by Ava Miles
He thought of Rajan writing a report for him on a Sunday as his family enjoyed the weekend in other parts of the house. He’d never interacted much with Trisha in their home. Would the same thing happen to him and Moira if they ended up staying together? Different lives under the same roof?
“I want to spend time with you too,” he said. Especially since it would be a lot harder as soon as he got Andy’s clearance to work. “But if you want to see your family today, you should. You can meet me here afterward. It’s not like I’m going anywhere.”
She undid the robe she was still wearing and slid it off, rising over him. Situated as he was against the headboard, their eyes were level. “I want to be here.”
He leaned in to kiss her. “Me too.”
“But I need your phone first,” she said, making an attempt to smile. “Boss’ orders.”
Taking her mouth in a drugging kiss, he showed her how little he cared about handing over the phone and how much he wanted her.
But part of him feared things would change after he returned to his normal life. Whether he liked it or not.
Chapter 27
Moira waited until Tuesday morning to call Caroline. Her sister had texted about her trip, sure, but she wanted first-hand material. She was on her way home from Chase’s to get ready for work, and she figured Caroline would be getting ready too.
“Okay, spill it,” she immediately said when her sister picked up the phone.
“What can I say?” Caroline responded. “It was a whirlwind. Incredible. Life changing. The paintings were…are…some of the most beautiful ones I’ve ever seen, and the way J.T. wants to group them is pure brilliance. He’s got such vision. Dare Valley is so lucky to have this museum coming. I can’t wait to visit it myself. Oh, Moira, it’s going to be like nothing you’ve ever seen. J.T. is going to tell stories with the paintings and use famous quotes and historical facts on the walls alongside them to do it. The whole concept is so artistic.”
Caroline sounded like she was walking on Monet-inspired clouds. “I’m glad you’re so happy. Working with J.T. agrees with you.” Hoping her sister would continue without prodding, she paused. She darn well knew there was something going on with Caroline and J.T., and she intended to hear about it.
“He’s amazing, Moira,” Caroline said, a sigh wrapped around her voice. “Like no one I’ve ever met. I’m…sometimes at a loss for how much I like him.”
“Like him, like him, or like him, like him?” she asked, turning onto the main highway to drive into town.
“You sound like Natalie,” Caroline said, a frown in her voice. “She prodded me about J.T. too. Yes, I like him, like him and he feels the same way, it seems. But we’re going to focus on the paintings, which is practical. He lives in Rome, and I live here. It’s not like we’re thinking about getting together or anything…”
Moira could hear the but coming from a mile away. “And yet it’s all you can think about.”
“I’m trying not to, but it’s hard,” Caroline said. “It’s like I got hit by a runaway train and was swept along on a magical ride.”
“If a train hit you, you’d be splatted all over the place,” Moira said, chuckling. “No magic in that. But I see what you mean. When are you going to see the next stash of paintings? The one in California?”
Her sister’s sigh was audible. “I don’t know right now. Soon, I expect. Of course, Kendra is going to suspect something if I ask for another long weekend off too soon.”
“Who cares? It’s your vacation time.” Sometimes the work ethic their parents had raised them with sucked. “It’s not like you’re lollygagging around.”
“You sound like Uncle Arthur,” she said, laughing. “Who says ‘lollygagging’ anymore?”
“I do, apparently,” Moira said, joining in her sister’s laughter. “It’s a great word. More people should use it.”
“How are you and Chase?” Caroline asked.
She’d been ready for this question. “We’re in love, actually. I’m still a little in shock. We spent the whole weekend together—”
“I heard you missed dinner at Matt’s,” Caroline said, and she could hear the smile in her sister’s voice.
“I did,” Moira said, smiling herself as she drove down Main Street. The sidewalks were still sparse except for the early morning traffic at Don’t Soy With Me. People were grabbing coffees to start the day. She’d get one at the office.
“And…” her sister drawled.
“I had the best time possible.” Spending the whole day in bed with Chase had been a hell of a lot of fun. “It’s a little scary how easy things are between us.”
“Easy is scary?” Caroline asked. “But I know what you mean. I felt that way with J.T. It’s like I’ve known him forever. I want to listen to every one of his stories, see every masterpiece he loves.”
“You want to share yourselves,” Moira finished, understanding perfectly. She and Chase seemed to be breaking open all sorts of barriers between them, emotionally and physically, and it was the most transformative experience of her life.
“Yes,” Caroline said. “Moira…”
“What?” she answered, hearing the vulnerability in her sister’s voice.
“I wanted to make love with him so much,” she confessed. “I’ve never felt that way about anyone. Or so fast. He…the first night after I flew in…he called it out there and said he felt it too, but the project is really important to him and… Oh, heck, he didn’t want to lose sight of that or change gears on me when he’d asked me to come to Rome for professional reasons.”
“So you need to make the move,” Moira said, nodding to herself. “What do you want to do?”
“Go out with him,” Caroline said. “Slather him in pesto sauce and eat him up.”
“Dude,” Moira said as she turned onto her street, “did you have to bring in a visual?”
