Authors: Lauren Dane
-26-
Giving Chase
At her front door she turned to him with a smile. “Um, would you like to come inside for some tea?”
Grabbing her hand, he brought it to his lips and kissed it. Moments later he pulled her close, holding her against his body. “If I come in, I’ll want to never leave and I think that’s moving a bit fast for you.”
“It’s not that I don’t like you. I do. But yes, it would be a bit too fast for me.” Still, she didn’t make any move to stop him as he lowered his lips to hers for a kiss. This one more passionate than sweet and he held her tight for a few long moments afterward.
“Goodnight, Alex. I had a lovely time.” Placing a hand in the middle of his chest, she moved him back from her gently.
“Would you like to go to the Homecoming Game with me on Friday night? Then maybe go out for a drink and a bite afterwards?” He admired how much of a lady she was. He liked that she was saving herself just for him. His sweet Maggie.
“Yes, I’d like that. Dee, Liv and I all meet on Fridays at the Pumphouse. It’s an after Homecoming tradition for us, too. Arthur will be there and I’m guessing Liv will have a date but I don’t know who. Shall we meet them there afterwards?”
“I like Arthur. He’s a good guy and I think Shaun is planning to ask Olivia.” He mentally ground his teeth at the thought of Olivia but smiled instead. “Shall I pick you up at six then? I’ll bring the seat cushions and the blanket?”
She smiled and he was glad he’d let her know how much he liked taking care of her.
“Okay, I’ll be here.” With a last look, she went into her house and he walked to his car and went home.
-27-
Lauren Dane
Alex led Maggie up the steps toward an empty spot on the bench seats, at the stadium. She looked so pretty in jeans and boots with a deep green turtleneck sweater. Instead of the bun, her hair was loose in back, held by a headband. Having it down in back left the pretty color around her face, making her eyes seem larger. He liked that she’d kept the glasses. Liked that she was lovely and modest, too.
Wanting to be sure she was comfortable and warm, placed the two seat cushions on the cold aluminum bench and sat down next to her. He grabbed her hand and held it in between his own.
After a while, Maggie stood up. “I’m going to go to the ladies’ room.
Shall I bring us back some stuff to snack on?” Alex smiled at her thoughtfulness. “Sure. Some hot chocolate and some licorice.”
“I’ll be back in a few minutes then.”
When Maggie exited the restrooms she saw Shane Chase waiting there and eyed him warily.
He held up his hands in the universal sign of surrender. “I mean no harm, I promise. I wanted to apologize to you for how I acted. At The Pumphouse last Friday and then Sunday at the picnic, as well.” Narrowing her eyes for a moment, Maggie let out the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “Apology accepted. I’m sorry if I jumped to conclusions at the picnic. I’m usually not that big of a bitch.”
“I do seem to bring out the best in you.” He chuckled. “For such a little woman, you sure pack a mean punch.” His smile melted her insides. The man was just flat out handsome. Perfect, white teeth.
Chocolate brown hair that was just a bit too long in the back and looked really soft. But his eyes were startlingly blue. Like the blue of a cloudless summer day. Her stomach fluttered just looking at him.
“I did not punch you! But you would have deserved it if I had.” She raised an eyebrow. “But according to Cecelia Wright, that’s not what ladies do. We bake and butter wouldn’t melt in our mouths. Oh, and
-28-
Giving Chase
know how to embroider. Too bad I can’t embroider or know how to keep my mouth shut. I can bake though.” She snorted.
I just snorted!
Horror roiled through her.
Instead of being disgusted, he threw back his head and laughed, a deep rich rumbling sound. “Embroidering is overrated anyway, Margaret.
That is your name, right? I’m Shane Chase by the way. Otherwise known as dumbass.” He held out his hand for her to shake and she pinked a bit. His grip was gentle but sure.
“I was getting rather fond of thinking of you as Sheriff Dumbass. You were being one you know,” she mumbled and he laughed a bit more.
“So my mother, brothers, father and half of the town have said.” She laughed at that. “Yes, I’m Margaret but most other people call me Maggie.” She looked around him toward the stands. “Thank you for the apology, Shane. I need to grab some snacks and drinks before heading back. The game’ll be starting soon.”
“Oh, of course. It was nice to meet you, Maggie. Glad we cleared the air. See ya around.” With a wink and a grin, he put his hands in his pockets and strolled away whistling.
Was that disappointment she saw in his eyes or wishful thinking on her part?
Probably just gas
, she snorted to herself.
He certainly was something else. In truth, she’d never met someone with that kind of sheer masculinity and sex appeal before. It left her a bit breathless. Still, she couldn’t help but watch his ass in those snug jeans as he retreated back toward the stands. And she didn’t feel one bit guilty about it either.
