Chasing the Renegade

by Bonnie R. Paulson

  The concourse was almost empty as she rolled her luggage down the very slightly sloping, tightly piled carpet. A collection of stewardesses and pilots had gathered by a door, talking over some paperwork, but for the most part the rows of empty seats and closed doors gave the feeling of desertion.

  At least it was quiet. She relished quiet, much to her surprise.

  She’d switched to her cowboy boots before leaving the hotel and as she walked down the linoleum covered ramp down to the main part of the airport, she was grateful for the comfort of the boots. Each step took her further from Seattle and closer to her plans to go home and figure out a new plan.

  Walking down the stairs, she took in the scene as she slowly lowered herself to the next level. The luggage carousel had two people standing beside it, each with a phone in their hands as they waited for the slowly revolving panels to deliver something from the planes.

  Treya didn’t need the luggage area. She turned from the stairs when she reached the bottom and stopped.

  Standing at the doors directly across from the steps, Jasper waited with a leg drawn up and a foot resting on the wall behind him. He tapped his black Stetson against his thigh as he watched Treya. His green eyes didn’t waver from her as she met his gaze.

  Everything else seemed to fade. Bailey was easily six hours from the airport. He’d come all that way… for what?

  She slowly moved toward him, licking her lips as she visually drank in his appearance. It wasn’t fair for a man to be that good looking. In fact, it was quite rude. She studied him, her chest rising and falling with each breath.

  After stopping a few feet in front of him, she swallowed, her emotions trying to overpower her. “What are you doing here, Jasper?”

  The tapping of his hat against his thigh stopped. He dropped his foot to the ground while he stared at her. The silence stretched between them for ten seconds, fifteen, twenty, and then he very simply stated, “I came to take you back home.”

  Tears stung the sides of Treya’s eyes. She didn’t bother wiping them away. Stretched taut, her emotions were under attack and she didn’t feel like wiping her eyes all night. Sniffing, she folded her arms and wrinkled her nose. “You didn’t have to do that.”

  “Didn’t I?” He pushed off the wall, replacing his hat as he closed the distance between them in less than the time it took to take a breath. He reached up, cradling her face in his broad hands. His husky voice filled her senses. “Didn’t I need to come here and tell you how sorry I am? How much I’ve missed you?” He searched her face, his eyes roving every inch as if he were afraid she was a figment of his imagination. “I need you to forgive me because I’m not sure I can forgive myself.”

  The tears didn’t let up as the emotional turmoil of the last few days crowded in on Treya’s heart. She’d just wanted to follow her dreams and yet, there she was – a failure. She’d failed at her dreams and she’d failed at following her heart.

  Jasper reached up with his thumbs and wiped her tears away. “Sh. Don’t cry, Treya. I’m not here to hurt you. I can go.” He dropped his hands, regret shadowing his eyes like shadows on water.

  Treya reached out, gripping his hands in hers. She shook her head. “No. I… I’m crying because I failed. I can’t do anything right. You… Bailey… and even Seattle. None of it works out for me. You’re here and… I just want you, but I’m not sure what you want. I’m not sure what will make you happy. I’ll go wherever you are, but I’m not even sure that’s what you want.” She searched the angles of his face as if she were trying to memorize the lines.

  Jasper shook his head. Was that a no, he couldn’t have her in his life? Was that what he was saying? Even more distress added to her tears and she tried to take a breath. What would she do, if he said no?

  Why was he there, if not to forgive her and move on?

  Chapter 19

  Jasper

  While there weren’t many people in the airport that late at night, the ones who were there recognized a scene when they saw one.

  Jasper ignored the people gathering around him and Treya in a loose circle. He really only had eyes for the disheveled blonde standing in front of him. She crossed her body with one arm while holding onto her small carryon with the other hand. She habitually reached up and smoothed her hair while shooting a nervous glance around them.

  If she wasn’t going to forgive him, he could understand that. He’d lied and he felt awful about it, but in all honesty, she hadn’t been completely truthful with him from the start either. And he didn’t care.

  He shuffled his feet closer to her, lowering his voice with the addition of the audience around them. “You’re saying no, but you’re also saying you want me? I don’t understand. It might be too late at night, but darlin’, I need you to spell it out for me.” Why was she back from Seattle? To finish packing up her things?

  If he had to, Jasper would consider following her. He would take her anywhere she wanted to go just so long as she didn’t leave him behind. He couldn’t be away from her anymore. The last few days had been hard enough as it was without her.

