Free Angel Baby by Leslie Kelly

Claudia said weakly, “I guess you could say
that.”
     
    Chase recognized Claudia’s beautiful hair as soon as he
pulled into the driveway of his grandmother’s house. “What on earth is she
doing here?” he muttered aloud as he parked the truck. He’d been planning to do
a great deal of physical labor today, figuring with a hammer and a few ten
pound nails he’d be able to get the attractive widow out of his head. And here
she was, in the flesh. A great deal of flesh, he conceded, noting she again
wore a pair of shorts that were probably considered modest, but with those
long, sexy legs, looked almost wicked instead.  
    Chase saw his grandmother gesture wildly to get his
attention. Squaring his shoulders, he began to walk across the lawn toward the
two women, wondering, with every step, what his irrepressible grandmother was
cooking up this time.
    “Hello, Dorien. Claudia,” Chase said warily when he reached
them.
    His grandmother held her arms up imperiously, so he bent to
give her a quick hug and a kiss on her lightly powdered cheek. Then he
straightened glancing toward Claudia. She wouldn’t meet his eyes.
    “What’s going on?” he asked.
    “Why, Claudia’s moving in, of course.”
    Chase felt his heart begin hammering in his chest, but
maintained a completely relaxed expression as he asked, “Moving in?”
    “Into the cottage. It’s working out just beautifully. I’ve
wanted to rent it out for the longest time, but I had to find the perfect
tenant. And I have.”
    “Perfect,” Chase conceded as Claudia finally stopped staring
down and lifted her head to stare back at him. 
    “I had no idea,” Claudia said. “I mean, I didn’t
realize....”
    The widow was going to be his next door neighbor. The
thought elicited a mix of feelings in him. He recognized them as initial
excitement segued into anticipation, then concern and finally acceptance. Maybe
it was meant to be. Maybe fate kept thrusting Claudia Warren in his path for
some divine purpose, as on that October day last year when he’d found her in
that graveyard. Or  maybe, he conceded, his grandmother was a meddlesome old
matchmaker.
    That was probably more likely.
    “I’m sure you didn’t,” Chase said, taking pity on her. It
was obvious by her high color and the way Claudia kicked at the gravel with the
toe of her sneaker that she’d had no idea that Dorien was his grandmother, or
that he lived next door.
    “If I know my grandmother, that’s exactly how she planned
it,” he said dryly, casting an accusing glance toward Dorien.
    She widened her eyes innocently, raising a fluttering hand
to her heart. He’d seen the gesture too many times to believe it wasn’t
completely calculated to soften him up by reminding him of her age and
frailty. 
    “Why, Chase, how could you possibly think...”
    “Save it, Dorien. You've found a reliable tenant. From my
few encounters with Mrs. Warren, I’ve discovered she has an incredible amount
of pride, and is extremely honest, if a little lacking in common sense.”
    Claudia, who had begun to smile under his initial
compliments, gasped at his last statement and said heatedly, “No common sense?”
    “Well, would you call it really sensible to drive out in the
middle of nowhere, alone, without even realizing you were in labor?”
    Claudia didn’t respond. She had to know she’d taken a
terrible risk that day. He’d often wondered what would have happened if he
hadn’t come along, and suspected she did, too.
    “You leave her alone, young man. There will be no bullying
of my new tenant,” Dorien said as she shook her finger in Chase’s face.
    “Who’s bullying?” a voice asked, and Chase glanced over to
see Ryan strolling toward them from the cottage. “Oh, it’s you, boss. Now I
know who’s bullying.”
    Dorien and Claudia laughed out loud as Chase frowned. “She still
has you carrying her luggage around?” Chase asked Ryan.
    “This is my first time,” the younger man responded.