CHAPTER THREE
CHASE
I was out on my horse, Phoenix, heading back to the stables, when I caught sight of Abby walking by. She stopped outside my fence and waved, shooting me a sweet smile. She was such a tiny, little thing, and adorable as all hell. Just the type of woman I'd have gone for once upon a time, back when I believed in happily ever afters and shit that was too farfetched for me to even consider now.
Her blonde hair was loose today, blowing in the wind and into her face. It was so long, it fell almost to her waist, and was silky smooth. I gripped the reins on Phoenix tighter, as the desire to run my hands through her hair overcame me.
I kept on riding Phoenix, doing my level best not to look at her. I didn't want her to ask me for another ride – or worse, out on a date. Either one would be hard for me to turn down, but I really, truly did not want to date her. Not because she wasn't attractive or appealing, but because she was both of those things, which was the last thing I needed in my life.
I glanced back over at Abby as she tossed her leg over the fence – a fence that was much too high for someone like her to jump over. Her short-shorts got snagged on the wire as she was trying to climb over. She tried to pull herself free and had both of her feet well off the ground. Letting out a long breath, I hurried on over to help her before she split her damn fool head wide open.
Phoenix stopped just short of her, and I hopped down from the horse in a hurry. Abby was still yanking at the denim, cursing and muttering under her breath.
“See? Nothing good ever comes from trespassing, Abby,” I growled. “What did I tell you about that?”
I stormed over to her and pulled out my pocket knife. She sighed as she looked at me.
“I didn't think it would be trespassing if I was coming to visit you,” she said.
“Did I ask you to come over?” “I asked. “In fact, I seem to recall saying something about being better left alone.”
“Well, yeah, but –”
“Then it's trespassing,” I grumbled.
I flipped out the knife and mumbled for her to hold still. She was really stuck, and there was going to be a hole in her shorts after I managed to get her free. As soon as my hand was in place, I hesitated, realizing how close to her most intimate parts I'd be getting. Instead, I handed the knife to her, handle first.
She took it from me and cut herself free, jumping over the fence, finally landing on the other side with me. She handed the knife back to me with a smile, seemingly oblivious to the hole in her shorts. I wasn't though and saw that her underwear was pink. I probably shouldn't have known that much about her, but it was hard not to. If Abby cared that I could see her panties plain as day, it didn't show.
“Thanks for that,” she said. “It sucks being short sometimes.”
“Maybe that's a lesson to not hop fences,” I said.
“Or maybe, I just need a horse to jump with me,” she said.
Her eyes lit up, and I noticed she wasn't looking at me anymore. Her eyes were on Phoenix, the golden red stallion in front of her. Luckily for her, Phoenix was a friendly horse – friendlier than some of my other mounts. Abby walked up and stroked his mane, enamored with the creature.
“I've never seen a real live horse before,” she said. “I'm sorry, I just couldn't help myself.”
“You've never seen a horse before?”
“Not up close, no,” she said as she stroked Phoenix's muzzle. “He's beautiful. Can I ride him sometime?”
“No,” I said, grabbing Phoenix's reins.
Her face fell, and her shoulders slumped – and I instantly felt like an asshole. Cringing, I let out a long breath and shook my head, running a hand through my hair.
“He's a bit wild and big for a beginner,” I said. “You'd need a calmer horse.”
“Do you have one I could ride?” she asked, her eyes sparkling. “A calmer one?”
Dammit. I should tell her no. I should tell her that I can't help her, and she needs to get the hell off my property. Her blue eyes sparkled with so much excitement and so much child-like wonder. She was like a little girl on Christmas, begging her parents to let her open her presents. Looking down into that bright, beaming face, there was no way I wanted to be the asshole who denied her that.
“Sure, maybe one of these days,” I mumbled, smoothing out my beard with my hand.
“Really, Chase?” she asked, eyes wide.
She had obviously expected me to say no and I'd managed to surprise her. Crap. I gave myself a swift mental kick in the ass, knowing I should have said no. Now, I was obliged to keep my promise to her or else I'd really be a dick.
“Yeah, just not today,” I said. “I'm already going in for the night.”
“Oh, yeah, that's fine,” she said.
