Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Seventeen
The present…
F elicia Laverne awoke when the sun seeped through the curtains, revealing the dawn of a new day. Last night, she remembered a period known as the Madaris Scandal. Ultimately, the Madaris family’s good reputation was restored.
Although she and Milton had married, things hadn’t gone well for Waylon and Victoria. Just thinking about what they went through broke her heart. Victoria had been her best friend, and for years, Felicia Laverne had felt her pain.
Even though the Madaris name was cleared, the Satterfield name was left in shambles. News of what Charlotte had done spread far and wide. Few found fault with Kurt for disowning his daughter, considering the feud she’d started between the Madarises and Satterfields and the disgrace she had caused her family.
According to gossip spread by the Turbans, Levon divorced Charlotte within a couple of years, saying she was an unfit wife. A few years later, more gossip spread when Charlotte took up with some man and got pregnant without the benefit of marriage. That only boosted the Turbans’ claim that Charlotte Satterfield was spoiled, self-centered, rotten to the core, and nothing but trash. When the Turbans moved from the Houston area to Mississippi, the gossip about Charlotte faded, and the Satterfields were finally able to put the scandal behind them.
Felicia Laverne heard the knock on her bedroom door. “Come in.”
A smiling Bessie entered. “Happy Saturday, Mama Laverne. Are you ready for breakfast?”
“Yes, Bessie. I’ll be up in a minute. I overslept this morning.”
“No harm in that. Do you need my help with anything?”
“No. I can manage. Thanks for checking on me.”
“Of course, you are welcome. I’m going to miss having you with us.”
“I’m going to miss being here, but it’s time for me to go home.” Home for her was Whispering Pines. The place her beloved Milton had taken her to after their marriage. She might live under a different roof with Jake and Diamond, but the land was the same. Land she loved.
When Bessie left, Felicia Laverne reached for her cell phone. A deep masculine voice answered, clearly surprised. “Mama Laverne?”
It had been years since she’d had a reason to call him. “Yes, Trevor Maurice. How are you and the family?”
Trevor Maurice Grant was a childhood friend to her grandsons Justin, Dex, and Clayton—Jonathan’s sons.
“We’re all good, Mama Laverne. What about you?”
“I’m well. I was calling to ask a favor.”
“And what’s the favor?” he asked, and she thought she heard amusement in his voice.
“That cabin you own by the lake. The one you bought from the Johnstones years ago. Were you and your family planning on using it this summer?”
“No. Corinthians, the kids, and I plan to spend this summer near Sir Drake and his family in a cabin we built on Warren Mountains.”
Drake Warren, a former marine and CIA agent, owned mountains in Tennessee that had been in his family for generations. She’d heard Trevor and Ashton Sinclair, another close friend of theirs, had built spacious cabins there. “That sounds nice.”
“Why do you want to know about the cabin, Mama Laverne?”
“A young lady needs a place to stay near Whispering Pines. I was hoping she could stay there. Let me know the cost so I can tell her.”
“There won’t be a charge. She’ll be doing us a favor by keeping it occupied this summer. We haven’t been there in a couple of years. Corinthians and I even discussed selling it.”
“Well, if you do, please make the offer to Chancellor first. That land was originally part of the spread he purchased after the Johnstones sold it.”
“I had forgotten about that. I’ll make sure I let him know if we decide to sell. Do you have a pen? I’ll give you the four-digit security code for the cabin.”
“I don’t need a pen. I’ll remember it.”
He chuckled before rattling off the number.
“And Trevor Maurice?”
“Yes, Mama Laverne?”
“I prefer you not mention any of this to my family. They will find out soon enough.”
“Yes, ma’am. I won’t say anything about it.”
A short while later, Mama Laverne felt good and ready to start her day. She couldn’t wait to resume her meetings with Zoey. There was no reason for the feud between the Madarises and Satterfields to come up. If it did, at least one of her sons already knew about the Madaris Scandal. If the others heard about it from her meetings with Zoey, she felt certain their thoughts would be similar to Jonathan’s. Since it happened years ago, and she and Milton eventually married, it was water under the bridge.
