Taking Chase (8 page)
She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. But you’ve won this round, Shane. Lunch Friday would be nice.” “Don’t think I don’t know you’re changing the subject. But as it got me what I wanted I’ll let it go. For now.” He winked and she snorted.
The rest of their lunch was quiet and comfortable as they finished dessert. Standing after he’d tossed the trash into a nearby can, he reached down and offered her a hand up.
This time, instead of avoiding his grasp, she took it and let him help her. But he didn’t let go and she didn’t insist so they walked the few short blocks back to the bookstore hand-in-hand.
“Thank you very much for lunch, Shane. Why don’t I deal with lunch Friday? I’ll bring us something.”
He grinned. “Nope. I got it. Friday is peach pie day at The Sands. We’ll go there if you don’t mind, sit in the air conditioned cool and have the special of the day while I pretend not to look at you a lot.”
Her hand went to her throat. “I don’t know what to say when you lay stuff like that on me. You’re really good.”
“Do I offend you?” “No. It’s flattering.”
Quickly, he brushed a kiss across her forehead and stepped back. “Then my work here is done. For now. Go on back inside. I’ll see you Friday.” With that, he turned and headed down the sidewalk and she had to grab the door to keep from melting into a puddle.
“How was the sandwich?” Penny’s mouth twitched as she hid a smile. “Pretty good if you’re having trouble staying on the ground, I’d say.” A single eyebrow rose as Cassie floated back into the bookstore.
“I don’t know what to think about it. About him. He’s so…big. He takes up so much space. He’s overwhelming and charming and he knocks all good sense right out of my head every time he looks at me.”
“Well, Cassie, I think you need to ask yourself why it’s so necessary to think about it at all? I’ve grown up with Shane, he’s a good man. Up to this point he’s not always been so careful with women. He’s been the kind of man who flits from flower to flower if you know what I mean. But with you? He’s different. Not cautious so much as gentle. It’s clear he’s interested in you and he’s being patient and letting you set the pace. And if you’re going to dip a toe back in to the dating life, why not with a man like Shane? Let’s be honest here, he’s so hard and hot you just want to take a big bite.”
Cassie froze for a moment in surprise at Penny's—for her—racy comment, and then laughed. “No kidding. But I don’t know. He’s so…big and in charge. I don’t know if I need any of that.”
Penny shrugged. “No doubt the man is one of those take charge kind of guys. Being in a relationship with Shane would take a lot of work. I think he’d want to protect his woman all the time.”
“Well, I already had a man who thought he knew what was best and that didn’t end very well at all.”
Penny reached out and squeezed Cassie’s shoulder. “I want you to know you can tell me how much you want whenever you’re ready. I get the sense it was very, very bad. But despite being a big, bossy man, Shane is not like that. He’s not the type to hurt a woman. I like seeing you with a carefree smile. Let him make you happy why don’t you? If it turns in a direction you’re uncomfortable with, you can always take a step back. You’re young, Cassie. Let yourself live.” With a final squeeze of Cassie’s shoulder, Penny went into the office again and Cassie went to finish putting the new releases out on the shelves.
Chapter Five
Penny smiled and waved as Maggie and Polly walked into the Honey Bear and joined her. “The tea and brownies are on the way.” Polly tossed her gargantuan bag on the floor and sat with a happy sigh. “Good. How are you, sugar?” “I’m doing well, Mrs. Chase. Hey, Maggie, looking great as always. Thanks so much for meeting me here.” “An offer of blonde brownies and planning for Cassie? What’s not to like about that?” Maggie grinned and took out a pad of paper and a pen.
“I was thinking of something like a welcome barbecue. We can invite folks to come and spend the day mixing. She could get to know people and feel like a part of something.” Penny sipped her tea.
“That’s a great idea. We can do it over Labor Day weekend. We were going to do something for my birthday but we can make it a combination thing. That way she’d have to come or risk insulting me.” Polly raised a smug eyebrow and the other two women laughed.
