Page 68 of The Heartbreaker (Chandler Brothers 3)
Thinking about Samson, she made her way back to the house. She’d met her father, something she hadn’t counted on happening so fast. Crossing the lawn where her mother had grown up, she shivered at the odd sense of belonging she felt in this town, at the odder connection she had for the eccentric man who’d bolted at the first sign of another person.
“I just wanted to let you know that we were leaving,” Grace said as Sloane walked up the deck stairs. “The girls are in the car and I’m taking the teenagers for dinner.” She feigned a shiver at the prospect. “You’re welcome to hang out for as long as you’d like.”
“Thanks, Grace. You’ve been very kind.”
“No problem. I saw you with someone. Were you talking to the neighbors?”
“You could say that.” Sloane shrugged, not wanting to give Samson’s hideout away. “Listen, I think I’m going to leave too.”
“But you never went up into the tree house.” Grace gestured in the distance. “You’d really be amazed at that place.”
Sloane smiled. “Then I’ll have to come back, if that’s okay with you.”
The other woman nodded. “Of course it is. Come. I’ll walk you out.”
As they headed for the driveway, Grace made small talk until they reached the cars. Sloane’s rental blocked Grace’s minivan.
“You see? I’d have to move my car anyway so you could get out.”
Grace reached for the handle on the car, then paused. “Hannah said she thought you were Chase’s new girlfriend.”
Sloane chuckled. “I don’t know what’s worse, the small-town grapevine or a teenager’s perspective on life.”
“You mean Hannah exaggerated?” Grace placed a hand on her heart and donned a shocked expression. “Do tell,” she said, laughing.
Sloane rolled her eyes. “Let’s say she’s got the bare bones, not the whole story.”
Grace’s eyes lit with curiosity as she rubbed her hands together. “Sounds like an interesting tale.”
“One that’s just not worth telling,” Sloane said, trying in vain to hide her disappointment at the turn her relationship with Chase had taken.
She said good-bye to Grace, then waved to the girls before climbing into her own car and pulling out of the driveway.
She fought the tide of emotion, attempting to keep any thoughts or feelings of Samson at bay. She needed time to think back on their conversation, to understand the events that had shaped the man he’d become. But not dwelling on Samson meant focusing on Chase. And that prospect wasn’t any more uplifting.
Yet despite the pain, common sense told her she couldn’t fault him for not giving when he’d never promised her more. She was lucky he’d helped her out when she needed it after the accident, and she should be grateful for the time they’d shared. He was a good man, one who in another lifetime would have made a great husband.
But in this lifetime, Chase Chandler had made his choices and they didn’t include Sloane.
* * *
“If actions could make things happen, I’d think I caused this heart condition.” Raina glanced around her bedroom, happy to be home, a little scared to really be sick, and a lot guilty for what she’d done to her boys.
Eric sat down on his side of the bed. Raina had long since re-decorated the bedroom she’d shared with John, her husband, and lately she’d started to think of things here as belonging to Eric too.
“As your doctor, I can tell you that I am one hundred percent certain your charade did not cause this illness.” He grasped her hand, bringing it close to his heart. “But as the man who loves you, I can say the stress you’re adding to your life hasn’t helped.”
She nodded. “I understand. I do. I just wish Chase would see the error in his think—”
He cut her off by lifting her hand and kissing her knuckles, startling her into silence. He had the most amazing ways of shutting her up, Raina thought, warmth heating her veins and her heart rate picking up.
“I like when you touch me,” she told him.
“See how easy it is to refocus your attention?” he said, laughing. “Anytime you mention the boys, I’m going to have to kiss you into forgetfulness.”
Leaning against the pillow, she turned her head toward him. “I want to be married. I want you to be able to shut me up anytime you want, day or night.” She reached for him, pulling him down so he lay beside her. “I want to make your breakfast every morning and let you take care of me every night.”
“Why, Raina Chandler, what would the town think if they knew just how old-fashioned you really were?”
She laughed. “They’d think what I already know. That I’m lucky to have found you. And with life being so short, I don’t want to put off our days together anymore.”
“I was never the one holding us back.”
