01. Chasing Nikki (15 page)

I nodded,
going to her, reaching to stroke her cheek.  She was so beautiful.  I found it
hard to relate her to the image of a young girl trying to binge it up in the
forest.  “I’m glad you were able to walk away from it.  You were smart to do
so.”

“Are you
going to?  Walk away from it, I mean.” Her warm eyes looked like melted honey
as she stared into mine.

“I want to
sometimes.  Other times not so much.”  I continued to caress her face.  “Does
that bother you?”

“Yes, but
only because I worry about you.  I don’t want something to happen that will end
up hurting you even more.” She closed her eyes and nuzzled into my palm.  “I
like you, Chase.  A lot.”

“I like you
too, Nikki.” I pulled her into her arms and hugged her tightly.  “Thanks for
the concern.  I’ll be fine.  I promise.”

“Then do one
thing for me.”

“What’s
that?”

“Take some
of these worksheets home.  You don’t have to read them right away if you don’t
want to.  But they’re really good to help sort out your thoughts and see
certain patterns that trigger things.  You can do the exercises and then set
small goals for yourself after each one.  People in the group who do them
really like them.  It’s a great program.” Her words came out in a nervous rush
as she tried to convince me.

I sighed and
released her.  “Fine.  I’ll take them, but only if you agree to be my sponsor
and let me call you at any hour of the day or night if I need you.”

She didn’t
miss a beat, smiling as she practically skipped to the table to gather the
information for me.  She was so caught up in what she was doing, that she
didn’t even realize I’d just extracted a reason to contact her at any moment. 

I was going
to use this to my full advantage.

“I’m so glad
you said yes.” She handed a large manila envelope out to me.  “I honestly think
it’ll help.”

I chuckled
slightly at her obvious exuberance.  “We’ll see.”

“Glad you
finally made it here today, Chase,” Maggie’s voice broke in from the doorway. 
“I didn’t think you were going to show.”

“He got a
flat tire in the storm,” Nikki piped up before I could answer.

“I’m sorry I
was so late,” I offered.

“Let me sign
your community service hours off for you,” she replied, waving her hand for
them.

“It’ll only
be about forty-five minutes this time,” I told her.

“Nonsense. 
You were trying to get here, and you still showed up even though you knew you’d
missed most of it.  I’ll credit you for the two hours you were scheduled.”

I wondered
if she’d be so willing if she knew I’d come because I wanted to dally away
every second I could with her hot assistant.

“Thanks,” I
said when she handed the paper back to me.  I glanced at my phone.  “I guess I
better get going.  I have a friend coming over, and I need to meet someone
who’s taking my mom on a date.”

“All right. 
See you next week then,” Maggie waved, dismissing me as she moved past me to
the desk.

Nikki
followed me to the office door.  “Have fun with Brett tonight.  I’ll see you
tomorrow.”

“Sounds
great.” I leaned in to kiss her briefly on the lips, and I noticed Maggie’s
eyes shoot up in surprise.  I guess she wasn’t aware that Nikki and I were
dating now.  “Later, ladies,” I said and I left.

Video games
were in full swing, blasting loudly through the surround sound speakers on the
television system I’d insisted Mom keep when we moved here.  She couldn’t
really argue with me since Dad and I had picked the equipment out together. 
Getting rid of it would be like throwing away some of his memories.

“Die
suckers, die!” Brett shouted as we teamed up against the guys we were battling
together online—Wes and Chad.  It had been a pretty good match so far, but
Brett and I had this in the bag.

My attention
was suddenly diverted when my mom walked past wearing a short black cocktail
dress that showed off her long legs in her tall strappy heels.  Her dark, honey
streaked hair and makeup was fixed perfectly.

She smiled. 
“How’s the game going, guys?” she asked, continuing on her way.

Brett and I
both looked down just in time to see ourselves get blown to smithereens on the
screen.

“Dude!  Why
didn’t you tell me your mom was so smokin’ hot?” Brett exclaimed as soon as she
was out of earshot.  “She’s a ten for sure!”

I sent him a
scathing glare as I tossed the controller onto the coffee table.

“Okay. 
Message received.  Hot mom is off limits,” Brett grumbled.

“What do you
know about some guy named Greg Stanton?” I asked.

