Holdin' On for a Hero (8 page)

* * * * *

Wyatt pulled up in his drive and stopped the Jeep but did not turn off the engine. At that moment the thought of an empty silent house was as distasteful as a root canal. He needed to be somewhere there was noise, somewhere loud enough to drown out his own thoughts. But Chance was at Ralph’s and he did not want to be around her.

“So you’re going to let her run you out of your own hangout?” he asked himself. “Hell no. Let her leave.”

He backed out of the driveway and headed back the way he’d come.

* * * * *

Wyatt’s Jeep was not in the drive when Chance arrived at his house. For a few minutes she sat in the Wrangler, trying to decide what to do.

“Well, he’s bound to come home sometime,” she spoke to herself.

She turned off the engine, got out and walked to the house. The door was unlocked so she went inside. The den was chilly but there were live coals in the fireplace. Stirring the coals, she added wood then took a seat on the couch. Wrapping the quilt that was thrown across the back of the sofa around her, she lay down and propped her head on a throw pillow.

Her eyes fell on the sketchpad on the coffee table. She wondered why Wyatt had brought it in there. More than that, she wondered why he had even drawn those pictures of her in the first place.

There were so many questions she would have liked to ask him. If only she could find a way to talk to him without making him angry. But how to do that was a mystery. Closing her eyes, she snuggled under the quilts and watched the flames from the fire. Her thoughts wandered, carrying her back in time. She remembered how it had been when she and Wyatt were children. Despite the normal bickering and childishness they had been close.

Things changed as they matured. She closed her eyes and without warning a memory surfaced. It was of her high school graduation…

She filled with immediate excitement when she looked out in the auditorium and saw Wyatt sitting beside her father. He was wearing his dress uniform and he looked so handsome. But there was a woman with him. Several girls close by her also noticed and started whispering to her about wanting to come over to her house and meet him. Chance didn’t even hear them. Her heart had plummeted the moment her eyes fell on the woman with Wyatt. The rest of the graduation ceremony passed in a haze. All she was conscious of was the woman who was holding Wyatt’s hand and smiling up at him.

Afterwards, Maurice had a party at the estate. As always, the guest list consisted of his friends rather than her own. Wyatt came and brought the woman, introducing her as his fiancée, Cheryl Thompson. Chance immediately disliked Cheryl. She hated her bleached hair and red lips and the way she rubbed all over Wyatt yet batted her eyes and flirted with all the other men. Chance was careful not to let anyone know. She smiled and was polite but kept her distance, wishing she could leave.

As the party was winding down, a boy Chance had known from school stopped by. He had graduated a couple of years earlier and she had dated him once or twice. His name was Mark Woods and his father was an acquaintance of Maurice’s from the country club.

Mark asked her to go out and since she didn’t want to hang around and watch Cheryl crawl all over Wyatt, she agreed. To her dismay, Cheryl overheard her tell Maurice that she was going out with Mark and insisted that she and Wyatt join them. Chance insisted they take separate cars and they met at a local bar that many of the kids went to because they were lenient on enforcing the legal age limits.

Chance wasn’t a big drinker but her date was. He drank one beer after the other as the rest of them made an awkward attempt at conversation. By eleven he was staggering drunk. Wyatt suggested that he drive Mark home but Chance was not about to get stuck riding with Cheryl so she said she would drive Mark herself.

As Wyatt and Cheryl left to return to the estate, she helped Mark into his car. They left the bar and headed for Mark’s house which was about ten miles from the Davenport estate. They were less than a mile from his house when Mark suddenly started groaning and saying that he was going to throw up. Chance found a gravel road and pulled off the pavement so he could get out. But instead of getting sick he started grabbing her and trying to pull her pants down.

She was terrified. She did not want to have sex with Mark. She screamed at him to stop but he just laughed, saying it was time someone heated up the ice in her veins. He taunted her as they struggled, calling her frigid and cold. She fought him harder and broke away. She tried to get out of the car but he grabbed her hair and yanked her back. The jerk caused her to hit her head on the car frame and the last thing she remembered was blackness closing in…

Chance sighed and snuggled deeper under the quilt. She would just as soon not remember that night but the memory demanded attention…

She woke up and looked around fearfully. The sight of her own room gave her a feeling of relief mixed with confusion. “How did I get here?” she asked aloud.

She got up and started downstairs. Abbott met her at the foot of the stairs. “Miss Chance.” He nodded, averting his eyes.

“Where is everyone?” she asked, realizing that she was not properly dressed, wearing only a T-shirt and her underwear.

“Your father had a meeting and Mrs. Davenport took Miss Thompson into the city to do some shopping.”

“Oh, okay.” Chance started back upstairs then stopped. “Where’s Wyatt?”

“I believe he is in his room,” Abbott replied. “Shall I have Cook prepare you something to eat?”

“No, I’m not hungry,” she said with a strained smile. “Thanks anyway.”

She ran upstairs passed her room and continued to the end of the hall. She knocked on the door and waited for a response.

“What?”

“Can I come in?”

“Sure.”

She opened the door and looked inside. Wyatt was lying on the bed, wearing only a pair of fatigues. Chance felt the heat rush to her face as she looked at his bare chest and hastily looked away.

“What’s up?” He tossed aside the book he was reading and averted his eyes from her bare thighs.

“Nothing,” she mumbled, wandering around the room and letting her hands trail over the furniture. “I mean…well, it’s… Wyatt, can I…can I talk to you?”

“Sure,” he said as he sat up. “Something wrong?”

“That’s just it.” She pulled the chair out from the desk and sat down. “I don’t know. See, I…well, I don’t remember how I got home last night.”

“What do you remember?”

