Hunting Human (28 page)

“You couldn’t stay and they couldn’t help you,” he agreed.

“No. But I don’t have that excuse anymore. I need to see them and I need to see Rachel.” She dreaded that part. She’d missed Rachel’s funeral while she’d been in the hospital and she’d never been able to make herself drive out to the cemetery later.

“I need to know that I can handle things on my own. That I’m not just relying on Braden or your family to make things easy. I need to adjust to this life on my own, spend some time dealing with everything,” Beth explained, more for her own benefit than for Chase’s. “It would be too easy to let the warmth and support of your family do it for me.”

“And you need to know that you’ll come back to my brother because you love him, not because you’ve come to rely on him.”

“Yes.” Her fear of that discovery bled through her voice. She reached over and turned on the radio, turning the volume up and staring out the window, trying not to think about what she was leaving behind.

Chase stayed with her throughout the day. He helped her pack up some of her apartment, get her car from Braden’s and load up the things she was taking with her. Now she stood beside her Jeep, keys in the ignition, unsure what to say or how to thank him.

“Are you sure I can’t just take you to the airport?”

Beth shook her head. “I think the drive will do me good. It’ll give me time to think about what I’m going to say when I get there.”

“If you’re sure?”

Beth nodded.

Chase pulled an envelope out of his back pocket. “This is for you,” he said, pressing the package into her hand. “There’s a guy in Boston named Lucas Stern. Call him when you get in—he’s going to keep an eye out for you.” Chase spoke over her when she opened her mouth to argue. “Call him. Or I tell Braden where you are. With Markko out of the picture, we expect Alek to go home, so we don’t expect him to bother you. But eventually word is going to get back to Markko’s father that he’s dead.”

The blood drained from her face. She hadn’t thought much beyond the fact that Markko was gone.

Chase squeezed her shoulder. “Don’t worry too much. They weren’t close, and in any case, his father will likely blame us. Still, I want someone checking on you. Lucas is very good. You won’t even know he’s there.”

Beth sighed and clenched her hand around the envelope. “Fine.” It was the least she could do.

“If anything bothers you, makes you nervous, call him. Or me. I’ll come straight out.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

He looked at her a strangely and shrugged. “I’d do the same for Lucy.” He said it so casually, but it touched her deeply.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, kissed him on the cheek and pulled him into a hug. She couldn’t help the watery laugh that bubbled out at the way he stiffened and awkwardly patted her on the back.

“Thank you,” she said as she stepped back and climbed into her Jeep. “Anything else?”

“Yeah, there’s another set of contact information in there. Veronica Lewis. She’s a psychologist. She knows about us. I thought you might want to talk to her.”

Moved by his thoughtfulness, Beth tucked the envelope into her purse.

“There’s also some cash and a prepaid cell phone in there.” Chase stepped back and shut the door for her. “When you’re ready, let me know. I can come and pick you up at the airport or something. But, Beth? Don’t take too long. Braden won’t be patient more than a few months.” He grimaced. “Hell, he’ll be downright unbearable in the meantime.”

Beth pulled her seat belt on and smiled. “I promise.”

Labor Day — Four Months Later

Beth took a deep breath as Chase angled the car off the highway and into the Edwardses’ gravel driveway. She’d called Chase a week before to ask him if he thought his family would mind if she came out to see them over the holiday weekend. He’d booked her a plane ticket and promised to pick her up himself. She’d spoken with Braden a few times over email and had sent Lucy a few text messages, but aside from that, she’d been almost completely out of touch for the entire summer. She was hoping she would still be welcome.

“Do they know I’m coming?” she asked, nervous fingers drumming against her leg.

“Nah.” Chase parked the car in the driveway and killed the engine. “Well, Anna probably does,” he amended. “But she always seems to know these things.”

Beth grabbed his arm before he could get out of the car. “You’re sure it’s okay that I’m here? I don’t want to intrude.”

“Trust me. It’s fine.” He came around the car and pulled the door open for her.

“Oh. My. God!” Lucy squealed and hurled herself out the front door, letting the screen door slam behind her. Chase met her halfway, picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.

“Later, squirt.” He set her down on the porch and stepped aside as Braden walked out.

He looked at Beth for a long time, arms crossed, expression set. She swallowed hard and shut the car door, trekking up the driveway to the porch. He met her at the bottom of the stairs.

“Hi.” She tried to smile through her nervousness and failed. He didn’t look at all happy to see her.

“You left.” His jaw tightened around the words, and he dropped his arms and bunched his fingers into fists. “I told you I loved you and you ran away.”

Beth stepped closer to him, determined to face this as she’d learned to face everything else in the last several months. Head-on, with an eye on her happiness. “I needed to get some things straightened out back home. And yeah, I was running away, you scared me. This—” she gestured to the house and the family behind him, “—this scared me. I needed some space to work things out for myself.”

“And?”

“And things are better now. I’m better now.” It hadn’t been easy. She’d spent a lot of time talking to Victoria Lewis, learning how to deal with her past and discovering what she wanted from her future.

His hands came up, gripped her shoulders. “I can’t watch you walk out of my life again, Beth. I won’t. Just stay. Your apartment, mine, I don’t care. Just say you’ll stay with me.” He cut himself off on a curse, as though ashamed of the plea. “I’ll come to Boston, if that’s what it takes.”

That he meant it humbled her more than she could bear. “You gave me what I needed,” she said, stroking her thumb across his cheek. “The time to find my own way, to figure out where I fit. In my family. With yours.” She glanced at the porch where they waited. “You gave me that. I’ll never be able to express how much that means to me.”

He covered her hand with his own. “I flew to Boston twice, didn’t make it out of the airport either time,” he admitted, bringing her fingertips to his lips. “My patience was wearing thin. I wouldn’t have made it to the holidays without coming after you. I’m all in, Beth. Say you’ll stay. It’s the last time I’ll ask.”

“I can’t stay indefinitely.” Beth smiled when his eyes narrowed and grip tightened. “I’m starting my master’s in architecture in Portland next week.”

He pulled her to him so fiercely the air rushed out of her lungs. His mouth slid over hers and stole what breath she had left. Finally, when Lucy began to cheer, he pulled back.

“Finally,” he murmured against her lips.

He pulled her under his arm and coaxed her up the steps.

“I love you,” she whispered against his neck as they followed the rest of the family into the house.

He paused in the doorway of his parents’ home, his fingers linked with hers. “Say it again, Beth.” He touched his forehead to hers, the warmth of his breath a caress on her face. “I need to hear you say it again.”

“I love you.” She watched his eyes dance in pleasure as she repeated it. “I love you.”

“And you’ll marry me?”

The answer bubbled up, warm and easy. “And I’ll marry you.”

“And it didn’t even take a Taser,” Lucy shouted from the living room.

“That was Chase!” he shot back, tangling his fingers the hair at her nape. “I’ll never live that down, will I?”

“Not as long as I’m around,” Beth answered, laughter coursing through her.

“So…fifty or sixty years?”

“At least,” she confirmed.

“I think I can live with that,” he said, tilting her chin. “Welcome home, Beth.”

She was still smiling when his lips covered hers.

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