8. Chapter Eight
Chapter eight
I take a chance and assume Whits still likes to read and head to Big Hair Books where my friend Chantelle has a book signing. Discovering she writes romance novels was a surprise, but I have to admit, she’s great at it. I’m not a reader, but I’ve read and loved her stories. Okay, I’ve skimmed them if I’m honest, but I did put forth the effort, especially after Jude sang her praises.
Whits is quiet and stares out the passenger window as we head into town, but at least she left the house without me having to throw her over my shoulder, dodging her kicking and swatting. I can’t pretend to know much about her these days, but I hope that fighting spirit is still in there, ready to work for the bright future I know she still has.
“So tell me about what life has been like since college,” I say.
She turns to face me with a meek smile. “Oh, you know. Just work. I didn’t have time for much else. My only friends are my brother and Deni, and one nurse, Farrah, I worked with at the hospital, but other than that, I’m basically a homebody. What about you?”
“Uh, not much to tell either. I went to the fire academy and I’ve been at Denver FD ever since. Jackson is a lawyer now, right?”
“Yep. He’s a patent lawyer though. Criminal law almost made him fail out of college. He doesn’t have the stomach for it, I guess. You’re not married, clearly.” She slides that last sentence on like it’s no big deal but I catch the sly side eye.
“No, not married.” I don’t dredge into my horrible dating life, especially since I swore it off for a while. Nobody needs his heart broken repeatedly, so it’s better to hang back and reassess life.
“Me either. Well, obviously,” she says and waves her hand around. “Actually, part of the reason I was so stressed the night of the accident was because I’d just broken up with my boyfriend of two years. Well, he broke up with me. Over the phone.”
“Over the…over the phone?” I ask.
She nods. “Yep.”
I regrip the wheel and let the frustration out through my fingers. “What a jerk.”
“Well, he doesn’t live in Denver. That’s part of why we broke up. He didn’t want to relocate and he knew I wouldn’t want to either. I don’t have any hard feelings though. In fact, I’m a little too focused on my recovery right now to even think about what went wrong.”
I turn down the last road leading to the bookstore and try not to get too excited that Whits is not only single, but hanging out with me again. Willingly, when she didn’t want to be near anyone else. Still, I can’t get too excited. It isn’t like this is the first time she blew off everyone else in favor of hanging out with me, her little brother’s friend who makes her laugh when she’s sad.
“I guess that’s good then. I’m glad it isn’t something causing you pain right now. Breakups can suck, I know, but you seem fine with it.” I park and Whits cranes her neck.
“You brought me to a bookstore? What kind of glutton for punishment are you? Don’t you remember—”
I grab her hand that she’s flailing around and grin. “Of course, I remember how much damage you can do in a bookstore. We’ll go in, I’ll introduce you to a friend of mine, then you can browse until your heart’s content while I sip coffee and wait for you to bring me the basket full of books you want.”
“Yeah, well, I’m on a budget these days,” she says and unbuckles. She doesn’t wiggle her hand free from mine, so I’m left trying to figure out how I can get out of the car with her and never let her go. It’s impossible, so I sigh and release her.
“I never said you’d be paying for the books, beautiful.”
Outside of the car, she glances over the roof and squints at me, blocking the sun from her face. “You’re not buying me books, Cai. You don’t have to do that.”
I glance at my watch. “Well, according to the date, I’ve missed ten Christamases and birthdays, so that makes at least twenty books I need to buy today. Better get in there and get busy.”
“Cai—”
“Nope.” I shake my head and open the front door for her. “No arguments from the birthday girl.”
She chuckles and heads inside, leaving a beautiful floral scent behind her. Only a weirdo would try to sniff her as I follow her, but I’m seriously contemplating it. “It’s not my birthday, and you know it.”
“Ah, well, it is your unbirthday and I missed a lot of those too.”
Whits laughs again and a little of that sparkle returns to her eyes. I know my girl is in there, and I’ll buy this whole bookstore to lure her out.
On the opposite side of the store, a large banner directs shoppers to the book signing. I didn’t think to give Chantelle a heads-up that I’d be dropping in, but it should be a given that her friends would show up to support her. The line is winding down this close to closing time, which is probably good. This way, we can chat a bit while Whits artfully stacks a basket full of books.
