Hannah surreptitiously checked her phone, giggling a little over the message from Chase. It had been two days since he came to her house asking her to give them a shot.

They hadn’t seen each other, but they’d spoken on the phone a few times, and texted each other constantly. She looked forward to those calls and texts with an intensity that left her feeling a little breathless.

She was normally a stickler for the no cell phones rule at work, but she hadn’t been able to help herself, and now here she was, breaking her own rules. She was working at the reception desk today, so she had a little free time to shoot off back and forth messages with him. Chase was irresistible, and it didn’t matter that he wasn’t standing in front of her. He was everything gorgeous and hot, but that wasn’t what had her belly fluttering madly. Chase was sweet, a witty conversationalist, and hilarious at times. She’d known that, known how outgoing and funny he was, but she’d never had it directed her way before. It was intoxicating.

He was smart, too. Smarter than she’d realized at first, and it intimidated her. She didn’t know if she could keep up, and she worried he would get bored or realize she wasn’t in his league.

A throat cleared impatiently, and Hannah looked up with a smile that froze when she saw Wendy standing in front of her.

“I have an appointment,” Wendy said with a smirk.

Hannah panicked for a moment, thinking somehow Wendy had seen her phone and knew she was talking to Chase, but she forced herself to calm down and smile at Wendy.

“Okay. I’ll get you checked in and they’ll call you back in a moment.”

Wendy didn’t move, studying Hannah with cold eyes. Unnerved, Hannah fought to look calm and cool, raising her eyebrow in question.

“I haven’t seen you around much, Hannah. Not even at Cocky Pete’s. What have you been doing lately?”

Avoiding you, Hannah thought. “Mostly just working.”

Wendy narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth to reply, but the nurse called her name. Thank the good Lord the doctor was actually ahead of schedule for once.

Hannah watched as Wendy followed the nurse to the exam rooms, and as soon as she was out of sight, she slumped back in her chair.

The last thing she wanted was to talk to Wendy. She’d finally stood up to her and cut ties last year, thanks to watching Parker bravely tell Wendy what she could do with herself. It had taken everything in her to be strong enough to do it, but she’d never regretted it. In fact, she felt nothing but relief that she didn’t have to put up with Wendy any longer.

Wendy was nasty to everyone around her, including her own friends. Hannah couldn’t count the insults Wendy had hurled her way over the years.

But Wendy had promised her she would regret speaking to her like she did, regret ending their so-called friendship. And Wendy was nothing if not consistent. She’d left Hannah alone since the incident, and that should have reassured her, but instead it just made her nervous.

Wendy was plotting something, biding her time until everything was just right. She knew the way Wendy thought. Whatever she was planning would be epically bad news for Hannah, she was sure. She just had to keep avoiding her.

Hannah’s phone buzzed with a new text, but this time, she ignored it. No way was she risking Wendy somehow seeing her talking to Chase. No way, no how.

Hannah landed a solid hit to Cammie’s glove and stopped to squeal, jumping up and down. She’d finally done it. She’d kept up with Cammie, just a little, and finally landed a hit during one of their sessions. That was worth a bit of celebration.

Cammie grinned at her. “Excellent job, Hannah! I told you you’d get there eventually. Let’s take a little break.”

Hannah smiled and nodded, a little winded. It wasn’t as bad as it was when she first started training, but it was still hard to catch her breath. And it had taken a good bit of effort to go at Cammie enough that she could actually catch her.

She picked up her water bottle and frowned when she saw it was almost empty.

“Let’s go grab another one. You haven’t seen the rest of the house yet, have you?” Cammie said, noticing Hannah’s empty bottle.

Hannah shook her head and followed Cammie into the main part of the house, curious to see the rest of it. Her breath caught as she looked around.

She’d heard the house was unlivable when the fighters moved in. They must have done a ton of work, because it was gorgeous now. There were gleaming hardwood floors, and thick baseboards and crown moldings. There was even wainscoting in the living room.

Cammie followed her gaze and smiled. “Seth likes to work with wood. That’s pretty much all he does in his spare time. See those animals on the shelf over there? He whittled those.”

Hannah followed her gaze and walked closer, mouth popping open when she saw the intricate detail on the assortment of forest animals.

