Crazy Love(28)

“I broke up with him a lot,” Krista clarified. “I always thought he was cheating on me.”

“Was he?” Jamie asked.

“No,” Krista sighed. She hated being wrong. And in this case, she’d been wrong. “I used to hear a lot of rumors, and girls went to great lengths to make me think he was so we would break up, but he wasn’t. I didn’t know it then and it used to drive me crazy. But as an adult, a few of the girls have admitted going as far as planting panties in his truck to make me think he was fooling around.”

Krista remembered when she’d found those panties. It was the night Chase had gotten into the horrible fight with his dad. It was also the night Chase had left Harper’s Crossing.

“Girls can be so mean. I’m so glad I have a boy,” Jamie said just as her pager beeped. She pulled it from her waistband as they both started heading out of the room.

“I actually thought you were calling me in here to tell me you were pregnant.” Krista admitted.

Jamie let out a forced laugh. “No. One is enough. For now.” Jamie reached out and gave her a quick hug. “Let me know if you need anything. I’m always here to talk.”

“Thanks.”

As Krista watched Jamie hustle down the hall, she felt a small twinge of envy in her chest. Not that she wasn’t happy that Alex and Jamie had each other and their son Joey—she was. It was just that Krista was realizing that she wanted that too. Husband, kids, family. The only problem was the only person she could ever imagine that path with was a certain rock star who wasn’t really the white-picket-fence type.

* * *

“We’re here,” Chip announced from the front of the rented SUV.

Chase lifted his heavy eyelids and looked out of the tinted glass. They were surrounded by ambulances. Before he opened the door, he pulled his hat lower on his head. He didn’t see anyone around, but it was habit.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come in with you?” Tully asked from the seat beside him.

“No. I’ll be fine.”

Dr. Corbin had called Chase this morning and told him that his mom was awake and someone had told her that Chase was in town and she was now anxious to see him.

Chase wasn’t sure how he felt about that. His relationship with his mom was complicated. He loved his mom. He really did. He just didn’t understand why she’d made some of the choices she had. Mainly, staying with the monster that had been his father.

The last time he’d seen his mom, she’d been covered in his dad’s blood as she held his unconscious body. Chase had been covered in blood as well, but out of the two of them, Chase was the one left standing after he’d finally had enough and stood up to his dad, and had fought back. His mother had kneeled beside his dad, cradling his head in her arms crying, begging Chase to leave before his dad came to.

Chase had grabbed what he could throw in his backpack and told her to come with him. Pleaded for her to leave with him. She’d shaken her head and told him that she couldn’t leave. She couldn’t leave her husband. He’d tried to pick her up, to make her come with him, and she’d screamed at him to go. Get out. He could still see the panic in her eyes, afraid that his dad would wake up while Chase was still there.

All these years later, that night was still burned into his memory.

Tully spoke as Chase stepped out of the truck. “The administration assures me that they have measures in place to assure not only your privacy but your mother’s as well. We’ll be here if you need anything.”

“You guys can take off. Go get something to eat or check out downtown. I’ll text you when I’m ready to go.” The last thing Chase wanted was people waiting on him. He wasn’t sure how long he was going to be. It could be an hour or several. He actually had no idea what to expect.

“We’re fine to wait,” Tully tried to insist.

Chase shook his head. “No, really. It’s a small town. It doesn’t matter where you go. You’ll only be ten minutes away.” Chase raised his hand, gesturing goodbye to both Chip and Tully, and shut the door.

With his head down, his hat pulled low, he made the short walk up the wheelchair ramp to the back entrance of the hospital. Just as he reached for the door, it opened. Looking up, he was expecting to see someone from hospital administration or even one of the security guards they had insisted on providing to escort him around the premises. Instead, he saw a familiar face coming out of the door wearing navy-blue pants and a button-up shirt with a flame patch on the sleeve. His face broke out in a wide smile.

“Alex Sloan. Damn, man. It’s been a long time.”