“Oh, I love this author. I didn’t know she was doing a signing today.” Whits stands on her tiptoes to get a better view just when Chantelle glances up. A broad grin spreads across my friend’s lips and she motions for me to come closer. I sidestep everyone and grasp Whits’ hand.
“Cai, there’s a line,” she squeals.
“Yeah, but we get a free pass to cut in line since she’s my friend.” I grin over my shoulder and release Whits long enough to wrap Chantelle in a hug. “How’s it going, Shortstack? Has it been great?”
“Yes!” Chantelle’s excitement is still running high. “Let me sign for the rest of these amazing readers and we’ll catch up!”
“Awesome. This is my friend, Tallulah. She’s a fan of yours. Whits, this is Chantelle, but you know her as Evie Chandler, her penname.”
Whits covers her cheeks, trying to hide the blush. “Cai, stop it.”
“Well, you just said you are. I’m only relaying the information.” I try to shrug it off and hope she’s not upset with me.
“Hey, I’ll take all the fans I can get. It’s nice to meet you, Tallulah. Let me finish signing these books and we can chat a bit.” Chantelle’s gaze bounces between us but she says nothing more as her eager readers snap selfies with her and shove books into her hands.
I’m about to apologize for embarrassing Whits when my phone buzzes. I check it and discover I’m missing a group chat. There are several back and forth messages among my friends, but once I hop on, Thor immediately notices. Figures. The bodyguard is always on alert.
Thor: Hey, Hotshot, Gunner wants to come by the station soon. Can we swing by on your next shift?
“Hotshot?” Whits glances over my shoulder like the nosey little ray of light she’s always been. Her eyes drift to the chat name. “Baddie Bikers? Sounds like a soft biker gang.” She chuckles and nudges me with her shoulder. It feels like no time has passed between us, but at the same time I can’t help thinking I know nothing about this beautiful woman anymore.
“Thor gives everyone nicknames. I’m a firefighter, hence Hotshot. The chat name was Chantelle’s idea, and honestly no one wanted to fight with a five foot nothing sassy britches.”
“I heard that.” Chantelle glances over her shoulder and gives me a menacing glare I can’t begin to take seriously.
I fire off a message letting Thor know when I’ll be back at work, and chat up Holt, Christian, and Des for a minute before cramming my phone back in my pocket to give Whits my undivided attention. “So, while Chantelle is finishing up, why don’t you browse?”
I snatch a shopping basket from one of the stacks at the end of an aisle and dutifully follow her around the shop while working through the knot in my stomach. It started as a seed of anxiety but has managed to grow into a raging ball of… something. All I know is that I have no desire to let her—or her incredibly annoying brother—slip out of my life again. That old candle I carried for her seems to be working hard to reignite, but I still carry the same worries I had back then. She’s intelligent, beautiful, driven, and probably still sees me as her little brother’s best friend. Still, I can’t help wondering what I can do to change that even when every part of me screams it’s a bad idea. I’ll lose her again, and this time it might actually break my heart.
Whits has all of two books in the basket when Chantelle finishes up and joins us. While my childhood crush looks through a stash of sweet romance books, I lean against one of the shelves and try to focus on my other friend for a few minutes.
“All done. That was crazy,” Chantelle admits.
“I’m so happy for you. You’ve worked hard and your fans love you.” I reach for her and give her a side hug. I knuckle-rub her head, proving she is the shortest person I know. She shoves me a little but smiles and runs her hand through her hair.
“Thanks, Cai, I appreciate it but I’m more interested in digging into your personal life at the moment.”
“Uh, hard pass.” I glance up to make sure Whits can’t hear us.
“Aw, come on. She seems sweet. I like her already.”
“It’s hard not to like her. You should see her when she’s really happy. She lights up a room.” I can’t contain my smile, and Chantelle giggles.
“You’re smitten. I’ve never seen you so into a woman before.” She quiets when Whits approaches with one more book and a big smile.
