Chasing Kate (An American Dream Love Story Book 1)

by Josephine Parker

  “You got it, boss.”

  “Thanks, L—,” she began to say, but the screen went black, along with all the lights in the house.

  Holy shit, Kate muttered to herself. It was still late afternoon, but the sky outside had almost blackened. She pulled out for her phone and hit the screen to illuminate the room. Across the way she could see the power had been knocked out in all the houses in the compound.

  Rain battered the roof, and every few moments, a light would flash through the windows from outside; the sound of thunder shaking the walls. Kate shuffled over to the hall closet and looked inside. After rummaging around, she found a box of candles and matches. She lit several and put them in the kitchen, then wrapped herself up in a blanket and waited on the couch for Chase.

  She had to leave sometime, they both knew that. In four days, the IPO would be launched and she would have to get on a plane back to Boston and to her new job. She tried to feel excited, but felt a surge of fear, instead. She didn’t want to hurt Chase, but she knew this would crush him. After the launch, he’d be incredibly busy; he’d meet lots of new people, and he’d move on, she told herself.

  She wrapped herself more tightly in the blanket and gave an audible sigh. She didn’t think she would move on, but she’d have her work, and that was always everything she’d wanted. Wasn’t it?

  With a rattle, Kate heard the cellar door open. “Kate?”

  “In here!” she called out.

  Chase emerged into the candlelight with Fitz tucked under one arm, a bouquet of red roses in a vase in the other. “He’s afraid of lightening,” Chase said as he walked into the living room. He pulled another blanket off the back of the couch and held it up for Fitz. “Come here, boy,” he said. Fitz walked over with his head hung, his tail tucked between his legs, and got under the covers. “Good boy,” Chase said, wrapping the blanket around him. Fitz nuzzled Chase’s hand and gave a low whimper.

  Chase turned to Kate and handed her the roses. “Some storm, huh?”

  “Thank you,” she said as she nodded. She inhaled the heady scent of the flowers, then placed them on a nearby table. How could she ever break his heart when he was this sweet?

  Chase came over and kissed her softly on the mouth. “What’s the matter, baby? You scared of thunder, too?”

  “Nope. I just need to talk to you.”

  “Yeah? Me, too.” Chase said, lifting up the blanket and curling in beside her. “I’ve been anxious to get here all day.”

  Kate smiled. “You have?”

  Chase wrapped his arm around her. “Yeah, I had the strangest meeting with Peggy today.”

  Kate felt her anxiety wain. She had a moment before she had to tell him. “What about?”

  “I don’t know how I didn’t see it,” Chase began. “I mean, I never thought she was a happy person, but I thought that was just her modus-operandi, you know?”

  “Uh huh.”

  “Turns out she’s miserable. Has been for thirty years.”

  “No kidding?” Kate sniffled, hoping Chase hadn’t heard her.

  He hadn’t. He turned to her and took her by the hand. “Kate, I’ve been thinking. No joking around, now,” he said. “I don’t want you to go back to Boston.”

  Kate felt a stab in her chest. “What?” she muttered, shaking her head. “You can’t be serious.”

  “As a heart attack. I want you here. With me.”

  Kate tried to pull away, but Chase pulled her close, then reached up and took her face softly in his hands, his eyes wet in the soft glow of the candlelight. “Kate, I love you,” he said and then he kissed her, his lips softly caressing hers. She felt herself soften and the words “I love you, too,” rang through her head, but did not come out of her mouth. Instead, she pulled away. “Chase, I can’t. I—”

  Thunder crashed against the sky outside, lighting up the room for a second before a tumult of hail began to hit the top of the house. Kate bolted upright, her eyes wide as she watched the force of the outside wind make the old wood of the house creak and whine, forcing the glass of the windows to pop back and forth inside of their wooden frames.

  Chase rose and clutched her hands, forcing her to look directly at him. “Kate, you can. You can. We can work it out,” he yelled over the howling wind outside.

  Kate felt tears well up in her eyes and dropped her head, hoping Chase couldn’t see.

