Never Doubt Me (6 page)

Will doesn’t even notice. His eyes remain fixated on his giant canvas.

After a beat, he says, as if he’s still working it out in his head, “I’m thinking maybe I’ll paint a bunch of cute, cuddly animals. And, like, a cartoon kid who is walking to school.” He pauses, ponders a few seconds more. “Yeah, and I’ll make the kid look all happy and shit to be going off to learn. I’ll paint the animals along the side of the road. They’ll be cheering him on, wishing they could go to school, too.” He finishes up with, “If you can paint all the background shit, I can paint the characters.”

“No problem,” I say. “And I like your idea, it’s really great. The kids are going to love it.”

We start painting together and end up working past noon. Kay and Cassie stop by, laugh at how involved we are in our masterpiece, and then offer to bring us sandwiches back from the diner so we don’t have to stop painting.

Will and I are all about that.

“That’d be perfect,” I say to Kay. “We’re kind of on a roll here.”

My brother and I accomplish a lot before Kay and Cassie return, and when they do, sandwiches in hand, they are impressed with how great the mural is shaping up to be.

Father Maridale stops by after Kay and Cassie leave. He gives his stamp of approval, as well.

“Keep up the good work,” he says before he goes.

“This is fun,” Will remarks a short while later, while he’s wiping sweat away from his brow with the back of his hand.

He’s beaming after hearing all the positive reinforcement, and truthfully, so am I.

We work so hard and get so caught up in our creation that, by the end of the day, we’re a little more than halfway done. And what we’ve created
is
amazing: blue skies, fluffy white clouds, swaying trees. There’s a red schoolhouse on the far left side of the wall, and a happy cartoon kid traveling a path leading to the school, his cartoon-animal buddies encouraging him along the way.

Will’s vision has come to life. My brother and I have created something upbeat that the kids at Holy Trinity are sure to love.

“Shit, I’m beat,” Will says, wiping sweat from his brow for the umpteenth time.

It’s a hot summer day and sweltering in the non-air-conditioned school. I chuckle when I notice how Will’s dark-blond hair is sticking up off his forehead in a crazy way.

Doesn’t matter, though, as I’m sure my hair is even more of a mess.

Even so, I tousle Will’s hair, making it messier still, and say, “Hey, this shit looks fantastic, doesn’t it?” I nod to the mural, my hand still on his head.

Will smacks my hand away, but he’s laughing as he does so. “We did good, Chase,” he says. “The little kids are going to love this shit. We make a good team, yeah?”

“We do, little brother, we do.” I hold out my hand and make a fist. “Gartner brothers get it done.”

Will bumps my fist with his and yells out, “Hell yeah!”

It feels right having my brother here at the school with me, working beside me on something so positive.

However, my natural high falters when I remember there are only two days left until Will has to go back to Vegas.
Fuck.

Later that night, I’m standing in the upstairs hall, leaning against the doorframe, watching my brother while he sleeps. He’s snoring lightly, sleeping soundly, worn out in the best kind of way, from an honest day’s work.

For me, though, this is turning out to be tougher than I expected. Now that my brother is in Harmony Creek, I want him to stay awhile longer. Thirty-six more hours of having him here is not nearly long enough.

I hear a noise downstairs and cock my head. Someone just came in through the front door. But there’s no cause for concern; I know exactly who’s here.

Two minutes later, Kay is wrapping her arms around me from behind, and I’m smiling as I lean back into her comforting warmth.

“Hey,” she whispers as she presses her cheek to my bare back.

“Hey,” I whisper back. “Where’s Cassie?”

“Sleeping,” she mumbles.

I am freshly showered and have on nothing but boxer briefs. The clean scent of soap and shampoo fill my nose when I breathe in deeply, but it’s not from me. This scent is feminine, flowery. “Babe,” I murmur, breathing my girl in.

From the way Kay is pressed against me, I can feel she’s wearing her sleep shorts and a thin tee. Her nipples, pronounced through the almost-sheer fabric, brush along my back when she shifts her body. She pulls back slightly, just enough so she can kiss the angel inked at the center of my back. Her soft lips linger at the angel, before traveling over to one of the spread wings.

I chuckle to myself. Kay sure loves my tattoos. Now, if I could just talk her into having a small one inked right above where I love to—

“Hey,” Kay says, breaking me from my wandering thoughts.

She slips under my arm, but in a way, that keeps us wrapped up with each other, only now we’re face-to-face.

“You seem distracted, Chase. What’s up?”

I skim my hands down her back and sigh. “It just sucks that Will has to go back so soon.”

