Redeeming the Billionaire SEAL(19)

“Pick any bedroom you want. Wade and Cole are in Dallas so it’s just us.” He stepped over to the outside wall and flipped open a small, discreetly hidden panel. Punching a few numbers, he then shut the lid. “Security. Tonight I don’t trust anything. Come on, you’re exhausted. Lets get you and the baby upstairs.”

“I’m not exhausted,” Holly retorted. “I’m mad as hell.”

To that, Chance could only smile. When Holly had initially called, it had frightened him. Something that didn’t happen very often. He had heard the fear mixed with fury in her tone. He had a feeling were it not for the baby, Holly would have jumped right in the middle of the situation, confronting whoever it was destroying her clinic, and God only knew what would have happened then. She’d never been afraid of very much of anything; whether that was an admirable trait or a fool’s mission he wouldn’t say. But before tonight, he’d respected it. Now he was just glad the baby had instilled a degree of protective caution in her.

He followed Holly up the stairs. She stopped at the top as though lost and unsure of what to do next. Chance stepped forward and opened a door to one of the bedrooms next to his. She walked past him, still holding the baby, checking it out. During the day, the view from here framed the barn and various outbuildings. Step out on the balcony and it had a good view of the courtyard below and the pool with the waterfall.

Seeing Holly inside this house affected him in ways he didn’t want to think about. In all the years they’d known each other, she’d never ventured farther into the home than the kitchen and den downstairs. Now, seeing her in a bedroom, a king-size bed three feet away from where she stood, did something to his equilibrium. For just an instant he let himself envision Holly lying in the center of that bed wrapped in his arms, the sheets tangled around their legs while he took her again and again.

Chance was doing it again. He was envisioning something that could never happen. He needed to stop.

“I asked a couple of men to bring the baby’s bed over.” He was prepared for her objections and raised his hands, palms out. “It’s just for a couple of nights. I thought you both might sleep better. You won’t have to spend the night worrying that she might fall off the bed, and I think she’ll be more at ease in her own bed, with her toys. It might help to comfort her.” Holly was not going back to her little house until a good security system had been installed. But he didn’t want to add that argument to the problems she already faced. At least not tonight. If there was luck to be had, it would be a done deal before she knew anything about it.

By now Emma was awake, her eyes as big as saucers as she took in her new surroundings, her first finger getting quite a chewing. Holly let her down to wander around and she made a beeline for Chance. She was so tiny. So innocent. He was afraid to pick her up for fear he would hurt her, but apparently the child had different ideas. She looked up into his face, her blue eyes asking a silent question while she gripped the pant leg of his jeans in her tiny hand.

“Up,” she said with absolute clarity.

Chance glanced at Holly. She just smiled. If he didn’t know better he would swear she had set him up. Feeling uneasy, Chance reached down and picked up the baby. She immediately laid her head against his shoulder, her hand gripping his shirt, settling in as though she had always slept there. He gently patted her back with his free hand. He couldn’t believe how right she felt in his arms. He wouldn’t admit, even to himself, how much he liked holding her.

“I imagine the sheriff will try to lift some fingerprints from your clinic tomorrow. I know over half the town has been inside the building, but maybe he’ll get lucky in the lab area. I assume not everyone goes back there.”

“No, they don’t.” She shrugged.

A rap outside the door drew their attention. “Got the little one’s bed, boss. Where you want it?” Two of the ranch hands looked inside the bedroom, finally turning to Chance for directions.

“Just put it... You know, I guess you’d better put it close to the bed so if she wakes up she can see her mother.”

The two stout cowboys soon had the bed sitting next to the large bed where Holly would sleep. With a tip of their hat, they said good-night and left the room.

“You really didn’t have to do this. It’s a lot of trouble for one night.”

“No big deal.” Chance walked to the baby’s bed and deposited Emma in it. She immediately sat up and looked around, her pointer finger securely in her mouth. “See you tomorrow.”

“Thank you.” Holly sat on the edge of her bed and stared at the baby. If he had a guess, he’d bet she wouldn’t sleep tonight.

