The Sergeant and the Senator

by Shanae Johnson

  Chase had called her his girlfriend back at the private school. But it had been part of the act. Hadn’t it?

  What hadn’t been an act was the way her heart had flipped. The way her fingernails had dug into her palms with want. The way her body had melted and molded into Chase’s as he’d put his arm around her.

  "I knew there was something between them after that dinner,” Maggie Banks was saying.

  Ginger knew Maggie from high school, as well. Maggie had mostly kept to herself back then. Or she’d engaged whatever animal was about. Even now, the veterinarian had two dogs at her feet and a beautiful baby bouncing on her lap. Across the table, Maggie’s husband, Dylan, sipped his sweet tea while gazing adoringly at his family.

  Eva’s husband Fran told knock-knock jokes with her little brother while her little sister rested against Fran’s healed chest.

  Reece Cartwright and his wife Beth, who was the daughter of the town’s pastor, held their own private conversation while his hand rested on her growing belly. Beside them, Reece’s twin sister Reegan laughed at something her husband, Brandon Lucas, said.

  Ginger was surrounded by happy brides and adoring husbands. The group included her newlywed sister. Mark Ortega hung on Honey’s every word as she went on and on about the little projects she was taking up around the ranch. Ginger still couldn’t believe that her sister, who had never gotten a single speck of dirt on her her entire life, had happily taken to ranch life like she’d been born to it.

  "Chase is the last of his team that's single, you know?"

  Oh, Ginger knew all right. She was made aware of that little fact any and every time she came and visited the ranch these past three months. Also, the hint was dropped each time she was in town and ran into one of the Purple Heart Brides as the townsfolk liked to call the women who lived on the ranch.

  "I was sure you two would get together before his three months were up,” Maggie was saying.

  Ginger also knew all about the zoning issue that said anyone who lived on the ranch had to be married. The red tape read that soldiers only had three months to live in the housing on the ranch, or they had to get out. As a city representative, Ginger knew the clause could be easily fought and defeated in a court of law. But no one from the ranch had launched a complaint. Instead, they all complied.

  Chase's other team members had all gotten married within the window. First Brandon and Reegan. Then Reece and Beth. And last month her sister had walked down the aisle with Mark. But Chase had stayed single the whole time. In fact, he’d moved off the ranch right at the three-month mark.

  "I lost a bet because of you two,” said Eva.

  "The new bet is how long it'll take you two to get engaged,” Reegan chimed in. “My money is on a month."

  "I've got a week,” said Maggie.

  This was insane. Ginger had to come clean. Even though these women were pains in the neck about her relationship status, she did actually want to be friends with them. She wanted to belong in this tight-knit community that had embraced her sister. She missed having a family looking out for her.

  And so she took a deep breath and let the truth out. “Guys, it's not real. It's fake."

  Instead of having gazes narrowing at her in anger; rather than chins raising high in indignation; every woman's eyes went wide with joy.

  "I'm changing my bet,” said Maggie. “I give it a few days."

  "I give it until the weekend,” said Eva.

  Bewildered, Ginger turned to her sister.

  Honey shrugged. "Apparently, that's how it all begins. If you pretend to date or masquerade as a couple, the real thing follows."

  Ginger knew Honey had done that with Mark during her debutante ball. Within a week, the two were in love and engaged. She'd heard a little about Maggie and Dylan's story where he’d proposed to save the ranch, and she’d said I do to save her animals. She knew Brandon had proposed to Reegan after her house had burned down. And Reece had believed he was already engaged to Beth when he’d experienced temporary amnesia.

  Wow, this ranch was a haven for cheap romance novels.

  Well, it wasn't happening to her and Chase. They weren't compatible. Even though he'd come to her rescue earlier, and she'd come to his. Even though his hand at the small of her back was the best thing she'd felt in a long time.

  She felt it again now. A warm weight settling right between her shoulder blades. If she weren’t sitting upright, Ginger would’ve sunk down into the cushion of that palm.

  “Had enough?” Chase said into her ear.

  She turned to find him grinning at her. The look in his gaze was knowing, as though he’d been privy to a similar conversation with the guys.

  “You want to get out of here?” he asked.

  "Yes."

  Ginger threw down her white napkin, signaling her surrender to the crazy conversation and betting still going on around her. As she headed to the door, there was the distinct sound of kissing noises. But when they turned, everyone at the table looked away innocently.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chase couldn't keep his hands to himself. They'd rested on Ginger’s shoulder blades as they walked out of the ranch’s dining hall. He'd toyed with a strand of her hair as they made their way down the stairs. His fingers had brushed her ear lobe as they crossed the fields. She'd shuddered, but he'd been the one to get a shock.

  All throughout dinner, he hadn’t been able to take his eyes off her. Not for long anyway. He’d lost threads of conversations as he spoke with the other males around him. He answered in monosyllabic words when asked his opinion.

  Each time he was able to tear his gaze from Ginger and back to his dinner companions, the men all wore goofy grins. At one point, Reed Cannon simply called him out.

  “We’re obviously not holding your attention,” the Specialist had said. “Go talk to her. Sooner rather than later so I can win this bet.”

