Chapter 55
"Okay," Naomi said slowly, crossing one leg over the other as she settled deeper into her chair. "So tell me something honest."
Chase narrowed his eyes immediately. "This crap again?"
The laugh she gave him was familiar now. Three months ago, he would have hated that, he would have sat rigid in this office and counted exits.
He would have watched the door more than he listened to her, he would have swallowed every real answer because real answers felt scary.
Now?
Now he sat back in the couch with one ankle resting over his knee, coffee in hand, shoulders looser than they'd been in years.
He was still scarred but healing. His mind was calmer, his heart at peace.
When he had arrived in America with Emily on his arm, his life had been chaos covered in smiles.
Chase had been a man scared of his own truth, a man who had clung to the arm of a woman that he knew was manipulating him but was too afraid to leave.
.. to not protect the hand that figuratively hurt him.
Now, he was home with the love of his life, she was his world and it took coming back to her to fully understand why he had been so adrift with out her, why he had felt torn and unsure even when he was married to another.
"Fine," Naomi said. "Tell me something real or good."
He sighed dramatically. "Still sounds like a trap."
"Humor me."
He leaned his head back for a second as he actually thought about her question.
Finally, he shrugged once. "I'm happy."
The words came quieter than he expected, because they still surprised him.
Naomi tilted her head slightly. "Happy?"
"Yeah." He huffed out a quiet breath through his nose. "I still have nightmares and I still deal with bad days... but..." His mouth twitched slightly. "Things feel right, I feel right... I found where I belong."
The word sat strange coming out of his mouth, it felt like he was handing Naomi a fragile piece of glass all the while praying she did not throw it back at him or worse on the ground shattering all of his new found happiness.
"Does that scare you?" Naomi asked gently.
He laughed once. "Hell yeah."
Her brow lifted. "Why?"
He stared down at the coffee cup in his hands for a second, because how did he explain this?
How did he explain what peace felt like after chaos?
"It feels like I am walking around with ice in my hands but the heat is blaring down on me and if I ain't careful... if I don't stay in the shade... the ice will melt and I will never get to hold it again," he admitted finally.
The room stayed still, Naomi was just listening. Most days he hated that but he also understood now that she was not here to actually talk so much as listen.
"And when that happens?" she asked.
He smiled at this question because the answer was so easy. "I go find my wife."
Something softened across Naomi's face. "You still call her that."
He looked immediately offended. "She is my wife."
"Legally, no she is not your wife."
"Still counts in my damn heart, I didn't divorce her, I was taken from her and now, I am back... I belong only to my woman."
That got a laugh out of both of them.
He smiled despite himself, because honestly... he liked saying it.
Chase was not foolish enough to lie and say that he did not love hearing the word wife attached to Aria.
He loved waking up next to her every morning, he loved finding her in his oversized t shirts making them coffee.
He loved kissing her forehead while she complained about work.
Loved the way she unconsciously touched him every time she walked past like she needed the reassurance he was still there.
Truthfully, he needed that too.
"How are things between the two of you?" Naomi asked.
The smile that hit him happened before he could stop it, it happened embarrassingly fast.
Naomi noticed immediately. "Oh."
He pointed at her as he playfully glared. "Don't do that."
"That smile said enough."
"No, it didn't."
"Chase."
He groaned quietly, then rubbed a hand down his face.
"Good." A pause. "Really good." His mouth twitched again. "She's..."
He laid his head back as he stared up at the ceiling, funny how this was the first time he noticed the small mural of a sunrise painted on one of the squares, reaching up he pinched the bridge of his nose.
"She's just..." A quiet breath. "Look saying this will make me sound like a lunatic, but she is the only thing that makes breathing worth attempting.
" Another pause. "Aria is my hope when I am hopeless, she is my anger when she cries, for her I would build this world up to make her happy and burn it to the ground when it makes her sad. "
Naomi smiled softly. "That sounds... healthy."
"Yeah well," he muttered, "don't really care how it sounds. She is the key to every emotion I experience."
She laughed quietly. "So business?"
That made him lean back. "Boomin'." A pause. "Moved everything back stateside."
"Adjustment?" She asked, while scribbling notes in her tablet.
"Little." His mouth twitched. "Ethan's involved now."
Naomi blinked once. "Is that good?"
"No." A beat. "Financially? Yes." Another beat. "As a person? Absolutely not."
She laughed outright. "Explain."
"He annoys the hell outta me." Chase admitted, "But he's damn good with money and investments."
Chase had cut ties with the company in New Zealand, then he moved his business back stateside, a lot of work yes but the payoff was worth it, then he had to reach out a hand for help getting together the funds to open his own company in Nashville.
Parker had of course invested without question, then he brought his cousin in to seal the deal.
Ethan was apparently 'made of money' and was like midas when it came to turning everything he invested in, to gold.
Chase just hated how the bastard sometimes looked at Aria, he knew the man was safe and would never try anything with her but he was a man and he had eyes.
.. Aria was perfection... and that meant men liked to look at her.
