Hannah finished applying her mascara and studied her reflection in the mirror, ignoring her ringing phone. She was sure it was her mother, nagging her about going to dinner tomorrow. She’d pretended to be sick last week to get out of it, but she wasn’t sure that excuse would fly twice. She was still tempted to try, though.

She was going to watch a fight tonight for the first time. She thought she looked okay for where she was going. She had on jeans, boots, and a pink zip up sweater with a plain white tank top underneath. Her makeup was minimal and her long hair was in a messy braid draped over her shoulder. Nothing fancy but still cute, she finally decided.

She made her way to the door, grabbing an over the shoulder purse and her keys off the table. The fight was at the Anderson’s ranch, which was a good distance away, so she needed to get going if she wanted to make it in time.

Excitement propelled her forward. She’d been holed up for a week since the confrontation with Chase, only leaving the house for work and to do a quick grocery run. She hadn’t even gone to train, worried she’d run into Chase while she was there.

Enough of that, though. She couldn’t live her life like a hermit just because she was scared of running into someone.

She wavered between being proud as hell of herself, and feeling ashamed that she’d let her emotions get the better of her. Yeah, she was tired of taking his crap, but she could have just said so. Instead, her temper got the best of her and she’d used one of the moves Cammie had taught her to knock him to the floor.

He deserved to be taken down a peg or two, but that didn’t necessarily mean knocking him on his butt.

She’d try to ignore him from now on if she saw him again. No more sitting in silence, waiting on him to insult her, but no more using physical violence as a means of expressing herself, either.

Although… she couldn’t help but feel a little bit like a badass. She’d taken down Chase, a two-hundred-pound sack of muscle, with ease. She had a feeling not many could say that.

Hannah unzipped the window to her Jeep, inhaling the cool night air, hoping to clear her head a little. She wasn’t sure if she would see Chase tonight, but he and Ian were friends, so there was a pretty good chance she would. She needed to be prepared to turn on her heel and walk in the other direction if she saw him.

She pulled her Wrangler onto a worn gravel road, swerving to avoid the potholes that peppered the lane. The barn where the fight was being held wasn’t hard to find. Rows of cars were parked in the grass next to it. She pulled into a free spot, looking around her in surprise. She hadn’t realized the fights were so popular. She bet her parents, her wanna-be mayor father especially, had no idea this went on in Eagle Creek.

She zipped her window back up and hopped out of the Jeep, unable to stop a small, glee filled smile from stretching her lips as she thought about how her parents would react if they saw her here.

Then again, it was probably best she never find out.

Hannah walked through the darkness, alternating between squinting at the ground to make sure she didn’t step in any holes, and searching for Cammie. She finally saw her waving by the entrance.

“You ready?” Cammie asked as Hannah reached her.

Nodding enthusiastically, she replied, “Of course! I’ve been looking forward to this all week. Thanks again for inviting me.”

Cammie led her inside, raising her voice over the crowd. “Listen, this isn’t like the sparring you’ve seen me and Angela doing, or even the guys when they practice. This is the real deal, and these fighters fight to win. It can get a little intense and bloody.”

“I can handle it,” Hannah assured her as she tried to take everything in.

In the middle of the room was a makeshift ring, the floor dirt like the rest of the rundown barn. It was marked off with rope, separated from a row of hay bale seating by a few feet. It didn’t look like enough space separating the fight from the spectators to her, but what did she know? She’d never been to a fight before.

She followed Hannah to a spot midway up the homemade wooden bleachers on the right and settled in, her eyes still trying to take everything in.

“First up are some out of towners, but after that, two of our boys are facing off against each other. Seth and Jax drew each other. The winner will fight Ian later.”

“What about the winner from the first match?” Hannah asked in puzzlement.

Cammie waved a hand dismissively. “They don’t match up newbies with our boys. It’s an unfair fight. There’s no way to know if they’re good enough to go up against them, and they usually aren’t. They don’t stand a chance.”

It seemed like a cocky statement to make, but Hannah shrugged, her attention drawn away when an older man stepped into the ring. The buzz in the room quieted as the man introduced the first fighters of the night. They came up the aisle she’d seen leading to the back, so she guessed that was where the fighters got ready.

The fight got underway, and Hannah stared, riveted. It was entertaining as all get out, but really, she didn’t see what was so intense about it. There was some blood, sure, but it didn’t seem very hardcore.

The fight was over in a few minutes, and soon, Seth and Jax were being introduced. The crowd cheered loudly in anticipation, and Hannah’s breath caught as she watched them walk into the ring wearing nothing except shorts. There were abs for days in front of her, and she stared in appreciation. Lord, those were some gorgeous men.