“He made these? They’re beautiful.” She stilled and cocked her head, straining to hear. “Is that a guitar?”

Cammie nodded as she gestured for Hannah to follow her into the kitchen. “Yeah. That’s Jax. He can play just about any instrument, but he mostly plays guitars or drums.”

She followed Cammie into a large kitchen, complete with dark wood cabinets and granite countertops. The appliances were outdated, but they didn’t diminish the improvements that had been made.

She almost walked into Cammie, who stopped abruptly in front of her, frozen. Hannah furrowed her brow and looked over her friend’s shoulder, wondering what had her attention.

Ian was sitting at the table, slicing some cheese, but he wasn’t who had Hannah’s attention. It was the little girl sitting quietly next to him, her hands in her lap, and her long, silky brown hair falling around her like a curtain. She was maybe seven or eight, and when she peeked shyly up at them, Hannah knew immediately whose she was. She had Ian’s bright blue eyes.

Ian looked over and his gaze shot to Hannah, and then to the girl, his brow lined with worry.

“You finally got her back,” Cammie whispered.

Ian cleared his throat and smoothed the frown from his face, though he couldn’t erase it completely, and nodded.

“Ladies, I’d like you to meet my daughter, Shelby. Shelby, these are my friends, Cammie and Hannah.”

“Hi,” Shelby whispered, so low that Hannah had to strain to hear. She turned to face them, and Hannah saw she had a long birthmark down the side of her cheek.

Cammie smiled, her eyes uncharacteristically filling with tears she tried to blink back, and nodded at the little girl. She turned away and Hannah assumed she was trying to compose herself, so Hannah stepped forward, crouching by Shelby’s chair.

“Hi, Shelby. I’m Hannah, and it’s very nice to meet you.”

Shelby peered over at her with wide blue eyes. “Are you a Barbie doll? You look like one.”

“Well, thank you very much,” Hannah replied. Hearing that usually annoyed her, but that sweet little voice about did her in. “You’re very pretty too, you know.”

Shelby blushed and looked down at her hands. Hannah glanced up and found Ian smiling at her, all traces of a frown gone. She stood and moved aside as she felt Cammie finally come forward.

This was clearly an important moment, for Cammie at least, and she didn’t want to intrude.

She waved at Shelby, smiling when the little girl gave her a shy wave in return, and she left the room to head back to the gym to grab her things and head out.

She walked into the gym and stumbled to a stop when she noticed Chase there, going at the punching bag like there were demons inside him he was trying to beat into submission.

She watched him for a long moment, fighting to control her body’s reaction. He was poetry in motion, his every movement controlled and specific as he pummeled the bag with punches so quick, she could barely follow them with her eyes.

He was shirtless again, wearing only a pair of jogging pants and sneakers. She watched the muscles in his back moving deliciously under his skin, and she traced his spine with her eyes, loving the way it curved inward and back out, leading to his tightly muscled butt.

Good gravy, he was delicious, and she couldn’t catch her breath. She was going to expire here on this very spot just from the pleasure of watching him.

He turned his head a little, catching sight of her, slowing his movements and stopping completely, grabbing the bag to still its movement.

“Hey there,” he said, turning to face her completely, barely winded. “I was wondering where you went off to.”

“I was in the kitchen meeting Ian’s daughter,” she replied after swallowing and searching for her voice.

Chase grabbed a towel and wiped his face as he walked toward her. “I met her earlier. She’s a timid little thing.”

“She’s adorable,” Hannah said softly with a smile.

He studied her closely. “You really mean that, don’t you?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” she asked before realization dawned. “You mean because of her birthmark? You think I’m really that shallow? You must not think I’ve really changed at all, do you? Get over yourself, Chase. I told you I did, and you accepted it, but you obviously didn’t believe me.”

Ignoring the seemingly genuine confusion on Chase’s face, Hannah spun toward the bench to grab her stuff. She’d been wrong about him. Or right, depending on how she looked at it. He was still a jerk.

