“You got it, Pipes.”
Kate slammed down a cup of coffee and rushed to the shower. She dressed, grabbed an apple from a KinCo gift basket on the kitchen counter, and then made lists of all the things she needed to get done. Most important, she had to tie down any budding PR issues that might be lurking with Chase Kincaid. And the only way to do that was to talk to the man himself.
Kate took one final look at herself and tried to tame her hair. Her curls loved it here. The air in Oklahoma was like steroids to her follicles. She sighed and stepped out into the morning light.
Across the way stood Chase’s identical brick bungalow, broad and flat, with an inviting front porch. Kate walked around the meandering sidewalk and up the steps to his front door. She took a deep breath and knocked.
She hoped he was up by now, even though it was Saturday. She hoped he was decent. Okay, maybe she didn’t hope he was decent. He could be lounging in a pair of pajama bottoms and no shirt. She felt a little tingle at the thought. She knocked again.
“He’s not home,” a voice said behind her.
Kate turned to see a pocket-sized woman with bleach blond hair and red lipstick. “He’s at the shop with Bo,” the woman continued.
“Oh,” said Kate, disappointed. “I was hoping to see him today.”
“Well, I can take you down there. I’m taking the boys by to see Bo, anyway.” The woman gestured down the way to another bungalow. There was a pickup truck in the driveway with three kids sitting in the back.
“Sure,” Kate said. “That would be great, thank you.”
They walked to the pickup and Kate used the roll bar to pull herself up into the passenger seat.
“I’m Sallie, by the way,” Sallie said, pulling the seat up so she could reach the pedals. The truck started with a rumble. “And these are our boys. Jack is the tiny one, then Paul, then Thomas there is the oldest.”
“Hi,” said Thomas, toying with a giant camera strapped around his neck. Paul played with a video game without a word, and Jack stared at her wide-eyed from his car seat.
“I’m Kate.” She smiled at the kids.
“Well, Kate, hope you like country music and a lot of chatter, ‘cause you’re gonna get both on this ride.”
“That’s fine with me, let’s go.”
As they pulled out of the driveway, Kate wondered how Chase would react to her injecting herself into whatever he did on a Saturday morning. She told herself it was necessary. They only had a few weeks, after all, and anything could happen in the next two days. She had to be prepared. She tucked away her excitement at seeing Chase again as deeply as she could.
Chapter 6: Chase
Chase wheeled himself out from under a 1967 Pontiac GTO. Like every Saturday morning, he met Bo in their shop to work on their babies. He sat up and wiped his hands on a towel. Fitz, seeing he was out from under the car, came bounding over, panting and wagging his tail. Chase gave him a rub around the ears and stood up. He surveyed their new collection. There were two rows of cars, half lying in skeletal piles, the other half gleaming with fresh paint and chrome. The GTO had started out on one end, a dented, limping mess. He and Bo had rebuilt the entire car, piece by piece. Today, he had finished her up by installing a new chassis and testing the pistons. She should purr like a kitten now. He cleaned a smudge off the chrome and admired her angles. “Looks good, Bo,” he said.
“Yup.”
“We might need to take this one onto a back road later and see what she can do.”
“Yup.”
“Too early for a beer?” Chase asked.
“Never too early.”
“Thought so.” Chase walked to the shop fridge and pulled out two cold ones. He took a long, refreshing pull from one and set the other on the hood of the ‘67 Chevy Camaro RS. “How’s it going?”
“Good. She’ll be ready for the new engine tomorrow and we can take her for a spin.”
Chase had a satisfied smile. He felt more at home in their little shop than almost anywhere in the world, except maybe the manufacturing floor of KinCo. Here, he was able to filter the speed of his world down to a drip. When he concentrated on the cars and their engines, all his worries dropped away.
It had been this way since high school when he and Bo discovered their shared interest in cars. They started tinkering on three wheelers and dirt bikes before they could legally drive. Bo didn’t care if Chase was the boss' kid, and because his parents were farmers, they didn’t want Chase to do anything for them. The two of them could just escape into the mechanics of an engine.
