Ready To Love Again (39 page)

“No, I’m fine. Thank you.”

The sun sank lower on the horizon while the actors and court lined up on the pier. They had a perfect view of the show but were a little farther away than they had been on the beach. The kids pulled over one of the doublewide lounge chairs and all climbed on top. Tony looked up at Katie and then his father before holding out his hand to her.

“There’s enough room for everyone. Come on,” he said with a hopeful glimmer in his eye.

Katie sat down next to him and pulled her feet up before leaning against the backrest. Tony curled up against her and wrapped his arm around her waist to anchor her in place. Katie’s fingers played absently with his hair while they waited for the show to begin. She looked up at Chase, who stared down at her with a small smile on his face. When he caught her questioning eye, he shook his head and took his place on the other side. Shawn scooted in between Tony and Chase while Liz positioned herself between Chase’s legs, leaning up against his chest.

As soon as the sun set, the sound of Asian music carried across the water. A deep voice rang out as the narrator went through the story of a young princess who had fallen in love with a boy her father disapproved of. By the end of the story, they ran away together and turned into monarch butterflies.

Katie looked over at Chase, and his face was turned toward hers while he stared unabashedly into her eyes. Her breath caught in her throat when their eyes caught and held. His hand reached toward her face, and she sucked in an expectant breath before Tony broke the spell and cuddled closer. Chase dropped his hand, and she looked down at Tony, who was smiling up at her. Katie pulled him closer, realizing how much she’d missed him, and then she looked back at Chase.

His eyes darted down to her lips and back to her eyes, and she felt that familiar desire grow in the pit of her stomach. The fireworks began to light up the evening sky while she and Chase continued to focus on one another. The kids squealed in delight with each new explosion, but Katie barely heard them. All she could see was the man she loved, staring back at her with the same adoration in his eyes. She wanted to throw herself into his arms and beg him to forgive her stupidity for ever thinking she could move on. Instead, they lay with their heads a foot apart on a lounge chair, their family in their arms.

~*~

“Chase?” Katie whispered while they all walked toward her car. Both boys and Liz were ahead of them, chatting about the events of the evening and making plans for the next outing.

“Hmm?”

She stared at him for a moment before turning to make sure the kids were still preoccupied. Liz was chatting animatedly with Shawn while holding Tony’s hand. “Did Liz mention her visit to the aquarium yesterday?”

Chase thought back to the day before and shook his head. He had worked a double shift that day, and he didn’t get a lot of time with the kids before they went to bed.

“No. Why? Did something happen?”

“Nothing bad.” He relaxed when she gave him a reassuring smile. “She apologized for the way she’d treated Shawn and me.”

Liz had come a long way in the last two months. However, Chase wondered if Gina had put her up to the apology and made a mental note to talk to her about it later. He smiled back at Katie. “She was so awful to you that I thought she’d never come around. Allison said children don’t usually hate the new person in their parent’s life—they just have a hard time reconciling their loyalty. I don’t think she ever disliked you, because there were times when she tried to make things work. I think she just felt that if she cared about you, she was somehow betraying her mother.”

“That makes sense,” Katie said. “I felt a little of that possessiveness while Shawn was gone. It hurt to think that another woman was trying to weasel her way into my child’s heart. I’d say I’m a pretty rational adult, but it still ticked me off. I’m surprised Liz handled the situation as well as she did. I wish I could say the same for myself.”

Chase bumped her arm with his. “What happened?” A low growl came from her chest, and Chase chuckled. “I take it Mama Bear came out to play.”

She scowled at him but then replaced her frown with a small smile. Katie proceeded to tell him about her talk with Shawn on the phone and her subsequent conversation with Victor’s girlfriend. He chuckled at the feisty jibe she’d given Elena about Victor’s infidelity and found himself marveling at her strength. She’d endured six weeks without her son and put her foot down when Victor wasn’t living up to his parental responsibilities.