Chase would never hide her light to feel safe, he would never tell her how to dress or who to talk to, but that did not mean he was not watchful of others.
He would never really trust anyone besides Parker with Aria, his woman was a jewel and as far as this world was concerned he was her only collector.
If he was being honest though, he did think Ethan was reliable, smart, and capable... one day they would probably be good friends but right now they were getting comfortable with each other.
"And Parker?" Naomi asked softly.
Chase's smile faded slightly, not gone.
"He checks in." A pause. "Still overseas."
Three months... three fucking months was too long but not unusual, not for Parker... not for a sniper.
Parker still dropped weird texts, still requested pictures of Echo to ensure Aria was not overfeeding his bud, he still called when he could and he still acted like nothing dangerous was happening.
Chase knew better.
"And how are you handling that?"
He shrugged once. "Tryin' not to call Hayes every damn day."
Naomi laughed softly. "I imagine that's growth."
"You should reward me." he joked, casting her a wink just to see her blush. He was not interested but he loved getting under the good doctors skin.
"I'll consider it." She joked back.
Silence settled comfortably for a second.
Naomi tilted her head.
"So," she said gently, tapping the edge of her tablet once. "I think we can start scaling your appointments back."
His brows furrowed immediately. "What?"
"Once a month." A pause. "With room for emergency sessions when needed."
The words made him suspicious instantly, he narrowed his eyes.
"That sounds like therapist code for abandonment, doc."
Naomi laughed quietly. "No, Chase." She set the tablet down. "It means you're healing."
That made him still, not because he disagreed, but because hearing that she thought he was healing seemed so unreal after all he had been through.
"You're not the same man who walked into my office," Naomi said gently.
That made his chest tighten, because she was right. The man who walked into this office had been angry, scared, and lost. He had been still halfway living inside survival mode, still carrying ghosts, and still trying to understand how somebody could lose themselves so completely.
Now?
He slept through most nights. He laughed more. He stopped checking for the exits in every damn room he entered. He kissed his wife goodbye before work and texted her stupid things in the middle of the day just because he missed her.
Hell, he had even started wanting things again like a future with Aria that included kids, marriage and maybe one day a bigger home.
Naomi smiled softly. "You're stronger now."
He looked away briefly as he ran a hand down his jaw. "I still got bad days."
"Of course you do." A pause. "But bad days aren't your whole life anymore."
He knew she was right. At one point the bad days had been all he could think about they were his whole existence. He spent his time trying to figure out how to have a good day. Now, every day he spent with Aria was blissful.
"I'm proud of you," Naomi said quietly.
He shifted in the chair slightly.
Then muttered, "Well..." he paused and wiped at a tear trying to fall, "Don't make it weird."
Her laugh escaped immediately.
"So," Naomi said casually, clearly pretending not to notice the way he suddenly looked nervous.
"What are you doing tomorrow?"
His hand paused halfway in the middle of standing up to look at her.
And damn, that smile happened again, the one he apparently could not control whenever Aria entered his thoughts.
He looked down briefly, then back up.
"I'm gonna ask my wife to marry me again."
Naomi blinked, then smiled so hard it was honestly annoying.
"Oh, Chase."
He pointed immediately. "Don't cry."
"I'm not crying."
"You got cry eyes."
"I absolutely do not."
"You absolutely do, and that's my cue to head out."
A laugh slipped out of him as he reached for the door.
"She deserves the version of me that remembers askin'." A pause. "She deserved a big beautiful ceremony after that court house wedding we had the first time."
Naomi softened immediately, and as he opened the door, she said the thing that followed him all the way to his truck.
"Welcome home Chase Hale... it's good to have you back."
The house was quiet when Chase got home. Aria was still at the hospital. He would drop by with her lunch later, he loved going there to surprise her... he loved going because he got to see her.
He tossed his keys onto the kitchen counter before loosening the collar of his shirt, glancing around the house automatically.
Her coffee cup still sat beside the sink from this morning.
One of her cardigans hung over the dining chair like she had rushed out the door half awake again.
Anatomy notes still covered half the dining table because apparently his woman believed in organized chaos and studying absolutely everywhere except her actual desk.
She was going back to school so she could finally become a family nurse practitioner.
A slow smile pulled at his mouth.
God, he loved this. He loved her quiet mess and the little signs of her presence that filled this house and made it home.
He loved knowing she would be home later and immediately start talking about her day before stealing half his dinner.
Loved waking up with her hair all over him.
Loved the way she touched him every time she passed him.
He loved how she would come in the bathroom as he showered just to sit and talk with him. .. to look at him... to kiss him.
Damn now he was hard, a state she kept him in almost twenty four seven.
Truthfully... he needed that too, he needed to love his body the way she did and seeing her lustful looks was going a long way toward restoring his body confidence.
He stood there for a long moment, hands braced against the kitchen counter as Naomi's words replayed in his head.
You're healing. You're stronger now. Looks like you finally made it home.
Three months ago, he would have rolled his eyes at some emotional crap like that.
Now? Well now he understood it.
He rubbed a hand across his jaw before muttering quietly to himself.