  “Whatever it takes,” he continued. “We’ll figure it out. I don’t want to be without you,” he said. “I can’t.”

  The storm shook the house. Kate wanted to say something, anything to make Chase feel better, but she knew her voice wouldn’t be heard over the wind. Instead, she reached out and kissed him, hoping he would feel everything she needed to say through her touch.

  The house popped again and Kate tore her face from his, her skin rising. She felt her mouth go dry as the walls rumbled along with the furniture they sat on. A siren began to blow in the distance. Chase pulled away and jumped up from the couch. “Storm shelter,” he said, reaching out his hand.

  Kate froze, looking at the house and her beautiful roses quivering in a sudden draft that careened through the house.

  “Now!” Chase yelled. With a whistle, he called Fitz from the couch, then grabbed the blanket and the box of candles before holding open the cellar door for Kate. The three of them made their way down the dark, steep staircase as the storm thundered overhead. Chase took her hand and led her to an anti-room just below what she thought was her bedroom. There was an old, moldy smelling couch in the corner, and she and Fitz curled up on it as Chase lit two candles and put them on the floor. He grabbed the blanket and threw it over the three of them as he sat down. He curled his arms around her and patted Fitz on the back.

  “Was that a tornado warning?” Kate asked in a hushed voice as she stared wide-eyed at the ceiling.

  “Yup,” Chase said cavalierly, “happens all the time here. No big deal.”

  Kate looked at his eyes in the light of the candles and could see lines furrowing in his brow. He curled his arms tightly around her, his muscles clenched.

  Kate tried to sound cheerful. “Good,” she lied. “I like a good adventure.”

  Even below the house, they could hear the wind and lightening tear through the sky above them. A crack of lightening hit somewhere close, and Kate wondered what would happen to them if the house above them caught on fire. She curled up tightly in Chase’s arms and concentrated on the soothing sound of his breath instead of her own heart which pounded in her ears.

  The siren continued, but for a moment the air above them quieted and she raised her head, hoping it was over, but then there was a deafening crack like and explosion, and something like a train bore down on them, shaking the earth around them.

  Debris and dust began to fall from the rafters above and Chase covered Kate’s head with his arms as the foundation shuddered around them, scattering loose pieces of wood and brick to the ground around them. It sounded like the world above them was being blown away, and Kate clung to Chase, praying they weren’t blown away with it.

  The support beams of the cellar cracked and swayed around them, bending towards them as if in a nightmare. Kate heard her own scream mix with another deafening crash, and then… nothing. She clutched at Chase, breathing in waves of dirt with her eyes closed and waited. The world above them had gone totally silent. She raised her head and looked around. One of the candles had blown out, but in the dim light of the other, she saw dust flying around the room and a single ray of light shining through a crack above them.

  Chase gave her a sudden squeeze and a hard kiss on the mouth. “We’re okay,” he said, squeezing her again, holding her hair in his hands.

  Still a bit stunned, Kate merely nodded.

  They stood on shaking limbs, and holding onto each other’s arms, made their way over a fresh trail of bricks and debris to the cellar stairs. They clawed their way up, pulling pieces of wood out of their way and tossing them aside with a crash. Finally, the cel
lar door was visible in the rubble. Chase drove his shoulder into it, splinters of woods flew around them as the door opened. As dust settled around them, they emerged together into what was Kate’s hallway, but the roof of the house was gone.

  Chapter 26: Chase

  Chase could barely feel Kate’s fingernails digging deep into his arm. “Oh, my god,” she whispered.

  It took a moment for him to reconcile what he was seeing. He and Kate stood side by side, surrounded by bright pink pillows of insulation which billowed around their ankles, floating across shards of splintered wood and brick that splattered across the ground in what had been Kate’s bungalow. Chase blinked rapidly, then focused on a door jamb that was left standing. He grabbed Kate’s hand roughly, and together, they staggered towards it, grabbing the door knob which leaned backwards into his hand as he touched it. As Chase pulled, the hinges fell off and landed on the floor with a thud. He blinked again, then lifted the door off the ground and leaned it against a side beam.

