try to protect him.

  Marni was touched as well by this side of Chase Calloway, and surprised.

  “You saved my life that night,” Jabe said. “I owe you, son, but—”

  “You don’t owe me anything,” Chase snapped. “It was a reflex action, one if I’d given some thought to, I would probably have done differently.’”

  Jabe clearly didn’t buy that any more than Marni did. No matter what Chase said, he cared about his father. And it seemed he’d saved Jabe’s life in some heroic feat that had left him with a broken leg and memory loss. Marni almost felt guilty for still doubting Chase’s memory loss. Almost.

  “I just don’t want you to concern yourself with my welfare,” Jabe said.

  “It’s not only your fool neck on the line anymore,” Chase retorted. “What about this woman and her baby? What about Felicia’s baby? Are you willing to jeopardize all their lives, as well?”

  “Why would anyone want to harm my grandchildren?” He sounded shocked that Chase should even think such a thing.

  Chase dragged a hand through his dark locks in obvious frustration. “Because of that damned will of yours.”

  “Have either Elise or Felicia been threatened in any way?” Jabe asked reasonably.

  Chase let out a curse. “By the time that happens it could be too late.”

  Jabe shook his head. “I’m not going back on my decision when I don’t believe for a moment that my grand-children or their mothers are in any danger.”

  Chase sliced a hand through the air between them. “I’ve never been able to reason with you. I thought you’d finally come to your senses that night in November right before the hit-and-run, I thought you realized how foolish this first grandchild thing was. Why don’t you be honest with yourself for once. The only person you care about is yourself and what you want. That’s the way it’s always been.” He turned and hobbled toward the door.

  Marni ducked back behind the corner of the bookcase and tried to flatten herself to the wall, suddenly aware how ludicrous that notion was. Sam stuck out like the prow of a ship. Marni groaned silently. The last thing she wanted was to get caught in this compromising position by Chase Calloway.

  “By the way,” Chase said, the sound of his crutches halting, “I saw the face of the person driving that truck right before it hit me.”

  A tense silence filled the room.

  “I’m going to remember and then I’ll know who in this family hates you more than I do.”

  Marni held her breath as Chase stormed out, slamming the door behind him. It took her a moment to digest everythi
ng she’d overheard and to realize Chase Calloway had trapped her in the library by closing the door and sealing off any surreptitious escape. She was cursing her inquisitive nature when she heard Jabe get up from his chair.

  “You can come out now,” he said wearily.

  Marni grimaced as she stepped from behind the bookcase. How long had Jabe known she was there? Shamefaced, she brushed imaginary lint from the front of her maternity top, trying to think of something appropriate to say. Jabe saved her the effort.

  “Chase is confused,” he said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a bottle of prescription pills. She watched him shake two into his hand and toss them down with the last of his coffee.

  “When Chase’s memory comes back he’ll realize that he was mistaken about a lot of things,” Jabe said with conviction. His gaze settled on Marni and seemed to soften at the sight of her pregnant form. “My son is very stubborn. Go after him. Try to make him see.”

  Marni stood for a moment, wondering what she could make Chase Calloway see. “Where—”

  “He’ll go to the horse barn,” Jabe said as he turned back to the fire.

  Dismissed, Marni slipped out of the library, took her coat from the front closet where Jabe had put it the night before and trailed Chase out into the snowstorm. Through the swirling snow, she saw him hobbling toward the largest of two barns set back in the pines.

  Marni came in through the barn door to find herself on an upper level overlooking an empty arena. The air smelled of horses and leather. She took the stairs and wound her way toward the back of the barn, passing tack rooms and what looked like an office. Both were empty.

  She found Chase leaning on his crutches next to a stall containing the most beautiful horse she’d ever seen. The name on the stall door read Wind Chaser. Marni remembered Elise telling her that the Calloways had investments in a little of everything, real estate, all kinds of businesses and horses. Not just horses, El. Wind Chaser had to be one of the top quarter horses in the country.

  Marni shuddered to think what a horse like that would be worth. She was starting to realize how high the stakes were in this family intrigue. She wondered how much money Jabe Calloway had saddled his first grandchild with. Enough that Chase thought it was dangerous for El and the baby.

  Marni stood for a moment, just inside the doorway, watching Chase. He crooned to Wind Chaser, his voice low and soft, his manner both gentle and strong as he stroked the horse’s sleek neck. The animal responded with soft nickers, obviously enjoying Chase’s touch. And Marni could see how a woman might respond to this side of Chase, as well. She imagined that soft gentleness in his touch, the feel of his fingertips on her cheek, brushing across her lips, trailing down her neck…

  He must have sensed her behind him. He turned, the kind look on his face disappearing instantly. “You,” he said in disgust.

  She stepped closer. The horse in the stall stomped, throwing its head and snorting as if it felt the same way about her.

  “I’d keep your distance if I were you,” Chase said softly, calming the horse both with his tone and the stroking motion of his hand along its neck. “Wind Chaser can be dangerous when he’s upset.”

  Marni wondered if it was the horse he was worried about or himself. But she didn’t go any closer. Nor did she turn and leave. Was it only her imagination or was Chase Calloway still trying to scare her?

  When he turned around again, Chase almost seemed surprised to see her still standing there. “What?” he asked with obvious irritation.

