Chasin' Eight (Rough Riders #11)(154)

“Glad you could join me at the crack of five in the afternoon,” Ben said slyly.
“Cut me some slack. I slept about two hours out of the forty-eight before I went comatose.”

“You’re in time to leave for supper at Mom and Dad’s with Gavin. Guess he’s leaving early in the morning.”

Chase scratched his head. His hair needed a damn trim. He’d gotten so used to wearing it short, he wondered if he’d ever go back to longer hair. Especially remembering how good Ava’s hands felt on his scalp.
Ava.
He needed her. He loved her. He had to make this right with her. But he couldn’t do it from here.
Naturally when he found his cell phone it was completely dead.
Supper was strained. Adam and Amelia made mealtime entertaining, until they both started shrieking and Quinn and Libby took them home.
Saying goodbye to Gavin was awkward amidst half-assed promises of staying in touch, would any of them ever see him again?
Ben sighed as they sat in his pickup in front of his house. “Look, don’t think I’m an *, but something came up and I’m gonna need you to stay somewhere else tonight.”

That f*cking blew. He’d looked forward to hanging with Ben. Playing pool. Picking his brain about how to handle the situation with Ava once he reached LA. “It’s more a douchebag move than an * move, kicking me to the curb at eight o’clock on a Sunday night.”

“I’d hope you’d do the same for me if a good woman was involved.”

“Probably. It’s for the best anyway. I’d planned on driving to Denver in the morning to catch a flight to LA, but if I leave now, I’ll get an earlier one.”

“You’re still dragging ass, Chase. Why don’t you head over to Kane’s old trailer, get some rest in the peace and quiet? You know you ain’t gonna get that at Quinn and Libby’s place. Without bein’ a dick, Mom and Dad don’t need you hanging around tonight.”

Kane’s place. How hard would it be to stay where he’d met Ava and she wasn’t there? But it wasn’t like he had another choice. “Will you at least let me plug my phone in for five minutes so I can check my messages?”

“Sure.”

Chase had quite a few missed calls, including one from Ava last night. No voice message. Dammit. He stopped at the call from HeadGame, a sports safety equipment manufacturer. They’d only called thirty minutes ago. Intrigued, he kept his phone plugged in as he called the number, expecting to get a recording. But a live person answered. “This is Chase McKay. I received a message from this number tonight.” He listened. “Yes, sir. That sounds fine. Actually, I’d planned to be in California tomorrow. Sure. I’ll call you in the next couple days after I figure out my schedule. The event in Salinas starts Friday. After blasting my opinion across VERSUS airwaves…I ain’t sure they’ll let me compete.” Chase laughed. “No idea. I’m putting off returning phone calls to my PBR rep until tomorrow. Good enough. Thanks. Talk to you soon.”

“What the devil was that about?” Ben asked.
Chase unplugged the charger. “A company that specializes in sports helmets wants to meet with me about possibly becoming a spokesman. Which would be cool, since I’ve been thinking about putting my…celebrity, for lack of a better term, to good use. Advocate safety in bull ridin’. Some of the older riders ain’t ever gonna change. But if I can connect with the younger kids, the ones in high school, or even elementary kids who dream of ridin’ bulls, about the need for proper safety equipment, maybe I can save some kids lives. Save some parents from what Jackie Ackerman is going through.”