She glances up, holds my gaze. “You missed him more than you realized, didn’t you?”

“Way more,” I admit.

She bites her lower lip and I lose her for a minute. “What are you thinking?” I ask.

“I was thinking maybe you should ask Will to stay awhile longer. Another week would be nice.”

“Yeah, another week would be amazing,” I agree. “And I’d ask Will to stay on in a heartbeat. But he’ll never do it with Cassie heading back to Vegas with her mom. Not as long as the perverted stepdad is still in the picture. Will thinks his presence is the only thing keeping Cassie safe from that fucker.”

“Actually”—Kay loosens her hold and takes a step back—“I wanted to talk to you about that whole situation.”

There’s hardly any light in the hall, but I can still detect a smile playing at her lips.

I can’t help but smile right back at her. “What are you up to, Kay?”

Now she is absolutely grinning. “What if I told you I talked Cassie into calling her mom earlier tonight? And what if I told you she spilled everything?”

“Shit, I’d say you’re fucking amazing.”

She is amazing, beyond belief. But for so many more reasons than just this one.

However, this is certainly good news.

“So what happened?” I ask.

Kay’s lips thin to a straight line as she recollects. “Well,” she begins, “Cassie told her mom all the nasty things Paul has been saying. She detailed exactly what happened that prompted her to take off with Will.” Kay takes a breath. “And Stephanie—that’s Cassie’s mom’s first name, by the way—took action.”

“What’d she do?”

“She kicked Paul out of the house, Chase. She told him to never come back.”

“How’d she do that? I thought Cassie’s mom was in New York this week.”

“She is, but she called him from her hotel room. She used the landline phone so Cassie could remain on the cell and hear everything that was said. Bottom line, Chase, is that Paul has until tomorrow morning to get all his things out of the house, for good.”

I’m still skeptical, so I inquire, “Yeah, but how will she know he really left?”

Kay replies, “Cassie’s uncle lives near their house. He’s stopping by tomorrow morning to check on things. He’ll make sure Paul is gone. He’s changing all the locks, too.”

It sounds like everything is covered, so I breathe out a big sigh of relief. This is such great news—for Cassie and for Will, for all of us, really. I tug Kay closer to my body and shower her in featherlight kisses of appreciation.

“This is all because of you, baby,” I say, my lips traveling along her jaw.

I move up to her ear, and I guess I hit a ticklish spot, because Kay starts to giggle.

Will, who sleeps through most everything, finally stirs. “I think we’re getting too loud,” I whisper. “Let’s move this down to my bedroom.”

It doesn’t take anything more to convince Kay, as she practically drags me down the hall.

“Anxious?” I teasingly ask when we step into my bedroom.

Her response is to tug at the waistband of my boxer briefs. Chuckling, I reach behind me and close the door.

All playfulness soon subsides, as this raw need to connect with Kay becomes my driving force. I scoop her up into my arms, eliciting a surprised gasp from her.

She nuzzles my neck as I carry her over to the bed, and the whole way, I am telling her, “I love you so much, baby girl. You are my world.”

“Mmm,” she murmurs when I lay her down gently on the bed. “I love you too, Chase.”

Want and need urge me to take her swiftly, but I corral those thoughts. Tonight, I want to love this woman who saves me again and again better than that, I want more than a rushed and hurried encounter. So I take my time undressing her. And as each piece of fabric is discarded, I worship her exposed skin…with my lips, with my tongue.

Kay makes the sweetest sounds as I do things to her that I know drive her crazy. I hear sweet anticipation in her every stuttered breath, sharpness in her every gasp, especially when I taste and explore where she’s so fucking wet for me.

Her hands find their way into my hair, and she chants my name like a mantra. In response, I make her come and come and come.

When she finally stills, I trail a few sloppy kisses along the insides of her thighs, making them now wet from not just her, but from me too. Slowly, I begin to inch my way up her body. My boxer briefs were long ago discarded, so when my cock touches Kay, first dragging along her thigh and then pressing to her core, it is all me—bare…and hard as fuck.

Supporting myself with one arm, I handle myself by gliding the head of my cock back and forth along Kay’s slit, spreading all of her wetness till she’s writhing and begging, “Now, Chase, now.”

“Not yet, baby, not yet.”

I circle her clit with the tip of my dick, then press in slowly. When I still, only partway in, Kay circles her hips. My name falls from her lips, and I can tell she’s close, but she’s not there yet.

I lower my mouth to hers. “Say my name again.”

