Taking Chase (2 page)
There was also no denying she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Something about her drew him in. Made him feel protective as well as suspicious. He found himself gripping the insurance card to keep from touching her hair where it had fallen loose from the clip thing holding it away from her face.
Taking a step back and a deep breath, he handed her back the insurance card and license. He didn’t miss the half moon imprints on her palms from where her nails had dug in. “I’m done. Your account matches my mother’s. You’ll need to follow up with Art tomorrow about the car.” She took the business card with the mechanic’s information on it from him and put it in her wallet, nodding her thanks.
“He told me he’d get on it first thing. If you need a rental he can hook you up with that too. I can assure you my mom’s insurance will cover the repairs.” He sighed heavily, he was sure he’d end up having to take her license away if she didn’t stop driving like a maniac.
Officially done with the small talk, Cassie crossed the living room to the front door, holding it open. “Thank you for carrying my bags in. I appreciate that. And Maggie, thank you for the ride.”
“Any time. I’m in the book. Please give me a call when you get settled in. I know it’s got to be hard to be in a new place. I’d love to introduce you around. Folks around here are pretty friendly.” Maggie patted her arm as she left.
“Just pound on the wall if you need anything.” Matt grinned at her. “You’ll probably need a grocery run. I brought some milk, bread and eggs over from my place. They’re in your fridge. A few cans of soup are on the counter there.”
Something warm and long forgotten bloomed in her gut. She smiled past the lump in her throat and blinked back tears. “Thank you. That’s very thoughtful of you.”
“No problem. Neighbors help each other. The grocery is only two blocks west. But if you need a ride there or anywhere, just let me know. I have tomorrow and the next day off and I’d be happy to run you wherever you need to go.”
Shane pushed his brother out the door but kept his eyes on Cassie. Perceptive cop eyes. They both knew she was hiding something. “I think Miss Gambol wants us to go.” He nodded curtly in her direction.
“Thank you all again.” She refused to let herself even look at his ass in those uniform pants as he retreated. Refused. Okay, okay so one peek before closing the door. To help calm her nerves.
And she closed the door. Locking it. Alone. Alone and safe.
Methodically, she went into her bedroom and pulled the window alarms out of one of her suitcases, installing them one by one, checking the locks as she went. It was a warm night but the air conditioner seemed to do a good job keeping the place cool enough.
Pulling the blinds tight, she made a final pass through the place, making sure it was secure and then kicked off her shoes. She knew she should eat but the very thought made her nauseated. At that point, she was on auto pilot, finishing all her safety tasks would be her sole thought until she could assure herself she was locked in and safe. That if someone did break in, the safeguards would be enough to wake her up. She knew you couldn’t defend yourself if you were sleeping.
Getting a change of clothing, her toiletries and one last item, she headed into the bathroom, locking the door behind her. After putting the doorstop alarm down and in place, she hung her towels and put the washcloths in a drawer.
As always, Cassie avoided looking in the mirror as she undressed. The fear was enough, she didn’t need to see the scars. Anyway, the scars on the inside were just as bad and she couldn’t look away from those. She cursed Terry for making her this way. Creating a scared rabbit from a woman who’d been so confident and self-assured. And she’d let him.
The water heated quickly but she made sure the safety on her gun was off and that it was within reach before she stepped into the stall. Her breath came out in a long exhale. Alone at last. Safe to let the tears come.
“So how about my new neighbor, huh?” Matt winked at his brothers as they all sat in his living room.
Shane heard laughter from the kitchen. Maggie was in there with her best friend Liv, making up some nachos and he also suspected, gossiping about the evening.
“She’s something else, huh? It’s not like I haven’t seen pretty women before but this one is up there in the top five. Did you get a load of her legs?” Matt laughed. “Biggest blue eyes I’ve ever seen. Pretty lips. And that voice. Holy shit that voice. Made me hard just hearing it.”
