Ready To Love Again

by Annalyse Knight

  “I’ve started dating.”

  “Oh, good God, boy. You’re lucky I called and not your mother. She’ll be thrilled to hear this, but if she had called, you wouldn’t have been let off the phone for hours.” Connor O’Donnell chuckled. “So anyone in particular?”

  “Yeah, the mom of one of the kids I coach. I’ve taken her out a couple times.”

  “Is she pretty?”

  “Dad,” Chase said with a warning in his tone. “You’re as bad as Gina.”

  “All right, all right. I’ll leave it at that, but your mother is going to want to meet her as soon as we set foot on American soil.”

  “We’ll see. I don’t want to scare her off too soon.”

  Chase was so deep in conversation with his father that he didn’t hear Tony come into his room until he’d climbed up on the bed.

  “Hey, slugger, want to talk to grandpa?”

  Tony grabbed the phone from his dad and launched into a report about the baseball season and his new friend. Liz came in and, once she realized who was on the phone, bounced with excitement to talk to him, too. After they hung up, Chase pulled back the covers for them to climb into bed with him. Tony rubbed the sleep from his eyes and curled up next to Chase, while Liz excused herself to the bathroom.

  “It’s ‘toon time,” Tony said, pointing to the remote control on the nightstand.

  Chase chuckled before he reached for it. “We only have an hour before Katie and Shawn come over.”

  Tony looked up at his dad. “What’re we doing?”

  “Well, I thought we’d get some breakfast and then go down to the beach.”

  “Are you going to teach me how to surf now? I bet Shawn will want to learn. Do you think his mom’ll wanna learn, too?”

  Chase chuckled at his enthusiasm. “No, we aren’t going to surf today, and Shawn’s mom doesn’t strike me as the surfing type.”

  Tony frowned once Chase squashed his plans to get back in the waves. With Chase’s work schedule, they hadn’t gone out once since Tony had gotten his board for Christmas, and to be honest, Chase missed it.

  “Don’t worry. We’ll go soon.”

  That seemed to placate Tony for the moment, and he turned his attention to the television.

  “Are you okay with me taking Shawn’s mom out on dates?”

  “Uh . . . yes!” A large smile spread across Tony’s face. “I like her a lot. She’s really nice, and if you marry her, then Shawn could share my room.”

  Chase wondered if Tony would be as eager to marry his dad off if Katie hadn’t had a son who was his best friend. A few minutes later, Liz shuffled in and climbed in on the other side of Chase.

  She leaned over and placed a kiss on his cheek. “I miss Nona and Papa.”

  “I know, sweetheart. They’ll be here this summer for Gina’s wedding.” Liz snuggled into the pillows and turned to watch the silliness Tony had selected.

  “We need to get ready to go to breakfast.” Chase tickled Tony, earning a loud laugh before his son jumped out of bed and ran from the room in a flash.

  “Where are we going?” Liz asked while she helped Chase make the bed.

  He knew the best way to let her know they were going to have breakfast with Katie and Shawn was to do it quick, kind of like ripping off a Band-Aid.

  “Katie and Shawn will be here pretty soon, and I thought we could all go to Katarina’s Place for breakfast.” Chase was on guard while he looked for the signs of rage that always bubbled under the surface.

  Liz stopped and looked at him with sad eyes before she went back to fluffing the pillow. He was ready for her argument, but it never came. Instead, she acted as if he hadn’t said a word.

  “Liz? Are you okay with going out to breakfast with Katie and Shawn?”

  She looked down at the floor for a moment before she spoke. “Yeah, Daddy. I’m okay with it.”

  He could tell there was something going on in her brain, but she wouldn’t let him in on the secret. As long as she could be civil, that was all that mattered. Chase walked around the bed and sat on the edge, taking her in his arms.

  “Katie’s a good friend, sweetheart.” He smoothed her hair down her back and felt her nod against his chest. Not wanting to push her any further, he left it at that.

