~*~
“Elizabeth?” Chase asked, knocking on her bedroom door. Once they’d arrived home from dropping off Shawn and Katie, she had bolted for her room. He heard a shuffle behind the door and waited a moment before he pushed it open. Liz was already in bed, her pink flowered quilt pulled up to her chin, eyes closed. Chase let out a long sigh when he sat down on the edge of her bed and she feigned sleep.
“Sweetheart, I know what happened today. You have to understand that Katie doesn’t want to replace your mother.” He brushed her hair away from her forehead. “She only wants to be your friend.” Liz sniffled but didn’t open her eyes. “Your mother would always give someone a chance when she first met them. She would never prejudge and would always look at who that person was on the inside.” Liz’s forehead wrinkled, and she squeezed her eyes shut while she fought back tears.
Chase slipped his hands under her arms and pulled her into his lap. Her small fingers wound around his neck as he held her close, and she cried. Her quiet sobs tore at his heart with every tremor of her small body. He didn’t know what else to say. He couldn’t stay mad at her for not wanting Katie around. Liz was loyal, and it was going to be almost impossible to get her to understand that she wasn’t betraying her mother by letting Katie into her life.
At eleven years old, she was too young to have to deal with the issues she faced. Chase held her close, the scent of her mother’s shampoo assaulting his senses, reminding him of his own struggle to move on. Her sobs soon turned to hiccups, and then her even breathing let him know she had fallen asleep.
Chase kissed her forehead and tucked her back into bed. Her cheeks were stained with tears, and his heart broke a little more at the pain she was going through. Lashing out was her only defense.
He walked into the kitchen without turning on the lights to grab a cold beer out of the refrigerator. Chase jumped when the light flicked on. Gina stood in the doorway with a smug smile. He let out his breath and turned back toward the refrigerator.
“How was your evening with Katie?”
Chase couldn’t help the grin that appeared on his lips while he told her about dinner. However, it quickly faded when he got to the part about her squabble with Liz.
“Don’t worry about Liz. She’ll come around,” Gina said.
“Did Liz say something to you at the fair?”
“Yeah, she said Katie yelled at her, but after some prodding, I got the full story out of her. I let her know that if she had talked to me like that, I would have smacked her.”
Chase grinned, knowing Gina’s bark was worse than her bite. She would never raise a hand to them, but if her threat got the point across, then he was fine with her method.
“She’s got a lot of pride,” Gina continued. “It’ll be a while before she’ll admit she was wrong, but she knows she shouldn’t have said the things she said.”
Chase was tired of having this discussion. He just hoped Gina was right.
“Are you going to be home Monday?” Chase asked when he remembered the delivery that would arrive sometime in the afternoon.
“In the morning. Why?”
“I’m having a new mattress delivered.”
“Why are you buying a new bed? Isn’t your current one pretty new?” Gina asked with a confused look on her face.
“Lumpy.”
“How long have you had it?”
He should have known she wouldn’t let it drop. “Um . . . five or six years.”
“Don’t they have a ten-year warranty?” Her grin grew larger. Chase shrugged and guzzled the rest of his beer down in one gulp, excusing himself to his room before she could draw any more conclusions.
Nosey, obnoxious brat.
Chapter 13
Chase and Katie settled into a comfortable routine as the weeks wore on. He worked back-to-back shifts so he could take off the weekend of their date, which didn’t leave them much time to spend together. Every evening, Katie came to his house and made dinner. Most nights, Chase had to eat and run, but she stayed to watch his children when Gina was out late each night with Daniel. Katie had become a more permanent fixture in their lives, and even Liz accepted having her around more often.
Chase didn’t ask Katie to stay the night again. He knew their time would come soon enough, which made him both nervous and excited. Their upcoming date was the source of most of his anxiety. He’d forgotten how much effort went into planning a romantic evening. With Gina’s help, he had arranged for dinner and made sure that all the small details were taken care of during his spare hours.