However, the one thing she couldn’t share with Zoey, and especially not her sons, was the incident that took place years later, the one only she, Milton, and Waylon knew about.
Namely, the cover-up of a murder.
***
Sleeping late in the mornings was something Chance rarely did unless there was a good reason for it. This morning, he thought he had one. He had been enjoying his fantasy dream so much that he hadn’t wanted to wake up. Now he was awake and already missing the imagery of making love to a woman. However, it hadn’t been just any woman. She had been Zoey.
Even now, he could barely open his eyes for wanting to remember every luscious detail. It had been one of the most passionate nights of his life, even though it had only been a dream. He could only assume the reason was that she had been on his mind most of yesterday. Damn, who was he kidding? Zoey Pritchard had been on his mind the day before that. If he were honest with himself, he would admit to thinking of her a lot since that day he’d first seen her by the side of the road.
After returning home from visiting his folks yesterday, he had been tempted to call Mama Laverne to see how the lunch meeting with Zoey had gone, but then he’d thought better of it. His great-grandmother might have put too much stock in his interest.
He’d thought about calling Corbin but dismissed the thought. His cousin assumed he had things all figured out as Zoey was concerned. But, like he’d told Luke yesterday, what he felt toward Zoey was nothing more than a strong attraction and intense desire. That’s why his fantasy dream of sex with her had seemed so real.
Another option would have been to call Zoey since he had her number. Given he’d been the one to set up the meeting between Mama Laverne and Zoey, his interest in its outcome would be understandable. Using that logic, he reached for the cell phone on his nightstand but pulled his hand back. That logic was BS, and he knew it.
Pushing the covers aside, he eased out of bed, and like most mornings, he gazed out the window at his land. It always made him feel good inside to realize that he owned all of it—every valley, plain, and stream. And, like always, he thought it was a beautiful sight.
By the time he had returned to the ranch from visiting his folks yesterday, the place was empty. The ranch hands had left for town to enjoy the weekend and women. Lucky bastards. Thursday night had been a real disappointment for him. However, that fantasy dream last night had made up for it.
He headed for the bathroom. Usually, Saturdays were when he returned to the ranch after spending Friday night in a woman’s arms. Going to Vance’s Tavern a day earlier than usual had been a mistake. On top of it, he’d run into Ravena.
The nerve of her thinking they could get back together. He’d meant just what he’d said when he told her that walking out of his life was the best thing she ever could have done. He hadn’t seen it at the time, but he damn sure did now.
Then why were Ravena’s words nagging at him? Maybe because she’d said the same thing his cousins had told him over the years. In the five years since she’d left, he hadn’t gotten serious about a woman, making it look like he was still pining for Ravena. At the time, he had not given a royal damn what anyone thought, but for Ravena to think such a thing did not sit well with him. At least he had gotten her straight about that.
A short while later, he was dressed to ride his land, something he enjoyed doing. He had placed his Stetson on his head and stepped onto his porch when his cell phone rang. It was Corbin. “Yes, Corbin?”
“I heard you went to Vance’s Tavern Thursday night and ran into Ravena.”
“What of it?” he asked, not surprised he’d heard about it.
“Nothing, I guess.”
“You’re right. Seeing her meant nothing.”
“Good. I always told you she was bad news.”
Yes, he had. Although many of his cousins hadn’t liked Ravena, most had kept their thoughts to themselves. Corbin hadn’t. He wished like hell he’d listened to his cousin.
“Is there a reason for your call, Corbin?”
“I’m surprised you hadn’t called me to see how things went with Mama Laverne and Zoey.”
There was no reason to tell him he had thought about doing that. Instead, he decided to act nonchalant. “No reason to think things wouldn’t go well. Zoey certainly makes an impression, and Mama Laverne likes meeting people.”
