The Mile High Madness

by Anders, Annabelle

  “Holy shit,” Kent sputtered.

  Wrapping a bandage around Chaz’s naked chest, Nurse Francine wore a crop-top halter and barely there shorts, and was touching Chaz far more than the task required. As Penny made a move to close the curtains, Chaz looked across the way and caught her eye.

  In the same moment, Kent caught her from behind and made an attempt to nuzzle her neck. Penny dropped her gaze and whipped the curtain closed. “There’s a reason for the blinds, Kent.” She squirmed out of his arms and slipped away from him.

  “Lucky little shit.” Kent laughed, peeked out the drapes again, and let out a low whistle.

  That was it. That was when she knew what she must do. “You need to leave.”

  “Huh?” He was still a little distracted. “What?”

  “Kent, we’re divorced now. You. Me. We’re over. You need to leave.”

  “Why, because I appreciate a pretty girl?”

  “No. Yes.” And then. “No. Because we don’t love each other anymore. If we loved each other, Megan wouldn’t have meant anything. But we don’t. And she did.” Penny pushed her hair out of her eyes. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you not to come, but I don’t want you here. You need to leave.”

  She’d never said anything like this before. She’d thought about it. She’d rehearsed this sort of thing in her mind, but the thought of being alone had been paralyzing. And when she’d thought she had no other choice, being alone had nearly killed her.

  She’d stopped living eight months ago, on Halloween.

  If nothing else, Chaz had made her realize this. He’d given her attention, affection, and little bit of sexual healing.

  She hadn’t ceased to be a woman when she’d caught her husband cheating. She’d simply ceased to be a wife.

  “You don’t mean it.” He made a move toward her but she stepped backward.

  “I do.” And then she met his eyes firmly and gave him a sad smile. “Goodbye, Kent.”

  “You’ll be sorry, Penny. Don’t expect me to take you back after this.”

  But she continued smiling sadly. “I won’t.”

  He spun on his heels and left the room. She waited until his footsteps receded, the door slammed, and a car roared off.

  She was alone.

  Again.

  But this time, she just might be okay.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Is That All There Is?

  Sitting on his bed, three days later, Chaz glanced out the window. She wouldn’t be there. He hadn’t seen her since the day she’d bolted from his house.

  He presumed the asshat who’d been in the office with her was the ex. He’d had a slimy look on his face when he’d wrapped his arms around Penny, all the while ogling Francine. What had that been all about?

  She’d said her divorce was final, hadn’t she? Or had he imagined that, hearing only what he wanted. Maybe they were only separated.

  Damn, that had fallen apart quickly.

  They’d had one night together. Less than twenty-four hours and it was over.

  Chaz bent over and retrieved the barbell from the floor. He could hardly wait to get back in the gym. If only he could get Franny to leave.

  Even if he hadn’t been hung up on his neighbor, she would be his last choice right now.

  Shit, anybody but Francine.

  But his mom, his tenderhearted, well-intentioned mother, had always assumed he and Francine would end up together. He’d never had the heart to tell her about Francine’s scheming ways. When they’d both moved up to Boulder, to be together for school, she’d dumped him for the starting quarterback. Standing in front of the mirror now, he pumped the weight without counting.

  Chaz had been third string.

  At the time, it stung. A lot. But it had also revealed something about his high school sweetheart he’d failed to see before.

  She was a climber.

  Chaz returned the weight to the floor and looked around for his shoes. Yesterday he’d figured out a technique to put his socks and shoes on one-handed. The trick was to not untie his shoes to begin with. He hated being dependent on Franny.

  She’d started writing to him again as soon as he’d graduated from flight school but he’d had no interest in starting up with her again – not even for a fling. She was manipulative, controlling, and fickle.

  Pretty much the exact opposite of Penny.

  Provoking, maddening, infuriating Penny.

  The thought of her made his heart ache just a little. Had she really gone back to her husband? Chaz hated the way things ended – almost before they’d even started – no explanations, no goodbye’s. He shoved his feet into his shoes.

  Truth was, he hadn’t wanted it to end.

  If only he could get Francine to leave. His mom had driven her down here, dropped her off, and said she’d be back in about a week to take her back up to Denver.

  He supposed he could call a cab and pay to have the driver take her back… That would be something of a fortune, likely a couple hundred bucks.

  He wasn’t even sure Francine would leave.

  She was there in the morning when he woke up, asking if he wanted to drive into Breckenridge to go shopping or out to eat, and in the afternoon, whining about how bored she was.

  All day long. “What should we do now, Chaz?” Her voice was cloying. She loved watching movies. Asinine movies with slapstick humor and cheap jokes, the kind he abhorred. Hell, he’d rather watch a chick flick then the crap she turned on.

  And now she was suffocating him. He removed his sling and carefully donned a T-shirt. It felt good to do this for himself. He needed to get on with his life.

  Despite the claims she’d made to his mother, Franny couldn’t cook worth a damn. After choking down just a few of her creations, Chaz had broken down and started ordering pizzas.

  He could kill his mom!

