The second part of her inspired plan was the realization that her strategy to stay away from him, keep her distance, was backfiring. Big time. What that plan was in fact doing was making Chase seem more appealing.
All her life, Krista had always loved a challenge and wanted things more when she was told she couldn’t have them. That was exactly what she was doing with Chase. It was self-inflicted, but the only thing her subconscious, hormones, and heart knew was that he was off-limits.
Well, she was about to flip that script. Her mind had been trying to protect her heart and soul. Maybe the way to protect them was to let them have what they wanted. It was the same philosophy that their dad had had when Becca had been obsessed with touching the light sockets as a toddler. Her mom had run herself ragged trying to keep her away from them, but her dad had just said, “She’ll only do it once.” If her body, heart, and soul wanted to touch the light socket—aka Chase—well, so be it.
She was sixteen when he’d walked out of her life the first time and she’d survived. Thrived even. Now she was a grown woman, not a lovesick teen.
Time to act like one.
* * *
“Listen, it’s only two dates. I couldn’t get ahold of you and the offers were just too good to pass up,” Marcus’s voice came over the phone’s speaker.
Chase stood in the deserted hallway of the hospital and still had to cover his ear to hear his manager’s voice. There was so much wind in the background that it was hard to make out. Marcus liked to make his phone calls on speaker…while he drove with his convertible top down.
That habit had always irritated the shit out of Chase.
“I never authorized you to commit to dates. I’ll do the shows this time, but don’t let it happen again.” Chase hung up the phone and pushed it back into his jean’s pocket. He was really close to being done with his idiot of a manager. All managers tended to overstep their boundaries from time to time, but this was the fifth incident this week.
Chase had been working with Marcus since he’d been with Midnight Rush. During his manager’s six years with the band, he’d done a decent job and always respected the wishes of the four members, both individually and collectively. Now, Chase was beginning to think that it had less to do with ‘respect’ and more to do with the fact that he hadn’t had the balls to step to all four members of the band. Now that it was just Chase, Marcus seemed to be flexing his manager muscle like he was in a bodybuilding competition, and if he continued to do so, Marcus Willoughby would be down one client.
Trying not to let his frustration ruin the time he had while his mom was awake, he stepped back into the bright hospital room. His mom was sitting up in the bed, eating the lunch Jamie had just dropped off for her. She had good color and her face was a little more filled out than it had been the day he arrived. This morning, Dr. Corbin said that if things kept going like they were, then she was on the road to a full recovery.
“Everything okay?” she asked as she scooped some of the red Jell-O out of the small plastic container.
“Yep. Everything’s fine.”
He’d have to leave next month for two shows in Cincinnati, but he’d only be gone for a couple of days. Still, the thought of leaving, even for a short time, held zero appeal to him.
There were several reasons a trip was the last thing he wanted to do. Of course, he didn’t want to leave while his mom was still recovering. Then there was Krista. The bottom line was that he wanted to be wherever she was. And the icing on the not-wanting-to-leave-Harper’s-Crossing cake was that he could be himself here. Sure, he’d only been out in town a few times, but when he had, he’d been treated just like Chase, a kid who had grown up here and had now returned home. He hadn’t been treated like Chase Malone, rock and roll god. He felt like he could just be. He could breathe and enjoy life here.
His mom’s voice invaded his thoughts. “Krista came by earlier. She said that she was going to that new spa with her sisters to get ready for Haley’s engagement party.” There was an expectancy in both his mom’s tone and her facial expression.
He knew what his mom wanted to hear—that he and Krista were getting back together. Hell, he wanted to tell her that very thing. The only problem was that she was in a very fragile state and he didn’t want to give her any false hope. It wasn’t just her physical state and the aftereffects of the stroke that worried Chase. Her emotional state gave him just as much if not more cause for concern.
If it were up to him, he and Krista would work everything out and find their way back to each other. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the only person who got a vote in that scenario. He couldn’t even say that the ball was in Krista’s court since she wasn’t even playing the game. No racket. No cute tennis shorts. Nada.
“Have you seen much of her?” his mom asked. It was the same question she’d asked yesterday.
“A little bit. I saw her this morning on the track.”
“You two went on a run together?” His mom’s eyes lit up. “Just like high school.”
“Not really. I was already at the track when she showed up. She wasn’t really happy to see me.” There was a fine line between sugarcoating things, which would give her false hope, and crushing her spirit with blunt truths. He was trying his best to walk it.
“Oh, I’m sure she was just tired. She’s not a morning person, you know,” his mom said, acting like she was the authority on Krista.
Chase smiled to himself. It made him happy to see that his mom and Krista were so close. When she’d actually been his girlfriend, he hadn’t brought Krista around because his dad was still alive. He’d always believed that Krista and his mom wouldn’t just get along, but more than that, they would love each other. It was nice to see that his instincts had been correct.
“I know she’s not a morning person, Mom. But it wasn’t just that. She’s not exactly my number one fan.”
His mom waved her hand dismissively. “That’s a bunch of malarkey. Krista and you are like Sonny and Cher, Captain and Tennille. You two kids belong together,” she said as she settled back into her bed to watch a rerun of I Love Lucy that was playing on the flat screen television mounted on the wall. He saw that dark circles had appeared under her eyes. She needed to rest, not worry about him and Krista.
