26. Bridget
26
brIDGET
C hase rested his forehead on mine as he caged me in against the side of his truck. The alluring spice of his cologne was hypnotizing.
He was dressed for a court appearance: lucky light-blue button-up, black slacks, and dress shoes. His hair was neatly combed, and he had trimmed up his stubble to highlight the sharp lines of his square jaw.
I slid my palms down the front of his shirt, smoothing the non-existent wrinkles. There was something so sexy about watching him bust out an ironing board to press his dress clothes this morning.
Sure, he stood there after our morning tryst in nothing but black boxer briefs that accentuated his thick cock. But damn… Watching him iron had me more hot and bothered than the Whitney West novel I’d just finished.
He moved his hand to my hip, slipping his thumb beneath the hem of my tank top and teasing the sensitive skin beneath. I stifled a giggle as he tried his best to make me crack. Chase learned long ago that I was ticklish, and now he was using it against me.
I swatted his hand away. If we didn’t get going, we’d both be late.
“Marry me?” Chase asked in a gravelly tone that was full of lust and sex.
I smiled as I slid my hands into his, hooking our fingers together. “Every day.”
“Good,” he grinned as he dipped his head in for a kiss. “’Cause I’m gonna ask you again tomorrow.” He pecked my lips, then reached around me and opened the truck door. “Up you go.”
I grabbed the oh-shit handle and hoisted myself into the driver’s seat. Chase seized the opportunity to give my ass a little squeeze on the way up.
“What time do you think y’all are gonna be back tonight?” He stepped up onto the running board, putting us at eye level. Before I could get a word out, he cut in. “I’m just asking, so I know if I should wait for you for dinner. That’s all.” He flashed a wry smile. “I’m not trying to keep tabs on you.”
I had a love-hate relationship with how considerate Chase was. On the one hand, he knew to jump in with reassurances before I hit a mental spiral. On the other hand, I hated that he felt like he had to.
“Um, I don’t know,” I said, rifling through my bag. “Jase didn’t tell me where we were going.”
“I’ll probably grab something to eat at the bar, then. I wouldn’t be opposed to a little company if you’re feeling up to joining me when you get back.”
“I’ll let you know.”
“Mmkay.” He leaned in. “Give me a kiss, pretty girl.”
I blushed like a tomato as I tilted my chin and kissed him. “Good luck in court. ”
“Drive safe,” he said.
I quirked an eyebrow. “Drive safe? Not fly safe?”
Chase stepped off the running board and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Nah, I already told Jase that if he brings you back with so much as a scratch, I’ll hang him by his balls.” He smirked. “And I promised him that I’d check you over everywhere. ”
Heat flooded my cheeks. “Asshole,” I grumbled, fighting a smile. My brother and I loved teasing each other about our sex lives. It was both horrifying and hilarious.
“I love you, darlin’. Don’t ever doubt it.”
“Love you too,” I said as I stuck the key into the ignition.
I drove the half-mile to the airstrip with the windows down. It was the kind of cloudless autumn day that was blazing hot, but the cool breeze coming off the Atlantic tempered the need to sweat off the deodorant I had applied this morning.
I pulled through the gates and parked beside the corrugated metal building that housed the office. Mel’s car was parked beside Jason’s beater truck. I couldn’t believe that bucket of bolts was still street-legal after all these years.
Further down, a construction crew was busy framing what would eventually be Jason and Mel’s house. The rhythmic punches of nail guns echoed in the air.
The screen door to the office slammed with a shriek as Jason walked out, carrying a cooler. He had finally gotten a haircut—thank God. It was still a little messy on top, but at least he didn’t look like a sheepdog now. Aviators were tucked into the collar of his t-shirt, and he was wearing khaki cargo shorts and a pair of flip-flops.
Looking at him, no one would think he was a decorated Navy fighter pilot. But that was Jase. He never cared how he did it; he just wanted to be in the air .
“Hey, Bumbs.” He grinned as he shoved the cooler into the back of the little plane we were going to be flying in.
I hit the lock button on Chase’s truck keys and tucked them into my bag. “Hey.” I joined him beside the plane, running my fingertips along the slick white paint. “How’s the weather looking?”
“Perfect.” Jason had that bounce in his step that he always got when he was around an aircraft. “Clear skies and the winds aren’t too bad today.”
“You sure you know how to fly this thing? You’re not gonna drop us in the ocean or anything, right? Maybe we should just do a normal brother-sister activity like going to a movie or playing mini-golf.”
He smirked. “Come on, Bumble Bee. Live a little.”
“You fly better than you drive, right?”
“I’m a great driver.”
I rolled my eyes. “Uh-huh.” Looking over at the office building, I asked, “Is Mel here?”
“She’s asleep,” Jason said as he walked around the little plane, doing all the pre-flight checks he had to do. “She worked last night and got off an hour late this morning. She was dead on her feet by the time she got back.”
“That sucks.”
