The song came to an end and the DJ announced that it was time to party. Actually, he said, “Partayyyyyy!” As a fast beat dance song began playing, Krista started to once again leave the dance floor. Chase knew that if she left him now she would spend all night marinating over the intensity of their slow dances. Chances were, the outcome would be her pulling away from him even more.
So before she’d made it two steps away from him, he grabbed her wrist and spun her around.
A look of utter shock appeared on her face as she looked up at him. “What are you doing?”
He’d never been a huge fan of dancing that wasn’t the kind that gave him an excuse to hold her close to him. Krista, on the other hand, loved dancing of any kind. When they’d gone to dances at school, she’d always danced the fast dances with her friends and then slow danced with him.
He spun her again and began moving to the music. “We’re not done dancing yet,” he said loudly to be heard over the blaring beat.
She dropped her head back and laughed, probably at his moves, before she began dancing along with him. Krista’s belly laugh was the sweetest sound in the world, and her smile lit up the room brighter than a sunny day. As they danced around the floor, Chase was just trying to do his best to keep up with her. It was worth every second because Chase would do anything to see her like that—letting loose, not a care in the world. Even humiliate himself on the dance floor in front of a roomful of people. If that wasn’t love, he didn’t know what was.
Chapter Thirteen
Krista tried to find a comfortable position in the steel foldout chair but was quickly coming to the realization that no such position existed. Her body was in far too much discomfort to reach for such a lofty goal. Not only had she pushed herself on the track yesterday morning (thanks to Chase), she’d also danced for hours (thanks again to Chase). It still seemed unreal to Krista that he’d not only stayed out on the floor after their oh-my-gosh-that-was-the-most-intense-moment-of-my-life moment, but he’d stayed out there for a couple of hours after that.
When they’d finally headed off the dance floor because the party was coming to an end, they’d both been soaked in sweat. Krista smiled to herself as she remembered what he’d said to her as they’d made their way to the parking lot with about twenty other party-goers, over half of whom were family members. After she’d thanked him for the dances and told him that she’d had fun, he’d leaned down and whispered in her ear, “It’s not my favorite way to get you this sweaty, but it was fun.” Then he’d kissed her on her forehead and disappeared in a cab with Chip and another guy, who she had seen Nina dancing with all night. Damn him. He’d given her the female equivalent of blue balls.
Her body was not happy with the fact that she had gone from very little (if any!) physical exertion to running five miles and dancing the night away in heels that had been made for fashion’s sake, not dancing. She’d actually worn her slippers to this meeting today because the thought of putting anything on besides the cushiony softness of her slippers had made her want to cry.
“Okay, let’s get started. For today’s agenda, we’ll be covering who will be working which timeslots at the booth after the parade. Also, status updates on the benefit.” Betty, who was the director of the Harper’s Crossing Women’s Shelter, stood behind the wooden podium. Just as she was welcoming everyone, the side door of the gym opened and Amber slipped in before slinking into the empty chair beside Krista.
Leaning over, she whispered, “Did I miss anything?”
Krista shook her head. “Just started.”
Amber nodded and pulled out her phone, Krista assumed, to take notes. They were both on the committee for the annual black-tie fundraiser for the shelter. This was Krista’s fourth year on the committee and Amber’s second. Although Krista would be willing to admit that the dark-haired beauty beside her was much better at this than Krista was. Amber was a marketing genius. Last year, thanks to her, they’d raised twenty percent more than they had the year before.
As Krista tried desperately not to think about her sore, achy muscles that were demanding she take them directly home and fill up a hot bath to soak in, she felt a sharp elbow in her side. Snapping her head towards Amber, she saw her tilting her head down towards her camera. Krista lowered her eyes, and when she did, she saw a photo of her and Chase out on the dance floor. His thumb was on her chin as he tilted her head up to look at him.
Chills spread out all over her body. The people in that picture didn’t just look in love—they looked head-over-heels, truly-deeply-madly in looove. Krista looked back up at Amber, who placed her hand over her chest and mouthed, “Oh. My. God.”
Krista smiled and tried to return her attention back to Betty. If there was one thing she didn’t want, it was Betty catching them not paying attention. The woman had a heart of gold and would give you the clothes off her back, but she was a stickler for rules and respect. Which was great as far as the shelter was concerned. She was exactly the kind of person this place needed to run it, the kind of person a lot of the women who came here desperately needed. Not, however, the kind of person who would appreciate two of her board members acting like school girls during an important planning meeting.
“Where are we on location?” Betty asked.
Crap.
This was Krista’s department, and usually when you reported, you stood up to address everyone so that you could be heard. As gingerly as possible, Krista raised her hand and tried not to wince as she slowly stood. It took longer than she’d hoped to come to an upright position, so she began speaking halfway up.
“I spoke to Mr. Jones, who, some of you might know, owns the property along Riverwalk East. He has a space available that can accommodate five hundred and he is willing to donate it.”
“Lovely! Well done!” Betty said as she clapped her pudgy hands together happily. Then, without any follow-up questions Betty, went on. “Next up—food.”
Great.
