Going to the Chapel Page 3

  “Well, sheriff,” she said, essaying a dim smile. Could things possibly get any worse? “Perhaps borrowed was a poor choice in words, but I can explain.”

  He smiled then, a slow, crooked, too familiar gesture that sent a serious tremor through her limbs. “I’m sure you can, Miss Gregory, but I’m afraid you’ll have to do it at the office.” He extended one long-fingered hand.

  Caroline had trouble drawing a deep breath with her heart in her throat. She had never been arrested before. That it was this man doing the honors didn’t help at all. “It looks as if I don’t have a choice.”

  “No, Caroline.” He wrapped those long, tanned fingers around the hand she reluctantly relinquished. His touch sent another shiver skating down her spine, magnifying the trepidation now catapulting inside her. “You don’t have a choice.”

  Tired, confused and feeling like the champagne might just make a distasteful reappearance, Caroline allowed him to usher her out of the truck. What a homecoming. The whole town was likely talking about her already. The entire scenario suddenly appeared hilarious. She almost giggled, but caught herself. She stole a glance at Chase’s grim profile. God, she was getting hysterical. A wave of something unpleasant abruptly washed over her.

  Caroline stopped, her spine stiffened. “Chase,” she murmured, then swallowed hard.

  He released a loud, impatient breath and slowly turned back to her. “What now?”

  Her eyes rounded in horror. “I think I’m going to be sick!”

  ~*~

  Caroline sat perched on the edge of her seat. Chase watched her intently as the voice coming across the telephone line droned in his ear. Her knuckles were white where she gripped the chair’s wooden arms. Her face was ghostly pale. Chase couldn’t help wondering if she was about to be sick again. Not a betting man, he would, however, wager his life at the moment that she would never drink another drop of champagne. He almost smiled, but frowned instead when the man on the other end of the line said something that caught his attention. Engaged. This Dr. Tristan Rodgers stated again, apparently due to Chase’s inability to respond, that he and Caroline were engaged.

  Chase’s gaze darted back to the vulnerable looking woman on the other side of his desk, then at the diamond glittering on her left ring finger. Why hadn’t he noticed that before now? Caroline was engaged. Something shifted, then tightened in his chest. Why would her pending nuptials matter to him? She hadn’t belonged to him in a very long time. Hell, maybe she had never really belonged to him.

  Rodgers apologized profusely for the mix-up. He hadn’t known that Caroline planned to borrow his car. When he noticed it was gone he assumed that someone had stolen it. Chase gritted his teeth. He had never even met the guy, but already he didn’t like him. He sounded like a pompous ass. Chase couldn’t imagine what Caroline saw in him. But, then, that wasn’t any of his business. It hadn’t been his business since the day she left town.

  And left him. Chase’s jaw hardened at the memory before he banished it.

  At the other man’s prompting he extended the telephone in Caroline’s direction. “He wants to speak to you.” Silently, he cursed himself for what he knew was plain old unjustified jealousy.

  Caroline licked those luscious lips and stood. She took the receiver in one hand and smoothed the silk of her too-short dress with the other. “Hello,” she said quietly. She turned her back to Chase then, stretching the phone cord around her slim waist.

  His gaze traveled slowly from the top of her dark head, down those slender shoulders, to the firm derriere pressed against the edge of his desk. He licked his hungry lips. Damn it. He had to be crazy as hell to be feeling this way about the first woman to walk out on him. The first woman he had ever loved...the only woman he’d ever loved. Chase closed his eyes and silently swore at his stupidity.

  “No, Tristan, I’m fine,” she murmured. “Everything is fine. Yes,” she added, irritation clear in her tone. “Your Porsche is fine, too.”

  Chase’s eyes popped open and a grin tugged at one corner of his mouth. He wondered how she planned to pull that off. The damned foreign job was far from fine. Zac Phillips had shaken his head before pulling it away with his tow truck. Chase had to admit that Zac was a pretty damned good body man, not to mention the best mechanic in the county. Maybe he could fix her car back as good as new.

