Weakened by his need to talk with her, Chase picked up his phone, uncaring how late it was. If those tender looks Larke had given him in the park yesterday meant anything, she’d definitely want to hear his voice too. She’d understand why he’d call so late––that all he wanted was some kind of reassurance that he was still on her mind.
She answered on the second ring. An unnamed emotion unfurled inside his chest at her gentle, feminine greeting. He chose not to think about or analyze the feeling. It was too much right now.
“Chase?”
“It’s me.”
“You sound tired,” she pointed out. “What’s going on?”
“Not much. Is it bad that I called this late?” He just remembered he hadn’t told her he’d be out of state today.
“It’s okay. I wasn’t sleeping or anything. Are you at your home?”
“No. Why’d you ask?”
“The connection sounded kind of weird. Where are you?”
“Florida. Jacksonville actually.”
“Oh.” He’d surprised her. Would she begin to interrogate him? Make assumptions?
“Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s good. Aren’t you wondering what I’m doing down here?” he asked, baffled she wasn’t flinging a barrage of questions at him.
She laughed. “Well yeah. Of course. But it’s late. I was kind of leery of you telling me something that would make it hard for me to sleep tonight. I guess that’s not the case. So, tell me, Chase Hudson, what are you doing in Jacksonville of all places?”
“Work,” he said, smiling to himself at her playfulness. “Plain boring work. Not the kind of work you’re probably imagining. Swear to God. I came down here to meet with the new captain of a ship I own. It’s sailing out tomorrow afternoon.”
“Truly?”
“Yeah.” His smile turned into a grin. “I don’t look like a bum or anything. I mean, I try my best not to. Didn’t you wonder if I had a job?”
She laughed again. “I did, but I don’t know. I guess all the other stuff just kind of overshadowed it. Maybe I even thought thatwasyour full-time job.”
Chase would’ve laughed too if there hadn’t been a ring of truth to what she said. And if he hadn’t detected the hint of caution in her voice. While hewastechnically on the payroll for random things he did for the group, the fact that she’d correctly assumed that his entire life revolved around white supremacy made his stomach churn. It shouldn’t but it did.
“How’s your book coming along?” he asked, shifting the focus off himself.
“It’s going great. I’m in the middle of a new story. My head cleared a lot after our talk yesterday.”
“It wasn’t clear before?”
She became silent. Seconds ticked by before she quietly confessed, “No, it wasn’t. I was actually a bit disturbed after seeing you for the first time in so many years. I wasn’t sure how to feel. You have to understand it was a shock seeing the real you as opposed to how I’d imagined you.” She sighed. “I guess I just confessed to thinking about you over the years. It’s fine. I’m not embarrassed to admit I always wondered how you were.”
Chase took no offense at the word disturbed. It was to be expected. But Jesus… Larke had thought about him all this time? He considered asking if he had disappointed her but decided against it, fearing the answer. “How do you feel now?”
“Happy. I’m glad we reconnected in spite of everything. I liked talking with you yesterday. More than I should’ve.” There was a brief moment of quietness before she added, “I’d actually like to see you again.” He heard an intake of breath, followed by another pause. “As long as you don’t use any racist slurs to me or in front of me.”
His gut twisted again. This time it felt like someone had taken a knife and began slashing at his innards. Swallowing hard, Chase whispered, “I can do that. I can’t promise one or two won’t slip out, but they wouldn’t be directed at you.” Shit. He cleared his throat and tried again. “I mean I’ll try real hard to watch what I say.”
“Thank you.”
Chase nodded, suddenly feeling lower than the underbelly of a snake. Larke was thanking him for something people weren’t supposed to get thanked for. Being decent. Respectful.
“Would you like to hear what I have so far?”
Chase blinked. Focusing, he realized she was talking about her book. “Yeah, sure.”
