Chance For Love (Colorado Blues) (3 page)

The cool air startled her and she woke up as Chance
opened the door of the truck. “Wake up, Callie. Time for bed.”

Bed? No, not yet please. I’m not ready. I had hoped I
could get to know you first before we did that.
She struggled to wake up and slid down out of the
truck. She held his jacket closer to her body and looked at the partially open
door of the hotel room in front of them. Slowly she followed her new husband
inside. The large bed was in the center of the room with a couple of armchairs
to one side with a large television screen stuck in the middle of the wall. A
tiny fridge was under a counter top where Chance placed her bag.

When he turned away and walked back out, she glanced
around, poking her nose into the small en-suite they would have to share.

“You go first if you want. I’m going to sit down and
put my leg up for a bit. Maybe have a beer.” He threw his bag beside hers and
rubbed his hip before ambling over to an armchair. “I ordered room service so
we don’t have to go out in public. I doubt you would be happy with being
swarmed by a bunch of unruly women.”

“No. Thanks. Um, do you want me to do anything for
you, get you some pain killers or something?”

“No, but thanks for the offer. I’ve got it covered.”

She hurried over to her hold all and took out her
bathroom bag along with a set of clean clothing she could sleep in. Slamming
the door shut behind her, Callie sagged against it. This was all a very bad
idea. Moving to another country to marry a man she’d never met was bordering on
pathologically unsafe and insane. But at the time she saw his ad, there had
been no other option and she couldn’t bear to tell her grandparents how bad
things really were.

Connecting with her maternal grandparents wasn’t
really an option either, no matter what she’d told her grandfather. She had no
idea who they were and if they were even still alive. Not that she would go
begging for money from them anyway. They’d never shown a scrap of interest in
her or her sisters from what she could understand, so why would they help out
now when their daughter was dead and buried in another country?

She looked at her reflection in the mirror over the
white porcelain sink. Her eyes had shadows underneath them and her skin was
pasty white under the fluorescent lights. Callie was tired and hungry, but the
main problem was her nerves. This was her wedding night and whether she liked
it or not, she had to consummate the marriage sooner or later. It was in the
contract she signed before Chance bought her ticket and paid money into her
bank account. She twirled the ring around on her finger, looking at the wide
platinum band studded with diamonds. It looked out of place on her finger. Her
hands were tanned and strong, but it was the chewed and broken nails that she
focused on now. Cattle and horses never cared if she had a manicure or not. Her
husband had brought home a farming girl from the outback, where as she would
have thought he would be more suited to someone that moved in the same circles
he did. One that was used to flashy hotel rooms and butler service.

She unzipped her bathroom bag and took out a toothbrush
and toothpaste, squirting a long line on the bristles. Callie put it in her
mouth and mindlessly brushed away, wondering how she was going to get out of
having sex tonight.

The look of panic in her eyes told Chance his new wife
was not looking forward to sharing his bed this evening even though on paper it
was part of the agreement. She’d made a deal and he was going to make her stick
to it eventually. Besides, he was intrigued with her. He still couldn’t believe
she’d gone through with the deal. Hell, he couldn’t quite believe he’d
advertised for a wife either. But for the last week he’d been sure she would
renege on the agreement and he would be out of pocket for her expenses plus the
wallop of cash he’d deposited in her bank account.

The search he’d done on her had brought up more than
he had expected. Left with no parents and twin sisters to raise after her
parents had been killed in an automobile accident, it seemed as though Callie
had no option but to take a risk on him. The debt recovery notices out on her
family home were enough to make him worry she would take the money and run, but
she hadn’t. She’d arrived at the hotel and settled in for a night.

Bronson, the butler from the hotel, had called him to
let him know she was well and he would have her at the chapel the following day
at the correct time. It paid to have friends amongst the places he frequented
often. Sadly now that wouldn’t happen but he didn’t regret his decision to put
all of his energies into getting the ranch working to full capacity and saying
goodbye to the life of a playboy.

Having the farming experience she had, Callie would be
very handy to have around. She wasn’t after him for his status or money. His
money—well yes, to an extent, but he’d gone into that deal willingly once he’d
seen her profile picture and read her story. And he would have offered the same
deal to anyone who took his fancy and kept the deal a secret from the public.
But he wanted someone honest and down to earth, and what better way than to
place an ad for a hard worker.

He rubbed at his hip, wishing the long drive was over.
A good night’s sleep in his own bed was calling to him, but the thought of
flying in and out of Las Vegas to save time made his skin crawl. Once one of
his favorite haunts, being there today had shown him how much he had changed in
the last few months knowing his time in the public eye was over. It was like
shutting a door on his other life and not having any qualms about doing it
which he was finding hard to believe. Getting back home and showing Callie
around, introducing her to his brothers, and exploring the ranch with her was
foremost in his mind now. After a good night’s sleep and some pain relief that
was.

