Chasing Leah (Journey Series) (24 page)

My face lit up at the thought of
actually going out. The apartment was nice and I loved spending time with Chase
but I really needed to get out. “That would be awesome but I do need some time
alone to get a few things for you and Caleb. Think you could handle him on your
own for a little bit longer?”

“What do you think little dude,
more guy time sound good?”

“Guy time!”
Caleb shrieks from the back seat. Pretty soon he wouldn’t want any more time
with me! Obviously guy time was so much cooler.

“How about I drop you off at the
mall, I need to run over to the dealership and sign some paperwork that we
missed and then we can meet up for a late lunch?”

“Sounds good.”
I reach over and interlace our fingers. I can already see one good thing about
Chases
new truck. Nothing in the way, so I can squeeze tight
next to him and rest my head on his shoulder.

Chase drops me off at the mall
after helping me out of the truck and a quick goodbye kiss to each of my
“guys.” After going through the main entrance I instantly regret my decision of
shopping. People were jam packed throughout the mall, trying to get in last
minute shopping. The experience was made even harder with a pair of crutches
but I was able to make it to the few stores I needed to. Caleb was pretty easy,
load him up on some toys and books and he was set. Chase and his family ended up
being a little harder to buy for.

Ally and I had exchanged gifts
before she left town. I had put together a scrapbook of her and
Skylar
together with some of my free time I had and a pair
of tickets to a concert I knew she really wanted to go to. Luckily I had
already purchased them before the accident so I had some extra money. She had
replaced my coat that had been pitched after all of the damage with a new gray
wool one and a dark red matching set of gloves and a hat.

I texted Chase when I was all
finished up and we made plans to meet at one of the restaurants in the mall.
That was real fun and made me wishing maybe I should of just stayed home after
Caleb dropped down onto the floor of the crowded restaurant and preceded to
kick and scream because he didn’t want to sit still that long. Luckily Chase
handled it well by throwing him over his shoulder and having a nice quiet talk
with him about how to behave. We headed back to the apartment to grab a few
things before going to his
moms
house for the next few
days. Caleb had passed out with a full belly and being worn out from all of the
running around.

“You just sit tight, I’ll run up
and get our bags,” he says as we pull back in. “’Kay I’m not going anywhere.
Quickly at least.”
I watch his tall frame jog up the stairs
and rest my eyes after watching the doors close behind him. I was really
looking forward to the holidays with his family, anytime at their house was a
bit chaotic with all the kids but it was always fun.

I’m jostled awake by a set of
strong arms lifting me up and the bite of cool air that instantly slams into my
face. I peak my eyes open and glance up at the sight of
Chases
strong jaw. I must have fallen asleep in his truck and stayed that way till we
got to his moms house. “Sorry babe I was hoping you would stay asleep, I was
just
gonna
lay you down in my old room.”

“That’s
okay,
I want to see your mom and everyone anyways. Those exams and shopping must have
really wiped me out.” I wipe the sleep from my eyes and feel my chin up for my
trademark drool.
All clear.
The front door swings open
just as we step on the porch and we’re instantly assaulted with shrieks from
his sisters.

“Alright, alright back up girls
I don’t want you bumping in to our
Leahs
leg,” Mary
says as she clears a path and pecks a kiss on both of our cheeks. “Hi honey,
how are you doing? Where’s Caleb at?”

“I’m good just a little worn
out. I think I overdid it today. Caleb’s still sleeping out in the truck.” She
hem
and haws over me before leading us up to Chases old
room. “You two can stay up here. Come back down when you’re ready, the girls
are dying to start decorating the tree but I can put them off for a little
while longer. I’ll grab Caleb and bring him in the house.”

She closes the door behind her
as Chase drops me down onto his bed. Mary left Chases room exactly like he had
it when he left for college four years ago and
there’s
pictures
of a younger Chase dotted throughout the room with various
sports medals and an old guitar tucked in the corner.

I pat the bed I’m laying on
which only looks to be a twin. “You think this is going to be big enough for
the two of us,” I ask. “Well I can always go sleep in the guest room if you
want me to,” he says with a wink.

“I guess we can make it work,”
as I grab his hand and pull him down next to me. Luckily with my small frame
it’s not too cramped and Chase wraps his arms around my waist pulling me closer
to him. I throw my good leg around him as he traces the pad of his thumb over
my lips before diving in for a slow sweet kiss. I could do this all day with him
as I slide my hands up under his shirt and trace his hard muscles with my
finger tips.

 “
Mmm
Leah,” he moans against my lips as he grips my hips and rolls me on top of him.
He reaches up to do undo the buttons on my shirt and slides my bra strap down
as he cups my breast and leans forward to twirl his tongue over my nipples. I
grind against the bulge in his pants that’s pushing against me and pull at his
shirt wanting to feel his skin against mine.

A loud pounding on the door
interrupts us as we remember where we are. “
Chaassse
,
Leaaahhh
,” I hear Belle and
Calebs
tiny toddler voices call through the door. I let out a groan as I put my
forehead against Chase. “Well be down in a minute guys,” he calls out. “Sorry
babe,” he whispers in my ear. “I got a bit carried away. You made me forget
where we were. We’ll continue this later after everyone’s asleep.”

He stands us both up and heads
toward the door. “We are never ever having kids of our own. There’s enough
around here,” I say as he walks me down the stairs into the crowd of people
waiting for us in the family room. I feel his chest vibrate with laughter as he
sets me down on the couch. “If that’s what you want to think babe but I seem to
always get my way with you.”

The four days spent with
Chases
family were probably some of the most interesting of
my life. I was able to help with a little bit of trimming the tall 12 foot tree
and it was probably the most beautiful tree I had ever seen with the soft
twinkling white lights and the array of homemade ornaments from all of the kids
over the years. We decorated cookies while we sang Christmas carols and drank
hot chocolate by the
fire,
it would have made for a
great Christmas card.

