Cherishing His Forever

by LeAnn Ashers

  Before I can even say no, he pulls out a pillow and covers me with a blanket. I don’t even have it in me to fight. I close my eyes and drift off to sleep instantly.

  I open my eyes and I see that it’s dark outside. I was a asleep a lot longer than I had planned. I sit up on the couch and see Chase feeding Hunter right beside me.

  My original plan was to breastfeed, but I learned that my milk hadn’t come in all the way and Hunter was getting nowhere near as much as he needed. So I opted to just use formula. I still feel bad because breastfeeding would have been so much better for him.

  “That was no cat nap,” I call out to Chase, who shifts Hunter to his shoulder so he can burp him.

  “I just couldn’t wake you up, sweetheart. You're exhausted and I know it’s more than just labor. You needed sleep.”

  The thing is, he is right. Not being able to breastfeed, seeing Lee, and finding out Lee had known where I was long before I had Hunter was a lot to happen within a few days.

  Without thinking I scoot over and lay my head on Chase’s shoulder, taking all the comfort I can get from him. He moves Hunter off his shoulder, and I take him from him. He yawns and closes his eyes, and I touch his little nose and wrap him tightly in his blanket.

  “He is perfect.”

  “He is,” Chase says.

  My stomach growls, and I lay Hunter in his DockATot and slowly walk into the kitchen.

  * * *

  Chase

  One part of me wants to go warm up the food for her, but I also know it would piss her off.

  I loved that when she woke up, she laid her head on my shoulder without thinking about it.

  That shit did something to me.

  I was also holding Hunter. I am itching to hold him all the time, and I am getting attached scary fast. To both of them. It feels absolutely right to have both of them with me, and I am going to make sure they stay.

  * * *

  Jessica

  It’s 10:00 p.m. and I am beat. I pick up Hunter, and Chase brings the bottles and formula upstairs for me.

  I lay Hunter down on his bassinet and set out diapers, wipes, and bottles on the counter next to me. I pull his bassinet over to the bed so I can reach them.

  I walk into the bathroom, brush my teeth, and put on my nightclothes, which consist of a baggy shirt and shorts. I pull my hair out of the bun and open the bathroom door. I stop dead in my tracks when I see Chase lying in my bed.

  “Uhh…Chase.” I don’t know what to say.

  He gives me that little grin of his that screams trouble. “I am going to be sleeping here.”

  I blink. What? “Why?” I blurt out, and I move closer to the edge of the bed.

  “I want to help you, angel. I said you weren’t going to do this alone, and I meant it.”

  My heart does a flip in my chest. He said he’d be here for me, but I didn’t know the extent of it.

  I gulp and take a second to admire how amazing he looks in my bed. He is one of the most beautiful men I have ever seen, but his looks are just a bonus—his heart is where it’s at.

  He is so kind, sweet, and absolutely genuine. I am thanking my lucky stars that he was determined to be around me, because I don’t think I could have done it without him.

  I crawl up the bed, peek in Hunter’s bassinet to make sure he’s okay, and slide between the covers.

  Now what do I do?

  I get my answer shortly, as he pulls me over so I’m lying on his chest. I throw my arm across his stomach.

  “Goodnight, angel,” he says softly.

  “Goodnight, Chase.”

  At the sound of Hunter’s cry, I jump awake just as Chase sits up in bed. I sit up too, and I reach over and take Hunter out of his bassinet. Chase takes him from me, and I hand him a diaper and prepare a bottle. Like clockwork we get him settled. I feed Hunter his bottle and lay him back in bed, sound asleep.

  “Teamwork,” Chase mumbles sleepily, and I laugh, as I was just thinking the same thing. I look at Hunter in his bassinet, sound asleep, and Chase scoots closer to me and wraps his arm around my middle.

  I fall asleep thinking this is pure heaven.

  Chapter 6

  Jessica

  Today is the first day that Chase has talked me into leaving the house with him; we’re going out to eat dinner.

