Angel Baby (12 page)

“You look beautiful,” her friend said.

“Thanks, so do you. Where’s Ryan?”

“Already next door. It’s not even noon and he’s already
sniffing around the barbecue pit," Melanie replied, feigning disgust.

Grabbing Sarah’s diaper bag, Claudia glanced at Melanie and
said, “I’ll get her stroller. She’s getting heavy, isn’t she?”

“Not at all. I could hold her all day.”

“I somehow suspect you do,” Claudia said, her tone wry.

“You caught me,” Melanie replied with a grin. “We have a
great time while Mommy’s at work, don’t we, baby? But she misses you, Claude.
No question about it.”

Claudia brushed her fingers against Sarah’s soft cheek,
marveling over how much she’d changed in the month that they’d been in
Shelbyville. It seemed she grew a little every day. Even though Claudia loved
what she did, and really enjoyed working, she missed Sarah terribly. If there came
a day when Melanie told her she took her first step, or said "mommy"
and Claudia wasn’t there to see it, she knew part of her would just shrivel up
and die. Every weekend, she coaxed Sarah with her favorite toys, wanting to be
there for those first steps, but so far her child was proving uncooperative.

“Let’s go, ladies,” Claudia said as she retrieved the
stroller from the hall closet and carried it outside.

“You bet,” Melanie said. “Lots of eligible bachelors are
waiting to meet you and your Mama, Sarah.”

Rolling her eyes, Claudia bent over to buckle the baby in
the stroller and said, “Boys. Yucky, huh, baby?”

Chase wasn't having a great time.

Everyone around him continued laughing, eating, drinking,
playing games and letting their hair down. But Chase just couldn't relax.

Part of the problem, he knew, was that he continued watching
out the corner of his eye to see if Claudia had arrived. He wondered if she'd
have the nerve to show up, after what had happened between them the last time
she'd been to his home. From what he'd seen of Claudia Warren, however, he
figured having enough nerve wouldn't be a difficulty.  Even when she was
nervous, frightened, or in terrible pain, she pushed ahead and did whatever it
was she had to do.

"Hey there, Paxton."

Walking toward him was the other reason he couldn't relax.
Chase gritted his teeth and tensed as he immediately recognized the voice of Andrew
Worthington. Turning slowly on his heel, he watched as the other man
approached, his huge white smile dominating his tanned face. Chase forced
himself to unclench his fists which just itched with the desire to knock the
grin right off the other man's lips.

"Worthington," Chase replied with a curt nod.

"Looks like you've outdone yourself this year, buddy.
Clowns, face-painters, hey, you must be doing something right to go all out
again."

The friendly camaraderie implied by the question didn't fool
Chase for one second. "Employees appreciate knowing they're valued,"
he replied evenly.

"Hey, so do competitors, buddy."

Chase detested Andrew Worthington. From the man's shining
blonde hair, which always managed to look perfectly styled, to the grin most
people would describe as irrepressible, Chase simply couldn't stand him. It
wasn't just that Worthington was the son and heir to his father's multi-million
dollar construction firm, and therefore, Chase's chief competition in western
Pennsylvania. It wasn't even the silver spoon planted so firmly between the
other man's teeth that it would take a crowbar to get rid of it. It was that
stupid, "I'm everybody's buddy" grin. Because behind it the man was
as vicious as a rattlesnake.

"So, how's business?" Andrew asked.

"Couldn't be better," Chase replied evenly,
holding the other man's gaze.

"That so? Seems I've been hearing you've had a few
problems lately."

"Really?" Chase said shaking his head slowly.
"Funny thing those small-town rumor mills. Mostly inspired by jealousy, I
guess."

Worthington's grin never faded, though Chase knew he'd been
hoping for a tale of woe about Paxton Construction's biggest project.

"Say, I drove by the Milltown courthouse site the other
day, and was surprised to see you're still doing foundation work," Andrew
said. "I thought for sure you'd be working on the masonry by now. At
least, that's what we figured our timetable to be when we bid the job."

