A Texan's Christmas Baby
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Linda Warren
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CHAPTER ONE
CHASE REBEL SNEAKED into Horseshoe, Texas, like a bandit, avoiding the square where a limestone courthouse stood proudly through the ages of time, and where anything that was important happened. He was avoiding family and friends, and most of all avoiding questions.
Today his heart was heavy. There’d be no Jody to greet him with hugs and kisses and promises of forever. She’d thrown her engagement ring at him and ended their fourteen-year relationship. That had happened over a year ago. They’d been happy—over-the-top happy. How could all that love just...stop?
He turned onto Mulberry Lane, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Just seeing the street sign gave him a good feeling. This was home. He pushed a button on his visor and the garage door went up. He drove in and quickly put it down again. Hopefully no one had seen him and he’d have a little time to get his thoughts together. He’d had a few weeks to do that, but there were still a lot of questions to be answered. Maybe he’d made the decision too quickly. Maybe all he needed was time. Maybe...
Everything he owned was in his truck. He grabbed a carryall and made his way into the Austin stone house his dad had built for him. He dropped the carryall in the breakfast room and stared out the big windows to the barn, which he had years ago turned into his own man cave. There were a lot of good memories made there with his friends and Jody.
So many memories and he didn’t know what to do with them...without her.
He hadn’t been to the house since the breakup. He undid the latches on the windows and raised them, letting the cool February breeze waft through the closed-up house. Tree branches lay in the yard from a recent storm, tall weeds grew up around the fence and the yard needed mowing. When he’d gone off to college, his parents had kept up the property for a long time, but he’d decided they had enough to do without taking care of his house, too. A boy down the street mowed it for a monthly fee, but evidently he wasn’t doing a great job. He would get in touch with him tomorrow and let him know that from now on Chase would do the mowing.
He glanced to the house. It had an open floor plan with a breakfast room, kitchen and a big living room and dining room all in one. His mom and dad had picked out everything, from the granite countertops to the white oak floors. It represented seventeen years of child support, his father had said. That sounded a little strange, but it was the truth.
At seventeen his life had changed forever. At the time he thought it had been the worst thing that could have happened to him, but it had turned out to be the best thing. He and his mom had lived in Dallas, where she had been the manager of an upscale restaurant. They had a good life and Chase had played football for a big Dallas school. He’d held the wide receiver position and the coaches had told him he was one of the best they’d ever seen—good enough to make it into the NFL. He just had to apply himself. He worked every day to accomplish that goal. Then his mother lost her job, Nana passed away and his mom couldn’t pay the rent anymore. She decided to return to her hometown of Horseshoe. He’d had no idea where that was and hadn’t wanted to go. Leaving would ruin his whole life, his plans. In Dallas, he had a chance of getting a scholarship to a good college to play football. In Horseshoe, he would lose that opportunity.
He hadn’t realized at the time that he didn’t have a choice. His mother had already made the decision, so they moved to the little town where she had been born and raised. They had to live with his mother’s sister, Rosie, and her husband, Phoenix Rebel, whom Chase had never met before. It was all change. It was all different. And he hated it.
He flipped on the lights and made his way to the living room to sink into his dad’s recliner. Memories flooded him and he took a moment to look back at all the things that had made him into the man he was today.
The McCrays and Rebels were bitter enemies and they had kept the drama going for years in Horseshoe. Chase’s mother, Maribel, was a McCray. She grew up hating the Rebels, but that hadn’t stopped her from falling in love with Elias Rebel. When she became pregnant, her dad demanded to know the name of the father. She refused to tell him because he would have killed Elias. Maribel’s mother quickly got her out of the house and sent her to an elderly friend. The friend sent Maribel to Dallas to live with her sister until she could get her life together.