  That grin spread unchecked across Chase’s face. Then again, maybe he couldn’t. Old Tristan would probably be as mad as a mashed cat when he found out the truth. The good doctor hadn’t stopped talking long enough to give Chase the opportunity to relate the rest of the details regarding Caroline’s situation. And she obviously didn’t intend to tell him.

  “I don’t know,” she protested with a shake of her head. All that dark silk tumbled around her shoulders. “I’ll call you in a few days. No. I’ll call you,” she repeated firmly. “Good-bye, Tristan.” Pivoting sharply, she shoved the receiver back at Chase.

  Caroline looked pretty ticked off at the moment, he noted with pleasure as he dropped the receiver into its cradle. The irritation had put a little color back in her porcelain cheeks.

  “Are we finished here?” She brushed her hair back from her face and plunked one hand on her hip, unconsciously emphasizing the sleek fit of her dress. “I have to get to Memphis.”

  Chase shrugged. “Your boyfriend—” she glared at him “—got you off the hook with the car, and technically you weren’t driving under the influence.” He struggled to keep a smile in check. “And since your insurance will pay for the property damage, I suppose you’re free to go.” Denial rushed through him, making him want to snatch those last words back. He mentally cursed himself again for the fool he was. Caroline Gregory had always been his weakness.

  She collected her purse from the chair and Chase got another glimpse of one lacy black garter as she leaned over. Hunger stirred in his gut. He crushed it. Engaged, his twisted mind repeated. Caroline and Tristan. Chase frowned. If they were engaged, why would Caroline be rushing off to Memphis—apparently without her fiancé’s knowledge? His gaze narrowed. Unless, the two love birds had had themselves a little spat. His lawman instincts hurdled into overdrive. Maybe, sweet little Caroline was running out on Tristan, too. Chase’s frown relaxed into a faint smile. So, big city life wasn’t so rosy after all.

  “I do wonder, though,” he ventured aloud, some sadistic urge propelling him. “Exactly how are you planning to get to Memphis? Do you have a friend coming to pick you up?”

  His question gave Caroline pause. Her face puckered into a slight frown. “I’ll need to rent a car I suppose.”

  Chase shook his head slowly from side to side, suppressing the grin that wanted to make an appearance. “Lucy’s Branch still doesn’t have a car rental agency.”

  She rubbed her right temple as if a headache had begun there. Good, Chase decided, she had damn well given him one.

  “Zac could lend me something from his daddy’s used car lot,” she suggested cautiously. “He’s known me all my life. It’s not like I’m some...stranger.” She blinked as if belatedly realizing the contraction in her supposition.

  “Sorry.” Chase couldn’t quite prevent the little surge of glee. “Mr. Phillips doesn’t do that anymore. Insurance complications,” he explained when that silvery gaze questioned his.

  Those slim fingers stopped massaging her temple and slipped down one soft cheek to tap those full lips. Her pretty forehead creased with concern. Regrettably he watched each move with frustrating fascination.

  “You said you had a friend in Memphis,” he ventured nonchalantly. He was fishing and it annoyed the hell out of him.

  Caroline glanced at the fancy watch on her left wrist. “Yes, but she’s on her way to Nashville.” She chewed that plump lower lip a moment. “She won’t be back until Monday.”

  He could—No! He absolutely would not do that, Chase ordered that damned cursed protective inclination. But she looked so lost. He almost groaned. Before he could stick his foot fully into
his mouth and offer her a ride to Memphis, the door to his office flew open.

  “Caroline Gregory!”

  Felix Reems rushed across the room and threw his arms around her. He drew back from the embrace and beamed at her. Caroline looked as surprised as Felix looked overjoyed. Chase wondered briefly why the local real estate tycoon would be so all fired tickled to see her again. Of course, the whole town probably knew she was here by now. Julie McGill’s mamma had likely already called the guests expected at this afternoon’s wedding to give them the headline-making story behind the cancellation. The prodigal daughter returns. Chase shook his head. He could hear the rumors now. And, unfortunately for him, he would be connected to them all.

