Taking Chase

  “A lemon bar?”

  He grinned, liking the sound of eagerness in her voice. “You like them, huh? Me too. Turkey okay? It was the special today.” He handed her a sandwich wrapped in wax paper. While she unwrapped it, he flattened the bag between them and put a bag of potato chips there for them to share.

  She toed off her shoes and dipped her feet into the cool water of the fountain, sighing. He wanted to groan aloud at the sight of her pretty red toenails.

  “Uh oh. Are you gonna give me a ticket now?”

  He nearly choked on his sandwich and looked up at her. “What?”

  She gestured toward her feet. “You were staring at my feet in the water. I figured I was breaking the law somehow.”

  He laughed, if she only knew just what he’d been thinking. “Nah. I like your toenail polish. It’s sexy. And if I didn’t have work boots on, my feet would be in there too.”

  “This heat is spectacular. Thank goodness for the shade. I don’t know how you all deal with it.” She leaned her head back, her spine arched.

  He coughed as the erotic carnival of delights returned to his head. “Uh, yeah, it’s bad but you’ll get used to it. How’s the sandwich?” Must not think of sex, must not think of sex...

  “It’s as good as advertised. I didn’t realize how hungry I was. Really, thank you for thinking of me.” Her voice suddenly turned shy and he saw a delicate blush work up her neck.

  “Well, it’s not hard. Thinking of you, that is. So uh, what did you do back in Los Angeles?” Jeez, the woman had the power to make him babble. Him, Shane Chase, a man thought of as smooth and cool, turned into a mass of babbling, lovesick fool. His brothers would have a field day.

  She blinked at him a few times and he wasn’t sure if it was about his question or the comment about thinking about her.

  “A little of this, a little of that. Nothing major really.”

  He may be a small town cop but he was still a cop. He knew when someone wasn’t telling the whole truth and Cassie Gambol was not telling anywhere near the whole truth.

  “Okay, if you say so. Do you have any family?”

  “I have a brother.” She smiled.

  “Ah, progress! Older or younger? Parents?”

  “He’s older by three years. My mother died when I was twelve and my father nearly two years ago now.”

  “I’m sorry. It must have been hard to grow up without a mother. And then to lose your father at a young age too.”

  “It was, yes. But my brother was always there for me and my dad was a good man. He worked a lot but he was home every night for dinner. We survived as families do.”

  “Did you grow up in LA then?”

  “Born and raised. My father too and his father before him.”

  He liked the way her voice changed when she talked about her family. There was a fondness there that appealed to him.

  “Which high school did you go to?”

  She snorted and balled up her wax paper as she finished the sandwich. “Where’s my lemon bar?”

  He laughed and handed it to her. Her eyes lit up with greed as she pulled the plastic wrap free, amusing him. The way her eyes slid half closed and she moaned as she took a bite did other things to him entirely. He had to put his napkin over his lap to hide the ridge of his cock pressing against his zipper.

  “That’s so good.”

  “You have a sweet tooth to go with that sweet voice, huh?” His voice was hoarse.

  “I love sweet things. My big failing.” She smiled sheepishly, avoiding the rest of his comment.

  “You’re doing well being friends with Maggie then. She’s quite a hand in the baking department.”

  “You seem very close to her. To all your family.”

  “I have a great family. My parents are the best, they’ve supported me in everything I’ve ever done and Maggie is my family now too. She and Kyle are great together.” He leaned forward and drew the pad of this thumb over her bottom lip. Her eyes widened and he saw the pulse at the base of her throat flutter. “You had a bit of powdered sugar there.”

  She brought her hand to her lips briefly and the moment between them stretched until she licked over the spot he’d just touched. The unwitting eroticism of it sent him reeling.

  Clearing her throat she took a deep breath. “Uh thanks. That’s lovely. About your family I mean. Oh, I’m nearly done with your mother’s necklace. If you like, I can leave it at Matt’s for you in a few days. Or I can bring it to work on Friday and you can get it then. When is her birthday? I didn’t want to miss it.”