Chase didn't respond immediately. Holding the other man's
eye for a long moment, he finally said, "Quality takes time, Andrew. The
County wanted a building to last for generations, not a flashy shell that wouldn't
stand for more than twenty years."

The grin finally faltered. Chase watched as the other man's
eyes narrowed and he took a slight step backward. Not unhappy that he’d finally
pierced Andrew's jovial exterior, Chase nodded and gave him a broad smile.
"Have a great time today. I think I'd better go check on the
caterer."

Feeling more buoyant than he had all day, Chase turned his
back and walked to the food tent. Inside, a considerable crowd stood around
long tables covered with all kinds of cold salads, condiments, breads and
desserts.

"Excuse me, sir," someone said. Chase turned to
see a worker carrying a huge tray of steaming meats from the pit grill. Chase
helped him position the tray in the center of the largest table, then glanced
outside. Emerging from the nearby woods were Claudia and Melanie, who struggled
to push the baby stroller over pine needles and knobby roots.

“Hey, let me give you a hand with that,” he said as he jogged
over to join them.

“Thanks. I think Sarah figures she’s already been on one
bouncy kiddie ride,” Melanie said as Chase lifted the stroller, grinning baby
and all, and carried it to the edge of the lawn.

“Yes, thank you,” Claudia murmured. “We didn’t mean to pull
you away from your own party.”

“There’s Ryan. I’m going to go tell him to lay off the
potato salad. See you later," Melanie said as she hurried to greet her
husband.

Left alone with Chase and the baby, Claudia glanced around.
A laughing crowd played volleyball, horseshoes and croquet. A huge child’s
bouncer, shaped like a big pink dinosaur, was set up on the side of the house,
and a line of at least twenty children waited outside for their turn to jump in
it.

“Goodness, you really do go all out for this thing,” Claudia
said.

Chase shrugged. “It seems to get bigger every year. It
started out with just employees and their families, but now sub-contractors,
customers, even competitors are invited. I thought about canceling, since
things have been a little rough lately, but I figured everybody could use the
morale boost."

Claudia didn’t say a word when Chase absently stood behind
the stroller and began pushing it across the lawn toward the house.  Somehow,
with his dark, muscular looks, she would have expected him to appear ill at
ease pushing a baby stroller, but he seemed completely comfortable in the
domestic chore.

“So, are you settling in okay...in the house? And, of
course, at work?” Chase asked.

Amazed that he could be so nonchalant, considering they’d
both avoided speaking about non work-related topics for several days, she
followed his lead. Nodding, she replied, “Everything’s wonderful. Better than I
could have imagined. The house is perfect for us, and work is challenging and
exciting.”

“I’m glad things have worked out so well. I know Dorien is
very happy to have you living in the cottage.”

“I think I understand her a little more, now,” Claudia said
quietly. “She told me once, about why she and your grandfather built the
cottage. From what you told me, about your mother...”

“My mother would never have lived in that house. She shook
the dust of this town off her boots when she was a teenager and would never
have been able to come home again.”

“Did you...never mind.”

“Did I what?” he asked.

“It’s none of my business,” Claudia stammered, uncomfortable
with the question she’d been about to ask.

“Look, I’m the one who brought it up,” Chase said, stopping
and turning slightly toward her. “I’ve never gone around telling people my life
story. As a matter of fact, you and Dorien are about the only two people in this
town who know everything.”

Startled, Claudia started at him and saw he was completely
serious. For some reason, he’d chosen her to confide in, and she felt a strong
sense of warmth at his obvious trust.

“So, ask whatever you want,” he continued.

“I was just wondering, did you hate her?”

Claudia heard Chase draw in a sharp breath, and saw the taut
muscles in his forearms tense as he gripped the stroller handle. He didn’t
answer for the longest moment, and she mentally kicked herself for her
nosiness. It wasn’t just nosiness, however; she was trying very hard to
understand this man. And his life, his childhood, had made him the man he was
today.

“I suppose I did. For quite a while. But I loved her, too. I
was confused for a lot of years.”

“And now?”

