Chapter of BONUS MATERIAL

CHRISSIE

I can’t believe I’m really doing this.  Every cell in my brain is telling me that I should have flown from Mexico straight home to Kansas.

But I didn’t.

Lee always told me that I could stay with her if life got to be too much for me.  Technically, I didn’t have any serious problems back at our family farm, but I just wasn’t ready to return to my parents and our boring existence.  Ever since Sam came home with his wife, things were more fun.  I was living in gray, but Lee made everything change to vibrant colors.  I finally felt alive.

So I got a brilliant plan in my head that I would slightly alter my flight and end up in New York City instead of Kansas.  It’s not like I was going to move here permanently or anything crazy.  There was nothing wrong with a tiny little week of vacation somewhere new.  Lee and Sam were honeymooning on a fancy Caribbean island and wouldn’t be back for six whole days.  Surely she wouldn’t mind if I acted as a house sitter when they were gone?  Or I should probably say apartment sitter, since it was New York City and rent must have been insane.

Forcing myself to be brave, I left the airport and hailed a taxi to ‘Dublin’s Pride.’  I knew that Leandra’s family owned the bar after hearing her brother mention the name when speaking to a guy named ‘Shorty.’  A lot of the people she hung out with had nicknames for some odd reason.  Part of me wished I had one too.  Just to be as cool as they were.

I knew I didn’t really fit in with my brother and his new group of friends and family, even though Leandra tried to include me in the wedding planning.  They just all seemed miles out of my league.  So sophisticated and glamorous.  I swear that half the guys at their reception in Mexico could have walked right out of GQ magazine.  Lee’s brother, Ian, was sweet enough to ask me to dance, but I had to shake my head and turn him down.  It was so embarrassing.  No one like him would ever give me a second glance in the real world.

I was too shy for my own good.  That’s why I planned to order takeout food, maybe go on a few short walks around the city, and mostly stay safely inside the apartment while I was in town.  My main problem was getting a key to their place.  It’s not like I could have asked for one before I got here…my brother would have a fit if he knew I was in New York City all by myself.  No way was I going to ruin their honeymoon by having Sam fly home to ‘rescue’ his little sister. 

Nope.  I’m going to march into that bar, ask to speak to a manager, and see if they can locate Ian.  He must have a spare key to his sister’s place, right?

Taking a deep breath, I gathered up my courage and walked inside.  This will be a piece of cake.

Or not.

All eyes turned to me, considering there were only about ten people in the place and I can’t pass for twenty-one in the slightest little bit.  Yes, I’m twenty years old, but I look a lot younger.  It’s the freckles and curly hair.  They do it every single time.

“Can I help you, miss?” a surly bartender asked, giving me an evil glare.  “Do you need directions?  No way in hell are you old enough to be in here.”

“I’m looking for Ian.  Ian Donahue.  Any idea where I might find him?”

My new friend raised his eyebrows questioningly.

“None of your fucking business,” he replied.  “If Ian wanted you to know where he was, you wouldn’t be asking me his whereabouts, now would you?”

Gasping in shock at the rudeness of this man, I became more resolved to stand my ground and not be intimidated.

“Do you have any idea who you’re talking to, sir?  I’m Chrissie Kent…sister of Samuel Kent…”

“And I’m the queen of fucking England.  You have two seconds to get your sweet ass out of this bar, or you’ll be thrown out.  Understand?”

“…and Sam is married to Leandra Donahue,” I mumbled, slumping my shoulders in defeat and turning around.  Maybe there’s a close hotel and I can get a reasonable rate for the night.

“Whoa, whoa.  Hold up, there.  Did you say ‘Leandra Donahue?’  Fuck.  She did just get married, but what’s her new last name?”

“Kent,” I repeated.

“Where was the wedding?” he demanded, as though testing me.

“Mexico.  I was there with Ian and Shorty and a bunch of other people.  Is there a Fritz?  I forgot everyone’s name.”

“Sit yourself down right here and don’t move,” the guy growled, rushing over to pick up his phone.  I was pleased to be making progress, so I did as I was told. 

After punching in some numbers, my bartender friend stared at me while waiting for his call to go through.

“This is Andy down at the pub.  I’m sorry to bother you, but there’s a little girl here who says she’s Leandra’s new husband’s sister and she’s looking for you.”

“I’m twenty!” I shouted in annoyance.  That does not make me a ‘little girl.’

“Ahh, she’s getting an attitude here, Ian. Says she’s twenty and her name is Crystal…Crystal Kent.”

“It’s Chrissie!  Is that Ian on the phone?  Tell him that I made a wedding toast about Sam being a simple farmer from Kansas and how I was proud he’d come so far, and then Ian shouted ‘golddigger’ and Lee threw a beer bottle at his head.”

I waited patiently while the bartender repeated the information, and then sat in stunned surprise when he suddenly cupped his hand over the mouthpiece and apologized.

“He wants to talk to you, ma’am.  I’m sorry I doubted your story.  Please don’t…don’t tell Leandra, okay?”

I took the phone and shyly mumbled, “Hello?  Is this Ian?  This is Sam’s sister.  Chrissie.  Not Crystal.  Do you remember me?”

“Of course I do,” he replied suavely.  “Does Lee know you’re in town?”

“No…not really.”

“That’s what I thought.  Are you in any sort of trouble?”

“No.  I just…I wasn’t ready to go home yet.  So I flew here.  It really…it wasn’t very well thought out.  I’m calling you to see if there was a spare key laying around for Sam and Lee’s apartment.  Do you think it would be okay if I stayed there for a few days?  She told me that I’m welcome anytime.”

In my head, it made perfect sense, but out loud it sounded kind of crazy.

“Do you have any idea where their apartment is located?” he asked in a strange voice.

“No.  I was hoping you could help me out with that…”

This guy is going to think I’m nuts.

“Here’s what I want you to do, Chrissie.  Don’t go anywhere.  Stay right there.  I will come and get you in about ten minutes…maybe twenty if I get stuck in traffic.  Put Andy back on the phone, please.”

“I don’t want to be a bother.  Maybe I can just find a hotel…”

“Chrissie.  You will sit your ass down and not move it.  Is that understood?  Put Andy on the phone right now!”

With a sigh of frustration at being ordered around like a disobedient child, I handed over the phone.

“Yeah…yeah…make sure she doesn’t leave…don’t let her out of my sight…no one speaks to her…twenty minutes max…I got it, boss.  Don’t worry.”

Andy hung up the phone and said, “I have no idea what makes you so special, but he threatened to make me eat my own shit if I so much as take my eyes off you.  Can I get you something to drink while you wait?  A bottle of water?  If you need anything at all, please let me know, ma’am.”

What the heck was going on?  One minute this guy was ready to kick me to the curb and now he was all ‘please’ and ‘ma’am.’  Wow. 

This town is wild!  I can’t wait to see what happens next!

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[Author’s Note:  No, this story is not ending on a cliffhanger because I would never do that to you.  I just really, really grew to love these characters and felt like more of their story should be told.  Shy and innocent Chrissie in big, bad New York City?  Wow.  The possibilities are endless.  Guess I better hurry up and get writing…]