As my name starts to form on her lips, I slide into her fully. My cock fills her pussy while my tongue invades her mouth. And the experience is so consuming, so fucking beautiful, that I swear I taste every muffled letter of my name. Kay is better than any drug I’ve ever done; she overloads my senses in the best kind of way. So I keep on tasting our love as I move my hips slowly, making love to my girl.

I discover loving like this has a taste all its own, the kind of taste that flavors your soul. Loving slow and easy is sweet, good, and pure. Going faster, picking up the pace, turns things tangy, like how spice adds dimension and depth. And climaxing is complex, multilayered, sweet and tangy, rolled into one huge fucking overwhelming experience.

Finally, when I collapse onto Kay and find her lips once more, I know what this flavor is. It’s the best kind of taste—the taste of love, the taste of home.

Chapter Four

Kay

I
fall asleep in Chase’s embrace and don’t wake until morning. My eyes blink open, and I promptly panic when I realize I’m in his bed, not on the sofa in my apartment.

“Shit, Cassie,” I mumble as I jump up.

I stumble over a tangle of sheets and embark on a search for my sleep clothes. I didn’t plan to stay the entire night in Chase’s bedroom. Last night, I never even mentioned to Cassie that I was leaving the apartment. Poor girl. After she spoke with her mother, she went straight to bed. Last she knew, I was lying on the sofa, reading a book on my e-reader.

Chase wakes while I’m scurrying about. He yawns and stretches languorously, distracting me from my task. I take in the full view of his magnificent physique. Not only does he look amazing—hard, defined muscles and beautiful, sexy tats—but the things he can do to me with his body…

Besotted with lust, I snatch up one of the many T-shirts Chase has discarded on the floor. I ball up the tee and toss it at the object of my attraction.

Chase laughs and catches it easily. “What’s this for?” he asks, holding up the T-shirt.

“You need to put a shirt on, like, fast. Before I come over there and jump you.”

I catch sight of my own tee, grab it up quickly, and tug it over my head.

“And this is your incentive for me to get dressed?” Chase laughs, making no move to slip the shirt in his hands over his head. “’Cause I have to tell you, Kay, it’s not very effective.”

He lowers the little bit of sheet that’s barely covering him and exposes his rather impressive morning wood. When he catches me staring and biting my lip, he raises an eyebrow in invitation.

I have no self-control when it comes to this man, so three seconds later, I am on him, riding him hard. It’s nothing like last night, this is urgent and fast, but he still makes sure I come first.

“Always so considerate,” I murmur in a post-orgasmic lazy tone.

He chuckles against my neck. “Let’s take a shower together. I have one more ‘considerate’ thing in mind before we go to work.”

“Oh, I’m intrigued,” I shoot back.

“Oh, you’ll be more than intrigued soon enough,” he promises.

In the shower, Chase washes my body and shampoos my hair. He’s so careful and gentle with me that I am soon turned on again. Surely this was his plan all along.

“Intrigued?” He cocks an eyebrow as he drops to his knees in front of me.

Before I can respond, his wet body leans toward me. On his knees, with his head between my legs, Chase brings me to orgasm with his mouth.

Once I recover, I insist on returning the favor. “It’s only fair,” I say playfully, lowering myself until my mouth is inches from his hard cock.

Needless to say, Chase needs no convincing. He’s pretty much down for head in the shower, and his cock is in my mouth within milliseconds.

When our morning sexcapades finally wrap up, Chase and I make our way downstairs. We slow up in the dining room, though, when we hear Cassie and Will in the kitchen, talking about Cassie’s stepfather.

“Wait,” Chase whispers, grabbing my arm.

I stop next to him, and we listen as, over the sound of a spoon scraping in a cereal bowl, Will asks Cassie, “Is that asshole really gone, though? Like, for good? Are you sure your mom’s not bullshitting you?”

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Cassie replies. “I heard her tell him he had to go. They’re done, Will. Their marriage is finally over.”

“Shit, that conversation must’ve been crazy,” Will remarks, after emitting a low whistle. “How’d that go?”

“Not good,” Cassie admits. “But all that matters now is that the pervert is definitely gone. In fact, I talked with Mom when I first woke up. She said my uncle went by the house late last night and Paul had already left. His shit was gone, every last bit of it.”

“Fuck, that’s good news, Cass.” Will says, sounding relieved.

Chase and I choose that moment to make our presence known. When we step into the kitchen, Cassie and Will mumble simultaneous “good-morning” greetings, but otherwise fall silent.