  He sent Liz to get dressed and hopped in the shower. The warm water relaxed him while he let his thoughts drift to the beautiful brunette who occupied his mind. He could recall, with absolute clarity, how her soft body felt when it pressed into his. Even though their first kiss had not been a private moment, thanks to Daniel, it was still memorable in that she had been his for those few seconds. She had given herself over to him with no reservations, and that little bit of knowledge made him smile. It felt strange to think of anyone other than his wife as “his,” but he knew he wanted that again. Shutting the water off, Chase wrapped a towel around his waist and made his way back into his room.

  “They’re here! They’re here!” Tony ran in, doing a complete circle around the open space and bolting back out the door.

  Chase chuckled at his enthusiasm and felt a pang of it himself while he finished getting dressed. He slid his hand into the pocket of his jeans when he descended the stairs and felt a small wad of what he assumed was money. He pulled it out and tried to remember when he would have left cash in his pocket rather than in his wallet. Chase counted it out—fourteen dollars. Tony and Shawn raced past him, and that was when it dawned on him.

  “Shawn?”

  “Yeah, Coach?” he asked, stopping at the top of the landing.

  “You wouldn’t happen to know how money magically appeared in the pocket of my jeans, would you?”

  Shawn had one of those honest faces, the kind that revealed when he wasn’t truthful. If the deer-in-the-headlights look didn’t confirm it, his denial did.

  “Um . . . I don’t know nothing about fourteen dollars.”

  Chase laughed. “Who said it was fourteen dollars?”

  “Oh . . . well . . . I just guessed.”

  “Did your mom tell you to hide the money in my pants?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  He was good. Denial was always the best defense when pushed into a corner.

  “Come on, Shawn. I have a really cool one that Daniel got me for my birthday,” Tony called.

  “We’re leaving in ten minutes,” Chase yelled up to Tony.

  “Don’t worry, Dad! I’m just showing Shawn my baseball cards.”

  Chase could hear Liz in her room while he descended the stairs, her stereo playing some popular teen singer while she sang along. Sweat broke out on his palms when his nerves made an appearance. He knew Katie was alone downstairs, and in a moment, they would be alone—together.

  He took a deep breath and made it down the rest of the stairs, pausing to look in the kitchen. When he saw she wasn’t there, he moved to the living room. She was standing in front of the fireplace, holding a picture she had picked up off the mantel.

  Chase propped himself against the door and watched her replace it. She reached for another one and skimmed her fingers across the photo before setting it back where she found it.

  “Good morning.”

  Katie jumped at the sound of his voice and whipped around. “I’m so sorry, I just—” She waved at the pictures on the mantel.

  Chase pushed himself off the doorframe and walked over to see which pictures had captured her attention. The last picture she had picked up was of him and the kids.

  He smiled and reached for it. “This one was taken about a year ago. Gina was determined to get recent pictures taken to put in a scrapbook for my parents for Christmas. Tony was being a pill that day and didn’t want to have his picture taken, which ended with Gina throwing the biggest tantrum I’ve ever seen.” He set the frame back on the mantel and looked down at Katie’s smiling face.

  “I can’t imagine.”

  “Oh, you’d be surprised what Gina will do to get her way.”

  �
�No, I didn’t mean Gina. I can see her doing whatever was necessary to make sure she got that picture. I meant Tony—being a pill.”

  “He’s no angel. He’s got a little bit of his mother in him.”

  “Is this her?” Katie picked up the other picture she had been examining when he came in.

  Chase looked at the photo with a sad smile. “Yeah, that’s Terri. We had that picture taken for our fifth anniversary.” He felt a little awkward about the topic of their conversation and wasn’t sure if he should change the subject.

  “She’s very pretty,” Katie whispered. “Liz looks a lot like her.”

  “Yes. It’s hard to look at Liz and not remember her mother.”

  His anxiety increased, and he wondered how she would take his admission. She smiled up at him, and Chase had the urge to kiss her. He didn’t know what to do.

  How can I go from talking about Terri to wanting to take this woman into my arms?

  “What happened?” Katie asked.

