Chased Dreams (24 page)

Standing in my suit, without help, I waited
at the head of the room next to Greg. He’d asked me to be his best
man and I’d readily agreed. I’d pounded out the weight training
over the last couple of weeks and worked hard on rebuilding my
strength, trading my walker out for a cane—which, in my opinion,
was almost just as bad. Still, it was improvement. While I didn’t
feel anywhere close to normal, things were coming along nicely, and
I enjoyed having the extra stamina.

Grandpa had let me take over my old job of
feeding the horses. I wasn’t able to muck out stalls or anything
like that yet, but I was determined to do it. I laughed internally.
Who’d have ever thought I’d be excited to muck out horse
stalls?

“Are you feeling okay?” Greg asked me, his
eyes never leaving the entrance to the room as he anticipated my
mom’s arrival. He straightened his tie for what had to be the
thousandth time.

“Chill, man. You look like a nervous wreck.
I’m doing fine, however.” I bumped his elbow with mine and he
grinned patting me on the back.

“I’ve never been married before. What if
your mom decides I’m no good at it?”

I snorted. “Whatever. She loves you and
knows you love her. The two of you will figure it out. I’m totally
confident.”

My attention was completely diverted from
the conversation when Nikki entered the room with Justine and her
younger siblings, Timmy and Clara. I only had eyes for Nikki,
though. She looked amazing in her sage green dress, which perfectly
complimented the tie I was wearing. Her long brown hair was sleek
and smooth, making my fingers itch to run through it. Smiling at me
as she sat down, I winked at her. She didn’t look away, and neither
did I.

Love for her blossomed in my heart and I
realized that I needed to have a talk with her.

***

As soon as I could leave the reception
without my absence being noticed, I made my way across the room to
the table where Nikki was sitting with her family, Brett, Tana, and
Brittney.

“Can I steal you for a moment?” I asked,
smiling.

Nodding, she excused herself from the table,
slipping her hand in mine and linking our fingers. “Are you making
an escape?” she asked in a teasing manner.

“I am. I told my mom I needed to rest for a
while.”

“Are you feeling okay?” The concern was
evident in her voice as I led her from the banquet room and down
the hall.

“I’m tired, but I feel fine, otherwise. I
simply want to spend some alone time with you.”

“I’m always up for alone time.” Smiling she
leaned her head against my arm and I released her hand so I could
wrap my arm around her shoulders, hugging her closer to me. We
continued on in silence until we got to the room Greg and I had
shared last night. Taking the key card from my pocket, I slipped it
into the slot and opened the door, ushering her inside.

“Ignore the mess.”

She giggled. “How can two guys wreak such
havoc in just one night?”

I shrugged. “Greg’s a pig, what can I
say?”

“Mmhmm. That’s why most of this stuff looks
like yours.” Glancing around, she shook her head at the clothing
that was strewn all over the floor and across the bed. “It looks
like you’ve been living here for a week, instead of just a couple
days.”

I laughed. “So, I’m a slob. Does that mean
you’re going to ditch me?” Leaning the cane against the nightstand,
I quickly began straightening up the place, tossing my clothing in
the corner.

Nikki stepped in front of me. “I’ll never
ditch you,” she replied, pushing me backward onto the bed before
hiking her dress above her knees and climbing on top of me.

“I’m going to be a slob more often if this
is the reaction I’m going to get.” My hand went naturally to her
waist pulling her closer. Her hands were on either side of my head,
propping her upper body at an angle with her glorious hair falling
down around us.

“Why’d you drag me off to your room,
Walker?” she asked, her gaze flitting over my features.

“I was tired. I thought we could take a
nap.”

Her smoky expression dimmed a bit.
“Really?”

“Hell, no,” I replied, with a laugh. “I
might be a slob, but I’m not an idiot. There’s no way I’m wasting
alone time with you.” I slid my hands up her back. “I think you
should kiss me.”

She bit her lip, appearing to ponder my
request. “I guess I can accommodate you.”

