waiting back in Phoenix?”
He tossed his napkin on the table and glared at her. “No. You taught me all I needed to know about women. I don’t trust ’em any farther than my bed.”
So much for the truce. She didn’t want to fight with him, she realized. She understood his need to lash out. Temptation stirred. It would be easy to tell the rest of the story, to defuse his temper with a few simple facts. But to what end? He was suffering so much already. In the past, he’d been her hero, she the innocent young princess waiting to be rescued. Now it was her turn to be strong. The truth would only hurt him. Between his father and the town, he’d had enough pain for one day.
She set the cup in front of him and lowered herself to the opposite chair. “What did you think of the mill?”
“I didn’t go inside. Seems about the same.”
“My dad says people are worried about their jobs. They’re afraid the place is going to be shut down.”
He frowned. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because if anything happens, the mill will be yours.”
“I don’t want it.” He pushed back the chair and rose to his feet. “Why the hell did I come back here?” He raked his hands through his dark hair and strode into the living room.
“Chase.” She followed him.
“I can feel it, you know,” he said, pacing her small living room. From end to end it was only four of his steps, then he had to turn and go the other way. “The walls, the town, everything is closing in on me. What do they all want?” He glanced at her, as if seeking an answer, then shook his head and kept on pacing. “I like my life in Phoenix. No mill, no iron ore. You can look out the kitchen windows and see across the desert. The air is clean.”
“What do you do there?” She stood off to the side and watched him work out his frustrations.
“Construction. I have a couple of partners and we build offices, houses, just about anything new.” He stopped in front of her and grabbed her arms. “I smell sawdust instead of iron. I spend a good part of my days outside on site. Nothing could make me go back into that mill again.”
Jenny tried to ignore the panic welling within her. If William Jackson died, the mill would belong to Chase. A thousand people were employed by Jackson Steel, including her father, a sister, two brothers-in-law and herself. Who would run it? Would he sell? Close it down? Either possibility was too awful to consider.
“What about you, Jenny?” he asked, his brown eyes blazing with confusion and anger. “Why are you still here? What happened to your dreams of getting away from this company town?”
“My family’s here.”
“So? They were here when we spent our nights planning our escape. What happened to you? Was it Alec?”
“No.” She tried to twist away, but he held her firmly in his grasp. The past threatened to overwhelm her; she held on to the present. “I…I got lost for a while. Forgot about the dreams we had. By the time I remembered, it didn’t seem to matter anymore.”
He released her. His hands formed tight fists at his side. “Like me, you mean.”
“Yes,” she whispered, drowning in his intensity. This was the Chase she remembered. The man who radiated heat and passion hot enough to sear anything in his way. She’d always stood too close to the flame. Even now, it rippled across her skin, burning scars into her heart and soul.
How long had she waited for his return, praying night after night that he’d come back and make it all okay for her? How many years had she watched out the front window of her parent’s house, waiting for the familiar rumble of his old Camaro? When had she at last realized that Chase Jackson never intended to come back for her? That he hadn’t forgiven the lies she’d never spoken, had never even thought?
Dear God, she still wanted him. Every fiber of her being longed to be next to him, under him, joining in the one way youth and time had denied them. The need
He tossed his napkin on the table and glared at her. “No. You taught me all I needed to know about women. I don’t trust ’em any farther than my bed.”
So much for the truce. She didn’t want to fight with him, she realized. She understood his need to lash out. Temptation stirred. It would be easy to tell the rest of the story, to defuse his temper with a few simple facts. But to what end? He was suffering so much already. In the past, he’d been her hero, she the innocent young princess waiting to be rescued. Now it was her turn to be strong. The truth would only hurt him. Between his father and the town, he’d had enough pain for one day.
She set the cup in front of him and lowered herself to the opposite chair. “What did you think of the mill?”
“I didn’t go inside. Seems about the same.”
“My dad says people are worried about their jobs. They’re afraid the place is going to be shut down.”
He frowned. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because if anything happens, the mill will be yours.”
“I don’t want it.” He pushed back the chair and rose to his feet. “Why the hell did I come back here?” He raked his hands through his dark hair and strode into the living room.
“Chase.” She followed him.
“I can feel it, you know,” he said, pacing her small living room. From end to end it was only four of his steps, then he had to turn and go the other way. “The walls, the town, everything is closing in on me. What do they all want?” He glanced at her, as if seeking an answer, then shook his head and kept on pacing. “I like my life in Phoenix. No mill, no iron ore. You can look out the kitchen windows and see across the desert. The air is clean.”
“What do you do there?” She stood off to the side and watched him work out his frustrations.
“Construction. I have a couple of partners and we build offices, houses, just about anything new.” He stopped in front of her and grabbed her arms. “I smell sawdust instead of iron. I spend a good part of my days outside on site. Nothing could make me go back into that mill again.”
Jenny tried to ignore the panic welling within her. If William Jackson died, the mill would belong to Chase. A thousand people were employed by Jackson Steel, including her father, a sister, two brothers-in-law and herself. Who would run it? Would he sell? Close it down? Either possibility was too awful to consider.
“What about you, Jenny?” he asked, his brown eyes blazing with confusion and anger. “Why are you still here? What happened to your dreams of getting away from this company town?”
“My family’s here.”
“So? They were here when we spent our nights planning our escape. What happened to you? Was it Alec?”
“No.” She tried to twist away, but he held her firmly in his grasp. The past threatened to overwhelm her; she held on to the present. “I…I got lost for a while. Forgot about the dreams we had. By the time I remembered, it didn’t seem to matter anymore.”
He released her. His hands formed tight fists at his side. “Like me, you mean.”
“Yes,” she whispered, drowning in his intensity. This was the Chase she remembered. The man who radiated heat and passion hot enough to sear anything in his way. She’d always stood too close to the flame. Even now, it rippled across her skin, burning scars into her heart and soul.
How long had she waited for his return, praying night after night that he’d come back and make it all okay for her? How many years had she watched out the front window of her parent’s house, waiting for the familiar rumble of his old Camaro? When had she at last realized that Chase Jackson never intended to come back for her? That he hadn’t forgiven the lies she’d never spoken, had never even thought?
Dear God, she still wanted him. Every fiber of her being longed to be next to him, under him, joining in the one way youth and time had denied them. The need
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