"Yeah." A slow smile spread across his face. "I'm doin' this."
Then immediately stopped.
Because, absolutely not, there was no damn way he was doing this without Parker.
Parker had held Aria together while Chase was gone. Had fought for him. Looked for him. Protected everything Chase loved when he couldn't.
No way in hell his best friend wasn't standing beside him when he asked Aria to marry him again.
Chase reached for his phone immediately. Didn't think. Didn't hesitate. Just dialed.
The line rang twice before a familiar rough voice answered.
"Hale."
Sergeant Hayes, already sounding tired and clearly already annoyed.
Good. "Need Parker home."
Silence.
Then, "...Hello to you too."
Chase ignored that completely.
"I don't care what mountain you gotta move, who you gotta threaten, bribe, blackmail, or kill."
"Excuse me?" Hayes was practically yelling into the phone at this point.
"Parker better be back in Tennessee by the end of the week."
Another long pause followed. The kind that usually meant Hayes was regretting ever knowing him.
"Hale," Hayes said slowly, voice dangerously patient, "you no longer work for me, or the government... you no longer have any authority to use to demand these types of favors."
"Debatable."
"No. Not debatable."
"Feels debatable... I mean, I think Uncle Sam owes me for practically getting me kidnapped and causing my memory loss."
A tired sigh crackled through the phone.
"Yes, well," Hayes continued, "you don't have clearance to know where Parker is, what he's doing, or when he's coming home."
"Cool." A pause. "Still need him back."
"Jesus Christ." Hayes muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like a prayer. "What exactly makes you think you can demand I pull one of my best contractors off assignment?"
Chase blinked once, like the answer was obvious.
"Because I'm gettin' married."
Silence. "What?"
"Yep, and he's my best man." Chase smiled into the phone as he spoke.
"He's gotta help me plan the proposal," Chase said, entirely serious now. "Wedding too."
The silence on the other end changed. Shifted, then unexpectedly... Hayes laughed, he actually laughed.
"Well," he said after a second, sounding way too entertained. "Not doing this for you." A pause. "But for Aria?"
Chase frowned immediately. "What the hell does that mean?"
"That girl suffered enough because of your dumb ass... and that's somewhat my fault so I will see what I can do... but it damn sure ain't for you."
"That feels rude, but thanks."
"I only said I'll see what I can do."
The line clicked dead. Chase stared at the phone for a second. Then narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"That seemed way too easy."
Ten minutes later, his phone rang.
Parker.
The second Chase answered, Parker sounded irritated.
"What the hell did you do?"
Chase blinked. "What?"
"I'm serious." Parker sounded exhausted. "Why the hell am I getting shoved onto a cargo plane out of..." A burst of static interrupted him, "Actually never mind. Probably shouldn't say that location."
Chase grinned immediately. "You're welcome."
"No," Parker said flatly. "Absolutely not."
"You ain't even heard the reason yet."
"Don't care." Parker growled, "Call Hayes and undo what you somehow did."
"You should care." Chase growled back, "I'm askin' Aria to marry me again."
If he could not still hear the sounds of plane engines in the background Chase might have thought he lost Parker, the silence that followed his announcement was tick.
"You serious?" And there it was. Something warm in Parker's voice.
"Yeah." Chase smiled.
"Damn." A short laugh. "About damn time you fucking idiot."
"Watch your mouth."
"You gonna cry when you ask her... when she walks down the aisle?"
"Shut the hell up."
Parker laughed softly, Chase hadn't realized how much he missed hearing that from his friend. Calls with Parker had seen less and less laughter from the man and Chase could only image what had stolen his laughter.
"How bad you freakin' out?" Parker asked.
"Not at all."
"Brother be so serious."
"I am terrified but I cannot focus on that right now."
"Thought so."
A smile tugged at Chase's mouth. "Your comin' home... my orders."
"You realize you don't actually get to order military contractors around anymore?"
"You would be surprised what I get to do these days."
"You know that Hayes only tolerates you for Aria, so don't lie."
"Close enough."
The silence that followed felt different.
"You good?" Chase asked quietly.
Too quickly, Parker answered. "Fine."
Instant suspicion filled Chase because Parker only answered that fast when he was lying.
"Brother."
Parker did not answer for a long time, long enough that Chase straightened where he stood.
Then finally his words came through the line, rougher now.
"Mission got ugly."
Something in Chase's chest tightened. "How ugly?"
Another pause.
"You ever feel like maybe you got too many ghosts... like maybe you created too many ghosts?"
The question hit harder than Chase expected.
Because that didn't sound like Parker. Not really. This sounded heavier. Darker... maybe a little lost, like something had followed him home before he'd even gotten there.
"We'll talk when you get back," Chase said carefully. A pause. "You ain't carryin' whatever this is by yourself."
Parker laughed once, dry and humorless.
"Yeah."
But Chase knew a fake agreement when he heard it. The call ended a few minutes later, but Chase stayed standing in the kitchen, phone still in his hand.
Something uneasy settled heavy in his chest, because he knew Parker.
Knew him well enough to know something really bad had happened on this mission.