“Whoa, is
that who she’s going out with?”

I nodded. 
“Is that a good whoa, or a bad one?”

“The guy is
loaded.  He’s a total workhorse.  He’s like this big contractor guy.  His house
is that huge one in the middle of the country club, if you’ve ever been there. 
He built it for him and his fiancé, but she got this weird illness and ended up
dying before they got married.  He’s been single all these years, living in
that big old place by himself.  Everyone says he’ll never get over her.  I’ve
never even seen him date anyone before.”

So they had
something in common, both suffering from extreme loss.  I got up and moved
toward the stairs.

“Have you
ever heard anything bad about him?”

“Greg? Heck
no!  He’s one of the nicest people I know.  A really good guy.”

While I was
pretty sure I didn’t want to find out my mom was going out on a date with Jack
the Ripper, I was fairly certain this news might be just as bad.  I didn’t want
some Superman moving in to sweep her off her feet either.  She and I were …
well, we were a team, and we didn’t need anyone else butting in as far as I was
concerned.

The doorbell
rang right as we hit the bottom stair, and a quick check through the window
revealed a sweet, bright red, truck parked out in the driveway.

I heard
voices coming from the direction of the kitchen, and Mom appeared with Grandma
and Grandpa following after her.  She smoothed her dress down nervously as she
walked toward the door, and I suddenly found myself wanting to throw a blanket
around her so this guy couldn’t look at her.

I stepped in
front of everyone and opened the door a crack to find a tall, dark-haired, man
in a black suit on the porch with a handful of flowers.  He was well-groomed,
and probably had a face women freaked over.  I thought he actually looked a
little like Superman, and I fought back a groan.

“Can I help
you?” I drawled out lazily, only allowing him to see me filling the gap in the
entrance.

“Um, yeah. 
I’m Greg Stanton.  I’m here to pick up Tori Walker.  Is she ready?”

“Let me
check,” I said, shutting the door in his face.  “You ready?” I asked, turning
to look at Mom who was blushing.

“Don’t be
rude, Chase!” my grandma exclaimed as she rushed by, practically pushing me out
of the way in her excitement.  “Greg!” she said with a trill, welcoming him as
if he were the greatest thing to ever walk on the planet.  “Come in, come in. 
Yes, Tori
is
ready.”

Greg stepped
inside with a smile. “Thank you, Mrs. Johnson.” He stopped short when he saw my
mom there waiting for him.  He skimmed over her from head to toe and then back
up again.  “Wow.  You look great, Tori.”

I couldn’t
have rolled my eyes any farther.  Maybe I should’ve handed him a spoon so he
could continue to eat her up with that gaze.

“Thank you. 
So do you,” she answered, coloring even more as she wrung her hands together.

They both
stared at each other, and an awkward pause filled the air as we all waited for
them to say something else.

“Give her
the flowers, dude,” I coached him finally, unable to take it any longer, and
Greg sputtered to life as he peered down at the floral bouquet he’d obviously
forgotten.

“Oh, yeah.
Here, these are for you.” He extended the gift, and Mom took them while she
beamed at him. 

“These are
beautiful.  Thank you.”

“Let me put
those in some water, dear,” Grandma said, taking them and hurrying toward the
kitchen.

“Greg,”
Grandpa stepped forward, smiling bigger than I’d ever seen him do.  “Nice to
see you.”

“You too,
Warren.  How’s the ranch doing?”

“It’s all
right.  Getting everything ready for planting.  Just went to Phoenix and bought
me some new seeding equipment for the tractor.  I’m looking forward to trying
it out this next week.”

Good
gosh.  Was this really what adult people talked about up here?

“Sounds
great,” Greg replied sincerely.  “I hope it works well for you.”

“Greg,” my
mom interrupted, moving beside me.  “This is my son, Chase, I was telling you
about.”

“I kind of
figured as much.” Greg laughed.  “He seemed like he was on watchdog mode.  Way
to keep an eye out for your mom, kiddo.  Pleased to meet you.”  He extended his
hand to me, and I eyed it warily before I took it, shaking it once.

“So, I hear
Warren has been talking you up to Coach Hardin for the quarterback spot.”

He liked
football, did he?  Maybe there’s hope for him after all,
I thought.

