Page 5 of Theirs to Treasure

She cocked her head. Do I know him from somewhere? He seemed so familiar.

“Nobody calls me Zee.” She looked at him again. “How do you know my name?”

“We used to live together with Betty and Butch back in San Clemente. I’m Chance Reynolds, do you remember?”

Josie stared at the big man in front of her with the blue eyes, curly blond hair, and stubborn jaw with a little bit of blond stubble. He smiled back at her, and then he reached out and stroked a wayward lock of unruly black hair behind her ear.

“Little Chance?” Josie couldn’t stop the tears that clogged her voice. That little boy had been one of the best memories of her life. Looking him over, it was definitely possible. The coloring was the same and so were the straight nose and high cheekbones.

“Not so little anymore, huh?” And then he smiled. His eyes lit up and sparkled exactly like she remembered.

“Chance!” She bent down and placed the Tupperware on the ground, gasping a little as she drew herself back up. She opened her arms wide to take him in a hug, but he gripped each of her hands, holding them out from her body, and looked down at her. “Are you hurting, Zee?”

“It’s nothing. I have a bad back and sometimes it acts up. Stop stalling and give me another hug, you big lug.” She laughed up into his face. She couldn’t believe that she was standing next to Chance. She hadn’t even realized how much she’d missed him until she was a second away from holding him close. She pulled at her hands so she could embrace him, but he didn’t let go.

“What do you mean a bad back? How bad? Did I hurt you before?”

She rolled her eyes. “Seriously? Little Chance has turned into a Neanderthal? Just hug me for goodness sake.”

“Answer the questions.”

“A hug will make me feel better, and it will make me more likely to answer your questions.” No way was she going to put up with his sass right out of the gate.

Still looking at him, she saw some of the mischief fade from his eyes, to be replaced by determination and concern.

She saw the moment he was going to agree, before he reared back.

“Don’t think you’re always going to be able to wrap me around your little finger,” he warned.

Then he enveloped her in a gentle hug, and the intense pleasure coursing through her body amazed her. For goodness’ sake, this was Little Chance!

* * *

Reluctantly, he let her go, not wanting to come off too strong. He pulled back and grabbed her hands, unable to stop himself from staring at her.

Chance couldn’t believe how beautiful Josie was in person. And tiny. She was just a little thing. She couldn’t be much more than five feet tall. She wore leggings and boots, and some god-awful sweater that had to be at least three sizes too big for her. But every time she moved, the sweater pressed lovingly against her bountiful curves, showing off everything that Josie apparently tried to hide.

What’s more, when Chance had first caught her around the waist to steady her, he could have sworn he felt a corset underneath the sweater. But when she mentioned a bad back, he recalibrated his thinking to consider a brace. What had happened to his Zee?

“What are you doing here? Do you live with Betty and Butch? Betty didn’t mention you in any of our Skype conversations the last few months.”

Chance saw the wheels turning. He realized that the omission was a big deal. Damn, he wasn’t going to get away with much of anything where she was concerned.

“No, I don’t live with them. I recently moved to Fate Harbor to work on a couple of projects. I mostly telecommute, I just wanted to be close by in case Butch or Betty needed me. I ended up living with them until I was eighteen. They’re parents to me, and I want to be there for them now, like they were always there for me.” Chance watched as her pretty golden-brown eyes softened.

“Oh, that must have happened recently, otherwise Betty would have mentioned it. What kind of telecommuting do you do? Where are they? Did you know I bought the bakery in town?” Chance would have thought she was nervous, but he remembered her rapid-fire speech from when they were children. Whenever Josie was happy or excited, words and sentences just tumbled out. It was when she was quiet that you had to worry.

“They took off on one of their motorhome road trips yesterday. They went to visit Lake Chelan. I know they intended to be back in time for your arrival.” When the Fate Harbor banker had casually mentioned that the new owner of the bakery had arranged for the utilities to be turned on a week early for her arrival, he figured out she was planning a surprise visit. He had talked Betty into taking a quick trip to Lake Chelan in Idaho. He had bribed her with a three-night stay at a fancy resort and promised that Josie would be well taken care of.

Betty’s only question was to ask how Sam was doing. Apparently, nothing got by his foster mother. Chance had told her that Sam’s migraines were down to twice a week, and he was actually seeing all the doctors that he was supposed to be seeing. Satisfied, she took Chance up on his offer and convinced Butch that a vacation was in order.

“Oh…well, I guess I can spend my time getting the shop more in order. I was really hoping to spend this week catching up with them. My time with them—” She stopped short.

“What, Zee? Your time with them was what?” Chance squeezed her hands.

“Well, my time with them was the best part of my childhood,” she admitted reluctantly.

“Even better than your time with your sisters?” he probed.