Their fight started and it quickly became apparent that Cammie hadn’t been exaggerating. This fight was far more brutal than the previous one. She flinched when Jax landed a blow she thought for sure would knock Seth out, or at the least on his behind, but Seth just shook his head, wiped the blood away, and grinned like a lunatic, gesturing for Jax to go at him again.

The fight felt like it lasted forever, far longer than the last one had. By the time it was done, Jax was declared the winner, and Hannah was thoroughly queasy. She supposed it had been entertaining, but despite Cammie’s warning, she still wasn’t prepared for the sheer violence of it. If she didn’t know Jax and Seth were good friends, she would have thought they were trying to kill each other.

Spotting a bar in the corner, Hannah quickly turned to Hannah. “I’m gonna go grab a beer.”

Cammie studied her face and frowned. “Are you okay, Hannah?”

“Oh, I’m fine. Just thirsty and a little hot. I’ll grab something to drink and go cool off for a minute.”

Cammie didn’t look convinced, but she nodded. “All right. I’ll be here when you get done.”

Hannah stood and made her way down the bleachers a bit unsteadily. She ordered a beer at the counter and waited impatiently for the man serving to pop the top. Grabbing it with murmured thanks, she headed out of the hot barn and into the cool night air.

She leaned against the side of the barn and exhaled, waiting a moment before she lifted the bottle and took a long pull of the cold liquid. Leaning her head back, she closed her eyes as she waited to feel the calming effects of the alcohol and the cool air.

She felt stupid for not listening to Cammie’s warning, but hell. The first fight had been nothing compared to the second. Like a children’s fight on the playground versus a grittier version of a championship MMA fight. There’s no way she could have expected that.

“I never would have pegged you for a beer drinker.”

Hannah’s eyes popped open and she glared at Chase. He looked delicious, and her mouth literally watered a little when she saw him, but she ignored it. He was a jerk who didn’t deserve the good looks God had blessed him with.

“What, did you think I only drank champagne and lattes?” Hannah asked sarcastically. She forced herself to stop and took a deep breath. “Look, Chase, I’m not in the mood for your insults tonight, okay? So just go on inside and forget you ever saw me out here.”

Chase shifted his weight uncomfortably, and Hannah swore she saw a flush stain his cheeks. She shook her head and dropped her eyes to where she was fiddling with the label on her beer bottle. She had to have been mistaken. There wasn’t much light out here, and there’s no way Chase MacKeltar had the decency to feel bad, much less blush, over the things he’d said to her.

He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, Hannah. I shouldn’t have said the things I said to you.”

Hannah’s eyes shot up to his, wide with shock. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, but she couldn’t have replied to save her life. Her vocal chords were frozen.

He grinned wryly at the shock evident on her face. “What, can’t believe I could apologize?” The grin dropped from his face and he became serious. “I really am sorry, Hannah. I let my feelings on your behavior in the past cloud my judgment. I never should have spoken to you like that. Maybe you really have changed, I don’t know. But even if you hadn’t, it wasn’t my place to give you hell about it. I just don’t want Parker or Kelsey hurt.”

“You never tried to get to know me well enough to truly form a judgment about me, Chase. Then or now.”

The words burst out of her mouth before she could stop them, and Hannah clamped her mouth shut before she said more. He’d apologized. It was enough. It had to be, because not only had others accepted her apologies for far worse, but she couldn’t expect more from him than that. It was more than she thought she’d ever get from him, anyway.

“Fair enough,” he replied with a nod.

They were quiet after that. Hannah took another sip of her beer, and fiddled with the label self-consciously, wishing he’d go away. She couldn’t figure out why he wasn’t going back inside, or why he was studying her so intently.

“Why are you out here all alone? Are you okay?” he finally asked.

“I’m fine. It just got too hot in there, so I came out to cool off. I’ll go back inside in a bit,” Hannah replied, brow wrinkling slightly over the unexpected concern in his voice.

Chase squinted at her, coming closer, and she fought the urge to squirm under his scrutiny.

“Are you sure? You don’t look okay. You’re really pale. Are you sick?”

Hannah took a deep breath, trying not to be affected by his continued concern. The man had been a complete jerk to her up until this moment. She couldn’t trust this sudden turnaround in him.

“You know, I do feel a little sick,” she said, not totally a lie. Her stomach did still feel a little queasy from the fight. “I’m just going to go inside and sit down.”

She turned to flee after giving him her excuse to get away, sure that would be the end of it, but froze when she felt his hand on her arm. She looked down in shock at his big hand, tan although it was only April, the color stark against the light pink of her sweater. He was touching her, for the first time ever, and she could hardly breathe through the butterflies exploding in her stomach.

