Page 68 of Things Good Girls Don't Do

He kissed her forehead. “Really, Firecracker, I’m okay. I’ll call you in a couple days.” Chase pulled away from her and hobbled to his driver’s side door. Wincing as he opened it and climbed up into the cab, he kept his focus on putting his key in the ignition and starting it up. The crowd around him moved as he backed up and turned around. He gave Katie a smile and wave as he passed and pulled out onto the road, his ribs screaming with the movement.

What is the matter with you? You are acting like a scared little boy.

He wasn’t scared. He was petrified. Petrified that if he stayed with her, he’d start to rely on her, need to have her with him. Need her sweetness to brighten his day, his home, his life. And then have her figure out what the whole town had been telling her all along: She could do better.

And know deep down he thought she could too.

KATIE WAS SOconfused and hurt, she didn’t know what to do.

She felt an arm go around her shoulders and Steph saying cheerfully, “Well, that was exciting! Want to head over to Buck’s for some drinks? We can relive every awesome moment of what it felt like to bust in Jimmy’s baby.”

Katie shook her head. “I think I just want to go home. Get some sleep.”

“But ...”

Katie saw Becca reach out and pinch Steph. “Have a good night, Katie. We’ll text you later to check on you.”

“Thanks, guys.” Katie mouthedthank youto Becca when Steph was distracted. She just wanted to be alone to think.

Katie, men are like horses. You can lead them to water, but you can’t make them drink.Her mother had told her that when she was fifteen and the boy she’d had a crush on didn’t even notice her. Katie had cried and cried, much to her mother’s disapproval.

Ladies don’t caterwaul. We suffer in dignified silence.

She had already decided her mother was right. She wasn’t going to cry or obsess or wait by the phone. She was going to head over to Hall’s Market, grab a carton of Chocolate Moose Tracks ice cream and pop inSixteen Candles. You could never go wrong with a John Hughes movie.

Or with a hot guy waiting for you with a red sports car and cake.

Although these days Katie preferred a man on a motorcycle with white cheddar popcorn, but you can’t always get what you want.

GINGERLY WALKING UPthe steps to his house, Chase couldn’t wait to curl up in his nice, soft bed. After popping at least three Advil first. He opened the door and groaned when he moved too fast shutting it. Passing by his answering machine, he noticed the message box was flashing a bright red three.

Pressing the play button, his mother’s husband, Buzz, said over the crackle of the line, “Hey Chase, it’s Buzz. Look, your mother would kill me if she knew I was calling, but she’s in a bad way. She’s in liver failure. She’d be on the donor list, but they said family is best. She’s stubborn, though, and won’t call you.”

Chase couldn’t breathe.Liver failure.He’d talked to her a week ago. She hadn’t said anything about being sick. Everything was fine, she had said. Liver failure was not fine. Suddenly furious with her for leaving him out in the cold yet again, Chase dialed the number Buzz had left, and he picked up on the second ring. “Chase, is that you?”

“What the hell, Buzz?”

“I know, buddy, I tried to get her to tell you, but she didn’t want to be a burden. I wanted to respect her decision, but she’s gotten worse, and they don’t think they’re going to get a donor in time.”

“Where are you?” Chase’s hand was shaking so bad as he grabbed a pen and paper, he wasn’t sure he could write clearly. The adrenaline pumping through him made him feel on edge and he wished that Katie’s stupid ex was there right now so he could use him as a punching bag. Something to make the nightmare of this day disappear.

Buzz told him the name and the address of the hospital in Reno, and Chase hung up in a panic. His mother was dying.

He walked down the hallway to the bathroom and pulled down the Advil, tossing a couple back. Next he hit the bedroom, packed a small bag of essentials, and went into the kitchen to find paper. The first piece he grabbed, he wroteCLOSED INDEFINITELY DUE TO FAMILY EMERGENCY. SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE.He would stop by the shop and tape it on the door on his way out of town.

On the next piece of paper, he wrote:

Hey Firecracker,

I need to take off for a little while, and I want you to know it has nothing to do with you. It’s family stuff, but I’ll call you when I get back.

Chase

Folding the note, he shoved it into his pocket. Grabbing his bag and the sign for the shop, he locked up the house and tried to run down the porch to the Blazer, but his painful ribs and hands were aching so bad, he slowed down to a limping hop. It was nearly ten, but if he drove all night he might make it in seven hours. He threw his pack in the backseat as he climbed in, grabbing his middle as a sharp stabbing pain shot from his abdomen out. Attempting to ignore the niggling voice in his head telling him to knock on Katie’s door and explain what was happening, he told himself he didn’t have time to get into it with Katie right now. His mom couldn’t wait.

He pulled in front of Katie’s house and left the engine running as he got out. Opening her little floral mailbox, he dropped his note inside and shut the lid quietly. The neighbor’s yappy dog started barking, and Chase headed back to the Blazer before anyone came out to check what the noise was. As soon as his mom was stable, he’d come back and work things out with Katie. They had time, but his mom didn’t. And despite how complicated their relationship was, he needed to be there for her.

Chapter Fourteen

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