If Chase hadn’t spent another half hour on his scavenger hunt in the grocery store, he would have seriously considered following Ben back to his place so they could have talked some more.

In an instant, Chase had been reminded of why they had been such great friends in the first place—he just felt at ease with Ben, and they had a connection that had apparently still survived after so many years without being around each other.

At least, Chase felt like the connection was still there.

He assumed Ben felt the same way, but… then again, maybe not?

Ben had been a little hesitant—okay, a lot hesitant—when Chase had invited him over for dinner, but Chase really only picked up on it after the fact, when he was going back over their conversation in his head.

As he unloaded the groceries from the beat up pick-up he’d been driving since approximately forever, he wondered about that hesitation. Had he just put Ben on the spot? Or was there something more?

Then, a thought occurred to him that made the pit of his stomach ache. Maybe Ben didn’t want to spend any time with him.

But no. Ben wouldn’t have suggested meeting another time, if that had been the case.

Right?

And hadn’t Ben been the one to suggest that?

“Fucking shitty memory,” Chase cursed under his breath as he hauled the bags of groceries up onto the kitchen counter.

“What was that, dear?” Patricia Carpenter called from the other side of the kitchen, looking back over her shoulder with a perfectly arched eyebrow.

He knew she hated the casual swearing that he’d picked up in the Marines, but it was a tough habit to break. Not that he’d been trying that hard, if he was being honest. Still, though, he should probably make more of an effort—at least while he was at home.

Once he made it to New York, the habit would no doubt be back again in full force. Chase didn’t know much about security guys and bodyguards, but if most of them were badass ex-military, like Jake had claimed, then… yeah, Chase would probably stick out more by not cursing.

“It was nothing,” Chase grinned, knowing he wasn’t fooling her. He would make a conscious effort to clean up his mouth while he was under her roof, though. It was the least he could do for all the groceries he was bound to go through over the next several days. “I think I found most of the stuff you sent me for. Some of it was a little, uh… questionable.”

She turned and gave him a concerned look as she rushed over to look through the grocery bags. “Oh, no… did they have everything? Was Mr. Stevenson there to help you find the things you were having trouble with?”

Chase shook his head silently as he watched her rummage through the bags. Did she really think he would have come back without finishing the mission?

And no, he hadn’t asked the owner of the store for help. Partially because Mr. Stevenson had been at least eighty years old and mean as hell back when Chase had been a kid. If the old man was still alive now, he had to be pushing ninety, and Chase really didn’t want to see what another decade had done for his temperament.

“I found everything on my own,” Chase said, finally. “Well, actually I ran into Ben while I was there and he pointed me in the right direction for a couple of things.”

“Ben?” She stopped putting away groceries and looked at him, cocking her head to the side. “Ben Harper?”

“Yeah, of course Ben Harper.” Chase furrowed his eyebrows. “Have you ever heard me mention any other Ben?”

“No,” she shook her head. “No, I don’t suppose I have heard you mention anyone else… I just hadn’t heard that name in so long. The last time I saw him was at his parents’ funeral. Goodness, that was so sad. Heartbreaking seeing those two boys have to go through an ordeal like that.” She closed her eyes and paused for a moment. “And then before that… it’s probably not been since you two were in school together.”

“Since my going away party,” Chase said, suddenly regretting bringing the topic up.

It hurt him all over again that he hadn’t been around to help Ben through what had to have been the worst time in his life. And from the pained expression on his mother’s face, Chase could only imagine how tough that period of time had been for his best friend.

Just another reason to make sure he got a chance to spend some time with Ben before it was time to leave again. Maybe they could both get a few more good memories out of the couple of weeks he had left.

Patricia’s eyes lit up and she clasped her hands together. “You should invite him over tonight for dinner. I’m making enough food to feed an army. I wonder if he kept his parents’ old phone number…”

“I’ve got his number,” Chase said, holding a hand up before she could start looking around for her old phone book. “And I already asked him about dinner. He can’t some.”

She frowned. “Oh, that’s too bad, dear. I remember when the two of you used to be inseparable. It was almost like having an extra son running around here. Those Harper boys were always such good kids.”

“Yeah, we were pretty inseparable,” Chase said, trying not to get lost in the memories that were already starting to crowd in. “But I think we’re going to try and get together another time before I have to leave.”

“That’ll be good, dear.” She patted his arm before turning her attention back to the groceries. “Ben was such a good friend to you. It would be a shame not to spend some time with him. But anyway, I hope you’re ready for dinner tonight. It’s going to be nice having the whole family together again under one roof. Well, except for Jacob.” She sighed. “I’ll never understand why the two of you insist on living so far away from home, but it does make me feel a little better to know you’ll at least be up there together in New York. You can keep an eye on each other for me.”

Chase laughed. “I don’t know how much we’ll be watching each other, Mom. But yeah, I’m excited to get settled in up there. I’m ready for this new phase of my life to start.”

She pressed her lips together in a thin smile, a sure sign she had more to say, but she kept whatever her opinion might be on that subject to herself.

Which was convenient, since Chase really didn’t feel like listening politely while she tried to talk him out of moving.

Again.

Like she had almost every other time the subject had come up.

With the conversation apparently over, all he had to worry about now was making it through dinner with the rest of his family without them ganging up to voice any objections to his plans.

