Away (12 page)

“Easy there, I didn’t come down here to see Jase junior,” I told him.

He shook his head and finished pulling the covers off the rest of the way until he was out of the bed completely only wearing a pair of boxer shorts. I must have been staring at his bare chest again. It was by all means more captivating than the picture I was so interested in earlier. It had just enough definition that made me want to whimper, until Jase cleared his throat, bringing me back to the picture.

“Um, so the picture.” I tried to recover my embarrassment.

He took another look at me, letting a quiet chuckle escape before standing right next to me.

“We were so young,” he said, as though he was picturing the day in his mind. “It was at our friends’ farm. They had horses, we went riding that day, and it was our first time. Our moms had us sit down on the hay to take a picture, but before we did I put a piece of hay in my mouth so I could be like my dad,” he said, still staring at the picture. “And then the others followed suit.”

“You were an adorable child, just look at the wild curly hair peeking out of that hat,” I said, picking up the picture to look at it closer. “Looks like a fun day for you three.”

“It was,” he said, smiling over my shoulder at the picture in my hands.

“So who are the other two kids with you?” I asked him.

“My brother and a friend,” he answered quietly.

“You said you didn’t have any siblings.” I questioned him, confused by what I thought I knew.

“No. I said it was just me in the house.” He let out a long, deep breath. “Cassie… we just don’t talk about him much, that’s all.”

“Why is it such a big secret?” I asked, concerned there was something deeper going on.

“It’s not a big secret.” He shrugged. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him though; I would need a better answer than that.

“Listen, families have problems. It seems normal nowadays. There are just some things better left unsaid, okay?” he asked gently.

“Yeah, I guess.” I didn’t think I would be getting any other answers than the one he just gave me. Not to mention, I completely and whole-heartedly understood about families having problems because I was used to them too.

“Thank you,” he said.

I took my focus from the picture to the other side of the dresser. Another picture showed an older version of him standing with his mom, smiling at the camera, and giving a big thumbs-up. His mom wore scrubs, and it looked like they were at the hospital where she worked now. “Did you go to work with your mom a lot?”

He walked behind me, his chest almost touching my back, causing a small shiver to run down my spine. He looked closer at the picture. “Yeah, on summer break especially. It was fun as a kid to roam the halls of a hospital, it lost its entertainment the older I got,” he said, walking back to his bed, sitting down on the edge of it.

“I couldn’t imagine hospitals being entertaining at any age,” I said, taking a seat next to him.

He shook his head as he stretched his arms over his head. “So what brought you down here? Kudos on not getting lost by the way,” he said with a yawn.

Ugh. I slapped the side of his arm that was next to me. “Normally you are up at the crack of dawn and ready to go, waking
me
up… so when I woke this morning and the house was quiet, I was just making sure you were okay,” I confessed, slouching, as I felt silly for worrying so much over him.

“I was just tired from yesterday and then I stayed up a little later.”

“Why were you up so late?” I asked, pulling up a leg underneath me.

He looked at me, his eyes steady. “Can you keep a secret?” he whispered.

“Of course,” I whispered back, leaning closer to him, eager for him to be confiding in me.

“So can I.”

“You are such a brat, you know that?”

“I was reading, Cassie,” he said. “You don’t take well to teasing do you?”

“I guess not,” I answered him. “And what did you say? That you were
reading
?” I questioned him, never having heard that answer come out of a guy’s mouth who wasn’t in college, and even that was rare.

“Did I say reading? What I meant was, I was watching television,” he said, nodding his head.

“Too late Jase, you already spilled the beans. Come on now, what were you reading?” I asked intrigued.

“Don’t get too excited, I was just reading some letters from a friend,” he answered.

“You mean emails?” I asked confused.

“No. I mean snail mail. Like the good old fashioned hand written letters that the mailman delivers. None of that electronic stuff, Sweetheart.”

He seemed to enjoy the old-fashioned things in life, the letters, and the memories. It was really cute. “I’m going to say that’s probably why you still have a flip phone.” I dropped my gaze down, peering at him.

“People become too reliant on having the world at their fingertips. Enjoying the moment and not knowing what’s going to come next, that’s the real deal, Cassie,” he said.

“Well that’s not nearly as exciting as a book. But I get it, sort of,” I admitted to him as I heard a vibrating noise coming from his nightstand.

“Speaking of phones,” he said, leaning up and reaching for his phone.

“Hello?” he answered.

“Yes ma’am. Who’s this?” he asked.

“Ah, I’ve been expecting your call.”

“As a matter a fact she is,” he said, looking over at me. It was either Melanie or, well it had to be Melanie.

“She’s in my room. Definitely not being held hostage. I promise she’s in good hands Melanie,” he said as he nodded into the phone with each answer.

“I know you will,” he said cringing. I could only imagine the words that were coming out of her mouth. Not to mention the half frightened look on Jase’s face as he answered her questions.

“Yes ma’am, I will. Okay here she is.” He pulled the phone from his ear and let out a breath, handing the phone over to me.

“She’s a feisty one,” he said, making me giggle. She was most certainly a feisty chick and I loved her for it.

“Hey Mel,” I said, glad to hear her voice.

“He said he isn’t holding you captive, is this true?” she asked in a half teasing manner.

“No, he’s not holding me captive.” I could see Jase shaking his head.

“Okay then,” she said. “He sounds really cute, Cass. Is that why you were okay waiting for your car?”

“Melanie. Oh my gosh. I can’t believe you. Call me tomorrow, love you.”

“Love you too, Cass,” she said, giggling before hanging up the phone.