It seemed she spent a long time in the bathroom and
their dinner was here and there was still no sign of her. Chance had to go and
knock on the door and let her know the food was waiting to get her out. She
emerged with a pair of track pants and an old T-shirt on. Her hair was damp and
pulled up into a messy knot on the back of her head, and her face was drawn and
pale. He wanted to scrape back the missed strands of hair and tuck them behind
her ear.

“Dinner’s here. Eat up and then we can get an early
night. It’s still a fairly big drive tomorrow.”

“Thanks, but I’m not really that hungry.” She hugged
her arms around her body and Chance noticed the perky nipples under the thin
cotton of her threadbare shirt.

“You have to eat. You’re supposed to look after me,
remember? How can you do that if you don’t eat enough to feed a prairie dog?”
She blushed under his scrutiny. “Sit down and dig in.”

A small table had been moved to between the armchairs
and covered trays were place on either side of it. He watched Callie sit down
and lift the cover. She sniffed as the steam from the fried chicken and gravy
wafted from the plate. “Smells pretty good.”

“Tastes good too. Can’t beat a plate of fried chicken
and gravy. Unless it’s a good steak that is.” He sat down and lifted the cover
from his plate and picked up his knife and fork. The first mouthful was heaven
on his tongue. Crispy fried chicken and mashed potatoes drenched in rich brown
gravy had the ability to make his taste buds stand up and pay attention every
single time.

Chance watched her devour the plate of food from the
corner of his eye and smiled to himself. He hated a woman who denied herself a
decent meal to garner the look of a half-starved waif because she thought it
was the in thing. Callie was muscled but still managed to look stick thin. He
figured a good bout of sickness would have her fading away to nothing.
Fattening her up a little just became top priority for him. It would be nice to
see her curves fill out and the paleness leave her face.

“Good wasn’t it?” He smiled as she wiped the final
dregs of gravy from her plate with the small dinner roll. She put it in her
mouth and leaned back in the chair, her eyes closed in pleasure as she chewed
on the final bite. As she swallowed, Chance glanced at her from under his
lashes, mesmerized by how her throat worked, and heat simmered in his gut. She
was gorgeous. The most natural woman he had seen in a long time. No vestige of
makeup marred her skin on their wedding day and she had no airs and graces. A
simple down to earth girl who would fit in at the ranch with him to make the
place something to be proud of.

“Very. You were right, I needed that.” Callie glanced
in his direction and he watched the heat race up her cheeks.

“Go to bed, Callie. I’m not an animal so don’t worry
that I’m going to force you tonight.”

He saw the relief as a long breath shuddered from her
body and her shoulders slumped. A quick sheen of tears filled her eyes and she
lifted a hand to her mouth, biting down on the skin. Chance twisted in his
chair as far as his bad hip would allow and reached over to take her hand.

“You should have said something. You sounded so brave
over the internet when we sorted out the rules of engagement for this
marriage.”

She lifted huge frightened eyes to him. The green
flecks in the pools of earthy brown reminded him of the colors in the trees at
the base of the mountains in autumn when the leaves changed just as they were
doing now.

“I needed the money so badly I would have agreed to
anything. Didn’t mean I had to like it though.” She looked at him defiantly,
her chin raised and stubborn. Her Australian drawl seemed more intensified when
she was emotional. He wondered if she knew how easy she was to read, or maybe
it was just that he was becoming attuned to her body.

“You need to promise me something. I want the truth
between us, even when it hurts.” He ran his calloused thumb across the palm of
her hand, feeling the ridges from hard work. “This deal has to work for both of
us. We went into it for a reason, didn’t we?”

She nodded her head and used her free hand to wipe the
tears before they fell down her pale cheeks. “It’s not like I won’t have sex
with you, but I just don’t know if we can make it work. I’m not sure we should
even try.”

“The thing is, I want a wife I can rely on. Not
someone just in name alone. You won’t just be a ranch hand. You will be my
partner in all things including my bed when we both feel you’re ready.”

She tossed her head, sending the now dry tendrils of
hair from her face. “I still don’t see why you did this. I mean, I know now
that you’re someone special or at least a little bit famous. You could have had
anyone. Why me, really since we’re telling the truth?”

“Because I’m not who people think I am. I don’t want
to have to keep up the façade any longer.” He squeezed her fingers once more
before letting go of her hand. Chance sat up in the chair, easing the pain in
his hip.

“Who are you then?” Callie curled her feet up under
her body and watched him, no longer wary of him.

