Tempting Chase_Burlap and Barbed Wire

by Shirley Penick

  “Sounds like a plan. See you soon.”

  Chase stood at the bar waiting for his turn to buy some beers for him and his brother and a margarita for Katie. Next to him a couple of guys going on and on about some hot woman. God save him from drunken tourists.

  The bartender, George, said, “You guys are going to have to slow down a bit or order some food. You’ve been going strong for three hours now.”

  “Man, you aren’t my mother,” one of the drunks said, “I can drink whatever I want.”

  George replied, “I’m not your mother, but I can cut you off if I feel you are unsafe.”

  The other drunk said, “Fuck that, it’s only eight and we ain’t driving anywhere we’re staying in that shit hole around the corner.”

  Chase winced, knowing the inn they were referring to was run by George’s family, as was this bar.

  “That may be true, but you still must either order some food or have a soda to dilute the whiskey a bit. The soda is on the house.” George was doing a great job at controlling his feelings, Chase wasn’t sure he would do as good of a job.

  Drunk number one waved his hand. “We don’t need your fucking charity. We need another shot, asshole.”

  George shook his head. “I’m sorry, sir.”

  Drunk number one flipped off George and pushed his glass onto the floor. “Fuck you. Fine, we’ll go find our fun somewhere else.”

  “Let’s go find that little honey we saw this morning and have some fun with her,” drunk number two said.

  Chase didn’t like the sound of what the men were saying. These two seemed to be kind of nasty drinkers and he felt pity for any woman that would be with them

  Drunk jerk one said, “Naw, she wasn’t into us.”

  “Who cares, we can convince her,” drunk jerk two said, “she just needs a little persuasion.”

  The two assholes stood and started lurching toward the door. Chase felt a chill run over him and asked George, “Do you know who they were talking about?”

  George shook his head. “Nope, I don’t think they knew her name.”

  A woman on the other side from where the men had been sitting said, “They kept talking about the general store and the little gal who ran that.”

  Chase snapped his gaze to the woman. “The grocery store or the drug store?”

  “Definitely the drug store.”

  Fear coursed through his body and he looked at George. “Tell Cade and call Drew or the police.”

  Then he ran out the door like his hair was on fire. Katie should be walking down to the bar at this very moment and if those assholes found her first… he couldn’t even go there.

  Chase flew down the street looking for the drunks or Katie. He heard a scuffle in the alley and ran into it, to see his worst nightmare.

  Katie was shoved up against the wall and both men were manhandling her.

  He saw red. Roared. And charged them.

  Yanking the first one off of her, Chase knocked him flat with one punch. The second one she kneed, and he bent forward where Chase delivered a solid blow that felled him completely.

  He turned to Katie and gathered her into his arms. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”

  She gulped back tears. “No, you had perfect timing. I couldn’t get enough room to fight back.”

  “I know, sweetheart,” he held her and rocked her. “When I realized what they had in mind my heart stopped, I was so terrified.”

  Katie looked up at him and he couldn’t do anything but kiss her. He had to make sure she was going to be okay. It was meant to be a small touch, but it grew into a conflagration instantly. Her taste was exquisite. Her mouth warm and welcoming. He was lost in the moment until he heard Cade yelling their names. They jerked apart, and he called out to his twin.

  Cade rounded the corner and pulled Katie into his arms. “Are you okay, K-girl?”

  “Yes. Chase got here at the exact moment I needed him to.”

  “Thank God. The Sheriff’s department is on the way to lock these two clowns up, for the rest of their natural lives, if I have anything to say about it. We’ll have to go to the station and tell them what happened.”

  Katie nodded. “I think this has effectively ended our night out. After I talk to the Sheriff, I think I’ll just go home and soak in the tub. I feel kind of dirty.”

  Chase’s heart broke at her expression and he wanted to grab those two men and pummel them until there was nothing left but goo on the street.

  She came over to him and took his hand. “You scraped your knuckles.”

  “It’s nothing. You’re the only one important here.”

  Cade said, “I’m going to go out in the street to direct the law in here.”

  One of the guys groaned and Chase turned on him, ready to kick the shit out of him.

  Katie grabbed his arm. “It’s okay. It’s over. They aren’t going to hurt me.”

  He turned back to her and put his forehead to hers. “I’ve never felt fear like that in my life. Not riding bulls. Not in lightning storms. Not even when I got lost as a little kid. Or that time my foot got caught when we were diving into the river and I thought I might drown. My fear of them hurting you far surpassed everything.”

  “I’m fine. Thank you.”

  “Aw, Katie. I’d do anything for you girl, you’re my best friend.”

  She pulled away. “I know, Chase, but I can appreciate you getting here at exactly the right moment, anyway. Here comes Drake and both your brothers.”

  Chase was relieved to see Drake, the Sheriff, was on duty tonight, it would be easier to work with him than one of the deputies. And his brother, Drew, was also working tonight, so he knew they would be extra thorough gathering evidence, knowing it was Katie who’d been attacked. Drew was already the most persnickety person he knew when it came to his job, but Katie was dear to all of them, so there would be no stone left unturned.

