Crazy Love - Krista & Chase (20 page)

Krista knew that the woman was attempting to be diplomatic, but anyone who knew her knew that what she really wanted to say was that this was a black-tie event, not a disco.

Live music had been a staple of the fundraiser for as long as Krista had been attending. She was not opposed to the idea of switching things up, especially if they had no other choice in the matter. But this was an old-school crowd and for most of them, this event was the highlight of their year.

“Okay…” The tone in Amber’s voice indicated that she really didn’t see what the big deal was. “Well, then I am going to need some new names of bands that you would all find appropriate so that I can try and make something happen.”

During the last meeting, Amber had brought in over twenty possibilities for bands to play. After all the ladies had put in their votes, only six had made it to the final round.

“What about the Malone boy?” Krista heard Marla Smith pipe up from the front row. “He’s back in town. I was never a huge fan of his music, but some people seem to like it. We should ask him to perform.”

Liz Posey put in her two cents. “I never much cared for his guitar music, but he can play a mean piano.”

“You just tell him none of that rock music,” Marla added.

“I think that’s a great idea!” Betty clapped her hands together once again. “Amber, that’s the direction we want to go.”

“I’ll
ask
if Chase would be willing to play, but I’m not sure he’d appreciate my limiting his playlist, and I also don’t think we have it in the budget to hire him.”

Betty looked at Amber with her signature ‘bless her heart’ expression. Amber had lived in Harper’s Crossing for quite some time, but Krista realized that she still didn’t totally understand the dynamics of small-town living. The women in this room didn’t look at Chase Malone and see a multi-Grammy-winning, international superstar musician. They saw Chase Malone, Roger and Abby’s boy who played music.

“Why doesn’t Krista ask him?” Liz suggested. Then she added, “That boy’s been sweet on her since God was a boy.”

There were mumbles of agreement that rolled like a wave through the twenty women seated in attendance in the gym of the women’s shelter.

“Great idea.” Betty slammed her tiny gavel (Krista never understood why she even had a gavel!) on the wooden podium. “Now dress code.”

As Betty went on to talk about the importance of keeping the event black-tie, Amber sank back into her chair, mouthing, “Sorry.”

Krista smiled to assure her friend that it was fine. She had no idea what Chase’s schedule was or even how long he planned on being in town, but if his schedule allowed, she was sure he would agree to do it.

Then she realized that the fundraiser was only about a month away. She really hadn’t let herself think about Chase being around then. In fact, she’d just been hoping he’d leave. But now that she did, the thought of him
not
still being in town made her feel sick to her stomach.

Last night had been the most fun she’d had in…she couldn’t remember how long. They’d danced and laughed. Sure, they’d also had the moment Amber had so kindly captured for posterity, but
then
they’d laughed and danced.

Krista honestly had no idea how to navigate through the Chase-infested waters. She felt like she was being slammed around by all of the emotional waves and then last night had finally caught one and rode it onto shore. But every day that he was here, a part of this town, a part of her life, she was getting tossed back into the emotion ocean.

At this point, she just hoped she didn’t drown.

A
s she squirted lotion from the bottle and rubbed it on her bare legs, Krista pressed her fingertips into her sore muscles and she massaged it into her skin. She was beginning to feel a little more human. After her meeting this morning at the HCWS, she’d come home and walked Bear. Then she’d snuggled up with him on the couch and slept for a few hours.

It was rare that the house was so quiet these days. But today, Haley was at the lake with Eddie and his daughter Emily. Jessie was in Chicago; she hadn’t said what she was doing, just that she’d be gone all day. And Becca was with her childhood friend, Brian, on an all-day hike.

When Krista had been woken from her nap by Bear kisses, she’d gone upstairs and taken a much-needed
hot
bath. Lying in the tub, she’d placed her iPod on the dock and was listening to music. Chase’s music.

She wished she had the willpower not to, but his voice was just so… The way it made her feel was indescribable. It wasn’t just her. Many a music journalist had tried to wax poetic on Chase’s lyrical stylings, but none had been able to accurately describe not only the tone but more importantly that special something that just made people
feel
. Some had tried to attribute it to the fact that he sang from the heart, describing him as soulful. It wasn’t that Krista disagreed with that description. It was just that she thought there was more to it than that. In all actuality, it was most likely a combination of factors. A smorgasbord of ingredients that mixed together and equaled perfection.

Bear ruffed at her as she was pulling up her sweats.

“You gotta go potty?” she asked in a high voice that was normally saved for infants. She just couldn’t help talking baby talk to him. He was so stinking cute.

In answer to her question, he ruffed again.

“Okay.” Standing, she grabbed the tank top she’d laid out on her bed and pulled it on, then gathered her hair up in a loose pile atop her head, wrapping a ponytail holder around it twice.

The bath seemed to have alleviated a lot of the aches and pains yesterday’s activities had produced. She was happy that she was no longer walking at a snail’s pace, hunched over and wincing in pain. Not that she had her normal pep in her step by any means, but it was a huge improvement.

Taking the stairs a little slower than usual, she made it down with fairly little discomfort, which was a win. Placing her earphones in her ears, she decided to be productive, and after she let Bear out to do his business, she would do the dishes while she waited for the large extra pepperoni-and-extra-cheese pizza she’d ordered when she’d gotten out of the bath.

