Chasing Me (9 page)

I fall asleep completely exhausted and the happiest I have been in a long time. With my Tiger Lily wrapped around me, protecting me from everything I don’t want to become.

Lube Bottles and Shit Storms

Chase

BAM BAM BAM BAM

“Shut the fuck up, I’m sleepin’ in here.’” Hunter grumbles, his entire body thrashing underneath me. Lifting my head from his chest I shove my hair out of my eyes, looking down at him as the pounding on the door gets louder.

The door flies open, Daisy and Cam shove into the room followed by Henry. Giving me just enough time to slide off Hunter and cover us with the sheet. “Would you look at that,” Cam nudges Daisy. “Text Luke before he has an embolism and let him know we’ve found her. Looks like I can handle two birds with one dumbass.” She giggles, while Daisy’s thumbs go crazy clicking away on her phone.

“Oh great!” Hunter grumbles, his eyes still closed. “You lovely little spooners are takin’ time out of your sappy ever after’s to call in the damn cavalry. Can you at least ask Luke to be quiet when he kills me? Chase’s screamin’ my name all night gave me a huge headache.”

I pinch his nipple, making him wince. “My money is on that brewery you drank last night being the reason you have the headache, among other things, twitter boy. You’re obnoxious ass was hash-tagging all over the place.” Henry deadpans.

Cracking open an eye; he rests his arms behind his head, taking in the scowls from both Daisy and Cam. “You’re just jealous because you aren’t trending. Don’t worry ladies; I can twitter your clitter too, if the guys aren’t up to snuff.” Hunter teases, pumping his hips, earning him eye rolls from everyone in the room. Especially from me.

“We have bigger problems than your performance outside the bar last night, assmole.” Henry says tossing a pair of jeans to the bed. “Get dressed. Cam took a very interesting phone call from legal at the record label this morning.”

Hunter flings himself up from the bed with a grunt, kicking a pillow to the floor. A bottle of lube rolls across the carpet, stopping at Daisy’s feet. “Ew!” She shrieks, kicking it away with the toe of her heel.

“You entered the room o’ lovin’, need to be prepared for what you’ll see baby momma. Objects in here are even sexier than they appear.” Hunter says with a wink. He stands from the bed completely naked, with a used condom stuck to his thigh.

“Oh my god!” Daisy and Cam scream in unison as they stare.

Hunter looks down and grins, completely oblivious to the baby batter glove stuck to him. “Yeah, I know right?”

“Give us a few minutes and we’ll be out.” I blurt, giving them the chance to run from the room. Henry shakes his head with an enormous smile, closing the door as he goes to make sure they don’t hurl on the rug.

Hunter glances at the rubber before flicking it to the floor with disinterest. Turning to me with a wink, he uses a pre-cut piece of plastic wrapping we give at the shop to cover his new ink before shoving himself into his jeans. When our eyes meet, his face goes serious. “We have shit to talk about too, babe. So don’t think you can bolt just yet.” Walking to the edge of the bed, he grabs my shoulders and presses his lips to mine quickly. “Get dressed and come out when you’re ready.” I barely nod, before he releases me and leaves the room, closing the door behind him.

My plan to take a shower and really think about everything is shot to shit the moment I hear Hunter shout. “You’re fucking crazy!” I dive back into my blue dress from last night and down the hallway so fast my head should have spun.

Hunter paces the room in front of Cam and Daisy who are sitting on the couch. Henry is leaning against the wall looking more than amused with the scene playing out. “If you two crazy bitches think that because I was a complete douche last night that this shit is funny, you’re just sick. I said I was sorry, I’ll fucking beg.” Looking to Henry, he waits for him to crack. “Come on Big Man, this is too damn much. I’ll crawl on my knees and wear whatever crazy shit these women think up, without a fight. But if they think for one damn minute I’m gonna fall for a ba-” The breath whooshes from his chest when he sees me watching.