  Outside, the trees were stripped like barbecue skewers stuck haphazardly in the ground, bare of leaves and branches. Pieces of earth had been lifted and turned upside down, revealing roots that had once been planted far in the ground. All that was green was now brown. Torn earth and wood littered the compound. A silence hung unbidden in the air as if the world watched in hushed tones at the destruction.

  Chase put his hand to his chest as he looked down the row of houses. Each had its own individual injury, some missing sections of roof or walls, like flesh pulled from the sides of the houses. He stumbled down the steps of Kate’s bungalow and squinted far down the street. He tried to remember which door was his, and who lived in the next one, and the one after that, but his mind fell flat.

  Fitz bounded past him across what was once the lawn towards their old front door, whimpered in confusion, then turned to look at Chase in expectation. “Come, Fitz,” was all he could manage to say. He closed his eyes and reached out for Kate, pulling her close, holding tightly onto her waist.

  “We’re okay,” he heard her say as she held him close. “We’re fine.”

  Her voice rang clear in his mind and he nodded. They were alive. He held her into his chest crushing her as close as he dared, murmuring a silent prayer of thanks up into the now clearing sky.

  “Kate,” he said. “I―I don’t know what I would have done if…”

  “I know,” she wrapped her arms around him. “I know.”

  He turned to her, his eyes burning. “No, you don’t,” he said, gripping her tight. “I need you. None of this makes sense without you.”

  Kate nodded up at him. “I’m here.” Chase looked at her in awe. Her hair was covered in dust, tear stained streaks lined her face, everything as far as they could see was destroyed, and still she remained strong. How did this amazing woman come into his life, he wondered? He reached for her again and wrapped his arms around her. When this was all over, he was going to marry Kate, even if it took a hundred years for her to say yes.

  “Mom…” he murmured, then let Kate go and sprinted down the street.

  Rose was coming around the corner of her house, covered in a white powder Chase could only assume was plaster. She turned and pulled Cal along beside her.

  Chase rushed to her side and felt Kate run up beside him.

  “Mom! Are you alright?” Chase yelled as they approached. “Dad?”

  As Chase took the weight of Cal into his arms, Rose took a deep breath and released a ragged cough. Kate rushed to wipe the powder from Rose’s face and arms, her eyes scanning Rose for injuries. Cal had a gash in his forehead where something had struck him. Chase pulled him over to what remained of their front porch and sat him down.

  “Are you alright?” Chase asked, running his hands over Cal’s arms and torso. “Are you hurt anywhere else?”

  “Fine,” Cal wheezed. “Fine, son.”

  The four of them sat together on the steps and took a collective breath as they looked around.

  Rose spoke first. “House did pretty good there for a while,” she began, “but then something gave and stuff just started falling on us.”

  “Lit us up like a rigged slot machine,” Cal added.

  “Luckily, we made it down to the shelter.” Rose added.

  Chase hung his head. When he was a kid, those shelters were a place to hide. He never thought they’d really save everyone he loved.

  “We need to check on the others,” Cal said, pushing himself up off the ground.

  “No,” admonished Chase, holding up his hand. “You stay and catch your breath. I’ll go.”

  Chase stood and looked again down the row of houses. He saw doors begin to open up, or people crawl out of holes that once were walls. Peggy emerged from her house with a look of relief and came towards them, grabbing Chase and holding him tightly for a moment. “You’re okay,” she gasped. “Thank God.” Then she stumbled over towards Rose and Cal, hugging them both as she plopped down onto the ground beside them.

  A moment later, Sallie and Bo emerged; Sallie pulling her two oldest by the hand to the clearing; Bo carrying the baby in his carrier, and shielding everyone under his thick arms as if something would still fly out of the sky and land on them.

  When Chase saw Bo, he ran over and pulled him into a hug.

  Chase looked them over and saw they all had small scrapes and were covered with dust, but were otherwise unharmed.

  “Whatcha got there,” Chase asked Tommy.

  Tommy looked down into his own arms and then pulled the contents close. “My stuff,” he said softly, tears coming unbidden to his eyes.