I took Phoenix and walked him back toward the stable, and Abby followed on my heel, stroking the horse's coat. I didn't have the heart to tell her to leave – even though I wanted nothing more than to be left alone – so I let her come along with me. She seemed lonely, and while I liked being alone, I knew what that was like. I knew the pain and isolation some people felt when left entirely on their own for too long. I'd gotten used to it; had actually come to like it. But, I wasn't unfamiliar with the hurt it caused.
“So, what's her name?” she asked.
“His name is Phoenix,” I said.
“Ahh, because his coat is reddish? Kind of like fire?” she asked.
I shrugged. “I didn't name him.”
“Oh,” she said. “Who named him then?”
We reached the stable, and I put the horse back in his stall. Abby stared at the other horses, her eyes wide, and an expression of pure rapture on her face. She looked like she'd died and was in heaven. She walked up to a black and white stallion who was just staring at her with big, black eyes. As soon as their eyes met, I knew Abby wouldn't be able to resist. She reached out her hand, but I grabbed her by the wrist, stopping her from making a very big mistake.
“He bites,” I said calmly. “You should always ask before touching someone's horse. Or any animals for that matter. Not all of 'em are friendly.”
“I'm sorry,” she said, her voice soft, sounding like a dejected child. “I didn't know that horses bit.”
I motioned to Mary, a gray mare that was as sweet as molasses, perched in a stall across the barn. She was a smaller horse, not fit for riding unless you were a child – or perhaps, somebody Abby's size.
“This is Mary,” I said. “She's friendly.”
Abby walked over to Mary and stroked her soft muzzle. The mare leaned into Abby's hand, and even I had to appreciate the moment. Abby scratched between Mary's ears, and unable to stop myself, I grabbed a carrot for her.
“Here, feed her this and she'll love you forever,” I said.
Abby took the carrot and held it out to the horse, holding it by the greens. Mary munched on it, her big teeth chomping away and bringing a squeal of delight from Abby. An unexpected smile curled at my lips as I watched the horse eating the carrot from Abby's hand.
“This is so awesome,” she said. “I love her.”
“Looks like she's fond of you too,” I said.
Once the carrot was gone, Abby turned to me with a grin. Her hair was all over her face, windblown and messy, but she was smiling so brightly, nothing else mattered in that moment. It felt like someone had hit me hard in the chest, and all the air whooshed right out of me. Her blue eyes were locked on mine, and nothing could make me stop smiling right then.
“Thank you, Chase,” she said. “I was just heading into town to grab a bite to eat. Maybe you'd like to join me?”
I cringed. There it was. She was asking me out to dinner. A date.
“I, umm,” I stammered, removing my hat and scratching my head. “I really don't think that's a good idea.”
“Why not?” she asked, cocking her head to the side like an adorable little puppy.
“Well, for one thing, your shorts are – ”
Abby's eyes grew wide, as if she just now remembered her little mishap on the fence. Her hands grabbed at the hole in her shorts and her cheeks flushed bright with color.
“You're right. Dammit,” she said. “I need to go all the way back home and change before I go into town.”
That would be one hell of a walk.
“Come on,” I said, closing the stable.
“What are you talking about?”
“I'm going to run you home, then take you into town for some dinner,” I said.
“Really?” she asked. “Honestly, Chase, you don't have to.”
She was giving me an out, but I could hear in her voice that she was happy about the idea of having dinner together. Maybe a little too happy.
It's not a date, Chase. You just don't want the girl walking around by herself. Yeah, that's it. I was just doing her a favor. Besides, I'd planned to go into town for some food anyway. Might as well help Abby out while I was at it. Right?
I drove Abby back over to her place and waited in the truck while she rushed in to change. Staring at Cody's old house brought back memories. Too many memories. Enough memories that I didn't want to go inside and experience the worst of them. Cody used to be my friend, one of few I'd had since moving here after leaving the Corps. Losing him had been the final nail in the coffin for me.
Abby ran out of the house, slamming the door behind her. Instead of short-shorts, she came out wearing a dark gray skirt that billowed around her hips, and a pink lace top that hugged her curves in all the right places. A white tank top was the only thing preventing her boobs from showing through the lace, and as I sat there and watched her jog toward the truck, my cock began to grow rigid, pressing against my jeans.