“She’s hiding something.” Shane wanted Matt to shut up about Cassie’s body. Kyle and Matt looked at their oldest brother. “Yeah? What makes you say so?” Matt asked.
“I’m a cop. I know what it looks like when people have something to hide. Her hands shook. She avoided eye contact. She wanted us out of her house pretty darned bad.”
Maggie walked in and put food down on the coffee table with a stack of paper plates. “Of course she was shaking, Shane. She’d just had a car accident. She didn’t know any of you and hell, I know what she must have felt like with all these giant handsome men in her living room. Give the woman a break. But she was nervous. Really nervous. Could just be her nature, though.” Maggie looked up at her brother-in-law. “But I don’t think it’s a prosecutable offense to be nervous.”
“She had some considerable scarring on her scalp and the back of her neck. I felt it when I checked her over. It could be that she’d been in another bad accident before. I’ve seen victims at the scene with major trauma from past accidents,” Matt said around his nachos.
“Maybe. But I’m gonna watch this woman. I don’t trust her. I don’t like people coming into my town carrying trouble.”
“Jeez, Shane, cut the woman some slack. Do you need to go from zero to the Terminator in three seconds? Not all women are out to hurt people,” Kyle said.
“It’s my job to watch people and I never said all women were out to hurt people,” Shane growled at his brother.
“Okay, this needs to stop before it gets started. Kyle, lay off. Shane, give her the benefit of the doubt. And anyway, I saw you watching her. Did you think she was hiding something in her bra? Maybe her back pocket?” Matt snorted.
“Okay, so she’s easy on the eyes. But I don’t know what she’s bringing into my town and I’m not going to be comfortable until I figure it out.”
Chapter Two
When Cassie opened her eyes the next morning, it almost felt like she was a new person as well as living in a new place. Sun streamed into her bedroom and she heard the birds singing just outside. Peace. How long had that been?
As she got dressed she contemplated the importance of where she was at right then. She wasn’t on the verge of taking the first step into her future. She’d taken it. And she was still moving ahead. For so long it had been about just surviving. It seemed monumentally scary to have her life be about living again.
Cassie decided to walk to Main Street, have breakfast and then deal with the car situation. Get to know the town a bit better.
While she was out she’d also look for a place with wireless so she could email Brian and check in. Or at the very least call him on a payphone. She hadn’t spoken with him since she left the hotel the morning before and she knew he’d be worried.
After she got some makeup on, she pulled her hair into a ponytail and made sure her shirt collar hid the scars at the back of her neck. It wasn’t until she’d locked the door that the heat hit her. Like a thick, wet blanket. If it was this bad now, she knew she needed to get out and finish her errands before noon.
The trees cast nice, cool shade as she began to walk. People out working in their yards actually waved hellos at her. And taking a deep breath, she waved back. She had to claim her life again.
Once on Main Street she crossed over to a little diner she’d seen the night before, The Sands. It was everything she’d imagined a small town diner to be when she walked inside. Crowded and full of people talking and laughing, waving to folks as they came and went. Steeling her nerves, Cassie slipped into a spot at the counter and grabbed a menu.
“Hiya, sug. You must be the pretty girl that Polly Chase ran into last night.”
Surprised, Cassie looked up into the face of a woman behind the counter. Big brown eyes sparked with good humor. Cassie couldn’t help but smile back.
“That’s me. I suppose this is my introduction to how fast news travels in a small town?”
The woman laughed and patted Cassie’s arm. “Now you’re catching on. I’m Ronnie Sands. I own this place.” She put a coffee cup in front of Cassie and filled it.
“I’m Cassie Gambol. Nice place you have here. I like it. Looks like I’m not the only one.” She ordered the pancake special and complimented Ronnie on the fresh juice.
Ronnie grinned. “Be right back with your pancakes. Welcome to Petal, Cassie.” Ronnie bustled off to help another customer.
