A Texas Chance (18 page)

With haste he set the cup down and retreated upstairs for a quick shower. No. Oh, no. Sophie was not his. This place was not home. In a matter of weeks there would be strangers all over it, and the illusion of peace would be shattered. Cade stuck his head under the shower until all his foolish ideas had been washed out.

When he came back down, a strange woman was in the kitchen unloading groceries. Friendly brown eyes looked out from beneath sassy short black hair. “Hi there,” she said with interest. “I’m Patty. The chef.”

He shook her offered hand. “I’m Cade.” He saw the question in her eyes about why he was coming from upstairs clearly just out of the shower, so he chose to escape. “I’ll go help Sophie.”

“See you later,” she said with a cheery wave.

He waved back and made his way onto the porch, where he discovered that Sophie had hauled over a sheet of plywood and made Finn a ramp that he could walk up instead of climbing the stairs. Currently she was bent over, coaxing him to try it, giving Cade an eyeful of her very pretty behind.

His fingers itched to grab her, but Finn woofed at him and scrambled up to see him. He leaned down and gave the dog a good rub.

“I decided that if I get a baby gate to block off the stairs and use this ramp, he can live downstairs and outside until he’s free to climb steps. I don’t know what we’re going to do with him today, though.”

I decided…
She was pushing him away again. He ought to be glad.

But damn it, he wasn’t.

“Dogs are pack animals, he’ll want to be with everyone. The place is fenced, though people will be coming in and out. I hate to tie him up when he’s been stuck in a cage so long, don’t you?”

She nodded.

“We’ll keep an eye on him, but he’ll probably stay with us while we’re working. He’s pretty laid-back, so he probably won’t get in the way. If he does, I’ll erect a temporary fence under the trees so he can get out of the sun.”

“You don’t have to—”

“Queenie, if you spend all day telling people what they don’t have to do, not much is going to get accomplished.” Why did that piss him off so much when her independence was exactly what he needed so that he wouldn’t worry about her when he was gone?

Before the argument could continue, however, he heard his father’s booming voice. “Over here, Dad,” he called then looked down at Sophie, who was worrying at her lower lip and smoothing her hair. “They don’t bite, Soph, I promise.”

She glanced up quickly, nerves in her eyes.

He couldn’t help it. He had to kiss her.

“Cade!” she muttered. “Stop that.”

“Son, don’t manhandle the girl.” His father walked up to them, shouldering a bundle of hoes and shovels. “Hi, there. You must be Sophie. I’m Hal MacAllister, father of the reprobate here.”

“Hello, Mr. MacAllister.” Sophie was putting on her hotel executive face. “You didn’t need to…” She glanced at Cade. “It’s wonderful to meet you. Would you like me to take those?”

“Of course not.” His dad looked scandalized. “Has my son been making you tote things around, a little thing like you? Well, you just come with me. I thought I raised him better, but you know a man can try and try to civilize heathen boys, but they never seem to learn....”

Cade didn’t bother defending himself as his father walked away with her. He just grinned.

“Some things never change, huh?” Zane said as he reached Cade. “Leave it to Dad to hog the pretty girls.”

“Hey, bro.”

“Hey. This place is amazing.”

“Isn’t it? But it’s actually Sophie who’s amazing.”

“Really.” Zane looked sideways at him. “Hmm.”

Cade frowned. “What does that mean?”

Zane’s eyebrows rose in an expression of innocence. “Oh, nothing.”

“Nothing, hell. I know that tone.”

His brother grinned. “Just…how the mighty have fallen. Wait until I tell the family.”

Cade stared after Sophie and his father, all too aware of a funny feeling in his chest. “It’s not like that. We’re just having a good time.”

“Uh-huh. Whatever you say, bro. Me, I’m going to go meet her.”

Cade grabbed his arm. “Don’t tease her, Zane. She’s…she’s like a frightened doe who’s had to survive on her own. Skittish and…vulnerable. Don’t play rough.”

Zane stopped grinning. “You wouldn’t worry if you’d been there to see Roan. Talk about skittish… I finally had to walk away because she was so determined we couldn’t be together. Had to give her room, even though it was killing me every day to be without her.” All teasing had fled. He glanced over at Sophie. “She’s had a bad go of it, huh?”

