Margaret Mayo - Blackmailed Into His Arms

The big, expensive house was decorated for Christmas within an inch of its life. Santas, reindeer, holly boughs, snowflakes, bells, angels, mistletoe … if it had anything to do with Christmas, it was stuffed somewhere in this mausoleum .

He hated this sort of thing. If his mom and dad hadn’t made him come to this stupid party, at this stupid old mansion, he would be home right now, watching TV or doing chores in the barn with his brother .

But from some of the whispered conversations he’d overheard between his parents, things hadn’t been great with their family lately, financially speaking. Victor Sanchez had hired his dad to do some work with his horses and paid him well for his expertise, so when the man invited the Ramseys to his home for a huge holiday celebration, it would have been rude—according to Chase’s mother—not to accept .

But he still didn’t see why he and Mitch had had to come along. If his parents wanted to schmooze and make a good impression, fine, but this was nothing but a waste of time for him .

There were hardly any other teenagers in attendance and those who were looked to be stuck-up snobs. He recognized a few of them from school, all part of the “in” crowd—while he and his brother definitely weren’t .

Not that he was complaining. He liked his life, liked living on a horse and cattle ranch and helping his father out every chance he got. If he had his way, he’d drop out of school altogether and spend his days working with the animals and riding his favorite gelding, Skywalker .

And he’d never have to dress up in a ridiculous suit, with a tie just about strangling him to death. He tugged at his shirt collar, trying again to loosen the darn thing before it cut off his air supply .

There was only one person here he was even kind of interested in being around, and that was Mr. Sanchez’s daughter, Elena. She was a year or two younger than Chase, and he saw her around school once in a while, but they definitely didn’t run in the same crowd .

The Sanchezes were rich .

The Ramseys weren’t .

Elena Sanchez was gorgeous and popular .

Chase didn’t exactly look like he’d been hit in the face with a brick, but girls like her didn’t hang around boys who wore faded jeans, dusty boots and beat-up cowboy hats .

Of course, that didn’t mean boys in faded jeans and Stetsons didn’t enjoy watching pretty girls in their pricey clothes .

And Chase had watched Elena plenty. Not that he’d admit to such a fact, even if his brother put him in a headlock and threatened to dunk him in the disgusting, algae-covered water trough he hadn’t gotten around to cleaning yet .

Chase huffed a nervous, indecisive breath and tapped the heel of his boot a couple more times on the floor. He’d never have the courage to go up to her at school, with so many other kids around, but maybe here he could .

This was a Christmas party. Everyone was in a festive and possibly more receptive mood than usual .

So maybe …

Glancing around, he took a couple tentative steps away from his post against the wall. His mother and father were chatting with another couple on the far side of the room. His brother was dancing with some older, attractive girl, smiling and swinging her around in the center of the area designated for just that purpose. An eight-piece orchestra was playing high-brow music, interspersed with the occasional holiday instrumental .

And over by the punch bowl stood Elena with a few of her friends. They looked familiar, too. He thought their first names were Tisha, Leslie, Stephanie and Candy, but wasn’t sure of their last names. Not that the specifics mattered; they were all part of the country club set .

He took the long way around, skirting the crowd, scuffling his feet when he should have been taking long, confident strides. But his brother was the smooth one with girls. Chase liked them well enough, and most of the time, they liked him back, but they also tended to be the tomboy type and were more friends than girlfriends .

Elena definitely wasn’t the tomboy type, but she would be the first girl he’d asked to dance … if he ever got around to it .

He was at the edge of the buffet table now, only a yard or two away from her. A man walked past, bumping into Chase without apologizing or even acknowledging the slight. Typical of this crowd, Chase thought. If you weren’t one of their own—namely rich and powerful—then you might as well not exist .

Shaking off the thought, he took a deep breath, pulled his hands from his pockets and stepped forward .

It took a moment for Elena to notice him. She was dressed in a pretty red velvet dress with white lace trim. One side of her long black hair was pulled up and pinned in place with a sprig of live holly .

Her friends, however, noticed him right away. The four of them fixed him with cold, snooty stares, as though he’d just tromped in from the cow barn, covered head to toe in manure .

He ignored them, keeping his attention firmly locked on Elena .

“Hey,” he said, sliding his hands back into the front pockets of his dress pants, bunching up the bottom of his matching jacket .

She glanced at him, then at her friends, then back to him. “Hello.”

Her response could have been warmer, but it wasn’t exactly glacial, either. He pressed on .

“Um … are you having fun?”

Another shifted look to her friends. Her expression remained impassive, not terribly interested, but also not as offended as the others in her little clique .

“Yes.”

Dragging his hands from his pockets, he straightened his suit coat and wiped his palms on the sides of his slacks .

“So, do you want to dance?” he asked on a rush, feeling his face heat and resisting the urge to yank at his tie .

Her brows rose and she slanted a sideways glance at her girlfriends, who now had their arms crossed over their chests and were scowling at him. One of them threw her head back and laughed .

Chase almost told her she sounded like one of his father’s mares when she whinnied, but at the moment he was more concerned with Elena’s answer to his question .

Elena gave a snort, crossing her arms and hitching a hip in a perfect replication of her friends’ poses. “I don’t think so,” she told him in a snotty, highfalutin tone .

Her green eyes flitted down to the floor, taking in the pair of cowboy boots he was wearing. They were his best pair, black and polished to a shine, but they were still boots instead of leather dress shoes .

She lifted her head, once again meeting his gaze. “Why don’t you go dance with one of your horses?”

Her friends burst into hoots of laughter, huddling together to share their amusement at his audacity in daring to approach one of their own .

Chase felt as though he’d been doused with a bucket of ice water. His cheeks heated and his stomach lurched sickeningly .

Without another word, he turned and shouldered his way through the crowd, rushing outside into the chilly night air. Even in Texas, the nights could get cold, especially in December .

But he didn’t care; he wasn’t going back inside. He would sit in the car and wait for his parents and brother to decide to leave the party, but no matter how cold or hungry he might get, he wasn’t going back in that big house—or anywhere near Elena Sanchez ever again .