Chase kicked the door shut behind him.
“I thought cowboys didn’t say goodbye,” Jade said as he locked the door.
Smiling down at the beautiful blonde in the white dress, he said, “They don’t to the girl they want to marry.”
Jade stared at him. Her mouth opened, closed, and she bit her full lower lip. Chase mentally kicked himself. That wasn’t a traditional proposal. Hell. They’d just gotten her past the trauma of being hypnotized to believe he had raped her. Jade’s green eyes glittered with tears. He shouldn’t have sprung his intention on her just because he’d been thinking about it.
“Oh,” Jade whispered.
“How ‘bout I put my money where my mouth is and come up with a ring?”
“I don’t need a ring, and you don’t have to marry me.” She hugged herself to him. “I’ll never leave you as long as you love me, Chase.”
“Aww, Jade, I do,” Chase sighed, holding her to him. How ironic, the one he loved and wanted to marry made no demands on him. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you. To hell with getting this white dress dirty.” He grinned and scooped her up. “I see a new one in your future.”
Jade giggled. “I love you so much.”
Her arms vined his neck as she kissed him. Carrying her, he didn’t set her feet on the floor until they were in the master bathroom. There, they stripped and showered. It was dark by the time they ate her Crock-Pot dinner of roast beef, carrots, and potatoes while watching a movie in the theater room. They were back in the bedroom when Jade mentioned having had a visitor.
Chase pulled off his tee shirt and sat down on the bed. “Katy was here at the ranch?”
“Yes, she brought my books and things with her,” Jade said and disappeared into her walk-in closet. “But she won’t tell anyone at the office.”
“She won’t have to. Guarantee you Franco put a tracker on her car.”
Clad only in a snug, white tummy shirt and white bikini panties, Jade reappeared in the closet doorway and stood stunned. “Oh, no.” She clasped her hands in prayer fashion, placing her index fingertips to her lips. “Chase, neither one of us thought of that. I should tell her.”
Chase glanced from the hourglass figure frozen in the closet doorway to the clock on his nightstand. “Almost midnight. Too late to call her?”
“I’m sure she’s asleep. I could text her. She’ll see it first thing in the morning.”
“Yeah, do that,” he said as Jade remained like a statue. “C’mere.” She walked to him and came to a stop between his knees. Placing his hands on her bare waist, he stroked her soft skin with his thumbs. “Didn’t you say she’s quitting anyway?”
“Yes. Tomorrow, after making sure her paycheck is deposited into her account.”
“Franco got a hold of you at that office,” Chase grumbled. “Suggest she play it safe and check her bank account from home.”
Jade thought that could work because Katy had already moved her possessions out of the office. She picked up her cell from his nightstand and sat down on his lap to text. When she was done, Chase patted her hip, swiveled, and let her crawl into bed. He stretched out next to her, still wearing his jeans, with his boots at the bedside.
“You’re worried?” she asked as he pulled her close.
“I’m prepared. The tracker has told Franco Katy was here. He’ll figure she brought your books, and that’ll rile him up. We’ve ignored the fact he has your trunk and photo, and it’s driving him crazy.”
“Crazier,” Jade whispered.
“He’ll strike back.”
Laying her head on his shoulder and her dainty hand on his chest, she slipped her slender right leg between his. He switched off the light, placed his hand over hers, and all was silent. Katy did not text back, so Jade was probably right about her being asleep. When he heard Jade’s even breathing, it soothed him. He closed his eyes and didn’t move until he heard a warning alarm being set off on the property. He glanced at the clock on the nightstand. Two-thirty. Easing away from Jade, he sat up on the side of the bed and saw the alarm was triggered in the garage. He was already tugging on his boots when his phone rang.
“What’s going on?” Chase asked the caller.
“Who is it?” Jade wanted to know as she sat up beside him.
“Bob,” Chase replied as he stood and shoved the Blackhawk revolver into the back of his belt. “I’ll be right there.”
“Chase, what’s wrong?” Jade asked as he grabbed a long-sleeved shirt off of a chair and put it on as he headed across the bedroom.
“I’ve been rotating ranch hands in and out of the garage, stables, and barn,” Chase said, “Reno and Faro just caught Ragsdale searching your car for the tracker I took off it.”