“She’s more alone than anyone I’ve ever met. Not like me—I may be by myself a lot, but I always know the family has my back. She’s lost everyone.”

“Never take the easy path, do you?”

“Guess not. Anyway, we both understand this can’t last. I couldn’t live in a city or stay in one spot, and this is all she wants.”

“Sorry, man.” Zane clapped a sympathetic hand to his shoulder. “Only cure I know of is hard work. And looks like we have plenty for today. Come on, the family’s waiting.”

Cade nodded and joined his brother. He couldn’t solve the problems between Sophie and himself, but he could get this job done. “I have the plans laid out on the side porch, and the delivery truck should be here anytime.”

He couldn’t resist one glance backward to where Sophie had disappeared with his dad.

Then he was swallowed up in greeting family.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

C
ADE
’
S
FATHER
WAS
AMAZING
.
Almost before Sophie could blink, he’d charmed Patty, made Finn his friend for life and cadged a tour from her, all the while making her feel both cosseted and absolutely brilliant.

Did his children have any idea how lucky they were?

She thought they did, as she recalled how Jenna and Cade spoke of him. She couldn’t blame them. She wanted to steal him for herself. Bluff, hearty, strong and kind… No wonder Cade and Jenna never doubted they were loved or lacked the confidence that love gave them.

Then Sophie remembered that Cade hadn’t told any of his family of his fears that he’d lost the talent that defined him. He’d only told her, and knowing that warmed her.

She didn’t have much time to dwell on it, though. Before she knew it, Hal MacAllister had pulled her into the bosom of his family, introducing her to one and all, then insisting that everyone quiet down while she gave them their marching orders.

Sophie felt like a bug on a pin as they stared at her and waited. “Well, really, just whatever you’d like…” Was this the same woman who’d commanded a staff of hundreds?

“Now, Miss Sophie,” Hal boomed. “You can take that approach, but I’ll warn you that my brood is filled with hard heads. Not my fault, of course. I blame it on Grace.”

Sophie was aghast until she saw the fond grins, including the chiding one Cade’s mother bestowed on her husband.

“What Dad means,” Cade interrupted, “is you can’t be shy with this crowd. We’ll get everything done, but if you want one shred of control, you’d better speak up now.”

Remember who you are
.
This is your hotel
. So Sophie stood straight. “First of all, there is no possible way I can thank you enough for being here. I would never have asked this of you.” She cast a glare in Cade’s direction.

A tall man with dark hair down to his shoulders and the look of an Aztec chieftain except for his startling silver eyes, spoke up. “You can lay the blame on our little sister here. I’m Diego Montalvo, the eldest. Mom raised me with excellent manners, but it all went downhill from there.” His smile was gentle and kind as the others jeered affectionately. But Sophie could see in his eyes that this man knew a great deal about suffering. “In truth, Sophie, we’re all here because we want to be. Jenna cares about this place, as does Cade, and that’s enough for us. So why don’t you begin with me and show me on your drawing what you have in mind?” With one hand on her elbow, he led her to the porch and listened carefully as she described what she had planned.

The Montalvo/MacAllister clan was something to see in action. Within minutes, they had divided up the tasks and scattered to perform them. The children, she’d learned, were all being cared for at Vince and Chloe’s place not far away, and they would be joining the family when the work was completed later that afternoon.

Cade’s mother was cordial to her, but Sophie wasn’t surprised when Grace approached her after everyone had scattered to their various tasks. She expected a mother to be very protective of her son.

Grace’s words, however, could not have been more surprising. “Thank you,” she said, laying one hand on Sophie’s arm. “You’ve been able to do what I couldn’t.”

“What?” Sophie couldn’t imagine anything this woman couldn’t accomplish.

“You’ve brought him into the sunlight, Sophie, from that dark place he’s been in ever since the accident.”

“But I…”

Grace shook her head. “He has a purpose, even though I know there are still many questions unanswered for him. You’ve allowed him to become involved here, and I can see the positive effects of that on him.”

