Just Let Me Love You (2 page)

“Yeah,” I confirm. “Father Maridale told me I can still come in and help Connie if I get bored, but there’s really no need. I’m sure I’ll find plenty of things to do around here.”

There’s a smile in Mom’s voice as she states, “Look on the bright side, honey. Think of how much time you and Chase can spend together these next few weeks. You have the rest of August to do things before you go back to teaching. These dog days of summer are so nice for young couples; lots of end-of-summer events and activities to enjoy.”

“Um…”

Mom, misunderstanding my non-reply, says, “Oh, what am I going on about? I’m sure Chase still has to work the rest of the month. Just never mind me, honey.”

Chase would still be working through August, but when Father Maridale was told of the latest troubles with Will, he gave Chase the rest of the month off.

Damn.
Mom’s words resonate, and I think of how I’d love to be planning fun, end-of-summer activities for Chase and me to partake in. But who knows how much of the next few weeks we’ll even end up spending together. Chase might be stuck in Vegas for a while.

When I don’t immediately respond to my mom, she says, as only moms can do, “Kay, what’s wrong?”

I need to talk to someone and she really is trying, so I confess to her that Chase is gone. “He’s on his way to the airport right now. Chase is flying out to Las Vegas early tomorrow morning to, uh, help his brother. I don’t know how long he’ll be gone.”

Mom sighs, then says with much kindness, “I’m sorry, Kay.”

That prompts me to spill everything that has really been happening. Well, almost everything. I leave out my argument with Chase, and I don’t dare mention that Will purchased a gun. I do, however, share with my mother that a misguided Will might run into trouble while trying to protect his girlfriend.

My mom is quiet for a few beats, like maybe she’s assessing. Sure enough, she says softly, “You want to go with Chase, don’t you?”

“I do,” I admit. Why lie?

“So, why aren’t you with him now?” she gently prods.

I stifle a sniffle. “He wants to do this alone, Mom. He thinks I’ll get caught up in what he terms
a dangerous situation
.” I sigh. “This thing with Will, it’s, uh, volatile. Besides, Chase told me he needs to do this on his own.”

Even though my responses are vague, I expect my mother to do what she’s always done—start up with her judgments.

But she does nothing of the sort. Instead of blurting out something cutting or biting, she says, “Honey, don’t ever doubt yourself. And don’t let Chase doubt you, either. It sounds to me like he might need you with him more than he realizes.”

I consider her words and mumble a “maybe.”

“Kay,” she continues, “sometimes men underestimate what we, as women, can handle. Chase wants to protect you, sure, and that’s noble, but maybe he needs you to show him what you’re made of. Show him the strong woman I know you are, honey. Show him how
your
strength can actually strengthen
him
.”

“He knows I’m strong,” I reply softly. “I mean, I think he does.”

“
Show
him you are,” Mom responds.

“How?” I whisper.

Her answer is simple, but powerful. “Go to him, Kay.”

Sage advice from a woman I thought had given up on me, a woman I almost gave up on myself. I feel elated that I’ve made this call; it was absolutely the right thing to do.

And since I’m ready to keep making better decisions, I announce, “I
am
going to go to him. I’ll book a ticket and pack as soon as we finish up here.”

I hear a smile in Mom’s voice as she says, “Then I’d better let you go, sweetie.”

“Okay.”

But before we disconnect, my mother adds, “Be safe, Kay. And if there’s anything you need, anything at all, just call me, okay?”

“I will,” I promise, and then I say, “Oh, and Mom…”

“Yes?”

“Thank you.”

Two hours later, I am on the turnpike, heading out of Ohio and into Pennsylvania. Another twenty minutes and I should be arriving at the airport in Pittsburgh. Surely, my presence will surprise the hell out of Chase. I expect he may resist the idea of me going with him at first, like he did back at the house, but I am
not
changing my mind. No matter what he says or does.

Nope, I am going to Las Vegas with Chase Gartner. I’m booked on the same flight, and I was even able to book the seat next to him.