  Worst of all, he hadn’t heard from or caught sight of Penny. Was she even still in Pine Springs? Chaz glanced one more time out the window. Hers remained shuttered and dark.

  Had she gone back to her husband?

  As much as he tried to convince himself that she’d just up and left, he couldn’t quite believe their time together hadn’t meant anything.

  Not only had they had mind-blowing sex, not to mention a lot of fun, but he’d felt a special connection with her.

  Her lack of self-esteem scared him.

  Had her bastard of a husband convinced her she didn’t have any other options? Or had she simply retreated into her cocoon, convinced she didn’t deserve passion.

  It couldn’t be his age, God damnit!

  That thought pissed him off. Hell, she needed taken care of, not him!

  From what she’d told him, she pretty much cut herself off from mankind the day she’d found her husband cheating on her.

  Halloween.

  It was an odd coincidence. It almost made his hair stand on end, and he wasn’t the type to buy into fate or destiny or other crap like that.

  But it was odd. The day her marriage blew up, his career – hell, his body – had practically been torn to smithereens.

  And both of their circumstances had led them to living next door to each other at the exact same time.

  Fuck this.

  He’d been taking too many painkillers.

  He picked up the prescription bottle, walked into the bathroom, and dumped the contents into the toilet.

  Penny was gone. It was over. He needed to get over it.

  The only good thing in his life right now was that his shoulder was starting to feel better. If all went well, the doctor would let him remove the bandage after his appointment next week and start doing some physical therapy. He might not be able to fly again, but he sure wasn’t gonna let himself go to hell.

  The job offer was exciting. It was something she’d always wanted to do, but she’d never dreamed she’d get the chance.

  One of the top literary agents in the country lived in Denver and she wanted Penny to work for her as an agency
editor. The only catch was that she’d require Penny to work on site. She said she liked the firm’s authors to meet her staff, to know who they were working with, to know how much they cared. There would be travel involved. She’d be working with some big publishers in New York on various occasions.

  She couldn’t turn it down.

  She’d taken the call the day after Kent left and then dropped everything to go up for the interview. In dire need, Jane Sparks, the agent, had rented a room downtown for her and put her to work right away. It was to be a trial period, she said.

  Not only did Penny love the work, but it was a huge relief to not have to hang around Pine Springs watching Francine and Chaz take up where they’d left off.

  He was sweet. He was sexy. Of course, he wouldn’t want to pursue anything long term with an older woman. That just didn’t happen in real life. Men weren’t wired that way.

  They’d had sex, really great sex. She needed to be happy with that.

  She wasn’t going to try to hang onto something he wouldn’t want.

  She would leave. She’d put the house up for sale, cut her losses, and rent a loft downtown. She could afford it with this job. The pay was phenomenal.

  But she was going to have to go back to Pine Springs one last time. She needed to pack up her things.

  After accepting the job, and then working in Denver for two weeks, Penny made the drive back down one last time. At the thought that Chaz might already be gone, her heart sunk.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Now What?

  Sweat dripped into Penny’s eye as she taped shut the last box in her bedroom.

  The Wright house had been closed up tight. Not a soul in sight.

  Which was probably a good thing.

  Yeah, probably.

  Most likely.

  Just a few more loads and she’d be done. The movers would take care of the heavy stuff. She’d insisted upon packing personal belongings herself. The idea of strangers going through all that she owned in the world seemed distasteful.

  Walking to the other side of the bed, a piece of fabric caught her eye and her heart leaped into her throat.

  She should just throw it away, give it to Goodwill.

  The first T-Shirt Chaz gave her had somehow become wedged between the headboard and the wall. She’d wondered what happened to it.

  Not stopping to think, she picked it up and held it to her face. Mary, Mother of God, but it still carried his scent. She closed her eyes and inhaled again.

  This was stupid. Why torture herself? They’d had a good time. Some really great sex. No, it had been phenomenal sex.

  But she needed to get over it.

  She pulled the shirt she was wearing over her head and then slipped into Chaz’s.

  Biggest.

  Idiot.

  Ever.

  He’s gone. What can it hurt? She was moving forward, building a new life. She would be independent, a world traveler, editor extraordinaire.

  She crept out of the bedroom and across the hall. She’d packed the contents of the office earlier. There was nothing for her to do in there.

  The window drew her inside.

  She’d not once opened the drapes since coming back. She’d not once allowed herself to peer through the blinds.

  She wouldn’t do it. She’d promised herself.

  Until now, with the scent of him around her. She would remember one last time.

  The curtain was a little dusty so she covered her face with the bottom of the shirt. Ah, yes. Much better.

  And then she lifted her hand and pried open the blinds.

  His room, as she’d expected, was empty.

  Devastatingly so.

  No water bottle on the dresser, no flight suit hanging on the door. No masculine god for her to spy on.

  Feeling melancholy, she grabbed the string and tugged until the blinds stacked themselves tightly at the top of the window.

  It looked as though he’d completely moved out.

  And then the door opened.

  When Chaz entered the room, she stopped breathing. A suitcase sat on the bed and he looked to be making certain it closed properly. And then he stilled.

  He’d seen her in the mirror.