“Hannah, wait,” Chase said, grabbing her arm as she tried to move past him. She glared down at his hand, ignoring the tingles spreading from his touch. “I didn’t mean that how you took it. I just meant… well, a lot of people have looked down on Shelby for her mark. She’s been made fun of a lot for it, tormented by kids and adults alike. I wasn’t trying to be a jerk, I just honestly wondered.”

Hannah hesitated, her anger and hurt slowly fading as she searched his eyes and found nothing but sincerity.

“I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions like that,” she said, exhaling. “It sounded bad, though, at least to me. I guess I’m still sensitive about everything.”

“I’ve given you every reason to question what I say, Hannah. You’re right, it did sound bad, and I’ll be the first to admit that. I don’t deserve it, but can you try to at least give me the benefit of the doubt when I say something stupid? Because I have no doubt I will again at some point.”

“I’ll do my best,” she replied softly with a smile, determined not to jump to assumptions anymore. “People are really mean to Shelby? I can’t imagine that. She seems so sweet, and she’s a beautiful little girl, birthmark and all.”

Chase furrowed his brow, a troubled look in his eye. “Yeah, they are. Her tri—family on her mom’s side always belittled her. That’s one of the reasons why Ian fought so hard to get her back from them.” He moved closer to her, rubbing his hands up and down her arms, and changed the subject. “How are you? It feels like forever since I saw you last.”

Hannah melted a little at his touch. Her body lit up with sparks of pleasure, and she instantly forgot about the stutter in his voice.

“It’s only been two days,” she replied, breathless.

“Two days too long,” he murmured, leaning in closer.

Hannah’s eyes fluttered shut at the first touch of his lips to hers. It was better than she remembered, and she sighed with pleasure when he ran his tongue along her lips, urging her to open them. She immediately complied, and she was rewarded when he slipped his tongue inside.

She had just leaned her body more fully into his and started exploring his mouth with her tongue when the sound of a low whistle hit her ears.

“And here I was sure y’all hated each other. Well played, guys. Well played.”

She yanked her mouth from Chase’s and pulled back, looking over to find Cammie standing in the doorway with a smirk on her face.

Hannah instantly flushed with embarrassment and separated from Chase, already missing his touch and yearning for more.

“Funny,” he told Cammie, rolling his eyes.

Hannah watched as he angled his body away from the fighter and adjusted the hardness she could see tenting the front of his jogging pants. She was shocked one little kiss was enough to affect him in that way, but the evidence was right there in front of her eyes.

She dragged her gaze away and flushed a deeper shade of red as she avoided the knowing look Cammie was directing her way.

“I’d better head home,” she said to no one in particular, heading to her things on the bench. She pulled her hoodie on over her sports bra and grabbed her bag, turning in Cammie’s direction but still unable to meet her eyes. “Thanks for everything, Cammie. I’ll see you Friday.”

Hannah rushed out of the door and was halfway to her Jeep when she heard her name being called behind her. Chase jogged her way, pulling a hoodie on to protect him against the cold air.

What a shame he had to, though. She could stare at his bare chest all day, every day, and never get bored. The only thing better would be seeing all of him, and she was suddenly almost unbearably anxious for that to happen.

“Do you need to rush off so fast?” he asked, offering her his calloused hand and rubbing his thumb along her wrist. “I don’t know how much you’ve seen of the farm, and I was thinking I could show you around some.”

“I’d like that,” Hannah said softly, breath catching at the zing that spread through her body from his touch. “Let me go put my bag in the car.”

She walked to the Jeep and put her stuff inside. When she turned around, he was smiling at her and he immediately grabbed her hand again.

“I know you’ve seen the fields by the house, and once you’ve see one field, you’ve seen them all. How about the river? We could walk along the banks until it gets dark.”

“Okay, sounds good to me,” she replied.

They walked to the river behind the fighters’ house and started strolling along the banks. The sun would be setting soon, but for now the twilight created a warmth that felt good through the cool air.

“Did you always want to stay here and work the farm? Or did you want to do something different with your life?”

Chase’s brow wrinkled and he rubbed the thickening stubble on his chin as he considered her question. He was so incredibly handsome, and she really did have it bad for him if she thought a beard was attractive.