Bo was a tank of a kid, even at fourteen, but he still tore up and down the back hills of their town on the back of a dirt bike. They both soon discovered that Chase could go a lot faster, which they both chalked up to “drag.” Chase watched Bo’s big body half bent over and buried in the cave of the Camaro’s empty carcass and smiled. “Are you gonna be able get out of there by yourself?”
“Yup.” Bo grunted.
Chase knew that yup really meant screw you, and he smiled even wider. He really needed a Saturday morning in the shop with Bo this week. His stress level had been at an all-time high, and he constantly felt like he was going to trip and fall into a pile of shit. He wondered why it was when he was so close to realizing his dreams he had the greatest fear of everything falling apart. If he could just keep everything as it was and on pace, everything would work out. He tried to keep telling himself that.
As he tried to get a handle on his nerves, he thought about Kate piper. When he found out she was a Reputation Manager there to manage him, he chaffed more than just a little bit. But there was something reassuring about her presence. He was glad he would have at least the weekend to reconcile these two emotions.
Aunt Peggy was right. He was attracted to her and had a hard time hiding it. Don’t screw this whole thing up on the two yard line, Chase, he told himself. You can keep it professional, right? He thought about her sitting across from him, so direct and open, her shoulders, her curves, her luscious lips explaining slowly how she would help him. He thought she was attractive on the road, but he had no idea how the reality of just talking to her would affect him. She had a tone and a confidence he found intoxicating, but reminded himself she had a particular skillset, that’s all. She was managing him, for Christ’s sake. He was suddenly relieved he had a couple of days away to compose himself and come up with a game plan on how to keep his distance.
“Hey, y’all,” he heard Sallie’s voice bellow from behind him. Right on time, Chase thought, bringing the boys to say hi to their dad on a Saturday morning. “I have a visitor for you, Chase.”
Chase turned and found himself locked in the bold blue gaze of Kate Piper standing in the sunlight of the bay doors.
“Oh, hell,” Chase murmured. What was she doing here? He was completely thrown by the sight of her standing here—here, in his garage, looking so fresh with her tousled hair, white V-neck t-shirt, and jeans. His memories of her didn’t do her justice. She was breathtaking. He felt his plan to avoid her fading away. He couldn’t escape her, and worse yet, he didn’t know if he wanted to.
“I wanted to continue our talk from yesterday,” Kate called out to him. “And you weren’t home.”
It struck Chase that she had been assigned the empty bungalow right across from him. Their doors, their beds, just one hundred feet away from each other. He wondered how he’d ever sleep again knowing she was so close by. He shook his head to gather his wits.
“Ms. Piper,” Chase said. “This is a surprise.” He ran his fingers through his hair and looked around the room, suddenly worried what his Reputation Manager would think about his hobby and hoping she didn’t take a good look around.
“Kate,” she said. “I’m just Kate.” She shrugged. “It is Saturday, after all.”
They looked at each other silently across the room and everything seemed to slow down. Dust floated softly in the light from the windows and Chase saw a genuine smile bloom on Kate’s beautiful fac
e.
“Bo!” bellowed Sallie, “Get out from inside that engine and help me with these kids.”
“Yup,” Bo replied. He stood, put down a wrench and moved to the truck to get the little one out of the car seat.
“Hey, Dad,” said Tommy.
“Hey,” Bo replied, and tousled Tommy’s hair. He set up the car seat on a work bench and the middle kid ran to a nearby set of chairs to continue playing his video game.
“I’m gonna go outside,” Tommy said, holding his camera. “See what I can find.”
“Okay, son.”
Bo walked over to Sallie and looked down. He towered over her by at least two feet. “Hey, Baby,” he said, picking her up and kissing her on the mouth.
Sallie grinned and threw her arms around his neck. “Hey, sweetie.” She clutched his face in both hands and smiled, then hopped back down to the ground and gave Bo a playful smack on the rear. Then she turned to Chase. “Chase, where are your manners? Aren’t you going to invite your new friend in? Offer her a drink? I know you weren’t raised in a barn.”
