Chapter 18

 

Chase never had a problem getting to work on time. More often than not, he was up and out early, but with Rebecca in his bed he found it increasingly difficult. Reluctantly, he’d kissed her on the head, got dressed, and headed into the station.

Miguel greeted him in the parking lot, a huge smile on his face. “Morning, sunshine,” he said, handing him a cup of coffee from Sweet Dreams Bakery.

Chase accepted it, grateful for the caffeine fix. “Thanks, I needed a pick me up.”

“I can tell. Didn’t sleep well last night?” he asked.

“I was otherwise occupied.”

“Things getting pretty serious with Miss Hollywood, huh?”

Chase ran a hand over his face. “Yeah, I guess so.”

It hadn’t been something he’d let himself think too much about. Because when he thought about it he had to accept the fact that they came from two totally different worlds, and while she fit perfectly in his, he had no place in hers.

There was no denying his feelings though, and he knew she felt something, too. They couldn’t ignore it any longer. A conversation was on the horizon, and it was time they figured out whether they wanted to give what they had a real shot or accept that their lives were too different.

“So, you going to leave us all behind for Tinsel Town and trade in your gear for clothes that cost more than this here truck?” Miguel took hold of the grab handle and smacked the door of the firetruck.

“That’ll never happen,” Chase said, the words coming out without hesitation. Rebecca was important to him, more than any woman ever before, and he wanted to be with her, but being a firefighter was who he was. That wasn’t something he could walk away from. He’d be leaving a piece of himself behind if he did.

The thought punched a hole through his heart. He wanted Rebecca with every ounce of his soul, but he wasn’t willing to give up the life he’d built, so how did he expect her to give up hers?

It weighed heavy on his mind throughout the day until they got a call about a car fire. Chase stepped into his boots and pulled his pants on, grabbing his hat and jumping into the truck.

The door to the garage bay opened and a swarm of photographers blocked the driveway. Chase stared at the chaos in front of him, completely shell shocked.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Sam exclaimed. He sounded the siren and beeped the horn. “Get the hell out of the way, you idiots!”

“There he is!” one of the guys yelled, and they all came running to Chase’s side of the truck.

“I’m going to run them over, and I swear I won’t feel an ounce of regret,” Sam said as he laid on the horn.

From the back Miguel dropped his coat over Chase’s head and hung his head out the window. “Move out of the way. We have lives to save.”

Chase couldn’t see, but he felt the truck inch forward. He let out relieved breath and after a moment took Miguel’s coat from his head and handed it back to him. “Thanks, man. I’m sorry about that.”

“Couldn’t let them get another bad photo of you,” Miguel said. “You’re representing us now and we need the world to know we look good.”

Sam let out a perturbed breath and tossed his cell phone at Chase. “Call Matt and tell him to send one of his deputies over here and start handing out summons for obstructing emergency personal. I want them the hell away from my firehouse before we return or I’m turning the hose on them.”

“I’m really sorry, Sam,” Chase said. It was one thing for Chase to have to deal with the craziness but for Sam and the others to be brought into it was something he was not okay with it.

“Stop apologizing and make the damn call.”

Chase dialed Matt and gave him the run down. He was on his way to the same call as them so he said he’d get someone else over to the firehouse. He handed the phone back to Sam and rested back against the seat.

The photographers were annoying and pissed him off, but this just took it to a whole new level. They weren’t just a nuisance that wouldn’t leave him alone anymore; they were a hazard to the community.

In his job, every second counted. One minute late and people could die. Lives would change forever, and it would be his fault. He couldn’t have that. He was a man who’d made a vow to protect his community and it was a vow he took very seriously.

Anger pulled tight across his neck, and he didn’t even bother to try and rub it away. He wanted to feel it because he needed to be reminded of the reality. Rebecca’s career interfered with his own, and that was a problem they had no control over.

“I really am sorry, guys,” Chase said again.

Miguel slapped his hand down on Chase’s shoulder and shook him. “Don’t worry about it.”

“I have no idea why they were there.”

Sam glanced over to him, a dark brow raising. “You’re involved with one of the most famous women in the country. What the hell did you expect?”

“I don’t see her that way.”

“Just because you don’t doesn’t mean the rest of the world doesn’t,” Sam said.

Chase ran a hand over his face and glanced out the window at the passing houses. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“You have feelings for her, right?” Sam asked.

It wasn’t something he could deny. “Yeah.”

“Then you’ll figure it out.”

“Easy for you to say.”

“I fell in love with my best friend’s baby sister even though I swore to him I’d never go near her. Trust me, I understand hurdles better than anyone. But the heart wants what it wants, and you just have to find a way to make it happen. If you don’t”—Sam ran a hand across his chin then glanced over at Chase—“then that says it all. You don’t want it enough.”

Sam’s words stayed with Chase as they pulled onto the street and saw the cloud of black smoke billowing out of the hood of a car. He closed his eyes, clearing his mind as Sam put the truck into park.

“Let’s do this,” Sam said.

Chase opened his eyes, mind clear, and did what he did best. He jumped into action and got the job done.

***

Back at the station, Chase slumped down on the couch, taking a sip of water before resting the bottle on his thigh. Matt’s deputy managed to clear the crowd, and whatever he’d said to them was enough to keep them away. Whatever it was Chase was sure it would wind up in tomorrow’s tabloids.

He placed his arm over his eyes, wondering how his life came to this. Rebecca’s pretty face popped into his mind, her green eyes sparkling with an unreleased laugh, her lips parting slightly, and the edges of her mouth tilting upward.

His mind immediately went back to that morning in his bed, Rebecca’s hair fanned out across his pillow. He held the image in his mind, not wanting to open his eyes and head back to reality.

Sam was right. If he wanted her enough he would find a way to make it happen, and he would because a life with Rebecca was worth fighting for.

“Oh shit,” Sam said and Chase blinked an eye open in his direction. Sam’s eyes hardened and Chase sat up following his gaze to the television.

Nothing could have prepared him for what he saw. Nothing. A blinding rage unlike anything he had ever known consumed him as he stared at the man who abandoned him all those years ago.

He was missing a few teeth, had a few more wrinkles and was in desperate need of a shave, but there was no denying those eyes. Eyes he could see himself in and that scared him more than anything.

His body shook, blood boiled, and every ounce of control he had was held together by a tightly stretched cord.

“Join us tonight at eight when we bring you childhood stories of Chase Marshall, Bex Shepard’s new man, from his very own father.”

Chase swallowed, but nothing could stop the building anger. “That son of a bitch!” he yelled, throwing his bottle of water against the wall. The bottle hit with a loud smack, the force causing the top to fly off and water to explode.

The day his father walked out on them was the best damn day of their lives. He never wanted to see him again, none of his family did, and now the bastard was on TV discussing his childhood? Who the hell did he think he was?

“He’s just doing it for the money,” Sam said, resting his hand on Chase’s shoulder.

Chase jerked away from him, hands raised. “Don’t!” he said, backing away. “I need to go home.”

“Go,” Sam said.

If he was lucky he would get to his sisters before they saw anything. He could break it to them easily. It was going to sting regardless, but they needed to hear it from him.