Crazy Love - Krista & Chase (30 page)

Haley might have been the one who’d always tried on
all
their mom’s jewelry, but Krista had always loved this particular diamond necklace and earrings set. Since she was a little girl, she’d been drawn to them. Every time she and her sister would play and she would put them on, she’d felt like they’d magically transformed her into a princess.

Tonight, she could use some magic. She wanted the night to be perfect, and
she
wanted to be perfect. Normally, black-tie affairs—or any affairs, for that matter—did not make Krista nervous. This one, however, had her shaking in her stilettos.

Of course, the source of her nerves had less to do with the event and more to do with the fact that she would be seeing a certain toe-curling, sexy rock star who would be performing at said event. Chase had left town two weeks ago and they’d talked, FaceTimed, and texted every day. In fact, it had usually been five to six times a day.

The week they’d spent together before he’d left for Austin had mostly been spent in bed. Which had been time well spent, but they hadn’t been doing a lot of talking that wasn’t of the dirty variety. But over these couple of weeks, they’d been forced not to be physical (with the exception of a few very h-o-t FaceTime sessions). They’d talked about the past, the present, even what they both wanted for the future. Not specifically how it related to them, but just that they both wanted to get married and have kids.

She had truly believed in her heart of hearts, and would have sworn on a Bible, that all these years she’d loved Chase as much as was humanly possible to love. She was at capacity in the love department. But over these past fourteen days, she’d fallen even more in love with him. Which was scaring the blazing saddles out of her.

What if this didn’t work out? Anything could happen. She had to prepare herself for a life without him if she and Chase did not follow the yellow brick road to their fairytale ending.

“Are you okay?” Her mom’s voice was filled with concern as she lightly squeezed Krista’s shoulders.

“I’m fine. Why?” Krista said, tilting her head up to look at her mom.

“You don’t have to wear the necklace if it’s not what you remembered. It won’t hurt my feelings.” Her mom’s dark brown eyes were filled with sincerity.

“No.” Krista’s hand immediately flew to the pendant protectively. “I want to wear it. I love it.”

“Okay. If you’re sure. It’s just… You looked like you were getting upset about something.”

She was. It wasn’t the necklace.

“I’m fine.” She was scared that if she started talking to her mom about her fears, then the forty-five-dollar makeup job she’d gotten done at The Oasis Spa would go right down the drain.

“Is it Chase?” her mom asked gently as she sat on the bed across from Krista.

Oh, screw the makeup. Krista needed her mom. “Yes.”

“I thought things were going well with you two. That you were talking every day.”

“They are. We are.” Everything was going
too
good. That was the problem.

If the bottom fell out now, Krista was convinced she would turn into Humpty Dumpty because no one would be able to put her back together again.

“Then what is it?” With each question, her mom’s tone was growing more and more worried.

Krista didn’t want her to truly worry. This wasn’t even anything serious. Unless she considered her sanity serious.

“I just don’t know what’s going to happen.” That was honestly the best way she could describe the panic that had been growing like it was on illegal steroids inside of her the past week.

“Uh, huh,” her mom said encouragingly, as if there were more that Krista was holding back.

“What?! That’s it!” Krista exclaimed, sounding much more defensive and exasperated than she’d intended to. Trying to soften the outburst, she added, “That’s the long and the short of it. A to Z. Kit and caboodle.”

Her mom looked like she was desperately trying to hide a smile of amusement. She managed, but just barely. “I know that you like to think that you have control over everything. And it’s probably really scary to let someone in and not know what it might ultimately cost you.”

“Yes!” Krista exclaimed, this time sounding exactly how she’d wanted to. Her mom totally got it.

“Honey, I hate to tell you this, but that’s love. And life, for that matter. There are no guarantees. You don’t know what’s going to happen next.”

Okay, maybe she didn’t get it at all.

Krista tried to explain. “I know, but it’s different with Chase. He’s not just a guy I met. Not only is it
Chase
, but now he’s
Chase Malone
. Things are just…not simple.”

“I agree that things might be a little more challenging with his career. But, sweetie, you have always thrived on a challenge. I think this has less to do with his being Chase Malone and more to do with your being scared.”

“I am scared,” Krista agreed. She’d thought that much was perfectly obvious.

“What I’m trying to say is… Anyone you truly fall in love with would make you feel like this. When your dad and I first got married, I used to wake up several times a night just to make sure he was still breathing because one of my friends’ dads had passed away in his sleep. When you girls were little, I used to be terrified every time your father left the house. I thought he was going to get in a car accident or have a heart attack.” Tears began welling up in her mom’s eyes; she took in a shaky breath. “Everyone jokes around, myself included, about your dad’s cholesterol, but I really do worry that he’s not taking care of himself.” Moving her head slowly from side to side, she pursed her lips and a single tear fell down her porcelain cheek. “I just don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to him.”

Krista quickly moved over to the bed and wrapped her arms around her mom. Of course she knew that her parents were just people who were living their lives, doing the best they could. They weren’t the superheroes Krista had built them up to be in her mind. But seeing the fear in her mom’s eyes really drove that point home to her.

“Dad is going to be fine, Mom. We’ll all keep an eye on him, and I’ll have him go see Dr. Corbin just to so that you’ll feel better.”

Shaking her head, her mom wiped the tears that had fallen down her face, “No, it’s fine. I know he takes care of himself.” She sniffed and turned to face Krista. “My point was just that loving someone, whether it’s your childhood sweetheart who became a rock star, or the boy who helped you when you got locked out of your dorm while you were wearing only a towel on your first day in college who is now your husband, the father of your four beautiful girls, and an appraiser… There are no guarantees. Love is still scary.” Her mom’s face brightened in a huge smile. “But if it’s
real
love, then it’s beyond worth it.”