“Any chance you’d be willing to sign one more?” Whits brushes her reddish hair behind her shoulder and her cheeks flush again.
“Psht, obviously. Any friend of Cai’s is a friend of mine.” Chantelle swirls her marker over the page and I still can’t believe one of my closest friends is an author. She hands it back with a goofy grin and Whits drops it into her basket.
“Thank you so much. Cai didn’t tell me until we got here that he’s friends with a famous author. But then again, it’s not like we’ve had a ton of time to catch up either. I mean, we chatted a little on the way but…Okay, I’m just rambling now. Sorry.”
My petite friend giggles again and shakes her head. “I’m just a regular person. No need to be so shy. Hey, did you see the latest release by…” And that’s when I lose both women to a conversation I have no part in. I have no idea who they’re discussing or what a genre trend is, but they seem to be bonding so I leave them to it. Chantelle talks Whits into one more book before she turns to me and presents her basket.
“Um, that’s a paltry looking stack right there. I’m pretty sure I said to fill the basket,” I say.
Whits narrows her eyes. “Oh, Cai, stop messing around. This is more than enough.”
“Mmm…nope.”
“Cai, you can’t—”
“All right, if you won’t choose more on your own, I’ll have to bring in the big guns. Chantelle, do your thing.” My exuberant friend wastes no time. She seems to know the store like the back of her hand and traverses the aisles with such precision, it’s actually impressive. I didn’t know a person could memorize every single book in a single store, but she’s got Whits following behind her, eyes wide with wonder. By the time they’ve finished the fiction section, the basket is full and Whits can no longer carry it.
I slip in beside her and ease it onto my arm again. “There now, that’s more like it.”
“This is going to last me for years. Cai, you don’t have to do this. It’s too expensive.” She shakes her head vehemently, but I’m not having it. I’ve never gotten to spoil a woman before, and I’m beginning to enjoy how it feels. That’s not entirely true. I did spoil Whits every birthday and Christmas, just like I promised to this time, but it’s been ten years. Ten long years, and I can’t understand why I ever lost track of her. Having her in my life right now feels too good to be true.
“It isn’t. I’m a bachelor living alone and my schedule doesn’t let me do much but go riding from time to time. I have money, and I want to splurge on you.”
“Cai, I don’t know.” She lowers her gaze so I duck my head to get her attention.
“I want to do it, Whits. Will you let me?”
She groans, but caves. “Oh, all right.”
“Hey, speaking of riding, are you two going to meet us at Brokedown and go riding tonight?” Chantelle leans against the bookcase but I had forgotten all about the plan. We don’t usually meet more than once or twice a week, but tonight is hockey trivia night and some of the guys from the Dragons will be there. Since Chantelle is the coach’s daughter, it makes sense she’ll want to hang out.
“Uh, maybe. It depends,” I say, trying to construct an argument that might convince Whits to go with me. “I don’t have an extra helmet, so I’m not sure if—”
“Oh, I have an extra in my car you can borrow.” Chantelle’s offer comes with a bright smile. She’s not willing to release her newly-made friend just yet, but a little sparkle in her eyes tells me she’s playing my wing-woman too.
I raise an eyebrow. “What do you think, Whits? You up for hanging out a bit longer? We can swing by my place and pick up the bike, take you for a ride, meet the guys?” I thumb over my shoulder. “And see that one again.”
She draws her lower lip in and bites it, her gaze bouncing everywhere while she considers. It’s a risk, yes. She’s seen a lot of bike accidents gone wrong, but I’m also a careful guy. I’ll do everything I can to ensure her safety. With a submitting sigh, she throws her hands in the air. “Why not? I’ve been locked away for three months. Might as well throw me into the deep end and reintroduce me to all of society at once.”
“Perfect. You’ll love the guys. I promise.” My heart leaps, knowing that not only is she willing to hang out with me a little longer, but that she’s going to backpack with me to the tavern. Having her arms around me is going to do things to my brain that I’m probably not ready for, but I’ll take that chance. I’ll take all of the chances just to see Whits smile again and again. For a little of that sunshine who loves meeting new people to pop out and say hi. The only problem is figuring out how to let her go at the end of the night.