I always felt guilty when I had to call on Mel to help me after Kyle had one of his rampages. She worked her little ass off, and my situation just heaped shit on top of her already stressful job.
He tossed a curled notebook into the cockpit. “You ready to go?”
I clutched my bag tight to my chest. “You’re not kidnapping me, right? Like, is this some ploy to kidnap me and drop me on a desert island or something. I don’t do well with the elements, and if I see a snake, I’ll pass out. I’d die in a day. ”
Jason laughed and helped me up into the jump seat. “I would never kidnap you. Have I thought about protectively removing you from a situation against your will? Guilty.” He motioned to the seatbelt, and I dutifully secured it. “But you asked me to take you flying, remember?”
“Yeah, yeah. And I’m regretting it.”
I held my breath the entire time Jason was hurtling us down the runway and taking off. I had flown once or twice before, but never with Jason. I tried not to let it show, but it still scared me a little even though he had been flying for most of his life.
Jason wore a smile plastered across his face as the tip of the plane lifted into the air. “You alright?”
I didn’t even realize I was squeezing the bejeezus out of the seat cushion. “Uh-huh.”
It was like watching a bird. He was made to do this.
Jason chuckled. “You sure?”
“Yep,” I croaked out. Thankfully, my stomach seemed to return to its rightful place as we leveled out.
“So.” Jason’s voice crackled through my headset as he reached cruising altitude. “Your grand idea was to tell me about what had been going on with Kyle when I had you at five thousand feet?” He cut his eyes at me, then looked back at the instrument panel in front of him. “That’s what you were talking about when I stopped by the bar to pick up breakfast, and you asked me to take you flying, wasn’t it?”
I stared out the window, watching the coastline shrink beneath us. Jason was taking us north toward Kill Devil Hills.
“I figured there would be less yelling if you had to keep a plane in the air.”
He sighed.
“I didn’t know how else to tell you. ”
Apart from Mel, Jason was the first person to find out the full extent of what Kyle had been doing.
He walked in on Mel patching me up after Kyle had beaten me, and nearly lost his mind. Nearly lost his fiancé, too, and it was my fault .
In the weeks since I came home from the hospital, I tried to give Melissa and Jason some space. She deserved a break from me, and Jason deserved uninterrupted time with his fiancée.
I missed them. Apart from Chase, Mel was my best friend. But the more I thought about it, she was my sister.
“How, uh… How are things with Chase?” he asked. “Is he treating you right?”
I snorted. “It’s Chase.”
Jason cracked a sheepish smile. “I know. And had it been anyone but him, I would have beaten the guy’s ass for making a move on you so quick.” He peered at me out of the corner of his eyes. “Are you happy?”
It was a loaded question.
I had a safe place to lay my head at night. A boyfriend that I was crazy in love with. A man whose hands were gentle and whose words were tender.
But he couldn’t touch me everywhere I wanted him to. I still had nightmares. Still had to breathe through panic attacks. I had scars and bruises, though I didn’t bother slathering makeup over them anymore. I was seeing a therapist and learning how to cope.
Even though things were getting better, a constant, looming shadow reminded me just how close I had been to becoming a name in a newspaper obituary.
“I’m happier now than I’ve been in a long time.”
“It looks good on you.”
“Do you miss the Navy?” I asked, ready to have the attention off of me .
He shrugged. “Sometimes. But I love Mel more.”
“Y’all are disgustingly cute. How’s the house coming?”
“It’s getting there. I know Mel’s itching for it to be done, so we’re not crammed in the loft, but I think she’s gonna miss it when we have a big house full of noisy, messy kids.”
“Y’all are gonna give me the cutest nieces and nephews. I’m gonna spoil the shit out of them. I’ll definitely be the favorite aunt.”
“Unless you’re counting the girls from the poker club, you’re the only aunt.”
“The poker club is family.” I adjusted the foam-covered microphone in front of my mouth. “Steve and Erica’s kids call me Aunt Bee. Chase is Uncle Chase. Mel is Aunt Mel.” I tossed him a smile. “Your kids will have a bigger, better family than we ever did.”
There was sadness in his eyes, but I could feel the love behind it. “I think we did alright,” he said. “Look at us—we made it into our thirties without going to jail, getting tattoos, or having any surprise pregnancies.”
“Ha, yeah. We’re winning at life. And I wouldn’t count your chickens on that whole not going to jail bit. If Kyle ever shows his face again, I might just kill him myself.”
“Don’t blame you one bit, Bumbs,” he muttered. “Not one bit.”
“I’m surprised you never got tattooed,” I said. “Seems like you kind of skipped out on the military rite of passage.”
He chuckled. “I hate needles.”
“Seriously?” I laughed.
“Seriously. When I went to the ER and ran into Mel, she had to talk me through the stitches. It was fucking awful. I felt like I was gonna pass out the whole time.” He cut his eyes at me. “Don’t tell her that. I’d let her use me as a human shield if a gun was aimed my way, but if someone came at us with a syringe… We’d be up shit creek without a paddle. ”
“How did I not know that about you?”