“There were times when I was younger I wished I was anywhere but here,” he finally answered. “My dad was a dick, but I’m sure you know that. The whole town knows it. But there’s never been anything I wanted to do more than work here on Red Moon. This place, this land, is in my blood.”

“You enjoy what you do, then?”

“I love it. It’s physically demanding work, and it can be exhausting and stressful, but it’s rewarding, too. Besides, where else could I work where I can spend all my time outside?” he said with a smile that showed his dimples.

Hannah felt her lips automatically curve in a responding smile. Lord Almighty, he was gorgeous when he smiled, and her insides were fluttering like mad at the sight, like usual.

“Yeah, you mentioned once you didn’t like to be cooped up inside. You’re a nature lover, aren’t you?”

The smile faded from his face and he grew quiet, contemplative. “I mean, yeah. I love it. But if I’m being honest, it’s more than that. I can’t stand being stuck inside for long periods of time. It makes my skin tight and itchy, and sometimes I panic. I need to be outside. I don’t care if it’s too hot, or cold and snowy, or pouring down rain. I need to be out in the open.”

“You’re claustrophobic?” Hannah asked in surprise.

“I guess that’s it,” he said thoughtfully. He shot her a quick look, his eyes appearing to lighten in color for a moment, and took a deep breath. “I know the reason why, though. I wasn’t born like this, like some people. When I was about seven, I got in trouble over something stupid, I don’t even remember what now. My dad busted my ass, then locked me in the old root cellar. Told me he’d let me out once I learned my lesson. But he forgot about me. Took off to the casino in the city and was gone for a couple days. I was in there, in complete darkness, from about five in the evening on. The next morning one of the old farm hands heard me yelling for help, and he let me out.” Chase blew out a breath. “I haven’t liked being inside since then.”

Hannah’s mouth was hanging open in shock and she knew her eyes were wide with it as well, but damn. She quickly looked to the river, trying to school her expression. She knew there was sorrow in her eyes, and Chase wouldn’t accept that.

Her parents were horrible people who proved it with their words and actions daily, but they’d never locked her in a cellar and forgotten about her.

“I’m so sorry, Chase,” she said quietly.

“It is what it is,” he said with a shrug. “I was lucky. My childhood could have been a lot worse. I escaped notice most of the time, and Ty usually stepped between my dad and me when I couldn’t. I owe a lot to Ty. He was gone that weekend, I can’t remember where, or he never would have allowed it to happen. I never told him about it. I’ve never told anyone except you, actually.”

“Why didn’t you tell your brother?”

“It wouldn’t have changed anything, so why bother? Ty would have felt guilty because he wasn’t here to stop it, and him and dad would have been at each other’s throats over it. It was better for everyone involved if I just kept my mouth shut and moved on.”

They walked in silence for a bit, Hannah going over what he’d just told her. Her heart cracked at the image of a small Chase, shivering in a dark cellar, alone and locked in with no way of knowing if anyone was ever going to let him out. It was no wonder he didn’t like being stuck inside for long. She could feel her cracked heart warming over the fact that he’d told her, though. He’d told her something he’d never told anyone else before. That felt big to her. Important.

Her hand involuntarily tightened around his, and he looked over at her with a smile, squeezing her hand in return.

Oh, the butterflies were going to eat her alive.

She heard the sound of water gurgling and splashing gently on rocks. She looked around, but couldn’t find the source of it. The river was much slower here, moving lazily forward.

Chase noticed her searching and he gestured ahead of them. “See up there, where it looks like the land disappears? There’s a small waterfall up there.”

“A waterfall?” Hannah said with excitement, moving faster in her quest to see it.

Chase laughed as he adjusted his stride to keep up with her. “It’s just a small one. There’s a much bigger one where the river ends on Montgomery land.”

“I don’t care how big it is. A waterfall is still a waterfall.”

Hannah slowed as they got closer to the edge. It was much louder this close than she imagined it would be. She crept up to the edge, holding Chase’s hand tightly, and peered over.

A gasp escaped her as she drank in the view. The river fell off the edge of the cliff, hitting a rock tableau four feet down, before falling another six or so feet to join up with the river again.

It was gorgeous, taking her breath away. She shot Chase a grateful smile, not bothering to try to speak over the sound of the river, but her eyes got caught in his and she couldn’t look away.

