Page 4 of Chance

The Stone family gathered the children and said grace. Everyone dug in, and Chance enjoyed the steak and mashed potatoes—good home country food, in his opinion. They all talked about different gold adventures and what they knew. None of this discussion surprised him; they’d had a lot of conference calls on the topic.

After the conversation simmered down, Ava gestured to the hallway. “There is a bathroom down there, and the women want to make you over here. We’ll put some beach clothes on you and change your hair. Is that okay?”

It wasn’t like he had a choice. Chance braced himself for a makeover. He already knew that after he endured it, he would be going for a walk to clear his head. Even if his new name was Rob, he still needed some space for Chance. “Let’s do this.”

Chapter 2

Kelly Hamilton shook hands with the realtor from South Port and took the keys for the little shop on Main Street. There was already a boutique up the street, meaning that technically there was another art store a few doors away, but Kelly meant to bring many kinds of art to South Port; not just ‘boutique’ type of art, but originals that she would design. She’d spent the past ten years learning at the finest of art schools, spending time in Europe, and working at a top gallery. Maybe it sounded arrogant, but she felt she was a talented artist herself. Several of her sculptures and paintings had sold in the past, giving her enough money to make a good living. Even before she’d inherited her grandparents’ money.

Her grandparents. A pang of sadness washed through her. She missed them and if she thought too hard about her grandmother and how the ranch was actually sold … she would tear up and go down a path in her mind to complete sadness. She scrunched her eyes together and clamped down on all of that emotion. No. Today would not be a sad day. This was a new beginning, not a sad ending. She had to focus on the beginning part.

She looked around downtown South Port. It was strange to be drawn to this town, of all towns. If someone were to ask why she’d chosen to settle in South Port, she’d have to tell them about a trip she’d taken here when she was twelve. She still had sentimental feelings about that trip.

Why not start over somewhere she could make a home? Especially if … Her hand touched her stomach. No. She wasn’t. She couldn’t be. She removed her hand and fear spiked through her. She thought of Brian.

Shaking herself, Kelly looked around the front of the shop. Focus. She had to focus. She already had contacts to repaint the place and she would make her own sign for the front. She hadn’t decided on what to name the gallery yet. In fact, because of her inheritance, she wasn’t in too big of a hurry to get everything finished at once.

Her inheritance still brought on feelings of guilt, but she pushed them away. Nothing to do about that. She would take things one step at a time—that’s what she’d do. The painting crew would come tomorrow, giving her the time to go on a little adventure. She’d heard of a gold hunt that had been happening here, one that was actually connected to her hometown. Weird.

Chance’s face came to her mind. If things were different, she would have asked him about it, but … they were way past a conversation.

When she’d gone to her grandmother’s funeral only a year ago, he’d been in a relationship. Of course, she’d been dating Brian, even though he’d begged off coming to the funeral, saying he couldn’t leave his finance firm in Oxford.

She’d been so angry with Brian then, so hurt. Why hadn’t she seen how selfish he was? Why had she put up with him for so long? It was long enough to get her into this horrible situation.

Kelly pushed past the angst. She had to focus back on what to name the place. The name had to have flair, but also something that would signify sophistication and class to attract the right type of customers; tourists who wanted fine art.

She walked the pier, inspecting the other shops. Roxie’s clothes. Lucy’s boutique.

She paused, experiencing the now-familiar feeling that someone was watching her. Glancing back, she surveyed the street. No one seemed out of the ordinary, just a bunch of tourists talking and laughing. Island-type music played low from the speakers on Main Street, creating a pleasing hum. The music had drawn her in a couple days ago when she’d first arrived and the realtor had initially shown her the spot on the pier for lease. The internet searches had been pretty spot on.

She pushed away the ‘watched’ feeling. It was nothing. She was just a tad paranoid right now. No one knew where she was.

Kelly continued to walk, passing Lucy’s boutique. She gave it a once-over, peeking deeper into the windows. She didn’t see any patrons in there, but she didn’t want to go in and discuss her plans with the shop owner. She didn’t know how the owner would feel about another place that sold art moving in.

She let that thought go and focused on the sunshine. She put her face up and reveled in the warmth. After leaving Oxford, this place was a breath of fresh air. She got halfway down the pier and smiled, breathing in the aroma of street tacos. It was almost six p.m., and she was starving. She bought two from the vendor, along with some water, and took the first bite as she made her way toward the end of the pier—a perfect place to sit and watch the sea while she ate.

Her stomach fluttered. She loved thinking of herself as a beach person. Even though she had only rented a small cottage down the beach, it still felt exciting. Quite the contrast to England, for sure.

She dug into the food, reminiscing about her grandma. Tears welled in her eyes, and she had to push away the emotion associated with her grandparents and how much she loved them. She’d enjoyed growing up on Hamilton Ranch, and she missed them. Her grandpa had passed nearly five years ago, but it’d felt like Grandma would never pass. She’d always imagined she’d go back to the ranch to paint or sculpt for a couple years and have time with Grandma.

But that time had been cut short.

Awareness prickled. It felt like she was being watched again. She shivered. Brian didn’t know where she was. He didn’t. No one was watching her.

Kelly scanned the area. Everyone seemed preoccupied with their own vacations. She sucked in a long breath. She’d purposely left her phone in Europe and gotten a new phone plan in the States, and she was off all social media, intending to never return. She and Brian had never shared banking information or anything, but just to be sure, she’d put a large amount of her inheritance into a South Port bank, closed her other bank accounts, and dispersed the rest of the funds to online banks.

She didn’t want Brian to find her. Ever.

Kelly took slow breaths until calm returned. She thought back on the vacation she’d taken with her grandparents when she was twelve. Good memories; she needed them right now. Chance had been her best friend then, who’d turned into her high school sweetheart. The boy she’d thought she would marry. But life was funny sometimes, and if she’d learned anything, it was that most things didn’t work out the way a person hoped.

What would her grandparents think about her settling down here? Would they be disappointed she’d sold the ranch and hadn’t carried on the family legacy?

No. Of course not. They would be happy she was living the life she wanted. She created art and owned a gallery—she was following her dream.

Too bad the guilt still remained. She’d loved that ranch too.

Kelly stood, not wanting to ponder on all that guilt. She needed to create, so she headed for her place on the beach.