“It’s a good thing your powers are harnessed for good, Mom. She’s so shy sometimes that I agree she might turn down something that was just for her but if we link it to your birthday she’d come. Plus, Shane can have her for the whole day then.” Maggie bit into the just delivered brownie and groaned in delight.
“He’s shown up twice to bring her lunch this week. Just this afternoon he brought her flowers and escorted her like she was some precious object. She’s bowled over. He’s putting on the full court press with her. It’s impressive to watch,” Penny told them.
“I haven’t seen him this interested in a woman since before Sandra. He talks about Cassie all the time. I like her a lot. She’s a sweet girl and smart. I think she’s good for him because it makes him think about someone else. Not that he’s selfish but he’s never really put a woman first before. Whatever it is she’s hiding, it’s not anything she’s at fault for, I can tell that just from dealing with her. I worry for him but if anyone can help her, it’s my Shane.”
“Polly, I think it’s about her ex-husband. She hasn’t shared much but I think there was some bad stuff there. She’s nervous as a cat about men but she’s not a criminal. Hard working. Kind.”
Polly sighed sadly. “I hate to think that any man would do something bad to his wife. But I’m glad she’s here and we’ll just have to show her that.”
They planned the party, deciding to have it at Penny’s house, right on the water with food and drinks and lots of fun. They’d invite enough people for Cassie to mix and get to know but not so many she’d feel overwhelmed.
Cassie’s thoughts were filled with Shane as she watched him approach her table at the Sunday Market. His jeans clung to his long, powerful looking legs and his T-shirt fit snug over his upper body. His muscles positively rippled as he moved, blue-green eyes only for her. She loved the way his hair looked a bit messy but still soft and silky as it touched the top of his collar.
“Hi.” She waved as he stopped. She wished she had something more articulate to say but the man sapped her IQ as all her blood moved away from her brain to her nipples. Shifting and squeezing her thighs together to ease the ache his presence brought, she smiled up at him.
“You look beautiful today. Well, you always do. How’s business?” He reached out and touched the scarf she had around her neck. The scarf she used to hide the scars.
Still, it was a major victory for her that she’d stopped hiding so much of herself. Yes, she hid the physical reminders of her years with Terry, but she was opening up in ways she hadn’t in years. She’d had beer and burgers with Penny and Maggie and the others on Friday night after a really lovely lunch with Shane where he made her blush with his love of the necklace she’d made his mother. She’d beaten the Chase brothers at pool again and Shane walked to her to her car. The kiss had been on her lips, brief but still made her all shaky.
She’d gone into her growing feelings for Shane with her therapist and her brother. Cassie was beginning to feel normal again. She had a life with friends and grocery shopping and a paycheck. Normal was a gift and she’d agreed with her therapist and her brother that she needed to grab it with both hands and live it.
Starting with letting Shane Chase catch her if he wanted to. Or, at least let him take her on a date.
“I’m all right. Apparently your mother and Penny have got some big party planned to welcome me to Petal. They’re saying it’s for your mother’s birthday so I can’t refuse.”
He threw back his head and laughed. “You’re right. They’ve got your number. Not that it matters, she’s got you on the ropes. You’re coming, right?”
She grinned. “Yes. I’ve been promised peach cobbler
and
lemon bars. You’re a terrible man to expose my weakness so it can be used against me.”
and
lemon bars. You’re a terrible man to expose my weakness so it can be used against me.”
He’d never seen her so flirtatious. He liked it. Liked seeing her lighthearted and unafraid of him.
“Darlin’, you’ve been in Petal nearly six weeks now. By now, your brand of toothpaste isn’t a secret. That’s the price of living in a small town.”
She blushed and he decided to forge ahead. “Would you like to go to dinner with me? Dinner and maybe some dancing at The Tonk? Dinner would just be us two. Well, ‘cause I want you all to myself. But dancing would be a group of folks. Kyle and Maggie, Matt and Marc will have dates, too, of course. Liv will be there with her new boyfriend Brody.”
