“Yes.” She clutched her hands in her lap and stared at them. “It backfired. Katy, who is Mateo’s office manager, used to slip me a free hour now and then when a client canceled, to let me rest. But they caught on and stopped her from doing that. I’m to go straight home and get my so-calledbeautyrestafterwork. It’s all part of controlling where I am every minute.”
“Have you contacted an attorney?”
“No.” She shook her head. “It might get back to them.”
“Borrow the money and pay them off.”
A shiver ran up Jade’s spine. She looked at Chase and explained, “When I offered that, Franco said his plastic surgery practice had never been busier, and if I caused him to lose a single patient, he would sue me for millions.”
“Let him sue.”
“It wouldn’t affect just me,” Jade said. “Mateo would fire Katy because she and I have become friends. Katy is in her early thirties and has an eleven-year-old son named Finn. Katy’s husband was a parachute instructor at Fort Carson,” she said, referring to the army base in the Springs. “But he was killed when his chute failed to open. Katy went to work for Mateo about the same time I did. Not only does Katy need her job, Mateo would discredit me as a therapist and file a complaint with my licensure board.”
Chase neither frowned nor smiled. “Sounds like you were better off in California.”
“Not really.” A Chinook wind blew a cooling breeze, but Jade felt the heat of descending despair. “Los Angeles is outrageously expensive. I helped my grandfather by working when I went to high school. I worked my way through four years of college for my bachelor’s degree. Grandpa lived long enough to attend my graduation. I worked two more years and sold everything we owned, except for an antique trunk, to help pay for my master’s degree. But other than pieces of paper saying I graduated college and have a license to practice, I left California with no one and nothing to show for twenty-four years of living hand-to-mouth.” She met Chase’s eyes, but his expression gave nothing away of what he was thinking.
“Then here came the Spatafores,” he said.
“When their contracts fell in my lap, I thought I’d caught a break.” Feeling embarrassed for basically telling Chase her life story, she scooted away from him and stood. “I want to go.”
Chase stood and snared her arm. “I’ll be truthful too. Chloe mentioned finding your phone, and I told her you had it turned off to avoid the Spatafores. Chloe says one of the Spatafores is crushing hard on you. My guess is Franco, with all his restrictions.”
“Yes.” She nodded. “If I don’t have clients in the evening, Franco monopolizes my time with modeling talks over dinner. He manipulates my weekends with the photography shoots,” she replied and looked away. “I’m going to skip the fireworks and drive home.”
“Becausehomeis so safe and welcoming?” Chase asked.
“Homeis a prison!”
“Yeah, it is.”
“The only positive about where I live is my neighbors, Bill and Carol.” She added with a tiny smile, “And Bella, their fluffy calico cat. Bella was my first friend in Colorado Springs.”
Chase placed his hands on her shoulders. “Let’s go to my house and eat supper. If you want to skip Cash’s fireworks, he’ll be disappointed that he didn’t get to say goodbye, but he’ll get over it.”
“I don’t want to hurt Cash’s feelings,” Jade remembered Chloe and Rachel were expecting to see her there as well. And what about saying goodbye to Coop, Bob, and Teresa?
“Let’s keep to our plans,” Chase suggested as Jade’s head and shoulders sagged. “When you do go back tonight, I’ll follow you and make sure it’s safe.”
Jade’s head snapped up. “No, you cannot follow me home! Franco and maybe even Mateo could be waiting for me.”
“What will happen to you after being gone for days if I’m not there?”
“Whatever happens isn’t your problem.” Pushing Chase’s hands off her shoulders, she took a step away from him. “I told you about my situation because you asked me to be truthful, not so you could handle anything for me. I’ll handle it, Chase.”
“You don’t have to handle him or them alone.”
Chase’s arms came around her, and the tears that had been stinging her eyes for hours finally slid down her cheeks. He patted her back, and she swiped away more tears. After a moment, he released her, and they mounted the horses. On the way back to Chase’s ranch, they purposely talked of other things. When they reached the stables, Jade dismounted, dreading having to say goodbye to Jubilee.
“Now I know firsthand how uniquely beneficial equestrian therapy is,” Jade said, running her hand along Jubilee’s neck. More to the golden palomino than the gorgeous cowboy who owned her, Jade whispered, “Jubilee is calm and soothing to an anxious soul. She’s trusting and patient, instilling confidence in oneself.” To Chase, she said, “Thank you for introducing me to Jubilee on my twenty-fifth birthday weekend.”
“You made sure she kept her name. Would you like to unsaddle and brush her?”
“Yes, I would. It will be my way of showing her my gratitude,” Jade said. Chase taught her how to unsaddle a horse by demonstrating with Valor and also hands-on as needed with Jubilee. They brushed the horses until Mitch and Thatch entered the stables, offering to make sure the horses were fed and watered. Before leaving, Jade kissed the mare’s face and whispered, “Thank you, Jubilee. I love you.”
Jubilee bent her neck and touched her forehead to Jade’s in much the same way Chase had touched his forehead to Jade’s after she’d caught her foot in Jubilee’s stirrup and fallen.
“How about that?” Chase asked.