  So I got dressed up. I put on a pretty blouse, tucked into the front of my high-waisted jeans, and some booties. My hair has been curled into loose waves down my back, and I’m wearing light-brown eyeshadow and mascara.

  For the first time in weeks, I look human. I smile at myself in the mirror, and it hits me that I am actually happy. You would think after all that shit happened at the hospital I would be a mess—scared and depressed—but, honestly, I’m not. Chase has made me safe, and Hunter has been a light in my life, filling every part of me with happiness.

  I walk down the stairs with my diaper bag. In the kitchen I grab a couple of bottles and burp cloths and some formula to take with us. I zip it closed and join Hunter and Chase in the living room. I have Hunter dressed in a pair of khakis and a light-blue button-down shirt. He is the most handsome little man.

  Chase’s head comes up when he hears me, and his eyes get wide as he looks me up and down before whistling. I smirk but I do know that I look way better than normal, so I am going to accept his admiration. “Thank you.” I smile sweetly and take my boy from him, laying a big smooch on his cheek.

  I’m finally adjusting to life as a new mom; it’s taken time to get into the groove of things.

  Chase gets off the couch, and I take a second to admire him in his button-down shirt and jeans. His sleeves are rolled up to his elbows, showing off his tattoos. I eye him up and down, as he did to me, and I do it without shame.

  He smirks. “See something you like?”

  I nod. “Oh yeah.” I draw out yeah, wiggling my eyebrows.

  He laughs and kisses my forehead, putting his hand on the small of my back before he moves in for a kiss. I lean in closer as he kisses me fully for the first time since my water broke and, goodness, did I miss this.

  Hunter breaks the moment when he belts out a cry, wanting his pacifier. I pull back, laughing, and buckle him into the car seat, putting a blanket over his lap.

  “Someone’s already a cockblocker,” Chase teases and I laugh, following him out the door.

  Chase lives way out in the country, so it takes a good twenty to thirty minutes to reach the restaurant, a new Mexican place that just opened. But I love being out, in the middle of nowhere, away from everything. It’s so much more peaceful.

  Kane and Sydney actually kind of live next door. Well, it’s more like five minutes away, because they live on an even bigger acreage than Chase does. Braelyn and Ethan live in town, in a subdivision, but I see them moving close to us soon. Isaac lives on the other side of us, in a place that’s even further out than the rest of us. His house is a beautiful log cabin, and it’s huge. He lives there with Emily, who I haven’t met yet. I’m thinking of asking everyone over for dinner this weekend. I miss all of my friends, but I love that they’ve given me time to adjust to everything.

  In the Mexican restaurant, we are seated almost instantly because Chase apparently knows the owner. I didn’t miss the looks we got, especially the angry ones.

  Chase sets the car seat down in the seat, and I slide in beside Hunter. Chase sits in front of us.

  “You look beautiful, Jessica.” Chase says, out of nowhere, making my heart beat faster.

  “That was sweet, thank you. You’re very handsome yourself.”

  He smiles happily. He really is a sweetheart; I can’t express that enough.

  When I first met him, I kind of had him pegged as a man whore because, honestly, he’s just gorgeous. My first impression of him was wrong on so many levels, and he still surprises me to this day. He is just so thoughtful. He thinks of things before I do. It’s the little things that matter the most, and he does a lot of that.

  One part of
me thinks I should be terrified, because I can see myself falling hard for him, but another part of me feels so safe with Chase.

  So I throw it all out and say let’s fall.

  After we finish eating, Chase takes the bill before I can even offer. I didn’t miss the look he gave me, letting me know paying isn’t an option.

  I am independent and I always have been. I can take care of myself. But it’s also nice to be taken care of once in a while.

  I scoot out of the booth, and Chase picks up Hunter, who is staring up at both of us. He is such a beautiful baby. He looks a lot like me, based on what I can tell so far.

  Chase takes my hand and holds Hunter as we walk out of the restaurant. From the corner of my eye, I notice two guys leaning against a wall. I am instantly nervous because they are staring at us.