“I’m sorry Hunter. I wish this was a joke. Chances are she’s just some fucking troll on a hunt for green. That’s even if this baby is yours Hunter. Why else would she wait all this time unless she expects money from you? We’ll play this out carefully, and as quietly as possible.” Cam explains, attempting to pull his focus from me. “When I spoke with legal at Ironsound Records this morning, they weren’t happy, but they’re handling it as discreetly as possible. I couldn’t just keep you in the dark. They’ve even faxed me a file with photos, maybe you’ll recognize her.” She holds out a stack of papers.

Hunter leaps back as if they would burn him. Sagging into a chair, he buries his face in his hands. “Just when I thought I could get my shit together.”

Walking over, I grab the information from Cam and glance down at a list of names and dates from a law office in Alabama. Flipping through the stack, I find a picture of a platinum blonde holding a little girl with brown pigtails. The little girl’s eyes that same dark brown. In shock, I drop the stack to the coffee table. “She’s yours.” At this point I don’t know if I’m asking or telling him.

Hunter looks up from his hands, his brown eyes pained. “I don’t know.”

“We won’t know until we get back to Nashville, they’re driving up so that the proper testing can be done to know for sure. Then Hunter will have some decisions to make.” Daisy says, trying her best to hold onto her composure, her worry for Hunter is written all over her face.

“How can you all be so damn calm about this?” He shouts, making me jump.

Cam and Daisy stand. “Let’s give them a minute Henry.” Cam says, turning toward the door.

Henry nods, following them out. As he passes me, he pats my shoulder. “Hurricane Hunter has just hit land darlin’, time to bear down and hang on.” He whispers. My eyes never leave Hunter; he just looks so lost. The door closes behind us with a thud.

“Hunter, it’s not the end of the world. It’s a little girl, a beautiful little girl.” I reply softly, answering his question. “It’s not something you can just dismiss, not if she is yours.”

Pushing to his feet, his eyes turn hard. “Okay, Chase, then answer me this, oh wise one.” He snarls sarcastically. “If she’s mine, which who knows given the multitudes of pussy I’ve dove into over the last decade or more. Let’s just be realistic because I was tearing up ass long before I was at the mic.” Inching closer to me, he closes his eyes. “How do I tell my child that I don’t even remember the night I met her mother? Or would good bonding include the various sexual positions or discussions on preference of lube flavor? That’s all I’ve fuckin’ got babe. When I look at that woman on that piece of paper all I see is a bitch that I would‘ve double gloved with because she looks like she’s been plowed more than the roads of northern Maine in the winter.”

“I understand this is a huge shock, honey.” I say, attempting to keep my voice even.

Hunter just huffs out a laugh. “Yeah, it’s a real shocker alright. This just goes to show that no matter what I do, I’ll always end up fuckin’ up. On top of that, now a kid could be tangled up in my shit. That’s just givin’ me one more person to hurt who is more innocent than anyone I’ve ever met.” Scrubbing a hand over his face, he turns and paces in front of the window. “At least you guys know what you’re dealing with. This little girl… my God Chase, I can’t be somebody’s father.” He groans. Stopping at the window, he stares out at the strip.

I walk toward him, but he doesn’t turn to face me. Hunter just continues to stare out the window at the view, letting his thoughts consume him. Wrapping my arms around him, I press my lips to his back. Absorbing the warmth that is just Hunter, the heat of his skin makes me wish we were anywhere but here dealing with a situation that has him so anxious. I want nothing more than to be wrapped up in him and hear all the crazy or sweet things that come out of his mouth. Right now I am here for him; and whatever he needs, I’ll give him.

Hunter never shows his emotions. I think he keeps them locked up so that they can’t be used against him later. Right now, he is letting me see his apprehension. The fear of not being enough for anyone, especially a child. It is funny how different Aiden and Hunter are, but at the same time very similar. They have the same fears and the same painful past, but have coped in different ways. “You can do this Hunter. I believe in you enough for both of us. Before long, you’ll believe it too.”