Sophie tried to bite back a smile. “I didn’t exactly let him.”

Grace laughed. “I should probably apologize. I have a flock of extraordinarily hardheaded children. And Hal might even be right about who’s at fault.”

“I think they’re wonderful, Mrs. MacAllister.”

“Oh, Grace, please, dear.”

“Grace, then. Your children are amazing. You must be so proud.”

“I am, but I don’t take all the credit. Much of who a child is comes with them from the beginning. Take Cade, for instance. So solitary from his earliest years, though not solemn, as he’s been lately.” She scanned the area until she spotted him. “This laughing Cade is one I didn’t know if we’d ever see again, and we have you to thank for that.” Her eyes misted. “Hal told me about the photographs Cade framed for you. I want to thank you for that, too. I was worried when he wouldn’t even pick up his camera—before it was always an extension of his arm. Oh, look.” Grace bit her lip. “He brought it with him.”

Sophie glanced over her shoulder to see Cade with his camera, taking shots of various family members unaware of his scrutiny. Then furtively he tucked it away in his car and returned to work.

Grace’s hand gripped her arm. “Has he been doing that all along?”

Sophie thought of the night he’d wanted to shoot her naked and hoped she wasn’t blushing. “I don’t think so.”

“I won’t let him know what we saw. He’s too vulnerable right now.” She brushed at her eyes. “But I will thank you for the part you’re playing in resurrecting my son. For that, there is no way for me to repay you, Sophie. You worry about owing us, but the debt is ours.” She patted Sophie’s arm, donned her gloves again and left a confused Sophie staring after her.

H
E
COULDN
’
T
SNEAK
AROUND
with his family. He didn’t really want to—all his life they’d seen him with a camera in his hands, snapping off frame after frame of everything from ant beds to horses grazing. And they didn’t know he’d been frozen…or maybe they did.

He was just so damn scared to believe it would come back for good.

But as he watched his family, he felt the stirring of excitement, the prickle beneath his skin, the ache in his belly. The longing that had only ever been eased when he watched the world from behind the viewfinder.

When they broke for lunch, Cade went to his car and retrieved the camera. He thought about everything he’d seen this morning…his father’s hands, Diego’s back—strong despite the limp he had when he got too tired—Zane joking while stealing a kiss from Roan, her gaze so soft on him. He wanted to capture it all.

And Sophie, too. Bewildered by his family yet so wistful, so eager for what they shared without even thinking, what they took for granted.

He raised the camera and found her, standing off to the side, petting the dog and watching them, the people he loved, the bounty he’d had all his life without understanding how rare it was.

She reminded him of an orphan on the sidewalk, watching Christmas through a window.

He snapped frame after frame of her, the line of her throat, the yearning in her eyes…the tenderness of her hand wound in Finn’s hair. The tilt of her head as she leaned into the dog where he stood on the porch above her, his side a shelter for her as she kept herself apart from the rest of them.

Go to them, Sophie
.
Let them love you
.
They will
.

They did already, he saw, as his father walked up to her, smiling, and wrapped one arm around her shoulders, refusing to let her stay apart.

A kid in a candy store she was, as she sat among them, these people who loved him, who never gave up on him even when he drifted so far.

Cade’s chest went tight as he watched them all, recognizing how lucky he was.

How little he deserved the blessings that he walked away from so often.

You could stay,
a voice echoed inside him whispered.
You don’t have to keep roaming
.

Memories of last night flooded him. Mentally he captured them like photographs, frame by frame, Sophie hesitant yet trusting him as he bared her, as he seduced her. Seduced himself.

God. He wanted her now. Wanted to steal her away, carry her upstairs to that bed, that room that had sheltered them as they loved.

I can’t love you, Sophie. I can’t stay
. Who could he possibly be if he stayed? He’d be a washed-out has-been. And the horizon would always beckon, the unknown would continue to call his name. He would suffocate if he stayed. He could never survive without his wings.

