Authors: Leslie Kelly
"Hey, man, what can I say?" Andrew said with an
insinuating laugh. "You caught us. I needed a way into your files again
after you fired Theresa, who’d been helping me out before. Claudia needed a
job. She gave me a key, and I'll admit it, I've been taking a look at what's
going on for a couple of months."
Chase glanced toward the key lying on the table in the
middle of the room. Then he looked at Claudia.
"No," she moaned.
"Hey, he can't do anything, Claudia," Andrew
continued, smiling at her with such sincerity it made her sick. "If he
turns us in, he's just going to look like a jealous guy who let a woman turn
him into a fool."
Claudia raised a hand to her mouth and stared in shock at
the two men. Andrew sounded so utterly convincing, so charming in his web of
lies. Chase glanced toward her, but Claudia couldn't bear to see the accusation
on his face. With a dismayed sob, she turned and rushed from the room.
"Claudia, wait!" he called after her.
Ignoring him, she ran out of the building.
Claudia found herself sitting in a booth at the Duck Bill
Café, absently stirring a cup of coffee and watching the swirl of cream
dissolve in it. She'd been sitting, hiding, for more than an hour, wondering
where Chase was and what he was thinking. "He couldn't believe that of
me," she whispered out loud.
But she knew he could. After all, Chase Paxton had never
trusted anyone in his life. So why would he begin with her? Not five minutes
after finally opening his heart and admitting he loved her, he saw what he
would have to construe as proof that she'd betrayed him.
"That damned key," she said aloud.
Of course, there was no doubt about how Andrew had gotten
the key. He'd had a messenger return her purse to her yesterday, and her keys
had been in it, but there was absolutely no reason he couldn't have made copies
of every single one.
She had to make Chase see the truth. There was no way she
could stand letting him believe she'd used him, betrayed him. Even if nothing
could come of the love she felt for him, she would not allow him to question
his own feelings for her. He'd come so far, had finally opened his heart, and
she wouldn't let the accusations of a miserable spoiled man like Andrew
Worthington ruin that.
Knowing her friends would be wondering why she hadn’t come
to pick-up Sarah yet, she pulled out her cell phone and called Melanie,
assuring her she was just fine.
"Claude, where are you?" Melanie asked.
"Chase called and he sounded very upset."
Claudia bit her lip. "I'm on my way to his house now,
Mel. Please, could you keep Sarah for me? I don't know how long it will take,
but I have to find Chase and make things right with him."
Melanie asked for an explanation, and Claudia promised her
one at a later time.
"Right now," she insisted, "I've got to
go."
After asking Melanie to give Sarah a kiss from her, Claudia
hung up, then called for a cab. Ten minutes later, she was on her way to
Chase's house.
After she’d arrived and paid the driver, she walked up the
steps to his front door and rang the bell. Since his truck wasn't parked in the
driveway, she wasn't surprised that there was no answer. Squaring her
shoulders, she tugged at a loose brick under the front window and took the
spare key from its hiding place. Chase had shown it to her the weekend before,
and she was grateful he had. At least she'd be able to sit inside where it was
warm as she waited for him. They had some talking to do. One way or another, she
would make him understand and would make sure he didn’t regret finally opening
up his heart to her. Because of everything that
could
happen, thinking
that Chase would go back to feeling like he could never allow himself to get
too close to someone, was the one thing that most broke her heart.
"Guess I am really breaking the law now," she
muttered as she let herself into his quiet house.
Not flipping on any lights, she made her way through the
downstairs and sat down in the living room to wait.
She wasn’t leaving, not if she had to sit there all night
long.
Chase sat in Claudia's living room, waiting for the phone to
ring, or for her to walk in the door. She did neither.
"Where are you?" he asked out loud.
She'd disappeared so quickly. As soon as she ran out of the
office, and Chase realized she'd thought he'd believed Andrew's absurd
accusations, Chase had let the other man go and chased after her. He didn't
care that Andrew probably slipped out behind him and would deny the entire
incident. All that mattered was finding Claudia and telling her he knew she
would never betray him.