  They spent the next hour at the Sheriff’s office giving their statements to Drake. Drew had gone back to the bar and talked to the bartender, the woman who was still there and a couple of others that had observed the drunk men. Drew and the Sheriff thought the men might end up with some jail time, since they’d been spouting off about Katie for hours while they got drunker and drunker.

  Chase and Cade drove Katie home after the ordeal and Cade walked her upstairs to make sure she got in her door safe and sound. Chase was still feeling shaky from all the adrenaline that had coursed through his body. Once they got home they both had a strong shot of whiskey, to decompress, and collapsed in bed. It had been one hell of a night.

  Chapter 7

  Katie went directly to the bathroom, she started a hot bath and poured some salts into the water. She was going to soak until she got pruny. When those men had attacked her, she’d been terrified, and she’d known they were bent on sex, with or without her consent. They’d come into her store earlier that day and had been trying to flirt with her, but she’d ignored their crude attempts to engage her and had been professional with them. They’d said something as they left about her being frigid, so she already knew they were not nice men.

  Later she’d been in a hurry to meet up with the twins, so she hadn’t been paying any attention to the people on the street. When the men had grabbed her, and dragged her into the alley, she’d been too shocked to respond until they shoved her up against the wall. By the time she realized she was actually in danger from them, she didn’t have any room to maneuver, but she wasn’t going to go down without a fight.

  The jeans and cowboy boots she’d worn tonight had given her protection that the dress she’d been thinking about wearing would not have, so that had been in her favor. Of course, Chase roaring around the corner and decking that one guy had given her the opportunity to knee the other one. She was thankful he’d heard the two assholes and had followed them, she shuddered to think what might have happened if he hadn’t been standing at the bar when George had cut them off.

  She slid down into the wa
ter and winced, she was going to have some bruises tomorrow, but it was a small price to pay for escaping those two.

  Leaning back in the tub she closed her eyes as the hot water relaxed her. Her mind drifted back to the kiss. It had been magnificent, the best kiss she’d ever had. Too short, but then again Cade coming in and finding them locked in a hot embrace, would have been extremely embarrassing. They would have ended up being the town gossip for weeks. She smiled thinking about the Bonnie Raitt song and giving the whole town something to talk about.

  But then Chase had ruined the whole thing by saying she was his best friend. Not that she didn’t love being his best friend, but being a little more than his best friend would be even better. However, she wasn’t going to jeopardize what she did have for what was essentially pie in the sky.

  The warm, fragrant water calmed her nerves and soothed her body, so she soaked until the water started to cool, then she scrubbed her skin until it was rosy, sending all her negative feelings swirling in the water draining from the tub. She noticed some bruising already starting on her arms as she pulled on flannel pajamas. It was kind of hot for flannel, but she wanted the comfort. She could turn on a fan to stay cool.

  Knowing Chase as she did, she sent him a text. Then she climbed into bed and was relieved when she drifted off to sleep easily.

  Chase was wide awake. He’d dozed for a few minutes when he first laid down, the alcohol helping to relax him. But then he’d started thinking about what might have happened to Katie if he hadn’t been standing by the bar and his mind whirled with dire scenarios, among them rape, murder, kidnapping. He was making himself crazy with all the possibilities.

  He forced himself to remember she was a strong woman for such a tiny thing and she would have fought them tooth and nail, and quite possibly have been able to take care of herself. Two on one, made that more difficult, but if anyone could have fought them off it would be Katie. When he’d distracted the men, she hadn’t hesitated to fight back. He chuckled thinking that one guy wasn’t going to be walking straight for a few days.

  He’d been so relieved he’d kissed her right on the mouth, and now that he thought about it she’d kissed him right back. So, what did that mean? Was she simply expressing her joy in being safe again? Did she mean it as something more than that, and for that matter did he? It had been a delicious kiss, warm and welcoming, her scent and taste mingling together in his senses, drawing him into her. If his brother hadn’t called their names he didn’t know what would have happened. He’d definitely been on board and if he recalled correctly she’d rubbed up against him in an invitation for more.

  But then later she’d pulled back from him and there was nothing left of the sensual woman from the kiss. He couldn’t remember why she’d pulled back, or exactly when it had happened. He supposed anyone who had gone through what she had, would close herself off some afterward.

  Which led him to start thinking about how thankful he was he’d heard those two drunks talking and that the woman at the bar had paid attention. Those thoughts went back to what might have happened had the circumstances been different, if he’d chosen the other end of the bar, or if they’d let the waitress take their order.

  His mind circled back to the dire possibilities again. Around and around in a loop it went. His mind whirling a mile a minute through all the stages of the evening, again and again, when his phone chimed an incoming text.

  Katie: I’m fine. Go to sleep!

  He laughed, she knew him better than anyone. The tension and anxiety left him, flowing away like a cooling river. He relaxed and felt his mind settle, she was fine, he’d been there when he needed to be. He texted her back.

  Chase: Yes, ma’am.

  And he did as she had directed, he fell asleep, knowing everything would be fine.

