Page 45 of Things Good Girls Don't Do (Rock Canyon, Idaho 1)

“OH, I RUINED everything. They’ll probably take my crown away.”

Katie squeezed Jenny’s shoulders reassuringly. She had followed the younger girl backstage and had been trying to calm her down, but she just kept crying. Even when she’d put the shiny new tiara on Jenny’s head, it still hadn’t lifted the poor girl’s spirits. “Hush, they will not. It’s not your fault your heel broke. No one blames you.”

Katie saw Mrs. Andrews, heading for them looking like a thundercloud, and braced herself for the storm.

“Jennifer Lynn Andrews, what have I told you about decorum and serenity? Now, because you acted like a three-year-old on Christmas, poor Marissa has locked herself in the bathroom.” Mrs. Andrews’s hands slammed down on her ample hips as she prodded, “Well, don’t just sit there; we need to go apologize to everyone.”

Katie held tight to Jenny and said, “Mrs. Andrews, she was just excited. It’s not her fault that . . .”

Mrs. Andrews’s eyes narrowed on Katie. “I’ll thank you to release my daughter and mind your own business. The last thing she needs is to be under the influence of a rude hussy with the moral fiber of a cat in heat.”

“Mother!” Jenny yelled.

“Do not scream, Jennifer, I am merely stating the facts. She told me earlier, and I’ve seen her all over that lowlife Chase with no regard for anyone except herself. How Quinn Connors could have raised such a loose girl, I will never know,” Mrs. Andrews said.

“You will apologize to Katie right now.”

Katie was partly relieved to hear Chase coming to her rescue but also humiliated that he had heard every vile word Mrs. Andrews had said. And that he was making it worse.

Katie couldn’t speak as Chase descended on them like a dark, avenging angel and put his hand on her shoulder. His angry gaze was directed at Mrs. Andrews, whose nose had lifted four inches into the air. “I am not going to apologize for speaking the truth, you insufferable boar.”

Chase took a step toward the older woman and Katie dropped her arms from Jenny, moving forward to grab his hand, hoping to defuse the situation. “It’s not worth it, Chase. Let’s just go.” He ignored her, his focus still glued on Mrs. Andrews’s defiant expression, and she squeezed his hand. “Please, Chase. People are staring.”

He eased back a bit slowly, but his voice was cold as he said, “Katie is too nice to really give you what you deserve, but I’m not as nice or as good as she is. If I was a good man, I’d leave before I called you a bigoted, small-minded waste of space. But I’m not that good.”

Katie was relieved when Chase turned his back on Mrs. Andrews’s red-faced anger and led her toward the back exit. The rain hit her face, and she let the tears she’d been holding back flow. She shouldn’t have let Mrs. Andrews’s insults hit her so hard, but when she’d caught the various looks on the other faces around her, it had killed her to hold back her hurt. There had been looks of sympathy, people looking away to avoid eye contact, and then nods of agreement accompanied by disapproving scowls. It was terrible that so many people who had known her since she was a baby would stand by and let her be bullied.

She let Chase open the door and help her up into the Blazer. Slamming the door behind her, he ran around the front of the SUV to climb into the driver’s seat. Shaking his head like a dog spraying raindrops everywhere, he asked, “Are you okay?”

Trying to be discreet, Katie wiped at her tears. “Yeah, it was my fault anyway. I was inappropriate and antagonized her earlier, when I knew better.”

He cupped her cheek, turning her to face him and interrupting her excuses. “I don’t care what you think you did to deserve that, but you didn’t. You are the kindest, funniest, and most amazing girl I have ever met, and no matter what you might do, you would never deserve that.”

His words made her stomach flip-flop. When he kissed her softly, tenderly, her eyes teared up all over again. She’d known most of those people her whole life and the only person who had defended her was a man she barely knew.

“So, do you still feel like coming over?” he asked, pulling away to brush her cheek with his hand tenderly. “Waiting out the rain?”

“Yes,” she said, nodding to emphasize how very much she wanted to be with him right then. “There’s nothing I want more.”

With a grin, Chase started the Blazer. “Besides, I already told you I had this fantasy about the prom queen. And with that cute little tiara on your head, well, I have a feeling that my fantasies are about to become a reality.”

Katie reached up to touch her tiara and said, “And who are you in this little scenario?”

Taking her hand in his, he raised it to his lips. “The luckiest guy in the world.”

Eyes beginning to blur once more, she tried to tell herself he was just making her feel better. That it didn’t mean a

nything, even as he wormed his way just a little bit more into her heart.

CHASE HAD BEEN driving the car one-handed since they left the community center five minutes earlier, his other hand covering Katie’s. She couldn’t help feeling content, safe, and cared for, and she was done pretending this wasn’t serious. She was falling in love with Chase, and if he knew what she was thinking, he’d probably drop her on the side of the road and drive as far from her as he could get.

Or maybe he feels the same way you do. You could ask him.

Turning in the seat to study him, she cradled his hand in hers as she pondered that. They had taken the back roads out of town and hadn’t really said anything. Katie was a little worried he was regretting his earlier chivalry and was quietly panicking next to her.

As he turned off onto a short gravel road leading to a large, white ranch house with a wraparound porch and a barn, Katie sucked in her breath.

It was her dream house. The type of house she could imagine raising her kids in. The kind of porch on which she could set two rocking chairs, one for her and one for her husband. They’d spend their evenings rocking together, holding hands and talking about their lives, their kids, their love . . .

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