by Naomi Niles
“Well hell,” I replied. “This really is a big-ass mess, ain't it?”
“It is,” Lilly agreed.
“Well,” I said, “there's only one thing to do now, and that's clear up the damn mess. Where is Mackenzie now? She won't take my calls or reply to my messages, but I have to get this footage to her so that I can clear my name.”
“I'll take you to her,” replied Lilly. “It's the only way she'll talk to you.”
“Perfect,” I replied. “Let's go. This silent treatment is killing me.”
Chapter Fifteen
Mackenzie
“Hey, Mackenzie,” Lilly’s voice sounded through the phone when I answered her call. “Can you come meet me for a quick bite to eat? There's something important we need to talk about.”
“You forgot to tell me about it at practice this morning?” I asked her.
“Uh, yeah. Totally slipped my mind.”
The tone in her voice sounded a little off, but I didn't have any reason to question her.
“All right,” I said. “I am feeling kinda peckish, I guess. Where do you wanna go?”
“I was thinking maybe that Mexican place near The Six-Shooter?”
“Sure, a burrito sounds like it would hit the spot about now. So, I'll see you there in say, fifteen minutes?”
“Fifteen minutes works. See you then girl,” she replied.
I hung up the call, wondering what was so urgent that she needed to tell me right now, but had forgotten about when we had practiced just a short while ago. Not that I was going to turn down food. I was hungry, and a meal out would be a good distraction. Lord knew I needed a distraction or two at the moment. I grabbed my keys, hopped in my car, and drove over to the Mexican place.
When I walked in, a waiter greeted me.
“Afternoon,” he said, “table for one?”
“No, actually I'm meeting a friend here.”
“Ah, you must be Mackenzie,” he said. “Right this way; I'll take you to your friends.”
“Friends?” I asked, wondering if maybe he had me confused with another table.
“Yes. A lady and two gentlemen.”
As if Lilly’s tone hadn’t been strange enough on the phone, this was stranger.
“All right,” I said. “Lead the way.”
I followed him through the restaurant to a hidden corner near the back. My heart almost stopped as I saw who Lilly was with. Not only was Jason sitting at the table, but next to him sat the last person I expected: Chance Lawson.
I spun around on my heels, ready to bolt as anger, disbelief, and shock surged through me. Lilly jumped up quickly from the table.
“Mackenzie, wait! Please, please come sit down. There's something you have to see.”
I glared daggers at her. “How could you?” I spat. “This isn’t something I thought my best friend would do!”
“I am your friend,” she countered, “and that's why you have to see this.”
I breathed out slowly, trying to maintain my composure. Despite how this looked, I knew Lilly would never ask me to deal with something that would really piss me off. I owed it to her to hear her out.
Jason stood as I was contemplating.
“Mackenzie, you know how I felt about this guy after what happened last night,” he said, pointing to Chance. “I didn't trust him – but I'm asking you to listen to him, and hear him out.”
Jason was right. If he had it in him to be sitting next to Chance, I should at least hear what the guy had to say.
I sat down next to Lilly, across from Jason and Chance. Chance didn't say a word to me – he simply handed me a small camera.
“What's this?” I asked.
“A dash-cam. It records footage and sound around my truck. Hit that little button on the right-hand side and listen and watch the video that plays.”
I did as he said and watched the video of the events outside the biker bar the previous evening. A sense of shock and realization came over me as I watched. After the video was over, I felt terrible.
“Oh my God, Chance,” I said, my cheeks burning with shame, “I'm so, so sorry. I just—”
He reached across the table and took my hand gently in his.
“No need to apologize, Mackenzie. I see how easy it would have been for someone to completely misconstrue what happened. All I want is to pick up where we left off. Can you do that? Can we do that?” Chance asked.
I smiled at him, still blushing furiously, and nodded.
“Absolutely, Chance, we can do that.”
Lilly and Jason stood. “I think we're gonna leave you two alone now,” Lilly said.
“Thank you two for helping me,” Chance said, smiling at them. “It means a lot to me.”
“We're sorry for doubting you,” Jason told him. “But I'm glad we were able to remedy the situation.”
“Me too,” Chance replied. “Very glad.”
They said their farewells to us, and then left Chance and me together. His hand was still on mine. The warmth of his touch felt comfortable and safe. There was a subtle strength in those big, powerful hands.
“I'm so sorry,” I said when they were gone. “I really am.”
“Like I said, that's all over,” he replied. “Let's just get on with things now. We'll pick up where we left off and pretend this never happened.”
“Think we can do that over some food?” I suggested.
“That sounds good. Let's order. It's on me.”
“I should really be the one paying,” I countered. “I messed up.”
“And it wasn't your fault, so don't worry too much about that. And what kinda old-fashioned gentleman would I be if I let a wounded lady buy me lunch? No ma’am, that ain't gonna happen.”
“All right, all right,” I replied with a laugh, feeling my mood lighten. “Let's order.”
We ordered and chatted for a while. As it had been before, it was easy to open up to him. It seemed that he was finding it easy to open up to me as well.