Staring at her with the same reverence she’d looked at the waterfall with, his whiskey eyes were warm, full of attraction and a deeper emotion she wasn’t sure she could identify. She only knew that whatever it was, it was stealing her breath.

They stared into each other’s eyes for a moment, and then Chase leaned forward and placed a quick kiss on her lips before squeezing her hand and nodding his head toward the waterfall.

Hannah tore her eyes away from his and looked back at the waterfall, gasping at the sight before her. Down at the bottom, a few feet from where the waterfall ended was a doe and her fawn, drinking lazily from the river.

Everything about this moment was magical. From Chase holding her hand tightly, causing warmth to spread throughout her body, to the waterfall, to the deer drinking from the river. The scene was picturesque, and this moment was a perfect slice in time.

They watched for a long moment until the doe suddenly raised her head and scented the wind. She turned and bounded away gracefully, the fawn following behind, until they were out of sight. Chase squeezed her hand and nodded back the way they came.

When they were far enough away from the waterfall to be able to hear each other without shouting, Chase pulled her to a stop.

“It’s going to be dark soon, but there’s a path down that way that leads to the bottom of the waterfall. We can head that way so you can see it from there. It’s even more stunning from that angle.”

“I wish I could,” Hannah said regretfully, lifting her leg slightly so she could rotate her ankle. “But my ankle isn’t holding up too well right now. Better not risk it. I’d love to some other time, though.”

“Your ankle’s hurting? Why didn’t you say anything?” he scolded, with a tinge of panic to his tone. He looked around frantically before whipping back toward her and surprising the heck out of her by picking her up and carrying the short distance to a large fallen log. “I pushed you too hard. I’m so sorry, Hannah.”

She giggled breathlessly as he carefully set her down. The feel of being in his strong arms had caused desire to shoot through her body, fire heating her blood. She was surprised her hair wasn’t singed from the heat.

“You didn’t push me too hard, silly. I injured my ankle a couple years ago, and it still gives me trouble sometimes. Today had nothing to do with it.”

Chase sat down on the log next to her, gazing intently at her ankle as if he could fix it through sheer willpower.

“What happened?”

The smile faded from Hannah’s face, and she turned away to study the woods. Talking about it still had the power to make her sad. But he’d opened up and shared with her. She could do no less.

“I was a dancer once upon a time. I loved it. And not the ballet stuff my parents approved of, though I was good at it. Contemporary, jazz, even hip-hop. I was on the dance team in college, and after I graduated, I danced for a small company in L.A. Hunter hated it. My parents did, too. But I loved it too much to quit. I wanted to open up a studio one day and teach.”

A low rumble crept up Chase’s throat at the mention of Hunter, and Hannah looked at him in surprise.

“Did you just growl?”

“Are you talking about Hunter Donahue? Donahue the Douche?”

Hannah laughed out loud. “Donahue the Douche? That’s hilarious. Accurate, too.”

“You stayed with him after high school?”

“Yeah,” Hannah admitted with a sigh. It wasn’t something she was proud of. Hunter was as bad as Wendy, and her parents. “My parents approved the match, and even sent me to the same college Hunter attended. I wasn’t to stay with him if I found someone better, though. And by better, I mean richer and possessing more connections than the Donahue family.”

“Jesus,” Chase replied, rolling his eyes. “So what happened? With your ankle, I mean.”

“It happened at dance practice one day. We had a big opening night performance coming up, and it was an important one that could really get my name out there, maybe even secure a spot with a bigger company. I had the lead, along with a male dancer. We were performing one of the lifts, and he slipped and lost his grip on me. I fell and landed on my ankle wrong. Broke it in three places. I ended up with two screws in my ankle and a dead career in dancing.”

“Oh, Hannah. I’m so sorry, baby,” he said, his voice ringing with sincerity.

A shiver raced up her spine at hearing him call her baby. It was the first time he’d called her an endearment, and just a week ago, she’d never thought she’d see the day when he would. She didn’t think she’d ever get used to it.