“I agree, and they hit it off well.”
“Did Zoey get all the information she needed to know?”
“Evidently not since more meetings have been arranged. I believe Mama Laverne has taken a liking to her, to the point where she’ll take it upon herself to help Zoey regain her memory.”
“It wouldn’t surprise me if she succeeded in doing so. Like I’ve always said, Felicia Laverne Madaris is a miracle worker.”
“Well, I prefer she performs her miracles on someone else. Especially when it comes to my love life or lack of one. And just so you know, Mama Laverne invited Zoey to the family reunion. I guess she wants to introduce her to everyone.”
“Evidently,” he said, annoyed at the thought of his single cousins checking her out.
“Well, I’ll talk to you later. I’m going to bed.”
“Bed?” Chance asked, heading down the steps toward the stable. “It’s ten in the morning.”
“I know what time it is. Since Luke was in town, the cousins played poker last night, and I’m just getting in. I need to rest up for later.”
“What’s happening later?”
“Have you forgotten I’m taking Zoey to dinner and dancing? I need my energy for the latter.”
Chance had forgotten all about Corbin’s date with Zoey. He hoped that his cousin’s energy wasn’t being replenished to do more than dance. “I had forgotten,” he said. A part of him wished he hadn’t been reminded.
“So, what are your plans for today?” Corbin asked.
“The usual for a Saturday. I’m on my way to ride the range. Then I plan to go fishing and return here to enjoy a beer and chill.”
“Okay, I’ll talk with you later.”
“Will do.”
A short while later, while riding the range on Ambush, Chance tried to put out of his mind that Zoey would join Corbin for dinner and dancing. Like planned, after riding the range, he’d gone fishing and then cooked what he’d caught for dinner. It was late afternoon when he decided to relax on his porch with a beer.
Sitting there, he couldn’t help but think about his fantasy dream, which had drifted across his mind several times today. He couldn’t recall the last time he’d had one, but since meeting Zoey, they’d come pretty damn regularly, almost nightly, and it was always her. In bed, she was just like he imagined she would be. Filled with passion and fire.
He gazed at his property while taking the last sip of beer from the can. Instead of seeing his land, he imagined Zoey dancing to a slow song on the dance floor in Corbin’s arms. The thought made him crush the empty beer can in his hands.
What in the hell was wrong with him? Jealousy was beneath him. When had his attraction to Zoey become an obsession? That had never been the case with him and any woman before. He wasn’t looking to get involved with anyone and preferred being the loner that he was. Yet, something about Zoey had gotten to him.
It was dark before he finally got up and went inside the house. Instead of moving toward his television, he began pacing. Every ounce of good sense told him to let it go.
He had deliberately introduced Corbin to Zoey for a reason. Namely to get her out of sight and out of mind. Well, the latter definitely wasn’t working. She might have been out of his sight for the last few days, but she was so embedded in his mind that he wasn’t thinking straight.
He’d never been this taken with a woman. Not even with Ravena. He had loved her true enough and anticipated seeing her whenever he came home. But she had never been his only focus. Being an army ranger had also been high on the list.
Chance recalled most of their arguments had been about him making a career in the army. Ravena hadn’t particularly liked him placing his life in danger for his country. More than once, he reminded her that he had decided on a career in the military before meeting her, and that wouldn’t change.
Ultimately, she said if the military was his career choice, she would stick by his side, no matter what. So much for keeping her word. She hadn’t wasted any time hauling ass when he returned home in a wheelchair.
Chance stopped pacing and headed up the stairs. Less than an hour later, after showering and getting dressed, he grabbed his Stetson off the hat rack and walked out the door. Pulling his keys from his pocket, he opened the door to his truck and slid inside.
As he backed out of his driveway, he figured he would call himself all kinds of fools in the morning, but at the moment, he didn’t care. He had a good idea where Corbin would take Zoey for a night of dancing, and more than anything, he wanted to see her again.