Chuckling, I ran my hands down her arms.
“Don’t sound so excited.”

She moved closer, her lips hovering just
above mine. “Oh, I’m excited.”

“You sure?” I asked.

“Very.” Closing the rest of the distance
between us, she pressed her mouth to mine, settling the rest of her
length against me and I loved the feel of her full weight on me.
Sliding my hands to the side of her face, I stroked my thumbs over
her soft cheeks.

Letting her take the lead, I thoroughly
enjoyed when she deepened the kiss, her tongue touching mine. My
hand slid up into her hair, slipping around behind her head,
holding her tighter to me. She broke away, placing a kiss on my
chin, before continuing down to my neck, and then my chest.

My breath came faster, the lower she moved,
my imagination wishing her to keep going. All too soon, she paused
and glanced up at me. “You like this?”

“I think that’s obvious,” I replied, knowing
she was perfectly aware of just how much I was enjoying things.
“You’ve successfully distracted me from the real reason I brought
you here.”

“You mean you didn’t bring me here for
this?” She sounded surprised.

“Maybe a little of this; but no, that wasn’t
my main intent. Greg will be coming back at some point to get his
things before he and my mom leave for their honeymoon.”

She glanced at the closed door, sighing
before she moved, settling onto the mattress beside me. “So, what’s
going on in that head of yours?”

“Lots of things. And a lot of them have to
do with you.”

“Tell me.” Tracing her finger on my chest,
her eyes followed the pattern before looking up toward mine.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about my future
and where I’m going from here.”

She hesitated. “Okay.” I knew she was
nervous.

“Let’s face it, I’m going to be stuck doing
physical therapy for a while as I continue to build up my strength.
Until I get to that point, I’m not going to be able to hold a job
or anything like that. Originally, I planned on sports to give me
an edge. It was my ticket to scholarships and maybe even a future
source of income; but now that’s gone and I’m completely lost about
what to do. I’m not even a high school graduate. I missed all of
that.”

“Chase, you’ve been through such an insane
experience. No one expects you to jump right back into life and
know exactly what you’re going to do. It’s going to take some time
for you to figure things out. Don’t give up, though.”

“I’m not giving up; but I do want to know I
have something to rely on—some kind of plan or something.” I stared
at her. “You’re the smart one. Do you have any bright ideas?”

She laughed, leaning over to place a light
kiss on my cheek. “I think you’re a bright guy with a bright future
in front of you. Yes, you’re starting over, but that’s okay. I
remember laying in the hayloft with you and your mom. You talked
about maybe going to school for physical or sports therapy. I bet
you could easily do that still. And what about your story? Maybe
you could even write a book or something.”

I snorted. “Who would even listen to what I
had to say?”

“Chase, your story is incredible. You
survived a terrible accident. You came back from a traumatic brain
injury. You lived a whole different life while you were asleep.
Even scientists would probably find that fascinating.”

“So, you’re telling me to become a lab rat?”
I asked, grinning.

“No.” Shoving at my shoulder, she sat up
cross-legged beside me. “I’m merely trying to tell you there are
other options out there for you.”

“All those things will take time though.”
Sitting up myself, I turned to face her. “I don’t want to take that
much time.”

Sighing, she glanced toward the window
before looking back at me. “I don’t know what to tell you
then.”

Smiling, I reached out and cupped her face
in my palm, running my thumb over her lips. “I’m not explaining
myself very well, am I?” She was so beautiful. I could be happy
sitting right here and staring at her for the rest of my life—well
okay, maybe not just staring, but yeah. “I’m trying to ask you how
you feel about being with a high school drop-out who has no
athletic future.”

“I don’t care if you’re a caveman. As long
as you’re in my life, I’ll be happy. I’ll take you any way I can
get you.” She slid her hand over mine and I sighed.

Placing both my hands on either side of her
face, I leaned in and lightly kissed her sweet lips. “You still
don’t understand.” I pulled back ever so slightly, staring at her.
“The reason I’m so impatient is because I want to marry you.”

