I bit my lip, unsure how that made me feel. “I don’t like thinking Lance did it meanly. He’s always been so nice to me.”
Chase laughed. “Trust me, darlin’, it wasn’t you he was poking a stick at. It was all me.” He winked. “I just gotta make sure when the time’s right, I find a way to get him back.”
“So you aren’treallymad at him?” I asked.
“Nah. I’ll still let him come over tomorrow night for dinner, that way we can all hang out. How’s that? I mean, assuming he’s been cleared by your parole officer as a visitor.”
He didn’t even crack a smile, but I knew he was teasing me. “Sounds nice.”
“Want me to have him bring over some lobsters so you can set them free?”
I reached behind me and threw the pillow I was leaning against at him. He caught it and laughed. “Kidding. I’m going to see what I can find for dinner, then we’ll get you settled into your new room.” He stood up and handed me back my pillow. “I’ll run upstairs to your refrigerator and see what you have to eat. I’m sure you don’t want the cheeseburger I have thawing.”
I crinkled my nose. “Not really.”
“Be back in a jiff.”
Ten minutes later he returned with a quinoa salad and the last of the berry crisp. I sat on the couch while he cooked dinner, and even though I wanted to sit at the table to eat, he wouldn’t let me move.
“Television or reading?” he asked once dinner was done and he’d cleaned the kitchen.
I bit my lip. It was after seven and I really wanted to finish the mystery I’d started, but I didn’t want him to have to go back upstairs again. He must have seen the look on my face because he chuckled. “Let me guess, it’s upstairs?”
“By the rocking chair.”
“Be right back.”
And he was. He helped me hobble down the hallway to the guest bedroom. The swelling had gone down a little, and it didn’t hurt quite as much when I put pressure on it, so Chase conceded he didn’t need to carry me.
The extra bedroom was small but cozy. A double bed was pushed against one wall with an oak dresser and matching end table. A club chair was pushed into a corner, and a lamp next to the bed gave the room a nice, warm glow.
Chase pointed to the wall. “I have a crutch for you in case you need to use the restroom in the middle of the night.”
“Why didn’t you give it to me so I could hobble to the dinner table?”
“Because I wanted you to keep your foot elevated as much as possible,” he said. “I do have a little medical training. Try not to fight me at every corner.”
I rolled my eyes. “Of course, Dr. Cryer.”
He laughed. “You got a mouth on you, that’s for sure. Good thing I don’t mind it.”
He shut the door, leaving me alone with my erratic thoughts.
Chapter 8
“Coffee?” Chase asked as I hobbled into his kitchen the next morning.
I made a face then laughed. “I prefer loose-leaf tea, but I doubt you have that handy.”
“Nope. But my mom was here for Christmas and she left something behind.”
I counted back in my head…about five months old. Not exactly fresh, but beggars can’t be choosers. “That’s fine. What is it?”
He opened a cabinet next to the stove and reached up to the top shelf. I couldn’t help but laugh. “I see you want it handy.”
He chuckled. “Again, not really my thing. But she likes it.” He turned the box over in his hand. “Peppermint. And it’s in a bag.”
“That sounds great.”