  Considering even longer was a very real possibility, Jasper didn’t know how much harder he could hope and pray she’d forgive him. He reached out, wrapping his fingers gently around her biceps, only then realizing she was shaking. “Treya, what’s wrong? Are you mad at me?”

  She shook her head, reaching up to wipe at tears suddenly tracking down her cheeks. “No. I just… I don’t know what to do.” She ended on a whisper and lifted tear-brightened eyes to his face. “What do I do?”

  Jasper sucked his breath in sharply through his teeth. She was asking him, like she genuinely cared what he thought. He couldn’t help the half-grin as he replied. “You say you forgive me and we ride off into the sunset.”

  “But what about my dreams?” She sighed, her cheeks pale as if she had to choose between Jasper and her dreams.

  He shook his head, reaching up to brush her hair back from her face. “No, Treya, never. You never have to give up your dreams. Do you like Seattle? We can move there. Let’s move there.” He didn’t care about the things he wanted. Everything paled compared to the way he felt about Treya. If he had to move so he could keep her, then so be it.

  Treya finally smiled, albeit a sad one. “That’s just it. I thought I wanted to move to a big city and get lost in the bustle of crowds, but I couldn’t stand it. There were so many people and it was so loud.”

  The crowd around them chuckled and Treya glanced at a few self-consciously. Jasper caught her gaze and leaned forward, whispering. “We’ve spent the last few weeks hiding. Let’s not hide anymore.” He arched his eyebrow at her in a challenge.

  Without waiting for permission, Jasper stepped closer to Treya, wrapping his arms around her back and bending her to the side for a waltz-style dip. He lowered his lips to meet hers, the initial heat reaching down to his toes.

  Cheering, the crowd watched for a minute and then they slowly went about their business, certain they’d witnessed the best part.

  After parting, Jasper didn’t lift Treya back up. He held her where she was and didn’t straighten himself. “I like having you in my arms. Do you want to move to Seattle or somewhere else? I’ll go anywhere you want.”

  She blinked slowly at him, her sadness fading as a smile lit up her face. “Jasper, I just want to go home. That’s where my new dream is. You. Bailey. Peace.” She lifted her head, kissing him quickly on the lips.

  Standing them both up, Jasper studied Treya, furrowing his brow. “Wait, I don’t want you to give up everything for me. That isn’t how this works. I love you. I want… no, I need you to be happy, Treya. Giving up your dreams for me will only make you bitter and have you end up leaving me like all the other Bailey women who have left. I can’t… I won’t survive that.”

  Treya placed her hands on the sides of his face and stared into his eyes, the blue of her eyes hypnotic as she murmured, “I’m not going anywhere. I didn’t give up my dreams for yo
u. I figured out they aren’t my dreams all on my own. You… You being here is better than anything I could have hoped for.”

  She hadn’t said she loved him back. She hadn’t even batted an eye when he’d slipped that into his confession. What if she… no, he couldn’t worry about it. He’d take what he could.

  “And just so you know, I love you, too.” Her smile made his heart flip and he took a deep breath.

  “That’s good. You had me worried there for a minute.” He ducked his head, pressing his forehead to hers. Their breath mingled, hers salty with tears and his minty from nervous gum chewing. “I don’t think I want to let you out of my sight for quite a while. Want to ride home with me tonight?” He didn’t want to chance a hotel room with her. As far as he was concerned, their first night together was going to be their wedding night.

  She reached down and took his hand in hers. “Let’s go. I’d love to ride off into the moonlight with you, cowboy.” She winked at Jasper as he laughed at her teasing.

  “Okay, that works for me.” He claimed the handle of her luggage and pulled it from her grasp. “I’ll take that. Let’s get out of this state. We need to get some stuff to eat and get back to Clearwater. Oh, one more thing.” He stopped her and waited for her to face him, her eyes full of questions. “I just wanted to say one more time that I love you. I’ve been waiting to say that to you my whole life.”

  Instead of replying, Treya leaned up and kissed him again, this time slow and full of promises. “Come on, Jasper. Let’s go start our own dreams.”

  Jasper couldn’t wait to tell Titus he wasn’t the only Bailey finding love.

  Epilogue

  Treya

  “I’m coming!” Treya called in the direction of her apartment door. She finished clipping the barrette at her crown for a half-up-do, checking to make sure she hadn’t made too big a mess with her hair. She’d just gotten home from work for the day and she didn’t have to go back until Monday.

  Jasper had a surprise for her. It had only been a few days since he’d brought her back but Treya was happily back in her routine. This time, though, she didn’t want to date in secret. She hoped he was taking her out to his brother’s place to introduce her to the family. If he did that, then they really didn’t have to hide anymore.