The sister was Lavinia Wainwright, better known as Miss Vennie or Nana. She had a large two-story house and took care of the two of them. Miss Vennie became a mother to Maribel and a grandmother to Chase. They stayed with her until she passed away. The bank took the house, since it was mortgaged to the hilt, and Maribel and Chase moved into an apartment. That had been a lot of changes for a seventeen-year-old kid. But it wasn’t over yet.
Before he knew it, he was in Horseshoe, living with people he didn’t know. And he did what every seventeen-year-old would do—acted up and tried to make his mother go back to Dallas. He talked a couple of guys he’d met into stealing beer from the convenience store and a beer joint. He thought if he got in trouble, his mother would see the town wasn’t good for him. It didn’t quite work out that way.
They were caught by the sheriff and thrown in jail. That was a shock. He knew his mother would get him out, though that would take bail money and his mother didn’t have any. So she did what desperate mothers do. She appealed to Chase’s father. Chase had never known his identity. His mother had told him that it was a boy from high school who wasn’t ready to be a father, so she’d raised Chase on her own. That was good enough for Chase. He hadn’t cared to meet his father.
That changed quickly when he learned about Elias. Maribel agreed to release her out-of-control son into Elias’s custody and Chase’s life became pure hell from there. His biological father had a thing about manners, respect and rules. Chase thought he would die if his life got any worse. But he’d done the crime and he had to pay for it, as he was told by Elias. In court his father stood up and vouched for him; he got community service and the robbery was expunged from his record.
Restless from thinking about the past, Chase got up and walked into the kitchen, running his hand across the granite countertop, which was a tan and dark brown color that went well with the stainless steel appliances.
Elias hadn’t paid child support for seventeen years because he hadn’t known about his son. Being an honorable man, he wanted to make up for that. Since Maribel and Chase had no home, he bought them one. Back then it had looked like a run-down shack with the roof caving in and weeds growing into the windowsills. But Elias had said the Austin stone was as good as the day it had been laid. The other good thing was that it sat on ten acres at the end of a cul-de-sac. But Chase knew beyond any doubt that they would never be able to live there. Mice, varmints and roaches had made the house their home, and the rain-soaked carpets stank like sewage.
That was when Chase learned he was supposed to help fix it up. He had never done anything like that before in his whole life and he hadn’t planned on doing it then. But his father had other ideas. And if anyone had ever met Elias, they knew he was a man of his word.
In the months that followed, Chase learned to work hard. He pulled out wet, disgusting carpet, stained linoleum and worn countertops. They basically gutted the place and started over. It took months to remodel the house and Elias seemed to know how to do everything, from plumbing to installing a new roof. Before those months ended, Chase knew how to do them, too. He even knew how to drive a lawn mower and a tractor. He learned a lot of things during that time, but most of all he learned how to love the man who had given him life.
He learned a lot of other things, too. Such as he didn’t have to go to a big school to get scouted. The Horseshoe Cowboys won a state championship and Chase got noticed. He played football in college and went fifth in the first round of the NFL draft. Six years later his team won a Super Bowl and all his dreams had come true. Except for one.
The first time he met Jody was in the sheriff’s office. After he finished his community service, he had to go there to apologize for his behavior. The sheriff’s daughter was there and Chase was introduced to the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen. She had the most amazing green-brown eyes that sparkled with happiness. He couldn’t look away from all that energy and vitality. It was such a part of her. He fell in love on the spot and so did Jody, but there was one little problem. The sheriff wouldn’t let him date his daughter. Chase was too old for her. He was too wild. Sheriff Wyatt had always disapproved of Chase, but the two kids found a way to be together.
Chase was two years older than Jody and Wyatt thought when Chase went away to college Jody’s fascination with him would end. It didn’t. He came home as often as he could and Jody was always the first person he contacted. Then Jody left for college and Chase was in his junior year at a different college, and everyone thought the relationship was destined to end. But they loved each other. They finally got engaged two years ago and the wedding was planned for June, this year.