  Chapter 8

  Katie woke with a start. Her heart pounding, her thoughts confused. What had woken her? Was it a noise, or a dream? She listened carefully not daring to breathe or move. Eyes wide open searching the darkness. She heard nothing, sensed nothing. Too afraid to check the time on her phone, if she looked it could illuminate her and if someone was there, in the dark, they would see her and she wouldn’t be able to see them.

  She lay there not moving, barely breathing for several minutes. But as nothing stirred, slowly her body began to relax. Finally, she did reach for her phone to check the time, four in the morning, ugh. Too early to get up, but could she get back to sleep? She didn’t need to get up for at least a couple of hours yet.

  Katie willed her body to relax, one muscle at a time. One thought at a time she forced her mind to think calming thoughts. Until she drifted back off to sleep.

  When Katie woke again the sun was just coming over the mountains. Her room was bathed in the soft glow of morning. She thought back to the events of last night and realized she was at peace with them. She wondered what had awoken her in the early morning and thought maybe it had been a stray animal or even the paper carrier getting an early start to go out fishing. It was supposed to be a pretty, warm, late summer day.

  She hummed as she got dressed, and only winced a little at the bruises that had formed on her arms and various other places. As she pulled on a shirt, she felt a big one on her back where they had shoved her up against the wall. It might not hurt to take a painkiller with her, in case she got sore during the day. She got her travel-sized container and shoved it in her jeans pocket.

  In the kitchen, she put a bagel into the toaster and looked out toward the lake. With the living quarters above the store, it made her viewpoint just high enough to skim over the top of the buildings behind her and give her a small slice of the lake and the mountains beyond it. After slathering her bagel with cream cheese, she took it and a glass of orange juice to the table to eat.

  She was one of those weird people who didn’t like coffee. It tasted burnt to her. Maybe she’d just never gotten a good brand, but she hadn’t tried very hard to find some she liked. Water was her primary drink of choice, with some juice in the morning and a margarita if she went out on the town.

  She’d been looking forward to a margarita last night. Those guys had screwed up her whole plan, assholes. Well, she’d just have to talk the guys into it another night but finding one where Cade could come without Tanya would be a challenge. She sighed and wished either Tanya would suddenly become a nice person or that Cade would get a clue and move on.

  The one good thing about the whole evening was the delicious kiss from Chase. Unfortunately, that taste only made her want another, and she didn’t think that was going to happen. The kiss had been a tension reliever more than anything. Not as much on her part since she’d been waiting for him to kiss her for ten years. But she was certain that’s all it had been on his part, a release of adrenaline and possibly confirmation that she was really fine. She knew Chase loved her, there was no question about that, but the unfortunate part was that it was a brotherly love, dammit.

  She finished her bagel and downed her orange juice, rinsing the glass in the sink and then putting it and her plate in the dishwasher. After filling her thermos with ice and water she went out the back door, locked it and skipped down the stairs around to the front door. Where she stopped dead in her tracks.

  One of the big picture windows at the front of her store was shattered, some of the glass still held in place by the molding. It looked like a scene from a horror flick. Now she knew what had woken her in the night. She pulled the phone out of her pocket and called the Sheriff’s office.

  After she’d told the dispatcher all she could see from her viewpoint and assured her she would not go inside or touch anything, she took a picture of the window and sent it in a text to the twins, with a caption of “the fun continues”. Both of them texted her back that they would be there as soon as their truck could get there.

  She sat on the stairs leading up to the front of her store and waited.

  Chase met his brother in the hall, both of them pulling on clothes as they rushed
through the house. When they got to the kitchen they told their sister, Emma, that Katie needed them, and could she spread the word that they would be back as soon as they could. Emma agreed, and they hustled out to get into Cade’s truck, since his was the closest to the door.

  As he finished buttoning his shirt, Chase said, “What the fuck. Do you think the window has something to do with last night?”

  Cade slammed the truck into drive and peeled out of the driveway, leaving a cloud of dust behind. “I don’t know how it could, Drake said they would be locked up until mid-morning at the earliest.”

  Glad he’d already shaved, showered and brushed his teeth, Chase finger combed his hair. His hair was still wet, although not drippingly so. He glanced at his twin and noticed he hadn’t gotten around to a shower yet that morning. Score one for the early bird. They had some chores in the morning, but most of their work for the day would be later toward mid-day and afternoon. It was a weekend, but work on a cattle ranch didn’t cease, it just slowed down some. That allowed his brother a few extra minutes of sleep. Cade was not a morning person, Chase didn’t mind early as much as his brother, so he was usually up and moving quicker.

  Cade screeched around a corner. “She won’t be able to get a piece of glass that big today, we’ll have to get her some plywood to put over it.”

  “You’re probably right, we could check to see if anything is open in Grand Junction. But that large a sheet of glass would probably have to come on a special transport truck. We can’t just throw that in the bed of the truck.”

  “No, and I think that large of a window would best be replaced by a professional.”

  “Didn’t think of that, but you’ve got a point.” Chase held on as Cade whipped around another turn that would lead them into town. “You better slow down, no need to run over kids and dogs, Katie isn’t in danger, after all.”