  She just wanted to introduce him to her mom. All of the other Smythes didn’t matter to Treya like they probably should. She didn’t want to indulge the negative comments she would certainly get back. One way or the other she’d be better off just spending time with Jasper.

  Grabbing her purse, she opened the door and leaned up, kissing him full on the mouth. When she pulled back, she giggled at his surprised expression. “Hi! Where are we going?”

  Composing himself, he shook his head and closed the door behind her as they walked toward the stairs. “I told you, it’s a surprise.” A glimmer of anticipation brightened his green eyes and Treya scrunched her nose.

  “That’s not fair, you know. We’re supposed to be partners or at least want to be. You’re supposed to tell me everything.” She batted her eyes at him with as much coyness as she could, but stopped when she couldn’t hold in her laughter.

  “If I tell you everything, there won’t be any surprises.” He winked at her, holding the door to his new truck while she climbed in. He shut the door and rounded the front, joining her in the cab in moments. “Okay, here we go. No talking. You’ll just ask me a million questions.”

  Treya opened her mouth to speak and Jasper held his finger to her lips. He shook his head. “Nope. We’ll be there in a bit.” By a bit, he meant twenty minutes. Every time Treya went to speak, he shushed her until it became a game just to have him touch her.

  They pulled into a long drive which led up to a craftsman style home with two levels. The brown and cream exterior had a rock fascia that added depth to the style of the home. Large windows spanned the lower level and a huge rock chimney jutted into the sky, as if challenging the trees crowding around the clearing holding the home.

  A wraparound porch boasted a swing and a box of wood. Lights on the porch gave off an orange glow, enhancing the warmth of the scene.

  Treya faced Jasper as he parked the truck. “Can I…” He held up a finger and paused.

  Then after a moment of complete silence as he shut off the truck, he faced her and said with a straight face, “Okay, now you can talk.”

  Laughing again, Treya rolled her eyes. “Where are we? Whose house is this?” She studied the place, taking in the well-maintained yard and the gravel driveway. “It’s a beautiful place.” Was it family or something? She was starting to get nervous.

  Jasper didn’t answer her and Treya’s irritation suggested they might have their second fight in a few seconds. He climbed out of the truck and came around to open the door for her, helping her down with a hand to hold onto.

  He still didn’t speak as he led her across the front lawn and behind the house.

  Treya gasped at the sight of a table set up with two chairs. Crystal stemware and a bottle of sparkling cider graced the tabletop while sparkling lights had been draped on the banisters, gutters, and trees all around the backyard. When she realized Jasper wasn’t beside her anymore, Treya turned, her hands coming up to cover her mouth.

  He knelt beside her, holding up a ring with a large princess cut emerald in a simple setting. Jasper stared up at her, a goofy grin on his handsome lips. “Marry me, Treya. This could be our home. We could be so happy here.”

  Treya blinked back tears. She wasn’t worried about chasing her dreams any longer. As far as she was concerned, he’d caught her.

  She would never try to get away. She nodded, kneeling in front of him and flinging her arms around his shoulders.

  Things were going to change for Bailey, Montana. Treya was going to make sure of it. Between her and Abby, they could get through to the Smythes. That’s all it would take. A town full of determined women was all change needed to get started.

  Even so, she wouldn’t let go of Jasper for anything. Even for a curse that somehow wasn’t enough to scare Treya away from Jasper. They were going to make their own fate.

  Their lips met and Treya had no room in her mind for any other thoughts. Everything was centered around Jasper, exactly how she wanted it to be.

  ~~~

  I’m so happy for Treya and Jasper! Aren’t you? Don’t forget to check out Wedding the Renegade, the next book in the Renegades of Clearwater County Romances.

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  Bonnie Paulson is a USA Today Best-Selling Author with sweet romance on the mind. She loves spending time with her family of six kids and one amazing husband on the boat, in the woods, or on dirt bikes. When she’s not running around with the family or creating fun sweet romances, she’s serving for her church or others. What’s not to love about life?

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  Copyright © 2019 Bonnie R. Paulson

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, any place, events or occurrences, is purely coincidental. The characters and story lines are created from the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be resold.

  Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Chasing the Renegade

  Chapter 1

  Jasper

  Chapter 2

  Treya

  Chapter 3

  Jasper

  Chapter 4

  Treya

  ~~~

  Chapter 5

  Jasper

  Chapter 6

  Treya

  Chapter 7