His smile was slow in coming, but when it finally took hold, it spread wide across his face. “If you don’t want to see me, why did you come out here?”
She opened her mouth to argue, but then closed it quickly. She didn’t have an answer to that. Well, not a good enough answer.
The truth was, ever since Chase had come back to Storm, it wasn’t that Anna Mae didn’t want to see him. She feared seeing him.
Over the years it had been easy to blame Chase for his leaving even though she’d given him her blessing to go. But deep down, she hadn’t believed he’d stay away. And then when he was gone and she found out she was carrying his child, it made it all the harder to call him and ask him to come home.
The anger that had built up over the years, that had replaced the heartache of losing Chase and their child, had kept her going. She knew that now. It was a bitter pill to swallow. But now that Chase was standing just feet away from her, she couldn’t ignore it. She’d never stopped loving him. All those feelings she’d felt as a young woman were still alive inside her. If she didn’t deal with it now, it would only crush her again when Chase left Storm.
The kitten was still climbing around Chase’s shoulders. Seeing the strong, sexy man and the adorable kitten made it hard for her to hang on to any of the anger that still lingered.
“The water was for you. I thought you were going to shrivel up and die in this heat. You know, this isn’t Nashville. It’s still as hot as hell down here. People die of heat stroke.”
“I thank you for the water and so does Patsy.”
“Patsy? You mean you’ve already named her?”
“Sure. Why not?”
He picked up the kitten and gazed at her face. The light in his blue eyes burned as bright as it did when they’d been lovers. There was a time Chase held her as lovingly and gently as he was holding that kitten. It was more than Anna Mae could take.
“She’s going to pee on you.”
The sound of his chuckle was low and rough. “I’ve had worse.”
“Gross.”
“I meant that metaphorically.”
“Oh. Well, I’ll leave you to her.”
Anna Mae started up the walkway toward the house. She did what she’d come out there to do. She’d given Chase Johnson a bottle of cold water and made sure he wasn’t dead. She didn’t have any more time to waste on nostalgia.
“Anna Mae?”
Don’t turn around again!
“What now?”
“Do you have a box?”
She turned to look at Chase then and saw that Patsy was climbing up his arm. Sighing, she waved for him to come into the house.
A few minutes later they were in the utility room going through different sized boxes that were left over from deliveries that had recently been made to the bed and breakfast. Chase wrestled with the kitten, who was a bundle of energy now that she was hydrated and out of the heat.
“This one is a good size. It’ll fit in the passenger’s seat so you can drive home.” Anna Mae brought the box out into the kitchen and put it on the floor. “Why don’t you let her try it?”
Chase gently placed the kitten in the box. She was none too happy with suddenly being confined and started to meow.
“Maybe she’s hungry,” Anna Mae said, going to the cabinet and then rummaging through it to see what she had. “We’ve never had a cat so I don’t have anything to give her.”
“Do you have a can of tuna?”
“Ah, of course. I just happen to have a few.”
She pulled out two cans of tuna from the cabinet, opened one of them with a can opener, and scooped a small portion into a small red plastic bowl that had been drying in the sink. She handed the bowl to Chase, who gave it to the kitten. Then she grabbed another red bowl and and filled it with water.
Patsy tackled the tuna first, going to town as if she hadn’t eaten in days.
Anna Mae reached in and ran her fingers over the kitten’s soft fur as she ate. The kitten’s purring sounded like a motor reverberating inside the box.
“It’s a good thing you found her,” she said.
“I guess Patsy and I found each other.”
Anna Mae stood up straight and looked at Chase. In all the years she’d convinced herself that she hated him, she never imagined this sweet and vulnerable side of him. She’d convinced herself Chase had been selfish and unfeeling. She’d even convinced herself that he’d never loved her. Certainly not as much as she’d loved him.
But looking at him now, she wondered if she’d sold Chase short. She wasn’t a perfect woman by any stretch of the imagination. But perhaps Chase wasn’t deserving of the hate she’d laid on him all these years.
When she’d been standing at the truck, she told herself she wouldn’t ask him. But curiosity was getting the better of her. “You were awfully quick to name her. Where does Patsy come from?”
“You’re kidding, right?”
She shook her head.
“Patsy Cline?”
Anna Mae frowned. “You…you named the kitten after Patsy Cline?”
He nodded. “Don’t you remember that night down at the lake?”
“Which one?”
“The night after that gig with your brother George over in San Antonio. We drove all the way home with the instruments and the PA system bouncing in the back of truck and decided to ditch George and your sister-in-law because they’d been fighting the entire night.”
There’d been so many memories, but this one tumbled back as if it were yesterday.
Anna Mae smiled. “She kept complaining they didn’t have room for all the equipment in that stupid VW Bug she’d bought that day. I never thought that thing would make the trip to begin with but she insisted on bringing it despite my brother wanting to take his own truck. That was long before Mary Louise was born.”
“We were following them to make sure the car wouldn’t break down. But we pulled off the highway and lost them just before we got to Storm.”
“We decided to camp out by the lake,” she said as the memories flashed before her eyes. “Except we had no tent.”