For the first time in a long time, I found myself able to talk about Brad, his cheating, and the car accident. Of course, I knew that I wouldn't be able to go into detail about it, but I think that Chance should at least know that these things had happened.
“Look, Chance,” I said, “part of the reason that caused me to react so strongly to seeing you with that girl last night was my past with my ex. I know it isn’t fair for you to have to take the brunt of my past, but I just wanted to be upfront and honest.”
“Lilly mentioned something about that,” he said, “but she didn't go into detail. You don’t have to tell me about it if you don’t want to, but feel free to tell me as much as you're comfortable telling me.”
“Well, I was with my ex, Brad, for a few years. I loved him – loved being past tense, that's the emphasis here. He played me. Big time.”
“I'm sorry to hear that. What did he do?”
“Well, he cheated on me not just once, but on multiple occasions. And some of those were when I was in the hospital.”
“Oh man. What were you in the hospital for?”
“A car accident – an accident that Brad caused, might I add.”
“What a rotten bastard!” Chance declared.
“He was a NASCAR driver once, and even after a wreck ended his NASCAR career, he still loved driving fast. We were speeding along a mountain road one night when he lost control. I was hurt rather badly in the accident. I obviously pulled through, but it was touch and go for a while. I had to stay in the hospital for two months while I recovered. He had a broken arm and a few other injuries, but nothing like mine. He was out in a week. And I learned later that a couple of days after he was out he continued sleeping around, all while coming to visit me in the hospital like everything was peachy keen.”
“He sounds like a conniving scumbag.”
I sighed, thinking of how stupid I had been. “The worst part is that I saw the signs, I just didn't believe them. I looked the other way, convinced myself that he was inno
cent. It took literally walking in on him in bed with another woman – in the bed we shared – to finally hammer the truth home.”
“I’m sorry you had to go through that. Mind if I ask when all of this happened?” he said, clearly unsure if he should ask at all.
“Five years ago. It's taken longer for the emotional scars to heal than the physical ones.”
“I can imagine that it would.”
At that moment, Chance's phone rang.
“Excuse me,” he said. “I gotta take this.”
He answered the call and smiled; apparently whoever was calling was someone close to him.
“Hey, Cassie!” he said. “How’s my sweet girl? You're done at Melissa's now? All right, I'm a lil' busy, but I can pick you up in an hour, is that all right? Okay good. See you soon. Love you, bye.”
I hesitated but knew he’d see the look on my face and know I was wondering, so I asked the question on my mind. “Who's Cassie?”
“My daughter.”
It shouldn’t have after hearing the conversation, but it took me by surprise.
“Your daughter?” I asked skeptically.
He nodded. “She's four, going on five. And before you ask, no I’m not married, nor divorced. I'm a widower. My wife passed two and half years ago.”
I leaned across the table, compassion swelling within me, and squeezed his hand gently.
“I'm so sorry to hear that, Chance,” I said. “Really, I am.”
“Thank you,” he said. “It, uh... like you, it was an auto accident.”
We looked into each other's eyes for a long moment, and I could feel the depth of pain hidden in his soul. It was easy to recognize. I’d seen it in my reflection more times than I cared to recount.
After another moment of connection, I slipped my hand back across the table just as the waitress arrived with our order. We ate the meal with small talk and learning a bit more about each other. Then, abruptly, Chance suggested something I hadn’t seen coming.
“Would you like to meet my lil' Cassie?” he asked.
I smiled. “Well, sure. When?”
“How about now?”
“Well... how would we do that? I drove here, you drove here, and now you have to pick her up.”
“I'll take you along in my truck to pick her up. Then I'll bring you back here and drop you at your car.”
“That sounds like a plan,” I replied. “I’d love to.”
Chance paid the bill and then we headed out to his truck. He was parked at the far end of the parking lot, in a shady spot under some trees with heavy foliage. Like the gentleman I was learning he was, he opened my door to help me into his truck. As he did, I found myself closer to him than I had ever been in a secluded spot. Instinctively, we moved a little closer to one another. I wasn't sure if it was him or me who moved first, but all of a sudden, his strong hand was cupping my cheek, and we were looking deeply into each other's eyes.
“I really, really like you, Mackenzie Shea,” he said in his deep, sexy voice. “I truly do.”
“And I feel the same about you, Chance,” I replied. “I'm so sorry for misjudging you before.”
“There's no need to apologize for that,” he said. “I already told you—”
“But I want to apologize.”
“And I want to show you why it's not necessary to do that.”
“How do you plan on showing me this?” I asked.
“Like this.”
He leaned forward, and suddenly his lips were pressed against mine, parting mine gently as his tongue moved into my mouth. I hesitated and resisted, but only for a second and only because I was so surprised. The fact that it was the first time anyone had kissed me in a very, very long time probably had a little something to do with it too.
The moment I let my defenses down, the kiss grew with furious passion. Our tongues danced tenderly yet with vigor inside each other's mouths. Pure joy and excitement flowed through every ounce of my being.
I felt his strong hands pulling me closer to him, and in response I began moving my hands over his body, feeling the strong, granite-hard muscles of his broad back beneath my eager touch.
