Duchess (15 page)

Chase was being double-teamed, and he knew it. At that moment, Jones’ wheelchair left his hands and turned around to face the group. Chase realized he wasn’t alone—Jones would be his backup.

“Hello there. I don’t think we’ve been introduced, I’m Jones.” Chase watched as the man held out his hand to Katie, who smiled and reached out to shake it.

“Nice to meet you. Do you have a first name?” Katie asked.

“It’s Peter, but most people just call me Jones.”

“Well, I like Peter. It’s a name that inspires confidence.”

“Aw, thanks. I like your name too.” Jones’ slightly pinked face made Chase roll his eyes.

“Yes, yes, we’re all pleased to meet you, but if you don’t mind, we have a date with a weight bench. Right, Jones?” Chase positioned himself behind the wheelchair again only to have Jones wheel himself out of reach.

“I have time.” Jones smiled up at Chase as he moved his chair by Katie.

“Traitor,” Chase muttered under his breath, but Jones just smiled more.

“Amber, I think it’s time we tell Chase the truth.” Katie’s tone left no doubt in his mind that the girls had been planning this little speech, and he decided the take the bait.

“And what is that?”

“Twelve years ago, Katie’s brother died in Karbala, Iraq, serving his country,” Amber started.

“I knew that,” Chase answered, irritated.

“Yes, but did you know that her brother and I were engaged?”

The words stopped all his thoughts cold. He looked up at Amber in surprise.

“They were supposed to be married as soon as he returned from the war.” Katie took over the story. “When he didn’t come home, well, it turned our worlds upside down. Next thing I knew, Amber had moved to L.A. and started this charity in David’s memory. “

Chase took in this information, and suddenly, so many things began to make sense. He always wondered what drove Amber to be so passionate about Veterans’ Aid. It even made sense why Shirley had volunteered here so often, but it did leave him with one question.

“Why haven’t I seen you in here before?” he asked Katie.

She glanced down before looking back up with shimmering eyes. “I couldn’t face it. Mostly I couldn’t face that Amber had moved on with her life.” She gazed up apologetically at Amber, who just smiled through unshed tears. “But that doesn’t mean that I want the charity to fail. Quite the opposite—I need my brother’s memory to live on in this place. I need to know that because of Amber’s love for my brother, men and women like you are being helped to live normal lives.”

Chase snorted at the last part. “You think I live a normal life?”

“Yes, I think that being a sarcastic, infuriating jerk is very normal for you. It’s normal for a lot of people, actually.” She crossed her arms over her chest with that smug smile on her face again.

“Ooo-hoo, she told you!” Jones piped up.

“Don’t you have a physical therapy appointment or something?” Chase shot back at him.

“Nope. Besides, this is fun!”

Sighing, Chase looked back at Katie. “Look, that was a nice story and all, but I’m not sure what it has to do with me. I think we both know that it would be best if we went our separate ways.”

“I don’t know why we can’t work together. I need someone to help me with security, and since Amber can’t afford to hire people for the other logistics, I actually need help with everything. But if you don’t want to help, maybe Jones will agree to take your place.” Katie looked over at Jones, whose face lit up.

“You bet, gorgeous! I would love to help you.” Jones flirted, and a pit formed in Chase’s stomach.

Instead of being offended, Katie gave Jones a big smile. “Thanks, Peter. It’s so nice to know that some people are willing to help others.”

“Jones is still in recovery. He has a lot more working out and physical therapy appointments. He’s not strong enough yet.”

“Not strong enough to do what?” Katie challenged. “To ride in a car with me and look at venues, or to use a telephone? He looks plenty capable to me.”

“Besides,” Jones piped in, “maybe I just need some motivation to nudge me toward recovery, and Katie looks like mighty fine motivation to me.”

Chase’s muscles tightened as he clenched his jaw. Suddenly, he couldn’t imagine anyone else in the car with Katie besides him. He told himself it was because he liked her car, but he knew there was more to it. He wanted to spend more time with Katie. He wanted to know if she would treat him like a cripple now. He wanted to know if she cared for him as a man and not as a charity case. He wanted to know if she could undo the hurt his ex-wife had caused. Shaking his head, he reminded himself that this couldn’t be about him. This had to be about Veterans’ Aid and helping Shirley’s son’s memory to live on.

