“He left town now? At the height of the campaign and excitement?” Sloane asked, attempting to sound surprised.
“Family emergency. Those things can’t be helped, you know.” Madeline sighed. A long pause followed and then she took a sudden gasp. “You don’t think they’re looking for Samson to ensure his silence?”
“No! I mean, of course not. I just think Samson’s an old eccentric who disappeared. In the meantime, if Robert says he has a family emergency, I’m sure he does.” Sloane was also sure he’d keep himself hidden if in fact he was in Yorkshire Falls.
“Okay,” Madeline said, not sounding in the least bit pacified. “At least I know you have someone looking out for you.”
“Which brings me to my next point. How could you ask Chase Chandler to be my bodyguard?” she asked, calling her stepmother on her overprotective tendencies.
“I’ll do whatever I have to do to keep my family safe. Chase is a good man, Sloane.”
“Tell me something I don’t know.”
“Are you two getting along?” Madeline asked with a definite hopeful tone in her voice.
She has a lot in common with Raina Chandler, Sloane thought. “He grows on you,” she said, deliberately evasive.
Madeline laughed. “Well, that’s a start. Will you call if you need me?”
“I will,” Sloane promised. She hung up the phone and stared at it, her own thoughts coming back to Chase’s withdrawal.
Damn the man and his mixed signals. Yes, he’d pushed her away, but she’d also seen his eyes darken with need; she’d heard him groan while he was deep inside her. No man could fake that depth of feeling. Not to mention the fact that he’d broken up with Cindy. The hell with not reading too much into things, Sloane thought, rising from the bed. Despite the pounding headache from last night, her mind began to clear. She had a father to find and a life to reclaim. And perhaps Chase Chandler would be a part of it.
Chase knocked once and eased open the door to his mother’s hospital room. This time she’d been admitted overnight instead of being sent home from the emergency room.
Guilt gnawed at his insides, and an overwhelming sense of his own betrayal flooded his system. He’d been concerned with reconciling Sloane’s family instead of paying attention to the things that connected him to his.
“Mom?” Chase called out quietly in case Raina was sleeping.
“Come on in,” Rick said from a chair in the corner of the large room.
Chase stepped inside, taking in his surroundings. The walls had muted pastel wallpaper covering them and a television hung from the ceiling. On mute, the picture flickered from the screen. And Raina sat up in the only bed in the large room. Eric had probably arranged for private accommodations, making certain their mother had excellent care.
Her eyes fluttered open at the same time Chase eased himself onto the edge of the mattress. He lifted her aged hand in his. “How are you?”
“Much better,” Raina said, pushing herself up higher against the pillows. “I really can’t believe this,” she murmured, her eyes twinkling with a combination of regret and concern.
“Believe what?” Rick asked, butting in as he always did. “That Chase finally has a social life?” He looked Chase’s way and winked, his attempt to lighten the mood around them obvious.
Raina laughed. “Leave your brother alone. He’s allowed to have sex without you adding your two cents about it.” She folded her arms over her chest, her expression and tone forbidding Rick to mention the subject again.
As if Raina’s chiding had ever stopped Rick.
And she was discussing his sex life. A heated flush rushed to his face.
“Well, I think it’s about time. Don’t you?” Rick unfolded his body from the chair and stretched, asking his question on cue.
Chase groaned. “I’d rather talk about how Mom is doing.”
“Not about what you were doing after you got Sloane home?” Rick joked.
But not even his middle brother’s ribbing could ease Chase’s guilt.
“Mom’s going to be fine,” Rick said at last, obviously reading the anxiety on Chase’s face.
Raina agreed with a squeeze of her hand. “I am. But, Chase, this . . . incident isn’t connected to the last one.” She blushed red and her discomfort was so obvious he couldn’t bring himself to express his anger at her charade.
“I know, Mom. And let’s leave it in the past, okay? What’s important now is your health and making sure you don’t have a real relapse this time.” He leaned closer, elbows on the blanket, his hand never leaving hers.
Raina blinked. “What do you mean you know ?” Her gaze darted from Chase to Rick. “He knows?” she asked her middle son.
Rick nodded.
“I would have confronted you about it after D.C., but Sloane showed up and things have gotten out of control,” Chase said. “But no longer. I have my priorities back in order.” He met Rick’s gaze. “What’s the diagnosis?” he asked, wanting to know the worst so he could take control.
“Angina. Apparently, there isn’t enough blood flow to the heart, and when she overdoes it, she experiences pain as a result.”
Chase nodded, a feeling of déjà vu overcoming him as he heard this heart problem explained to him, just as Raina had once explained her last “episode.” He realized now just how much information had been missing, how many clues Raina had left that she’d been faking. Clues none of her sons had picked up on because they cared only about making her better.
“Chase, we really do need to talk about what I did to your brothers, and to you.” Raina blinked and a tear dripped down her face. “I was so wrong.”
His heart squeezed tighter at her admission. “We have plenty of time to talk, I promise.
Right now I want you to save your energy so you get your strength back.” He brushed a kiss over her cheek and rose to his feet. “I’d like to find Eric and get a full explanation of where we go from here.”
“He’ll be back in a few minutes. I told him I’d gotten hold of you and he said he’d discuss the future with all three of us.” Rick lifted his hand and looked at his wristwatch.
“Roman and Charlotte will be in by tonight and Eric said we can all talk again then.”
“I’m being released this afternoon,” Raina added.
“Good.” If they were letting her go home, things couldn’t be that dire, Chase thought.