Page 11 of Chance

“It’s true.” Dang, this woman. Of course it wasn’t true, but he liked getting this reaction out of her and he didn’t care if it meant making himself look silly.

She wasn’t with Brian anymore. And he was single. His father had always gone on and on about having the right timing with a person.

No. No. No. He didn’t want to think that way about this woman.

“Well, I can’t believe we’re standing here having a conversation. I can’t believe you look like this.” She waved a hand at him. “I mean, you’re the cowboy type. Not the beach bum type.”

Her comment set him laughing. “You’re exactly right. In fact, I’m missing my Wranglers and my Stetson and boots about now.”

It was weird how life put you in certain places. In the past two years, he’d seen two of his brothers find their high school sweethearts, and here he was, staring in the face of his own. A chill washed through him. It was almost like maybe his father had orchestrated all of this from beyond the grave.

“What?” she asked.

“Nothing.” He would not tell her what he was thinking.

“No, you were thinking something. I know that look.”

Did it hurt his feelings that she cared what he was thinking? Heck no. But he couldn’t give himself away this quickly. “Did you come to South Port because of that trip we took?” He couldn’t help himself; he had to know. “Because I have to admit that when I was coming this way, it was all I could think about.”

“And you still haven’t told me why you come this way.”

He was silent.

She sighed. “To answer your question, no. I didn’t move my whole life here because of that summer trip, but I would be lying if that trip and this beach area didn’t have an impact on me.”

His heart raced. Maybe he had the same effect on her that she had on him. But he couldn’t push his luck now, so he looked up at the church. “Well, since I’m going in here, and you’re looking for things to do for local art, maybe you want to come into the church with me?”

Was that the dumbest idea he’d ever had? Probably. It felt easy to ask her, and he didn’t want this conversation to be over. At some point, he would have to deal with the fact that he was in South Port under an assumed name and she couldn’t tell anyone who he was. South Port was a small town too.

She hesitated, then looked up at the church, seeming unsure.

“It’s a Catholic Church. Built in the 1700s. It’s clearly been redone a couple times, but I thought it would be an interesting place to look.” He wasn’t ready to tell her about the deep dive into the conquistador gold, about his family and the Stones.

She pulled her phone out and checked it, then looked back up at the church like she was trying to decide.

“I know you mentioned an errand. Can you do it later?”

She let out a long breath, then gave him a slow smile. “Sure. I can do it later. Let’s go in.”

Chapter 8

Kelly couldn’t believe that she was walking into a church with Chance Cross. When she was young and dumb, she’d thought about having a church wedding with this man. So much had happened in her life since then, and she couldn’t help but have her own questions about him. Wasn’t it a coincidence that they had ended up at the same place today?

The church felt cooler than the daylight outside, and it had a musky smell to it. The chapel doors were open, and there was no one around.

“Are you looking for a priest?” she asked. Now she wasn’t so sure she wanted to be here. “Do you need to confess something?”

He paused and cocked an eyebrow at her. “Or maybe you do? You still haven’t really answered my questions. So tell me about your last relationship. You said it didn’t work out. What happened to this … what was his name?”

She rolled her eyes. “You know his name is Brian. We just let bygones be bygones, and we’re done. I wanted to start over in South Port. Open my own gallery. End of story.”

His gaze skimmed the interior of the building. “I believe that’s the truth, just not the whole truth. You’re worried he’s looking for you.”

She didn’t answer.

He winked at her, then moved toward some of the pictures hanging on the wall. “But since I know you’re in South Port, I’ll have time to get to the bottom of that later. Right now, I need to focus on some of these pictures and symbols.”

It caught her off guard and made her nervous to learn that he would be in South Port. It also made her curious. “Tell me what you’re looking for.”

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