  We are parked toward the back of the parking lot, because the restaurant was packed. I peek back and I see that those guys are following us. I am really nervous now; I can feel myself shaking. I don’t have a good feeling about this at all.

  My heart quickens, my stomach is in knots, and the back of my neck is cold with sweat. I’ve had anxiety my whole life, and I can tell you I am seconds away from having a full-blown anxiety attack. Ever since my relationship with Lee and what happened in the hospital, it’s gotten a lot worse. Living with him was pure hell. I walked on eggshells every day of my life, and it took a toll on me. I had gotten soft over the years after getting out of foster care.

  Loud laughter behind me breaks me out of my thoughts. I peer over my shoulder and see they’re a lot closer to us. One of the guys sees me looking, and he grabs his crotch and bites his lip suggestively. I turn around quickly, covering my mouth as vomit crawls up my throat. I look at Chase, whose jaw is clenched with anger. I can tell that he is trying to keep his cool. He looks at me and hands me Hunter’s car seat.

  I take it, and it hits me that he is ready to protect us.

  Chase unlocks the truck and hands me the key. “Get in the truck, lock the door, and drive away if you have to,” he whispers.

  “Aww, come on, don’t leave just yet, honey!” one of the guys yells. My stomach turns again, and I am shaking so badly I can barely hold Hunter.

  I open the door to the back seat, put Hunter in, and slam the door shut. I crawl over the seat to the front. My face is glued to the window, and my knuckles are white, gripping the keys. I am scared out of my mind.

  * * *

  Chase

  She is fucking terrified. I tried to stay as calm as possible when the fucker grabbed his dick, making gestures toward her. I wanted to turn around and blow his brains to pieces, but I needed to get her and Hunter out of harm’s way first.

  The moment her door is shut, I turn around to face the fuckers. They’re staring at me. “What the fuck do you want?” I snarl.

  The one on the right, the bigger of the two, smirks like he is not about to get his head smashed in. The one on the left is emotionless, just staring at the passenger door. I look behind me and see Jessica watching.

  “Lock the door,” I mouth to her, and I hear the audible click. I know all this has to do with her, but I don’t understand how.

  The cocky one laughs. “You mean you don’t know about the one-hundred-thousand-dollar bounty on her head?” My fucking heart sinks. I knew her ex was into some shit, but this I never expected. Neither Jessica nor I knew how deep his ties with the Mafia were until now.

  Fuck.

  “Leave right fucking now, or I will make you.” I am done playing games.

  They laugh, looking at each other like this is the funniest thing. I split the distance between us, and I punch the taller one as hard as I can. I smile at the satisfying crunch as he drops like a ton of lead, and the other one tries to tackle me. I smack his face and he jerks away from me. I grip the back of his head and bring it down to meet my knee. He hits the ground right next to his buddy.

  Fucking child’s play.

  I walk over to the short one, the one that fucking grabbed his dick. I bring my foot down on him and twist. He lets out a scream, trying to pull away but only making it worse on himself. “Never fucking disrespect a woman like that again, or I will cut it off. You understand me, dumb fuck?”

  Tears roll down his red face and he nods. “I promise, I won’t do anything like that.”

  I turn around and walk to my side of the truck and get inside. Jessica is leaning forward, staring out the window. I start the truck and we get out of here. I reach over and take her hand, which is shaking in her lap. “I have you, honey,” I tell her softly.

  She finally looks at me, her eyes full of unshed tears. “I just don’t understand, a bounty? I haven’t done anything.”

  “Sweetheart, there are fucked-up people in this world, and we are meeting this face to face. I will protect you at all costs. Nothing will happen to you or Hunter. I will make sure of that.”

  I glance over at her, and she is staring at me intently. “I just don’t know what I would do without you.”

  I bring her hand up to my mouth and kiss the back of it. “You will never find out.” I will make sure she will always be safe and taken care of. That is one thing I can guarantee.

