Chapter Sixteen
Damaris met himin the tack room where he was putting up his saddle. Her eyes sparked with anger, her bearing that of a woman on the verge of punching out his lights. Chase knew his sister well enough to stay out of her reach. She’d always had a mean left hook, though she hadn’t slugged him since they were kids. But then, he hadn’t given her the reason or the opportunity.
“Well?” she asked in a tone so cold it could have given him frostbite.
Sighing, he squeezed the bridge of his nose. “I’m going to say this once and then I’m going to talk to Ella.”
“I can’t believe a brother of mine would be such a lowlife, piece of—”
He cut her off before she could add to her scathing denunciation of his character. “It was a setup, Damaris. I guess for her stupid blog. I kicked her out and she laid one on me in the open doorway. She must have arranged for someone to be waiting to take the picture.”
Damaris gazed at him for a good long moment. He turned to go. “Chase.” He turned around. “I believe you but I’m not sure Ella will.”
“Thanks for the news flash.” He assumed Ella was in her office. He knocked on the door, then opened it.
Ella was studying something on her desk but she looked up when she heard him come in.
“I’m back,” he said unnecessarily.
“So I see.” She didn’t say anything else and her face gave away nothing. He reminded himself to never play poker with Ella.
“About that picture—”
“Oh, you mean the one of you kissing another woman that’s plastered all over the internet? That picture?”
Shit. “Yeah. That one. I can explain. It’s not what it looks like.”
“Did you read the blog?” she asked, still in that even tone.
“No. The picture was bad enough.” God knows what Gina had written about the two of them.
“I’m waiting.”
He couldn’t gauge her emotions. She didn’t sound angry, but she wasn’t happy either. He told her the truth. The whole story from the time Gina knocked on his door to the time he’d pushed her out the door only to have her lay one on him. Including the fact that they’d had a brief fling several months before and she’d put that online too. Which was why they’d broken up. Partly anyway. “I swear I didn’t kiss her. She kissed me. I’m sure she just wanted some fodder for her blog.”
Again, she didn’t speak. He added, “I think she set up the whole thing with someone waiting to take the picture. She made sure we were standing in the doorway when she did it.”
She looked him up and down for a minute. “I think you’re right.”
“You do?” Stunned, he stood with his mouth open.
“Yes. After I read the blog—she says you’re a stud, by the way, which is about the only thing she wrote I thought was true.”
“Um, thanks. I think.”
“Anyway, I did some research on her blog and she’s basically a rodeo gossip columnist. She loves the sensational stories. Judging from her recent blogs, you’re not the only one she’s done this to. But you’re the most recent, and probably the most well-known.”
He shoved a hand through his hair. “I should have known something was up. But she surprised me so I let her come in. And regretted it as soon as I did.” Once she’d hit on him, he’d figured that was all she wanted. She’d had another agenda, though. Which he hadn’t been alert enough to realize at the time. “I figured you’d be pissed and ready to tell me to get lost.”
“I was. When I saw it for the first time.” She gestured to the wall, which sported a large hole in the sheetrock. “Stapler. If I’d had a picture of you I’d have thrown it too.”
He smiled ruefully. “I’ll have to get you one for next time.”
“Ha-ha. After I calmed down, I took a good look at that picture. Your body language didn’t say you were into it. In fact, your body language, the fact that you looked like you were pushing her away, pretty much sealed the deal for me. But I’m really glad you didn’t try to hide it.”
“Not much point in that when it’s all over the internet. Or at least, that’s what Damaris said. All I saw was the picture.” He paced across the room. “I haven’t seen her in months other than to say hi at a rodeo. I didn’t even realize she still had that blog going or I might have been more aware.”
“Would you have told me if it hadn’t been out there for everyone to see?”