Jase shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. We’ve got plenty of time to make up for it.”
“I’ve been thinking about getting a tattoo,” I mused. “Don’t know what I want to get. But I like Chase’s. It looks good.”
That angel wing tattoo was all kinds of sexy. It wrapped around his sculpted muscles and rippled like he was flying every time he flexed.
We flew in silence for a while, listening to the engine’s hum. Occasionally Jase would point out something or drop an obscure aviation fact on me.
We cruised along the barrier islands, taking in the scenery from above. Soaring high above the clouds made my problems seem so small. For a little while, at least, I didn’t think about Kyle. About my anxiety. About the future.
I simply appreciated living.
He dropped us onto the tarmac of a little airport on the Outer Banks. There was a diner connected to the one-room terminal, so we grabbed lunch before refueling and heading back.
It was the most one-on-one time I’d spent with Jase in twenty years. We muddled our way through a few awkward spurts of conversation before settling on the safety of local gossip for the return trip.
“I can’t believe I haven’t flown you anywhere before this,” he said as he circled the runway over the Beaufort airstrip, battling the crosswinds. The plane tipped and bobbled in the air, but he maneuvered it like a pro, touching down with a buttery-soft landing. “I feel like I missed out on a lot with you.”
I reached over and squeezed his arm as the plane rolled to a stop. “You did what you had to do. We both did.”
I unlatched my seatbelt and slid out of the jump seat .
“So,” Jason said as we walked toward the airstrip’s office. “What’d you think?”
“Well, I still have all my arms and legs. I’d say that was mostly a success.”
“Mostly?” he guffawed. “Don’t give me that shit, Bumble Bee. You had fun.”
“I did,” I admitted with a laugh as I followed him into the office.
Paperwork was piled up on the desk. There was a stack of handbooks on one side and invoices on the other.
“You need to hire someone,” I said as I thumbed through the mess.
“You wanna work for me?” he snickered. “Make it a family business?”
“I’d rather lie butt-naked on fresh asphalt in the middle of July than work for you. No offense.”
The stairs creaked and groaned as Mel stomped down. For someone so tiny, she walked with lead feet.
“Is Bee saying you need to hire some help?” she yawned as she meandered in, wearing pajamas. “How was the trip?”
“Yes, and good,” I said. “We survived.”
Mel groaned. “For the love of God, listen to her and hire someone.”
“I offered Bee the job,” Jase said as he plopped down into his desk chair.
Melissa snorted. “Y’all would kill each other.”
“Maddie and Luca work together,” Jason argued.
“And they almost killed each other,” Mel and I said in tandem.
He raised his hands in surrender. “I don’t like when you two gang up on me.”
“Is it considered ganging up on you if we’re right?” I asked. “ You don’t need someone full-time. Just get some part-time help with the office stuff.”
Before Jason could answer, Melissa grabbed my hand. “What’s this?”
She spread my fingers like she was looking at a ring, but it wasn’t. It was the elastic tie Chase had tugged out of my hair, then proposed with earlier in the day.
Well, kind of proposed.
He proposed a lot. But it was Chase—what else did I expect?
“It’s a hair tie,” I said casually.
She arched an eyebrow. “On your ring finger?”
“You gonna get to the point, Goose?” I said, teasing her with the nickname my brother had coined.
Mel scowled. Jason grinned.
“Why the hell do you have a rubber band on your finger like a ring ?”
That got Jason’s attention.
Mel was goading me into talking about things with Chase, but I wasn’t about to spill what had happened on our excursion to Ocracoke.
My life had been put under a microscope for the last few weeks. I’d listened to commentary on my choices from complete strangers. People who would never understand the decisions I had to make.
My friends and brother held more considerate opinions, but they still had their thoughts on the situation.
It felt good to have a secret that I wanted to keep because it was special. Not because it was dangerous.
I hadn’t taken the hair tie off since Chase rolled it onto my finger. Maybe I never would.
I hoped I never would.
Because Chase was a forever kind of love .
The first time I told Chase that I loved him, I was terrified. Kyle had been a few feet away, watching me like a hawk.
In that moment, while we swayed back and forth, I knew what I’d be walking into when the party was over and Kyle had me behind closed doors.
I was fully aware of the hell that would be waiting for me. As we danced in front of everyone at Hannah Jane and Isaac’s wedding, it felt like I was living on borrowed time.
I had been prepared to sell my soul for that moment with Chase. And, for a while, I had.
I was prepared to say those words, then walk away forever. I made the choices I did to keep my friends safe.
The sand in my hourglass almost ran out. But, by some kind of miracle, the hourglass flipped and I got a second chance.
Life had a way of sneaking in happily ever afters when they’re least expected. For as long as I lived, I would never forget the moment I told Chase Brannan I loved him.
I would never forget when I woke up in the hospital and found him praying at my bedside.
I would never forget the sound of his voice when he told me he loved me.
And I would never doubt it.