* * *

“See ya in a couple of hours.” Chase raised his hand, saying goodbye to Chip. He was not about to take out his bad mood on him. Chip had already picked him up from the airport this morning and driven him directly to the riverbank for his photo shoot with
Hits
magazine. Now he was dropping him off at his mom’s so that Chase could get ready for the benefit, which he’d be back to pick him up for.

“All right then. And hey, you’re gonna be just fine, son. It’ll all work out.” Chip tipped his hat to Chase.

“Thanks.” Chase grabbed his overnight bag from the seat and shut the door to the black SUV.

He appreciated Chip’s words of support, but he was still madder than hell. He could not honestly comprehend that his manager had actually done the things that his lawyer had just informed him of. It baffled Chase the lengths of deception people would go to, just to make a buck. What he really didn’t understand was, if someone was going to put that much work and effort into screwing someone over for their own profit, why they wouldn’t just direct that same energy into making their own money honestly.

A cool breeze hit him as he made his way up his mom’s driveway. Although he was probably more angry than he’d ever been in his life, he was happy to see that the painting and roofing companies Krista’s dad Pete had referred him to, had done a kickass job. Before he even made it up to the front door, it swung open and Bear barreled out of it, jumping on Chase in greeting. He dropped his bag and gave the dog some lovin’.

His mom stood in front of him in blue jeans, a white t-shirt that had dirt on it, and gardening gloves. Her hair was pulled up in a ponytail, and she even had dirt smudges on her face. “We were in the back planting flowers, but Bear started barking up a storm. He must have heard the car.” Leaning around him, she smiled brightly and waved at Chip, who honked once and drove away.

“Wow, Mom. You look…happy.” He’d almost said “stronger” but he thought that might not have come off as the compliment he’d meant it to be.

“I am,” she said as she moved to the side to make room for Chase to enter the house.

If he’d been impressed with the job the painters had done on the exterior, then he was blown away by the interior. Who knew a few key color choices and a fresh paint job could make such a huge difference? Not to mention some interior decorating. It looked like everything in here was brand new.

“The place looks great,” he told his mom as he set his bag down and hugged her. She still had a small frame, but she didn’t feel as fragile as she always had.

“Thanks!” she beamed at his compliment. “Krista showed me how to shop online. You don’t even have to go to the stores. They just deliver it right to your house.”

Chase nodded as if it were totally normal that his mom was just figuring this out now.

“I got new couches, tables, a bookshelf, and…” She laughed as she stretched out her hands. “Basically everything. I just wanted a fresh start.”

Chase was still taking it all in when her voice turned serious.

“Not just with the house, but with my life.”

“Okay.” Chase was happy about the house, but the cryptic words she’d just spoken caused him to get a little worried. He wasn’t sure if she was talking about getting a new haircut and some new clothes or becoming a nun.

“Do you want some tea?” she asked, not waiting for his answer as she headed into the kitchen.

“Sure.” Chase took a seat at the new white wooden kitchen table. The chairs had cushions with apples on them, and it gave the room a cheery feel.

His mom removed her gloves and washed her hands before pouring both of them a large glass of iced tea. As she sat, she took a sip and set her glass down.

“I have something I want to say and I don’t want you to interrupt me.”

“Okay.” Chase nodded, feeling a little better about this talk. He liked seeing the more assertive side of his mom.

“I haven’t told you very much about what my life was like when I was a kid. I only said I didn’t have family and was in foster care. Which is true, but I don’t think it really gave you an honest picture of what my life was like.

“When I was two, a police officer found me walking around outside a known crack house. They tried to locate my mother, but when they couldn’t, I became a ward of the state. Between the ages of three and sixteen, I was in twenty-eight foster homes. Horrible things happened to me, and I saw even more horrific things happen to other kids.

“I ran away more times than I can count and was arrested for numerous crimes. Theft, breaking and entering, even…” His mom stopped and took a steadying breath. She set her hands down flat on the white wooden surface as her eyes filled to the brim with large tears. “Even prostitution.”

“Mom, you don’t have to do thi—” He reached out to cover her hand, but she pulled it away.

“No, I
do
have to do this.” Straightening her shoulders, she sniffed and continued. “I met your father when I was sixteen. He lived with two other guys and let me stay with him. He wasn’t always cruel. It didn’t start that way. He was just a party guy. He and the two guys he lived with were in a band and they thought for sure they would make it big.”

Chase looked at her like she was speaking a foreign language. His dad had never said anything about being a musician. In fact, he’d despised the fact that Chase loved music as much as he did.

A small smile crept up on her face. “Yeah, he was the lead singer and played guitar. He was good, too. He didn’t have what you have, but he was good.”

Chase was so confused. “Why didn’t he ever say anything?”

Sadness clouded his mom’s eyes once again. “After I got pregnant, he quit the band and said he was going to do right by me, by us. His childhood had actually been even worse than mine. His mom had a very bad drug addiction, and there were constantly unsavory men in and out of his house. He didn’t like to talk about it, but from the little bit he said, it was worse than you could imagine.”

Shaking her head slightly, she said, “I’m not telling you any of this to excuse his behavior. I just want you to know the truth. That’s all.”

Chase nodded.

“We moved here because he got a job at the glass plant. The first few years were okay. He had a temper, but he never took it out on us. We were able to buy this house and even started a little savings. Then the plant closed and he wasn’t able to find work. So when you were three, I started waitressing at the diner.