“Hannah, wait. If you’re sick, maybe you should head home. Let me drive you.”

She knew her mouth was hanging open, but she couldn’t help it. She couldn’t believe he’d seriously just offered to drive her home. Maybe this was all a hallucination. Her mind was still unsettled from the fight, and when she closed her eyes earlier, she started dreaming this whole conversation up.

Damn, she had a good imagination.

But then he squeezed her arm lightly and rubbed his thumb against her forearm, and Hannah knew she wasn’t imagining this. Chase really was standing in front of her, offering to drive her home with concern in his eyes, because he thought she was sick.

“I can drive myself. Besides, didn’t you drive your truck here? You wouldn’t be able to get back to it.”

“I rode over with Ty. I can find a way home, just let me drive you. I want to make sure you get home safely. Please, Hannah.”

She studied him, wondering what this was all about. Maybe it was a trick of some sort. She didn’t think he’d physically hurt her. He might be a jerk, but he wasn’t violent. She wasn’t sure why she was even contemplating this. It was crazy. But the part of her that had always longed for Chase was quickly taking over the sensible part of her.

In the end, it was the ‘please’ that did it. She couldn’t have resisted that word coming from his mouth if she’d tried. Besides, she really liked this nice version of Chase, and she wanted to bask in it as long as she could. Maybe it wouldn’t last, and he’d turn into a jerk again before they got to her house, but she had to find out for herself if he’d meant his apology.

“Okay,” she said with a deep breath. “I’ll let you drive me home. Let me go tell Cammie I’m leaving.”

Relief shone briefly in his whiskey brown gaze as he nodded. “All right. I’ll be right here when you get back.”

Hannah searched his eyes for any hint he wasn’t being sincere, and finding none, she headed back inside. Jax was fighting Ian now, and she studiously kept her eyes averted as she made her way back to Cammie.

“Hey, I’m going to head home,” she shouted close to Cammie’s ear, not willing to reveal that it was actually Chase taking her.

“Are you okay?” Cammie asked, worry in her blue eyes.

“I’m fine. I just think I ate something bad earlier. I’ll be okay once I get some rest and fluids.”

“Okay, if you’re sure. Text me when you get home, okay?” Cammie replied, not looking like she bought Hannah’s excuse.

Hannah nodded and quickly made her way down the bleachers and back outside, almost surprised when she found Chase where she left him. She realized she’d half expected him to have taken off. He straightened up when he saw her and held out his hand.

“Keys?”

She eyed him for a moment, then dug her keys out of her purse and handed them to him. He gestured for her to walk in front of him and Hannah moved toward her Jeep, conscious of his eyes on her as he walked behind her. She could practically feel his gaze burning into her, and she thought maybe he was staring at her behind as she walked, but she dismissed that thought as soon she had it.

No matter how he was acting now, he still hated her. He couldn’t be staring at her butt.

Questioning herself again about why she was going along with this, she whirled around and pinned him with her most intimidating glare.

“If you try to pull anything, or start insulting me again, I’m calling Parker, and you’ll never hear the end of it. And then I’ll knock you on your ass again. We both know I can do it.”

Chase’s eyebrows rose, and he held up his hands as he chuckled. “I know, and I wouldn’t risk another beat down from you.” His laughter faded, and he turned serious. “I promise, nothing like that tonight, or ever again. You’re safe with me, and you can trust me. I know you don’t believe that yet, but it’s the truth.”

Eying him contemplatively, Hannah finally nodded and turned back around without saying anything else. It was probably stupid of her, but she found that she did trust him, to an extent. At least enough to get her home safely.

He unlocked the doors and surprised her further when he opened her door for her. She climbed in, watching as he got in the driver’s seat and started the Jeep, pulling out onto the gravel road.

They were silent until they hit the main road, but Hannah didn’t mind. She was too busy ogling his muscled forearms as he maneuvered the car.

“Why a Jeep? It doesn’t seem like a car you’d have,” Chase said, breaking the silence. He shot her a quick look. “Don’t take that the wrong way. It was an honest question, not a dig.”

Hannah toyed with her zipper, pulling it up and down as she contemplated how to answer him. She finally settled on honesty, though she thought it might make her sound petty.

“Honestly, I was looking for something that would piss my parents off,” she replied, smiling when Chase let out a chuckle. “I’ve always liked Wranglers, so it seemed like a no brainer. I’m glad I got one. I love this car.”

“Almost as nice as my truck,” he said with a quick wink that made her insides flutter madly.

“I wanted to rebel all the way with my choice, but I couldn’t bring myself to do what I wanted, so I settled for this one,” she blurted, trying to distract herself from the butterflies in her belly.