“Yes! When I tell you I wanted to be with J.T., I’m serious. You and I aren’t the type to jump right in and do the horizontal mambo, as Jill would say, but Moira…”
Their cousin certainly had a way of talking about sex. Always had. “I know. As someone who’s dancing a lot of mambo right now, I can testify that it’s pretty spectacular with a man you feel that way about.”
“Oh…I wondered. Good for you! When do I finally get to meet him?”
She’d been thinking about that after this weekend. Her family was important to her, and Chase was important to her. “I don’t know exactly. He’s got a lot of pride about being laid up and getting around in a scooter.”
“And yet, it seems like you don’t think it detracts from his appeal whatsoever,” Caroline said.
She pulled into her driveway and opened the garage. “Hang on. I need to take you off hands-free. I just got home.”
“I wondered at the echo,” she said.
Moira grabbed her bag from the passenger seat. “It doesn’t matter to me, but then again, I can’t smell him without wanting to rip his clothes off. The casts aren’t ideal, but they haven’t stopped us.”
“Plus, you have a doctor brother you can call if you’re too rough with him.” Caroline started laughing.
“Funny. Like I’d call Andy if that happened.”
“Mo, I need to get going,” Caroline said. “I want to hit an early morning butt blaster class after all the food I devoured this weekend.”
“You’re not going to get rid of me so easily. We didn’t talk about the food. Was it good?”
“Does God exist?” her sister quipped. “I already made Natalie salivate.”
“When did you talk to her? I waited until this morning to call you out of respect.”
“Ha! Natalie has always been more tenacious. She called last night. I was super jet lagged, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
“It’s the Hale way. How did you leave things with J.T.?” Moira asked, heading into her bedroom. She needed a shower before work.
“I’m supposed to give him a date for our trip
to his parents’ place in Napa Valley.”
Moira started stripping off her clothes in her bathroom. “Sounds like that’ll be an interesting trip. Book it fast. Tell Kendra you have a man in your life. It’s kinda true.”
“You know Kendra,” Caroline answered as Moira turned the shower on. “She thinks the sky is going to fall if I’m not around.”
“That’s only because she doesn’t like to work,” Moira said.
“Which is why she’s the gallery owner. I really need to run, or I’m not going to make my class.”
“I’m naked outside my shower stall,” Moira said with a laugh. “Run.”
“Glad we didn’t Facetime,” her sister said. “Love you.”
“Love you too.”
Moira set the phone aside after they hung up and then looked in the mirror. She was sexy, dammit. Sure, she’d joked about her flat-as-flapjacks chest and how short she was, but right now, all she could see was her own beauty. Her skin was dewy, likely from all the orgasms she’d been having. Her curls seemed more perfect somehow, and her eyes… The green was rich and deep and clear.
It was because she was happy, she decided. She had a fabulous job, doing something she believed in, and they were about to launch their first event. Then there was this other part of her life, still so new—she had a wonderful man to spend time with. He liked to snuggle, she’d discovered. When she’d teased him about it, he’d confessed it was a first for him. They were experiencing so many firsts together.
She never wanted it to end.
Chapter 28
Chase was getting used to his new surroundings and new routine. Jarvis had feng shuied the hell out of the house, and even Chase had to agree it was more appealing, from the soft colors in the new window draperies to the even softer textures of the cashmere throws on the couch and in his bedroom.
Even more encouraging, Andy had approved him to work a quarter time. Of course, to the doctor, that meant ten hours a week. Chase explained his normal work week consisted of one hundred and twenty hours, on average, so they needed a different number. Andy hadn’t bought that. He’d held the line at ten.
Rajan’s report had been extremely helpful in determining where Chase should spend the precious time he’d been given. They were still looking for the right person to bid in Gopal’s place, but Chase still suspected it would come down to Rajan. Of course, he hadn’t told Evan that.
His boss and friend had restored his cell phone to him, but he’d found a way to limit it to only ten hours of calling time. Evan had been pretty proud of his continued ability to alter technology to out-fox Chase, as he liked to say. Chase had been less pleased.
With the work, Chase’s headaches returned, which made him more than impatient. Acupuncture took away the pain, but it was a Band-Aid. Cooking also seemed to help, which he found interesting, and so did being with Moira. It wasn’t only the sex—although it was the best sex of his life—it was the contentment he felt when they were together. He was happy when he was with her or thinking about her.
But one glance at the Home Sweet Love pillow Jarvis had set in his relationship bagua, and his head started hurting and his chest grew tight.
He knew what he needed to do.
So he told Bonnie to call Ally and make another energy healing appointment for him.
By the time the older woman arrived on Friday morning, he was sweating from nerves. It felt like an elephant was taking teatime from atop his chest.
“It’s good to see you again, Chase,” Ally said softly as she approached him on the couch. “Looks like you and Barney have become fast friends.”
The tabby kitten nudged his hand to remind him to continue scratching behind his ears. “Yes. I want to apologize again for the other time.”
Today, she was wearing a simple navy sweater and jeans. Funny, how it seemed so…normal. Then he almost laughed. What was he expecting, a turban and a crystal ball?
She waved her hand in the air and smiled at him. “There’s nothing to apologize for, Chase. Letting go of the past is hard for many of us.”