Katie had planned to come over early so they could ride to the game together on the day of their big date. That morning, Chase was woken by warm fingers tracing along his chin. His lips curled up at the thought of Katie in his room—on his bed, her body pressed against his side when she leaned down and touched her soft lips to his. His hands went to her hair, holding her closer as he opened his mouth to her with a small moan of approval. He shifted her until she lay along the length of him, her legs on either side of his. She pulled away, and he opened his eyes to see her beautiful face smiling down at him.
“I think this is my new favorite way to wake up in the morning,” Chase whispered.
“Afternoon.”
His eyes darted to the clock beside the bed, and he groaned, realizing he needed to get up if he wanted to make it to the game on time.
“Late night?”
“Yeah, I was in surgery until almost two this morning.” He yawned and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. “I don’t want to get up.”
Chase pulled Katie back down and buried his face into her shoulder like a petulant child. She giggled and kissed his neck, leaving a wet trail from his ear to his collarbone. He knew if he didn’t end what she’d begun, they would never make it to the game.
Pushing her shoulders with a gentle nudge until she straddled his hips, he said, “As much as I want to continue this, I need to get dressed so we can go. It doesn’t look good if the coach is late.”
“I’ll get the kids ready while you get up.” She leaned down and pecked his lips once more before she hopped off the bed.
Once Katie was out of the room, Chase pushed off the covers and stared down at the result of his desire. There was no denying he wanted her. He just worried he was going to ruin everything by taking the next step. His doubts had been a constant nagging presence while he’d planned the details of their evening. Would she be ready to become lovers? Was he? Those thoughts entered his mind again as he dressed, but he pushed his uncertainties away and tried to concentrate on what felt right.
When Katie was in his arms, he forgot everything else. Chase wanted to make love to her, to share the connection that could only be accomplished when one person gave him- or herself over to someone else. His fears only seemed to surface when he was alone with his memories. On those occasions, his feelings could become overwhelming, and he would question everything he felt for Katie. Despite his guilt, he was determined not to allow his fears to ruin their weekend.
The baseball game was long and grueling. By the last inning, the Giants were ahead by one run. Tony and Shawn pitched their innings, and both had done a fantastic job at minimizing the runs. Chase put Cody on the mound for the final inning, and he struggled with landing the ball in the strike zone. Some field work by the outfielders resulted in two outs, and all they needed was one more to end the game with a victory.
Mitch berated his son every time he threw a less-than-perfect pitch, causing the boy to make even more mistakes. Chase clenched his fists and resisted the urge to lay into the baboon who dared to call himself a father. He’d love nothing more than to explain to Mitch that children didn’t perform better with that kind of encouragement. Chase’s only hope was to pull Cody out of his anxiety by talking him down from his nervousness. He called a timeout and jogged out to the mound. Tony started to run out to the huddle, but Chase waved him back, wanting a moment alone with Cody.
He squatted down in front of the
boy and asked him if he was all right. Tears welled up in Cody’s eyes, and he swiped them away with his sleeve, leaving a streak of dirt across his nose. He nodded but wouldn’t look Chase in the eye when Mitch started a whole new line of insulting comments.
“Stop being a cry baby and pitch the damn ball!” Mitch yelled.
Chase shook his head. “Don’t listen to him. I want you to focus on me. Drown out every voice. The only one that matters right now is mine. Tony will give you a signal for which pitch to throw. If you don’t like it, tell him, and he’ll switch it up.” Chase put his hand on Cody’s shoulder. “You can do this, kid. Don’t believe anyone who tells you otherwise.”
Cody’s confidence level grew, and he stood a little taller with the encouragement, giving Chase a firm, determined nod. When Chase walked back to the dugout, the umpire called the game back into play.
While Chase was on the sidelines, he felt a looming presence behind him. Focusing all his attention on Cody, he ignored Mitch when he tried to get his attention. He watched while Cody threw his next pitch, which landed a perfect strike into Tony’s mitt. Chase yelled his approval, then turned to face the boy’s father.
“What did you tell him?” Mitch sneered.