Chase was like a little
kid,
he was the one most into the festivities and even
dressed up into a Santa costume Christmas eve night. The younger girls and
Caleb went crazy over this and had no clue it was just their older brother even
with the tattoos that poked out from the top of the suit. Afterwards Chase
pulled out his old guitar and played a few songs that quieted everyone right
down. Mary had a proud look on her face as she leaned back into Chris’ chest
with two little girls balanced on each knee.

Christmas morning turned out to
be perfect with a light snow falling that we watched from the wide windows in
the living room. We passed out presents and I had quite a stack from Chase and
his family.
Calebs
I think out trumped every ones.
That little man was getting to be spoiled. The girls had made me a few things
and Belle had done a drawing for me where I was added into the family as a
little stick figure. “You’re one of my sissy’s now,” she says while handing me
the drawing. “Aw thanks sweetie. I would love to be your sissy.” I lean down
and gave her a kiss on the tip of her nose.

I had gotten Mary and all of the
girls matching bracelets with a few charms on each that they all gushed over.
Chris was a little more difficult since he was a guy but he was a builder so I
got him a small wooden plane kit to build for his office. Caleb gushed over all
of his presents and I wasn’t too sure where we would be putting everything.
Chase and I exchanged our presents saving those for last. I pull open a skinny
long boxy thing that suspiciously looks like jewelry as I eye him up while opening
it.

“Oh wow this is beautiful
Chase,” I say as I look down at the necklace laid out in the box. There were
tiny diamonds nestled in a silver chain with a small key dangling from the center.
“This is way too much.” I finger the small diamonds that look so delicate on
the chain. “Nothing is ever too much for you Leah. Here let me put it on.” I
turn my back to him and he does up the clasp before planting a kiss on my
shoulder. “There it looks perfect, just as beautiful as you.”

“Oh honey that looks beautiful,
my boy has such an eye for things,” Mary pipes in as the whole family gathers
around me to admire the necklace. “Now you have the key to my heart,” he
whispers in my ear before backing away. I don’t think this boy could do
anything else to make me fall even more in love with him but he just keeps
surprising me.

“Here I have a few for you too,”
I hand him a stack of presents that I had wrapped quickly the night before.
After opening them all he had a new blank book with crisp pages for writing his
poetry and lyrics and a leather briefcase with his name engraved on a small
emblem. When the spring semester started up he would be student teaching along
with his last classes that he needed to graduate.

“Awesome babe, thank you. I love
them especially this,” he holds up the briefcase. “I can’t believe I’ve come
this far and am almost done with school.”

“We’re all so proud of you
Chase. That was a perfect present Leah,” Mary says as she looks over the
briefcase.

“Okay,” Mary says as she pulls
an envelope out from behind her back. “This is a present for the whole family
from me and Chris. Leah and Caleb are included in this too. Chase how about you
open it and tell everyone what it is?”

 
Chase peels back the flap and pulls out a
piece of paper that he quickly scans with his eyes. “Oh wow, this is awesome.
It’s a trip for everyone to an all inclusive resort in Jamaica.”

Squeals break out all over the
room and some of the girls start jumping up and down while Mary tries to quiet
them down. “Okay girls, calm down. We thought it would be nice for everyone to
take a vacation together. We don’t have exact dates yet but we figured we could
work those out later. There’s a year until this expires.”

 
After that everyone was so excited and
instantly started researching the resort and talking about dates that would
work for everyone. Chase and I would be the most difficult to work around with
our school schedules but I was excited about the trip, Caleb and I had barely
ever made it out of the state before.

We spent the rest of the day
filling up on food and I’m sure after everything I ate, I had gained all of the
weight that I had lost in the hospital back on. Mary packed up two bags filled
with leftovers for us and we headed back to Chases apartment the next morning.
Caleb of course didn’t want to leave but after Mary promised him he could come
back for a sleepover, we got him out the door.

“So how were the holidays with
my family? Not too overwhelming right?” Chase asks as he helps me get settled
on the couch. I was so ready for this cast to come off but still had to wait
about another two weeks which meant I would have to start the spring semester
off with it on.

 
Gino was thankfully understanding after the
accident too and was keeping my position open for me at the restaurant. Luckily
he had a niece come to stay with him during the holidays who had worked there
before and she covered most of my shifts.

“It was seriously perfect Chase.
I love your
family,
your Mom is so great.” I lay back
and look up at his twinkling green eyes. He leans down and kisses my forehead,
tucking a loose curl behind my ear.

“They love you too Leah. It
would be hard not to. I look forward to spending a lot more holidays with you
and Caleb included.”

“Me too babe,” I say fighting to
keep my eyes open after the draining past few days. “I’m
gonna
go put some stuff away and start some laundry, you take a nap and I’ll take
Caleb with me.” I hear the front door click as he drags out our laundry baskets
with Caleb chattering his ear off and I close my eyes.

I can’t believe how much I
enjoyed being around Chases family and their all so great. I couldn’t believe I
was picturing it but I could see myself marrying Chase someday and officially
having them all become my family. Caleb would finally have the family he
deserved. Getting married was something I never really envisioned myself doing
before meeting Chase but now I could daydream all day long about my fairy tale
wedding to my prince.

Leah

Spring semester started and our
schedules soon became hectic again. We were still staying at
Chases
apartment even though Ally had came back right before classes started. I saw
her just as much and we often rode over to campus together. Chase was kept busy
with his classes, student teaching, and the performances that Teddy seemed to
keep them fully booked up with. Caleb was slowly starting to get back into his
old routine too with being in back in daycare which I think he missed.