Until then, he just had to try and relax. He knew they all wanted what was best for him, but it seemed like everyone had a different opinion as to what that might be.

And their opinions usually didn’t line up with his.

Chase wandered into the living room and sat down on the couch, then picked up the TV remote. Maybe there would be something on to take his mind off everything—dinner, family, the upcoming move… Ben.

Trying not to think about him was the hardest part of all. Even without really talking in years, it was impossible to ignore all of their shared history.

Chase really didn’t know what he was going to do or say when he finally got the chance to see Ben again.

But one thing was for sure—he couldn’t wait for that chance to happen.

Chase looked around the dinner table and smiled. It really was the biggest family gathering he’d attended in years—a fact that left him with a little pang of guilt.

Nobody seemed focused on the times he’d missed, though. Everyone was laughing and joking, catching up and telling stories as they passed around the amazing food his mom had made.

Besides his parents, there was his Aunt Rita with her new husband—Jerry or Jimmy or… something. And then his Uncle Ricky with his husband, Eddie. His twin cousins, Julie and Jamie, rounded out the gathering.

The only person missing was Jake. But he’d be in town soon enough to help Chase move, so their mom had let it slide that he’d be missing this particular dinner.

“You’re going to love Manhattan,” Ricky said, beaming across the table as he cut into the piece of fish on his plate. “I’m tempted to help you guys move just so I have an excuse to spend a few days there.”

Chase grinned. “You and Eddie are more than welcome to visit anytime, Uncle Ricky. It might be close quarters when it comes to sleeping, though, judging from the pictures I’ve seen of Jake’s apartment.”

“That’s okay,” Eddie chimed in, giving Ricky a knowing look. “New York isn’t for sleeping. There’s just so much to do… sleeping is pretty low on the priority list.”

“Yeah, I can’t wait,” Chase said, then turned his smile down a couple of notches when he heard his mom let out a quiet but heavy sigh from the other end of the table. “It’s gonna be hard leaving here again, though.”

And while he didn’t really think it was going to be that hard to leave, he didn’t want his parents to think that his reasons for moving had anything to do with them. Because it didn’t. Chase just couldn’t imagine that Baxter Springs had much in store for him.

“I doubt you’ll have a lot of time for partying once you get there,” Chase’s dad, Neil, said, the message behind his no-nonsense tone coming through loud and clear. “I’m pretty sure Jake stays busy from before sunrise until sometimes late at night. I hope you’re ready for that kind of commitment.”

“Yeah, I think I can manage,” Chase said, keeping the smile on his face even though he wanted to ask his dad what the hell he thought Chase had been doing in the United States Marine Corps for the past eight years. It’s not like they spent their days sitting around sipping mojitos. “But I don’t really plan on doing a lot of partying anyway. I just want to live a little. And Jake has already told me he’s going to be busting my a—uh, keeping me busy, I mean.”

Chase stopped himself there. He could feel his face heating up and he didn’t want to cause a scene at the table. It was supposed to be a happy, celebratory dinner.

Not some kind of lecture or referendum on Chase’s life choices.

“And you don’t feel like you could get any living done if you stayed a little closer to home?” Aunt Rita asked. So maybe the lecture wasn’t quite over, after all. “New York City is a long way to go just to spend most of your time working.”

“You know, I thought for sure that I’d end up living somewhere else after I went off to college in Lawrence.” Chase’s dad gave a little shrug between bites of food. “And look at me now.”

He grinned as if the answer should be self-evident, but if it was, Chase couldn’t see it. “So…” Chase began, quirking an eyebrow inquisitively, “What happened? What made you come back and start a family?”

“I finally agreed to go on a date with him,” Patricia interjected.

“That’s right,” his dad nodded. “And your mother still lived here with Grandma and Grandpa Smith. And they weren’t about to let me take their daughter away where they couldn’t keep an eye on me.” He smiled at his wife, then added, “So I did what any man in love would do. I got a job in Joplin, made myself respectable, and married her.”

Patricia blew her husband a kiss and Chase fought to contain an eye-roll. “Oh, Neil. I still remember those days like it was only last week. And now I know exactly how Mama and Daddy felt when you and I were ready to start our own family.”

“Obviously that worked out well for both of you,” Chase said. “But no offense… I just can’t see myself meeting someone and settling down here in town. And especially not starting a family.”

“You never know what life is going to bring you, Chase,” Rita said, tossing a smile in her newest husband’s direction. “Sometimes you just have to listen to your gut and do what’s right for your life. We’d all love to see you stay, but I don’t think anyone truly wants to hold you back.”

Chase smiled and hoped his aunt could see the silent thanks in his eyes for taking some of the tension out of the air. He was pretty sure she was right. His parents were a little overprotective, but they’d managed just fine while he had been fighting on the other side of the world, so he assumed his decision to move to the east coast would’ve been much easier for them to get used to.

Hopefully they’d come around in the next couple of weeks. If not, he knew they would eventually.

Either way, it didn’t really matter too much. He would be polite and respectful, and would even take their opinions under consideration.

None of that would change what he already knew—what had already been decided.

Chase was leaving Baxter Springs for New York in two weeks, come hell or high water.

No amount of talking was going to change his mind.