“That’s between us, Mr. Arnold.”
He turned back to the field as Cody threw an outside pitch, losing some of his momentum. Chase clenched his teeth, angry with himself for allowing Mitch to distract him from giving Cody the support he needed. Mitch stepped out from behind the fence, and Chase moved farther to the side, hoping Cody would fix his gaze on him and not his father.
“It’s all right, Cody! Next one will be in!”
Mitch grumbled behind him but kept his mouth shut. Cody threw the next pitch. It was a strike, but the umpire called it a ball. It happened all the time. Umpires weren’t perfect, and the rules were set so the ump had the final word—it was pointless to argue.
“That’s okay! It was a bad call, Cody!”
Chase wasn’t about to contradict the ump, but his reassurance to Cody was his way of letting the umpire know he wasn’t happy.
Out of the corner of his eye, Chase watched Mitch stride toward the umpire, fists clenched. He stopped inches from him while Tony scrambled to get out of his way. Chase motioned for Tony to stand by Shawn at first base, and then he stood back and watched while Mitch dug his own grave.
Daniel, who had been in the dugout, was next to Chase in an instant, a huge grin on his face.
“Blue isn’t going to take that for long.” Daniel chuckled while Mitch screamed at the umpire, his face turning a deeper shade of red with every angry word.
Chase smirked while the scene played out. There wasn’t anything they could do, and honestly, they both wanted to see the umpire put Mitch in his place. The only way either one of them would interfere was if punches were thrown—otherwise, Chase would watch with a small bit of satisfaction when the ump threw Mitch out of the game.
The umpire pulled off his facemask, his silver hair matted to his head from the heat of the day. His lips pursed when Mitch continued to throw every insult and dirty word he had in his vocabulary. Chase cringed at the thought of the children having to listen to his foul mouth but smiled with approval when the ump stepped back and, with a quick jerk of his thumb over his shoulder, gave him the sign they’d waited for.
“You’re outta here!” the umpire yelled, bracing himself for a fight. Daniel and Chase took a few steps forward in case they needed to pull Mitch off him, but by the looks of things, the umpire could handle himself.
Daniel’s grin was huge when he leaned over Chase. “Twenty bucks says the old man takes Mitch down.”
Chase shook his head. “I’m not stupid enough to take that bet.”
Mitch ran out of obscenities to yell, so he started kicking dirt on the umpire’s shoes.
“That ain’t cool,” Daniel said through gritted teeth.
They both jogged over to Mitch and pulled him away by his shoulders. Kicking dirt on an umpire’s shoe was just as offensive as spitting in his face.
“Be a man and get out of here.”
Mitch started to push past them again, and Daniel growled.
Not wanting to tangle with him, Mitch sneered at them both and stomped off to his car. When everyone realized he was leaving, a huge cheer came from all the parents in the stands. Daniel chuckled under his breath and gave Chase a discreet fist bump before walking back to the dugout. Chase made his way back to his position by the fence, and the ump jogged over to him.
“I’m sorry, Coach O’Donnell, but that asshole pissed me off with the way he heckled your player. He’s lucky I didn’t bust his chops.”
Chase couldn’t help but pat him on the shoulder. “It’s okay. I was about to let him have it myself. Can I have a minute to talk to my pitcher?”
The umpire nodded and ran over to home plate, waving Tony back to his position. Chase jogged out to Cody, who looked embarrassed while he moved the dirt around with his toe.
“Don’t worry about that.”
Cody looked up, and Chase could see the humiliation in the boy’s eyes. The desire to grab Cody’s father and knock some sense into him for putting his kid through hell crossed Chase’s mind.
“Listen, you only have to throw two more strikes, and this game’s over. Do you think you can do it?”
Cody shrugged.
Chase waved Tony over to the mound when he realized he was losing Cody to his doubt.
Tony ran up and seemed to know what his teammate needed to hear. “You’ve got this. Remember when you threw that awesome fastball during practice?”
Cody nodded and raised his eyes to meet Tony’s.