The warmth of his lips left mine and began moving down my neck, nuzzling me and kissing me softly on the side of my throat, actions that sent ripples of bliss rushing along my skin. I pulled him in closer, feeling his strong, hard muscles – the muscles of an outdoor man, a working man, a cowboy – under my appreciative fingers.
My breathing quickened, and I could feel my body growing hot with the flush of a desire I hadn’t felt for a man in years.
The pleasure this man was generating was growing intense. I let out a long, slow sigh, and gently pushed his head and hands away from me before I got too overwhelmed.
“That... that was amazing,” I whispered breathlessly.
“I couldn’t agree more,” he replied with a smile. “And you, Mackenzie, you're beautiful. Hell, I could dedicate a whole day to kissing you. A whole day, a whole night... whole weeks. Months...”
“All right, all right,” I replied, chuckling and still feeling flushed from the heat of his lips on mine. “But now is neither the time nor the place!”
“No, I guess it ain't,” he replied.
“For one thing, you have to pick up your daughter. And for another, we are in a public place, as sheltered as this particular spot is.”
“You're right on both counts,” he replied. “And yes, we're already late in picking up Cassie. We don't want you to make a bad first impression now! She's a lil' lady who takes punctuality very seriously.”
“Well, then,” I said with a smile, “we should get going! Take me to meet this beautiful daughter of yours. I'm looking forward to it!”
“I am too,” he said, grinning, “I am too.”
Chapter Sixteen
Chance
Try as I might, I couldn't wipe the ear-to-ear grin off my face as I drove to Melissa's house to pick up Cassie. Making out with Mackenzie had been absolutely amazing. I hadn't felt like this with a woman for a long time. It wasn't the kissing or fondling itself; I mean, I'd been with a fair number of women over the past couple of years since my wife had passed. But all of that, all of them – hadn't meant anything to me. They'd never made me feel anything beyond a bit of physical pleasure. They’d just been distractions, ways for me to escape my pain and satisfy my urges.
This, this was entirely different. This was like being a teenager again, excited and eager, feeling that rush of getting the girl you'd liked so badly but never thought would reciprocate those feelings. It was almost like the rush of that first kiss you ever had – almost.
As I drove, I glanced across at Mackenzie and was pleased to see a warm smile beaming on her face too. I only hoped she was feeling the same sort of thing I was – a thought that made me even happier.
After a few minutes of driving, we arrived at Melissa's parents' house. I pulled up outside the house and parked the truck.
“You wanna come in or stay here and wait in the truck?” I asked her.
“I'll come in,” she replied with a smile.
We got out of the truck and walked side-by-side to the front door. As we walked, I slipped my hand around hers, and she took it gently. It felt good. It was the first time I'd held hands with a woman since Joanna.
We reached the front door, and I reached out and knocked on it. Soon it was opened by Melissa's mother, Anthea.
“Hi, Chance, come on in,” she said. “Oh, and who's this? I didn't know there was a lady in your life?”
“Mackenzie, this is Anthea Green. Anthea, this is Mackenzie Shea,” I said. “She's a very talented singer and guitarist, and I'm lucky that she seems to find something interesting about me!”
We all laughed.
“It's lovely to meet you, Anthea,” Mackenzie said as she extended a hand to Anthea, who took it and shook it politely.
“You know, Mackenzie, there's something very familiar about you,” Anthea commented.
“That's because she's famous – well, almost famous,” I added with a smile. Mackenzie elbowed me gently in protest just as Melissa's father stepped out of their living room.
“Hi there,” he said to Mackenzie. “I'm Gregory or Greg as most people call me. And I think Chance here is right. You are famous! I just saw a video on YouTube of you singing Thunder and Rain with James Masters. You have an absolutely amazing voice, you really do.”
Mackenzie smiled. It was cute how her cheeks turned a little pink with embarrassment.
“Well, thank you, Greg, I really do appreciate the compliment. But I'm certainly nowhere near famous.”
“You might say that now,” he replied, “but have you seen how many views that video has gotten?”
“I haven't checked it in a while, so no,” she said.
“Well, how many did it have when you last checked?”
“I think it was around twelve thousand,” Mackenzie replied.
Greg chuckled. “You ain't gonna believe what it's on now.”
“Has it doubled? Tripled?” she asked.
He laughed again. “You're not even getting warm.”
A look of disbelief spread across Mackenzie's face. Her excitement was infectious; even I was aching to find out just how many views the video had now had.
“Six times as many?” she asked. “Surely it can't be that much.”
“Almost a hundred thousand now,” he said with a grin. “And it's only gonna get bigger! Say, let me get a piece of paper and a pen, and you can give me your autograph. It'll be worth something in a few years!”
She chuckled. “I doubt that, but I'd nonetheless be happy to oblige. I can't believe that, though! Almost a hundred thousand views!”
“I have to get you on the radio station,” I said. “Music and an interview. Maybe we could even do some sort of live session. But we'll talk about that later.”
Anthea smiled at her husband then said. “I’ll go get the girls. They've had a wonderful morning of playing and fun. I think your little Cassie is quite tuckered out now, to be honest. I know Melissa is likely gonna have a good nap after this.”
She went and fetched Melissa and Cassie, who said goodbye to each other.