  Impulsively, he took her hand and held it in his own for a few moments. She turned, her gaze locked with his. Relief rushed through him to see there was no fear in her eyes.

  Bringing her hand to his mouth, he brushed his lips across her knuckles ever-so-softly and laid her hand back in her lap. Her taste tingled on his lips.

  “Her birthday is Labor Day. So you have three weeks. And I’ll drop in the shop Friday. We can have lunch again.”

  She bristled. “I don’t know. I told you before, I don’t know if I’m ready to do this yet.”

  He turned to her, bending his knee between them. “Do I make you feel pressured?”

  “No.”

  “You said you didn’t have any feelings for your ex, right?”

  She shuddered and he dug his fingers into his calf, wanting to demand she tell him about it. Instead he waited.

  “No. God, no. Well, not any good ones. It’s just, I don’t know if I’m ready for a relationship or dating.”

  “We’ll take it one step at a time. This is step one here, friendship. It’s going pretty well, don’t you think?”

  She cocked her head and studied him carefully. “You’re running a game on me, aren’t you?”

  “A game?” He fought a smile, liking her pluck. Sighing, she sat back.

  “It’s just lunch. Look, you know I’m interested in you, there’s no pressure there at all. You know where I stand and I know you’re interested in me too. You’re the kind of woman who’d tell me to hit the road if I got too uppity.”

  “I used to be.” Her voice was quiet, sad.

  He paused a moment, not knowing how to approach and not wanting to put her off or make her upset. Aw, hell, he could only be who he was. “Cassie, you know you can tell me. You’ll feel better for sharing it. Not as the sheriff, tell me as your friend.”

  She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. But you’ve won this round, Shane. Lunch Friday would be nice.”

  “Don’t think I don’t know you’re changing the subject. But as it got me what I wanted I’ll let it go. For now.” He winked and she snorted.

  The rest of their lunch was quiet and comfortable as they finished dessert. Standing after he’d tossed the trash into a nearby can, he reached down and offered her a hand up.

  This time, instead of avoiding his grasp, she took it and let him help her. But he didn’t let go and she didn’t insist so they walked the few short blocks back to the bookstore hand-in-hand.

  “Thank you very much for lunch, Shane. Why don’t I deal with lunch Friday? I’ll bring us something.”

  He grinned. “Nope. I got it. Friday is peach pie day at The Sands. We’ll go there if you don’t mind, sit in the air conditioned cool and have the special of the day while I pretend not to look at you a lot.”

  Her hand went to her throat. “I don’t know what to say when you lay stuff like that on me. You’re really good.”

  “Do I offend you?”

  “No. It’s flattering.”

  Quickly, he brushed a kiss across her forehead and stepped back. “Then my work here is done. For now. Go on back inside. I’ll see you Friday.” With that, he turned and headed down the sidewalk and she had to grab the door to keep from melting into a puddle.

  “How was the
sandwich?” Penny’s mouth twitched as she hid a smile. “Pretty good if you’re having trouble staying on the ground, I’d say.” A single eyebrow rose as Cassie floated back into the bookstore.

  “I don’t know what to think about it. About him. He’s so...big. He takes up so much space. He’s overwhelming and charming and he knocks all good sense right out of my head every time he looks at me.”

  “Well, Cassie, I think you need to ask yourself why it’s so necessary to think about it at all? I’ve grown up with Shane, he’s a good man. Up to this point he’s not always been so careful with women. He’s been the kind of man who flits from flower to flower if you know what I mean. But with you? He’s different. Not cautious so much as gentle. It’s clear he’s interested in you and he’s being patient and letting you set the pace. And if you’re going to dip a toe back in to the dating life, why not with a man like Shane? Let’s be honest here, he’s so hard and hot you just want to take a big bite.”

  Cassie froze for a moment in surprise at Penny’s—for her—racy comment, and then laughed. “No kidding. But I don’t know. He’s so...big and in charge. I don’t know if I need any of that.”