  Chase watched her set the picture down, and he tried to form the words. Seeing his hesitation, Katie laid her hand on his arm.

  “It’s okay. If you don’t want to talk about it, I understand.”

  “No, it’s okay.” His voice cracked, and he cleared his throat before he spoke again. “It was a car accident. A drunk driver hit the passenger side of our car.”

  Katie covered her mouth to catch her gasp. “I’m so sorry.”

  Chase gave her a faint smile and took her hand. He looked into her eyes and saw nothing but compassion.

  “It must have been so hard on you and your children to have her taken so suddenly. The death of someone you love is never easy, but that . . .” She trailed off and offered him a weak smile.

  He cupped her face with his hand and rubbed his thumb over her cheek. Katie stared up at him with her beautiful green eyes, and he didn’t feel the hurt that always followed a conversation about Terri. All he felt was a pull to be closer to Katie.

  Chase dipped his head down, never breaking eye contact while his lips brushed against hers. The hand on her cheek moved into her hair, and he pulled her closer. He watched the delicate way her lashes fluttered before he let his eyes slide closed and pressed his lips to hers again. Kissing her with more force, he found he loved the way she surrendered to him. The hand that held hers slid around her arm until it wrapped around the small of her back and pressed her tight against him.

  In the back of Chase’s mind, he recognized the pitter-patter of small feet on the hardwood floor, but he didn’t acknowledge their presence until he heard a giggle. He pulled away and opened his eyes. Katie leaned into him, wanting more and oblivious to the little eyes that watched them.

  Her eyes popped open at the sound of Tony clearing his throat, a beautiful blush rising to her cheeks. They both looked over to the doorway, where Tony and Shawn stood with their hands covering their mouths. Chase smiled wider at their reaction and pointed up the stairs.

  “Go get your sister—we need to go. I’m starving.”

  “I could tell by the way you were eating off my mom’s face,” Shawn said with a disgusted look before he flew up the stairs after Tony.

  “That was awkward,” Katie mumbled once they were out of sight.

  Chase turned and smiled down at her, placing a quick kiss on her lips. “Yeah, a little, but they need to get used to it because I don’t think I can keep my hands off you.”

  “You better try.” A sly glint sparkled in her eye. “I’m not ready to have the ‘birds and the bees talk’ with my son yet.”

  Chase laughed and reached into his pocket for the fourteen dollars. “No, I’m not ready for that talk either, but you might want to have a talk with him about the importance of paying for a lady’s dinner so he doesn’t blow it when he starts dating.”

  Katie’s eyebrow rose, and she gave him a quizzical look until he held the fourteen dollars out to her. She shook her head, refusing to take it from him. “Autonomy is important to me. I know it’s only fourteen dollars, but it’s my share of dinner that night. I lived in a relationship where I didn’t have a say over the finances, and money was used as another way to keep control of me.”

  “But I would never—”

  She held up her hand. “I know. It just feels good to know I can do what I want and not worry about accounting for every penny. I want to be self-sufficient and not depend on anyone to pay my way. It helps me feel in control instead of someone else controlling me.”

  “But you let me pay for dinner and the theater.”

  “Of course I did. That was a date. You wouldn’t have gotten a second date if you would’ve asked me to go Dutch,” she said before she walked to the entryway to wait for the kids.

  Chase scratched his head, trying to understand her logic while he grappled with wanting to break both of her ex’s legs.

  The drive to the restaurant was loud and boisterous. Tony replayed every inning of the last game of the World Series, and even Liz chimed in on three home runs Sandoval had hit in the first game.

  Chase leaned over and whispered to Katie when he opened her door. “I think I need to get Tony into another hobby before his mind bursts with baseball stats.” She laughed when he took her hand and helped her out of the car.

  When Katie was out, he opened Liz’s door and held his hand out to her. She smiled up at him and took his hand. Chase had a moment of hope that things were going to be all right.

  “There’s my princess,” he whispered in her ear once she was out of the car.

