Page 32 of Square Deal

I sighed. “Fine. I’ll think about it.”

Before he could finish his closing argument, a loud pounding on the other side of my door startled us.

“Yo! HJ,” Chase shouted as he knocked again. “You awake?”

“Get upstairs,” I hissed, shoving Isaac’s very firm ass out of the kitchen.

“Why?” he whispered, stumbling as I pushed him up the stairs.

“Because if Chase discovers you’re here, then Steve will find out you’re here, which means Erica will know. She’ll tell Bridget, and Bridget will tell Maddie, Kristin, and Mel, and I’ll never hear theend of it. Now get! If I don’t answer the door in five seconds, he’ll use the spare key I have out there and let himself in.”

“Han!” Chase called again as he knocked. “You up?”

Isaac scrambled up to the bedrooms, barely getting out of sight before Chase walked into my kitchen.

“Chase!” I squealed, panicked, out of breath, and borderline manic. “What, uh—whatcha doin’ here?”

He lingered in the doorway, dressed in running shorts and a Beaufort Police Department hoodie. “Just making sure you were good after the storm… You know—like usual?”

Ah, shit.He had a point. Chase always walked over after a storm to make sure I was good and didn’t have any property damage. If I did, he’d call Steve, and those two would be out with chainsaws, hauling away downed branches and debris before checking on the rest of the girls.

“I texted you, but you didn’t answer.” He shrugged. “Didn’t know if you lost power and your phone died.”

“Nope. I’m good. All’s good. We’re fine—I meanI’mfine?—”

Chase raised his eyebrows. “You sure about that?”

“Yep. Mhmm. Totally.” I tapped my fingers on the kitchen island to try and look casual.

“You’re covered in—is that amilkshake?”

“Protein shake,” I corrected. “I just… spilled it.”

He looked around the kitchen, observing the mess that still needed to be mopped up after my attempt at cleaning it up with paper towels.

His eyes landed on Isaac’s abandoned coffee mug. “Uh-huh.”

I chewed on my lip, desperately wishing for him to get distracted and leave. Lord only knew what Isaac was getting into upstairs, unsupervised.

I tucked my hair behind my ears and crossed my arms. “You checked on Kris yet?” I asked.

“Yep. She called as soon as the rain broke. All good.”

“Mel?”

“Working.”

“Steve and Erica?”

“Good.”

“Maddie and Luca’s place?”

“Secure.”

“You talked to Bee yet?”

The muscles in his neck flexed.Aha! His Achilles’ heel.I hated playing the Bridget card, but I needed Chase out of my kitchen.

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