Page 69 of Spilling the Tea

“Yes, me. When I told my fiancée the doctor’s prognosis, she told me there was no way she could ever marry half a man.”

Another gasp. “She…this Ravena…actually told you that?”

“Yes. That was her reason for breaking our engagement. So now you know why I prefer one-night-stands to long-term relationships.”

He noticed she didn’t respond right away. The silence was so thick, he glanced over at her to see why. She was angry. He could tell from the narrowed look in the eyes staring at him. From the tightness of her lips. The tilt of her chin.

“Could you please pull this truck over to the shoulder of the road for a minute?” Zoey asked. “I have something I want to say and need your complete attention.”

He pulled to the side, turned off the ignition, and turned in his seat to look at her. She was staring at him in a way he’d never seen before. He could feel her anger even more now.

“Let me get this straight. Your girlfriend, your fiancée, the woman you loved, broke off your engagement because she thought you might never walk again.”

“That’s right.”

“And you’re a loner who’s not into serious relationships because of her?” Before he could respond one way or the other, she continued, her voice raised. “Did it ever occur to you during those five years that you were better off without her? Thatshe didn’t deserve you? That she never knew the true meaning of love? You must have loved her a lot to allow her to do that to you.”

He’d heard it from various family members before, of course. However, for some reason, it sounded harsher coming from her. “Of course I loved her a lot. I would not have asked her to be my wife if I hadn’t.” He rubbed a frustrated hand down his face. “Has a man ever broken your heart, Zoey?”

“No.”

“Then you have no right to judge or tell me how to handle a destruction to mine. The pain of losing my ability to walk and the woman I loved was too much. I began wallowing in self-pity and pushed everyone away. Including my family.”

He paused, remembering that time. “Mama Laverne gave me hell for feeling sorry for myself and convinced me the doctor’s prognosis wasn’t final. She actually made me believe that I could walk again.”

“And you did.”

“Yes, I did. It was hard. Some days were tormenting as hell. Even when I heard Ravena had moved away and married someone less than a year later, I refused to give up. Mama Laverne wouldn’t let me. She ended up moving in with me. Can you imagine having both her and a physical therapist from hell to deal with? I was back in the saddle riding my horse in less than two years.”

“You might have won the fight to walk again, Chance, but you lost the battle to get on with your life. You lost the ability to love again.”

He frowned. “I did get on with my life. I bought the spread and made it into a working ranch. Teakwood Ridge became my life. And as far I’m concerned, love is something I can do without.”

“And because of a woman named Ravena. She really dida number on you, and one day, I hope you realize she wasn’t worth it.”

She paused for a minute and then asked, “Why would anything about Ravena have had me upset this morning?”

He would be frank with her. “Ravena, recently divorced from her husband, returned to town a couple of months ago. She was at Vance’s Tavern last night. She thinks I’m carrying a torch for her since I haven’t been involved with anyone since our breakup.”

“I’d probably assume that same thing, Chance. Are you still in love with her after all she did?”

“No. Ravena means nothing to me. However, some members of my family assume I was all into you last night as a show to make Ravena jealous.”

She stared at him. “Was it a show to make her jealous, Chance?”

“No. I was all into you because I’m attracted to you. I told you the main reason for coming there last night. I’ve been honest and up-front with you about everything, Zoey.”

She nodded. “Thanks for sharing that part of your complicated life with me, Chance.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chance had been right, Zoey thought. His land was beautiful. After exploring the south end previously, he took her riding on the north and west ends, and now they were headed toward the east as well. The property was vast, and she tried more than once to push it to the back of her mind that her ancestors, the Satterfields, had once owned all of it. This land should have been her legacy. Now Chance was making it his.

“You’re okay?”

She looked over at him. “Yes. I’m okay.” There was no way she would tell him what she’d been thinking.

They had brought their horses to a stop at the top of a valley as their gazes roamed the richness of the plains before them. He had been right about the landscape photo shots. She had taken plenty. She had captured the beauty of the plush greenery, grasslands, and valleys stretching for miles under a captivating Texas sky. Chance had been patient and hadn’t rushed her, and she appreciated that.

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