“We were being spontaneous.”
“We were being stupid. We had no blanket.”
“We had each other, Annie.” Chase pulled her into his arms and to her surprise, Anna Mae let him. He rested his cheek against hers and started to hum as his feet moved to and fro.
“Dance with me,” he whispered.
Her head was swimming. “There’s no music.”
“I can fix that.” And he began to sing. “Crazy. I’m crazy for feeling so lonely.”
A lump formed in her throat. “How could I forget that?”
“I’m crazy…”
He continued to sing softly against her ear. She danced with him slowly as she listened to him, and suddenly she was there at the lake again. The truck radio was playing the Patsy Cline ballad and they danced under the light of a near full moon. And then because the bugs were too plentiful and the instruments were in the bed of the truck, she and Chase locked themselves inside the cab and they made love for the first time.
“You feel good in my arms, Anna Mae Prager,” Chase whispered. “But then, you always did.”
Her heart swelled with emotion she didn’t want to feel. And yet she was there in Chase’s arms, a mature woman in the twilight of her life having lived without the man who had been the love of her life. What would their life have been like had they shared moments like this all these years? Her heart broke for what wasn’t, but at the same time, she didn’t want to let go of Chase.
Chase stopped dancing and tilted her chin with his fingers so she was forced to look at him.
“I hope that wherever you end up going…whenever you end up leaving here, you’ll be able to keep Patsy,” Anna Mae said.
“I’m not going anywhere, Annie. And I’m not letting go of you again.” Chase lowered his head and covered her mouth with his. It shocked her at first, but she was powerless to stop it. Her entire b
ody exploded with emotion and a desire she thought was dormant in her. Nonexistent even. She’d thought she’d lived a full life, but it had been a lie. A bigger lie than she’d ever told herself. She now knew she’d been dead inside all these years, pushing away feelings that had become too painful for her to bear without Chase.
He slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. He kissed her cheek and then made a trail of kisses along her neck until she moaned softly.
The realization that came over Anna Mae leveled her. She’d been a shell all these years. And now with one kiss, Chase had managed to fill her again.
Patsy began to meow, pulling Anna Mae from being lost in Chase’s touch. She heard the front door slam and realized they were no longer alone.
“Anna Mae?”
She took a step out of Chase’s arms when she heard Rita Mae’s voice. When she peered up into his face, she saw red-hot desire. His blue eyes had turned a smoky gray and his skin was flushed.
“Whose truck is out front?”
Rita Mae walked into the kitchen and stopped short. “What the hell is going on in here?”
Chapter Nine
It was hot as hell in Sebastian Rush’s office even with the air conditioning on full blast. The journalists who had come out to interview him about a proposed veteran’s center had brought hot lights and equipment that was sucking up the oxygen in the room. But having an interview out in the square where disaster had struck at the hands of Dakota Alvarez was bad karma.
Sebastian pulled at the collar of the crisp white shirt his mother had insisted he change into when the crew had arrived. She was right of course, but at his age he didn’t really need Marylee Rush henpecking him about such details.
He frowned, realizing that he was being defensive, but he was in a pissy mood. He’d made the call to Logan Murphy as promised and asked him to appear in the newscast with him. The military was a brotherhood, and he’d counted on Logan to feel that camaraderie and support the proposed center in Storm. With Logan on board, Sebastian would be able to change the dialogue from the disastrous Founders’ Day fiasco to something that would pull at the heartstrings of patriotic Texans whose support he’d need on Election Day.
But Logan had turned him down flat. He didn’t want to hear anything Sebastian had to say. When his mother found out, she’d called the reporter anyway saying they could still move forward with using Logan Murphy as a mascot for this project even if he wasn’t a willing participant. As for the veterans’ center, it would get bogged down in committee and red tape and probably redlined out of the budget before it ever became a reality. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t use Logan Murphy and his war hero status to help him appeal to voters during the election. Once he held office, he could explain away why a veterans’ center near Storm wouldn’t work, and Sebastian could move on to other things.
“It’ll only be a few more minutes before we can get started.”
“Good,” Marylee said. “It’s important the voters know about the senator’s accomplishments and that he has a solid plan for improving the lives of veterans returning from military service. This will be on the air tonight, won’t it?”
The reporter glanced at her notebook. “Well, that’s up to my producer. He may want to run the segment tomorrow.”
“During prime time?” Marylee pressed.
The girl smiled. “Possibly.” She pulled at her blue blouse and blew out a quick breath. “Maybe we should have the interview outside. It’s very hot in here and the light is not as good.”
“I think it’s best we focus on the campaign office,” Marylee said.
“Well, we could have the interview out in front on the sidewalk. My crew could get some pictures of the square and of course, the headquarters sign. I think it shows you’re more in touch with the community when you’re among the citizens of Storm.”
The girl was playing with him. She didn’t give a good goddamn where the interview was held as long as she didn’t look like a sweaty mess doing it. She was a pretty young thing in her mid-twenties. Probably doing her best to make a name for herself and move up the ranks to anchor and then eventually a network position. When Marylee had called to set up the meeting, the girl had pounced on the chance to come to Storm and interview a senator who was up for reelection. His mother had made it clear that the interview was to focus on his plans to help veterans, and in particular, to celebrate the return of Logan Murphy, Storm’s very own war hero.
