“If this house isn’t what you want, we’ll keep looking,” Sloane mumbled absently when Chase plucked the face-sheet out of her hand so that he could see what they were dealing with here. There were five bedrooms, three full bathrooms including a master bathroom, a two-car garage, an office, a living room, a family room, a large kitchen, a pool, a hot tub, and…
“I don’t need this many rooms,” Chase said even as he couldn’t help but notice that this was exactly the kind of house that he’d always wanted.
“I’m going to need my own room when I visit,” Sloane explained as she gestured impatiently for him to roll them back so that they could check out the rest of the house.
Since he knew that she wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon, Chase decided not to worry. She’d promised to help him get back on his feet, and since his fucking legs wouldn’t cooperate, he wasn’t too worried about losing her yet.
“This house is beautiful,” Sloane said in a reverent whisper as they slowly made their way through the rest of the house.
For several minutes, she was content to sit on his lap to tour the house, but that all changed when they came across a small hallway that led to a door at the end. With an absently mumbled, “I’ll be right back,” she climbed off his lap and quickly headed down the hallway, leaving him to check out the kitchen on his own and
“I call this bedroom!” came the excited gasp from the other side of the house, making him chuckle as he rolled into the large kitchen that overlooked the pool.
“This is more space than I need,” Chase said, sighing as he took everything in from the large kitchen island to the granite countertops, cabinets, Spanish tile on the floor, the large pool, and the backyard lined with orange and lemon trees, and…
It was a beautiful house, but it was too fucking big for him. He needed something smaller, maybe another two-bedroom house, but in a different neighborhood that had a bathtub. God, what he wouldn’t have done for a fucking hot bath over the past year, but his house only had a walk-in shower.
“I have a few other houses that I can show you if you’re looking for something smaller,” Natalie said as she joined him in the kitchen.
Knowing that was probably a good idea, Chase started to nod his head only to end up chuckling with a murmured, “We’ll take it,” when Sloane rushed past them with an excited squeal and a, “I love this house!”
Chapter 23
One Week Later…
“Oh, my god, open the door, Chase!” Sloane said, frantically trying to open the car door only to curse, shoot a glare at the man that was trying to get her killed, glance over her shoulder, curse again, and ran another lap around the car in a desperate attempt to get away from the pack of Wilderness Girls determined to make her pay.
“Get her!” came the command that had Sloane whimpering as she turned around and headed back the way that she came only to realize that the pack had split up.
“What’s wrong, Pookie?” Chase drawled as he rolled down his window.
“I hate you,” Sloane managed to get out even as she couldn’t help but wonder where their parents were.
“Aw, you don’t mean that, Pookie,” Chase said with a sad shake of his head even as he gestured lazily in her direction her with a murmured, “Looks like she’s getting tired,” further encouraging the rabid pack of six-year-olds that Chase had somehow managed to set on her.
When they narrowed their eyes on her as one, and oh god, was that creepy, Sloane shifted to her right and nearly sighed with relief when she spotted the oak tree by the bike path. Deciding that was her best bet, she headed that way only to groan when she was cut off by two cute little girls with pigtails and a look of determination that actually terrified her.
That led her to turn back around and nearly sighed with relief as she watched Chase transition himself from the car back into the wheelchair that she hadn’t had a chance to put in the back before the attack happened. Before he was settled back in his chair, Sloane was there, climbing onto his lap and wrapping her arms around him, hoping it would be enough to stop the little vigilantes from dragging her away so that they could throw more overpriced cookies at her.
There was a heavy sigh and then…
“I don’t know what you would do without me, Pookie.”
*-*-*-*
Another Week Later…
“Aw, Pookie, don’t be like that,” Chase said, watching as the angry woman that he was guessing was no longer speaking to him curled up on the other end of the couch and pointedly ignored him.
Sighing, because she was just so fucking cute when she was pissed at him, Chase set his brakes and pushed the armrest back so that he could transition himself to the couch and once he was there
“I hate you,” Sloane mumbled sadly as he pulled her onto his lap, where she immediately curled up in his arms.
“I know you do, Pookie,” Chase murmured as he wrapped his arms around her.
“I can’t believe you did that,” she said, shifting so that she could lay her head against his chest.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said, mostly because he didn’t think that it was a good idea to admit to anything that could cause the temperamental woman to climb off his lap.
With a murderous glare that was just too fucking adorable for words, Sloane bit out, “You let the realtor show the house while I was in the shower.”
“That was unfortunate timing,” Chase said with a sad shake of his head before adding, “If it makes you feel better, they put an offer on the house.”
“A retired podiatrist took pictures of me getting out of the shower,” she bit out, making his lips twitch.
“How else was he supposed to show the folks back home how spacious the bathroom was?” he asked, loving the way that her eyes narrowed on him.