“Why the hell would you have so much faith in me, Tiger Lily?” He asks in disbelief, “I haven’t given you any reason to believe that I’m capable of taking care of myself, let alone anyone else.”

Because you would never walk out on the ones you love, Hunter. You could never be my father.
I want to tell him how I know he wouldn’t leave his seven year old daughter sobbing in the driveway begging for him to stay. That she would be cherished in his eyes so much that if she fell and scraped her knees, he would move Heaven and Earth just to make her smile. Not leave her crying and bleeding in the driveway because his new girlfriend was more important than anyone in the house he just moved out of.

“But you have Hunter. You give me those gentle moments that no one sees. Like yesterday at the chapel, last night when we talked, and just like you did right now. She will adore you, honey. You won’t be afraid to be silly with her; you will spoil the hell out of her in every way imaginable.” Knowing it’s sinking in, I go on. “On top of that if you’re her daddy and you love her that’s all that will matter to her. I love you and I know you’ll be an amazing father.” I whisper against his skin.

His hands cover mine, pressing them closer to his heart. “You shouldn’t. Loving me will only get you hurt and that’s the last thing I wanna do Tiger Lily. That’s the damn reason I sent you away in Tennessee in the first place. You should be with Mitch. He would make you happier than I ever could. You should stay right here and make half a dozen babies with him for Luke to spoil rotten. You two can have barbecues on the weekends, date nights, and he will bring you flowers for no reason. I should tell you to leave right now and never come back. If you stay you’ll just hate me in the end.”

“I’m not big on doing what I’m told.” I reply, letting him know that if he tries to push me away, I have no problem pushing back. It pisses me off that he decided the fate of our relationship without involving me. Just like Luke tries to make decisions for my life without my opinion, my God do I have ‘helpless’ written on my forehead or what? “You have no idea what I want, so stop it! You have no idea how I feel. Don’t give me that ‘you’ll hate me’ bullshit. Love doesn’t work that way and it’s time I prove that to you. No one has asked me one fucking time what I want in all of this; it’s my happiness here too you know?”

“What
do
you want Chase?” He asks, his entire body tensing as he waits for my answer.

“This.” Pressing my palms flat to his chest, his hands tighten over mine, holding them in place so that I can feel the racing of his heart in his chest. “I want this with you, wherever we are doesn’t matter. I don’t like barbecues and I have flowers that I paid good money for inked on my skin, because the real things are never beautiful forever. Things change Hunter; the entire universe evolves constantly to accommodate everyday life as it changes. You can too, even if you can’t see it. Hunter, you already have in so many ways. You said that you can’t do more than one night with a woman, but here I am, months after our first night. Isn’t that proof enough for you that you aren’t as horrible as you think you are? Look at me, honey, I’m right here in flesh and blood and I’m not going anywhere.”

“Thank fuck,” Hunter says, and it’s not much more than a whisper. Turning in my arms, Hunter cups my face in his hands. Staring down at me, his eyes soften so that I know I got my point across to him. “Because I have no problem admitting that I’m a selfish bastard right now, babe. I need you too much to let you walk out of my life.” His words hit me in the chest, my heart nearly exploding when he seals his mouth over mine taking my mouth hungrier than ever before.

Desire pools in my belly, making every touch as he moves his hands down my body, mean so much more than the last. Hunter’s fingers dig into the fabric around my waist, urging it up my hips. Ripping his mouth from mine, his attacks my neck; biting and sucking only to run his tongue along my overheating skin. “Come to Nashville.” He murmurs against my shoulder before pressing a soft kiss there.

“What?” I ask, shocked by his request.

“Please, I need you there. Just come meet the kid with me. We’ll go from there, and figure out how to make this work with you and me. Recording starts soon and we’ll be home-based there for at least that long, minus press shit, but it won’t be as crazy as touring. Come with me.”

Thoughts swirl in my head; how pissed that Luke is going to be, not to mention Mitch. This is going to be a fight, but as I look up into Hunter’s pleading eyes I can’t make myself say ‘no’. “Okay.”