He appeared to think before answering, and it was quite a
while before he said, “Now, I have a few fond memories of my life with her, I
appreciate the lessons she taught me about making it in a tough world, and I
wish she’d been able to use those lessons to help herself. I thank her for
being sure Dorien and Hal, my grandfather, knew where to find me.”

“Your grandparents must have loved her very dearly,"
Claudia replied softly.

“I guess they did. My grandmother still goes to her grave
every weekend and bullies me into going as often as possible, too.”

“Is that...”

“Yeah. That’s where I was headed the night I met you.
Whenever Dorien goes to Pittsburgh to visit my grandfather’s grave at the
military cemetery, she makes me promise to bring flowers to my mother’s. So, I
guess me being there when you needed help so badly...maybe that’s something we
can thank my mother for.”

Chase smiled at her, a genuine, sweet smile, and Claudia
felt the world shift. Something moved. Somewhere, her reality, her perception
of herself and her life, altered with this one smile, and the echoes of his
words in her ears. Whatever she’d felt about this man before, the indescribable
attraction, the deep sensuous fantasies she’d had, were now overshadowed by a
wave of tenderness that washed over her and touched her deep in her heart.

“Thank you for confiding in me.”

Chase’s smile faded slowly, but his gaze remained warm and
gentle. “You’re very easy to talk to.”

Claudia watched his face, watched his wide, sensuous mouth
form the words he spoke, but she barely heard him. All she could think about
were the way those lips would feel against her skin, how the husky whisper
would flow so lightly above her flesh, tickling her, heightening her senses.
She couldn’t tear her stare away from his face, and watched as his eyes
narrowed slightly, and his lips parted to take a few panting breaths.

He knew. He knew what she was thinking. Again.

Claudia realized there were probably a hundred people just
twenty feet away. She was aware Chase was her boss, and her neighbor, and the
last person in the world she should get involved with. But what she wanted more
than anything was for him to lean forward the few inches separating them and
kiss her until her bones melted. 

“Here you two are. Melanie sent me over to help.”

Claudia smothered a sigh as Ryan joined them. He obviously
didn’t realize he’d intruded on them. Claudia didn’t know whether to curse his
interruption or bless it. The moment had been altogether too provocative, so maybe
it was best interrupted.

“So, seems everyone’s talking about the Milltown court
project. Any new thoughts on the matter, boss?” Ryan said as they ambled toward
the other picnickers.

“I’m working a few angles,” Chase admitted.

“I wish I could find some way to help you with your
troubles,” Claudia interjected. “I have been playing around with a little
program to calculate some incentives...”

“Forget it, Red,” Chase said brusquely. “Just stay out of
it.”

“I was only trying to help,” she retorted.

“Just do your job and let other people do theirs, all
right?”

Nodding her head once, she replied, with as much cold
dignity as she could muster, “Of course, Mr. Paxton. I would never want to
over-step the boundaries of my position. Excuse me, won’t you? I think I see
Melanie waving to me.”

Not waiting for his answer, she grabbed the handle of the
stroller and pushed it away from Chase and Ryan. Melanie stood with a group
near the volleyball net, and Claudia made her way toward her, determined not to
look back over her shoulder to see if Chase watched her grand exit. 

Claudia managed to avoid Chase for most of the day. Though
at first she’d intended to stay only long enough to appear a real team player,
sometime in the mid-afternoon she realized she was actually enjoying herself.
Melanie and Ryan were wonderful, as usual, and she spent a good bit of time
with Annie and her boyfriend. The younger woman fussed over Sarah, casting
sidelong glances at her date. Claudia suppressed her amusement at Annie’s
obvious hinting.

Another surprise of the day came when she felt a pair of
masculine hands clap over her eyes from behind. Claudia was so startled that
she nearly dropped the glass of lemonade she was holding.

“Knock it off, Ryan," she said with a laugh.

The person leaned close, whispering in her ear, “Guess
again.”

Claudia didn’t recognize the voice.

“I don’t particularly care for guessing games,” she said
coolly, concerned some worker had had a few too many beers and was looking to
make a strong first impression.

“It’s me, Claude,” the man said.

The man’s hands fell away from her. She glanced over her
shoulder to see a familiar face.