Finding her had been easier said than done. He'd called
Melanie and his grandmother, and neither had heard from her. Finally,
desperate, he'd gone to the cottage to wait for her, determined to sit there if
it took all night.
But he wasn't a very patient man. He paced the confines of
Claudia's small living room, flipped on the TV then abruptly turned it off
again. Finally, after more than an hour, he went to the phone and called
Melanie again.
"She's
where?"
he asked.
"She said she was going to your house, Chase. I'm sure
she's there by now."
Chase dropped the phone without even bothering to hang it
up.
Claudia sat in the darkness for what seemed like forever but
what was probably only about twenty minutes. "Where is he?" she
muttered out loud, fearing the worst, that he was at the police station filling
out a report about her alleged involvement in Andrew's break-in.
Calling herself an idiot for thinking so negatively, she
realized she was starving and wandered into the kitchen. She turned on the
overhead light and grabbed a box of crackers out of the pantry. Leaving the box
on the counter, she turned to get a glass, then noticed the items on the
kitchen table.
"What on earth..." she said aloud as she walked
across the room.
A roll of wrapping paper sat on the table, next to a large
open box. Brightly colored, the paper showed little angelic babies, surrounded
by balloons and birthday candles. Claudia suddenly realized Chase had left
Sarah's birthday gift here on the table.
Her gaze slid to the box. She saw tufts of tissue paper
padding all sides, and in the center, the top of a wooden head. Claudia lifted
her hand hesitantly.
"What have you done?" she whispered out loud as
she reached into the box, removing the gift he'd been preparing to wrap for her
child.
It was an angel. Wonderingly, Claudia lifted the heavy
wooden carving toward her face, taking in the intricate detail of each feather
of the angel's wings. The piece probably stood eight inches tall, a solid piece
of mellow aged oak, and was so heartbreakingly lovely it hurt her to look at
it. Her eyes studied the tips of the angel's wings then looked into the adoring
face, so perfect, so beautiful in its loving expression.
No lovely gentle Madonna, this angel was a male, strong and
silent.
A father.
And in his arms, a baby. Claudia saw the joy on the face of
the child the angel held, her tiny arms reaching up toward the light of his
face.
"Oh, Chase," Claudia whispered aloud.
Claudia felt the tears well in her eyes and sat heavily on a
chair, careful to hold tight to the precious gift. She could not imagine how
many hours it must have taken Chase to create it. But she knew instantly what
it meant.
"He's giving you your Daddy, Sarah," she
whispered.
Chase was showing Sarah how much her father loved her, how
much he would always love her, even though he was gone.
And only out of deep love for the child himself would Chase
have been able to create such a work of art for her baby.
"Claudia?"
Lowering her hands to place the carving on the table,
Claudia closed her eyes and dropped her head forward. Chase's touch on her
shoulder was as light and fleeting as a breath of air, yet it gave her strength
and filled her with warmth. Looking up into his eyes, she saw the usual
tenderness, and, still, the love.
She was standing and in his arms instantly. "Please,
tell me you don't believe I was helping that ass."
She didn't need to hear the words. The look on his face told
her everything she needed to know, but he gave them to her anyway.
"No, I never for a moment believed that of you."
He tilted her head back and his eyes traveled over her skin,
making sure she was all right, frowning at her tears before he bent to press a
soft kiss on her lips.
"Chase, the angel," she said haltingly. "I
didn't mean to pry, but I couldn't help seeing it. It's exquisite."
Chase glanced at the table where she'd left the angel, then
looked into her eyes.
"It's from the heart," he whispered. "You and
Sarah mean more than life to me. I love you. I want you. I need you to love me
always. I want to be your husband, and I want to be Sarah's father."
Hearing him say the words out loud, Claudia felt the
familiar tightening in her heart. After all these years, after being so sure
she could never trust anyone with her child, it was very difficult to admit
she'd been wrong.