  His bandage was gone, and he wore cargo pants and a white T-shirt.

  Penny froze.

  Chaz had known she was home. He’d recognized her car. It hadn’t been there for nearly two weeks.

  And now he was leaving.

  He’d received orders two days after the doctor released him for P.T., and his parents had surprised him as well. They had temporarily moved up to Denver to take care of Grandma. She didn’t have much time left, and his dad wanted to be with her until the end.

  Chaz’s pride, at first, convinced him not to seek Penny out. She was the one who’d taken off. He had no desire to grovel; it wasn’t something he did.

  Except, now, seeing her, adrenaline poured through him. She was standing in the window, looking into his room.

  Wearing his shirt.

  That meant something to chicks. They didn’t wear a guy’s shirt unless they liked him.

  Or unless they really liked the shirt.

  He was willing to bet it wasn’t the shirt.

  Not stopping to think, he pointed at her in the mirror, mouthed the words ‘don’t move,’ and bolted out the door.

  It took him less than thirty seconds to make it into her upstairs office.

  He was a little surprised to find himself out of breath. But she’d done exactly as he’d said. She’d not moved an inch. In fact, she was still looking into his bedroom.

  And then she turned her head and stared at him over her shoulder. Her smile was bright. Too bright.

  “Hey, Chaz.” She was trying to sound breezy. “I thought you’d already left town.”

  She looked incredible.

  She didn’t look so forlorn as when he’d first met her. He’d kind of been hoping she’d pined for him.

  Except it was good to see a sparkle in her eyes.

  “I just got my orders. Vacation’s over.” Did she look disappointed at his words? Maybe a little?

  “I’m putting the house up for sale.” Her smile faded.

  “Yeah, I saw the sign.” He crossed one foot over the other and leaned against the doorframe.

  He’d flustered her. “Oh, yeah,” she kind of whispered. And then, apparently realizing what she was wearing, crossed her arms over her breasts.

  Too late, sweetheart, I already saw it.

  She’d been remembering.

  And missing him.

  But he needed her to crack. He pushed himself away from the doorframe and took three steps toward her, cutting the distance between them in half.

  “Are you running toward something this time? Or away again?” He needed to push but not too far. He wanted her to be strong.

  He wanted her to meet him somewhere in the middle.

  She relaxed for the first time since he entered the room. “Toward something,” she said. “I got a great job up in Denver.”

  She was moving to Denver?

  And then she smiled for real. “The bandages are gone. How’s the arm? Better?”

  He raised his right arm halfway and made a fist. He didn’t have all his strength back but he would soon. It was great to just be able to pick things up again. “Much.” And then he couldn’t help himself. “Imagine the fun we could have now.”

  She glanced away from him but not before he could see that her eyes were almost entirely green. “It was fun, wasn’t it? I mean, it wasn’t ever meant to be anything more, was it?” She was trying to sound casual but her voice broke on the last few words.

  Chaz froze. “Penny, I’ll be working out of Denver, too. They want me to be a recruiter for this region.”

  “You’re gonna be in Denver?” Her eyes lit up for just a moment and then she shifted her gaze to the floor. “That’s great, we’ll have to go out for drinks sometime.”

  He wondered if that was i
t.

  Was that her move?

  The best she could do?

  But then she added, “I guess you can be closer to Francine then.”

  Ah… She thought he and Francine – Oh, hell, no!

  “I could have killed my mom for bringing her down. Took me nearly a week to get her to leave.”

  “You wanted her to leave?” She’d turned her body toward him, her arms still folded in front of her.

  Chaz nodded. “I’d love to have a drink with you in Denver. Where should we go?” He stood his ground. She needed to do this. She needed to have enough faith in herself reach for him.

  “Somewhere downtown. We can check out one of the new places.” She shuffled her feet a little and then took one step forward. “You weren’t happy Francine showed up? Really?”

  “Not even a little. What happened with the ex? He didn’t look like much of an ex when I saw him, his arm wrapped around my girl.” There, he’d help her out.

  She took another step. Her steps were smaller than his. She still had about two to go. “Kent wanted to get back together. I sent him away. I don’t know what he was thinking. We were done even before the divorce…”

  “So, it’s definitely over?”

  She laughed. “Yeah.”

  Chaz hooked his thumb through the belt loop on his jeans. “Francine and old Kent have horrible timing.” At his words, she took another step toward him. If he reached out, he could pull her into his arms.

  “So, a recruiter, huh? Are you happy about that?” Almost without thinking, it seemed, she reached out and skimmed her hand down his right arm.

  Chaz swallowed hard. “I’m good with it. Eventually they’ll want me to teach. It’s not permanent but it gives me something to do until the doc’s clear me. I’m glad about Denver.” He’d been surprised at how many options he had. “You know, I should take you out to dinner first, then we could check out some of those new clubs.” His skin burned where she’d touched him.

  And then she was there. In his arms. Her voice was muffled as she buried her face in his chest. “Chaz, I know I’m a lot older than you, but I’d love to…” She’d done it. She’d come to him. He tilted her head back and caught her lips with his.