“The batter’s slow on the swing. He won’t be able to touch your fastball.” Tony grinned, then gripped Cody’s shoulder with a camaraderie that came easily to him. “You can do it.”
There was an instant change in the boy. He straightened a little more and puffed out his chest with a confidence Chase hoped would carry him through his last pitches. He patted Cody on the shoulder and turned to go back to his position, while his son raced to home plate. Tony pushed his facemask over his eyes, squatted in front of the plate, and punched his mitt before he held it out to give Cody a target.
Tony’s voice filled the field with affirmations when Cody slid a fastball into his glove with a practice pitch. His enthusiasm spurred on the rest of the team to root for Cody when the batter stepped back up to the plate.
Chase cheered as if he were watching the major leagues when Cody wound up and threw a perfect pitch. The umpire called a strike, and the crowd came to their feet, rooting for him. Tony and Shawn ran over and jumped up and down in a circle around Cody, and the whole team swarmed him and patted him on the back. He reached out and fist-bumped Shawn before Tony grabbed him in a hug. Their laughter floated over the cheers of the crowd.
They had a team meeting in the dugout right after the game. When Chase asked the boys who should get the game ball, every boy yelled a loud, unanimous “Cody!” He strutted forward and accepted the ball from Daniel, and when he returned to his seat, he high-fived Tony and Shawn. This game was the first outward display of team unity Chase had seen from the boy, and he hoped the positive experience would carry over into the remaining games.
After the team meeting, Shawn and Tony went to work gathering up all the equipment, and Chase walked over to his girls on the bench. Liz ran and jumped up to plant a big sloppy kiss on his cheek.
Katie leaned in and kissed Chase’s cheek, whispering her congratulations in his ear. He took her hand and pulled her into his side, loving the feel of her pressed up against him.
“We have Daniel’s SUV, so we can take the kids home and you two can get out of here,” Gina said with a big smile.
Chase had never wanted to hug his sister more than he did at that moment, but that would require him to release Katie, so instead he nodded his thanks.
“Have fun.” Gina waved at them before she trotted over to Shawn
and Tony, then grabbed the bag of gear and hefted it over her shoulder. It was almost as heavy as she was, so when she went to take a step, she started to topple over. Daniel groaned and ran over to wrestle it out of her hands before she hurt herself. Katie and Chase chuckled.
When they turned toward each other with eager anticipation, Chase asked, “Are you ready?”
Katie gave him a shy smile and nodded. She didn’t ask him where their destination was while they drove north on Highway 1 toward Monterey. They exited the freeway and made their way down to the commercial wharf. When they parked, Katie’s forehead wrinkled as if she were trying to solve a puzzle. “Are we having an early dinner on the wharf again?”
Chase shook his head and gave her a lopsided smile. “You’ll see.”
He grabbed both bags out of the trunk and took her hand when she climbed out of the car. Once they reached the gate that led down to the boat docks, Chase pulled out his key and slid it into the lock.
“What—Chase, where are we going?”
He didn’t answer, refusing to ruin the surprise while he led her down the docks. They stopped in front the pristine sailboat that was his pride and joy. Chase looked over at her, and she started to understand.
“This is your boat?”
He grinned at her and nodded. “Welcome to the Mia.”
Chase climbed aboard and turned back to offer his hand, helping her up the ladder. She appeared a little apprehensive when she glanced around, her footing unsure. He guided her across the rigging while she stared in stunned silence.
“It’s beautiful,” she whispered, running her hand over the mast.
He corrected her. “She.”
Katie turned toward him with a flirtatious smile. “Does that mean I should be jealous?”
He wrapped his arms around her waist. “Hardly.”
Looking out across the sky, he saw the sun making its descent. If he wanted to make it to their destination before dark, they needed to get going. Chase kissed Katie’s neck and took her hand, leading her to the deck below.
“Let me show you around, and then we’ll shove off. Have you ever been on a sailboat before?” Chase helped her down the stairs.
Ready To Love Again Page 18