  * * *

  Jessica

  You can imagine my shock at hearing that I had a bounty on my head. I never expected that it was that bad. I knew he knew people, worked for them, but I never expected that it would come to that—but for what? Because I left him? I did witness him killing someone. Maybe he’s afraid that I will rat?

  I just can’t fully wrap my head around all of this shit.

  Before I know it we are pulling up in front of the house. I slide out of my seat, putting the diaper bag on my shoulder, and Chase takes out Hunter.

  It does make me feel better that there is a security guard at the entrance, and Chase does make me feel safe. I was majorly impressed the way he took care of those two guys so easily.

  I knew he used to be a Navy SEAL, before he retired from the military, but seeing him in action—handling those guys with barely any effort—that was something else.

  Chase puts Hunter on the living room floor, and I take him out of his seat, getting my snuggles in. “Ready for a bath and then bedtime?” I sway him from side to side, kissing the top of his head, my whole body settling as I hold my sweet boy.

  I walk into the kitchen, and Chase has already got Hunter’s towel, pajamas, diaper, and lotion on the counter. I personally have never met a man who is so hands-on with everything; he is ready to do whatever he can. He changes as many diapers as I do. It’s amazing. Not many guys are like that.

  We fill up Hunter’s baby bath, and it fits right in the sink so I don’t have to bend over, breaking my back, because I’m still hurting. I lay him down inside the bath, and his eyes open, looking at both of us. “Hi, sweet boy,” I coo at him and touch his chubby little jaw.

  I move over so I can grab his soap, and Chase yells. I look over to see Hunter peeing all over him. I grab a washcloth and lean over the counter, laughing uncontrollably. The first one to get peed on would be Chase. He laughs too and takes off his shirt, throwing it in the laundry room. “Oh my god, I can’t believe that happened.”

  I stand up, and he wipes away the tears I shed because I was laughing so hard and grins at me. “You’re beautiful when you laugh, angel.”

  My heart turns to goo at his sweet words, and I stand up on tiptoes and kiss him.

  Truth Hurts comes on the radio, and the song takes over my body. I sing at the top of my lungs in Chase’s kitchen. I’m cleaning the morning dishes.

  “I just took a DNA test…turns out I’m one hundred percent that bitch.” I swing my hips as I scrub the bottle. I spin around and come face to face with a smirking Chase, who is leaning against the island a few feet away from me.

  “Did anyone ever tell you it’s not polite to stare?” I sass him and he laughs; then he walks over and taps the top of my head like I’m a child.

  Without thinking, I grab
the sprayer off the back of the sink and turn on the cold water. I spray him right in the face, and I burst out laughing at the expression on his face as he stands there, just letting me spray him.

  I stop and he opens his eyes, giving me a look that tells me I need to run. Without thinking, I grab the olive oil bottle and run as fast as I can up the stairs.

  I scream as I hear him pounding behind me, and I turn around, spreading oil all over the hardwood floor. Then I duck into the bathroom. I cover my mouth so he doesn’t hear me, because I am dying laughing and I don’t want to give myself away.

  He runs up the hallway and then, right before my eyes, he slides and glides across the floor on his hands and knees. I peer out of the bathroom, my eyes wide. He keeps on going until he grips one of the bedroom doors.

  “Oh my.” I stop and hold my stomach. “I can’t breathe.” I slide to the floor, laughing uncontrollably. Through my eyes, filled with tears, I see him crawling toward me. I was dumb and sat down. I get up on my knees and try to stand, only to face-plant onto the hardwood floor.

  A hand wraps around my foot, and I am pulled deeper into the puddle of oil. I try to grab something to stop myself, but he pulls me right where he wants me.

  With him.

  I peer up at him and he winks. “I got you, honey.”

  I roll my eyes because he is such a cheeseball sometimes. “Well yeah, I think I’ve noticed that, Sherlock.”

  “Oh yeah?” He grips my hands, pinning them above my head. “Now what are you going to do?”

  Well, that’s a toughie. “I’m not going to do anything, because you’re going to be a nice boy and let me go.”

  He arches an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? You think so?” He starts nibbling on the side of my neck, tickling me.