There’s no going back now.

“Never doubt me,” I whisper to myself as I drive.

It’s what I’d say to Chase if he were here, because what he doesn’t realize is that danger doesn’t frighten me. I’ve faced a lot, and I’ve come through everything okay. Maybe a little roughed up sometimes, yes, but I’ve kept going.

Besides, when it comes right down to it, I’d walk into the fires of Hell for Chase. I love him that much, though I don’t think things will come to
that.

The situation with Chase’s brother is bound to be resolved. I just hope it’s in a way in which everyone comes out safe.

But no matter what happens, one thing is certain: Chase and I are going to overcome this obstacle in the same way we’ve faced everything else—together.

Chase

“C
hase, wake up. I’m here.”

A female voice, I know that voice.

Wait, I
love
the person that voice belongs to. “Kay,” I whisper.

“Yes, it’s me.” She shakes my shoulder then tries—unsuccessfully, I might add—to lift me from where I’m lying on my back in a corner area of boarding gate B17. It’s not the most comfortable spot to sleep—scratchy carpeting, no pillow—but when you’re exhausted you make do.

“I’m here,” the voice continues. “Wake up, baby.”

Kay, the love of my life, is here at the airport in Pittsburgh. I can’t believe it. My forgiving girl, she didn’t let the harsh words I spewed before I left the farmhouse—back where we live in Ohio—stop her. Sure, we kind of worked things out before I took off, but I have no doubt she was still all kinds of pissed at me.

Maybe she’s not so very angry, after all, seeing as she’s here with me, saying my name…again.

Relief floods me. Kay doesn’t sound angry at all. She sounds forgiving and beautiful.

Even so, I roll to my side and drift back to sleep. Kay is beauty, forgiveness, and love, but sleep offers blissful oblivion. And with what I’m about to embark on, I need a few more minutes of oblivion.

I drift back to where I was before Kay arrived—dreaming. In this dream, I am fourteen years old again, living in a beautiful, contemporary home. I know the house well. It’s the house my parents once owned, before we fell into financial ruin. And before my dad decided to drive off a cliff in the Nevada desert, ending his time on this planet.

Yeah, before
those
things happened.

My mom is happy in this dreamland of mine, having not yet discovered the lure of gambling, and my little brother Will is just that—little. He hasn’t yet learned of drugs and how they can make him feel. He’s bright-eyed and clear-headed. More importantly, the guns he plays with aren’t real; they are only toys.

Also in Dreamland, Will doesn’t have a girlfriend he feels the need to save. And that is a blessing I wish were real.

“Cassie,” I murmur, annoyed.

An image of Will’s ethereal-looking girlfriend infiltrates my good dream, turning it sour. Cassie may look like some waif-like, golden-haired angel, but she’s far from pure. In my opinion, she’s no good for Will. She’s as mixed-up and confused as my brother, which does him no good. Worse yet, Cassie is surrounded by devils. After all, it is her fucked-up stepdad, Paul, who has given Will a reason to return early to Vegas.

Will was staying with me for the summer until he learned of Paul’s latest misconduct toward Cassie. Yeah, finding out that Paul had his hands on his sixteen-year-old girlfriend—albeit only briefly—was more than enough motivation to put that kid on a bus heading west.

A bus I hope to catch up to sometime tomorrow.

Hence the airport I’m lying in, dreaming; hence the flight I’ve booked to Vegas. If I don’t intercept Will, disaster could ensue. Because, shit, Lord only knows what little bro has planned. Unfortunately, I suspect it’s something that involves a gun. And with the right combination of fury and drugs, my brother could very well decide there’s a bullet in the chamber of that very gun with Paul’s name on it.

Fuck.

I shudder, and Kay shakes me again. “Come on, Chase,” she says, irritated. “No one can sleep this soundly. Wake up.”

She’s aggravated, but her small hands feel so good on me. I’m reminded that Dreamland is illusory—things can change on a dime. But Kay, my Kay, offers real comfort.