  Penny shrugged. “No doubt the man is one of those take charge kind of guys. Being in a relationship with Shane would take a lot of work. I think he’d want to protect his woman all the time.”

  “Well, I already had a man who thought he knew what was best and that didn’t end very well at all.”

  Penny reached out and squeezed Cassie’s shoulder. “I want you to know you can tell me how much you want whenever you’re ready. I get the sense it was very, very bad. But despite being a big, bossy man, Shane is not like that. He’s not the type to hurt a woman. I like seeing you with a carefree smile. Let him make you happy why don’t you? If it turns in a direction you’re uncomfortable with, you can always take a step back. You’re young, Cassie. Let yourself live.” With a final squeeze of Cassie’s shoulder, Penny went into the office again and Cassie went to finish putting the new releases out on the shelves.

  Chapter Five

  Penny smiled and waved as Maggie and Polly walked into The Honey Bear and joined her.

  “The tea and brownies are on the way.”

  Polly tossed her gargantuan bag on the floor and sat with a happy sigh. “Good. How are you, sugar?”

  “I’m doing well, Mrs. Chase. Hey, Maggie, looking great as always. Thanks so much for meeting me here.”

  “An offer of blond brownies and planning for Cassie? What’s not to like about that?” Maggie grinned and took out a pad of paper and a pen.

  “I was thinking of something like a welcome barbecue. We can invite folks to come and spend the day mixing. She could get to know people and feel like a part of something.” Penny sipped her tea.

  “That’s a great idea. We can do it over Labor Day weekend. We were going to do something for my birthday but we can make it a combination thing. That way she’d have to come or risk insulting me.” Polly raised a smug eyebrow and the other two women laughed.

  “It’s a good thing your powers are harnessed for good, Mom. She’s so shy sometimes that I agree she might turn down something that was just for her but if we link it to your birthday she’d come. Plus, Shane can have her for the whole day then.” Maggie bit into the just delivered brownie and groaned in delight.

  “He’s shown up twice to bring her lunch this week. Just this afternoon he brought her flowers and escorted her like she was some precious object. She’s bowled over. He’s putting on the full court press with her. It’s impressive to watch,” Penny told them.

  “I haven’t seen him this interested in a woman since before Sandra. He talks about Cassie all the time. I like her a lot. She’s a sweet girl and smart. I think she’s good for him because it makes him think about someone else. Not that he’s selfish but he’s never really put a woman first before. Whatever it is she’s hiding, it’s not anything she’s at fault for, I can tell that just from dealing with her. I worry for her but if anyone can help her, it’s my Shane.”

  “Polly, I think it’s about her ex-husband. She hasn’t shared much but I think there was some bad stuff there. She’s nervous as a cat about men but she’s not a criminal. Hardworking. Kind.”

  Polly sighed sadly. “I hate to think that any man would do something bad to his wife. But I’m glad she’s here and we’ll just have to show her that.”

  They planned the party, deciding to have it at Penny’s house, right on the water with food and drinks and lots of fun. They’d invite enough people for Cassie to mix and get to know but not so many she’d feel overwhelmed.

  * * *

  Cassie’s thoughts were filled with Shane as she watched him approach her table at the Sunday Market. His jeans clung to his long, powerful-looking legs and his T-shirt fit snug over his upper body. His muscles positively rippled as he moved, blue-green eyes only for her. She loved the way his hair looked a bit messy but still soft and silky as it touched the top of his collar.

  “Hi.” She waved as he stopped. She wished she had something more articulate to say but the man sapped her IQ as all her blood moved away from her brain to her nipples. Shifting and squeezing her thighs together to ease the ache his presence brought, she smiled up at him.

  “You look beautiful today. Well, you always do. How’s business?” He reached out and touched the scarf she had around her neck. The scarf she used to hide the scars.