Well, you’re looking a mite better today.” Cassie turned to see Maggie Chase hop up into the chair next to her. “Although I don’t like those dark circles under your eyes. How are you feeling after last night?”
“I just need a few good meals and some rest. Thanks.” Cassie felt torn between the idea of actually making new friends and the vulnerability that created in her.
Damn it, she used to be so good at this. She had friends and a vibrant social life. She used to be a lot of things before Terry.
The woman who’d come in with Maggie leaned forward and smiled. “You must be the Cassie everyone is talking about. Hi, I’m Liv Davis. Nice to meet you.”
Ronnie came by, put a heaping plate of food in front of Cassie, took Maggie and Liv’s orders and hurried away.
Cassie waved back at Liv before digging into her breakfast. She’d forgotten what this kind of cooking tasted like. Terry had insisted on a cook to prepare low fat meals based on his menu plans and when she wasn’t eating at home, she ate what she could grab at work. Hospital cafeterias weren’t known for their delicious meals.
“What brings you to Petal, Cassie?” Maggie asked. Cassie knew the question would be asked again and all the way out from her brother’s she’d worked on the answer.
“I got tired of the big city. I wanted a change.” She shrugged. “One of my friends was here a few years ago, on his way through to Atlanta and he’s always gushed about it. So I checked it out on the internet and ended up talking to Chuck and rented the apartment.”
“I admire that. You just up and moved? Changed your life because you wanted to, that’s pretty amazing.” Maggie’s smile was genuine.
“Don’t. It’s not a big deal really. The city was killing me.” Or rather, someone in the city wanted to.
Maggie frowned a little before brightening again. “Well it’s most certainly admirable. What city did you come from?” She and Brian decided it was good to keep close to the truth. Los Angeles was big enough that it shouldn’t ring any alarm bells.
“LA.” “And what are you going to do here? Do you have a job lined up?”
Well, she couldn’t be a surgeon anymore. Three of the fingers in her right hand had had the bones shattered so severely she’d never have the range of fine motor skills she’d need. Hell, she could barely hold a fork in her right hand for nearly half a year after she’d gotten out of the hospital. On top of that, she couldn’t practice under her new name without a whole lot of hassle and paperwork. Hassle and paperwork that would expose her. Futile rage swamped her for a moment, Terry had taken away her greatest love as well as her safety and nearly her life.
“No. I need to start looking.” She shoved it all away, not allowing him to own her fear or her anger. Her days of letting him control her were over.
“Well, what can you do? Any special talents? Maybe we can give you suggestions.” Maggie buttered her toast. “Clerk, secretary, bookstore? Coffeeshop?” Cassie shrugged, trying not to resent Maggie’s apparent ease with herself and her surroundings.
“You know, I think Penny is looking for someone over at Paperbacks and More. You should pop in. She’s really nice, our age, I think it would probably be a really fun place to work. And wow,” Maggie leaned in close to Cassie, “where did you get those earrings? They’re gorgeous.”
Smiling, Cassie touched them. “Thank you. I made them.” “You made those? Well they’re beautiful. You’re pretty talented, Cassie. Have you ever thought about selling them?”
“Funny you should mention that, I was thinking about it on the way here. Is there a craft market or flea market around here? I have a supply of things I’ve made that I’d love to sell on the odd weekend here and there.” At least she could still make jewelry with her hands.
“As a matter of fact, yes. There’s a Sunday Market. This is the first year for it but it seems to be doing pretty well. They close down Fourth Avenue, which is just a few blocks down. As it happens, our friend Dee is on the organizing committee. Here.” Maggie dug through her bag and pulled out a pen and paper. “This is her number. Give her a call and let me know because I’d love to buy some of your stuff.” Maggie grinned.
“Thank you, Maggie. I appreciate this.” Cassie paid for her breakfast, a little bit of hope in her belly along with the great food. “Ronnie, breakfast was excellent and the juice made me feel a lot better. I’ll be seeing you.”
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