Cowboy Take Me Away (32 page)

She ran her tongue over her lips again, slowly this time, playing the game, sucking the salt off her skin. She knocked the shot back in one big gulp, powered by the glint in Chase's eyes, the desire she saw reflected in his gaze. As soon as the shot was down she sucked the lime slice, shutting her eyes as the citrus hit her senses.

“Your turn.” Hope did her best to sound like she wasn't spinning from drinking a shot like that, and kept her head held high.

“No problem,” Chase said, voice as smooth as silk.

He did what she'd just done, except at rapid speed, then he reached for his beer.

“I guess there's some badass left in you after all.”

“What made you ever doubt
that
?” she asked, pulling her best offended face. “And please don't tell me the fact that I'm a single mom holding down a job.”

Chase winked at her. “How about I tell you what made me realize I was wrong?” His smile was naughty as he ran his fingers up and down her back. “It might have been when you wrapped your legs around my head last night, or when you…”

“Whoa! Enough!” she protested, grabbing the next shot and knocking it back faster than she should have.

“I love the fact that I can still shock you.”

Chase followed her lead for the second time in minutes, downing his and then almost knocking her off her feet with a smacker of a kiss.

“What was that for?” she asked, arms slung around his neck as she pulled him back for more.

They were both happy drunk now, or at least she was both and Chase was definitely the happy part. His lips were warm, the alcohol was buzzing through her, and the only thing she was thinking about was getting Chase back to the motel. They only had one more night alone together, one more night of her pretending to be a woman with zero responsibilities, and she didn't want to waste a second.

“Hey, you remember how I used to sing?” Chase asked.

Hell, did she ever. If there was one thing he'd done that had made her stir-crazy, it was pulling out his guitar and singing just for the hell of it. Every woman in a two-mile radius had probably gone weak-kneed from seeing Chase sing, his soulful voice a perfect match to his large frame propped against a wall, one knee up to rest the guitar on, his dark head bent as he plucked at the strings. And the first time she'd heard him play had been in this very bar, the first time they met, when she'd decided not to be another notch on his belt.

“Why? You going to join the band?” He had a big enough head as it was without her boosting his ego any more by telling him how much she used to love it.

“It just so happens that I'm going to serenade you.”

Hope made a coughing kind of sound, her words catching in her throat like she'd just swallowed some tequila down the wrong way. “You're what?”

But with one dimple-fueled grin, Chase was backing away and then disappearing into the crowd, leaving her alone at the bar. The band was still playing, and she took her beer and turned her back to the bar, wondering what the hell Chase was up to.

She sipped her beer and waited, half expecting Chase to just rock back up to the bar and tell her it was a joke. But he didn't, and when the band finished their song and the speakers went silent, the only noise the rowdy crowd of students, she knew he was doing exactly as he'd threatened.

The microphone squeaked. “Ah, we're gonna take a quick break and let ah”—there was a muffled noise before the voice came back on—“Chase King take over for one song.”

Hope laughed, raising her beer bottle to her lips and smiling into it. She didn't doubt that he'd just slipped the band a wad of cash to turn a blind eye and let him sing, but she couldn't have cared less how he did it. She was just happy to sit back and hear him sing, refusing to feel embarrassed—no one here knew them, so what the hell did it matter?

“Excuse me,” Chase said, but he may as well have been talking to himself for all the attention it got him. The tap he made on the microphone helped more. “Free drinks!” he yelled. “Ahhh, that got your attention. I want you all to stay quiet for the next three minutes, okay? Then I'll put free Jell-O shots on the bar for all of you!”

There was a round of cheers and Hope smiled. He always did have the uncanny ability to win over a crowd, usually by offering them what they wanted.

“This song is for a special girl,” Chase said. “She was my first love, my last love, and she's my baby mama.”

