“Wrangel. You’re not going back there. What are you talking about?”
“I have no choice. I was just served papers to testify in a child abuse case from years ago.”
“You’re kidding. What the hell? You’ve been gone more than three years.”
“Yeah, but you of all people know how long it takes for some of these cases to come to trial.”
“This is ridiculous.”
“Ya think?” Stealing Chase’s favorite line almost comforted me. Almost. “Shit, Sier, what if I see him … I can’t see him, but you know how freaking small our town is. If word gets out I’m coming home ... he’ll totally track me down. You know he will.” My phone chimed. Perfect timing for a pause.
Where are you?
What papers were you served?
Call me. Xo.
Grand rounds must have ended and I guessed that Leanne didn’t waste a second opening her mouth.
“Lili, talk to me,” Sierra pleaded.
“What? Sorry. I’m here, just reading a text from Chase. He’s looking for me.”
“Can’t you get out of this? I’m gonna call Dodd to see what he can do.”
“No, you’re not. I’m probably just overreacting. I just needed to vent. It’ll be quick. I’ll fly out tomorrow night and fly back late Friday night. Really, I’ll be fine.”
A familiar hand squeezed my shoulder before I felt his breath bathe the back of my neck. “Beautiful?”
“Um, Sier, I have to call you back. Chase just got here ... yeah, call you later, bye.”
“Why have you been ignoring your texts? I’ve been looking all over for you.”
I removed my sunglasses from my face “Well, I’m right here.”
“Okay, fill me in then. Want to tell me why someone served you legal papers?” He looked tense.
“Chase, it’s no big deal. I told you what I used to do back home and unfortunately, testifying was a part of my old job.” My throat burned when I uttered the word “home” out loud a second time. There was nothing homey about it anymore. “Just haven’t had to do it in a few years, so it sort of caught me by surprise.”
Revisiting all my suppressed memories was the real issue, but that I kept quiet. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned his hip against the back of a bench.
“When do you have to go?”
“I have to be there Friday morning, so I’ll probably head out tomorrow.”
“We’ll head out.” He didn’t hesitate.
“Chase, that’s crazy, you’re not going to just up and leave, you have cases.” And there is no way in hell you’re coming with me. He dropped his arms and walked toward the water, pacing back and forth a couple of times before his eyes commanded my attention. “That’s sweet, but it’s no big deal. It’s less than twenty-four hours I’ll be gone, you can’t just leave.” I repeated, trying to get Chase to see how crazy he was being.
“Yes, I can. I can do what I want, Lil, that’s one of the perks of being Chief of the department.” Well hello, Dr. Cocky.
The corners of my mouth lifted slightly and I hesitantly questioned, “What about your cases on Friday?”
“What about them? I will reschedule them. Fuck, I’ll do them on Sunday if I have to.” Okay. Looks like traveling to Wrangel alone was out of the question. “I’m coming with you, end of discussion. You’re not going to a courthouse full of fucked up people by yourself, for any reason.” Dr. Possessive was adamant.
Shockingly, my shoulders and stomach relaxed slightly. I wasn’t doing this alone. Maybe having Chase with me would make it easier. Or was I just trying to convince myself? It didn’t matter, because right at this moment, I no longer felt alone.
“Thank you.”
He pulled me into a tight embrace and kissed my forehead. “Anything for you, baby. Anything.”
I let my body melt into his chest, breathing in his scent that I was beginning to crave more than air itself.
We boarded the plane late Thursday evening after a non-stop day of calling and rescheduling Chase’s Friday cases. The fact that his last minute “conference” randomly coincided with my last minute trip home may have been lost on the boys, but definitely not on Leanne. The girl had a sex sixth sense. She even felt the need to point out that our not-so-silent kiss outside the on call room was a great distraction during Kate’s breakdown. Oh, and she definitely didn’t miss the Blue slip up. Fortunately, there was no time for her to share her revelations with the rest of the team since Chase occupied them with operating all day.
After our short (probably a good thing) hour and a half flight (five more minutes and we would have joined the mile high club) into Erie International Airport, we rented a car for the second leg of the trip. To say the least, Chase entertained me the entire flight, keeping a close personal eye to never let my champagne glass waver from three quarters full. So when a first class passenger asked if we were on our honeymoon and Chase casually responded with “nothing more romantic than northern Pennsylvania,” I choked on my bubbly and burst into laughter. I definitely made up for Chase’s lack of drinking, no surprise he chose seltzer. He was a stickler for no drinking and driving.