Krista had just made it all the way up and she was going to have to go back down again. Reaching out, she braced herself on the back of the seat in front of her and slowly lowered herself into the chair. When she was seated once again, she could feel Amber staring at her.
Darting her eyes to the side, she saw Amber’s expression, which looked like it was somewhere between worry and concern and amusement and laughter.
“Are you okay?” she whispered.
Krista would have nodded but it would have hurt her neck muscles. “Just sore,” she said as quietly as possible.
“From dancing?” Amber asked.
Clearly Amber had not been on the receiving end of an infamous Betty Milestone lecture. If she had, there was no way she would be chatting like they were at lunch instead of behaving like anyone who had been the recipient of one such lecture and treating this meeting with the same reverence you would a church service.
“I ran yesterday, too,” Krista said quietly, trying not to move her lips in case Betty was looking their way.
“Ladies,” Betty said, speaking a decibel louder than she just had. “Do you have something to share? Amber, where are we on entertainment?”
Amber looked down at her phone as she quickly stood. “I still haven’t heard back from all of the bands we were looking at, but the ones that I have are not available on that date. I was thinking that worst-case scenario we could hire a DJ.”
The room instantly fell so silent you could have heard a pin drop. Krista was actually surprised that there hadn’t been audible gasps of horror. Betty stared at Amber like she had just committed one of the seven deadly sins.
Amber looked around the room in confusion. “What? What did I say?”
“This fundraiser is not the sort of event that is suitable for a DJ,” Betty said.
Krista knew that the woman was attempting to be diplomatic, but anyone who knew her knew that what she really wanted to say was that this was a black-tie event, not a disco.
Live music had been a staple of the fundraiser
for as long as Krista had been attending. She was not opposed to the idea of switching things up, especially if they had no other choice in the matter. But this was an old-school crowd and for most of them, this event was the highlight of their year.
“Okay…” The tone in Amber’s voice indicated that she really didn’t see what the big deal was. “Well, then I am going to need some new names of bands that you would all find appropriate so that I can try and make something happen.”
During the last meeting, Amber had brought in over twenty possibilities for bands to play. After all the ladies had put in their votes, only six had made it to the final round.
“What about the Malone boy?” Krista heard Marla Smith pipe up from the front row. “He’s back in town. I was never a huge fan of his music, but some people seem to like it. We should ask him to perform.”
Liz Posey put in her two cents. “I never much cared for his guitar music, but he can play a mean piano.”
“You just tell him none of that rock music,” Marla added.
“I think that’s a great idea!” Betty clapped her hands together once again. “Amber, that’s the direction we want to go.”
“I’ll ask if Chase would be willing to play, but I’m not sure he’d appreciate my limiting his playlist, and I also don’t think we have it in the budget to hire him.”
Betty looked at Amber with her signature ‘bless her heart’ expression. Amber had lived in Harper’s Crossing for quite some time, but Krista realized that she still didn’t totally understand the dynamics of small-town living. The women in this room didn’t look at Chase Malone and see a multi-Grammy-winning, international superstar musician. They saw Chase Malone, Roger and Abby’s boy who played music.
“Why doesn’t Krista ask him?” Liz suggested. Then she added, “That boy’s been sweet on her since God was a boy.”
There were mumbles of agreement that rolled like a wave through the twenty women seated in attendance in the gym of the women’s shelter.
“Great idea.” Betty slammed her tiny gavel (Krista never understood why she even had a gavel!) on the wooden podium. “Now dress code.”
As Betty went on to talk about the importance of keeping the event black-tie, Amber sank back into her chair, mouthing, “Sorry.”
Krista smiled to assure her friend that it was fine. She had no idea what Chase’s schedule was or even how long he planned on being in town, but if his schedule allowed, she was sure he would agree to do it.
Then she realized that the fundraiser was only about a month away. She really hadn’t let herself think about Chase being around then. In fact, she’d just been hoping he’d leave. But now that she did, the thought of him not still being in town made her feel sick to her stomach.
Last night had been the most fun she’d had in…she couldn’t remember how long. They’d danced and laughed. Sure, they’d also had the moment Amber had so kindly captured for posterity, but then they’d laughed and danced.
Krista honestly had no idea how to navigate through the Chase-infested waters. She felt like she was being slammed around by all of the emotional waves and then last night had finally caught one and rode it onto shore. But every day that he was here, a part of this town, a part of her life, she was getting tossed back into the emotion ocean.
At this point, she just hoped she didn’t drown.
Chapter Fourteen
As she squirted lotion from the bottle and rubbed it on her bare legs, Krista pressed her fingertips into her sore muscles and she massaged it into her skin. She was beginning to feel a little more human. After her meeting this morning at the HCWS, she’d come home and walked Bear. Then she’d snuggled up with him on the couch and slept for a few hours.
It was rare that the house was so quiet these days. But today, Haley was at the lake with Eddie and his daughter Emily. Jessie was in Chicago; she hadn’t said what she was doing, just that she’d be gone all day. And Becca was with her childhood friend, Brian, on an all-day hike.