Both kids are seated at the table, dressed and ready for the day. Cassie has on jean shorts and a bright-yellow tank top, while Will is wearing torn jeans and an old faded graphic T-shirt. As is often the case, Chase’s brother is dressed the same as Chase is today, meaning both are ready to get back to work on the mural.

Chase grabs the orange juice out of the refrigerator. He pours a glass and hands it to me. I sit down at the table with Will and Cassie, while Chase hops up on the counter, juice carton and glass in hand.

“So, Will,” Chase begins, filling his glass as he speaks, “now that everything’s settled with Cassie’s stepdad, what do you think about sticking around Harmony Creek for another week?”

Will must like the idea, his expression brightens immediately. He smiles at Chase, nods once, and then turns to Cassie and says, “Would you mind?”

She shakes her head. “No, not at all, I’m good with that. With everything going on, my mom decided to take off work next week. She already has a bunch of mother-daughter stuff planned. No doubt, I’ll be running around with her once we’re back in Vegas.” She pauses for a beat, and then adds softly, “I think my mom feels guilty she didn’t pick up on what was going on with Paul.”

Cassie’s mention of mother and daughter stuff reminds me that there’s a message on my voicemail from my own mother, sent yesterday. I’ve yet to return her call. I now make a mental note to call her back sometime today. She sounded kind of urgent in her voicemail, but I don’t know if that was nervousness showing in her voice, or something else entirely. It’s hard to discern these things with stuff still weird between us. Sadly, though, I expect this is the way it will remain for some time. At least, until we have a break-though.

While I ruminate over my mother, everyone else is busy discussing the logistics of Will staying in town until next Friday. He still has the plane ticket he never used, so there’s talk about when to call the airline to make the date-change adjustment.

“Clear it with Mom first,” Chase says to Will. “Then we’ll call the airline this afternoon.”

“Yes, sir, big bro,” Will retorts with a mock-salute. “Consider it done.”

Some laughter and playful insulting ensues, but when Will falls into a murmured discussion with Cassie, I feel Chase’s focus shift to me.

I am staring into my juice glass, only somewhat listening. Then again, I’m not really paying much attention at all. I’m too preoccupied, thinking about my mother. I guess, even after my talk with Father Maridale, I’m still all over the place when it comes to her.

I glance up at Chase, still on the counter, and his blues fill with concern.

“What’s wrong?” he mouths.

I shake my head once to let him know now is not the time; I’ll tell him about my mixed-up feelings later. But, first, I should speak with my mom so I know what she wants.

When I do have a chance to talk with her, later in the morning, while at work, she is nothing but kind to me. I speak to her on my cell outside the rectory office, and the sincerity in her voice alleviates my earlier concerns. I have to admit that I do feel better about my mom every time I speak with her.

So, there’s no problem there, not like I initially feared. But the update she shares with me leaves me feeling more than a little queasy.

I step back into the rectory office, where Cassie is seated in the chair next to my desk, amusing herself on her phone.

Chase and his brother are putting the finishing touches on the mural, so Cassie has been hanging with me all morning.

“Is everything okay?” she asks when she looks up and sees my face drained of color.

I wave her off. “Yeah, yeah, everything is fine.”

It’s not, but it’s Chase I long to speak with, not Cassie.

I sit back down at the desk, slowly. Cassie smiles at me, but there’s concern in her eyes.

I decide to change the focus to lunch, but just as I’m about to ask Cassie what she feels like eating today, Will steps through the office doors.

He makes a bee-line to Cassie, leans down and kisses her cheek. “Guess what?” he says “Chase gave us money for lunch. Where do you want to go?”

Cassie twists in her seat to face me and asks, “Is it okay if I leave?”

“Of course,” I reply.

“Kay, you can come with us, if you want,” Will says, smiling. “Chase gave me more than enough cash for three lunches.”

Will seems so much more relaxed now that Cassie is no longer in danger of being harassed, or possibly molested. Plus, spending the past few days with Chase has clearly been good for him.

His smile, like Chase’s, is very infectious, so I can’t help but grin back.

But then I tell him, “I think I’m going to decline the lunch invitation. But thanks for asking. I’ll just wait for Chase.”

“Oh”—Will smacks his hand to his forehead—“I almost forgot. I’m supposed to tell you Chase is skipping lunch today. He has a few more details to add to the mural.”

“Uh, okay,” I say, “thanks for letting me know.”

I place some papers into a file, straighten a few things on the desk, and then, just thinking out loud, add, “I should still probably stop over at the school and make sure Chase takes a break and eats something.”

Will nods, “Yeah, good plan.”