  “What bet?” Chase had demanded.

  “Doesn’t matter,” chimed in Sean Jeffries with a rare smile on his scarred face. “Just get a move on before the weekend.”

  Something was afoot, but Chase couldn’t spare a care. He was more than happy to leave the guys and move in on his true target. Ginger Dumasse had gotten under his skin. Not just under his skin. In his very fingertips. In the palm of his hand, which he now rested at the small of her back. She'd gotten into his mind through his nostrils, which flared to take in more of her spiced-sugar scent.

  “That roast at dinner was really great," she said as they walked the graveled path.

  "Yup," Chase agreed. "Tender and sweet."

  "There was a bit of toughness to it."

  "Just a bit around the edges," he agreed. "But it was well done in the center, where it counts."

  "You think?"

  Ginger stopped walking and turned to face him. Her eyes were bright stars in the moonlight. Her parted lips glistened, begging to be kissed.

  What were they talking about again?

  Chase took a deep breath to try and clear his head. He let the air out slowly. Tilting his head up, he looked to the sky.

  Nope, those stars had nothing on the woman before him. Their shine was dim compared to the light within her. The light shining bright, warming him from the outside in. How had he ever thought her rigid?

  "You wanna go for a ride?" he asked.

  “You’re ready to take me back home?” The disappointment in her town was clear in the darkness.

  “No.” Being parted from her was the last thing he wanted right now. “Not a car ride, a horseback ride.”

  "Now?"

  Chase tugged Ginger along to the stables. The strong smell of horse manure brought some sense back to him. But not enough to turn back around.

  He wasn’t entirely sure what he was doing here, alone in the dark with this woman. He simply knew he didn’t want to be anywhere else.

  He lifted a saddle from the wall and opened one of the horse’s stalls. "You know how to ride?"

  Ginger grab
bed hold of the straps and began buckling them. "Of course, I know how to ride. I'm from Montana."

  Of course, she knew how to ride. She could probably run this ranch single-handedly. Was there anything this woman couldn't do? Nothing she couldn't plan for?

  "Do you know how to ride, city boy?" she chided.

  "I guess you're about to see."

  Chase swung himself up on the horse. Then he extended his hand down to her. Ginger took it with a smile and saddled up behind him.

  Chase knew it was a mistake the moment her arms wrapped around his waist. He recognized the miscalculation when her front pressed into his back. He sensed his misjudgment as her breath tickled the bottom of his earlobe. He may have made a mistake, but he knew this underestimation would pay out in huge gains.

  And so he didn’t back down. He didn’t stop and step down from the horse that was ready to carry them into the night. He didn’t turn around and admit to this error. He no longer wanted to run from what was clearly between them. With a slap to the horse's hide, they took off into the night.

  The ranch by moonlight was a vision. The tall trees resembled fluffy clouds touching the sky. The stars were pinpricks in a dark blue comforter. Along with the moon, those pricks of light provided ample illumination to guide them along the path.

  When he’d lived here, Chase had often gone riding alone at night. There was a peace in galloping over the green fields in the dark of night. With Ginger resting her chin on his shoulder, he felt like he could conquer the world.

  They didn't speak. They didn't need to. He felt her every move; the brush of her fingers, the twitch of her thigh.

  He was completely tuned into this woman. Probably had always been since the first time they'd argued with one another. How could he disagree with someone, but be in complete accord at the same time?

  He knew how. Their differences didn't separate them. Their differences, and the stark boundary lines between them, simply outlined more clearly who they were.

  The horse slowed to a canter as they headed back to the stalls. Chase dismounted first. Then he reached up to hand her down.

  Ginger wasn't a slight girl. She was a healthy woman. He brought her body to his to brace her weight. Soft curves met hard muscle. They both gulped at the intimate contact as she slid down his body.

  Chase watched intently as she slid down his chest, coming closer and closer. When her lips were just a couple of inches away, he knew that he would kiss her. He knew it was inevitable, had been since she'd given him his first tongue lashing over higher education versus military service.

  Well, now she was about to learn something new. And he would be the one providing the service. His lips were less than an inch when it happened.

  The pain was sudden and acute. He gripped Ginger to him instead of grabbing at his aching skull. It didn't matter. The stabbing migraine turned the dark night completely black.

  Before he became completely incapacitated, Chase set Ginger on her feet and turned away to deal with the torment.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chase was a big guy; a big, healthy, powerful guy. So, to watch his body convulse in pain was a shock to Ginger's system.

  For the first time in a long time, she didn't know what to do. No steps formed in her mind. No process or procedure became clear. The only thing she knew she wanted to do was to make whatever was hurting him stop.

  Chase's hands, those same palms that had spread warmth through her, cradled his head. Ginger turned her focus there. She put her hands over his. Her fingers aligned with his as he pressed against his temples.

  She didn’t know if it was enough. But it seemed to comfort him. His ragged breaths slowed. He stopped panting and began to take full, slow, deep breaths.

  That was a start. But he still didn’t pull his hands away. His brow was still crinkled in agony.

  Was this a PTSD episode? She knew that many soldiers, more than were reported, re-experienced the trauma they saw and lived through when they came back into civilian life. Was Chase having a flashback? Was he remembering something horrible from his time in a combat zone?

