14. Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chase

“ I want to take you somewhere.”

Belinda blinked at me from the front door, and I couldn’t help but smile. I’m sure she’s a little confused, with every right to be. I needed to talk to her, but there was something I wanted to do with her first.

“Like a back alley where you’re going to drop my lifeless body or something?”

“No,” I told her, rolling my eyes. Did she always have to make things bad? “I just want to take you somewhere nice. Somewhere we’ve never been and something that I’m almost sure you’ve never done.”

She poked her head a little further outside and sniffed the air. I frowned as I watched her actions, not sure what she was doing.

“Well, it’s too damn cold for sex in the park or in the snow. Not that I would want to do that. Your balls might fall off.”

I couldn’t help but laugh, liking the smile that came to her face.

“God no. Would you just get some warm clothes on and a heavy jacket?”

“Geez, you’re demanding. Come on in while I change.”

“Sure.” I followed her in, taking off my hat as I entered and watched her go back to her room.

“Belinda, who is…oh, Chase, it’s nice to see you here?”

I stepped over and kissed Betty’s cheek.

“Good to see you up. All okay with you?”

“You know, flare up on the hip. It’s been that way for years. Just one of the things the doctors couldn’t fix.”

I tilted my head as I thought over that statement. When had Betty gone to a doctor? Even better yet, when did Betty have any type of surgery? And if she had, who forked over the bill for something like that because I was almost positive no one had the funds for something like that.

“Ready?”

It was on the tip of my tongue to ask about it when Belinda waltzed in, and I turned to look at her. She was dressed in a pair of deep green leggings, a red sweater, and a white jacket with fur along the hood draped over her arm. She looked like a Christmas angel, and I needed to watch myself.

“Uh, yeah. You look cute.” I hold out my hand for her, grinning as she takes it.

“Thanks. You said warm. What’s on the list for this evening?”

“Well, there’s something going on in Clement Bay that I’d like to take you to. Westover doesn’t have it, and it’s pretty new in Clement Bay.”

Her brows wrinkled in confusion, and it was an adorable look on her. Okay, where are these thoughts coming from? I mean, sure, she’s beautiful and I’ve told her plenty of times, but looking at things that were cute or anything was far from my norm.

“I’m clueless.” She climbed into the truck and looked at the thermos and the blanket. “Please tell me we’re not going to some bonfire or something. That smell will never come off of me.”

“No, it’s not a bonfire. Can you just sit back and enjoy the ride for what it’s worth?”

“No, never could have.” She did have a point there, sadly. “Has Clement Bay grown? I haven’t been there since I’ve gotten back.”

“Not really. But they did dedicate a certain part of town to light viewing. All the houses around the bay go all out every year for Christmas Eve and I thought a sleigh ride through the housing and looking at the lights would be nice.”

Her eyes opened wide and her mouth fell open.

“We’re seeing Christmas lights?”

“Yes ma’am.” It was nice to see that her love of the displays was still something she loved. “I thought it wasn’t too horribly cold tonight so it wouldn’t be bad.”

“And it’s on a sleigh ride?”

“Hence the warmer clothes. It’s the only way to view the lights.”

“Chase, that’s the sweetest thing anyone has done for me. Thank you. Oh, can you drive faster because I’m not sure I can wait to see it?”

I checked the time on the dashboard and laughed.

“The sleigh rides are reserved on time, B. Even if I got there early, we couldn’t go.”

She pouted for a moment, but let her gaze linger outside, enjoying the music playing and the whiteness on the ground.

“Are you comfortable?” I checked again as I settled the heavy blanket on our laps. The good thing about these rides, the sleighs did have foot heaters, so we wouldn’t be too cold.

“I’m good, thank you.” She uncapped the thermos and handed me it to take a sip of the hot chocolate then took one for herself. “Oh, the adult kind.”

“Only way to make it.”

I glanced at her as she fiddled with the cap, her lip stuck between her teeth, her eyes dancing with the flickering lights of the first house.

“What is it, B?”

“I ran into Tori the other day. I hadn’t seen you for a couple of days and wasn’t sure where things stood with us, so I didn’t tell you.”

“I’m sorry. I was a little confused and I didn’t know where to take things.”

“I get it. Chase, it’s me you’re talking to. Ten years is a long time to go without seeing someone, but there are things within us that don’t change. And I still know you pretty well. You’re still pretty much an easy book for me to read.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good thing.” I cleared my throat and looked at the next house. “What did Tori say?”

“That you were on a rough path. That she had wanted to marry you, even with the stupid dare, but soon realized how wrong it was.” She stopped and I knew the rest because it’s the same thing Tori and I discussed shortly after our divorce. I’m glad she had no ill will towards me when she could have.

“It’s true.”

“Chase, I never meant to cause that, I hope you know that.”

“When you left, Belinda, I didn’t. I wasn’t sure what your intentions were. And I waited for you to come back. To say it was all a mistake and find your way back to my arms again. But when the time came that I knew you weren’t, I got drunk. And pretty much stayed drunk.

“I could handle it all pretty well and not too many people knew how bad I had gotten. But Tori did help me out with that. She’s also happily engaged to a rancher out here, in fact.”

“She told me. And I’m so happy for her.” I watched her as she licked her lips and then her gaze met mine. “She told me to wait for you. To not lose hope.”

I sucked in a breath, feeling that to my very soul. The thing was, I loved this woman beside me, and everyone knew it. Okay, maybe it was time I admitted it. The problem was, what happened when she grew bored and ran away again?

My heart could not take a second leaving, I just knew that.

I barely made it out alive the first go around.

“I…” I didn’t know what to say.

Belinda’s hand took mine, our fingers interlocking. God, I wanted this woman so badly, she had no idea. And I knew there were never any guarantees in this world, but it sure would be nice to know there was some kind of promise if need be. Like only death could separate us.

“Can you tell me what happened ten years ago?” I questioned her and she gave me a sad smile.

“Can I tell you tomorrow?”

That was the best answer I’ve gotten in ten long years.

“I’ll take that, Belinda, and I’ll hold you to it.” I swallowed my fear, my hand cupping her cheek. “Then I can share with you just how much hope you need to hold on to.”

That was the line I was drawing. I was just hoping she was willing to meet me halfway now. Because I wasn’t going to lay my heart out for her to stomp on if she wasn’t going to give me the same. And I wasn’t going to give her the chance to hurt me, so it was time to confess.