I open my eyes and peer up at her porcelain face, her chestnut mane of hair flowing down her shoulders in waves.

I murmur what I’m thinking, “Beautiful.”

“Chase,” she says, sighing.

My eyes meet her caramel-colored gaze, and I mumble a sleepy, “Hey.”

“Hey, back at you,” she replies with a smile that warms me to no end.

“You came,” I croak out, my voice thick from sleep.

“Did you really think you could keep me away?” Kay asks. But then she pauses, contemplates, and adds, “Wait. Don’t answer that.”

“I’m a fool,” I say, reaching up and touching her face. “I should’ve known better.”

She covers my hand with hers. “You were only trying to protect me. I know that now.”

After giving her cheek a light caress—I always want to touch her—I drop my hand to my side. Sitting up, I rake my fingers through my hair. Glancing around the boarding area, I sigh. I’m thankful that it’s empty.

“Yeah,” I murmur, shaking the last cobwebs of sleep from my head. “I always want to keep you safe, true, but it seems I have a knack for going about it in the absolute worst way.”

This is so true; our relationship is littered with my mistakes.

Kay scoots closer, and now it’s she who is touching me…my hand, my arm.

She leans in and kisses my cheek. “You don’t go about it in the worst way,” she whispers. “Not at all, Chase.”

“Still, you’re better at this shit than me.”

Scoffing, she says, “Ha, I am far from perfect. We’re learning this stuff together, remember?”

“What stuff?” I turn, facing her more fully. “Learning how to be in love, or learning how to be in a relationship?”

“Both,” she says. “All of it.”

“Come here.”

I wrap my arms around her and maneuver our bodies till she’s seated in my lap. “All I know, Kay, is that I love you so much,” I whisper in her hair.

“I love you, too,” she replies, her lips full of promise as they travel down my neck.

I’d like to stay like this forever—wrapped up together, wrapped up in love—but a damn gate agent arrives and spoils the moment.

When she glances over at us and frowns, I say, “Shit,” as I slide Kay off my lap.

“What’s wrong?” Kay asks as she tucks her legs under her and smoothes the hem of her dress.

I jerk my head to the agent. “We’re not alone anymore. And I don’t think she’s in the mood for putting up with our public displays of affection.”

“Oh.” Kay’s brow creases with disappointment when she glances over at the less-than-happy agent. “Yeah, I guess we should probably get up off the floor and sit in the seats like normal people.”

I don’t know how normal we are, but I agree, “Yeah, we should probably move.”

The boarding area is still devoid of other passengers, but Kay and I opt for sitting as far away from the gate and the displeased agent as possible.

A few minutes after we’re settled, other passengers begin to filter in.

As I watch a line form at the counter, I remember something important. Nudging Kay, I say, “Hey, we should probably get in line, don’t you think?”

“Why?” Kay asks, confused.

“Well, we need to buy you a ticket if you’re definitely coming to Las Vegas with me.”

“Oh, I’m definitely coming with you, Chase,” she assures me, all determined, like she’s afraid I’m going to change my mind and try to send her back to Ohio.

As if that action would ever be possible with this stubborn woman.

I laugh a little at the resolute expression on Kay’s adorable face, and then, rising to my feet, I offer her my hand. “Okay, Miss Determined, let’s go buy you a ticket, then.”

Kay doesn’t budge. Softly, she says, “Um, I already took care of that.”

“You already have a ticket?”

“Yes,” she replies sheepishly.

I give her a look, a not-happy look. “Kay, please don’t tell me you used your emergency credit card.”

“Um, well…” She glances away. “Okay, yeah, I did use my emergency card.”

With my grandmother’s property and savings I inherited, I’m financially better off than Kay, so I say, “I hope you know I’m paying that bill when it comes in.”

My tone is pretty damn insistent, and Kay nods an assent.

And then, since I’m curious, I ask, “What made you decide to buy a ticket, anyway? I mean, I knew you wanted to come with me, but when I was leaving you looked pretty much resigned with staying in Harmony Creek.”

“I was planning on staying,” she admits.