“I’ll do it. I’ll help,” Chase said reluctantly. Something told him he had just walked into their trap. The Cheshire-cat grins on the two girls’ faces confirmed his thought. But if it was all a setup, what about Jones?

Chase swung his gaze to Jones, but all he saw was the man’s back as he wheeled himself over to the weights. Chase narrowed his eyes. By the time Chase was done with him, Jones would wish he’d never seen a weight in his life.

“Thank you so much, Chase! You won’t regret it!” Amber threw her arms around him, and Chase gave her a halfhearted pat on the back.

“I doubt it,” he answered as he looked up at Katie, who just smiled.

As Amber stepped back, Katie put on her sunglasses and pulled her keys out of her purse.

“There’s no time to waste if we’re going to get this concert off the ground. I’ll come here to pick you up tomorrow afternoon,” Katie said over her shoulder as she strolled out the door.

“Why is it that you can always talk me into anything?” Chase asked Amber while watching Katie leave.

“Oh, it wasn’t me this time. Never underestimate the power of a pretty girl.” Amber nodded after Katie.

“She may be pretty, but we both know I haven’t got a chance with her. I’m too broken.”

Amber was silent, and he looked over to see that she was staring at him with her eyebrows knit together.

“What?”

“Rebecca really did a number on you, didn’t she? I wish I could smack her or something. Not all woman are like your shallow ex-wife.” Amber turned and walked away, leaving Chase standing alone, wondering what had just happened.

Chapter Seventeen

Katie woke up the next morning and groaned. She wasn’t sure why she had insisted on Chase helping with the concert. Did she do it because she felt sorry for him? Or was it because she felt bad for her behavior? Or maybe it was because it was no fair that he could just walk away from the concert and her without looking back while she hadn’t been able to get him out of her mind. 

Shaking her head to dispel those thoughts, she called for her driver to take her to pick up Chase. She’d been too emotional lately to drive in the L.A. traffic. Besides, she could get stuff done in the backseat while they drove. Chase was waiting outside Veterans’ Aid. He didn’t look too excited.

When he got in, he looked up front and back at her. “A driver?”

“Yes. I wanted to get some things done while we drove.”

He just shrugged, and Katie wondered why she wanted him to come along. She told the driver where they were going, then opened her notebook and went over the names of the artists she’d secured for the concert so far. She was telling Chase her plans when her phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Señorita Katie?”

Katie recognized her maid’s Spanish accent right away.

“What’s wrong, Maria?”

“A man is here. He come in to see Señora Shirley. I not know who is he.”

Katie’s heart began to pound. “I’m on my way, Maria.”

She hung up the phone. “Tony, take me home. Now.”

“What’s wrong?” Chase asked.

“I think the paparazzi or someone has pushed their way into the house to see my mom. Maybe I should call security. Or should I call the police?” She realized she was asking his advice.

“Let’s go back and I’ll check it out. But be ready to call the police if I tell you to.”

She nodded, glad he was with her.

When the car pulled into her driveway, she jumped out but before she could walk in, Chase pushed his way in front of her. Maria met them at the door.

“Señorita! So glad you are here.” Maria clutched her chest dramatically.

“Did my mother call out or anything?”

“No. They only talk.”

“Thanks, Maria. You did your best.” Katie looked at Chase and motioned upstairs. “Her room is up there.”

Katie followed as he went into the room first. She didn’t know why, but she felt safer. When he stopped abruptly, she looked around him and saw a man sitting on the bed with her mother. He was holding her in his arms, and her mother was crying.

“Hey! What are you doing?” Katie called out, and then froze in place when the man turned toward her.

“Dad?” The word almost stuck in her throat. What was he doing there?

“Katie Bug.” He smiled and her heart jumped with joy, but it didn’t have her permission to do that. She wanted to pretend like she was still a ten-year-old girl who jumped into her daddy’s arms when he came home from work, but her brain knew she would only find heartache again.

“Don’t call me that.” Katie knew her voice sounded cold, but she couldn’t let that man into her life again. She just couldn’t.