When they reached her car, Katie smiled up at him. “Thank you for a nice evening. Shawn and I enjoyed it very much.”

Chase felt a strong desire to pull her into his arms. The intensity between them crackled in the air. Katie broke eye contact when Shawn interrupted and asked for the car keys.

Now that Shawn was home, Chase could start to plan ways they could spend more time together. “Maybe next time we take the boat out, you and Shawn could come along?”

“Maybe,” Katie responded.

Chase felt a big, stupid grin take over. It wasn’t a flat-out refusal, and it gave him hope. Without overthinking, he pulled her into a hug, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. She melted into his embrace, and her fingers closed around his shirt, clutching him to her.

“I missed you,” he whispered into her hair, unable to stop the words from tumbling from his lips.

Katie pulled away and looked into his eyes. A spark of hope twinkled within the depths before she pushed up on her toes and kissed his cheek.

“Good night, Chase.”

His fingers caressed her arm, and then he stepped away before he could do something to ruin the moment. “Good night, Katie.”

Chapter 21

“Shawn! Stop chasing Buddy around the house.” Katie groaned and rolled out of bed. Pulling open the door to her bedroom, she found Shawn lying on Buddy in the middle of the hallway, his mischievous grin in place. Any irritation she had about being woken by the sounds of wrestling melted when he turned his smile on her.

“Do you want to take this little romp to the beach?” she asked.

Shawn’s eyes lit up, and he jumped off Buddy and ran to his room. Katie reached down to scratch Buddy between the ears before she turned into the bathroom. She pulled her hair back into a sloppy ponytail, brushed her teeth, and washed her face. Opting to take a shower when she returned home, she threw on a lightweight sundress and grabbed the sunscreen and beach towels.

When she walked into the kitchen, she saw that Shawn had slapped together two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. She quirked a brow at the mess he made all over the counter.

“We can have a picnic on the beach,” he said.

Katie chuckled at his enthusiasm. “That sounds fantastic.”

It was a beautiful summer day. The temperature was in the eighties, and a light breeze blew off the ocean. While they made their way down the beach, Shawn threw the ball for Buddy, his leash dragging wildly behind him. The delighted dog chased the ball into the water and then ran around them at full speed. Katie laughed, loving the feel of the sand between her toes and the sound of her son’s carefree giggles.

When she’d known that her divorce was unavoidable, everything had seemed so gloomy, as if her life would never be the same. The heavy burden of being the sole provider had scared the heck out of her. It was only after they had moved and she’d gained control of her own life that she saw how freeing it was. Katie now knew that even though obstacles were thrown in their path, she and Shawn could overcome them.

She glanced up in time to see Buddy barreling toward a small figure on the beach. It looked like a child, and Katie worried his enthusiasm might frighten the poor thing. Katie let out a long whistle, and Buddy stopped to look over at her, his ears perked up. She whistled again, but he didn’t budge. Letting out an exasperated sigh, she made her way over to him. When Buddy noticed she was closing the distance, he dashed over to the child on the beach and ran around her in circles. She had on a bright pink hat, and Katie could hear her giggling while Buddy trampled the sand castle she had built.

The girl wrapped her arms around Buddy, and the dog calmed down. Shawn ran over and dropped to sit down beside them. It wasn’t until Katie got closer that she realized it was Liz. She looked around the beach but didn’t see Chase or Tony.

Liz was too young to be out on the beach by herself, and Katie found her irritation build when she realized Chase was nowhere around. Shawn picked up her toys to help rebuild what Buddy had destroyed, and they began to dig in the sand together.

“Good morning, Liz,” Katie said when she moved closer. Liz turned and waved with a genuine smile. “What are you doing out here by yourself?”

Liz pointed out to the ocean. “Dad and Tony are surfing.”

Katie squinted and noticed several surfers sitting on their boards, waiting for the perfect wave. They were too far out to make out Chase and Tony. She plopped down next to Liz and continued to stare, trying to see if she could spot them.