  She bristled, especially after the argument he’d just made on her behalf with his father. How could he keep contending that he didn’t know her, didn’t care anything about her or the baby?

  “You certainly have a lot of hostility toward a woman you’ve never laid eyes on before,” Marni noted. “Are you angry with me because you think I’m lying or because I’m not?”

  “Understand something.” He sounded almost patient “I’ve never wanted children of my own, never planned to have any and when Jabe—”

  “But I thought—” So it had been a line when he told Elise he wanted children. Just as Marni had suspected. She glared at him angrily.

  “What?” he demanded, looking defensive.

  “You told me that finding a woman to love and having children were all that was missing from your life.”

  He looked horrified, then burst out laughing. “You couldn’t force those words out of me at gunpoint.”

  The gunpoint part appealed to her. “I guess your usual seduction lines must be one of those holes in your memory.

  He growled and moved away from the horse, which snorted and stomped as if their conversation agitated him. Marni knew that feeling as Chase advanced on her and she found herself backstepping away not only from his anger but also the memory of what had happened last night.

  “I might have lost some of my memory, but I haven’t lost my mind,” Chase snapped. “I’ve never wanted children and I’ve never made that a secret to anyone.”

  Marni bumped into the solid wall of the stable and realized he’d backed her into a corner. Again. He was so close his warm breath caressed her cheek, she could feel the heat of him, a powerful male energy that hummed in the air between them. A smile played at his lips; he thought he’d trapped her. The only way out would be to go over the top of Chase Calloway. It was an option she was keeping open.

  “Last summer when Jabe told me he planned to change his will if I didn’t agree to come into the business, I tried to talk him out of it,” Chase said quietly as if he was glad to have her undivided attention at last. “When that failed, I distanced myself from the whole mess. Then you come along claiming to be carrying my child. Very suspicious, if you ask me.”

  She looked down at Sam. “Is that why you can’t admit this is your baby, because it will make it look like you’re after the money?”

  Chase let out a curse. “If you really knew me, you’d know I don’t want the money. I don’t want anything from my father. I never have.” He fixed a look on her that made her squirm. “Doesn’t it amaze you how little you know about me? It sure amazes me.”

  “I couldn’t help but overhear you and your father in the library,” Marni said, quickly changing the subject.

  “I’ll bet,” Chase said. “You always make a habit of eavesdropping?”

  She started to inform him that if he didn’t want his arguments overheard he should tone them down, but saved her breath. The truth was, she was guilty of far worse than simple eavesdropping.

  “You really believe—” She had to catch herself. “My baby is in danger?”

  Chase shot her a look. “I told you that last night. Did you think I was joking?”

  “I thought you were only trying to scare me.”

  “You should be scared.” He shook his head at her in irritation. “I saw you last night with Lilly. Look, do yourself a favor. Don’t get involved with this family. Especially Lilly.”

  “Lilly needed someone last night. I was just being kind.”

  He let out a curse. “Kind could get you killed.” He raked a hand through his hair. “I’m trying to protect you.”

  “And why is that? You say you don’t know an Elise McCumber and you couldn’t be the father of her baby. So what do you care?”

  He gritted his teeth. “I don’t want to see you get hurt. Or your baby. And if you care about this baby, the best thing you can do is admit that you and I were never lovers and that the baby isn’t mine.”

  “And if I don’t?” she asked. Earlier, Marni had almost found something she could like about Chase. A man who would save his father at personal risk to himself. A man who would argue for the safety of pregnant women and their unborn children. That was a man she could like. There was nothing likable about the man standing in front of her now, however.

  “How much money do you want?” He tugged his checkbook from the hip pocket of his jeans. “Name your price. I’ll pay you double what my father is paying you.”
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br />   “I don’t want your money,” she told him. “Nor did your father pay me to say I’m having your baby.”

  His look said he didn’t believe her. “You think you can pass this kid off as the first grandchild and get more?” Chase shook his head. “I’ll fight you,” he said, anger making his voice crackle. “As soon as that baby is born, I’ll prove it isn’t mine and you won’t get a dime. I can’t imagine what my father hopes to gain by this.”

  She fought to contain her temper. “I don’t want your money or your father’s. I didn’t even know about your father’s stupid will until Lilly told me last night.”

  He glared suspiciously at her. “You probably hadn’t heard about my accident either or my memory loss, right?”

  “As a matter of fact—”

  “How convenient,” he said.

  “My thought exactly.”

  He raked a hand through his dark curls. “You don’t get it, do you?” he said as he leaned closer.

  Reminded of last night and the disastrous test kiss, Marni flattened herself against the wall.

  He looked at her, amusement dancing in all that blue, then moved back just enough to give her breathing room. She got the impression that he wasn’t going to let her go untill he was through with her.

  “If someone tried to kill my father to keep him from changing his will,” Chase said, biting off each word, “then imagine what that person would do to keep your baby from inheriting all that Calloway money.”

  Marni thought about Vanessa dropping her scarf on the stairs and wondered if there was any truth in what he said or if this was like everything else, an attempt to frighten her away?

  “Let’s get back to this memory loss of yours….”

  He glared at her a moment, her distrustful tone obviously not lost on him. “I have what they call selective memory loss.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Selective memory loss?” Give me a break!