When she got back she handed out the armful of goodies she’d purchased. “Were the lines long?” Alex put the blanket back over her lap once she’d sat back down.
“Oh, no, not really. I just saw someone I knew and started talking.” She blew on her hot chocolate.
Alex frowned. “Oh. Well, I was worried, Maggie.”
-29-
Lauren Dane
The sharpness of his tone brought her head around to look at him with surprise. Her mouth opened to issue an automatic apology but she clicked her teeth together to stop it. The more she was around him, the more proprietary and paternalistic he became. It troubled her and she doubted she’d be seeing him again after the night ended.
As they filed out after the game, Shane caught her eye and she waved, smiling as he waved back. Alex noticed and shot an angry glare at Shane.
In the car, on the way over to The Pumphouse, Alex started in on Maggie about it. “I saw you flirting with the sheriff.” She winced at his tone. Definitely wouldn’t be seeing him again after the date ended. Red flags flew all over the place at his behavior.
“I wasn’t flirting. I waved at him. I ran into him briefly tonight and he apologized for something he did last week. I saw him as we were leaving the stadium and I waved. If you notice, I waved at his mother and father, too.”
“You’re with me. You don’t need to talk to other men.” Angrily, he parked the car and got out, leaving Maggie to process her shock and discomfort over how he’d just acted.
They walked into the bar and went to their table. But before they sat down, Maggie swallowed her insulted fury and stopped him with a hand on his arm. “I want you to know it makes me uncomfortable that you talked to me that way, Alex. I haven’t done anything wrong.” The rigidity in his posture loosened as he shot her a sheepish smile.
“You’re right. I’m sorry, Maggie. It’s just that you’re so beautiful and I really enjoy being with you. I got jealous. I apologize.” Relieved that he wasn’t going to flip out, Maggie smiled back wanly, still uncomfortable with his behavior. “Apology accepted. Oh look, it’s everyone else.” Just wanting to get the rest of the evening finished, she waved at her friends.
-30-
Giving Chase
The place was packed, more so than usual and Maggie didn’t fail to notice when the Chase brothers and their dates came in about half an hour later. Still, she wasn’t going to let Alex control her so when Shane nodded his head to her in greeting she smiled back and sent him a brief wave. She felt Alex tense up but he didn’t say anything.
But later when Shane got up to go to the men’s room, Alex excused himself and walked back there.
“Hey, Chase, you need to leave Maggie the hell alone.” His voice was an angry hiss and it echoed from the bathroom walls. Maggie was
his
damn it. His and no one else’s.
Shane turned around to stare at him, eyebrow raised. “Oh, is that so?”
“Yeah, that’s so. She’s mine, Shane. Back off.”
“Huh, well here’s the thing, Alex, I waved hello at her, twice. I didn’t kiss her or anything. Now, just between you and me, I like her. I think she’s a nice woman with a lot of spark. I‘m thinking of asking her to dinner sometime but I certainly wouldn’t do it when she was on a date with another man.”
“She’s too good for you. Maggie Wright is a lady and she needs a man to take care of her. You’re a dog. You’re slime and you don’t deserve a special woman like her. I’m telling you, she’s mine, Chase and you’re upsetting her with your unwanted attentions.”
“Um, I don’t think so. From what I understand, you’ve gone out with her a few times. Sorry but that does not a girlfriend make. I had a girlfriend who cheated, I certainly know the difference. In any case, if that’s how Maggie feels, I’ll certainly respect that. If I hear it from her.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a nice cold beer to get back to. Have a nice night.” Shane walked past Alex and out the door.
Alex stormed back to the table and put his arm around Maggie. “Alex, I need my arm to eat.” She shrugged him off. He glowered at her for a
-31-
Lauren Dane
moment and he saw the fear in her eyes—just a flash—before she went back to eating her cheeseburger.
He knew he’d moved too fast as he took her home. She sat against the door and wouldn’t look at him, avoiding small talk. He had to win her back. Had to show her how well he’d take care of her.
“You don’t need to walk me to the door,” she said as she got out the moment he stopped the car. “The porch light is on, I’ll be fine.” He got out quickly and went to her side. “Don’t be silly. It’s late and dark. And I like being with you, Maggie.” At her door she unlocked it but stood directly in front of it, blocking his way. “Well, good night, Alex.”
Moving in for a kiss, he felt her stiffen and tried to show her how much he liked her but she pulled back and put a hand between them to push him back.
She was right of course. He shouldn’t maul her on her front porch.
