“Yeah, well, she loves me in spite of it,” Chase said defensively.
“Yet she’s in D.C. and you’re here. What gives?” His brother raised an eyebrow, his challenge obvious.
“She doesn’t believe I love her. Oh shit, that’s not true.” Chase kicked the wall, grateful afterward he was wearing sneakers and caused no damage. “She believes I love her; she just doesn’t believe I want those things you mentioned.” He paced the floor. “Can’t a man change his mind? Women do it all the time and we’re forced to accept it.”
“Women are their own breed. They can do whatever they want and, like you said, we men accept it. It’s our lot in life.”
“I heard that,” Kendall called from across the room, making Chase realize she and his mother had grown silent, listening to Chase’s problems instead.
“And I love you even when you’re eavesdropping,” Rick called back, then faced Chase once more. “Did Sloane have a reason to believe you changed your mind about marriage?
Women need proof.”
“Would you quit lumping us all into one broad category?” Raina suggested, getting involved for the first time. “Every woman is an individual. I’m certain Sloane needs proof because she doesn’t want to feel she trapped you into marriage.”
Chase slapped his head with one hand. “When did this become a family conversation?”
he muttered. “I have nothing to prove. I love the woman. I want to spend the rest of my damn life with her and she thinks the need will wear off! Have you ever heard anything so ridiculous in your life?”
Raina put down the magazine she’d been thumbing through. “She must have a valid reason.”
He glanced at his mother, annoyed with her attempt to be the voice of reason, and he gritted his teeth. If it weren’t for the fact that dissecting his life took the focus off waiting on Charlotte, he’d walk out on this farce of a conversation now. Hannah, thank God, had gotten engrossed in television and wasn’t paying attention.
“She must have a valid reason,” Chase mimicked. But when he let himself think, he was forced to admit the truth. “She does,” he admitted aloud. “Sloane thinks I’ve got this white-knight complex. That I feel guilty I wasn’t there when she got shot.”
“Do you?” Kendall asked softly.
“Of course I feel guilty. But I wouldn’t saddle myself with a wife or even consider having kids just because I think I failed her.”
“I hope not,” Raina said.
He glanced at his mother, a woman on the verge of getting her first blood-related grandchild and saw a glimmer of hope in his dim future. “If you mean that, put your matchmaking skills to work and help me get Sloane back,” Chase said to Raina, picking up on the idea he’d had the other day.
“I can’t.” Raina glanced down at her hands, obviously unable to meet Chase’s stare.
“Why the hell not?” he asked in shock. “You’ve spent how many years playing matchmaker against our will? And now when I’m asking . . . no, begging you to help me out, you’re saying no?”
She nodded, eyes still lowered. “That’s right. I’ve learned my lesson. I’m getting married and I’m going to have a life of my own.”
From the doorway came the sound of applause. Eric clapped, obviously proud of Raina and her new leaf. “I just wanted to let you know, Charlotte’s doctor said it shouldn’t be much longer.”
Raina glanced at Eric, and her cheeks glowed. Chase’s gaze traveled between Kendall and Rick, and he witnessed the same adoration. Goddamned envy consumed him. Yeah, he was happy for his mother and siblings, but his entire family possessed what he desired.
With Sloane. And he’d struck out.
He turned back to his mother. “Can’t you learn this lesson after you help me?”
“I’m sorry, son, but she’s out of the matchmaking business. And as soon as I get my ring on her finger, where it belongs, I’m going to keep her too busy to meddle. That much I can promise all of you.” With a wave, Eric took off for the delivery room once more, the only person with access other than Roman, who wouldn’t leave his wife’s side.
“Shit,” Chase muttered.
“Would you watch your language?” Kendall asked, placing her hands over her sister’s ears.
Hannah laughed. “Like I don’t hear worse in school?”
“Look, Rick’s got a point,” Kendall told Chase. “I’ve stayed out of this so far, but I’m female and that gives me some wisdom. Add to that, I’ve dealt with a Chandler man who possesses a white-knight complex. I’m more than equipped to give you a few pointers.”
She tucked her hair behind her ears and watched him, waiting for permission.
He let out another groan. “Might as well give it a shot. Everyone else has.”
“That’s gratitude for you,” Rick said.
Kendall ignored him, focusing on Chase. “As much as I hate to admit this, Rick’s right. If you love Sloane, and I believe you do or you wouldn’t be so miserable, you’re going to have to convince her you’ve changed.”
“And how do I do that?” he asked Kendall, needing this advice more than he needed his next breath.
Before she could reply, Eric came in to announce to the family that another Chandler had been born. Lilly Chandler, a healthy five-pound, eight-ounce, eighteen-inch baby girl, had come into the world. And Roman, who’d witnessed battlefields and wars up close and personal, had nearly passed out, needing a paper bag and coaching by Eric to resuscitate him.
While the rest of the family headed for the glass doors of the nursery to wait for their first glimpse of the baby, Kendall pulled Chase aside.
“You gave me advice once. I just want to return the favor.” She smiled at him, accepting him for who and what he was.
“I’d appreciate it.”
She placed a hand on his arm. “Look inside yourself and see what made you the man you were. The man who didn’t want a family. Then figure out why you suddenly do. When you can explain it to yourself, you can pass that wisdom on to Sloane. That’s all she’ll need to believe.” She shrugged as if it were simple.
But why didn’t it feel that way?
Sloane had been in Yorkshire Falls for only a brief time, yet she missed both the town and the people. At home in her Georgetown walk-up, she dressed for her first day back at work with a shirt that let her cater to her bandaged arm, and a determined attitude of renewal.