Page 25 of The Gunnery Sergeant's Ready-Made Family

“Look, grandma, I got balloons,” Ranger waved his hand in the general direction of the car.

“Balloons? Really? You’re so lucky!” Nikki kissed his forehead. “Let’s take them inside, would you like to watch a movie? Gran made your favourite lunch, mini hotdogs and macaroni cheese if you’re hungry, and after, if you want some dessert, I bought some rainbow ice cream.”

“For me?” Stevie laughed at the absolute surprise in Ranger’s voice.

“Of course for you, we have to make sure that you get all better now, don’t we?”

Stevie followed behind with the balloons as Chase led the way into the house, Finn in his arms, her grandmother carrying Ranger right behind him. As she closed the door behind her, she was reminded of just how nice it was to be back home.

With Ranger at home convalescing, life had returned to almost normal for Stevie. Chase had returned to work, leaving after breakfast each day, while Stevie and her grandmother spent their days amusing Ranger and caring for Finn. When Chase returned in the evenings, he would watch the boys while Stevie got dinner organised and her grandmother rested. It worked well, and it wasn’t until Thursday evening that Stevie realised that Chase had been avoiding her, a suspicion that was confirmed when he all but bolted from the house once dinner was finished, dressed for his nightly run, telling her not to wait up for him, that he might be home late.

“Is everything alright?” Stevie had hoped that no one else had noticed Chase’s distance with her but should have expected her grandmother to notice she had eyes like a hawk, even as a child she could never get anything past her.

“He’s running, Gran, that’s all.”

“I can see that, but what is he running from?”

“Gran,” Stevie rolled her eyes, “he isn’t running from anything, he runs every night, you know that.”

“Mmhmm, I’ll tell you what I see my darling girl, I see a young couple in love, married, with two small boys to care for and no time to spend together.”

“Gran, I told you, we are not in love, we are married out of convenience.”

“I know what you said, you are just friends, I get it. But darling girl, are you sure that you still feel that way? That Chase does?”

“Of course, we still feel the same way,” Stevie defended, slightly annoyed. Why is her grandmother so insistent that there is something between Chase and her? “Besides, we have plenty of time together if we need to discuss anything.”

“Discuss anything? Stevie my girl, I certainly hope that you would be doing more than talking if you found yourself alone with Chase.”

“Gran, enough!”

“I just want to see you happy, Stevie.”

“I am happy.” Stevie tried not to sound irritated, she knew her grandmother only meant well.

“And Chase, is he happy?”

“I assure you, Chase is also happy.” Her grandmother’s question had thrown Stevie, was Chase happy? She had no way of knowing, not really. He didn’t seem unhappy, but what did that really prove? Maybe he was just good at hiding his feelings, after all, he had probably been trained to hide emotions by the Army. Could her grandmother be right? Was Chase running from something instead of to something? And if so, what? What could be possibly be running from? Was it her? She knew he was avoiding her, but she had thought that it was because of their shared chaste kiss at the hospital earlier in the week, she had never imagined that is might be something else.

Stevie decided that she would stay up until Chase got home, no matter how late that was, and ask him directly. It was shortly after nine o’clock before she heard his key in the lock, and she closed the book she was reading and went to meet him.

“Chase, are you happy?”

“What the...Good grief Stevie, you scared me.”

“Sorry,” Stevie watched as he took yesterday’s apple pie out of the fridge and cut a slice, offering her some. “No, thank you. So, are you?”

“Am I what?” Chase asked around a mouthful of apple pie.

“Are you happy?”

“What is this all about?”

“Please, Chase, I just want to know.”

“Yes, I’m happy,” he smiled across at her.

“Okay, thank you. If you weren’t, you would let me know, wouldn’t you?”

---