  He might as well prepare for the inevitable. He and Caroline had once been the town’s favorite couple. He almost laughed out loud at the memory that their senior year in high school the two of them had been voted the couple most likely to marry and live happily ever after.

  “Right,” Chase grumbled under his breath.

  “Look at you, little girl.” Felix smiled widely, oblivious to Chase’s muttered sarcasm. “My, my, how you’ve grown up on us.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Reems.” Caroline’s smile looked a little dim. “It’s nice to see you, too.”

  Another “right” almost launched from the tip of Chase’s tongue. Obviously Caroline was just thrilled to be here and getting reacquainted with her past.

  “I’m so glad you got my message, dear,” Felix explained. “I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to catch you before you got away on that honeymoon of yours.”

  Chase shifted in his chair. Honeymoon? Was Caroline getting married right away? Why did that make any difference to him? He forced his attention to the accident report on his desk. This whole thing had nothing to do with him. Nothing, he reiterated firmly as he signed off on Manning’s rendition of this morning’s events. He would just ignore Caroline until she left. Chase clenched his jaw. And she would leave.

  Just like before.

  Caroline shook her head at Felix’s words, confusion cluttering her weary mind. What on earth was the man talking about? “I’m sorry, what message?”

  “Why the message I left on your machine in St. Louis. I called the hospital, too. I’d just about decided I’d missed you.” Felix literally wiggled with excitement. “I have a very interested buyer for your grandmother’s house.”

  Caroline took a small step back at his words. A dozen emotions flooded her at once. “But my grandmother’s house isn’t for sale.” She blinked, once, twice, then shook her head. “I’ve never considered selling.” Though she could certainly have used the money back in med school, she couldn’t bring herself to rent the place out to help with the upkeep, much less sell it. She had simply closed the house, leaving everything just as it was when her grandmother died.

  Felix gently patted her arm, drawing her attention back to him. “I know it’s a big decision, Caroline.” As if sensing that her legs had gone unsteady beneath her, he guided her back into the chair.

  Caroline purposely kept her gaze averted from Chase while Felix dragged a chair next to hers. But there was no blocking the effects of Chase’s presence. Her whole being reacted to his nearness as if nothing at all had changed between them. But she had changed. Caroline stiffened her spine. She was not the same person who grew up in this little town. Nor was she the same foolish girl who fell head over heels in love with Chase Garrett.

  Caroline Gregory was all grown up now, physically as well as emotionally. She was a respected physician in a large hospital in a major metropolitan area. She no longer needed the approval of the residents of Lucy’s Branch. She had stopped needing anything this town had to offer eight years ago.

  “I’m confident you have no plans to return to Lucy’s Branch, and the house—” Felix sighed dramatically “—well, without the proper attention it’s only going to fall into ill repair. The signs of neglect are already visible.” He shifted his attention to the sheriff. “Isn’t that right, Chase?”

  Chase’s head shot up. He looked from Felix to Caroline, then back at Felix. “I haven’t really noticed.” Disinterest loitered in his tone.

  Ha! Caroline clamped down on her lower lip to prevent the rebuttal from spewing past her lips. Chase Garrett didn’t miss a thing. The Garrett men were known for their keen attention to detail. Chase’s father used to laugh and say that Garrett men were part bloodhound. A frown nagged at her. Except for Slade. Chase’s younger brother had been as wild as a buck, and about as opposite from the other Garrett men as humanly possible. Slade had died young, and a rebel, but he had been her friend. Caroline forced away the unpleasant memory. Felix was still sputtering about upkeep and maintenance.

  “Oh, you know what I mean, Chase,” Felix protested irritably. “Sure Caroline has the lawn tended and she pays the taxes, but that’s not the same as really taking care of a place.” He patted Caroline’s hand, smiling affectionately. “That fine old place needs someone to live in it, to love it and take care of it like your grandmother did. And it offers everything my client is looking for,” he added with a sage nod.

