Lauren Dane Taking Chase (Samhain)

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I m doing well, Mrs. Chase. Hey, Maggie, looking great as always.
Thanks so much for meeting me here.
An offer of blonde brownies and planning for Cassie? What s not to
like about that? Maggie grinned and took out a pad of paper and a pen.
I was thinking of something like a welcome barbecue. We can invite
folks to come and spend the day mixing. She could get to know people
and feel like a part of something. Penny sipped her tea.
That s a great idea. We can do it over Labor Day weekend. We were
going to do something for my birthday but we can make it a combination
thing. That way she d have to come or risk insulting me. Polly raised a
smug eyebrow and the other two women laughed.
It s a good thing your powers are harnessed for good, Mom. She s so
shy sometimes that I agree she might turn down something that was just
for her but if we link it to your birthday she d come. Plus, Shane can
have her for the whole day then. Maggie bit into the just delivered
brownie and groaned in delight.
He s shown up twice to bring her lunch this week. Just this
afternoon he brought her flowers and escorted her like she was some
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62 Lauren Dane
precious object. She s bowled over. He s putting on the full court press
with her. It s impressive to watch, Penny told them.
I haven t seen him this interested in a woman since before Sandra.
He talks about Cassie all the time. I like her a lot. She s a sweet girl and
smart. I think she s good for him because it makes him think about
someone else. Not that he s selfish but he s never really put a woman
first before. Whatever it is she s hiding, it s not anything she s at fault for,
I can tell that just from dealing with her. I worry for him but if anyone
can help her, it s my Shane.
Polly, I think it s about her ex-husband. She hasn t shared much
but I think there was some bad stuff there. She s nervous as a cat about
men but she s not a criminal. Hard working. Kind.
Polly sighed sadly. I hate to think that any man would do something
bad to his wife. But I m glad she s here and we ll just have to show her
that.
They planned the party, deciding to have it at Penny s house, right on
the water with food and drinks and lots of fun. They d invite enough
people for Cassie to mix and get to know but not so many she d feel
overwhelmed.
Cassie s thoughts were filled with Shane as she watched him
approach her table at the Sunday Market. His jeans clung to his long,
powerful looking legs and his T-shirt fit snug over his upper body. His
muscles positively rippled as he moved, blue-green eyes only for her. She
loved the way his hair looked a bit messy but still soft and silky as it
touched the top of his collar.
Hi. She waved as he stopped. She wished she had something more
articulate to say but the man sapped her IQ as all her blood moved away
from her brain to her nipples. Shifting and squeezing her thighs together
to ease the ache his presence brought, she smiled up at him.
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Taking Chase 63
You look beautiful today. Well, you always do. How s business? He
reached out and touched the scarf she had around her neck. The scarf
she used to hide the scars.
Still, it was a major victory for her that she d stopped hiding so much
of herself. Yes, she hid the physical reminders of her years with Terry,
but she was opening up in ways she hadn t in years. She d had beer and
burgers with Penny and Maggie and the others on Friday night after a
really lovely lunch with Shane where he made her blush with his love of
the necklace she d made his mother. She d beaten the Chase brothers at
pool again and Shane walked to her to her car. The kiss had been on her
lips, brief but still made her all shaky.
She d gone into her growing feelings for Shane with her therapist and
her brother. Cassie was beginning to feel normal again. She had a life
with friends and grocery shopping and a paycheck. Normal was a gift and
she d agreed with her therapist and her brother that she needed to grab
it with both hands and live it.
Starting with letting Shane Chase catch her if he wanted to. Or, at
least let him take her on a date.
I m all right. Apparently your mother and Penny have got some big
party planned to welcome me to Petal. They re saying it s for your
mother s birthday so I can t refuse.
He threw back his head and laughed. You re right. They ve got your
number. Not that it matters, she s got you on the ropes. You re coming,
right?
She grinned. Yes. I ve been promised peach cobbler and lemon bars.
You re a terrible man to expose my weakness so it can be used against
me.
He d never seen her so flirtatious. He liked it. Liked seeing her
lighthearted and unafraid of him.
Darlin , you ve been in Petal nearly six weeks now. By now, your
brand of toothpaste isn t a secret. That s the price of living in a small
town.
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64 Lauren Dane
She blushed and he decided to forge ahead. Would you like to go to
dinner with me? Dinner and maybe some dancing at The Tonk? Dinner
would just be us two. Well, cause I want you all to myself. But dancing
would be a group of folks. Kyle and Maggie, Matt and Marc will have
dates, too, of course. Liv will be there with her new boyfriend Brody.
Okay.
He d been readying his next line of attack when he realized she d just
agreed to a date. Okay?
Yeah. When?
Tuesday? I have Wednesday and Thursday off this week.
All right. I have Wednesday off too.
Pick you up at seven then? Is Italian food okay with you?
She nodded and he stood there grinning at her for several long
moments.
I m gonna go now before I do something stupid and you change your
mind. I ll see you tomorrow for lunch.
Before she could argue, he turned and headed off with a wave. Still
didn t stop her from watching his ass as he left though.
As satisfied as she d been with the profits from her Sunday Market,
the best part was that she got to use her hands to create. Truth was, she
ached to practice medicine again.
There had been very little in her life she d been more passionate
about than being a doctor. She loved it. Loved helping people, loved
improving lives. She missed it and found herself thinking about starting
again with a new practice specialty.
Oh, she knew she d have to go back and get more training. That
didn t seem as daunting as it might have before. Before she d decided on
her surgical residency, she d been fascinated by family medicine and one
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Taking Chase 65
of her old mentors was a family practitioner in Orange County. The
thought of taking care of entire families had a lot of appeal.
At the same time, it scared the hell out of her to imagine risking
herself over something and losing it again. She couldn t work at the
bookstore forever but it was good for the immediate future and her
creative side was nourished by the jewelry making.
At the close of the day, Cassie went to a movie with Penny and called
Brian once she got home.
So, the sheriff asked me out today again.
Yeah? She could sense his grin.
I said yes. We re going to dinner and dancing afterward.
Well it s about time. Go Sheriff Chase. Good for you, Cassie. I m
proud. So proud. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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