Chapter 43
Chapter Forty-Three
Jewel turned and walked back into the house, her mind still processing Lola's parting words. Chase sat at the kitchen table, his eye tracking her movements as she came inside.
"The town welcoming committee strikes again," Chase said, his raised brows making it seem like a question although his tone said otherwise.
She answered him anyway as she grabbed a glass of water. "Apparently we're getting meals delivered every day this week, courtesy of the church ladies."
Raul chuckled from the sink where he was washing dishes. "Small-town life, huh?"
Chase raised an eyebrow. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"
"More than I expected," Raul admitted. "It's different from the city."
Jewel leaned against the counter, watching them. The domesticity of the moment wasn't lost on her. She'd never thought to be roommates with two men, but they were now integral parts of her daily routine. Raul, working on renovations. Chase, healing and planning for the rehabilitation center while working on the computer managing investments and working for Lola.
Chase chuckled. "Sounds about right. Small towns don't miss a chance to feed folks going through something."
Raul dried his hands. "I'll help with cleanup and moving this weekend. Destini's going to need support settling in."
"Thanks," Jewel said, appreciating how seamlessly Raul had jumped in to help. The two men talked like brothers, bonded through trauma and pain that she'd never understand.
Raul paused, then said, "I asked Landry if he knew of anywhere I can stay for cheap while getting back on my feet. He suggested I ask Parker if I could rent a room from him. When Destini moves in, I'll move in with Parker."
Chase frowned. "You don't have to do that."
Raul held both hands up, palms out. "Hey, man, I get it. Y'all are a new family and need the time to bond without me being underfoot. This will work for us all, and I can swing by and help on the barn in between work for Landry."
Jewel watched the exchange between Chase and Raul. She knew Raul wasn't just looking for a place to stay but seeking a sense of belonging after everything he'd been through. It was what Chase had done too, and part of her wondered if he had leaped at the chance to live with her and Destini just for that sense of belonging.
Perhaps she was just reading him and hoping he loved her, but maybe he just wanted to belong. Maybe he didn't love her at all.
These were men who had been through hell, who understood each other in ways most people never would, and she couldn't even begin to guess what Chase was feeling.
Chase nodded, his gaze softening as the friend's exchanged a look. "We're not kicking you out. You've been crucial in getting this place fixed up so quickly."
"Give yourself some credit for all you did last week. This place still smells like furniture polish." Raul smiled, a genuine expression that transformed his usually guarded features. "I know what you mean, but families need space, especially new ones finding their footing."
The mention of family hung in the air, weighted with meaning. Chase and Jewel exchanged a look—part uncertainty, part growing connection, part… love?
Her heart raced at the idea, making her palms itch. If he did love her, she wouldn't mind it.
Chase smiled as he turned back to Raul, a peace and contentment in his eye despite the lingering pain that kept his lips tense. "Fair enough, but I want you to know you're always welcome here. I'll help you move your stuff this weekend."
Raul chuckled. "You can barely move period. I'll be fine, considering I've got just a backpack or two of clothes. You focus on your daughter and family."
The word echoed again as Raul went to the living room to put on a movie. Chase grunted and used the table to stand, and she went to his side to help.
"Do you want to watch a movie with him? Do you need more pills?" she asked.
He growled, swooping in for a kiss that took her by surprise. She lost all ability to breathe, the slide of his tongue sending a tingle up her spine.
It was over way too quickly, and she touched her lips. "What was that for?"
He grinned, looking way too dangerously handsome with his black eye and five o'clock shadow. "Can't a guy just kiss his girl when he feels the need?"
She lost the ability to breathe for the second time in as many minutes. She was his girl . This was the first time either of them had even come close to voicing it aloud.
Yet, she didn't argue. A soft smile played on her lips that she tried to suppress but couldn't even long after they curled up together in bed for the night. Perhaps she was more exhausted from moving the boxes from her dad's to the new house than she thought because she was asleep before Chase could even make a move.
She was more lethargic than usual the next morning, and she made note that her Lyme was acting up. She'd have to be on top of her diet and sleep the next few days. As expected, the headache hit before lunch and lingered along with pain in her hands and ankles.
But when she came home from work that evening, she found Parker hauling boxes into the house from an SUV. She paused, meeting him on the front porch. "What's all this?"
He grinned and nodded his head. "I took the day off work and picked up Destini. Had to borrow Gunner's SUV to fit all her stuff, but we got it all!"
Jewel gasped and raced inside. Destini and Chase sat on the couch, facing each other and laughing, Chase wincing with a hand on his ribs.
Destini saw Jewel and jumped up, racing over and throwing her arms around her in a tight hug. "Mom, you're home! Surprise!"
Jewel's throat choked up as tears fell down her cheeks. She hugged her baby tight, not so little anymore. They were finally together again, and she breathed a deep sigh of relief. No more secrets, no more arguments, no more hiding. This was a new era for them all, Chase included.
"I can't believe you're here. I was going to come get you this weekend."
Destini pulled back, her wide grin splitting her face as she beamed at her. "I know, but when I saw his face, I had to come early and help."
"But what about school, all the paperwork?—"
Parker stopped and leaned against the door frame. "Crimson Creek High can submit all the transfer paperwork. It's not a big deal, especially this time of year."
Jewel hugged Destini again, saying a silent thank you to Parker over her shoulder. He nodded his head, then ducked back outside to haul another box up to her room.
Raul followed Parker when he left, and Jewel pulled out Lola's casserole. When they sat down at the familiar kitchen table she'd had in her storage container, tears pricked her eyes to see Chase and Destini talking about their favorite movies.
This was all she'd ever hoped for, better than any dream she'd never dared to imagine. This sense of family, of belonging. Chase caught her staring and winked before turning back to their daughter.