What if her neighbors saw? He needed to protect her reputation. She was important in the community and people looked up to her. As her husband, he’d need to always keep such things in mind. “I’m sorry, let’s take this inside, shall we?”
“I’m really tired, Alex. I think I’ll pass on any company. Thanks for the game and dinner.” She took a step back, fumbling with the door knob directly behind her.
He exhaled sharply. She held herself away from him and that was not all right. But he had to let her know he was there for good. She was just worried he’d love her and leave her. “Fine. I’ll call you later. You know what, Maggie? You’re my girlfriend, right?” Her eyes darted around until finally coming back to look at his face.
“Um, well, no. We’ve dated, yes, but to my mind, that takes a lot longer than a few dates.”
“Goodnight, Maggie.” He turned and walked away from her without another word before she could say anything else.
-32-
Giving Chase
Moving into the house quickly, Maggie locked the door behind herself. She also threw the deadbolt. Her hands shook. He sat in her driveway for several minutes more and finally pulled away. With a sigh of relief, she sat in a heap on her couch.
After the nausea passed, she went through the house and checked to make sure her doors and windows were locked as she replayed the evening in her mind. The way he spoke to her, held onto her all the time—it was really frightening and totally inappropriate. It’d started out sort of nice but went right to patronizing, clingy and then outright scary in really short order.
No more dates with him, that was for sure. No, when she got up the next day she’d talk to Liv and work out a way to break things off that made it clear she wasn’t interested but also didn’t make things worse.
-33-
Lauren Dane
The day started out pretty darned good when she was downtown picking up ingredients for the banana bread.
Distracted as she shopped for baking supplies, Maggie was walking down Main Street when she literally bumped into Shane.
“Sheriff Chase, you seem to make a habit of knocking into me.” Her flirtatious laugh died in her throat as she looked up his body and into his face. Try as she might, she couldn’t ignore the tightening in her stomach at the sight of his khaki colored uniform stretched tight across his muscles.
“You’re a menace, Miz Wright.” He laughed back. “Tell you what? To make up for crashing into me, yet again, why don’t you buy me a cup of coffee and cinnamon roll?”
Unreality slid into her. Did the man just ask her for coffee? Still, she managed to hang on to her flirty tone. “All right, if it’s that or go to jail, I suppose I’d better bribe you.”
They walked the two blocks to the Honey Bear Bakery. “Why don’t you grab a table and I’ll get the drinks and cinnamon rolls?” Maggie waved at an open corner table.
Shane blushed. “Oh no! I was just kidding. I’ll buy.”
“Nope, not this time. It’s my treat. Now go on, get a table, I’ll be over in a sec.” Maggie made shoo motions with her hands.
He hesitated for a moment and she could see him wrestling with how he could wrangle his way into paying but he soon gave up and sighed.
“Fine. I’ll get us a table.”
-34-
Giving Chase
At least being alone at the counter and getting the giant rolls and steaming cups of coffee to the table without spilling gave her the chance to concentrate on something other than the fit of his uniform and why in the world he’d be interested in her to begin with. But eventually, she arrived at their table and had to unload the tray and sit down.
“You know, when I went away to school, my dad would mail me these cinnamon rolls at my birthday and holidays.” The pleasant memory of her father cut into the happiness she’d been feeling.
“That was nice. Sounds like something my mom would do.”
“Your mother would bring them herself.” She laughed, thinking about Polly Chase and that mile long car of hers.
He chuckled. “You know her pretty well then.”
“I happen to think your mother is an amazing woman. So old world in many ways but she always surprises me with how modern she is. I have to laugh every time I hear the click clack of those heels coming down the hall when the Historical Society meets. Everyone stops messing around and waits patiently and quietly until she comes in. Every time she does the same thing—slams that massive purse of hers down on the table, gives her hair a primp and flops into the chair.”
“According to my father, she started out with a tiny purse back before she had me and it’s gotten bigger over the years. We all thought that when all of us moved out and it was just her and Dad again, it would get smaller.” He shook his head. “But I swear she needs the car just to cart the purse around.”
Maggie burst out laughing. “She came to my house you know—to apologize for you.”
“She’s the ultimate meddler but her heart is in the right place.”
“Hey, don’t complain, you could have Cecelia Wright as your mother.” She winced as it came out, more bitter than she expected. “Oh god, never mind, that just sounded awful.”
-35-
Lauren Dane
“How about this? Why don’t you let me take you to dinner tonight and you can tell me the whole story?”
Her eyebrow went up and a smile played at the corner of her mouth.
If she’d been watching herself from a distance she wouldn’t even had suspected her stomach had just run riot with butterflies and she had a mental picture of herself doing the somersault of joy.