Normally she wouldn’t be able to listen to music while she waited for a delivery, but Bear was like her built-in security system. He alerted her to anyone coming up to the door or walking on the sidewalk in front of the house, and he was especially good at making sure the entire house knew if a cat had dared to step even a paw on the grass.

He wagged his tail, heading happily through the kitchen on the way to the sliding door. Krista wrapped her hands around the handle and grunted as she leaned back with all her might. The door budged about an inch. She sighed then took in a fortifying breath as she began to give it the old college try once again. Bear was barking and running in circles around her feet.

“I know. You have to go. I’m trying,” Krista said a little louder than she probably would have if she hadn’t had earphones in and music playing in her ears.

Bear barked frantically and took off towards the front door. Krista followed him, assuming that either the pizza had arrived already or he had to do his business so badly he couldn’t wait for her weak self to get the door open.

“All right, all right.” Krista reached down and grabbed Bear’s collar in case the skinny surfer kid who was the only delivery person at Gino’s was in fact waiting on the other side of it. She didn’t want to give the poor kid a heart attack.

Collar securely in hand, she commanded, “Sit.”

Bear continued barking at the door and wiggling around excitedly.

She tried the command again. “Bear, sit.”

The second time did not reap any more success than the first.

“Oh screw it,” Krista said as she opened the door.

The bright midday sun blinded her as it poured in through the doorway. All she could see was a shadow of a figure that did not appear to be holding a large rectangular box of cheesy goodness in it. Bear was going crazy as Krista lifted her hand to shield her eyes, and the moment she did, she was able to make out the face of the visitor.

Chase.

“Hey.” His deep voice sent a tingle skittering down her spine.

“Hey,” she repeated.

This was it. She was living out the fantasy she’d had since the day his truck had screeched out of her parents’ driveway. Chase Malone was at her door.

Sure, it wasn’t playing out exactly how she’d fantasized about it. For one, she was fully aware that he was in town; in her fantasies, he’d always surprised her. Secondly, she’d never dreamt that she’d have a one-hundred-pound half Rottweiler half Golden Retriever that she’d be trying to keep from attacking him.

“You must be Bear,” Chase spoke calmly as he bent down.

“He doesn’t like men,” Krista warned as she pulled Bear’s collar.

“That’s a good boy,” Chase praised as he rubbed the top of Bear’s head while Bear was trying to give him kisses all over his face.

Krista then realized that apparently even dogs were not immune to Chase’s charm. Shaking her head, she let go of the dog’s collar and Bear flopped over on his back for belly rubs. Chase continued petting him, and Krista was happy to note even he talked baby talk, so she wasn’t the only one who couldn’t help it.

After a few minutes of male bonding in the entryway, Bear scrambled to get up and ran as fast as he could to the back door, indicating that his potty needs were now at code-red-emergency level. Krista was right behind him. She’d cleaned up enough accidents in the past week to last her a lifetime.

“He has to go out,” she said loudly to Chase, whom she assumed was following them.

Her fingers once again wrapped around the slider handle and she heaved with all her might. This time, her efforts were rewarded with the door opening about two inches.

Great.

* * *

Chase watched as Krista struggled with the door. He tried to get her attention to say that he would open it, but with Bear’s barking his head off and her wearing earphones, she didn’t hear him. So he wrapped his hands around her waist, picked her up, and moved her. Then he opened the door and was surprised that it was harder than he’d expected. He really had to put some muscle in it to budge the thing.

As soon as there was enough room for Bear to fit through the door, the dog shot into the backyard like his tail was on fire. Chase looked up to see if the glass had fallen off the track and that was why it was so difficult to move, when he heard the doorbell ringing. Turning his head, he saw Krista staring up at him. It was hard—literally—to concentrate since she was wearing a white tank top with no bra. If he stared, he could see the outline of her perfect, round areolas. His mouth watered at the sight.

The doorbell rang again, and he reached over and pulled one of her earbuds out as he said, “There’s someone at the door.”

“Oh,” she said with a little hop as she spun towards the door. “Pizza.”

As she turned, his eyes were drawn to the curve of her rounded ass. Her sweats were perfectly formed to its plump shape then fell loose around her thighs. His body, which had been hard from the time she’d opened the door and the sun had illuminated her like an angel, grew even harder at the sight. He honestly couldn’t decide which Krista was sexier, the one in sweats with no make-up and hair pulled up or the one in the sexy red dress last night that had kept the blood pumping down south (to the point that he was worried he was going to have an imprint of his zipper on his manhood) all night last night as she moved seductively around the dance floor. He couldn’t decide, so he called it a draw.

Bear barked and ran back into the house just as Chase had determined that the glass door did not seem to be off the track. He was pretty sure it just needed some WD-40.

Looking down at the light-brown dog seated obediently in front of him, Chase asked, “Where’s the garage?”

Without missing a beat, the dog barked and ran to the door that sat beside the fireplace. Chase figured,
what the hell,
and opened it, honestly expecting to find a bathroom or laundry room, but lo and behold, it was the garage.