“Right,” said Chase, happy for some direction. “Kate,” he said, and her name felt good on his lips, “would you like a—a beer? Hell, I think we have water in here somewhere.”
Kate grinned. “A beer would be great. When in Rome, you know.”
Chase looked relieved. Maybe Kate Piper wasn’t some uptight East-coast skirt after all. He grabbed a beer out of the cooler and handed it to her. He felt the same electricity he felt every time he got within five feet of her, and decided maybe it was something he’d have to deal with, even if it made him uncomfortable.
“What’s all this?” Kate asked, using her beer to point up and down the row of cars.
“Just a little hobby. Bo and I like to find and rebuild these beauties.”
“And race them?” asked Kate.
Chase felt his heart screech to a stop. He knew it. Here we go, he thought. The inquisition. She was going to try to chain him to his desk. “Now that would be reckless. No, we only drive these girls for fun.”
He saw Bo’s face perk up and turn towards him. Chase ignored him.
“Really,” said Kate, deadpan. It was a statement, not a question. She walked up and down the row of cars in their various state of assembly. “Where do you find them?”
“Different places,” answered Chase, following just behind her. “Internet, estate sales, other collectors. Bo takes care of most of that.”
Kate looked towards Bo and he nodded in assent.
“And then, what?” asked Kate, “You rebuild them?”
“Something like that,” said Chase. “We take them apart to see what they’re made of, then we put in parts we have, replace others, and make our own.”
He sees her head bent, appraising the angles of the cars. She runs her fingers along one broken fender. There was a light in her eyes. “Why? Why do you rebuild them?”
He thought for a moment, putting his hands on his hips. He’d never articulated why he rebuilt these cars. No one ever asked him before. Finally, he answered. “In the end, we like to think we’ve made something better. That we improve the lives of these little cars.”
Kate smiled. “That sounds noble,” she said.
Chase flushed. Was she teasing him?
“I suppose.” Chase said, reminding himself to be on guard. This woman was here to control his reputation which meant control him. “You said you wanted to continue our talk from yesterday,” he said coolly. “Let’s get that done.”
He thought he saw a little frown pass Kate’s lips, but she nodded and said, “Let’s do that. Is there a place we can speak privately?”
Chase motioned toward the back door which led them to a small patio. They sat across from each other in two worn wooden chairs shaded by a giant oak tree. Fitz padded out behind them, circled twice then sat at the side of Chase’s chair with a sigh.
“Who’s this?”
“Fitz. He runs the place.”
“He’s cute.” Kate smiled, then withdrew her notebook and flipped through her notes from the day before. Chase sat in silence anticipating what would come next. He considered the possibility that she was playing nice while she gathered ammo before she laid the hammer down. He frowned at the idea.
Kate looked up at him as if she were about to say something, but saw the look in his eyes and paused. She tapped a pen on her leg, then bit the end of it as she studied him. Chase watched the end of the pen touch her lips and wished she’d stop doing that. He shifted in his chair and waited.
Kate looked out beyond the patio at the flat expanse of fields and blue sky. “Nice place,” she began. “Tell me about growing up here.”
Chase furrowed his brow. Was she trying to trick him? “Pretty normal. Company town. Good people.”
“Not to me,” she said. “This is totally different from my childhood.”
Chase some something screw up in her eyes, but then she shook it off.
“Was it tough to grow up as the boss’ son?” she asked.
“Sometimes,” he answered.
“How so?”
“Well,” he took a swig from his beer, “When I was younger, I thought people liked me.”
“Didn’t they?”
“Maybe.” He shrugged. “But I could never be sure. I learned pretty quickly that when they were nice, they were about to ask for something. Or their parents were. I don’t blame them. KinCo is the only major employer in the area, and getting close to me might have seemed like a good way to get a leg up.” He reached down to pet Fitz, who rolled over on his side appreciatively. When he looked up, Kate was looking at him, her gaze unwavering and intense.