“Hmm, well, I’d love to do dinner but I’ll skip the whole my-mother-doesn’t-understand-me story.”
“How about a movie afterwards?”
“Okay.”
Okay? Yeah, soooo casual.
She snickered mentally.
“I’ll pick you up at say, seven? Do you like Italian? We could go to Vincent’s and then, um, I’ve seen the action flick at the Orpheum but there’s a double feature at the drive-in, would that be all right?”
“Are you trying to get me to make out with you at the drive in, Shane Chase?” Apparently, aliens had taken over her body. Flirty aliens with nerves of steel. She hoped they’d stay until he left or she’d die on the spot.
He turned pink and laughed. “You’ve caught me!” He gave her a grin, white teeth making him look a bit wolfish. “But of course you know I’m a total gentleman now that I took that civility class you recommended.” She threw back her head and laughed at that. “Okay. I live on the corner of Fourth and Magnolia.” She stood up. “I need to finish my errands. It was nice sharing a cup of coffee and this nine thousand calorie cinnamon roll with you. I’ll see you tonight.” He walked with her to the sidewalk and they each headed opposite ways. She hoped the smile he had on was half as big as hers.
Still, she continued to grin like a fool back at home and mixing the bread. She was pretty impressed with the way she’d held it together and stopped herself from jumping up and down squealing with delight.
Her good mood held on until she noticed that she had some messages. Playing them back, a sick feeling replaced her happiness.
-36-
Giving Chase
There were six from Alex. And he’d already called twice before she left the house to start with. Each message she listened to got more intense. The way his voice had started off calm and friendly but turned into something like a sharp snarl on the last message sent a cold chill down her spine.
Especially the part where he ordered her to call him immediately and chided her for being gone without letting him know her whereabouts.
It had to end. She’d decided that the night before but she wanted to do it face to face. Freaked as she was, she didn’t want to stop seeing him via voicemail, that seemed cruel. Picking up the phone with trembling hands, Maggie called him back but ended up leaving a message that she wanted to talk to him.
She ran the loaves of bread over to the retirement home. She sucked it up and stopped by her parents’ house and Janie’s as well. Best to just get that out of the way. As it happened, she had enough of an emotional high from her afternoon and upcoming date that the visits weren’t too bad and she escaped as quickly as she could.
Back at home, she called Liv and begged for her help to get ready for her big date.
Liv showed up breathless and eager less than five minutes later. “I can’t believe you didn’t call me immediately! Let’s go and get you an outfit while you tell me every last detail.” Liv pushed Maggie upstairs and made all the right noises as Maggie told her about the afternoon coffee with Shane as she got dressed.
With her usually curly hair blown out straight and captured in a headband, the pleated skirt and sweater made Maggie feel vibrant and sexy too.
“Very collegiate and sassy. Damn I’m good.” Liv looked her work over with a critical eye.
“I know, without this I wouldn’t be going out with a man like Shane Chase at all.”
-37-
Lauren Dane
“Maggie, you need to stop this. You’re still you. I told you before, it’s not like I turned you into something you weren’t. So I added a bit of sparkle. Shane Chase has been mooning after you since that night at The Pumphouse. A night you were covered in chili cheese fries and had your hair in a bun.”
Ducking her head, Maggie hid her blush. She knew it was true but it was hard to overcome what she’d been told all her life. But she was too old to let her mother still make her feel inadequate. Taking a deep breath she stood up straight and held her head up. “You’re right. Thank you.
He’s going to be here any minute. I’d better go downstairs. You going out with Shaun tonight?”
“No, I’m going out with Tom Maddox, he’s picking me up in an hour. I should get home now. Speaking of Shaun, what’s up with Alex? What crawled up his ass last night?”
“Oh my god! I forgot that I hadn’t told you about this yet.” Maggie related the whole story of how Alex had acted the evening before as they went downstairs.
“Major red flags are waving with this guy, Liv. He’s seriously creeping me out. He called me eight times today! This guy is seriously not right.”
“No shit. Why didn’t you tell me? You shouldn’t have even let him bring you home last night. You could have slept at my place.”
“I know. It just kept getting worse and worse and it wasn’t until I was sitting here in the dark, wondering if all my locks were working that I realized how truly freaked out I was. Anyway, the little voice said get away and so I am.”
“Well, that’s a good idea, Maggie.” Liv frowned. “Never ignore the little voice. Be extra careful around him, okay? You call 911 and then me if he comes around. You know you can come over any time if you’re feeling scared, too. You have a key for a reason.” Liv kissed Maggie’s cheek. “But for now, have a good time and I’ll see you at brunch tomorrow. I expect a full report!”
