Page 56 of Summer of You

“If that’s what you want, I think you should go for it.”

That smile from earlier was back as we finished dinner. The three of us collaborated to clean the kitchen, and afterward, Chase and I left Gabi for the night.

Things were dark at the camper and when we walked up to the door, I almost tripped over the damn bike that Chase had insisted on riding around so much when I first got here. I hadn’t realized it was his only mode of transportation, but I felt better knowing he was so close to the center of town and that walking wasn’t that much of a hardship.

“You seriously told her not to be afraid?” Chase’s eyes were full of awe as we sat in the dim lighting of his tiny dining table. Oreo purred on my lap and Chase made a face, calling her a traitor for the millionth time.

My heart fluttered in my chest, and my stomach swam with butterflies. “I messed up. I don’t want to see anyone miss out on anything like I did because they were too afraid.”

Chase rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. “I really hate you sometimes.”

I laughed and leaned toward him. Oreo let out an annoyed little chirp as she jumped out of my lap. “You don’t hate me. Why would you say something like that?”

“Because you know how to say the swooniest shit sometimes. It makes it hard to be mad about anything.”

We both chuckled before he leaned in and placed a quick peck against my lips. There was no way I would ever be content with that. My hand hooked into the hair at the back of his neck, holding him in place. He gasped and my tongue swept into his mouth.

God, I could get drunk on the sounds he made when I kissed him.

“Chase...”

He didn’t let me finish when we broke apart. He just pulled me from my seat and sealed his mouth over mine once more, dragging me to bed.

“Quit being so damn ornery.”

“I’ll be ornery if I want to. I’m old. Iearned the right.”

I rolled my eyes as my uncle tried once again to go to the backyard to work on whatever the hell it was. He wasn’t that old, especially since I didn’t consider my parents to be that old.

“The doctor said you need to rest.” Gabi rested her hands on her hips and gone were the skirts and dresses, having been replaced with jeans.

“Rest. Bullshit. I rested for two damn weeks in that place and now for three days since I’ve been home. I’m about to go crazy.”

Max jumped about the room excitedly as we tried to block my uncle from going out the back door. Maybe Max needed to go out, but for the time being, both of them were staying in until Uncle Drew calmed down. “I get it. You want your normalcy back.”

Uncle Drew deflated and sat in one of the kitchen chairs. He didn’t look anywhere near as lively as he had before the heart attack. It had changed him and not for the better. You’d think he’d learn.

“Can you blame me?”

Gabi crouched in front of him. “Papa, we want you better. All that stuff can wait.”

Uncle Drew’s eyes grew misty as he stared at the girl in front of him. His hands shook as he cupped her face. He must have realized just how scared she’d been to almost lose her entire family. Much the way Chase had.

“You’re right.”

I never thought I’d see the day that Uncle Drew gave in that easily to anyone, but it must be different when it came to your own flesh and blood. Not that we were any less special, but Gabi was the daughter he’d been denied.

He got up and made his way back into the living room. The tension eased and I let Max out the back door that he still danced in front of. The poor dog had to be holding it while we’d been fighting with my uncle.

Uncle Drew sat on the couch and Gabi brought him a glass of water. She sat next to him and grabbed the remote from the table. The television clicked on and the room filled with the dull rumble of two women arguing over who’d been dating the man in between them first. I had to fight back the laugh as Gabi didn’t bother to change the channel. Did she enjoy watching these shows as well, or was she merely tolerating them in order to spend time with her father?

Chapter 39

Chase

Islipped from the house. Would anyone notice that I was gone? I’d stolen the keys to my parent’s house off of Drew’s key ring and my heart pounded as I climbed onto my bike. I hadn’t stepped foot in the place for years, but the need to see it again was overpowering today.

The wind whipped past me as my feet peddled faster. If I didn’t get there quickly, I’d lose my nerve. It didn’t stop the ache in my chest from spreading, the burn in my eyes from becoming too much as tears trailed down my cheeks. If anyone thought I looked crazy, they didn’t bother me. Everyone around here knew me, and if they realized what direction I was headed in, it would all make sense. I didn't go beyond the main part of town often.

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