Clandestine Christmas. Elle James
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he chose to take over some of the chores, rather than hiring additional ranch hands. Chase discovered a love of working with the animals. Even mucking horse stalls was a balm to his wayward soul.
For the two years he’d been forced to stay at the ranch his grandfather left him, he’d focused on the end of that time frame, thinking he’d leave when he’d served his sentence. Now he knew he couldn’t leave. He loved the place. William and Frances had become family to him and he couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.
As he crawled out of bed, he could feel every bruise and strained muscle he’d suffered from the bump he’d endured by the runaway vehicle the night before. He’d called the hospital before he’d gone to bed and learned Sadie was holding her own, but that she was still unconscious in the chemically induced coma.
How he’d break it to Jake that his only living relative was laid up in the hospital and they didn’t know when she’d come home, he wasn’t sure. First he had to help William take care of the animals.
Pulling on an old pair of jeans and his cowboy boots, he dressed in a chambray shirt and a sweatshirt, shoving a hand through his hair. He was long overdue for a haircut, but he hadn’t made a special trip to Fool’s Fortune during the day to take care of it. At the ranch, no one cared if his hair grew long. Reporters didn’t follow him around here. In fact his paparazzi days seemed to be over, for which he was eternally grateful. There was something to be said for becoming a hermit and guarding his anonymity.
He paused as he passed the room across the hall from his.
No sounds came from inside. Kate was probably still asleep, dressed in her oversize T-shirt and gym shorts. How a woman could make sloppy clothes look that sexy was a mystery to him. One he would love to explore, inch by incredible inch of her body.
He’d caught a glimpse of her crossing the hallway from the guest bathroom. The sight of her long, beautifully defined legs was enough to keep him awake until midnight, imagining what those legs would feel like wrapped around his waist.
Chase’s initial impression of Kate had been one of a take-charge woman who lived, worked and breathed her job as a protector and bodyguard.
He hadn’t been prepared to see her nearly break down when Jake had asked her to kiss him good-night. The tough-girl facade crumbled in that moment, and he saw the real Kate between the cracks in her wall. A soft, caring, heartbroken Kate. He wondered what had caused her so much pain that a child’s plea would carve a huge chink in her armor?
At the top of the stairs, he heard the faint sounds of pots and pans clanking and dishes being stacked as well as the murmur of voices.
Frances always rose with William and cooked the men a hardy breakfast.
As he descended the stairs and headed to the back of the house to the kitchen, Chase was surprised to see Kate gathering flatware while Frances cracked eggs into a skillet. William sat at the roomy kitchen table, pulling on his boots.
Frances turned with a spatula in her hand and a smile on her face. “There you are. Grab yourself a cup of coffee, the eggs will be done in a minute.” She returned her attention to the skillet and the bubbling eggs. “We were just getting to know Kate. She says she grew up on a ranch in the Texas panhandle and she learned how to ride practically before she could walk. She’ll get along fine around here.”
Chase frowned. Frances already knew more about Kate than he did. “She’s a woman with many talents.” And secrets. His gaze met hers as he passed the table to reach the coffeepot.
Frances cast a smile over her shoulder at Chase. “Now that you’re here, tell me how you two met. I’m sure it was purely romantic.”
Chase’s hand froze on the handle of the coffeepot. When he’d come up with the idea of Kate going undercover, he hadn’t completely thought through the entire story, and that he’d have to play it out with his most trusted employees and friends.
He knew how much Frances liked to gossip with the quilting ladies in Fool’s Fortune and word would get out quickly that way, cementing Kate’s story.
“Well?” Frances shot another glance over her shoulder and then flipped the eggs in the skillet.
Kate’s cheeks reddened. “I’ll let Chase tell the story. He’s so much better at it.” Her brows rose in challenge, her gaze pinning his.
Chase took his time pouring his coffee, while he scrambled to come up with a plausible story. “We met outside a bar.”
“A bar?” Frances grimaced. “Was it at least a swanky bar?”
Chase shrugged. “It was nice enough.”
“What did you do to get her attention?”
Chase chuckled and took a seat at the table, wrapping his hand around the coffee mug. “She barely even acknowledged my existence at first. She was busy helping someone else.”
“What was your first indication she might be the one for you?” Frances asked.
William frowned. “Frances, the kids might not like answering all your questions.”
“Oh, shush, William. I live vicariously through Chase. He’s had a much more interesting life than we have.” She scraped scrambled eggs onto several plates and set the skillet aside. Grabbing two of the plates loaded with eggs, toast and bacon, she carried them to the table. “Go on, Chase.”
“Well, you could say I fell for her the first time we met.” Chase caught Kate’s attention. “How could I not? I mean look at her. She’s beautiful, confident and capable of just about anything.”
“What about you, Kate?” Frances persisted.
Kate had pulled a chair back, a smile tugging at her lips over his responses when Frances hit her with the question. Chase fought the urge to laugh out loud at the way her smile faded when Frances addressed her and she grappled with an answer.
She looked up, her brows puckering. “I wasn’t sure what to think about him. He kind of bowls a woman over.”
“He does, doesn’t he?” Frances gave Chase an affectionate smile and returned to the counter for the other two plates. “Guess that’s why he could have had any girl he wanted.” She turned a grin at Kate and carried the plates to the table. “I’m glad he picked you. You seem so much nicer than the women he had all those pictures with in the tabloids. He was quite the ladies’ man before he came to live at the Lucky Lady Ranch, weren’t you, Chase?”
Kate’s brows rose again, questioningly. “He does have a way of making me do things I wouldn’t normally do.”
“Tell me about the proposal.” Frances pulled up a chair and sat next to her husband.
“Now, that’s enough. We need to eat and get outside to tend the animals,” William said. “Save some of the stories for the evening when we sit in front of the fireplace.”
Frances pouted good-naturedly. “Spoilsport.” Then she waved at Chase and Kate. “Please, eat. We can chat later.”
Chase spent the next few minutes shoveling his food down his throat. The sooner he got outside, the better. He and Kate needed to get their stories straight if this ruse was going to work. He debated telling Frances and William the truth about their engagement, or lack thereof, but he knew Frances. She couldn’t keep a secret to save her life. And he didn’t want to burden her with the responsibility.
In record time he polished off the eggs, bacon and toast, pushed his chair back and stood. “Take your time, William. I can get started.”
“I’ll help.” Kate had finished as well, eating heartily, unlike the women Chase had dated who picked at their food and wasted more than they ate, claiming they were always on a diet. Kate didn’t have a spare ounce of flesh on her bones, probably from working out.
“No need for you to get all dirty,” William said, pushing his half-eaten plate away. “Chase and I can do this.”