Tailwind (Love By Design 4)

12

Winnie

The rest of the evening passed uneventfully, thank God for that. Krazy-Kristen as I nicknamed Chase’s sister left and came back with some guy named Evan, who worked in town as a police officer. That must have been the guy she was screwing according to Damien, who seemed to be sulking near the fire pit, nursing a beer. Hunter tried to get him to join us on the blankets out back, but he declined. It was probably best because Kristen and Evan were petting each other hot and heavy in a mix of micro-brewery beer and Hugo Boss cologne. I was here barely a few hours and already immersed in the tight little group’s drama. The rest of us lay back and waited for the fireworks to start.

The breeze came, raising goosebumps on my bare arms. I’d left my wedged shoes by the fire pit and walked barefoot up the hill to where Chase had set up everything. “Cold?” Chase leaned up on his elbow, looking at me.

“A bit. I keep forgetting I’m technically in the mountains up here.” He picked up a folded blanket and opened it up, spreading it out over us. The wool blanket was soft and must have been owned and washed for years the way it wrapped over us in a cozy cover.

“How’s that?” He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me back against his warm chest. He felt like my own personal furnace between the cool ground and breeze. I pushed out the thoughts that this was all temporary. Just a summer fling. A little distraction.

“Perfect.” I let my head rest back against his chest, enjoying the moment. Taylor giggled, and Hunter laughed gruffly like he wasn’t used to doing it. It was sweet, and I realized how much I liked Chase’s friends, even his crazy sister. This whole place was different from what I was used to in the city. I couldn’t even recall which one of my supposed friends had called or texted me while I was up here during my forced exile from the land of skyscrapers and yellow cabs. There was no hustle and insanity to rush anywhere. Time slowed down, and I was forced to take it all in between the sweet smells and crisp air that left my feet cold in the morning while I waited for my aunt’s coffee maker to brew. No K-cups here or any other shortcuts. My parents probably thought I would have tucked tail and turned right around, but as I settled into a new routine, I didn’t mind these things as much, and I lacked for nothing.

Chase’s hand snaked around my middle and his sneaky finger strayed, rubbing against the soft part of my belly. He wasn’t trying to go further south or north, he was just there, and I didn’t think he realized he was making the rhythmic movements over my skin. He lulled me into a relaxed state where I snuggled deeper against him and the blanket.

“Don’t fall asleep, Winnie. The fireworks haven’t started yet.”

I snorted, automatically wondering if the innuendo was on purpose.

“Dirty girl.” He laughed and of course he did, squeezing my hip and going back to gently arousing me with that damn finger tracing over my abdomen.

“So tell me a bedtime story then.”

“Anything you’d like to know?” Now that was a million-dollar question. Hot sexy bachelor who administered first aid to animals, yeah, why the hell wasn’t he in a relationship? Instead, I took the safe route, rolling over to look at him.

“Tell me what made you interested in becoming a vet?” Turnabout was fair play and this time I let my hands roam over his chest freely.

“Easy. I love animals.”

I rolled my eyes, making him smirk.

“All right, but then I get to ask you twenty questions, Miss Winsome Gray.”

“Fair enough. Now spill it, Doctor.”

He caged me in, not resting his weight on me like I wanted him to. He stayed there a moment before rolling to his back and looking at the night sky.

“I played football in high school and went to Cornell on a scholarship.”

“That’s a lot of ball playing.”

He didn’t speak for a bit, and I wondered if that was all until he started up again.

“It is–was a lot of ball playing. My dad, who you sort of met earlier, was my coach for as long as I can remember. Today was the first time he spoke to me in about a year.”

“Um…” Now I was confused. “That’s a long time without talking.” My parents had their own brand of messed up, but I couldn’t imagine an entire year without them.

“Yeah.” Chase cleared his throat, and now I regretted saying anything. I lay my hand over his heart, feeling the beats pressed against his chest reassuringly. “But this bedtime story was about me becoming a vet,” he says ruefully.

“Right.” I nodded unsure how to comfort him, if that’s what he needed.

“I was being scouted by the NFL even though I wasn’t eligible unless I dropped out of college. We were playing a scrimmage game against our rival school. Bullshit really for a bunch of kids trying to have fun despite how serious it was for some of us. Scouts had been coming to my games for years, but this was the do or die year or so they said. It was raining that day, and we should have stopped, but we didn’t. I slipped on the turf, collided with a defensive player, and busted my shoulder and knee real good.”

“Oh, Chase.” I couldn’t imagine his big body in pain and broken in some way. I never noticed him limping or anything, he seemed fine now so I couldn’t imagine that happening to him back them.

> “Anyhow, I was a junior that year and it took me out for the season, messing my back up. Dad was pissed I’d ruined a perfectly good career horsing around because while I had plenty of time to rehab, I realized I just didn’t want it the way he did.”

“So you changed your major?”