“I remember leaving the bar around twelve-thirty. We were riding along and Mark said he was going to throw up so I pulled over. Then he—”

“He what?” Wyatt asked when she didn’t finish.

Chance twisted her hands in her lap nervously for a moment then jumped up and paced across the room. “Well, he started…you know…trying to make it with me.”

“And?” Wyatt stood up.

“And that’s it.” She looked up at him as he stepped in front of her. “I tried to get out of the car and he grabbed my hair and the last thing I remember was this pain in the back of my head then everything went black.”

“And you don’t remember anything else?”

“Nothing.” She put her hands to her temples, squeezing her head as if she could force herself to remember. “It’s like…like nothing’s there and it scares me.”

Wyatt took her hand and led her over to sit on the bed. “I brought you home.”

“You?” She looked up at him in disbelief.

“Yeah, me. Cheryl and I got back around midnight and you weren’t here. She went on to bed and I waited up. When you hadn’t shown up by one I went looking for you and found both of you passed out in the front seat of his car. So, I put you in my car and left him asleep on the seat with his doors locked.”

“Why?” She frowned up at him.

“Why what?”

“Why would you go looking for me?”

“Is there some reason I shouldn’t?”

“No, I guess not.” Both of them were silent for a few minutes.

Chance’s attention was on something besides him bringing her home. It was something that Mark had said to her, something she had heard a great many times.

When the silence continued to stretch, Wyatt spoke up. “Is there something else?”

Chance stared at him for a long time, trying to decide if she really wanted to talk to him about it. When they were growing up he had always been the one she had turned to, the one she confided in. But since he had left to join the Navy she had become accustomed to keeping everything to herself. “Mark said there was something wrong with me.”

“Like what?”

She blushed and looked down, speaking without answering his question. “He’s not the only one. Lot’s of guys have said it. Even my girlfriends think I’m some kind of a freak.”

Wyatt gave her a puzzled look. “I’m not following you.”

She laughed in embarrassment. “You remember when you graduated from the community college  and were getting ready to leave for the Navy?”

He nodded without speaking. “Remember what happened that night before you left?” Her face flushed as she remembered. “How I wanted you to…well, you know.”

“Yes.” His voice sounded lower and deeper. “You wanted to have sex.”

“Why wouldn’t you?” She looked up at him. “Am I too ugly or what?”

Wyatt stared into her eyes for a moment then reached over to run his hand along the side of her face and into her long hair, letting the silky strands run through his fingers as he smoothed it down her back. “There’s nothing ugly about you, Chance. You’re beautiful. Always have been. But you were just a kid.”

“Lots of my friends were doing it,” she said defensively, thinking that he was using her age as an excuse.

“But you hadn’t. And you weren’t ready.”

“But if I had been older,” she said in a shaky voice, “like, say, I am now. Would you have stopped?”

Wyatt’s hand stilled its motion and dropped away. “Maybe. Maybe not. I don’t know. What difference does it make?”

She was silent for a moment, trying to marshal her courage. She had loved Wyatt as long as she could remember and when he had left to join the service it had broken her heart. Part of her was afraid that when he left this time he would be gone from her life for good and she didn’t know if she could face that. She had a secret dream that if they could just be together once, that he would realize that he really did love her and would not want to leave her behind. The problem was that she was so afraid that it was all just a silly dream, that in reality he would reject her, she was scared to make an overture. But she also knew that she if she didn’t do it then she might never find the courage, or have the opportunity again. Taking a deep breath she turned to him. “Will you now?”

Wyatt’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. “What?”

“I said will you now. I don’t want to be a virgin anymore.”

Wyatt stood up and shoved his hands in his pockets, staring at her with his eyebrows drawn together. “Chance, this isn’t…you can’t just ask me…look, your first time should be special. You don’t do it just because you don’t want to be a virgin anymore. You should do it because…well, because it’s something you want to share with someone…someone you have feelings for, someone you care about.”

“I know!” She jumped up and walked to him. “That’s why I’m asking you. Wyatt, I care more about you than I do anyone. I always have. And you’re the one who’s always been there for me. You were the one who taught me to ride a bike and saddle a horse. You were the one who helped me with algebra and came to see me at dance recitals. It was even you who explained what was happening the first time I had a period and thought I was dying. There isn’t anyone I have deeper feelings for. I know the first time should be special and I want it to be. That’s why I want it to be with you.”

Wyatt stared at her for a long time without moving or speaking. Chance was afraid he was going to say no. She reached out hesitantly and placed her palm against his warm skin. “Please, Wyatt,” she whispered, moving closer to him.

He still didn’t answer, but he didn’t say no. But his heart started beating faster. Chance was so nervous she couldn’t stop trembling but she was not going to back down. She put her hands on his shoulders and stood up on her toes to kiss him lightly. The action caused their bodies to press against one another.

The soft kiss was brief. Still on her toes she looked up into his eyes. For a long moment they merely stared into one another’s eyes then Wyatt suddenly groaned and wrapped his arms around her. His lips parted against hers and she clung to him. After a moment he pushed her to arm’s length. “This isn’t right.” His voice seemed deeper and raspy, but sexy, making Chance want him even more.

“Yes, it is,” she argued, wanting him to kiss her again. “Please, I want to.”

He didn’t respond in words but after a moment he reached down and pulled her T-shirt over her head. Chance started to cross her arms over her breasts but stopped. She took a deep breath and remained immobile as his eyes traveled down her body.

Wyatt’s hands moved to her breasts, cupping them gently. Chance sucked in her breath as his fingers began to circle her nipples, making them tingle and burn. “God, you’re beautiful,” he breathed softly, “so soft, so sexy.”