  Recollections of the home she had grown up in trickled through Caroline’s mind, whispers from the past. She hardly remembered her parents. They had died when she was very young. Her grandmother had served as both mother and father, loving her as if Caroline had been her own child not merely a grandchild from a son who rarely called much less visited. Though raising a child at her age had been an unexpected burden personally as well as financially, Colleen Gregory had never once complained. She had simply loved Caroline like the daughter she never had. And that house was all she’d had left to leave Caroline.

  Caroline blinked away the memories. “I don’t know, Mr. Reems, I—”

  “Don’t make a decision now, girl.” Felix gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “Take a few days to think about it. You’ll still be here on Monday won’t you?”

  The last of the starch seeped out of Caroline’s resolve. “I’m not sure.” She shook her head in weary confusion. Too much had happened entirely too quickly. She suddenly felt like Dorothy after having landed in Oz. As if she had been swept out of her comfortable life and into some strange place where nothing was as it should be. Home, but not where she belonged. Surrounded by friends, yet a stranger to those around her. Now if she could only find the yellow brick road that would take her to Dianne’s.

  “Of course, she’ll still be here on Monday,” a familiar voice boomed from the still-open door.

  Caroline lifted her gaze to meet the newest arrival to her Ozian adventure. Henrietta. Sweet, kind Henrietta. Grandma Colleen’s oldest and dearest friend. A widow and with no children of her own, Henrietta had claimed Caroline as a niece of sorts. The caring woman had been Aunt Henri for as long as Caroline could remember. Affection rushed through her chest, propelling her to her feet. Firm, yet gentle arms engulfed her as they had hundreds of times while she was growing up.

  “Sweet Jesus, little girl, it’s good to see you,” Henri murmured against Caroline’s hair.

  For the first time in eight years, Caroline wanted to cry. To cry for the loss of her parents, for being an only child, for God taking away her grandmother when Caroline still needed her so. And for Chase. Caroline closed her eyes and forced the pain and tears to retreat. She couldn’t do this now. She simply could not break down like this in front of him.

  “It’s really good to see you, too, Aunt Henri,” Caroline whispered. She drew back and looked into the dark eyes of the last remaining soul on earth she could even come close to calling family. Churning emotions made her weak with regret. “I’m sorry it’s been so long. I should have called.”

  Henri smiled, the beauty of it peeked past the marring lines of age. “Yes, child, you should have.” She pulled Caroline against her once more. “But you’re here now.” Keeping one arm around Caroline’s shoulders, Aunt Henri turned to Felix. “Leave the girl be and give her some time to think, Felix,” she scolded
. “Can’t you see our Caroline’s been through an ordeal? She’ll give you an answer on Monday.” Henri gave Caroline’s shoulders a loving squeeze.

  “I’ll call on you on Monday then, Caroline,” Felix offered, visibly deflated that he couldn’t have his answer sooner.

  “Come on over to our place for breakfast Monday morning,” Henri piped up. She smiled at Caroline. “Our little girl certainly can’t stay at Colleen’s old place. There’s no electricity or water service. She’ll be staying the weekend with us.”

  Us? Caroline wondered. Behind her, Caroline heard Chase groan. Us? That couldn’t mean...

  Caroline’s eyes widened in disbelief.

  No way.

  Chapter Three

  Caroline took a slow, calming breath as Chase braked his Jeep Wrangler to a stop in front of the two-story home in which the Garrett family had lived for five generations.

  Pristine white siding with classic black shutters dressed the exterior. An array of blooming flowers and shrubbery decorated the wide verandah as well as the landscape. Brimming, green ferns hung in strategic locations for eye-pleasing appeal. Pretty clay pots of begonias and impatiens sat here and there, showing off their vibrant colors. Wicker chairs lined the shaded verandah, and a wide, matching swing hung across the far end. Thick, striped cushions boasted an almost irresistible invitation to sit a spell. Caroline remembered spending lazy summer afternoons in that swing sipping lemonade.

  She shook off the lingering nostalgia. When, she wondered, had Henri moved into Chase’s home? Henri had lived alone on her family farm forever. Maybe alone was the key word here. Henri had always appeared so happy and full of life to Caroline. But time changed everything. Maybe Henri simply got lonely after losing Colleen. And me. Regret mounted a little steeper.