  Still, it was a major victory for her that she’d stopped hiding so much of herself. Yes, she hid the physical reminders of her years with Terry, but she was opening up in ways she hadn’t in years. She’d had beer and burgers with Penny and Maggie and the others on Friday night after a really lovely lunch with Shane where he made her blush with his love of the necklace she’d made his mother. She’d beaten the Chase brothers at pool again and Shane walked to her to her car. The kiss had been on her lips, brief but still made her all shaky.

  She’d gone into her growing feelings for Shane with her therapist and her brother. Cassie was beginning to feel normal again. She had a life with friends and grocery shopping and a paycheck. Normal was a gift and she’d agreed with her therapist and her brother that she needed to grab it with both hands and live it.

  Starting with letting Shane Chase catch her if he wanted to. Or, at least let him take her on a date.

  “I’m all right. Apparently your mother and Penny have got some big party planned to welcome me to Petal. They’re saying it’s for your mother’s birthday so I can’t refuse.”

  He threw back his head and laughed. “You’re right. They’ve got your number. Not that it matters, she’s got you on the ropes. You’re coming, right?”

  She grinned. “Yes. I’ve been promised peach cobbler and lemon bars. You’re a terrible man to expose my weakness so it can be used against me.”

  He’d never seen her so flirtatious. He liked it. Liked seeing her lighthearted and unafraid of him.

  “Darlin’, you’ve been in Petal nearly six weeks now. By now, your brand of toothpaste isn’t a secret. That’s the price of living in a small town.”

  She blushed and he decided to forge ahead. “Would you like to go to dinner with me? Dinner and maybe some dancing at The Tonk? Dinner would just be us two. Well, ’cause I want you all to myself. But dancing would be a group of folks. Kyle and Maggie, Matt and Marc will have dates, too, of course. Liv will be there with her new boyfriend, Brody.”

  “Okay.”

  He’d been readying his next line of attack when he realized she’d just agreed to a date. “Okay?”

  “Yeah. When?”

  “Tuesday? I have Wednesday and Thursday off this week.”

  “All right. I have Wednesday off too.”

  “Pick you up at seven then? Is Italian food okay with you?”

  She nodded and he stood there grinning at her for several long moments.

/>   “I’m gonna go now before I do something stupid and you change your mind. I’ll see you tomorrow for lunch.”

  Before she could argue, he turned and headed off with a wave. Still didn’t stop her from watching his ass as he left though.

  * * *

  As satisfied as she’d been with the profits from her Sunday Market, the best part was that she got to use her hands to create. Truth was, she ached to practice medicine again.

  There had been very little in her life she’d been more passionate about than being a doctor. She loved it. Loved helping people, loved improving lives. She missed it and found herself thinking about starting again with a new practice specialty.

  Oh, she knew she’d have to go back and get more training. That didn’t seem as daunting as it might have before. Before she’d decided on her surgical residency, she’d been fascinated by family medicine and one of her old mentors was a family practitioner in Orange County. The thought of taking care of entire families had a lot of appeal.

  At the same time, it scared the hell out of her to imagine risking herself over something and losing it again. She couldn’t work at the bookstore forever but it was good for the immediate future and her creative side was nourished by the jewelry making.

  At the close of the day, Cassie went to a movie with Penny and called Brian once she got home.

  “So, the sheriff asked me out today again.”

  “Yeah?” She could sense his grin.

  “I said yes. We’re going to dinner and dancing afterward.”

  “Well it’s about time. Go Sheriff Chase. Good for you, Cassie. I’m proud. So proud.”

  “You know what? I’m proud too. It feels good not to live in fear. He’s a nice guy, Brian. I really like him. And his family, they’re like a dream come true. Every last one of them is adorably sweet.”

  “They’d better be. You deserve it.”

  They spoke for a long time after that, sharing their lives in a way she’d been unable to do since before the last years with Terry. She finally had part of herself back. Even better, she was sharing it with people who mattered to her. It was a kind of connection she’d missed so much. It felt so good she wondered when the other shoe would drop and something bad would happen to mess it all up.