Chance nodded, closed the bedroom door behind him and headed for the stairs. He wanted to take another look at the clinic and see if he could pick up on anything he may have overlooked the first time when he was hurrying to try to catch the perp. The clinic might be a target for whatever drugs she kept on hand, but the damage done was far and above just someone looking for drugs. Somebody wanted to do damage. A lot of damage.

Nodding to the deputy standing guard at the front entrance of the clinic, Chance again looked at the damage covering the counters and floor.

“Have you checked the fridge?” he asked the deputy. “I was thinking this might be about narcotics.”

“Yes, sir,” the officer respectfully replied. “We haven’t checked each item off a list but it appears that area of the lab was about the only part untouched. I had the same thought that it was somebody looking for drugs, but apparently not. This whole thing is really strange.” He looked at Chance. “I’ve known Kevin most of my life. Both he and Holly were very organized. In the drawer containing sedatives and pain relievers not one vial was out of place, no bottles turned over. So more than likely this wasn’t about pharmaceuticals or theft. That narrows the suspects considerably.”

Yes, Chance thought as he bid the officer good-night. It certainly did.

When he returned to the ranch house, he reset the alarm and went upstairs to check on Holly. When a knock on the bedroom door didn’t get an answer, he opened it. The room was dark. The ambient light let him see that the baby was again sound asleep. Holly had removed her jeans and boots, but she still sat on the side of the bed, clad in a T-shirt, her hands folded in her lap. He couldn’t see her face, but he would bet she was crying. For someone who had worked so long and hard to accomplish her dream, to find it trashed must have been devastating.

“Holly?” He walked toward the bed.

“Who would do that, Chance?” Her voice was so soft he had to strain to hear. “They weren’t hurting me. They were taking away medical care for dozens of innocent animals. Who would do that?”

“I don’t know, but eventually the sheriff will figure it out.”

She couldn’t sit like this all night. She’d had a shock and needed to get some sleep. He walked to the far side of the bed and pulled down the covers.

“Come on. Climb in and try to go to sleep.”

As though hypnotized, she stood and walked around to that side of the bed. He covered her with the comforter and turned to leave.

“Will you stay?”

Chance hesitated. “I’m not sure that would be a good idea.”

Holly nodded and looked down at her hands. Shit. Under the circumstances, how could he say no?

“Scoot over next to Emma’s bed.”

When she complied, he removed his boots and lay down on top of the bedding. He understood her need for his presence. The break-in made her feel as though she herself had been attacked. She felt unsafe and vulnerable.

For maybe the first time in his adult life, he stretched out on a bed next to a beautiful woman and sex never entered his mind.





Nine

Mondays were always busy. This one was insanity. The pet owners she couldn’t reach showed up with their dogs and cats and iguanas and pigs to be told the clinic was closed. The more severe cases were referred to the clinic in the next county.

By nine o’clock the police were doing their follow-up inspection, inside and out. Holly sat outside under a tree answering the phone while Kevin spoke with the officers and tried to wrap his mind around the destruction. Amanda, bless her, was at Chance’s house with Emma after Chance assured her there was cable and a couple of flat-screens and she could help herself to anything in the kitchen.

A little after two that afternoon the claims adjuster arrived and began the process of assessing the damage so a dollar figure could be determined.

By the end of the day, Holly was exhausted. But Chance had once again stepped into the role of protector and became her rock, just as he had when she was ten and a bully had tried to take her lunch. She noticed even Kevin asked for his opinion several times.

Dinner that evening was prepared by the Masterses’ chef on the outdoor grill. It smelled heavenly, making her realize she hadn’t eaten all day. But at least the worst was over. New equipment had been ordered and would start arriving tomorrow, again thanks to Chance. Holly had argued vehemently against taking money from him but finally agreed on behalf of the animals and Kevin, whose family depended on the business’s income. She did, too, but she also had a small inheritance from Aunt Ida and only Emma to care for, versus three kids and a mortgage. She and Kevin would just sign the insurance check over to Chance when it came. The clinic, while strangely bare, was clean and ready for the new equipment to be installed.