I handed Jason back his phone. “She’s a little protective,” I told Jase, who was looking at me with a questioning glance.

“Just a little,” he said. “It’s good though, she just wants to make sure you’re being taken care of.”

My heart pumped a little faster as I thought about how he was doing just that, taking care of me.

He yawned as he leaned up from the bed. “So, how about we get ready and then I want to take you somewhere today,” he said, turning to look at me.

“Is it to get my car?” I asked.

“No, sorry to burst your bubble. I want to take you somewhere and then tonight we have dinner at my grandmother’s house.”

I turned my hand pointing to myself, “Me. I’m going with you?”

“Yes you. I’m not leaving you here,” he said. “So hurry up and go get ready. I’ll do the same. Meet you upstairs in five?”

“Five minutes? Ha… I don’t know what planet you live on.” I got up from his bed.

“Wishful thinking?”

“Just a bit,” I said as I walked toward to his door. “I’ll be as quick as possible, but no guarantees.”

“I’m just excited to get you in a pair of boots, that’s all,” he said with his lips curling up at the corners and his eyes fixed on mine.

“Boots?” I asked him with a shocked expression plastered on my face. Why did I need boots?

I
COULDN
’
T
STOP
STARING
DOWN
at my feet; they were nothing like I imagined when Jase had told me where he was taking me. I never thought cowgirl boots were my thing but I was in love. They were a gorgeous dark turquoise color with gold studs lining the rim and gold swirls on the sides.

“You like ‘em?” he asked as he drove us to his grandma’s house.

“Like them? I love them Jason,” I gushed, still staring down at my newly decorated feet, I couldn’t stop admiring them. “You didn’t need to buy them though, I wish you’d let me pay you back,” I said, still miffed he used his money on me. It was thoughtful and the sweetest gesture, but I felt bad for it.

“Cassie, it was the only way I was going to get you in those boots. You would never have bought yourself a pair,” he said, shifting his eyes between the road and me, with a stern look on his face. “I wanted to do something nice for you to keep your mind off your car and all.”

“Maybe not then, but now that I love them, you can bet your ass I’ll be buying more,” I admitted, making him smile before he returned his gaze to the road ahead. “You have no idea how amazing today was for me. It’s been a long time since I’ve gone out and done something like that.”

I looked down again, admiring my new boots and going over our day in my head. It really did keep my mind off of things. I’ve never once had a guy offer to go shopping with me let alone have it be his idea. So when Jason drove us all the way out to the next town just to buy boots, I was already impressed. Not to mention, he took me into not one, but three different stores just to find the perfect pair of boots. I thought he might have regretted the whole thing after having no luck at the first and second store, but he kept trudging on as if it was no big deal. I’m pretty sure I even saw him smile when the staff was admiring his boots. I had one of those ‘Ahhh’ moments the minute I put on the turquoise boots. I felt like Cinderella as the guy slipped the boot on for me. A first ever for me and I could tell my color choice freaked Jason out a bit, but I knew the minute I saw myself in the mirror they were a perfect fit. We ended our shopping trip with a lunch of the “usual”. A truly perfect way to end it all.

“Well I’m glad you had such an awesome day,” he answered back. “I
was
a little apprehensive about your color choice, but they look really good on you.” I saw his lips curl up a little bit as his eyes remained focused forward.

“It’s a bold choice for me, trust me,” I admitted as we came up to a stoplight.

“The only stoplight in town,” I said, glancing at it as if it were a national landmark. It was not like what I pictured. It was a four-way intersection with only one light segment hanging from each intersection. And by hanging, I meant dangling; the structure was not at all what I was used to seeing back in Denver. I giggled as I took in the small town stoplight, thinking how silly it was that I was so easily amused by it.

“I hear you over there,” he said.

The light turned green but he didn’t move forward. He kept his foot on the brake and turned his head in my direction, wearing a grin that was spread at least six inches wide.

“Do I want to know why that smile is plastered on your face and you aren’t driving even though we have a green light?”

He turned his head in either direction. “No one is behind us. Is it making you nervous that I’m not driving when the light is green?” he asked playfully.

“Yes, as a matter of fact, it
is
making me anxious... normal people don’t sit at a green light Jase,” I told him, staring right back at him, eyes locked on his. “Well, are we going to drive or just sit here and stare at each other?”

He didn’t reply. He put the truck in park and slowly turned his body toward the door and grabbed the handle. He stepped out of his truck, making his way to my side and stopping. I raised my hands, wanting to know why on earth he got out of his truck in the middle of a light. He opened my door and stood there smiling, holding out his hand for me to take.

“What are you doing?” I hesitated.

“You need to learn how to relax and let go. Cassie, you are way too uptight, Sweetheart.”

“How is getting out of the truck going to ease my nerves? It’s only making it worse, Jase. What if a car pulls up?” I asked him with a hitch in my voice, scared of becoming road kill.

“Then we’ll move. Don’t worry so much about what might happen. Just enjoy the moment,” he told me softly.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I was trying to do as he said and began to place my hand in his when the moment was cut short.

HONK! HONK! HONK!

“Holy shit,” I yelled. Not even once looking to see where it was coming from, I pulled my hand from his and got back in touch with the reality that I was about to get out in the street. I tucked myself into my seat and cowered down.

Jason was now busting up laughing as he held his stomach, while I was trying to catch my breath from the scare the horn gave me. He looked across the street and cupped his hands around his mouth to say something to the driver who had his head out of the window.

“What the hell man?” Jason yelled to someone that I assumed he knew.

“Dude what are you doing?” he asked.

Jason raised his hands up at him. “Having a moment, what does is look like to you?”