“Okay.” He’d been readying his next line of attack when he realized she’d just agreed to a date. “Okay?”
“Yeah. When?” “Tuesday? I have Wednesday and Thursday off this week.” “All right. I have Wednesday off too.” “Pick you up at seven then? Is Italian food okay with you?”
She nodded and he stood there grinning at her for several long moments. “I’m gonna go now before I do something stupid and you change your mind. I’ll see you tomorrow for lunch.” Before she could argue, he turned and headed off with a wave. Still didn’t stop her from watching his ass as he left though.
As satisfied as she’d been with the profits from her Sunday Market, the best part was that she got to use her hands to create. Truth was, she ached to practice medicine again.
There had been very little in her life she’d been more passionate about than being a doctor. She loved it. Loved helping people, loved improving lives. She missed it and found herself thinking about starting again with a new practice specialty.
Oh, she knew she’d have to go back and get more training. That didn’t seem as daunting as it might have before. Before she’d decided on her surgical residency, she’d been fascinated by family medicine and one of her old mentors was a family practitioner in Orange County. The thought of taking care of entire families had a lot of appeal.
At the same time, it scared the hell out of her to imagine risking herself over something and losing it again. She couldn’t work at the bookstore forever but it was good for the immediate future and her creative side was nourished by the jewelry making.
At the close of the day, Cassie went to a movie with Penny and called Brian once she got home.
“So, the sheriff asked me out today again.” “Yeah?” She could sense his grin. “I said yes. We’re going to dinner and dancing afterward.”
“Well it’s about time. Go Sheriff Chase. Good for you, Cassie. I’m proud. So proud.”
“You know what? I’m proud too. It feels good not to live in fear. He’s a nice guy, Brian. I really like him. And his family, they’re like a dream come true. Every last one of them is adorably sweet.”
“They’d better be. You deserve it.”
They spoke for a long time after that, sharing their lives in a way she’d been unable to do since before the last years with Terry. She finally had part of herself back. Even better, she was sharing it with people who mattered to her. It was a kind of connection she’d missed so much. It felt so good she wondered when the other shoe would drop and something bad would happen to mess it all up.
Chapter Six
Tuesday morning dawned and Cassie puttered around the house all day. To keep her mind off her first date in a year and a half, she’d painted one of the tables she bought at a yard sale. It sat drying on her deck as she realized it was longer than a year and a half. It was six because Terry didn’t really count. Hell, the first time she felt lighthearted about a simple thing like dinner and dancing since the first year she and Terry were together. Gah! So much for not thinking about it.
To get away from the apartment, she splurged and went to the beauty salon to get her hair and nails done. On the way back, she bought a sexy pair of shoes. Which would of course go with the jungle of sexy shoes in her closet right now. She had a weakness for shoes. Okay, an addiction. But hey, as addictions went, it wasn’t that bad.
After a brief nap she still had an hour to go before Shane showed up and she began to get nervous. “This is stupid. I should not be going out.” She began to pace, mumbling to herself.
A knock sounded on her door and she looked at the clock. No, still an hour away, it couldn’t be Shane. She’d kill him if he showed up an hour early. What kind of man showed up an hour early?
Stomping over to the door she looked through the peephole, fingertips caressing the baseball bat leaning against the wall.
She opened it and Maggie, Penny and Liv all rushed in. “Afternoon, Cassie.” Penny gave her a brief hug. “I do like your hair. I think I see Tate’s handiwork. She’s a genius with those scissors.”
Before Cassie could answer, Maggie and Liv followed with hugs and all three simply strolled past her into her bedroom. “What are you all doing here? I mean, sorry, that’s terribly rude of me. Hello, how are you all? Now what the hell are you all doing here?”
Liv laughed and gestured to the endless rows of shoe trees and racks lining her closet floor. “You’re a shoe whore! My word, I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many shoes in one place. What size do you wear?”
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