Chapter 12
She rested her forehead against his chin and chuckled.
Being held by Chase gave her a sense of calm.
Her stomach eased and her muscles relaxed.
She pulled back and gazed up at him. “You tempt me, Chase Harper. Almost enough to want to reconsider my decision about sex before marriage. But I won’t… we won’t. Not now.”
He kissed her forehead. “I’m not really very hungry right now.”
“I’m not either. Shall we sit at the table? ”
“Okay.”
She poured the wine and handed Chase a glass. Then they went over to the table and sat.
Meri took a sip of her wine. “What did you want to talk about?”
“You know, I meant to take you to my ranch, and we haven’t had the time to go with everything else that’s happened.”
“It’s okay. Maybe another time.” I would love to go. I want to do those things I loved doing as a kid. Riding, camping and fishing. I haven’t been in forever.
“How about we go after Marco is arrested? It can be a celebration vacation, and I don’t know about you, but I’ll need one after this is over.”
“I will, too, actually. But what about the murals?”
“The walls won’t go anywhere. You can start when we return.”
“Are we still planning on staying here and hoping that Marco makes another attempt?” I hate asking this question. Talking about being bait and actually being it are so different. I don’t want to be the bait anymore.
He shrugged. “I don’t see why not. The plan hasn’t changed. We need him to come to us, since we don’t have any idea where to locate him.”
“That’s true.” She drank more of her wine. Glancing at the glass, she knew she needed to slow down. Getting drunk wouldn’t do any good, but it was precisely what she wanted to do. “I really don’t want to talk about Marco anymore. Tell me more about this ranch.”
He wrapped his hands around his glass.
“It’s not a large ranch. Just over 10,000 acres.”
Her eyes widened. “That’s not large?”
“Not in Montana. Not when owned by a billionaire.” He waved away the comment.
“I could buy more land, but I don’t really want anything bigger.
We run a small cattle operation and I raise cutting horses.
That’s enough for me. And I love it there.
Well, not the winters. They can be brutal, but the rest of the year is terrific.
Spring is pleasant after the snow melts.
Summer is hot but usually not blistering and fall is just about as beautiful as you’ll see anywhere.
” He leaned a forearm on the table and with his other arm waved toward the mountains.
“A lot like Colorado, at least, in the mountains. The plains around Bozeman are more rolling hills, rather than flat land. That makes it nice. I don’t particularly like the flat land. I’m more of a mountain guy.”
“Well, that explains why you like Colorado. I grew up here and can’t think of anywhere I’d rather live.
I’ve visited a lot of places, but not Montana.
” She dropped her chin into her hands and looked up at him through her eyelashes.
“Yet.” I love learning more about him. But is it enough?
He’s not my boss anymore, at least I don’t think he is.
That’s why he wants to renegotiate our agreement.
But he also wants to marry me. I love him, but is it enough?
Can I be in a relationship where I’m not sure whether he loves me?
He grinned. “Good. You’ll come with me, then?”
She sat up and wrapped her hands around her glass. “Yeah. I’d like to see your ranch. I love to ride and haven’t been for years.”
He reached over and took her hand in his. “I’d like very much to show you all over my ranch. Do you like to fish, camp, and that kind of thing?”
“I do. My dad taught all of us to fish. It’s one of my favorite pastimes. Basically, anything I can do that gets me into the mountains is a good thing, as far as I’m concerned.”
“That’s great. I know a place on the ranch that is great for fishing and camping, and it’s secluded. We’ll have to ride horses to get there.” He made little figure eights on the inside of her wrist and didn’t even stop when he laughed. He just kept making the figure eights.
The feeling was the most erotic thing anyone had ever done to her with her clothes still on.
Jared certainly never made her feel like this.
She turned her gaze from her wrist to him.
“I’m looking forward to it.” She slowly retrieved her hand, knowing if she didn’t, she’d pull him into the bedroom and beg him to make mad, passionate love to her.
She imagined she was in his arms and they were—she shook her head. “Huh? What did you say?”
Chase grinned. “Did I lose your attention there for a moment?”
She let out a deep breath. “No, no, of course not.”
He was still grinning. “Then what did I just say?”
“Um, something about fishing and horses, and—”
He threw his head back and laughed.
The man was outrageous…and she found it endearing.
