Chance Encounter

ALLY WALKED DOWN the hall toward Lucy’s hospital room, butterflies attacking her stomach. Thankfully Chance had stayed in the waiting room. She couldn’t concentrate on visiting with Lucy if he was in the room distracting her, and distract her he most definitely would. Even if he hadn’t been so tall, dark and earth-stoppingly gorgeous, his take-me-as-I-am persona would have attracted her.

Attracted her. Dangerous stuff, made more so by the way just one look from him had her every nerve dancing. Had she learned nothing from her last relationship? Had she forgotten already? Pretty, dangerous men equaled heartache!

Her sandals echoed smartly on the white tile. The stark walls seemed to glare at her, trying to suck away her shaky, burgeoning confidence, so she simply walked faster, refusing to give in.

“Well, get on in here!” Lucy said when Ally stopped at her door. “Let me get a look at you.” She was smiling, with long, wild auburn hair streaked with gray, sweet sparkling green eyes and the most impish smile Ally’d ever seen.

“This can’t be the right room,” Ally said, amazed. “I was expecting suffering. No one looking as good as you could be suffering.”

“Oh, I’m suffering!” Lucy assured her. “I can’t even walk. Check this out.”

Ally moved closer and saw Lucy did indeed have some sort of traction in place for her hip. “Ouch.”

“You look like hell, did you know that?” Lucy opened her arms for a hug, which Ally gave her along with a wry laugh.

“Thanks ever so much.”

Lucy just smiled serenely, and settled more comfortably. She poured both herself and Ally a cup of water from a pitcher by her bed. “Don’t worry,” she said, handing Ally a cup. “Wyoming will take care of you. I’m so glad you’ve come. You’ve met Chance? Isn’t he sweet?”

Ally, who’d just taken a sip of water, nearly choked. “Sweet?” They couldn’t be talking about the same man.

Lucy smiled and nodded. “I know. He’s sweet and much, much more. Isn’t he wonderful?”

Wonderful looking, maybe. But big, bad Chance was the last thing Ally wanted to discuss. “You still haven’t said how you’re feeling,” she said, looking for a distraction here. “Are you in a lot of pain?”

“Ah,” Lucy nodded sagely. “The old subject change. Nice one.” Some of her joy seemed to fade. “So you hated him.”

“No, of course not. I didn’t…hate him.”

Lucy sank back a bit into her pillows, dipping her chin down just enough so that she didn’t quite meet Ally’s gaze. “Because I’d feel so badly if you were forced to work with someone you didn’t like.”

Like? No. Lust? Oh yeah. Bad combo. But for her new lease on life, she could work with him, could learn everything she needed to know from him, even if just looking at him in jeans and a T-shirt had set her hormones raging. “It’ll be fine,” she insisted. “We’ll be fine.”

“Really? Oh, honey, I’m so glad. It makes it so much easier for me since…well, considering my condition.”

That sounded ominous. “Is something wrong with the way you’re healing?”

“Oh, nothing a little time won’t fix.” Lucy played with the edge of her sheet, her bottom lip caught between her teeth. “I’m just so worried about the resort. The fire ruined everything, you know. Getting our summer season started is going to be a challenge. You’ll stay, won’t you, Ally?”

She grasped Lucy’s cool, calloused hand. “Of course.” She had a month before she had to get back to San Francisco to clear out her apartment. A month to figure out what she wanted to be when she grew up. “But quite frankly, Chance seems more than capable-”

“Oh, he’s capable all right.” Lucy laughed. “And with his good looks and easy smiles, he can convince any of the staff to do just about anything. But family is family.”

Ally thought about Chance’s smile and knew Lucy was right. She’d been at the receiving end of that smile. It’d said, I know you’re out of your league. It said, I dare you to do this. It said, I can kiss you blind and make you like it.

And her silly knees had weakened.

“If you need anything, anything at all,” Lucy said. “Go to him.”

If she needed anything, it was to really live for once. And though he both fascinated and terrified her, she thought maybe Chance could help. All she had to do was convince him of that.

“There’s nothing he can’t do once he sets his mind to it,” Lucy said.

Yes, Chance was a man ready for anything, and if “anything” didn’t come to him, he’d go looking for it. In that, really, he was the perfect one to help her out. “I’ll be fine. You just get better.”

“I’ll do that.” Lucy’s eyes closed and she sighed deeply. “You don’t mind if I take a nap now, do you, dear?”

“No, not at all.” But Ally’s stomach tightened, because if this visit was over it meant only one thing-she’d have to go out there and face Chance, the rebel with a cause who just happened to set her on fire. Not that she wasn’t ready for this. She was. She just needed a few moments, that’s all. “You rest. I’ll wait here in this chair-”

“Oh no!” Lucy straightened, her light green eyes popping wide open again. “You mustn’t wait. You just go on to the resort. And I don’t want you to visit me often, it’s too far. Come only when you can get away.”

Ally hovered. “Are you certain?”

“Very.” Again, Lucy laid back and closed her eyes. “I trust you as much as I need you. And Ally?”

“Yes?” Eagerly, she turned back, thinking there would be some miraculous reprieve.

“Give Chance a hug for me, would you?”

LUCY HAD THE GOOD sense to wait until the door shut completely behind Ally before bursting into laughter.

When the nurse came in a few minutes later, she was still grinning like a Cheshire cat.

“What’s so funny?” the nurse asked, smiling a bit, because as Lucy knew, they all loved her.

She sighed dreamily. “Everything is just so perfect.”

“You’re in traction for the foreseeable future and everything’s perfect?”

“I’m not going to die, am I?”

The nurse let out a startled laugh. “No, of course not. You’re going to be fine.”

Lucy stared at the closed door through which Ally had reluctantly disappeared. A knowing smile curved her lips. “Then, as I said, everything is perfect, just perfect.”

CHANCE DROVE AS HE appeared to do everything else, with relish. His big hands mastered the wheel, his long, long legs flexed with muscle whenever he shifted. His intense gaze took in the sights as well as the road.

Ally was dying to approach him with her idea that he be the one to help her succeed at her little dream of being a wild adventuress. But though she felt him looking at her occasionally, he was silent.

Maybe half an hour into the drive, his cell phone rang. It was on the dash in front of her, and his wrist brushed her thigh when he reached for it. Her entire body tightened, but he didn’t even look at her. He was looking at the caller ID with a frown.

“What’s the matter?” she asked in an annoyingly breathless voice. Get a grip, she told herself.

“It’s Lucy.” He didn’t even look at Ally, just brought the phone to his ear. “Couldn’t even wait until we got there, huh?” he said into the receiver. “Curiosity was killing you, I suppose.” His frown deepened. “I said I would, didn’t I?… Yes, you mentioned that about her already. Three times, thanks. I get it. She’s inexperienced and needs help.” He looked at Ally, who wished with all her might she could disappear into a large hole.

“Look, it’s done.” He shoved a hand through his hair, which caused it to stick straight up. Instead of looking ridiculous, he looked…frustrated. Brooding. Hot. “I said I’d do it, I’d take care of her.”

Looking away, Ally swallowed hard.

And listened unabashedly.

“Yeah, yeah, miss you, too,” he said. “Now hang up, would you? And lose my phone number.”

Ally whirled back, prepared to blister him about treating Lucy that way, when she saw that his mouth had curved in a fond smile.