“Yeah, we’re done here,” Sloane said, shaking her head in disgust as she climbed off his lap, grabbed a throw pillow off the couch and threw it at his head with a muttered, “Jerk,” and headed to the kitchen. For a moment, Chase sat there, debating going after her only to bite back a smile when she stormed back into the living room carrying a bottle of water and a bag of chips, dropped back down on his lap with a muttered, “Don’t talk to me,” and promptly ignored him.
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he murmured, wrapping his arms around the woman that brought so much joy into his life.
*-*-*-*
Another Week After That…
“Okay,” came the calmly spoken words from the woman currently curled up on his lap, “this isn’t funny anymore.”
“What’s not funny anymore?” Chase asked while he helped himself to the hotdog that he’d ordered as he glanced toward the playground, noting that the small group of preschoolers that had taken it upon themselves to teach her a lesson was watching her, eating their ice cream as they waited for the right moment to attack.
“Chase?” Sloane said, sounding a hell of a lot calmer than she had a few minutes ago when they’d decided that it was time for her to walk the plank.
“Yes, Pookie?” Chase said, shifting his attention to the woman that kept him entertained to find her watching him.
“You know that I hate you, right?” Sloane asked, and since he already knew that she adored him almost as much as he adored her, he decided that this was just the adrenaline left over from the last attack talking.
“I know,” he said, appeasing the small woman sending a nervous glance toward the small group of children hellbent on making her pay as he leaned forward, unable to help himself, and kissed her forehead.
“As long as you know,” Sloane said absently, swallowing nervously as she moved to climb off his lap only to rethink that decision and curl back up in his arms with a sigh when the group of really angry children narrowed their eyes on the move.
It was probably for the best, Chase decided, mostly because he liked having her in his arms.
Chapter 24
“What are you doing?”
“You mean besi
des ignoring you?” Sloane asked even as she shifted on his lap to get more comfortable.
“Mmhmm, besides that,” Chase murmured absently as he plucked the iPad out of her hands to see what she was looking at.
“Nothing,” she said, taking her iPad back so that she could close the website, telling herself that this was a stupid idea.
“That didn’t look like nothing,” Chase said, absently caressing his thumb over her stomach, making it difficult to focus on anything other than just how good it felt when he touched her, something that she’d been struggling to ignore.
No matter how many times she told herself that she was making a mistake by staying, she couldn’t seem to force herself to leave. She was risking her career by staying here, but…
God, what the hell was wrong with her?
“Why are you looking up medical certifications?” Chase asked as he continued to absently caress her stomach, having absolutely no idea what he was doing to her.
“I like to keep my options open,” Sloane said as she scrolled through the long list of certification programs that she was more than a little tempted to sign up for.
“I see,” Chase murmured, but since he still didn’t know that she’d taken a leave of absence, she kind of doubted that he did.
She’d been doing this for seven years and she’d hoped to at least make it to ten, but with the way things were going…
Maybe it was time to look into doing something different.
She could stay with the same company and just switch to a local position, doing home visits, but she really wasn’t sure that she wanted to do this anymore. She loved the medical field, loved helping people, but she really wasn’t sure that she wanted to keep doing this. The job was great, the pay was incredible, but as much as she loved to see her patients overcome everything and get their lives back, she hated being there when they hit rock bottom. She hated seeing their pain, hated having to pretend that she didn’t see them suffering, but she hated knowing that sometimes all she could do was sit there and watch them die.
That was why she hadn’t left yet because Sloane knew that once she did, she would have to tell herself that she didn’t care and she didn’t think that she could do it again. She wasn’t sure what she wanted anymore, but she knew that she couldn’t keep doing this anymore.
She also wasn’t sure if she was ready to quit yet.
She’d been hoping that with a little time that she’d be able to figure things out, but with every passing day, the temptation to say the hell with it was becoming stronger. She just wished that she knew what she wanted.
“Tell me why you became a nurse,” Chase suddenly said.
“I don’t think anyone’s ever asked me that before,” Sloane mumbled, unable to help but frown.
“Not even your family?” he asked, sending her a curious look.
“Especially not my family. I think they were just happy that I’d finally settled on something,” she admitted with a shrug.
“So, getting screamed at by ungrateful patients wasn’t your lifelong dream?” Chase asked teasingly.
“It’s every girl’s dream,” she said on a wistful sigh, making his lips twitch.
“How did it happen?” Chase asked as Sloane looked around the busy waiting room, noting that every seat was still filled and that there were now three more patients standing off to the side waiting to see the doctor.
“The usual way, I suppose. My parents gave me a choice, college or get a job. Since working forty hours in retail wasn’t exactly my idea of a good time, that really only left me with one choice, waste my parents’ money by enrolling in college while I tried to figure out what I was going to do with the rest of my life,” Sloane said even as she couldn’t help but wonder if they should try to reschedule this appointment.
“That sounds like a solid plan,” Chase said, chuckling.