Hope slowly pulled the bottle away from her lips. Everything else blacked out; every other sound and distraction just faded away. She pushed her way through the crowd, beer held tight in her hand as she fought to get close enough to see Chase. Her heart was racing as he struck the first chords, as she recognized the song. His head was down, his eyes hidden. All she could see was his dark, unruly hair as he strummed, pinging each note.

“She's a good girl, loves her mama. Loves Jesus, and America too…”

Chase looked up as he sang, his eyes locking on hers like he knew exactly where to find her, like he'd known she'd be standing in that exact spot.

“Free Fallin'” had always been her favorite song and Chase knew it. He'd sung it to her when he was drunk once, something she'd never forgotten, and now he was singing it to her to serenade her.

If he wanted her in his bed tonight, he'd sure as hell sealed the deal.

Tears filled her eyes as she listened, but she blinked them away fast, refusing to get emotional. Only she couldn't help it, because the man she'd always loved, the man she still loved, was perched on a barstool singing to her like she was the only person in the room, and all she knew was that she didn't want to lose him again.

*   *   *

Chase strummed the last few chords before setting the guitar down carefully and standing. Applause sounded out, loud and only getting louder as the rowdy bunch realized their free shots were on the way, and Chase jogged down the steps of the makeshift stage, high-fiving the guys he'd bribed to let him up there. It had only taken a couple hundred dollars, probably more than they got paid in some of the dives they performed at.

He scanned for Hope, finding her standing in the same spot he'd seen her when he'd been singing.

“Can I buy you a drink?” he asked, putting on a deep drawl as he moved closer to her.

“No,” she said simply, one corner of mouth tilting up into a sexy smile. “You can take me back to your place.”

Chase raised his eyebrows and whistled low. “Geez. If I'd known you were that easy I wouldn't have dusted off my vocal chords like that.”

Hope's fingers locked around his when he took her hand, leading her back to the bar. He threw some money down as promised to buy the rounds, tipped the bartender, and pushed through the crowd to the exit. He'd forgotten what college was like, and he was pretty sure if they hung around any longer they'd end up wishing they hadn't.

“I didn't know you still sang,” Hope said as they emerged from the packed bar, the fresh air like a blast of reality as their feet hit the pavement.

“Neither did I.” Chase let go of her hand to pull her closer against him, wanting to keep her warm and protect her from the idiots yelling and staggering around them. He couldn't remember the last time he'd sung, either.

“Did you mean it?” she asked, forcing him to stop walking when she did.

Chase turned, staring down at Hope. “What part?”

“The part when you said I was your first love.” Her gaze was filled with something he hadn't seen before, like she was finally opening herself up to him.

“I only say what I mean,” Chase said, cupping her cheek and never taking his eyes off hers. “I do love you, Hope. I loved you then and I love you now, the only difference is that I'm not scared of telling you this time around.”

She didn't say anything, but she did lean into him, her face pressed to his palm.

“I don't think I needed so much to drink tonight,” she murmured, leaning forward and into him, her head bumping into his chest.

“So you'd rather go back to the motel than head to another bar?”

She groaned. “You betcha.”

Chase threw his arm around her and pressed her body back against his, his lips on her hair as they walked. “I do love you, Hope,” he said.

“I know you do,” she said back, her voice low.

What she didn't know was that she was the only woman he'd said those words to. They were three little words that he'd always choked on with anyone else, even Stacey, but not Hope.

“I love you, too, Chase,” Hope whispered, her arm wrapped tight around him.

“Why do I feel a
but
coming?” he joked, wishing he hadn't tried to be funny when he should have been screaming from the rooftops that she'd said it back to him.

“No buts, Chase,” Hope said, kissing him as they walked, her lips skimming the side of his mouth. “I just can't believe we're finally here. Like this.”

“Well, believe it, baby,” he said, slipping his hand into the pocket of her jeans. “And just in case you don't, I'm gonna spend all night proving to you just how real this is. Okay?”

Hope's laughter was muffled against his chest. “You're a bad, bad influence on me, Chase King.”