  Part of her brain flared a red warning sign. Ginger realized she should probably step back from him. She should put a safe distance between herself and him until she had more information as to what was happening. What if he didn’t recognize her and lashed out at her?

  No sooner than the thought rang in her mind did she dismiss it. This was Chase. Though he was big and often stern, every bone, every muscle in his body had shown her nothing but gentleness. Even when he disagreed with her, his tone had never been harsh.

  He’d even placed her away from him when the episode began. He’d been thinking of her care and comfort even as he was experiencing pain. For that, but also for so much more, she would not leave him, whatever the consequences.

  His hands still covered his face, like he was hiding from her. Ginger slid her fingers in between Chase’s fingers to press directly against his skin. She knew she’d done the right thing when he sighed against her palm.

  Soon, he let her have his head. His hands fell away, leaving only hers. Ginger worked hard to earn the trust he’d just given her. She kneaded in tight circles. Then in smaller circles.

  The plan was working. Chase kept his eyes closed. His breath steadied, going from ragged gulps to easy inhales and even exhales.

  Ginger didn't speak as she cared for him. She somehow knew that sound would not be welcomed. She waited for him to initiate conversation.

  He didn't. He remained quiet, reverent almost as she rubbed at his sore spots.

  At some point in her maneuvering, her fingers moved away from his temples. They traced his jawline. She felt the prickly stubble there that had begun around five o’clock this evening.

  As she came closer to his mouth, Chase’s chin lifted. His eyes opened to reveal the dark pools of brown. And, finally, his lips moved.

  "I have a headache," he said.

  “Isn't that supposed to be my line." She grinned.

  Chase didn't return her smile. He didn't lean in to taste her lips. His head was still in her hands. But, slowly, he was taking the weight of it from her.

  "This is for the best," he said as he leaned back.

  What did that mean? What was for the best?

  "I'll give you a ride home,” he said.

  "I drove," she said.

  "I'll walk you to your car, then."

  The softness was gone from his voice. She could hear the residual pain laced in his tone. Was he pulling the guy thing? She’d seen him vulnerable, and now he had to macho up? Was that what was going on?

  As if she hadn’t just spent the last ten minutes tending to him, giving him comfort, letting him know that she wouldn’t hurt him, that she could, in fact, help take away the pain. All that, and he was now shutting her out. Well, screw that, and the horse he came in on!

  "Don't bother,” she said. “I can do it myself.”

  Ginger whirled around. She pumped her legs hard as she made her way back up the path. She couldn’t get to her car and away from Sergeant Chase fast enough.

  The moment she heard his footsteps, she whirled around to face him. “You know, I don't need you to be my knight in shining armor."

  "I wasn't trying to be," he said.

  “Yet, the moment you show a sign of weakness, you run."

  "I didn't run. I was on my knees with my head in your hands."

  "And what? That scared you? Being vulnerable in front of a woman."

  "I'm not scared."

  "Oh, yeah?" She squared off against him and poked him in the chest. "Then why are you sending me away? Why put distance between us if you're not scared?”

  "Because I don't want this." His voice was raised as he motioned his hands between the two of them.

  Ginger reared back as if he'd slapped her. His words certainly did. He didn't want her?

  Chase put his hands back to his temples and closed his eyes. “I don't want to think about you every day. I d
on't want to wonder what you're thinking about every second of the day. I don't want to wonder what your opinion is on a particular topic and wonder if we’ll disagree and how you’ll try to change my mind.”

  He let go of his temple and paced the grass. He marched in a perfect line, back erect, head up high. The perfect soldier.

  "I don't want to think about kissing you every second. I don't want to actually kiss you because then I'll know. I'll know, and I'll want to do it again and again."

  He stopped marching and about-faced, which brought him right to her. He glared down at her, brown eyes accusing. But his voice softened.

  "I don't want to want you because you're the kind of girl that a man doesn't stop wanting once he's caught her."

  Ginger ran her hands through her hair. She pressed at the throb in her temple. “I’m so confused."

  Chase let out a soft chuckle. “Well, I'll bet that's a first."

  He grinned down at her. Which only served to make her even more confused. Was he telling her he wanted her? Or that he didn’t? There were so many double negatives in his statement she had no idea where she stood. She was completely lost.

  Chase looked lost too. He raised his hand and rubbed at his forehead. Ginger reached for him, placing her fingers over his.

  "Is it back?" she asked. "Are you feeling okay?"

  Chase let his hand drop but not to his side. His palm cupped her face. The moment his skin touched hers, that delicious warmth that seemed to come from somewhere deep in him spread all through her.

  "No,” he said. “I’m not okay. I am so far gone."

  His lips brushed hers. Lightly at first. Just a taste. Then, just as he predicted, he took another and then another kiss.

  And so it went until the crickets began to chirp, and the other night creatures crawled out of their hovels and announced their presence. Ginger and Chase ignored them all as they clung to one another. When they finally broke apart, they both were very clear on where they stood.

  But they decided not to let any of the other residents of the ranch know that the two of them were now a sure bet.