“That’s what I thought,” Sloane said, nodding in agreement.
“But your parents didn’t think so,” Chase guessed.
With a sad shake of her head and a sigh, Sloane said, “For some reason, they weren’t happy after they found out that I was still undecided two years later.”
“I can’t imagine why,” he murmured dryly.
“Me neither,” she said, making his lips twitch. “They gave me to the end of the semester to get my act together and figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life or get a job and start paying them back for the two years that I wasted.”
“What did you do?”
“What any level-headed twenty-year-old facing an uncertain future would do, of course. I met a guy,” Sloane said with a sad shake of her head and a heartfelt sigh.
“That sounds ominous,” Chase murmured.
“Doesn’t it, though?” she asked, nodding in agreement.
“What happened?” Chase asked softly as he turned his hand so that he could entwine his fingers with her.
“You mean after the year of my life that I wasted on him only to find out that he wasn’t prince charming?” Sloane asked, still wondering how she could have been so stupid. “I learned a life lesson.”
“Which was?” Chase asked as he gently caressed the back of her hand with his thumb.
“That prince charming isn’t going to swoop in and save the day. I had to start taking care of myself,” she said, wishing that she’d figured that out without the painful lesson.
But honestly, it had been the best thing that could have happened to her. She’d stopped screwing around and got her act together. She got a job working at a physical therapist’s office and settled on nursing when she realized that she could do something meaningful with her life. She also realized that she wasn’t meant for a happily ever after and stopped hoping for more.
“You made a mistake.”
“How so?” Sloane asked, leaning back against him.
“This is what you’re meant to do with your life,” Chase said with a firm nod.
“Tormenting my favorite patient?” she asked, making his lips twitch.
“No, helping people fight their way back,” he said, making her frown.
“Isn’t that what I already do?” she asked, watching as another patient came in.
“No, right now you do a job that makes you miserable,” Chase said, and she couldn’t agree more.
“I miss the job,” Chase admitted softly, taking her by surprise since he didn’t seem to like to talk about his old life and she didn’t think that it was her place to push him to talk.
“Have you thought about going back?” Sloane asked, shifting on his lap so that she could look at him.
Shaking his head, Chase said, “There’s nothing to go back to,” as he tightened his hold around her.
“You could teach,” Sloane said, worrying her bottom lip as she watched him, noting the way that the muscle in his jaw clenched as he shook his head.
“It’s been over a year. I let my certification lapse,” he said, slowly exhaling as she sat there, debating telling him about that line that she’d crossed only to be saved when the nurse called his name.
“Let’s get this over with, Pookie,” Chase said on a resigned sigh as he helped her to her feet, not really sounding all that happy about being here.
Not that she could blame him, Sloane thought as they headed toward the back-exam rooms where he would have to endure being poked and prodded while he answered the same questions that they asked him every time. As much as she wished that he could skip these appointments, he needed them. They had to monitor his pain medication, the swelling around his spine and to make sure that he didn’t cause any more damage to the nerves.
When the nurse took a left instead of a right and headed toward the office instead of the exam rooms, Sloane took one look at the nurse’s expression and immediately regretted making Chase keep this appointment.
*-*-*-*
Ten percent…
He had less than ten percent chance of walking again, Chase thought numbly as he sat there, trying to wra
p his mind around everything his doctor said, but his mind kept coming back to that one statement, to the one thing that was making it difficult to take his next breath.
God, this wasn’t fucking happening, Chase thought, clenching his trembling hands into fists as he tried to keep it together until they were home so that he could lose his fucking mind. Ten more minutes, he told himself, forcing himself to take another breath as he closed his eyes and dropped his head back against his seat, praying that this was a fucking joke because he honestly wasn’t sure how much more he could take before he finally hit his breaking point.
Not fucking much, Chase thought, unable to help but frown as he opened his eyes and–
“Not fucking happening,” he bit out before Sloane had a chance to finish putting the minivan in park.
“And why’s that?” Sloane absently asked as she reached back and grabbed her backpack from the backseat.
“Just take me home,” Chase snapped, refusing to say the words that would make this real.
“I will,” Sloane said, making him relax until she added, “right after you do your P.T.”
“I’m not fucking kidding, Sloane. Take me home,” he bit out, watching as she climbed out of the car and shut the door, leaving him sitting there struggling not to lose his fucking mind.
It was over.
God, it was all over, Chase thought, feeling sick to his stomach as he dropped his head into his hands and tried to imagine spending the rest of his life in that fucking wheelchair only to feel a fresh wave of terror tear through him. A year ago, he’d accepted the fact that he’d never walk again and then a few months ago, he’d told himself that he could have more and now…and now…
“Hey, we’re not doing this,” Sloane said as he registered the feel of her climbing onto his lap as he felt her small hands wrap around his and pull them away so that he was forced to look at her.
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