Fuck, me. She was gorgeous.
Her honey blonde hair was brushed now and pulled back into a side braid that fell over her right shoulder. Tendrils fell loose around her soft, perfectly oval face. She hopped in the truck, grinning from ear-to-ear and my cock was so hard, I had to subtly adjust in my seat.
“Where to?” she asked.
“Well, we don't really have that many options,” I said, pulling out of her gravel driveway. “Figured we'd just go to the diner in town.”
“Greasy fried food and lots of bacon?” she asked.
I stifled a laugh. “You betcha.”
“Sounds like my kind of place.”
I cocked an eyebrow and looked over at her. “I thought you'd be one of those healthy, granola eating types.”
“Because I came from San Francisco? Seriously?” she asked, shaking her head. “Way to stereotype, Chase.”
“So, you don't eat granola?”
“Sometimes. But I prefer bacon,” she said with a chuckle. “Not all Californians are hippies, you know.”
“Learn something new every day,” I said.
“Uh huh,” she said. “So, tell me, Chase, why do you hate Californians so much?”
“I don't hate nobody,” I shrugged. “They're just usually not my type of people.”
“Who are your types of people then?” she asked, leaning back against the headrest of my truck, just staring at me with impossibly big, blue eyes.
“No one, really,” I said. “Like I've told you a thousand times already, I mostly tend to keep to myself.”
“Tell me something I didn't know,” she laughed.
A smile pulled at my lips, but I pushed it away before it made it to my eyes. The last thing I wanted to do was to keep encouraging the girl. Abby continued tormenting me, peppering me with her seemingly never-ending supply of questions though.
“Why are you so bound and determined to remain alone and miserable?” she asked.
My grip tightened on the steering wheel. I stared straight out at the road, every muscle in my neck and shoulders tensed to the max. One question too many – a question I had no desire to answer. Especially not to a woman I'd only just met the day before.
“It's none of your business,” I muttered, a little more harshly than I’d intended.
“Sorry, I didn't mean to – ” she stammered. “Shit. I keep saying the wrong thing, asking too many personal questions. You're just the first friendly face I met since I moved here.”
“I'm not that friendly,” I chuckled.
She studied me for a long time, a serious look on her pretty face. “I know you're a good person,” she said. “I can see it. I can tell.”
“You can, huh?” I asked skeptically. “You figured all that out just from the little bit of talking we've done?”
“No, I just know. You're a Marine – just like my daddy was,” she said. “I know you guys tend to be a little rough around the edges, but to serve your country, you have to have a good heart.”
I stared at her. “How did you know I was a Marine?”
“Your tattoo,” she said, reaching over and lifting my sleeve. “Semper Fi. I know a Marine tat when I see one.”
Her hand touched my arm, and there was a warmth I hadn't expected in her touch. She didn't hurry and pull away, and surprisingly, I didn't push her hand away either. She traced the words on my arm, as if remembering something from her past.
There was sadness in her eyes, and for a moment, she seemed to be somewhere else entirely.
“Abby?”
She dropped her hand. “Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking about my dad again.”
Tears filled her eyes as we pulled up in front of the diner. I stopped the truck but didn't rush to get out. Instead, I turned and looked into her eyes.
“What happened to him?” I asked softly.
“He died when I was nineteen. So did my mom,” she said softly. “Car accident. That's the reason I hate driving.”
Tears fell from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks before she could stop them. She wiped at them with her arm, but it was too late. There were just too many tears now, and they kept flowing
“I'm sorry,” she said, sniffling and continuing to wipe away the tears. “I get a little emotional still. It's only been a few years since I lost them, and I – I feel so lonely. Lost without them.”
“I'm sorry, Abby,” I said softly.
I wasn't sure what to say or do. I hardly knew the girl but seeing her in tears while she sat right next to me made my stomach roil. I wanted to make the tears stop falling, to tell her everything would be okay, but we both knew it wouldn't be. Nothing would ever be okay again. Not when you lose everyone you love so dearly.
I knew, firsthand, how difficult it was. I also knew how empty platitudes did nothing to wash away that pain. I offered my hand to her, but she shook her head, continuing to wipe the tears away. She even managed a soft, sweet smile, her way of telling me she was okay.
Even though we both knew it was a lie.