Crazy Love - Krista & Chase (17 page)

Chase smiled to himself. It made him happy to see that his mom and Krista were so close. When she’d actually been his girlfriend, he hadn’t brought Krista around because his dad was still alive. He’d always believed that Krista and his mom wouldn’t just get along, but more than that, they would love each other. It was nice to see that his instincts had been correct.

“I know she’s not a morning person, Mom. But it wasn’t just that. She’s not exactly my number one fan.”

His mom waved her hand dismissively. “That’s a bunch of malarkey. Krista and you are like Sonny and Cher, Captain and Tennille. You two kids belong together,” she said as she settled back into her bed to watch a rerun of
I Love Lucy
that was playing on the flat screen television mounted on the wall. He saw that dark circles had appeared under her eyes. She needed to rest, not worry about him and Krista.

Chase didn’t want to burst the bubble of hope his mom was currently floating in, but facts were facts. First of all, both of the couples she’d used as her examples had not stayed married. Neither of those twosomes had lived out their happily-ever-afters together. Second, just because he and Krista belonged together did not mean they would end up together.

He wasn’t going into this with any delusions. Chase didn’t kid himself. Getting back together with Krista was a long shot. One he was willing to put everything on the line for, to risk it all for, but there were no guarantees. He was more than willing to strap himself in for the emotional roller coaster of a ride that was sure to come and if he was alone at the end of it, so be it. He could accept that. Not that Chase had any plans on saying uncle and admitting defeat without a fight. He was going to do everything in his power to make Krista face what they both knew to be true.

They
did
belong together.

“M
an, you clean up nice, Chip.” Chase slapped his hand on Chip’s back as he, Chip, and Tully stepped through the back entrance of The Grill. All three of them were dressed in button-up shirts and slacks. Chip, of course, was rocking a classic fedora.

“I know I do.” Chip popped his collar as the three men made their way down the narrow hall.

They were headed to the engagement party in the banquet room at the back of the restaurant. Chase hadn’t wanted to take the chance of walking through the dining area and taking any attention away from the couple. So far, here in his hometown, people had pretty much treated him normally, but he didn’t want to press his luck.

“I still think that we should have lined up security for tonight,” Tully said nervously when they rounded the corner and walked into the large room filled to the brim with people, most of whom Chase recognized.

There were probably twenty tables covered in black or white linens. A DJ booth was set up in the corner of a decent-sized dance floor, and two portable bars were at either end of the room.

“It’ll be fine,” Chase assured his anxious assistant. “I promise.”

A young, pretty brunette server approached them with a wide smile. Chase noticed a blush spread across her cheeks as she spoke to Tully. “Can I get you gentleman anything?” She might have been addressing all three of them, but she only had eyes for Tully.

“Um…I… We…” his assistant stuttered over his words as he stared down at the cute server.

Chase came in with the assist. “We’ll have three Buds.”

“Make it two and a Coke,” Chip corrected. “I’m driving.”

Chase shook his head. “We can grab some cabs. Relax. Enjoy the party. You are off duty.”

“Well, all right. Make it three, darlin’.” Chip tipped his fedora to the waitress.

For the first time since she’d walked up, she pulled her eyes away from Tully, glancing first at Chip then at Chase. “Okay, three Buds coming right…” She stopped mid-sentence when she did a double take at Chase. After staring in shock for several moments, she closed her jaw and shook her head slightly. “Up.”

As she turned to walk away, Chase was happy to note that she did take one more look over her shoulder but her eyes didn’t fall on him. Nope, they were directed straight at his six-foot-tall assistant standing beside him. A small smile lifted on her face as she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and hurried over to the bar set up in the corner of the room.

“Who’s that?” Tully asked, his eyes still glued to her every movement.

“I’m not sure. She doesn’t look familiar.” Chase definitely planned to find out though.

He’d seen Tully interact with a lot of girls. It was pretty much a part of his job description. It wasn’t unusual for the girls who were hanging around for the band or Chase to flirt with Tully. He was a good-looking kid, and a lot of the groupie girls were very attractive. But Chase had never seen Tully react to any of them like he just had to the server.

“Another one bites the dust,” Chip chuckled as he watched Tully staring in a daze in the direction of the bar on the far side of the room.

“You made it!” Alex was smiling from ear to ear as he came walking up with a kid who looked to be around eight beside him. “Chase, this is my son Joey. Joey, this is Chase and…”

Joey reached his hand up and Chase shook it as he made the introductions of Tully and Chip to Alex and Joey. Just as they had all shaken hands, the waitress appeared with the beers. Alex’s brows rose as he watched the girl hand the beer to Tully, her face turning a deep shade of pink.

“Nina, have you met my good friend Tully?” Alex asked as he patted Tully on the shoulder.

“Hi,” she smiled as she shyly dipped her head.

“Hi,” Tully said, mirroring her greeting.

After raising her wide eyes, she waited for a moment. He could see her eyes brimming with hope that Tully would say more. When he didn’t, she handed both Chip and Chase their drinks with a friendly smile and turned back into the crowd to take more orders.

“That is how
not
to talk to a girl, Joey.” Alex ruffled his son’s hair.

Chip and Chase both laughed. Tully was still staring at Nina, totally oblivious to Alex’s joke.

“I know how to talk to girls.” Joey looked up at Alex like he was crazy. “Emily’s my best friend.”