Meri was definitely too far gone where Chase Harper was concerned.
Can a person really fall in love so fast?
Is it just lust? Can it truly be love? I think it can.
I can see myself with a baby and then watching grandchildren and growing old together. Is that so wrong?
It’s not wrong. It doesn’t matter if I’ve known him for five years or five days, I still am in love with him. She took a deep breath and filled her gaze with this man.
She reached across the table and touched his hand.
He turned his and laced his fingers with hers. “You’re amazing, Meri Anderson. I wish I’d met you sooner. So many wasted years.”
“We weren’t supposed to meet sooner. Now is our time, if we choose to make it so.
” She lifted his hand and kissed his knuckles, then squeezed him.
“Come on, let’s eat. What else do you want with it?
I’m afraid I fell asleep before I made the garlic mashed potatoes.
It won’t take long, I was going to bake the potatoes in the microwave and mash those with a little milk, butter, salt and garlic, of course.
The only other thing I have to offer is a canned vegetable. ” She stood.
He also stood, but his mouth turned down. “If you want a canned vegetable, that’s fine. But I can make a fine meal out of the meatloaf, bread, ketchup and maybe a little Grey Poupon, if you have it. And of course a glass of milk, if you have it.”
She put her hands on her hips and laughed. “And here I thought you’d rather have something fancy.”
He shook his head and leaned against the kitchen counter.
“I don’t need or want fancy. I’m forced to eat it because of when and where I meet with clients.
Usually the dinner hour at some private club.
But this,” he waved a hand toward the stove.
“This is heaven. Real home cooking like I grew up with.”
“Well, that’s the only way I know how to cook.” She took a couple of plates, knives, and forks, then gave them all to Chase. “Set the table, please.” Then she got down a couple of crystal stem water glasses. “I don’t have any milk. Would you like wine or water?”
“Water, please.”
She filled the glasses from the spigot on the fridge and placed them on the table.
Then Meri walked back into the kitchen, grabbed a platter and plated the meatloaf.
She retrieved a sharp knife and walked back to the table, where she placed the platter in the middle.
“Cut it for me, please, while I get the condiments and bread.”
When she returned, she placed everything on the table and sat across from Chase. Picking up her water, she held it for a toast. “To catching Marco.”
His eyes narrowed, and his mouth turned down. “To catching Marco.”
She heard a thump and then something rolling in the hall. The couple next door must have their niece and let her play in the hall.
The doorbell rang.
Meri looked up. “I’ll get it. It must be the police again, hopefully to tell us they captured Marco.”
Chase jumped to his feet. “No! I’ll get it. You stay here.”
He walked to the door, looked through the peephole. He kept his hand on his gun as he opened the door.
Meri hung back, standing just outside the foyer, closer to the kitchen.
The man had his back to Chase. “Officer Donnelly? What can I do for you?”
The man turned around. She saw he wasn’t the police officer. She slipped back into the kitchen where Marco couldn’t see her, but she could still peek at what was happening.
Smoke filled the hall and drifted into the loft.
The man held a gun in his hand and pointed at Chase’s chest. “Let me in so none of your neighbors has to get hurt and drop your gun. Now.” He held a little girl in his grasp. She couldn’t have been over seven or eight.
Her eyes were wide with fright.
Meri knew just how the child felt.
Chase slowly stepped back. “What do you want, Marco?”
He released the girl and pushed her away before he entered and closed the door behind him.
“Harper. I wondered if you’d ever figure it out. I knew the police wouldn’t, but you? You’re like a dog with a bone. You never gave up.” He stepped forward.
Chase stepped back. “Are you going to kill me like you did Paige?”
Marco curled his lip, his gun pointed at Chase. “Paige got cold feet and decided to end our relationships, both personal and professional. I couldn’t let that happen. She knew too much.”
“She wouldn’t have said anything to anyone but her diary. We gave the diary to the police. They’ll find you, and it’s got enough information to put you away for good.”
Marco stepped forward, his gun never wavering.
Without his gun, Chase was trapped. Lying about the diary was the only out he had and that was suspect. They’d brought the diary with them, but Marco couldn’t know that.
“You’re lying. Nothing she could have said in the diary would have incriminated me. She didn’t know enough.”
“She knew you were using her as a mule. She wrote it all down. Dates, times and locations. Everything except where to find you.”