He ran a hand through his hair. That wasn’t happening now. Everything had been canceled. Picking up his carryall, he headed for the bedroom. He could get the yard mowed before dark, but he needed groceries. He sank down on the bed. What he really needed was Jody.
His phone buzzed and he reached for it in his pocket, looking at the caller ID. He clicked on. “Hey, Zane, how you doing?” Zane was his cousin and best friend. They’d stayed in touch through all the years. His cousin’s intellect was a little higher than most people’s, but he was down-to-earth and everybody loved him. He’d gone to Harvard on a scholarship and had become a doctor. He was in cancer research now and living in Houston with his wife, Erin. They were expecting their first child.
“I’m great. Erin and I are in Horseshoe. Wish you were here.”
“I am.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m at my house.”
“You’re kidding.”
“No. I’ll tell you about it later. Can you get away?” Chase really needed his friend.
“Erin’s gone baby shopping with her mother and I’m visiting with my parents. I’ll be there in about thirty minutes.”
Before Chase could put his phone in his pocket, the doorbell rang. He sighed. It probably was his parents. His mother seemed to have radar where he was concerned. He opened the door without looking through the peephole. He froze, words sticking in his throat.
Jody stood there.
He hadn’t seen her in over a year and his heart stopped just from looking into her gorgeous eyes. In a green dress and heels, she looked more beautiful than ever, grown-up, sophisticated, except there were tiny worry lines around her eyes that hadn’t been there before. Her long blond hair was pulled back and tied at her nape. It gave her delicate features a pinched look that he didn’t like. He favored her hair long and around her face. But he didn’t get much say in how she wore her hair these days.
She had a box in her hands and shoved it toward him. “These are some of the things you gave me and I don’t want them in my house anymore.”
He refused to take it, so she set the box on the floor by his feet. Her eyes were cold and hesitant as she waited for him to pick it up.
“How did you know I was home?” he asked, ignoring the box.
“I was coming from my house when I saw you turn down Sycamore Street.”
“You have a house?”
She tensed. “Yes. Gramma left me her house, and when I came home, Mom and Dad helped me fix it up. I live there now.”
The Horseshoe gossip grapevine had left that tidbit out. He’d had no idea she’d inherited her grandmother’s house. He wondered why his parents hadn’t told him, but it didn’t matter anymore. They were living separate lives now. It surprised him, though, that she wasn’t seeking comfort from her family. “And not with your parents?”
“No.” The clipped one word told Chase she was getting annoyed. “I have to go. Just wanted you to have those things back because I know they mean something to you.”
“That’s why I gave them to you. They’re yours.”
She turned to leave as if she didn’t want to get into an argument. He couldn’t let her go. Breathing the same air as Jody was intoxicating and he wanted to keep her here as long as possible, even if they were arguing. It had always been that way with him. He could be in the dumps about a game or something, but the moment he heard her voice, it lifted his spirits. She was the only drug he needed.
“What are you doing home anyway? Don’t you have spring training or something or another?”
“I just wanted to come home.”
She waved a hand as if she didn’t care. “It’s not my business.”
“That’s what I was thinking.”
She gave him a narrow look that could singe the legs off a grasshopper.
“Can I ask you a question?”
She hesitated for a moment. “If it’s not personal.”
“Why did you come to my apartment that night a year ago? You usually call when you’re coming so I can pick you up at the airport. I was just wondering what the surprise visit was about.”
She stepped closer with a daredevil gleam in her eyes. “I should have made more surprise visits and then I would’ve found out exactly what you’re doing in your off-time. But, oh, no, I trusted you. I trusted you right up till I saw it with my own eyes.”
“Okay.” He held up a hand as if to defend himself. “I’ll tell you again what really happened. We lost in the playoffs. I told you that. The owner had a party to let the players know what a good job we had done. I told you that, too. I told you I was going, but I wouldn’t stay long. I just wanted to come home for a couple of weeks.
