Chasin' Eight (Rough Riders #11)(155)

“That’s ambitious. And it’s great to see you—”

“Acting like a grown up?” Chase supplied with a grin.
“No, smartass. It’s great to see you believe in a cause enough to actually do something about it.”

“Thanks. I better scoot so your mysterious lady friend can come over under the cover of darkness.”

Ben gave him a smug smile. “Don’t be a stranger, bro.”

He said, “I won’t,” and meant it.
Chase’s mind raced as he drove to Kane’s trailer. First he’d book his ticket online. No, first he’d call Ava. He wasn’t taking any chance there’d be miscommunication.
Once he was inside the quiet trailer, he caught a whiff of flowers. But this time he didn’t attribute it to cleaning supplies. This time, he recognized the scent.
Ava.
His skeptical side warned about wishful thinking, while his optimistic side urged him to hurry the hell up.
Chase threw open the bedroom door. There she was, standing on the bed. Just like before. Except this time she wasn’t nekkid. This time Ava didn’t look like she wanted to kick his ass.
She looked like she wanted to kiss him.
He hopped up on the bed and kissed her first. “My God, woman, tell me I’m not dreaming.”

“You’re not dreaming.”

“As much as I’m thanking my lucky stars…why are you here?”

“When I didn’t hear what constituted a family emergency that had you pulling out of an event you were winning, I called Ben last night. He told me you were here. So I hopped a plane in LA—not a word about me using the family jet—last night and drove over from Rapid City.”

His wily brother hadn’t been expecting a lady friend after all. “I missed you like crazy.”

Ava rested her forehead to Chase’s. “I missed you.” She tugged him down until they sat on the bed. “What happened with your family?”

“Short version? My teenage mom had a baby out of wedlock with my dad, and I have a brother no one knew anything about. He showed up out of the blue this weekend.”

“Wow. That’s TV-movie-of-the-week stuff. How’s your family taking it?”

“We’re in shock. This Gavin guy…my brother…he’s pretty tight-lipped.”

“So there is a family resemblance,” she teased.
Chase smiled. “Maybe.” He kissed her knuckles. “Ava. I don’t even know where to start to make this right between us again.”

“Do you love me?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s start there.” She inhaled deeply and let it out. “First let me say I’m so, so sorry I slapped you. There is no excuse for my behavior but it’ll never happen again. I swear.”

“I believe you. I’m sorry I left the way I did. I had a lot of time to think between Omaha and Wichita.”

“About us?”

“That and some other stuff.”

“Like what?”

“I’ve been thinkin’ about safety issues and helmets and all that since Ryan died. And then after what happened to Dirk, I realized I wanna do more than talk about it; I wanna act on it. It’s a murky idea right now, but I have an opportunity to make a difference and I’m going to take it.” He kissed her just because he could, because she was here with him, where she belonged. “Enough about that. Tell me how long you were in LA, because Hollywood, I was headed there first thing in the morning.”

“A couple of hours after you left, I got a casting call for a new sitcom and flew back to LA. I should come clean and let you know that my agent called me three times over the course of our road trip, after she’d lined up auditions. And every time I declined to go back to LA to audition. I didn’t know what it meant at the time, besides I didn’t want to leave you. But now I understand it was a sign I’m done with acting. Maybe not forever, but definitely for now.”