Page 26 of Once Upon a Summer Night

The first day they met. Defending her from the bullies at school when she insisted on antagonizing them. Climbing trees in the Brooks’s apple orchard, despite knowing he’d catch hell when he got home for the sap on his clothes. Realizing he’d fallen in love with her. Deciding to run away with her and Beth, then being dealt the crushing blow that it wasn’t going to happen. Waiting for her to come home. Accepting that wasn’t going to happen, either, and choosing a life and career he loved right here in Bourbon Falls.

Now she was back and more beautiful than ever.

Warmth spread through his chest as his newest memories now filled his mind. Memories that had him longing for her to stay. Longing to find a way to help her see they could be more than best friends, so much more. And with Noah in the picture now, that only added to the joy in the possibilities; Chase had always wanted a family of his own. One full of love and understanding, not anger and abuse. He could give that to them if they gave him a chance.

But how could he convince her to stay?

When neither sleep nor an answer would come, he rose and headed down the hall, angling for their exercise room. Maybe some meditation would help.

“What’s troubling you, son?”

Chase paused outside Kenny’s room, surprised to find their senior crew member still awake. “Gout keeping you up?”

“Not as much as you and your tossing and turning across the hall are.” Kenny winked. “What’s got you so restless tonight?”

Chase stepped into the room and dropped into Kenny’s desk chair. Each second-floor dorm room had a bed, a desk, and an office chair, along with storage lockers for personal items. Newer stations included private bathrooms in each suite, but the firehouse in Bourbon Falls had been built long before those standards were adopted.

Even so, Chase wouldn’t trade this place for the world—not its building or its people. Here, he was a member of the brotherhood, each member willing to risk their lives for one another. With that level of commitment and familiarity came the ability to sense when the others were feeling up or down, and they with him.

“She came back, Kenny.”

A smile appeared across the room, glowing white teeth against Kenny’s dark skin. “So I heard.”

No surprise, there. The photo on the desk of him and the chief, arms over each other’s shoulders at a town picnic many moons ago, served as a reminder that they’d been friends for far too long not to have heard the news.

“But not permanently,” Chase added. “Not yet, anyway.”

“And you’re trying to figure out how to make that happen.”

Chase nodded. If only he had that answer, maybe he could sleep.

“I hate to remind you, son, but trying to make that girl do anything is like telling the wind to change directions. She’ll do as she pleases,” Kenny said. “Always has.”

It was true. Hannah hadn’t ever been afraid to go against the flow. It was one of the things he’d been most drawn to about her. She was genuine, unique. Passionate.

“Even so, there’s nothing that says you can’ttryto influence her decision,” Kenny added with a grin. “Her father thinks you’ll be the one to talk some sense into her.”

Great, first Del, now the chief?“What if I can’t?”

“You know what I always say: if it’s meant to be, it’ll be.”

“What’s your gut telling you? Because that intuition of yours is right more times than not.”

Kenny looked to the floor for a moment, lips pursed in concentration. “Depends on how much she healed while she was away.” He met Chase’s gaze, one brow arched. “And how welcoming the town is to her now that she’s back.”

Of course—why hadn’t he thought of that? Just like it took a village to raise a child, it would take a charming one to lure its lost child home. And this town was full of charm.

He thanked Kenny for the talk, then continued down the hall for some mat time. Eventually, his mind quieted and Chase was able to get some much-needed sleep. When his alarm went off at six, he woke refreshed and ready to take on the day.

By the time he’d showered and made it to the dining hall, the crew from yesterday’s shift was finishing their breakfast and the one coming on was just sitting down to eat. That was nothing out of the ordinary. Their animated conversation at this hour of the day, however, was.

“Who do you think it’s gonna be?” asked Austin, a fresh bandage over his stitched forehead.

Cody Mitchell poked a forkful of waffles in his direction. “My money is on Kosciusko’s deputy chief. They’re grooming him to step in a lead when Jones retires next year.”

“No way,” said Dylan. “I think they’ll just ship us someone’s administrative assistant to help with the office stuff.”

Chase filled a mug with coffee. “What are all you hens clucking about?”

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