Her breath caught and tears immediately swam
in her eyes. “What?” she breathed out.

“I want to marry you and I don’t want to
wait forever to be able to do it. I think we’ve spent enough time
apart from one another and I lived enough agony without you to know
that you are the only one for me. I’ll still need some more
recovery time, but as soon as I’m able, if you’re in agreement, I’d
like to get married.”

She didn’t hesitate. “I’d marry you tomorrow
if you wanted me to.” Quickly, she pressed her lips to mine and I
kissed her for a moment before pulling back.

“Was that a yes?” I asked, searching her
eyes for any doubt.

She nodded. “That was a yes, yes, yes!”

I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped me.
“For some reason, I always imagined you saying those words in an
entirely different scenario.”

“I’ll say it again for you then, too.”

Instantly, we were a tangle of kissing and
holding each other. I wrapped my arms tightly around her, never
wanting to let her leave my embrace again.

It was incredible how much my mentality had
changed. The sorrow that had encompassed me every day, my heavy
heart, the longing, the sinking realization that nothing was going
the way I wanted, was gone. Now, instead, I woke up smiling, eager
to press forward and accomplish more—wanting to see what each new
day had in store for me. If there was ever any doubt in my mind
that one person could change someone else’s entire world, that
doubt was gone now. I may have lost sports, I may have lost
memories, I may have lost the other life I was leading, but I had
Nikki—and that was everything.

Epilogue

Standing under the giant tree by the creek,
I watched Nikki walking toward me, a vision in white as the sounds
of the Wedding March, played on a cello, filled the summer air,
mixing with the babbling sound of the water. My heart was
overwhelmed, overflowing, and my throat was choked with emotion as
I took her hand. I had no idea how I’d even speak my vows. This was
my dream. This was the best dream. This was the dream I had
chased—and now I had it.

The End

Author’s Note:

First off, I’d like to do another little
dedication of this story. This book is for Chase—real Chase that
is. It was the story he wanted, taken to the place he wanted it to
go. I know Chase has always “loved” Nikki, and when we sat down to
talk about this book, all the pieces for it started falling
together. I loved his vision, his writing, and his ideas. He
totally blew me away with the first chapter he sent me. The emotion
was strong and it made me cry. I sent it immediately to my best
friend, author Belinda Boring, and said, “LOOK at this!” She was as
shocked as I was. Our boy, Chase—he could write!

As shared in previous author notes, the
story of Chase Walker contains a whole lot of “real” in it. It was
definitely a story that helped work through past grief, hurt, and
disappointment. While it was always a “real” story, the “miracle”
part inside of me continued to niggle at me. “What if?”

When I lost my boyfriend, Mike, I used to
lie in bed at night and sob, praying it was a dream. I wished I had
a magic wand to wave away the ugly truth and bring peace and
happiness back again.

I wished the same when my grandma died. I
wished the same when my sister died. I wished the same when my
father-in-law died, and my mother, and my grandpa, and my uncles,
my aunts, and cousins . . . who’ve all passed away too.

Our family has witnessed countless deaths in
the last few years—heartbreaking devastation that no family should
ever have to endure. Yet we do. And so do all the other families in
the world experiencing the same life.

But every now and then you hear about the
miracle. That one rare story that makes all the press and the
newspapers because it’s just so awe-inspiring. I saw those stories
and it triggered that niggling thought in me.

What if just once, I was in control of that
magic wand and could give it all back?

Chase Walker had lessons to learn. Big
ones—heavy ones that would be instrumental to the way he lived the
rest of his life. Everything he suffered through was important, a
teaching tool that helped to build his character. But, no matter
the situation, no matter how hard, there was one very important
thing that held it all together—Chase never gave up.

That is my message to everyone reading this
book. No matter how hard life is, or how badly it is
hurting—
never, ever, give up
! You don’t know what good
things are waiting for you around the corner. If you give up now,
you may miss out on the greatest chance of all. Chase your dreams,
no matter how far out of reach they seem. Don’t stop until you
catch them—just like Chase did.