“It’s okay,” she said with a forced shrug. “I’ve accepted it. I won’t lie and say I don’t miss it with a constant ache, or that it still doesn’t bum me out some days. But there’s no use in crying about it. I can’t change what happened. Anyway, my ankle still acts up sometimes. It’s still a little weak, and sometimes it hurts, though it’s nothing I can’t handle.”

“Maybe you should take it easy with your lessons with Cammie,” he said with concern.

“Never,” Hannah replied with a laugh. “I enjoy them. I’ve been working on strengthening exercises, and it’s gotten better.”

Chase exhaled heavily. “I’m sorry that happened to you. I really am.”

Hannah waved a hand dismissively. “So am I, but some good did come out of it.”

“Oh yeah? What’s that?” he asked, cocking his head.

“It’s what gave me the push I needed to leave Hunter. He was happy when it happened, can you believe that? He never thought I should be wasting my time dancing, and he didn’t think it was an acceptable profession for his future wife. He told me when it happened he was grateful, and he could finally introduce me without being ashamed of me. Said I would have the time to truly devote myself to caring for him like I should have been doing to begin with.”

“What a fucking asshat. You’re definitely better off without him,” Chase said heatedly. He glanced at her with an inscrutable expression in his whiskey eyes. “Future wife?”

“His words, not mine,” she assured him. “We were never engaged. It was what was expected of us, though. Both our families wanted it and were getting impatient because it hadn’t happened yet.”

“You never would have been happy with him.”

“You’re not telling me anything I don’t already know. I knew it then, too, I just wasn’t at a point where I could do anything about it. Not until he said the things he did when I got hurt. I left then. Broke up with him and moved out. But I ended up having to move back here, because I couldn’t find a job that paid enough to support the cost of living in L.A. The job market is incredibly competitive there. I never stood a chance at the better paying jobs. There were too many applicants who were a lot smarter than me.”

Chase threw his head back, almost exasperated. “How many times do I have to tell you not to put yourself down, Hannah? Seriously, stop doing it, and really don’t do it in front of me.”

She looked at him, eyebrows high with shock. Yeah, he’d said that before, but she didn’t think he felt so strongly about it. And she was sure once he got to know her, he’d see she wasn’t trying to put herself down. She was just telling the truth.

“Okay, Chase. I won’t do it anymore.” She looked around and noticed the sun was setting. “We should head back. I need to get home soon.”

He stood up from the log, holding his hand out to help her up, and kept it snugly in his as they made their way back toward the fighters’ house. In no time at all, it felt like, they were walking into the clearing and heading toward her Wrangler. Regret filled her that the evening was over.

Chase pulled her to a stop by the door, and tugged her to face him. “Have dinner with me Saturday. We can drive to Cheyenne, go somewhere nice.”

“I’d like that very much,” she replied with a smile.

“Good,” he said as he pulled her in closer and lowered his head.

His lips had just touched hers when a loud whoop echoed through the clearing, causing Hannah to jump.

“Lookee there! Little miss badass in training and our very own Chase, making out like teenagers. How does that song go? Chase and Hannah, sittin’ in a—"

Seth’s voice cut off with a whoosh, and Hannah looked over in time to see Jax pulling his elbow back from where he’d evidently planted it in Seth’s gut. “Don’t finish that,” Jax told him, shaking his head.

Chase half laughed, half groaned as he leaned his forehead against hers. “I’m really looking forward to the day when we don’t get interrupted.”

Hanna laughed and agreed, but inside, she was incredibly frustrated. She wanted more of that unique magic Chase possessed. Wanted to feel the sparks that always lit up her body when his lips touched hers, wanted to taste him again, wanted to get her fill of him.

She seriously doubted she’d ever get her fill of him, though.

Chase opened her door and helped her in. “I’ll text you later, okay? Be safe driving home.”

“I will. Bye, Chase.”

She waited for him to shut her door, and then she started the Jeep and pulled out, watching Chase in the rearview mirror until she turned a curve and couldn’t see him anymore.

Every moment she spent with him tethered her heart more firmly to him. It excited her, but it scared the stuffing out of her, too. He had the power to thoroughly break her heart now.

She was still a tiny bit sure he would, but she prayed that tiny bit was wrong. She wasn’t sure she’d recover if it wasn’t.