“Sorry.” Alex put his hands up in mock surrender. “My bad.”

“Well, who do we have here?” a loud familiar voice boomed from behind Chase.

“Colonel,” Chase smiled as he turned to shake the Colonel’s hand. When he did, the man Chase admired most in the world pulled him in for a hug.

“How ya doing, son?” The Colonel asked as he patted Chase’s back with the strength of someone half his age.

“Can’t complain,” Chase replied, pushing down a lump that was forming in his throat at this reunion.

Colonel James Hunter, aka The Colonel, aka Grandpa J, was the only grandparent figure Chase had ever known. The Colonel had moved in with his son and grandchildren to be close to family after his beloved wife passed away. Chase had been in elementary school the day The Colonel had come to speak at a school assembly about being in the infantry in WWII. Chase had been in awe of him, he was like a real-life G.I. Joe.

The Colonel seemed to have adopted the entire town from the first day he showed up. And the town had reciprocated. People young and old gravitated towards him.

Chase remembered that his dad, however, had hated The Colonel and constantly badmouthed him. But the few times he’d seen the two men interact, it had been clear who the alpha was.

Once, when they were in the supermarket and Chase was about twelve, his dad had called his mom a bitch under his breath while they were in line at the checkout stand. Chase hadn’t thought anyone had heard it, but The Colonel had appeared out of nowhere and said that that wasn’t how a man spoke to his wife. He’d then instructed Chase’s father to apologize. To Chase’s surprise, his dad had actually done it. Later, he’d taken out his embarrassment on both Chase and his mom, but to this day, Chase remembered the look in his dad’s eye when he’d had to say he was sorry to his mom. It was one of his favorite childhood memories.

The Colonel had also been the reason Chase had been able to leave town when he had. After he’d gotten into the fight with his dad, Chase had driven directly to Krista’s house. When that hadn’t gone well, Chase had driven to the gas station to get a map. He’d needed to figure out where he could possibly go. The Colonel had been in the food mart and seen the condition Chase was in. All Chase had told him was that he needed to leave town. The only question The Colonel had asked was, “Does your mama know you’re leaving?” When Chase had told him that she was the one who had told him to go, The Colonel had driven him to Vickey’s to get stitched up. Then they’d gone to the bank’s ATM machine, where The Colonel took out five hundred dollars and told Chase to let him know if he needed more once he got settled.

The first royalty check Chase received from the record label had gone straight to The Colonel. He might have paid him back financially, but there was no way he could ever repay what the man had done for him. Chase had no idea where he would have ended up if it hadn’t been for The Colonel’s help.

When he stepped back, The Colonel said, “Sorry to hear about your mama. How’s she doing?”

“Better, thanks. Colonel, this is Tully and Chip,” Chase said, making the introductions.

“Wait a minute.” The Colonel paused as he was shaking Chip’s hand, his face lit up with recognition. “Chip Jones.”

Chip tipped his head. “That’d be me.”

“I saw you play in Louisiana after I got back from overseas in”—The Colonel paused as he searched for the year—“it had to be 1945. I think the place was called Velma’s—”

“Jazz House,” Chip spoke in unison with The Colonel.

Chip was smiling from ear to ear. “That’s right. I was there for two years every Friday and Saturday night.”

“I remember. My buddies and I would go just to hear you. Man, when you played, it wasn’t just music, it was poetry.”

Alex and Chase both looked at each other, wearing identical expressions on their faces. Hearing The Colonel say that something was ‘poetry’ was not something Chase thought he’d ever hear, and from the look on Alex’s face, he was thinking the same thing.

“Hey, do you mind if I introduce you to some of the boys from the VFW? I know they’d love to meet you.”

Chip extended his hand. “Lead the way.”

The waitress appeared through the crowd. “Can I get you anything else?”

“Actually, Nina, can you show Tully the patio?” Alex asked sincerely. “I was just telling him about it.”

“Sure,” the young girl smiled as she started walking towards the door they had come through a few minutes before. Tully followed behind like a duckling after its mother.

“Like leading a lamb to slaughter,” Alex joked. “Come on. Jason and Katie are dying to see you.”

As Chase followed Alex winding through the crowded room of familiar faces, he felt a sense of happiness and belonging that he’d only ever felt when he was holding Krista in his arms. This place and these people were his home just as much as Krista was. It was where he belonged.

* * *

“Oh. My. God,” Amber said as she slid into the chair, champagne flute in hand. She sat beside Krista and lifted her hand, waving at Jessie, Becca, Chelle, and Jamie, who were all seated at the round table. “Chase Malone is even more gorgeous in person, and that
voice
.” Her eyes were wide as she took a sip of the golden liquid that filled her glass.

“You know that’s Krista’s ex-boyfriend, right?” Jessie stated bluntly.

Amber sputtered and choked. She almost did a spit-take, which would have covered the white tablecloth. Her long dark hair fanned out in the air as she spun her head around towards Krista. “What?!”

“I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who didn’t know,” Jamie said from across the table.

Krista shrugged at her cousins-in-law. “You both moved here after Chase moved away.”

Amber was shaking her head in disbelief as her golden eyes widened even more. “How long were you two together?”

“On and off for six years.” Krista took a drink from her own glass. Hers was not as fancy as Amber’s. It was plain old cran and vodka, but it would do the trick.