  “He would not get down to the shelter without his camera and devices,” Sallie said, grabbing Tommy roughly around the neck and planting a kiss on the side of the head. “Nearly killed me with panic.”

  Tommy looked up at her as a tear washed down his dirty cheek. “Sorry, mom.”

  Sallie wiped his cheeks and then her own “Stop that. I’m just happy you’re alright.” She looked around with wide, sad eyes. “That we all are.”

  Chase took a long look around the clearing, watching families emerge with their children and pets, happy again they had those shelters. He wasn’t sure everyone else in town would be as lucky.

  “Bo, come with me. We need to go door to door.”

  “Yup,” Bo said in response.

  Chase turned to Kate and grabbed her hand. “There’ll be a shelter set up at the school. That’s what the town planned for. You go with Sallie, I’ll meet you there.”

  Kate looked up at him, nodding as fresh tears fell from her eyes. She started to say something, but then shook her head. “Okay,” she whispered then pulled his head forward, kissing him hard on the lips.

  They embraced for a moment and Chase breathed in, grateful again Kate was safe.

  “Oh, and take Fitz, will you?”

  Kate nodded and squeezed his hand.

  He watched as Kate and Sallie gathered up the kids and other neighbors, pouring them into running cars and heading down the littered street towards the school.

  “Let’s roll,” he said to Bo. As they approached the first house, Chase tried to remember who lived there. Funny how he knew his neighbors by what color flowers they kept in the front yard, or their front mat. Now all the houses looked the same. Chase pounded on the front door before Bo came over and smashed it open with his shoulder. The house shuddered a bit and a thin, gray cat bolted outside. Satisfied there was no one else, they went on to the next house.

  When they had gone through all twenty houses in the compound, the remaining residents sat winded and forlorn, scattered on the clear patches of ground. Chase went back to Cal, Rose, and Peggy, bringing them some blankets and bottled water he saved from his garage.

  “Hell of a thing,” Rose said, and the rest just nodded, too exhausted to speak.

  Chase jumped to his feet at the sound of distant buzzing, scared that the twister had come back. The wind kicked up around him and he covered his eyes as a helicopt
er softly landed in a nearby field. He blinked in confusion. The blades whirred to a shutter, then a stop, and out of the cockpit hopped Kenji Kai. He strode over to Chase and reached out his hand. Chase took it in confusion.

  “We flew over KinCo,” Kai said sternly. “Much of it is gone. Your plant, your warehouses.”

  Chase felt the world drop out below him.

  “We need to go now,” said Kai. “No time to waste.”

  Chase was stunned. “You still want to go forward?”

  “Perhaps,” said Kai. “We need to negotiate. No time to waste.”

  Rose, Cal and Peggy walked up beside them. Kai continued. “Roads are out. All gone. We take chopper,” he said, motioning towards the helicopter. Chase looked beyond the rubble, then back at his family. He thought of Kate, safely at the school with Fitz. He slowly nodded his head.

  “Alright, Kai. Let’s go.”

  Chapter 27: Kate

  Townspeople stumbled into the high school auditorium covered in debris. Kate watched as one man stumbled through the door, then looked around in a daze, turning in circles. He kept reaching his fingers gingerly up to his battered scalp as his lips quivered and moved. Kate walked slowly up to his side.

  “Can I help you?” she asked.

  The man turned his weary eyes on her as if trying to place her face. “The pot,” he said. “I left the pot on the stove.” He pulled his fingers away from his scalp, looking down at his darkened fingertips in confusion. “I have to get the pot,” he said.

  A young woman came up beside him, linking her arm through his. “The pot is gone, Dad,” she said. “Everything is.” She gave a nod to Kate, then led the man away.

  Kate returned to Sallie, helping her fold out emergency cots, then sat on one, her shoulders slumping. She glanced at the door again and watched as volunteers took names and handed out water. At this rate, they would run out of supplies soon. Chase had still not come through the door.

  A man in a checked shirt and old baseball hat entered and walked to the front desk. Kate saw as someone motioned towards her. The man walked up and nodded. “Ma'am,” he said. “Are you Kate Piper?”