“What are you guys doing today?” Liz asked.

“We brought Buddy to the beach. He was cooped up at the house while I was in New Mexico,” Shawn said.

Over the previous week, Shawn had rarely brought up his New Mexico trip. Katie surmised that he’d enjoyed the last two weeks with his father, but she wasn’t sure if Victor had made up for the four weeks Shawn had been left with Elena. She just hoped Victor hadn’t messed things up with his son beyond repair.

Katie watched while Shawn and Liz chatted and worked together to rebuild the Buddy demolition. She caught herself looking out at the surfers once or twice, hoping to catch a glimpse of Chase. After a while, Tony came in to shore, his surfboard tucked under his arm.

“Dad said you guys were on the beach.” He laid his surfboard in the sand, then sat next to Katie and peeled off the top half of his wetsuit.

“Which one’s your dad?” Katie asked, looking back out over the waves. Tony’s head popped up, and he scanned the horizon until he pointed at a surfer who had stood up and was riding a wave in.

“That’s Dad. He likes to be on the outside. He says he’s too old to compete for the waves with the other guys.”

Katie watched Chase bounce across the waves and then cut back, flipping his board over the top of the wave. He gently sank back into the water and proceeded to paddle back out.

“Show off.” There was a hint of awe in Tony’s voice that made Katie want to laugh. She continued to watch Chase line up with another wave. His movements were graceful while he slid through the rolling surf. When the swell died off, he sank back down onto his board and began to make his way to shore.

She couldn’t tear her gaze away from the powerful strength of his strokes while he glided over the ocean waves. When a smaller swell pushed him the rest of the way onto shore, he stood and picked up his board. Shaking his head, he ran his fingers through his hair and jogged over, a huge smile on his face.

“Hey,” Chase said in greeting.

Shawn jumped up and ran over to him. “That was so cool. I want to learn how to surf, too.”

He looked over at Katie before answering, and she looked wide-eyed back at him, shaking her head. Chase chuckled and ruffled Shawn’s hair. “We’ll have to work on your mom first.”

Shawn looked over at his mother with pleading eyes, but she wouldn’t give in. She wasn’t quite ready to have her baby out on the ocean with only a surfboard for protection since her love of the ocean didn’t blind her to its dangers. Chase gave Katie a small smile, and she felt a familiar thrill run through her body.

When Chase unzipped his wetsuit and pushed it down to his waist, Katie averted her eyes before he caught her staring. The temptation to check out his naked torso was too much, so she gave in, sneaking glances when she thought he wasn’t looking.

He was as toned as she remembered. The water from his hair dripped across his chest and vanished into the trail of curls leading down from his navel and into his wetsuit, which clung low on his hips. With a sigh, she wondered what surfers wore underneath their tight neoprene suits. She heard a small chuckle, and her eyes snapped to his. Chase gave her a teasing grin and ran a hand through his wet hair.

Katie glanced down at the sandcastle, which was almost finished, and tried to hide her embarrassment. Glancing up when little droplets of water landed on her legs, she laughed to see Chase shaking his head above them, getting them wet.

“Daddy!” Liz smiled, despite her complaint.

“What?”

Katie piped up. “You got us all wet.”
 

“Are you going to melt?” he asked with a playful twinkle in his eye. “C’mon, Katie. You need to learn the ocean is your friend.”

The next thing she knew, he’d scooped her up in his arms. Katie yelped and grabbed at her dress, thankful that his arms pinned it down so she wouldn’t flash everyone on the beach.

“Put me down, Chase O’Donnell.” Her demand came out with a laugh and was not at all threatening.

Chase strode toward the breaking surf. Although she kicked her legs, he clamped his arm tighter around her struggling limbs and continued toward the water. Katie could hear the kids giggling, and she pinched Chase’s chest above his nipple—hard. He winced at her attack but crushed her closer until he’d trapped her hands between their bodies.