Page 95 of The Convict Gets His Girl

But she remained awake, her mind churning with unspoken thoughts. Their connection all those years ago had scared the shit out of her. She hadn't quite been ready to settle down, having only ever had one boyfriend in middle school and then Hunter in high school. Once Destini had been born and things had settled into a routine at school, she'd dated for a few years.

No one had ever made her feel the connection like she had with Chase. The way he took care of her even in the little things. Part of it was just naturally the way he was, the way he'd been raised to treat a woman right.

Part of it was how they were together. Their connection was so deep, it was like standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon. The only question was… did she want to take a chance and leap or was she going to play it safe yet again?

She carefully turned, not wanting to wake him, and studied his face. The lines of tension that had been etched into his features earlier were now smoothed away, replaced by a vulnerability that made her heart ache.

Her fingers traced the sharp line of his jaw, careful not to disturb his sleep. Chase had always been like this—strong yet fragile, a nerdy warrior with deep emotional wounds that he rarely showed anyone yet left her hesitant to hurt him.

She hadn't known how to tell of her fears of their future together when she'd gone to college, and he'd remained behind to finish up high school. She still had those same fears, and now she had to think about Destini… and him.

He might not have said the words, but she knew how he felt about her and Destini. He wanted them to live together as one big happy family, but it wasn't going to be a happy ending just because he wanted it to be.

They all had to agree to work on it, but she wasn't sure they could. Destini had a tendency to be selfish and not think beyond her teenage needs, which was natural but didn't make it any easier as her mom. Chase had a unique ability to have singular focus, and if he was trying to juggle focusing on a family with other things, it might stress him out too much.

And she… not only was she constantly going through ups and downs of Lyme, but she was so afraid of taking a chance on happiness just to have it ripped away again.

Her phone buzzed in her pants pocket. Jewel carefully extracted herself from Chase's embrace, not wanting to wake him. His earlier vulnerability—the raw emotional wounds that had surfaced—needed rest.

She grabbed the phone, seeing Destini's name, and stepped into the bathroom, closing the door so as not to wake him. "Hey, honey."

"Mom, where are you?" Destini's voice had an edge of frustration. "I've been trying to reach you all day."

Jewel glanced back at Chase's sleeping form. "We had church, then a big family dinner at the diner to celebrate Hunter's engagement, remember? Is everything okay?"

A pause. "Are you with Chase?"

Jewel sighed. "Yeah, he's asleep though."

"Oh, alright. I just got to thinking after you left this morning. For the first time, I—I wanted to go with you."

Jewel's heart ached, and she sank onto the side of the tub, relief coursing through her. "Really?"

Another pause. "Yeah, I think—maybe moving to Crimson Creek won't be so bad."

Jewel shuddered a sigh, her eyes fluttering. "Thank God," she said softly.

Destini chuckled, "Geez, Mom, don't be so dramatic. But when is that house going to be ready to move in? I don't want to wait until the end of the semester. I don't even want to wait until Thanksgiving."

Jewel swiped at the tear coursing down her cheek and explained the timeline of the next two weeks.

"Alright, so you can come get me, then?"

"Yeah, sweetie, but if you want, I can come get you tomorrow. We'd just be staying with your grandpa and Aunt Gemma for a few weeks, which you might enjoy."

Destini snorted. "And sleep in the same bed as you? No thanks. You snore too much."

Jewel chuckled, mimicking Destini's voice. "Well, you kick too much, so whatever."

Destini sighed dramatically, drawing out the word until it sounded like multiple syllables. "Mom."

Jewel grinned, feeling lighter than she had in weeks. "Just tell me when you're ready, and I'll be there in a few hours."

Destini paused and her voice dropped lower. "I think the kids are excited about Halloween, so I don't want to leave Carmen to handle them alone. But I'm good moving anytime in November."

Jewel sighed, her relief palatable in the bathroom. "Alright, I'll talk with Chase and see when the house will really be ready, then talk with your grandpa and Gemma. I'll get back to you."

"Cool. Love you, Mom. Don't stay up too late with Chase. Oh, and if this thing between you is going to continue, maybe have him invest in soundproofing the master bedroom while he has the roof redone."

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