“What?” She tried to look innocent.
“Cheryl, how long have I known you?”
She smiled. “Going on twenty-eight years next June.” He smiled. Cheryl always did remembered his birthday.
“And in all that time, I’ve come to know that when you bite your bottom lip, you have something you’re trying to hide. So...”—he motioned with his hand—“spill.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Fine. It’s just your father’s health. I know he hasn’t mentioned it over the phone to you.”
“What about it?” Chase began to get worried and felt like rushing to the back room to check up on his dad. Cheryl had never mentioned anything personal about his father’s health in their conversations. Neither had his father.
“Well, he injured his leg a while back.” She twisted her shirtfront.
“And?” He waited.
“And, well, he’s walking with a cane now,” she blurted out, just as his father walked through the back door.
“Thank you, Cheryl. That will be enough out of you.” His father smiled. Sure enough, his father was leaning on a black cane. “Well, boy?” He held out his arm. “Don’t make me hobble over to you for that hug.”
Chase rushed across the room and gave his old man a bear hug like he always had, noticing that his father was not only skinnier, but felt frailer. He had a million questions he wanted to ask, but knew his father wouldn’t answer until he was good and ready.
“Come on back here, boy. Tell me what you’ve been up to.” His father started walking towards the back and Chase watched him hobble. Then his father turned. “Are you back to stay?”
“Yes,” Chase said absentmindedly. He hadn’t meant to stay, had he?
“Good.” His father turned into his office and took a seat, setting the cane down beside him. Chase sat in the chair across from him, waiting.
“Well, I suppose I should tell you, you couldn’t have come home at a better time. I’m retiring.”
“What?” Chase sat up. His father raised his hands, holding off the million questions he had.
“Yes, at the end of the year. I’ve been kicked one too many times.” His father smiled. “This old body doesn’t want to work like it used to. I was going to give you a call later this month.”
“Dad?” He looked at him.
Chase smiled. “I guess it’s a good thing I’m home, then.”
His father smiled and nodded his head. “What do you say we go grab some lunch? I’m buying.”
Fairplay, Texas, had one place to sit and eat. Mama’s Diner, a huge brown barn that had been turned into a restaurant, had been the best place to eat in two counties since as far back as Chase could remember. Even now the place looked new and smelled like greasy burgers.
His father took his usual booth. It almost made Chase laugh, knowing the man never sat in a different spot. Even if someone was in it, he’d stand and wait until the table was cleared. There were new menus and he took his time looking over the list of new items.
“How are you today, beautiful?” his father asked the waitress when she stopped by.
Chase looked up and stared into the most beautiful green eyes he’d ever seen. Her hair was longer than before, and her dark curls hung just below the most perfect breasts he’d ever had the pleasure of being up against. She was tall and limber and he could remember the softness of every curve he’d been allowed to feel. She looked down at him like he was in her way and he started coughing. He couldn’t explain how it happened, but he was choking on air. Nothing was getting through to his lungs or to his brain. Finally, she smacked his back hard, and he took a deep breath. He stood and grabbed Lauren’s arm and demanded in a low voice, “What the hell are you doing working here?”
Other books by Jill Sanders
The Pride Series
Finding Pride
Discovering Pride
Returning Pride
Lasting Pride
Serving Pride
Red Hot Christmas
My Sweet Valentine
Return To Me
The Secret Series
Secret Pleasure
Secret Guardian
Secret Passions
Secret Identity
Secret Sauce
The West Series
Loving Lauren
Taming Alex
Holding Haley
Missy’s Moment
Breaking Travis
Roping Ryan
Wild Bride
The Grayton Series
Last Resort
Someday Beach
Rip Current
NEW Series
(Coming Soon)
Unlucky In Love
Sweet Resolve
For a complete list of books, visit http://JillSanders.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
ISBN: 978-1-942896-01-2
Copyright © 2015 Jill Sanders
Copyeditor: InkDeepEditing.com
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
About the Author
Jill Sanders is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Pride Series, the Secret Series, and the West Series romance novels. Having sold over 150,000 books within six months of her first release, she continues to lure new readers with her sweet and sexy stories. Her books are available in every English-speaking country, are available in audio books, and are now being translated into six different languages.
Born as an identical twin in a large family, she was raised in the Pacific Northwest. She later relocated to Colorado for college and a successful IT career before discovering her talent as a writer. She now makes her home in charming rural Florida where she enjoys the beach, swimming, hiking, wine tasting, and, of course, writing.