“I thought I already had let go of it,” he said cautiously.
“Forcing your memories into a box and sealing them off is different than letting them go,” she said. “You feel better than you did last time. There’s a nice pink light around you. You’ve found a woman to love. I’m happy for you.”
A pink glow? Good God, he might as well sign up for an ashram in India. He glanced over at Bonnie, whose lips were twitching. “Did you tell her that?”
“No,” Bonnie said, picking up her coffee cup from the dining room table. “Why would I? You haven’t told me anything.”
That much was true. Bonnie continued to help him prepare and smoke the meat he cooked for his meals with Moira—something he loved doing—but beyond that he’d said nothing about her. What was he supposed to say? Hi Bonnie, Moira, the love of my life, just left the house after another night of mind-blowing sex? How was your night?
Please.
“I’m going to drink my coffee in the kitchen,” Bonnie said, casting him another smile.
“You do that,” he said, tucking Barney more securely in his lap. While he was still nervous, he felt more comfortable with the idea of being alone with Ally than he had last time. “Can we sit on the couch?”
“Whatever is most comfortable for you,” she said, joining him.
He shifted his body onto the cushions, hoping physical comfort would ease the tension in his chest.
“You’re anxious,” she said, gazing at him. “We’ll address that first. Take a few deep breaths.”
The pleasant buzzing sound settled over him, and he felt calm spread through his body. He had to take some extra deep breaths to release what felt like trapped balls of air inside him, but soon he was sinking back into the couch, his muscles completely unwound.
“Your bones are healing nicely still,” she said. “Not as hot as last time, which is good. Less swelling, right?”
He nodded. “But there’s still itching.” It drove him nuts sometimes unless he focused his mind elsewhere.
“That’s only natural. I’ll show you something you can do to help that when we’re finished. Now, close your eyes.”
They’d been flickering open and shut as the calm rolled through him. “Are you…are you going to talk to my dad?” He had to ask her. He’d been unable to think about anything else in anticipation of this appointment.
“We’ll see if he comes again,” Ally said, giving him a soft smile. “I’m going to be silent for a while. You just lie there and keep breathing.”
He was aware of the soft buzzing for a while, and then he felt like he was floating outside his body. Was this supposed to happen?
“Relax, Chase,” she said, as if reading his mind. “There’s nothing for you to do right now but be here.”
There was pressure at the base of his skull, like a rubber ball pressing there, and then it faded to nothing. He wondered if she was working on his headaches. But before he could give it any thought, a flash of pain seared through his head. An image of their house burning to the ground, smoke trailing out of his room, flashed into his mind. God, he’d loved his room, from all his books like Robinson Crusoe to the prized BB gun he’d named Wild Bill.
Sorrow swallowed him whole. “I don’t want to remember this.”
Ally’s hand touched his good arm. “Your mind wants to let it go, Chase. Are you ready?”
In that moment, he wasn’t sure. Suddenly he was standing in front of their house, watching the flames envelop everything in sight. His mother stood between him and his little brother, holding both of their hands. Chase’s dad was on his other side, squeezing his free hand. It was the last time his father had touched him. He’d stopped hugging or kissing any of them after that night.
But it wasn’t the only “last” for them, Chase realized. It was also the last night they were a family.
By the time the last flames had turned their home to ash, the family
he’d known, the family he’d loved, had disappeared forever.
“I wish it had never happened,” he whispered, shocked to feel tears begin to roll down his cheeks. “Oh, shit.” The hurt was so huge, pressing upward, seeking release.
“I know you do,” Ally said softly. “Take my hand. We’ll let it go together.”
Somehow the hand that curled around his didn’t feel like her hand. It felt like his dad’s, the tough and callused one he remembered.
Another memory flashed through him. He was holding his mother and brother’s hands as they watched his father’s coffin being lowered into the ground. He could feel his brother squeezing his hand, gripping it to the point of pain, while his mother’s grasp was limp, as if their dad had taken all the life from her by killing himself.
“I want my dad back,” he said aloud, but it wasn’t his voice. It was the voice of that twelve-year-old boy he’d been. “He shouldn’t have left us. How could he have done that to us?” Searing anger shot through his gut. “He was a coward.”
A hand gripped his, hard enough to wrest his attention from the memories. Again, he felt those calluses.
“Your dad is here, Chase, and he wants you to know how sorry he is for what he did. He wasn’t doing it to hurt you. He simply couldn’t keep going. When he lost your home, he thought he’d lost everything. Now he knows you and your mom and brother were the most important things, not all the work he’d put into the ranch. He wants you to forgive him. It’s up to you if you’re ready to do that right now.”
In his mind, he could see his dad standing before him. Like Chase, he was tall and broad in the shoulders. He wore that constant five o’clock shadow he’d always had in life.
“I’m sorry, son,” Chase heard the man say.
A chill washed over his skin.
“Please forgive me.” His dad approached him, shadows under his dark eyes. “I’ve been waiting for you to realize how sorry I am. I…couldn’t cross over until I made amends with you and your mama and brother. I’ve still got a ways to go with them.”