  He took her by the hand, and they all walked up the narrow walkway and into the quaint little restaurant. With all its country décor and charm, it was like they had entered someone’s home. Since the fog hadn’t rolled in that morning, they were shown to a table outside on the patio.

  “Katie?” Liz squeaked, looking up with innocent eyes. Chase couldn’t help but tense up and wonder what she’d say next.

  “I’m sorry about yesterday,” she said before her eyes went to her lap.

  “It’s okay,” Katie said with a kind smile.

  Chase reached under the table and squeezed Katie’s hand before he decided to play dumb. “What happened yesterday?”

  “Just a misunderstanding,” Katie replied with an offhand wave, which saved Liz from having to answer. He squeezed her hand again while Liz glanced over at Katie and smiled.

  “So what’s good on the menu?” Katie asked.

  “The berry waffles are me and Tony’s favorite,” Liz said.

  Katie nodded and continued to peruse the menu.

  “There are sixteen different types of eggs Benedict, or there are blintzes that are pretty amazing.” Chase offered when he set his menu down.

  Katie chuckled.

  “What?” he asked.

  “Is there anywhere on the Peninsula you haven’t eaten?”

  “Probably not. I’m not a very good cook.”

  “He’s not joking. He once set the—”

  “All right, that’s enough, little man.” Chase stopped Tony before he could launch into the details of the many disasters Chase had created in the kitchen.

  “I guess I’ll have to come over and give you cooking lessons.” Katie and Liz laughed together.

  “Or . . . you could just come over and cook every night.” Chase made the suggestion before he thought about the way that would sound. She smiled wider at him over the rim of her orange juice and nodded.

  “Or there’s always that.”

  Once breakfast was over, they all piled back into Chase’s car and headed toward his home.

  “What’s the plan now?” Katie asked.

  “Well, I thought we could go down to the beach, maybe let the kids play in the ocean.”

  “Please, Mom! Can we go?” Chase glanced at Shawn in the rearview mirror and saw his big puppy dog eyes trained on his mother.

  “Yeah, but we should run home and get your wetsuit—that water’s freezing. Maybe you should take us back to your house, and I can gra
b my car.”

  “Shawn can use one of Tony’s,” Chase said with a frown, not wanting to be away from her.

  “I thought I’d grab Buddy, too. He loves the beach, and he needs to get out and run,” she answered. “He could sit on my lap if you want to just run to my house.”

  Chase liked that idea much better. He made his way to Katie’s house to pick up the dog, but it wasn’t until he pulled in the driveway and saw Buddy’s big head peek over the fence that he worried he might not fit.

  “He’ll be fine,” Katie said reassuringly, as if reading Chase’s mind. She jumped out before he could turn off the engine and ran into the house.

  Buddy barreled out and jumped in the car through Katie’s open door, sitting in her seat like he owned it. Chase laughed and rubbed the dog’s ears before he climbed out and walked around the car to coax the dog to let Katie climb in. She emerged with Shawn’s wetsuit just as Buddy reluctantly got out of the car.

  It was comical to see Katie maneuver Buddy until they both fit in the front seat. She had to roll down the window and let his head hang out so she had a little bit of breathing room. Chase smiled the whole way back to his house.

  ~*~

  They walked along the beach while the kids splashed in the ocean. “I wanted to say thank you,” Katie whispered.

  Chase took her hand and gave her a sideways glance.

  “For what?”

  “Well, I figured Gina told you about what happened yesterday with Liz.”

  “She did.”

  “But you let me be the good guy and not snitch her out. I didn’t say anything to you yesterday because I didn’t want you to talk to her about it and make things worse between us.” Katie bit her lip and peeked at him. “I want her to like me, but I know it’s going to be hard. She must miss her mother terribly.”

  “Please let me know if it happens again. Then we can decide the best way to handle it.” Chase squeezed her hand. “She may be hurt over her mother, but that doesn’t give her the right to treat anyone the way she treated you.”

  They watched the kids play in the surf and come out shivering, only to run back in a few minutes later. When the cold water became too much for them to handle, they retreated to the beach to build forts and sandcastles.