-38-
Giving Chase
Grinning as she watched Liv jog down the block that separated their two houses, Maggie saw Shane’s truck pull onto her street. She ducked back into the house to check her hair and lipstick and grab her coat.
She opened the door as he walked up onto the porch and she wasn’t quite sure where her breath went. He seemed to steal all the oxygen from the area where he stood.
While she tried not to gawk, he looked her up and down and smiled.
“Wow. You look beautiful.” He reached out to touch her hair. “I like the curls but this is nice, too. You can see all of the different colors of red better this way.”
She blushed. “You’re really good at that. Thank you. You don’t look so bad yourself, Sheriff.” Dark denim jeans hugged his long muscled legs. A black and gray sweater brought out the blue in his eyes and contrasted the color of his hair. Man, he looked so good she wanted to grab him and jump on him.
One corner of his mouth rose. “Thank you, Maggie. Shall we then?” He indicated his truck with a tip of his head and she nodded. He helped her into his ridiculously large truck and they drove to Vincent’s. They shared small talk on the way over. Maggie was surprised by how easy he was to talk to.
Heads turned as Shane led Maggie to a dark table in the back. But she soon forgot the scrutiny as they ordered. Dinner was good, conversation came easy and they finished and took off to get to the drive-in before the show started.
Shane parked toward the back as his truck was so high and big it would have blocked the view. He pushed the bench seat all the way back and moved away from the steering wheel and into the center. Bringing him very close to her.
“I brought a blanket. It’s been getting so cold in the last few days. I would have brought beer but you know, being the sheriff means I can’t do illegal things, even when they’d be fun. I did bring snacks, though.”
-39-
Lauren Dane
Reaching behind the seat into the rear cab, he pulled out a sack of chocolate, red vines and some bottled water.
“You think of everything, Shane Chase.” Maggie moved in a bit closer.
It was very nice to be there beside him.
The double feature, two action movies with Bruce Willis, was entertaining. It didn’t matter that the audio wasn’t that good if you could see things blowing up. It was easy enough to follow the plot. By the middle of the second movie Maggie had snuggled up against Shane’s body. Her feet curled under her, his arm around her shoulders, she felt utterly lazy and warm—and very turned on by the way he felt against her. It had been a year since she’d slept with anyone. She’d dated but none of them were people she’d wanted to sleep with. Shane Chase brought a level of physical desire into her life that she wasn’t sure she’d ever felt before.
“Shane?”
“Hmm?”
“I do believe you promised something regarding making out?” He looked down at her, surprise on his face. She blushed as the surprise heated into something more. “Never mind. I can’t believe I said that out loud. It’s the sugar. I need to stop eating sugar, that’s all there is to it.”
“No way. You said it,” he murmured, moving his head down to her,
“and I aim to hold you to it.” A gentle hand at her chin tipped her face to his just as his lips reached hers. Electricity sparked between them, firing her nerve endings to life.
He tasted so good she had to have more. Coming up to her knees, she moved to get better access to his lips. His growl of approval vibrated down her spine and he pulled her to him tightly.
The kiss deepened as his tongue swept out, tracing the curve of her bottom lip before taking it between his teeth and nipping it. She sighed into his mouth as desire roared through her. She didn’t recognize the
-40-
Giving Chase
sound of need that came from deep inside her but he matched it when she sucked on his tongue.
Those big hands caressed her back, leaving tingling, heated flesh in their wake. She wanted them on her thighs, sliding higher, wanted them palming the nipples that throbbed to be touched.
When one of his hands slid up into her hair and fisted, violent shivers wracked her. So much need, she felt like she was drowning in it.
He’d been moving his hands down her back to her ass when his phone rang. Stiffening, he pulled back from her lips ever so reluctantly.
“I’m sorry, that’s my work phone. I have to get it.” Too desire stunned to speak, she nodded her understanding.
“Chase,” he grunted as he answered.
She watched as he went into work mode and the gentle, sexy face turned serious. Straightening her clothes, she sat back down on the seat and reached to turn off the audio so he could hear better.
“Hang on, let me get something to write on.” He grabbed a pad and pen from his overhead visor. “Go,” he ordered and began to scribble information down on the pad. “Yeah, I’ll do it.” Sighing, he snapped the phone shut.
“I’m sorry, Maggie, but I have to go on a call. I’ll drop you home on the way.” Apology was clear on his face as he moved the seat back into place and slid back behind the wheel.
“Don’t be sorry. It’s your job.” She admired her ability to not sound disappointed. She certainly didn’t want the man to feel guilty about being a cop. “I had a really good time tonight. Thanks for dinner and the movies.”