“You’re
gonna have to work hard,” he continued.  “Jeremy Winters is leaving some big
shoes for you to fill, isn’t he, Brett?” he said, turning to clap him on the
shoulder.

And all hope
for Greg flew straight out the window.

Grandpa
cleared his throat.  “Don’t be putting him off yet.  I’d wager Chase’s stats
could beat Jeremy’s any day.  He’s good.”

I clenched
my jaw to try to keep it from dropping in surprise at my grandpa’s rapid
defense of me.  I had to get out of here.  This was getting too bizarre.

“Nice to
meet you, Greg,” I said, stepping briskly past him.

“Have a good
time, Mom.  Don’t forget who you are,” I added under my breath, and she laughed
and blushed again.

I grabbed
Brett by the arm, dragging him after me.  “Come on.  We’ve got people to kill
upstairs.”

“I think
good ol’ Greg boy has the major hots for your mom,” Brett whispered as we made
our way up.

“Shut up,
man,” I warned.

“Dude, I bet
you end up with a new baby brother by next year,” he prattled on, oblivious to
my mood.

I swung
around and faced him.  “If you don’t want me to knock that stupid head of yours
right off your shoulders, then I suggest you shut it now.”

Brett just
snorted at me.  “Yeah.  You saw it too, didn’t you?  That’s why you’re all
worked up about it.”  He chuckled as he walked over to the couch and plopped
down, picking up a controller.  “I’m telling you, don’t worry.  This guy is the
real deal, Chase.  He’ll treat your mom really well.” He chuckled again.

I heard the
front door close, and I turned to look out the window, watching as Greg led my
mom out to his massive beast of a truck and helped her inside.  I could hear
her laughter tinkling through the air, and I felt slightly sick.

That
should be my dad she’s with,
I thought bitterly. 

I sighed and
ran a hand through my hair.  I wanted her to be happy again, I just wasn’t sure
I was ready for it to be this way.

Chapter Fourteen

“Where are
you dragging me off to, Mr. Walker?” Nikki asked as she snuggled up closer.  I
loved the way her body brushed against mine as we bounced along the bumpy road
in my truck.

I slid my
arm around her tighter, kissing the top of her head.  “I’m taking you into the
middle of the woods so I can have my evil way with you.  Haven’t you figured
that out already?”

She laughed
nervously as she stared around outside the vehicle.  “I’m actually starting to
believe you, I think.”

I glanced
down and caught her eye.  “Would that be such an awful thing?” I cocked my
eyebrow.

She dropped
her gaze and began toying with the bottom of her shirt.  “I don’t know,” she
hedged, and I felt bad for making her uncomfortable.

“Relax.  We
aren’t even that far from the ranch house.  In fact, when we stop, you’ll be
able to see the house over that rise.  It just seems far because the road
swings in a wide circle before it comes around again.  It only took me fifteen
minutes to walk from there  to here the other day.”

“Oh,” she
replied, craning her neck in the direction I’d pointed.  “Then why didn’t we
just walk?”

“Because I
had too much stuff to carry, and because everything is still a bit muddy after
that freak rainstorm yesterday,” I explained as I pulled up underneath the
giant cottonwoods and parked.

“This is
beautiful.” Nikki’s eyes were wide as she took in the creek running nearby and
the tall grass that blew slightly in the spring breeze.

“I thought
so too.  Grandpa had me helping him gather some of the horses up, and I came
across this place.”

I slid from
the truck and reached into the bed in the back, pulling out a blanket and a
basket full of food.  “I thought we could have a picnic.”

She grinned
widely.  “You packed us a lunch?”

“Oh, heck
no.  I wanted you to survive the date.  My grandma made it.”

Nikki
giggled, and I handed the blanket to her so I could get the tarp I brought to
go underneath it, in case the ground was still too wet.

“You ready?”
I asked with a smile.

“Let’s do
this.”  She followed after me as I led the way to where the large branches of
the trees intertwined heavily, creating a canopy of sorts that filtered the
early May sunshine overhead.

“Does this
look good to you?” I set the basket down.

She nodded. 
“It looks great!”

I spread the
small plastic and helped her lay the fluffy quilt over the top.  We kicked our
shoes off and settled into the center of our makeshift area.