Chase didn’t want to burst the bubble of hope his mom was currently floating in, but facts were facts. First of all, both of the couples she’d used as her examples had not stayed married. Neither of those twosomes had lived out their happily-ever-afters together. Second, just because he and Krista belonged together did not mean they would end up together.
He wasn’t going into this with any delusions. Chase didn’t kid himself. Getting back together with Krista was a long shot. One he was willing to put everything on the line for, to risk it all for, but there were no guarantees. He was more than willing to strap himself in for the emotional roller coaster of a ride that was sure to come and if he was alone at the end of it, so be it. He could accept that. Not that Chase had any plans on saying uncle and admitting defeat without a fight. He was going to do everything in his power to make Krista face what they both knew to be true.
They did belong together.
Chapter Twelve
“Man, you clean up nice, Chip.” Chase slapped his hand on Chip’s back as he, Chip, and Tully stepped through the back entrance of The Grill. All three of them were dressed in button-up shirts and slacks. Chip, of course, was rocking a classic fedora.
“I know I do.” Chip popped his collar as the three men made their way down the narrow hall.
They were headed to the engagement party in the banquet room at the back of the restaurant. Chase hadn’t wanted to take the chance of walking through the dining area and taking any attention away from the couple. So far, here in his hometown, people had pretty much treated him normally, but he didn’t want to press his luck.
“I still think that we should have lined up security for tonight,” Tully said nervously when they rounded the corner an
d walked into the large room filled to the brim with people, most of whom Chase recognized.
There were probably twenty tables covered in black or white linens. A DJ booth was set up in the corner of a decent-sized dance floor, and two portable bars were at either end of the room.
“It’ll be fine,” Chase assured his anxious assistant. “I promise.”
A young, pretty brunette server approached them with a wide smile. Chase noticed a blush spread across her cheeks as she spoke to Tully. “Can I get you gentleman anything?” She might have been addressing all three of them, but she only had eyes for Tully.
“Um…I… We…” his assistant stuttered over his words as he stared down at the cute server.
Chase came in with the assist. “We’ll have three Buds.”
“Make it two and a Coke,” Chip corrected. “I’m driving.”
Chase shook his head. “We can grab some cabs. Relax. Enjoy the party. You are off duty.”
“Well, all right. Make it three, darlin’.” Chip tipped his fedora to the waitress.
For the first time since she’d walked up, she pulled her eyes away from Tully, glancing first at Chip then at Chase. “Okay, three Buds coming right…” She stopped mid-sentence when she did a double take at Chase. After staring in shock for several moments, she closed her jaw and shook her head slightly. “Up.”
As she turned to walk away, Chase was happy to note that she did take one more look over her shoulder but her eyes didn’t fall on him. Nope, they were directed straight at his six-foot-tall assistant standing beside him. A small smile lifted on her face as she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and hurried over to the bar set up in the corner of the room.
“Who’s that?” Tully asked, his eyes still glued to her every movement.
“I’m not sure. She doesn’t look familiar.” Chase definitely planned to find out though.
He’d seen Tully interact with a lot of girls. It was pretty much a part of his job description. It wasn’t unusual for the girls who were hanging around for the band or Chase to flirt with Tully. He was a good-looking kid, and a lot of the groupie girls were very attractive. But Chase had never seen Tully react to any of them like he just had to the server.
“Another one bites the dust,” Chip chuckled as he watched Tully staring in a daze in the direction of the bar on the far side of the room.
“You made it!” Alex was smiling from ear to ear as he came walking up with a kid who looked to be around eight beside him. “Chase, this is my son Joey. Joey, this is Chase and…”
Joey reached his hand up and Chase shook it as he made the introductions of Tully and Chip to Alex and Joey. Just as they had all shaken hands, the waitress appeared with the beers. Alex’s brows rose as he watched the girl hand the beer to Tully, her face turning a deep shade of pink.
“Nina, have you met my good friend Tully?” Alex asked as he patted Tully on the shoulder.
“Hi,” she smiled as she shyly dipped her head.
“Hi,” Tully said, mirroring her greeting.
After raising her wide eyes, she waited for a moment. He could see her eyes brimming with hope that Tully would say more. When he didn’t, she handed both Chip and Chase their drinks with a friendly smile and turned back into the crowd to take more orders.
“That is how not to talk to a girl, Joey.” Alex ruffled his son’s hair.
Chip and Chase both laughed. Tully was still staring at Nina, totally oblivious to Alex’s joke.
“I know how to talk to girls.” Joey looked up at Alex like he was crazy. “Emily’s my best friend.”
“Sorry.” Alex put his hands up in mock surrender. “My bad.”
“Well, who do we have here?” a loud familiar voice boomed from behind Chase.
“Colonel,” Chase smiled as he turned to shake the Colonel’s hand. When he did, the man Chase admired most in the world pulled him in for a hug.
“How ya doing, son?” The Colonel asked as he patted Chase’s back with the strength of someone half his age.
“Can’t complain,” Chase replied, pushing down a lump that was forming in his throat at this reunion.