“I left early and went to my apartment. I was about to call you when my doorbell rang. A girl from the party had followed me home. She was the owner’s niece and I felt compelled to be nice to her. It was pouring rain and she was soaking wet. She asked if I had a towel and I invited her in. She went to the bathroom to dry off and that’s when you showed up. Nothing happened. How many times do I have to tell you that?”
“She was wearing the bathrobe I gave you for Christmas with your initials on it and it wasn’t belted. I could see her breasts. I could see everything. She looked as if she’d just gotten out of the shower. That’s what I saw and I don’t care what you say. I saw it with my own eyes.”
He didn’t let her words derail him. He’d never touched the girl. “Why didn’t you come in and confront her? Why didn’t you demand to know what she was doing in your fiancé’s apartment? That’s the feisty Jody I know. The one who stands up for herself and never takes anything from anybody. Why didn’t you confront her, Jody? Or me?”
“Because I was sick to my stomach at what I’d seen and just wanted to get away from you, away from the truth of what you were doing while playing games. I mean really playing games.”
“I followed you to your car in the rain and you threw your engagement ring at me, delivering a tirade that I’d never heard from you before. Where was your trust, Jody? The trust that held us together for all those years apart, the trust that would cement our marriage. You judged me without knowing the truth.”
“I saw the truth and, believe me, it was ugly.”
“Okay.” He held up his hands as if to give in. “Just tell me why you came that night.”
“I hadn’t seen you in a while and I just wanted to spend some time with you.”
“You always call so I can make time. Why didn’t you?”
“Look, Chase, I’m not going to stand here and be grilled by you. It happened and I know what I saw. You have the right to disagree. That’s what life is about. So get over it, because you and I are through. I could never trust you again. I guess I was really hung up on the football hero making last-minute catches to win the game, but that phase of my life is over.” She hurried to her car and drove away, leaving him wondering, still, why she’d really come that night.
JODY TURNED ON Sycamore Street and pulled over to the curb. She was trembling from seeing Chase. It had been so long since she’d laid eyes on him and she hadn’t realized how hard that would be.
She hated what he had done to her. She’d loved him and he’d thrown that love back in her face by being with another woman. He denied it—why couldn’t she believe him? Her heart answered immediately, but she couldn’t go there. She couldn’t go back to the pain.
She leaned her head against the steering wheel. She wanted to reach out and touch him, feel his strong muscles and run her hands through his hair. When she did that, they would fall into those curls that he hated, but she loved them. And she had loved Chase with all her heart. She didn’t understand how everything between them could all end in a split second.
Her dad had said that some men cheat, and they always would. He’d added that it would be best if she put Chase Rebel out of her mind. Just how could she do that? How could she get him out of her heart? She’d tried so many times, but once real love was given, it was everlasting. Even Chase’s cheating hadn’t changed that.
Her dad had said that she should have expected this, with him playing in other cities, traveling on the road. There were groupies hanging around the stadiums and all the players were tempted from time to time. But she’d trusted Chase.
She took a deep breath and drove on. Chase would be here for a few days. Then he would leave again and she wouldn’t have to worry about running into him. Eventually she would see him again and she’d handle it much better than she had today, all nervous and jumpy like a schoolgirl.
Hurrying to the courthouse, where she worked as an ADA to Hardy Hollister, the DA, she realized it had been over an hour since she’d gone home to get her phone, which she’d left at her house at lunch.
Hardy’s office was upstairs and she had a small one next to his. Alice, the receptionist, was at her desk, as usual.
“Has Hardy been looking for me?” she asked Alice.
Alice looked at her through wire-rimmed glasses. “No. He has family in there.” She nodded toward the closed door of Hardy’s office.
Zane and Erin were home today for a visit and she couldn’t wait to see her best friend. “Tell Erin I want to see her.”