“What did you really want?” Chase asked.

Hannah hesitated, sure this would be when he made fun of her. “I really wanted a pink one. Don’t laugh. I know it fits the dumb blonde stereotype, but it’s my favorite color. I settled for red, as close to pink as I could get.”

Chase’s eyes danced with amusement when he glanced her way, but to his credit, he didn’t laugh. “You should have gotten one if it made you happy. Lots of people buy cars in their favorite color. And nothing about you screams dumb blonde, Hannah. I’m sorry for making it sound like I felt that way last week. It’s not really how I feel.”

Her head whipped around. “Are you serious?”

“Of course. I really am sorry.”

“No, no. About the dumb blonde part. You really don’t think I come off as one?”

“No,” he replied, brow furrowed. “Why would you think you do?”

“Maybe because I’ve heard that my whole life,” she said simply, going with the easiest answer.

“Then you’ve heard wrong your whole life,” he said just as simply. “You’re many things, Hannah, but dumb isn’t one of them.”

They fell silent the rest of the drive to town, and she studied him contemplatively. This wasn’t a side she’d seen of him before. Well, it was, just not with her.

Chase had always been easygoing, the life of the party, full of jokes and laughter, and rarely serious. The complete opposite of his intimidating older brother. He was a smartass at times, but it was always in a humorous way. The only time she’d ever seen him serious, besides with her, was sometimes when he studied his sister. When he thought no one was looking, he watched Kelsey with an achingly sad expression in his eyes.

Hannah wasn’t sure what that was about, and she wasn’t sure anyone else noticed except for her. She watched him a lot, though. Even when he was at his worst with her, she hadn’t been able to help herself.

In high school, she watched him often as well, though she’d tried hard not to be obvious about it. She felt like she’d been studying him her whole life. Despite his family’s lower financial status, he was always out of her league. Money, or the lack of it, didn’t matter to her. It was the inside that counted, and even as a green teenager, she knew Chase was pure gold. And she… well, she’d been a horrible person. He’d always been so much better than her.

And she hadn’t dared let on to Wendy that she liked Chase. Wendy had always been after Ty, but it wouldn’t have stopped her from going after Chase as well until she caught him. It didn’t matter that she didn’t want him. Wendy had to have what other people wanted. She’d always been that way.

“Where do you live?” Chase asked as they entered town limits.

“On Cherry Blossom Lane. Not far.” She paused, wondering again what his motives were. The whole drive home felt a little surreal, because the turnaround in him was so sudden and unexpected. “Why are you doing this, Chase?”

His hands tightened on the steering wheel and he exhaled heavily. “Because I really am sorry for the way I’ve treated you, and I’m trying to make up for it.”

“Fair enough,” Hannah replied, not saying any more.

If he was serious, she had to accept it. The sting of his words in the past was still there, but she needed to let it go. She couldn’t hold onto words that would slowly poison her, and make her feel worse than she already did about herself. She had to put it in the past, where it belonged.

They pulled onto her road a few moments later and Hannah pointed out her house. Chase parked and she immediately hopped out of the Jeep. Being in such an enclosed space with him was more than she could handle right now.

He met her in front of the car and handed her the keys. “I’ll make sure you’re safely inside before I leave. I hope you feel better soon.”

She searched his eyes for a moment and smiled hesitantly. “Thanks, Chase. And don’t feel bad any longer, or try to make up for it. You’ve apologized, and that’s enough.”

She turned without waiting on a reply, making her way to her front door and unlocking it before slipping inside. She leaned back against the door once it was closed with a sigh.

That had been completely unexpected, and gave the whole evening a surreal quality. The last thing she’d thought would happen when she left the house tonight was Chase talking to her civilly, much less apologizing and driving her home.

She almost wished it hadn’t happened. She’d hardened her heart to him, fortified the walls surrounding it where he was concerned, and already, she could feel them cracking.

She wanted to get over the ridiculous crush she’d had on him for most of her life. And she’d been making strides in that direction. Until tonight. But now she could feel stirrings of it coming to life again, and that way would only lead to heartbreak.

Chase feeling guilty and apologizing for his behavior didn’t mean he would ever feel for her what she felt for him.

Hannah pushed away from the door and walked to the window, slowly pulling the curtains open a bit and peering out through the gap. She didn’t see him, so he must have left to find his ride home.

She exhaled as she turned and walked to her bedroom to get ready for bed. Time to work on eradicating him from her heart once again. Hopefully, it wouldn’t take too much effort this time. He’d said what he needed to say, and she doubted she’d see him again except in passing.