I can tell Will and Cassie want to get going, so I say, “You two go on ahead.”

Before they leave, Cassie asks if it’d be okay if she and Will just do their own thing for the rest of the afternoon. She mentions the ice cream shop with the miniature golf course that’s across from the church. “Do you mind if we hang out over there the rest of the day?”

Will chimes in, “Yeah, my part on the mural is pretty much done. Chase said he didn’t care if Cass and I hung out in town this afternoon. He did say I should ask you, though. You know…to make sure you’re cool with it.”

“Yeah, sure.” I shrug. “I don’t mind. Just be back in time for us to leave.”

“You got it,” Will replies, “we’ll be back by four or five.”

After Cassie and Will leave the rectory office, I head over to the school. If Chase is still set on not going out for lunch, I’ll just buy him some food from the vending machines in the teachers’ lounge.

After a walk across the sweltering parking lot—it’s a scorcher today—I step into the entrance area of the school. Chase is hard at work, across from the main doors, intently painting some detail onto the red schoolhouse in the mural.

He spins around, paintbrush in hand, when he hears my approach. “Hey, babe.”

His appearance is nothing short of stunning as he lowers the paintbrush to his side and wipes sweat from his brow with his other hand.

Sweaty Chase is übersexy Chase, and I take a minute to thoroughly enjoy the view. The man could truly star in one of those sweaty-gorgeous-guy-working-hard-on-a-hot-summer-day-and-needs-a-drink-of-water commercials.

That particular image prompts me to ask, “Are you thirsty?”

Chase chuckles, places the paintbrush sideways across a can of paint, and replies, “Maybe just a little.”

I turn in the direction of the teacher’s lounge. Pointing, I say in a rushed tone, “Let me go grab you a bottle of water. I’ll buy some chips and pretzels for you, too.”

With concern in his eyes—he knows something is amiss—he says, “You don’t have to buy me anything, Kay. Will was supposed to give you a message that I plan to work through lunch.”

“He did give me that message,” I tell Chase. “But I still wanted to stop over and see you. Plus, you have to eat, you know?” I force a smile.

“Okay,” he replies slowly, “but what about you? You sure you’re okay with just pretzels and chips for lunch?”

Now, when I smile, it’s for real. “Hey, that was good enough for the two of us before.”

It’s a clear reference to the lunch he and I shared following out first kiss, and he knows it.

Chase’s eyes meet mine. “That was a great lunch,” he agrees, “one of the best.”

I say, “Yeah,” and cast my eyes downward.

“Hey,” Chase says softly, “what’s wrong, sweetheart?”

I raise my eyes to his. “Ugh.” I frown. “I talked to my mother today.”

Chase comes to me without hesitation. “What happened?” he asks, placing his hands on either side of my face.

Just his touch comforts me, so I close my eyes for a few seconds to savor the feeling of being so well cared for. I know Chase thinks my mother has upset me. And she has, but not in the way he’s probably thinking.

Chase worries my mother will disappoint me, like she’s done before. As a result, he doesn’t fully trust her. Not that I do either, not completely, but I have to say that today my mother gave me hope that she and I can move forward. She’s
trying
to make amends for choosing my ex-boyfriend, Doug Wilson, over me for so many years. In fact, she’s trying so hard that jerky Doug was the purpose of her call. Seems she wanted to give me a heads-up on what the asshole is planning.

His plan is what has me so upset. It’s also the news I now share with Chase.

“My mom was great,” I begin, “but it’s what she told me that has me feeling like I might puke.”

“What’d she tell you?” Chase asks with concern in his tone.

“Doug is coming to town tomorrow,” I blurt out in a rush of words. “He’ll be here for a week, maybe two.”

Chase tries to hide it, but I see his fists clenching when he lowers his hands down to his sides.

“Why’s that fucker spending time in Harmony Creek?” he grinds out.

Chase hates my ex-boyfriend almost as much as I do. Doug was at my house, uninvited and unwilling to leave, the night my sister died. I’ve always placed partial blame at his feet—Sarah never would have been left alone if he hadn’t showed up that night. And she wouldn’t have been left unattended long enough for her to wander out to the backyard pool, where she drowned. But Doug had me trapped upstairs, keeping me from her and thus allowing my sister to end up in that damn pool.

As if all that wasn’t horrible enough, I recently found out—through my mother—that Doug played a much bigger role in the awful tragedy. He was the one who left the back patio door unlatched. If he hadn’t forgotten to re-latch the door when he went out to dispose of a beer can, Sarah never would have snuck outside. She wouldn’t have ended up in the water.