“That must have been hard,” she said.
“I adapted.”
“And girls?” Kate continued. “I’m sure they liked you.”
Chase laughed. “Yeah, sure enough. And I liked them right back.”
“Any that might pop-up and cause any problems, produce photos, make any allegations?”
Chase tensed and remembered the purpose of this little talk. “Nope. I squashed anything that could be a problem years ago.”
“How so?”
He shifted, resigning himself to the idea that even though this conversation was uncomfortable, it was necessary. Kate had a job to do and he knew well enough already she was tenacious. Better to get all of this over with.
“Look,” Chase began, “I was a normal kid. I met girls, went to parties.” He hoped he didn’t look as uncomfortable as he felt. “But it became pretty clear in High School that the girls were more interested in talking about hanging out with me than physically hanging out with me.”
Chase saw Kate raise her eyebrows.
“I thought when I went to college that would change. Went to bigger parties. Met more girls. But by that time, everyone was obsessed with taking pictures and video of absolutely everything and pretty soon I was being tagged in photos by people I didn’t even know.” He frowned. “Like I said yesterday, I’m private. I didn’t like it.”
“As far as I can tell, so far, you’ve insulated yourself pretty well. We couldn’t find you in much social media in the last seven years.”
“With a lot of effort.” Chase gazed at her. “I’ve had to—well, isolate myself.”
“I see.” Her brow furrowed.
Chase scoffed. “Don’t feel sorry for me, Kate. I have it easy. I’m privileged—I know that. I have a great family, and a company I love. I don’t mind giving up some things to make sure all of that is safe.”
Chase watched her smile and nod her head. Somehow just looking at her made this whole conversation easier. He couldn’t remember the last time he was this open with anyone.
“I hope you know I’m here to help you protect this life. After all the effort you’ve put in to having pretty much no public reputation, I don’t mind you being a little irritated that I’m here looking over your shoulder.”
“But you’re my bumper.” Chase grinned.
&nb
sp; “Right.” Kate shook her head and laughed.
She looked across at him and Chase saw something so real in her eyes. He hoped he wasn’t fooling himself. “What about you?” Chase asked. “Why do you do this?”
“What? Reputation Management?”
“Yeah.”
She took a drink from her beer and looked out at the sky. “Let’s say I know what it’s like to be maligned for no good reason. Sometimes good people are shoved into a box they don’t deserve. I like to help them get out.”
Chase nodded, then joined her in looking up at the changing sky in silence.
The door opened and Bo came out. “Sallie says barbecue back at the house,” he said simply.
Chase and Kate watched him duck back under the door and leave.
“Hungry?” Chase asked.
“Starving,” Kate admitted.
“Let’s get some food then.” Chase stood and held out his hand.
Kate looked up and took his hand. God, she was beautiful. And totally not what he expected after yesterday’s meeting. As they were walking out, Chase maneuvered Kate past the other bay door, the one that was closed with another set of cars behind it. He hoped Kate wouldn’t derail him, but until he knew for sure there were some things he would keep to himself. He was attracted to her, he accepted that grudgingly. But that didn’t mean he would trust her.
Chapter 7: Kate
Kate sank back onto a wooden chair on the far side of the lawn and looked out at the early night sky. The sun had dipped below the trees in streaks of sherbet orange and pink and she could see the sliver of a new moon shining between some distant clouds. There was a scent of grass and soil that had been blazing in the sun all day, now letting out its final gasp before resting in the cool dark of the evening. The sidewalks were lined with tiny solar lights, and in a bank of trees on the edge of the house, fireflies darted in an out of sight. Kate felt transported to a fairytale land she had never imagined.
She saw Chase walking towards her with two glasses in his hands. She felt the rush of energy sweep along with him as he approached, another strange sensation she was getting used to here in Oklahoma.
Chasing Kate (An American Dream Love Story Book 1) Page 4