He glanced around at the completed slate walkway to the pergola, the fountain that was nearly plumbed. The billowing skirts that would grow from the plants now nestled in rich soil at the foundation of the grand old house. Soon this place would serve as a refuge for the fortunate few who would be Sophie’s guests, who would inhabit Sophie’s dream.

His phone rang—it was Karen, his agent. “Cade, I was hoping I would have heard from you by now about the book.”

He turned his back on the hotel. “Karen—”

“Before you say anything, listen to this. You got the permission from North Korea. You, my boy, will be allowed to photograph Baekdu from the North Korean side. Isn’t that amazing? This is it, the trip you’ve dreamed of. Are you ready?”

He’d waited years for this. Baekdu was the most sacred site in North Korea, the reputed birthplace of the Korean people, revered by citizens of both North and South. It was a mountain surrounded by a stunning lake, often photographed from the Chinese side in recent years, but the most stunning views were on the other side, and very few Westerners were given access to that view.

But he had to be sure she was clear about the other project first. “Karen, about the book. I won’t do the story of the accident,” he warned. “If that’s the condition, then count me out. But I have another idea.”

“Tell me.”

He loved that about her. No BS. Just shoot straight. He outlined his idea for the tribute to Jaime.

“I like it. I’ll get you a yes, trust me. Now, are you in for Korea, or are you out? You’d have to leave in two weeks.”

Two weeks. When Sophie’s hotel would be opening. He realized he’d been visualizing himself there, witnessing her triumph.

But expeditions like this were his life, his real life. Now that he could shoot a camera again, what was holding him back? “Yes. I’m ready.”

“Great! I’ll let them know.”

He disconnected and felt his heartbeat speed up.

Baekdu. Unbelievable. He pictured it in his mind and wanted to be there already.

His gaze returned to Sophie.
You have to leave,
she’d said.
I understand that
.

He walked to where his family gathered and tried to decide if it was the right time to share his good news.

S
OPHIE
WAS
AS
AWARE
of him as though he lived inside her skin. He was across the side yard from her, but his gaze was a caress, a constant reminder of last night, of the glory of it, of how he alone was able to woo her out of the prison she’d made for herself, the bars of isolation that had protected her for so very long.

“Hey, there, little girl,” boomed Hal MacAllister. “You’ll waste away if you don’t eat something. Why, you’d blow away in our West Texas wind.” He stood beside her, one arm wrapped around her shoulders, hugging her to him as though she were one of his kids. With his other hand, he rubbed Finn’s head. “Got yourself a mighty sweet home here, don’t you, boy? You’re a good fellow, aren’t you?” he crooned to Finn, whose tail was a windmill as he woofed his love to this hearty, generous man. “I hear my son wanted to name him Skeeter.”

Sophie flushed. “I guess I should have—”

“Now don’t you let my boy buffalo you. He’s got the devil in him, just like his brothers.” Hal shook his head. “Acts more serious, I know, but there’s mischief inside him, I promise you. He doesn’t have Zane’s polish, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, but the boy’s got a good heart. All my children do.” He grinned down at her. “Probably should give Grace credit for that, too.”

Sophie couldn’t help but love him. “Your children are very fortunate, Mr. MacAllister.”

“Now, you’re making me feel like an old man when you call me mister. I’m Hal to my friends, all right?” His friendly blue eyes studied her. “You’ve been good for my boy, Sophie, and I want to thank you for that.”

“He’s been good for me, too, Mr.—Hal.” She waved to indicate the grounds. “He just strolled in and made things happen. He told me he learned everything he knows from you.”

Hal beamed. “Well, it’s true that I tried to teach my children how to be independent and do things for themselves. Looks to me like you’re pretty handy yourself, Miss Sophie.”

She shrugged. “I’ve had to learn some things quickly.”

“A damn fine place you got here. Gonna be something special.” He bent his head in a conspiratorial whisper. “Think I could reserve that honeymoon suite for Grace and me for our anniversary?”

“It’s all yours, just name the date. My treat.”

“Oh, no, little girl. We can’t be having that. Not a bit of it. I’ll pay like any guest would.”

“But I owe you, you’ve worked so hard here.”

“You think Grace and I aren’t happier than pigs in—er, real happy to do it?”