When Krista had been woken from her nap by Bear kisses, she’d gone upstairs and taken a much-needed hot bath. Lying in the tub, she’d placed her iPod on the dock and was listening to music. Chase’s music.
She wished she had the willpower not to, but his voice was just so… The way it made her feel was indescribable. It wasn’t just her. Many a music journalist had tried to wax poetic on Chase’s lyrical stylings, but none had been able to accurately describe not only the tone but more importantly that special something that just made people feel. Some had tried to attribute it to the fact that he sang from the heart, describing him as soulful. It wasn’t that Krista disagreed with that description. It was just that she thought there was more to it than that. In all actuality, it was most likely a combination of factors. A smorgasbord of ingredients that mixed together and equaled perfection.
Bear ruffed at her as she was pulling up her sweats.
“You gotta go potty?” she asked in a high voice that was normally saved for infants. She just couldn’t help talking baby talk to him. He was so stinking cute.
In answer to her question, he ruffed again.
“Okay.” Standing, she grabbed the tank top she’d laid out on her bed and pulled it on, then gathered her hair up in a loose pile atop her head, wrapping a ponytail holder around it twice.
The bath seemed to have alleviated a lot of the aches and pains yesterday’s activities had produced. She was happy that she was no longer walking at a snail’s pace, hunched over and wincing in pain. Not that she had her normal pep in her step by any means, but it was a huge improvement.
Taking the stairs a little slower than usual, she made it down with fairly little discomfort, which was a win. Placing her earphones in her ears, she decided to be productive, and after she let Bear out to do his business, she would do the dishes while she waited for the large extra pepperoni-and-extra-cheese pizza she’d ordered when she’d gotten out of the bath.
Normally she wouldn’t be able to listen to music while she waited for a delivery, but Bear was like her built-in security system. He alerted her to anyone coming up to the door or walking on the sidewalk in front of the house, and he was especially good at making sure the entire house knew if a cat had dared to step even a paw on the grass.
He wagged his tail, heading happily through the kitchen on the way to the sliding door. Krista wrapped her hands around the handle and grunted as she leaned back with all her might. The door budged about an inch. She sighed then took in a fortifying breath as she began to give it the old college try once again. Bear was barking and running in circles around her feet.
“I know. You have to go. I’m trying,” Krista said a little louder than she probably would have if she hadn’t had earphones in and music playing in her ears.
Bear barked frantically and took off towards the front door. Krista followed him, assuming that either the pizza had arrived already or he had to do his business so badly he couldn’t wait for her weak self to get the door open.
“All right, all right.” Krista reached down and grabbed Bear’s collar in case the skinny surfer kid who was the only delivery person at Gino’s was in fact waiting on the other side of it. She didn’t want to give the poor kid a heart attack.
Collar securely in hand, she commanded, “Sit.”
Bear continued barking at the door and wiggling around excitedly.
She tried the command again. “Bear, sit.”
The second time did not reap any more success than the first.
“Oh screw it,” Krista said as she opened the door.
The bright midday sun blinded her as it poured in through the doorway. All she could see was a shadow of a figure that did not appear to be holding a large rectangular box of cheesy goodness in it. Bear was going crazy as Krista lifted her hand to shield her eyes, and the moment she did, she was able to make out the face of the visitor.
Chase.
“Hey.” His deep voice sent a tingle skittering down her spine.
“Hey,” sh
e repeated.
This was it. She was living out the fantasy she’d had since the day his truck had screeched out of her parents’ driveway. Chase Malone was at her door.
Sure, it wasn’t playing out exactly how she’d fantasized about it. For one, she was fully aware that he was in town; in her fantasies, he’d always surprised her. Secondly, she’d never dreamt that she’d have a one-hundred-pound half Rottweiler half Golden Retriever that she’d be trying to keep from attacking him.
“You must be Bear,” Chase spoke calmly as he bent down.
“He doesn’t like men,” Krista warned as she pulled Bear’s collar.
“That’s a good boy,” Chase praised as he rubbed the top of Bear’s head while Bear was trying to give him kisses all over his face.
Krista then realized that apparently even dogs were not immune to Chase’s charm. Shaking her head, she let go of the dog’s collar and Bear flopped over on his back for belly rubs. Chase continued petting him, and Krista was happy to note even he talked baby talk, so she wasn’t the only one who couldn’t help it.
After a few minutes of male bonding in the entryway, Bear scrambled to get up and ran as fast as he could to the back door, indicating that his potty needs were now at code-red-emergency level. Krista was right behind him. She’d cleaned up enough accidents in the past week to last her a lifetime.
“He has to go out,” she said loudly to Chase, whom she assumed was following them.
Her fingers once again wrapped around the slider handle and she heaved with all her might. This time, her efforts were rewarded with the door opening about two inches.
Great.
* * *
Chase watched as Krista struggled with the door. He tried to get her attention to say that he would open it, but with Bear’s barking his head off and her wearing earphones, she didn’t hear him. So he wrapped his hands around her waist, picked her up, and moved her. Then he opened the door and was surprised that it was harder than he’d expected. He really had to put some muscle in it to budge the thing.
Crazy Love - Krista & Chase Page 14