Colonel James Hunter, aka The Colonel, aka Grandpa J, was the only grandparent figure Chase had ever known. The Colonel had moved in with his son and grandchildren to be close to family after his beloved wife passed away. Chase had been in elementary school the day The Colonel had come to speak at a school assembly about being in the infantry in WWII. Chase had been in awe of him, he was like a real-life G.I. Joe.
The Colonel seemed to have adopted the entire town from the first day he showed up. And the town had reciprocated. People young and old gravitated towards him.
Chase remembered that his dad, however, had hated The Colonel and constantly badmouthed him. But the few times he’d seen the two men interact, it had been clear who the alpha was.
Once, when they were in the supermarket and Chase was about twelve, his dad had called his mom a bitch under his breath while they were in line at the checkout stand. Chase hadn’t thought anyone had heard it, but The Colonel had appeared out of nowhere and said that that wasn’t how a man spoke to his wife. He’d then instructed Chase’s father to apologize. To Chase’s surprise, his dad had actually done it. Later, he’d taken out his embarrassment on both Chase and his mom, but to this day, Chase remembered the look in his dad’s eye when he’d had to say he was sorry to his mom. It was one of his favorite childhood memories.
The Colonel had also been the reason Chase had been able to leave town when he had. After he’d gotten into the fight with his dad, Chase had driven directly to Krista’s house. When that hadn’t gone well, Chase had driven to the gas station to get a map. He’d needed to figure out where he could possibly go. The Colonel had been in the food mart and seen the condition Chase was in. All Chase had told him was that he needed to leave town. The only question The Colonel had asked was, “Does your mama know you’re leaving?” When Chase had told him that she was the one who had told him to go, The Colonel had driven him to Vickey’s to get stitched up. Then they’d gone to the bank’s ATM machine, where The Colonel took out five hundred dollars and told Chase to let him know if he needed more once he got settled.
The first royalty check Chase received from the record label had gone straight to The Colonel. He might have paid him back financially, but there was no way he could ever repay what the man had done for him. Chase had no idea where he would have ended up if it hadn’t been for The Colonel’s help.
When he stepped back, The Colonel said, “Sorry to hear about your mama. How’s she doing?”
“Better, thanks. Colonel, this is Tully and Chip,” Chase said, making the introductions.
“Wait a minute.” The Colonel paused as he was shaking Chip’s hand, his face lit up with recognition. “Chip Jones.”
Chip tipped his head. “That’d be me.”
“I saw you play in Louisiana after I got back from overseas in”—The Colonel paused as he searched for the year—“it had to be 1945. I think the place was called Velma’s—”
“Jazz House,” Chip spoke in unison with The Colonel.
Chip was smiling from ear to ear. “That’s right. I was there for two years every Friday and Saturday night.”
“I remember. My buddies and I would go just to hear you. Man, when you played, it wasn’t just music, it was poetry.”
Alex and Chase both looked at each other, wearing identical expressions on their faces. Hearing The Colonel say that something was ‘poetry’ was not something Chase thought he’d ever hear, and from the look on Alex’s face, he was thinking the same thing.
“Hey, do you mind if I introduce you to some of the boys from the VFW? I know they’d love to meet you.”
Chip extended his hand. “Lead the way.”
The waitress appeared through the crowd. “Can I get you anything else?”
“Actually, Nina, can you show Tully the patio?” Alex asked sincerely. “I was just telling him about it.”<
br />
“Sure,” the young girl smiled as she started walking towards the door they had come through a few minutes before. Tully followed behind like a duckling after its mother.
“Like leading a lamb to slaughter,” Alex joked. “Come on. Jason and Katie are dying to see you.”
As Chase followed Alex winding through the crowded room of familiar faces, he felt a sense of happiness and belonging that he’d only ever felt when he was holding Krista in his arms. This place and these people were his home just as much as Krista was. It was where he belonged.
* * *
“Oh. My. God,” Amber said as she slid into the chair, champagne flute in hand. She sat beside Krista and lifted her hand, waving at Jessie, Becca, Chelle, and Jamie, who were all seated at the round table. “Chase Malone is even more gorgeous in person, and that voice.” Her eyes were wide as she took a sip of the golden liquid that filled her glass.
“You know that’s Krista’s ex-boyfriend, right?” Jessie stated bluntly.
Amber sputtered and choked. She almost did a spit-take, which would have covered the white tablecloth. Her long dark hair fanned out in the air as she spun her head around towards Krista. “What?!”
“I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who didn’t know,” Jamie said from across the table.
Krista shrugged at her cousins-in-law. “You both moved here after Chase moved away.”
Amber was shaking her head in disbelief as her golden eyes widened even more. “How long were you two together?”
“On and off for six years.” Krista took a drink from her own glass. Hers was not as fancy as Amber’s. It was plain old cran and vodka, but it would do the trick.
“I’ve lived here for almost ten years! How did I not know this?” Amber looked around the table.
“Well, someone”—Jessie pointed at Krista behind her hand and tilted her head in Krista’s direction—“doesn’t like to talk about it.”
Crazy Love - Krista & Chase Page 12