“When Joe died," she said hesitantly, "no, long
before
that, before I ever thought of being married and having children, I made a vow.
I promised myself, Chase, when I was a young girl, I swore that I would never
put anyone before any child of mine. Then, after Sarah was born, it became even
more incomprehensible to me that my mother could have made the choices she
made. I promised Sarah, and Joe, that I would never put her in the position of
feeling rejected, unwanted, and unloved. I thought I would rather raise her by
myself then ever inflict that on her."
Claudia felt Chase's body grow tense against hers.
"But I was wrong."
Chase tightened his arms around her and kissed her temple.
Claudia felt all the anxiety slide out of her body, and out of his. She felt,
certain she was right, trusting the feelings guiding her to risk everything she
truly loved on a future she'd never imagined.
"I never dreamed love like this would happen to me.
Never imagined I would trust anyone with my life...with my child's life. But I do.
You fill my heart. I want to be with you; I want the three of us to be a
family."
Chase slid his hands up her body and cupped each side of her
face, touching her in what felt to Claudia like adoration.
"We've been a family for a year already. It just took
us this long to figure it out."
Smiling, she rose to meet his mouth with hers again. Their
kiss was soft and sweet, as gentle as an angel’s wings. When it ended, Claudia
whispered, “I love you, Chase Paxton.”
“And I love you.” He tightened his arms around her. “Thank
you for not only making me feel that love…but also for convincing me I deserve
it.”
Two Years Later
“I’m not going to make it.”
“Yes, you are, sweetheart, just keep breathing,” Chase said
as he reached over and grasped Claudia’s hand. She squeezed him back tightly,
compressing his fingers until he felt they were being twisted like pretzel
sticks. Chase found himself breathing with her, two pants and a blow, watching
out the corner of his eye, waiting for her to take the deep cleansing breath at
the end of the contraction. That cleansing breath was taking longer than usual,
indicating a longer contraction. He pressed a little harder on the gas pedal.
“We’re only ten minutes from the hospital, Claude.”
He couldn’t believe this was happening. Again. They’d been
so careful all during Claudia’s pregnancy, calculating her due date with
precision, getting him a dedicated beeper so he’d be able to be reached at a
moment’s notice when she went into labor. Getting her promise that she wouldn’t
go anywhere by herself the past few weeks. How could they ever have guessed
she’d sleep through most of her labor?
“Hurry up, Chase...I mean it,” Claudia muttered as she
relaxed back into the seat.
“Okay, okay, just a few blocks now.”
“Why does this always happen to me?” Claudia wailed.
Chase shook his head, unable to answer. He’d been asking
himself the same question for the past forty minutes, ever since Claudia had
shaken him awake to tell him she was in heavy labor. Thankfully, Dorien was
staying at the house with them as Claudia neared her due date. They’d gently awakened
her, told her they were leaving for the hospital and left her in charge of
Sarah.
Chase pulled the truck up to the emergency room entrance at
the hospital, turned in his seat and took Claudia’s hand.
“I guess we’re just destined for adventure, sweetheart.”
She smiled weakly as he leaned forward to brush a light kiss
on her temple.
“I think I’ll settle for a little domestic tranquility after
this,” she replied. “I’ve had enough adventure.”
“Ahh, Claudia,” he whispered, “life with you will
always
be an adventure.”
Claudia woke slowly, confused for a moment at the unfamiliar
roughness of the starched cotton sheets rubbing against her skin. She blinked
her eyes rapidly and glanced around. Long shadows crisscrossed the tile floors
of the private hospital room, as the early evening sun shone through the
vertical blinds. Several large bouquets of flowers stood on the tables near the
bed, and Claudia smiled as she remembered receiving one particular arrangement,
from Andrew Worthington's sister, Jenny. The entire family had been so
distraught to learn of Andrew's duplicity two years ago. Chase and Claudia had
been so relieved when Jenny and her husband had stepped in to take over Monarch
Construction, and Claudia had formed a strong friendship with the other woman.