“I had a fabulous childhood growing up but that
changed when my mother died. My father couldn’t cope and turned to the bottle.”
He vowed never to put his children through the same thing. “It was hard on me
and my brothers. I tried to shield them as much as I could to start with
because I was the eldest. The more our father drank, the harder it got. One day
he took a swing at me and I left. I walked out and left my brothers behind,
something I’m not proud of but I couldn’t stay behind not getting anywhere. I
needed the money the rodeo would give me to set them up with a decent chance of
life since our father was intent on drinking away every dollar he earned.”

She rested her chin on her hand and watched him.

The familiar hollowness ached in his gut; a small
reminder of the guilt he’d carried around for years at leaving his brothers
behind. “I didn’t care if he drank himself into an early grave, but I should
have stayed for my brothers. They had nobody to look after them and I’ve never
forgiven myself for that.”

“Hmm, sounds to me like you never had a choice. What
would have happened if you stayed?”

“Who knows? Tyson told me later that the old man was
mad fit to bust and it was probably for the best, but that still doesn’t excuse
the fact that I thought of myself first and left them alone.”

“Did they forgive you?” Her eyes swam with sympathy.

“Yeah. It’s me who has the problem, not them.”

“So what’s the problem here then? You still haven’t
answered the question.”

Chance looked at her wondering if he had gotten more
than he bargain for with Callie. She was like a dog with a bone. “When I ran
away, I had to stand up for myself and I figured the best way to do that was to
reinvent myself, so Chance the cocky bull rider was born. There wasn’t anything
I wouldn’t try at least once. I mixed with anyone who could get me higher up
the professional ladder. I made sure I was always in the public eye and used
people for my own gain.”

“You mean like famous people?”

“Yeah. Fake it
til
you make
it kind of thing. Eventually I was more famous than I could have thought and I
found I really didn’t like it. Paparazzi followed me everywhere and women threw
themselves at me. It got kind of old pretty quick.”

“But it paid off obviously.” A small smile was lifting
the corners of her mouth and he could see the sparkle in her eyes.

“Of course it did. I was at the top of my game, money
wasn’t a problem. I managed to help my brothers out and buy my own ranch. Life
was good.” He gave a bitter laugh.

“Until Terror.”

“Yeah, until Terror did the deed on me. My own stupid
fault, I know that. Maybe it was my subconscious telling me it was time to quit
and go back to what I really wanted, who knows. But when I woke up in hospital
with my hip pinned together, I knew it was my opportunity to let go of the wild
life.”

“So what’s wrong with that then? I don’t understand. I
mean I get that you were putting on a false front for the public and
everything, but why is it a problem now? Can’t you just fade away into your own
life?”

“That’s the plan, but it’s going to take some work and
it might impact on you to some extent.”

“I don’t get it.” She frowned. “Why would it?”

“Everyone thinks I like the high life, including my
brothers. I doubt anyone would believe I suddenly turned into a diehard rancher
who wants to be left alone away from the fame and money I used to live with.”

“Who cares what people think?”

“My brothers don’t know I can’t ride anymore.” Chance
pushed himself to his feet, his hip aching sitting in the hard chair. “They
think I’ve just gone to the airport to pick up a farm manager and then I’ll be
back on the circuit once my hip is healed. It’s not like this is the first
injury I’ve had.”

“So they don’t know you married me or why then?” She
shrugged her shoulders. “Just tell them the truth.”

“Now there lies the problem. If they find out I did it
all for them because I felt guilty, how do you think they’ll feel?”

Her mouth opened in a round “O”. Callie looked at him
with realization dawning. “They can think I’m just the farm manager, fine. But
how do you think you’re going to pull this off? I mean, you’ll have to tell
them sooner or later you can’t go back to the circuit. Surely they would
understand that.”

“Yes, they would, but they wouldn’t understand me marrying
a quiet country girl and retiring to the mountains to raise bulls and kids.
They’d expect me to marry someone famous and stay in the lime light. It’s just
how I spent the last twelve years of my life and it would be too much of a
change for me to pull it off otherwise.”

“So what do we do now?”

“I want you to pretend to be the farm manager for a
while. Let me ease them into it. Once they get used to you and see me happy
back on the ranch, we can tell them.” He tried to smile at her but it came off
as a grimace. “I know it sounds weak, but I don’t want to make them feel
responsible for the way my life turned out. I feel bad enough leaving them with
a drunk for a father without them thinking I put up with all the crap I did to
make up for it. Double whammy if you get me.”

“Would they even be there at the ranch that often?”

“Yeah, they can’t seem to stay away apart from Rory
who lives a few hours away. He lost his wife a few years ago and is having
trouble being anywhere near the rest of the family for more than a day or so a
year.”