Erin was Hardy’s daughter and she and Jody grew up as best friends. They told each other everything and went off to college together to make their dreams come true. Erin was living her dream while Jody was stuck in neutral, not knowing what was next for her.
When they were in high school, they had decided who they would be when they grew up. Erin would become a lawyer, following in her father’s footsteps, and Jody would earn a criminal justice degree and go into law enforcement, like her dad. That was the plan, but things changed. Zane had gone to Harvard to pursue a medical degree and Erin missed him, as Jody had missed Chase. In high school it was Zane and Erin and Chase and Jody. The intervening years had put that love to the test.
Erin had transferred schools to be near Zane and was now a lawyer in Houston and happy. Her father was not thrilled with her choices. He wanted her to one day come back to Horseshoe and take over his job, but Erin lived her life her way, and because of Zane’s job, she would probably never live in Horseshoe again.
Jody soon realized being a police officer just wasn’t her thing, so she entered law school. She interned in Houston and then worked for the Austin DA. When things blew up with Chase, she returned to Horseshoe and Hardy offered her a job. It gave her a sense of purpose and she liked what she was doing in her small hometown. She felt at home. But the peace she’d yearned for wasn’t there. She might never have that again.
“Hey, friend.” Erin waddled into Jody’s office.
Jody jumped up and hugged Erin, or at least tried. She was eight months pregnant and big. “Look at you! You’re absolutely glowing.”
“I’m fat and this baby is sitting on my bladder.” Erin eased into a chair. They were both blondes and people often asked them if they were sisters. They were the same height, the same weight and the same everything, except Erin had blue eyes. “You might have to help me up.”
Jody laughed and it felt good to be with her friend again. “I’m at your service.”
Erin rubbed her stomach. “I never knew that carrying a baby was like having a basketball in your lap. I can’t see my feet anymore and I need to pee about every thirty minutes or less. I’m ready for this baby to come.”
“Be patient.”
“Yeah, that’s what Zane says, but he’s not carrying this baby around.” She rubbed her stomach again. “But I love her to death. I can’t wait to meet her.”
“You’re going to make a great mother. How’s the name game going?”
“We’re still batting it back and forth. Zane wants something simple and I want something that’s different...” Erin shrugged.
“I saw Chase today,” Jody blurted out.
“What? Where?” Erin threw back her long blond hair and tried to sit up. It took three tries, but she made it.
“I went home for lunch and left my phone on the counter. I went back to get it and I saw his truck going down Sycamore Street. I have everything he ever gave me in a box, so I turned around and went back home and got it. I took it to his house and gave it to him.”
“Everything? Even those gold earrings he bought you with his name on one and your name on the other?”
Jody nodded. “Everything.”
“Why, Jody?”
“I don’t want them anymore. We’re not together and all of that was a lie.”
Erin stretched her back. “Really? I had a front-row seat, and from where I was sitting, it was a full-blown love affair.”
“Don’t say anything else,” Jody warned. They’d had this conversation before. “You know what I went through and how long it took me to get over it.”
“Jody, please, talk to your parents, talk to Chase. Get all the pain out. Until you do, you’re going to continue to have this resentment. That’s advice from a friend who knows what she’s talking about.”
Jody got to her feet, unable to sit any longer. “I can’t. I tell myself all the time it’s what I need to do, but...”
“Jody...”
“I can’t relive what happened afterward. I’d just rather put it behind me.”
“You can’t until your parents and Chase know what happened.” Erin rubbed her stomach, eyeing Jody. “I’ve kept your secret all these years and I haven’t even told Zane and I don’t keep things from him, but you’re my friend and I value our friendship. You have to make some decisions that will change your whole life and you have to be ready to face them. That’s what adults do.”
“I suppose,” she admitted. But Erin didn’t know how hard that would be. It would take her dignity, her pride and her value as a person. She’d never lied or cheated or stolen anything in her life, but she felt as if she’d stolen something valuable from Chase.
How did she make amends without destroying herself?