People would eat this up. The news would surely switch focus from the story of Sebastian’s philandering ways with young women to something more relevant in voters’ minds.
“Of course,” he said amiably. “I think moving the interview outside is a wonderful idea.”
* * * *
“Marisol sure does bake a beautiful cake,” Sonya said, looking at the cake that Logan had just brought back to the pub. She closed the cake box after quickly inspecting it. “I’d better get this in the refrigerator or all the frosting will melt before the birthday girl arrives. Are you going to be working a shift tonight, son?”
Logan lifted the hinged section of the bar top that separated the space behind the bar from the rest of the pub. “Why? How big is this birthday party going to be?”
“Oh, it’s just a family from out of town. But since they’re on the road, they wanted to make it special for their little girl who is missing a birthday party at home. But I saw some news crews in town earlier when I was shopping and I wondered what that was all about. I thought maybe they were having a concert in the square.”
Logan cringed. “Damned press.”
Sonya looked at Logan with a sympathetic motherly eye. “Well, despite Storm’s insignificance to the entire state of Texas, we do have a state senator who lives here, who’s running for reelection, and who’s news-worthy. Or at least gossip-worthy,” she amended with a frown.
Logan blew out a breath. “Rush is trying to spin this whole Dakota and Ginny bullshit to his advantage.”
“Watch your mouth,” Sonya said, giving him a quick warning glance.
“Sorry.”
Sonya picked up the cake box. “What makes you think that?”
“He called me.”
“What? Sebastian Rush had the gall to call you again?” Sonya took a protective step toward him. “What did he want with you?”
“It’s okay, Mom. It’s the same old thing. He wanted to parade me out to the press as if he had anything to do with my service in the military. As if that makes him something special.”
“What an ass!”
Logan chuckled at the apologetic look Sonya cast him.
“Don’t worry. I told Rush to get lost. I’m not going to be his little puppet.”
“Thank God. He dug his own grave. Now let him lie in it.”
His mother disappeared into the kitchen and left him behind the bar. It was early, but already the place was hopping which was just as well, since a slow bar meant too much time to think about Ginny or Sebastian Rush or anything else. Better to just lose himself in his work.
Tate Johnson and Mary Louise Prager sat at the end of the bar and talked. Every once in a while he’d walk down to where they were sitting to see if they wanted another drink or some food.
Logan had left it to his mother to handle the birthday party for the family who was just passing through town, although Logan did lend his voice to sing Happy Birthday, which made the little girl who was turning ten years old while on vacation very happy.
Logan was putting dirty glasses into a rack at the bar when his brother Patrick came into Murphy’s. He waved as Patrick made his way to the bar. He was still dressed in his EMT uniform instead of his normal jeans and T-shirt.
“Just getting off a shift?” Logan asked.
Patrick shook his head. “I just dropped off a patient at the hospital and saw the news crew setting up in front of Rush’s headquarters. Did you know Sebastian was giving an interview today?”
“I don’t care what that
piece of shit is doing. Want a beer?”
Patrick slid onto the barstool and shook his head. “I’m still on duty.”
“Then what are you doing here?”
“Anyone around who can relieve you behind the bar for a few?” Patrick asked.
Logan didn’t like the sound of Patrick’s voice. “Mom’s in the back doing the books. Why?”
“Get her to come out here. You’re going to want to see this.”
“See what? What the hell are you talking about?”
“Senator Rush is giving an interview and you’re the star topic.”
Logan slammed a fist on the bar top. “That no good sonuvabitch!”
* * * *
“I don’t want to hear it.” Anna Mae said. There’d never been a time she couldn’t look her sister in the eye, but today was a first. It was a first for a lot of things.
Anna Mae could still feel Chase’s lips on her mouth. His kiss was more than what she’d remembered all these years. When she’d allowed herself to remember at all. But right now she was facing her sister’s wrath. Well, maybe that was overstating it a bit. Although when Rita Mae had practically run Chase out to his car she hadn’t exactly been full of sunshine and happiness.
“Well, you’re going to. You were practically making out—”
“Making out? For God’s sake, we aren’t teenagers.”
“Could have fooled me.”
Anna Mae fisted her hands in frustration. “I thought you were the one who said I needed to talk to Chase about what happened. That I couldn’t ignore it. Well, we talked.”
Rita Mae folded her hands across her chest. “Is that what that was?”
“What did you think was going to happen?”
Rita Mae’s arms fell to her side. “I don’t know. It’s always bothered me that you’ve spent your life alone. Ever since the baby—”
“Don’t!” Anna Mae warned.
“You’ve shut yourself off from having any kind of a life without Chase. Don’t get me wrong. I get it. George and Chase are cut from the same cloth. Men like that are better left for women with shallow expectations. But that’s not you, Anna Mae. You don’t want that kind of life.”
Brave the Storm, Season 2, Episode 3 (Rising Storm) Page 7