He nipped her lower lip and made her squeal. “That's what all the dads say when I date their daughters.”

Chase hadn't thought he'd be able to, but tonight all he cared about was replicating their one night together, which he'd fantasized about for half a decade.

“I forgive you, Hope,” he muttered into her hair.

“You do?” Hope squeezed him harder.

“Yeah,” he said, realizing that forgiving her was the only way for them both to truly move forward. “I do.”

 

Chapter 18

“So are we going to tell him now?”

Hope had that feeling like she was being suffocated, like there wasn't enough oxygen in the car for the both of them. Being away with Chase had been amazing, like existing in a perfect bubble, but the reality of telling Harrison was like a shot of cold ice to her veins. They'd partied and played, the latter over and over again, but arriving back in Dallas was a dose of reality, pure and simple. Life suddenly seemed complicated all over again. The bubble was bursting.

“Um, yes,” she managed. “I mean, if it seems like the right thing to do at the time.”

She saw Chase's frown, his mouth fast hovering from a smile into a downward turn. “So you do want to tell him or you don't?” he asked.

“I do, Chase, but I just want it to be right.” She sighed. “I know that I said I wanted to tell him, but after all this time it's…” Hope couldn't think of the right word.

“Scary,” Chase finished for her. “I get that. But you need to see it from my perspective, Hope.”

She fidgeted in her seat, wishing she wasn't screwing up the end to what had been an amazing weekend. “I deserve to have you hate me, Chase. I know that, and I know how amazing you've been.”

“So what's the problem?” he asked. “Because for the record, after the weekend we've just had? ‘Hate' is the last word I'm thinking. I thought I'd made it well and truly clear to you that I forgive you.”

“Oh really?” Trust him to turn the situation around and make her smile.

“I mean, you could always make it up to
me
by doing something dirty while I drive the rest of the…”

“Chase!” She slammed a punch into his arm, pleased when he howled in pain.

“Hey, it was just a suggestion.”

“On a more serious note…,” she started.

“Oh man.” Chase groaned. “What the hell have I done now?”

“Nothing,” she reassured him, closing her hand over his thigh and resting it there, trying to remind herself that this wasn't some sort of weird flashback, that she was actually in a car with Chase after a dirty weekend away. “I just wanted to say thank you. Being together again, just the two of us, it was nice.”

“Darlin', it was way better than nice.” His hand slid over hers.

She knew Chase would never understand, that he couldn't possibly get how she felt, but she needed to try to tell him. The last couple of days had been incredible, like there was nothing else in the world to worry about except what to drink and eat after glorious hours between the sheets, and after the year she'd had, it was nice to feel that way.

“We had a blast in college, didn't we?” she mused.

“We sure did,” Chase replied. “But this weekend tops anything we did back then.”

She refused to blush, thinking of
all
the things Chase had done to her. Before she could think of anything else to say, they were turning into the driveway of King Ranch, trees waving them in, like a canopy of green on each side forming a line all the way to the first bend. From there they passed the first guesthouse, then the main homestead came into view. They'd called ahead and told Chloe when they'd be back, and Harrison burst from the house almost the minute they pulled up, like he'd been watching out the window for him.

Hope went to throw her door open straightaway, ready to leap out and race toward her son, but Chase's hand stopped her. He grabbed her arm, looked deep into her eyes when she turned back to him, and placed a soft, warm kiss on her lips before leaning over and opening the door for her.

She hesitated, wanted to say something to him but didn't know what, and then Harrison had reached the car and she was landing on her feet and wrapping her arms around him as he jumped up and locked his legs around her. Hope glanced over, saw that Chase was out of the truck, but saying hi to Harrison took over from everything else.

“Hey, baby boy.” She kissed his cheek as he hugged her tight. “Did you have fun?”

“Nate is so awesome,” Harrison said, his voice all squeaky and excited. “And Ryder. He's way cool.”