Jewel got a call from Gemma about a patient, so she stepped into the study to talk and check something in the computer system. When she came back to the kitchen, she leaned against the door frame, watching the practiced dance of dishes and conversation unfold. Destini moved through the kitchen with the smooth efficiency of someone who had been doing chores her entire life, her hands sliding plates into the dishwasher with a rhythmic precision that spoke of years of routine.
"So we always rotate cleaning duties," Destini explained to Chase, her hands painting animated pictures in the air. "I do dishes three nights a week, and Mom does the other nights. Well, we used to," she corrected herself, a flicker of something—anxiety, adjustment, hope—passing across her face.
Chase nodded, wincing slightly as he shifted in his chair. Jewel noticed how he tried to hide the movement, not wanting to draw attention to his still-healing body.
His smile remained constant, warm and genuine, as he talked with her. "I work from home on the computer, but don't like to sit still all day. I can do the dishes, but there are certain times of the year that are my busy seasons, if this year is anything to go off of. Maybe we can rotate during those times."
Destini breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good, that you have a job. Some kids at my school were asking the other day, and I had no idea what to tell them."
Chase winced. "I do bookkeeping and just passed my big exam to be a certified financial planner. My next step is to become a wealth manager, so I can put you through college."
Jewel frowned, not realizing he'd gotten his results on the test yet. He hadn't said a word, so she'd thought he was still waiting. This was an enormous accomplishment that should be celebrated.
Destini's jaw dropped as she paused, hand in the silverware drawer. "You—you've thought about that?"
He nodded and rubbed his side. "Of course. You're my daughter, and I'm going to take care of you."
Jewel's chest ached at his words, the sincerity and love in them.
Destini spun on her heel, bending to take something else out from the dishwasher. But from where she stood in the doorway, Jewel noticed her wiping her cheek.
Jewel's chest tightened, realizing that she'd taught Destini to ignore comments like that instead of acknowledging them and how they made her feel. Fuck, maybe Chase wasn't the only one who needed therapy in this family.
Chase continued, oblivious to Destini's discomfort. "The new school has an amazing science program. Did you ask Parker questions about it on the drive?"
Destini lit up, her excitement palpable and filling the kitchen with a vibrant energy.
Jewel watched, her heart catching on the delicate threads of this new family configuration. They were learning each other—their rhythms, their wounds, their hopes. Destini's hands kept moving, Chase kept listening, and the kitchen hummed with the quiet miracle of connection.
With the dishwasher now full and set to wash, Destini paused, looking lost, like she didn't want the conversation to end. Jewel knew how she felt. That was how she felt around Chase too.
Jewel straightened from the door. "Alright, let's see about unpacking your boxes."
Destini nodded, but deflated, as if she didn't want to be out of his presence. This felt right, natural, like it had always been meant to be like this.
Chase said, "Not all those boxes were clothes. When I was unloading your mom's storage container last week, I saw a few boxes already opened with trophies, which I put in the room you picked out. I'd love for you to tell me about them. I want to know everything."
Jewel's chest tightened at how Destini beamed at him. Destini used to look at her like that, like she hung the moon. Then the pre-teen phase had hit. Together, they moved up the stairs to the first door on the left.
When Jewel followed Destini and Chase into the room, she gasped. "It's all here."
Boxes were stacked like geometric islands along one wall. Destini's dresser—scuffed and scratched from childhood—sat next to the window and her computer desk sat on the other side of the window. To the left of the door sat Destini's matching bed and end tables, as if they'd always belonged in this room.
Chase looked at her in confusion. "Yeah, I called Destini last week when your storage container was delivered to show her the room options. Then I moved everything I could find of hers into here."
It shouldn't have surprised her that the bed was together or that he'd somehow found Destini's favorite sheets and blankets. He was so caring and showed his love in a million ways every day.
Love …
She shook her head. "Seriously, how did you do all this in less than a week?"
He chuckled and—was that a flush creeping up his neck? "I might have hired some movers to help, and Maryanne, Holly, and Lola stopped by too."
Jewel rolled her eyes. "I thought Lola looked like she knew where everything belonged in the kitchen."
Chase laughed, moving around the boxes to a stack by the window. He lifted a framed photograph—Destini at what looked like a school science fair project, her smile bright and unguarded.
"This is the box I saw last week. Where do you want this?" Chase asked, holding the frame.
Destini glanced up from unpacking a box of books, her hands moving with a precise choreography. "On the dresser near the window. I want it to catch the natural light."
"Tell me about this. What's going on here?" Chase asked, setting it on the dresser as their daughter launched into the story of her project, why she wanted to do that experiment, and how she took second place.
Jewel watched the interaction, fascinated by how easily they were finding their rhythm. Chase listened intently, asking thoughtful questions that made Destini's excitement and comfort levels grow.
They joked and talked as they helped Destini unpack, bouncing from topic to topic as they got to know each other as a family. It was easily one of the most relaxing nights she'd had in a while, and it was all because they were together, moving forward into the future as one cohesive unit. Like Lola suggested, she tried not to read too much into it.
Later that night, after everyone had settled, Jewel found Chase in the main bedroom. He sat up in bed, reading something on his phone. When he'd been injured, she'd insisted he sleep in the master bedroom, the room they'd agreed would be hers… and she'd been unable—and unwilling—to ask him to move into his own room.
She liked having him sleep beside her, curling around her protectively. She slipped into bed beside him, careful not to jostle his healing ribs.
"You okay?" she asked softly.
Chase turned, his eyes soft. "Better than okay. Having Destini here… it feels right."
"Like we're all finally home and can breathe."
He nodded. "Exactly like that." He curled his body around her, and as she drifted off to sleep, she could've sworn she heard him whisper, "I love you."