He dropped his head and raked a hand through his hair.

“Katie, please.” This time, it was her mother speaking.

“No, Mom. I told you I’m not ready for this.” Katie started to walk out and realized that Chase was still just standing there.

“Ready, Chase?” she asked.

“Mr. Chase?” Her father got up to shake his hand. “Thank you so much for calling me. You have no idea how much I am indebted to you.”

Chase shook his hand as he shifted his weight from foot to foot and murmured something. Katie didn’t bother listening—she was too busy glaring at him.

“Chase, can I speak to you outside?” Her voice was tight as she spoke through clenched teeth.

He slowly followed her down the stairs. After shutting the office doors, she turned on him.

“What did he mean, you called him?” She tried to keep her voice even.

“When your mom was at the hospital, she asked me to find him for her. I didn’t think it was a bad thing. Besides, how do you say no to Shirley?”

“Very easily. You go like this.
No
.” 

“Come on, Katie. She’s right, you know. You need to try to forgive him. It would make her feel better, knowing he was in your life again.” Chase slipped his hands into his pockets.

“You have no idea what you’re talking about. Besides, I don’t see you running home to forgive your parents.”

“That’s different,” he started, but she interrupted him.

“It’s only different because you want it to be.” Katie couldn’t calm down. “You can’t just come here and start deciding what is and isn’t good for me. I have a mom for that.”

“Yes, you do.” His voice was firm as he took a step toward her. “Yet you treat her like a child, and ignore her wise advice because for some reason, you think you know better. Tell me, how’s that working out for you?”

“Again, you don’t know what you’re talking about. When my father left us, we were both devastated, but she more than I. You don’t know what his leaving did to her, and you went and opened up that wound all over again. And guess who’ll have to pick up the pieces when he leaves again? Me!”

“So now I’m the bad guy for granting a dying woman’s wish?” She opened her mouth, but he cut her off. “And don’t tell me she’s not dying. Even you aren’t blind enough to deny that.”

“Stop it!” She hated when people talked about her mom’s death like it was written in stone. “You don’t know that. Miracles happen all the time. People in much worse shape than her have pulled through.”

“Did you pray for a miracle, Katie?” When she didn’t answer, his voice grew soft, and he took another step until she could feel his breath on her cheek. “Katie, everyone dies sometime. Your mom just happens to know her time is close. It’s a gift to have this time to say goodbye. Most people don’t get that chance.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Tears leaked down her cheeks, and her voice came out as a whisper. “I never got to say goodbye to my brother, but somehow, I don’t think this is any better. Death is death, no matter how it comes.”

“I know.” He reached out and pulled her into a hug.

She let her head rest on his shoulder as she tried to stop the tears. She enjoyed the warmth of his arms and the smell of his cologne. His hand softly rubbed her back, and her knees suddenly went weak. Lifting her head, she caught his gaze, and realized how close his lips were to hers. Their breath intermingled as she thought about how easy it would be to press her lips to his. She moved her head slightly toward his, but froze as a knock sounded on the door.

They pulled apart. Katie smoothed out her clothes and ran a nervous hand through her hair.

“Who is it?” she called.

“Katie?” The door began to open, and her father peeked around it. Too late to pretend she wasn’t there, since he was staring right at her.

“Yes?”

“Can we talk?” He walked into the room. She hadn’t even invited him in.

“I can’t right now. Chase and I were just leaving. We have a lot to do. Very busy.” She picked up her purse, glad for the excuse.

“It’s okay, Katie. We can go another time,” Chase piped up.

“What?” Her eyes widened as he walked toward the door, and she wanted to slap him. “No, we need to find a place.”

“We already know the place we want. Let’s just wait a little bit longer to see if we can get it. If we don’t hear anything in a week, then we’ll look at other places.” He shook her father’s hand again. “It was nice meeting you,” he said, then walked out, leaving her behind. Heat rose to her face. She wanted to call him every bad name in the book, but it wouldn’t have done any good because he was already gone.

Her father shut the office door and then came farther into the room. She tried to ignore him and moved over to her desk so she could straighten up the already-straight stacks of paper sitting on it.