“It is,” Maisy agreed. “Likely I will never hear from Chase, which is probably for the best. After his discussion with Sean, I doubt he’ll want anything more to do with me or the family.”
Her grandmother disagreed. “I wouldn’t be so sure of that.”
“You think I will hear from him?” She hated the hopefulness that filled her voice.
“Time will tell, won’t it?”
And it did.
—
Later that same evening, Maisy sat on her bed, leaning against several pillows, reading one of her favorite romance authors, when her phone rang. The unexpectedness of it nearly caused her to drop her Kindle.
She glanced at the screen and sucked in her breath.
The call was from Chase Furst.
Chapter Sixteen
“Hello.”
Maisy sounded nothing like her usual self; for half a second, Chase hesitated. “Maisy?”
“Oh, hi, Chase.”
Now she sounded breathless and stiff. Something was definitely off. “What’s wrong?”
“Ah…nothing. It’s just that I wasn’t expecting to hear from you.”
Her answer befuddled him. “Whyever not?”
He hadn’t stopped thinking of her from the moment he’d flown out of Seattle. All day he’d kept checking the time, eagerly waiting for the hours to pass so he could call her.
“Because of the things my brother said. Sean was being presumptuous, rude, and ridiculous; I was certain he’d offended you. I’m so sorry and incredibly embarrassed.”
“Don’t be.” So that was it. He hadn’t been put off the least bit by Maisy’s brother. If anything, he respected Sean for wanting to protect her. It was up to Chase to prove to Sean that he was sincere.
“I find it hard to believe you think my little talk with Sean would be enough to send me running for the hills.” That was almost laughable. The woman had no idea how deeply she’d implanted herself into his thoughts and actions.
“It’s just that…I can’t imagine what you must think of my family.”
“Okay, I’ll tell you. I think your family is simply wonderful. The dinner was one of the happiest meals I’ve had in years. The banter was refreshing. I loved how you all worked together to arrange for Patrick to play baseball.” The conversation had been a revelation to him. An eye-opener. Something he’d never experienced.
His mother disappeared from his life when Chase was only eight. He didn’t understand where she’d gone or why. At first his father had assured him Michelle would be back. But as the weeks progressed, it became clear that wasn’t to be. His birthday passed, and then Christmas, without a word. Not even a card or a phone call. Nothing. It was as if he no longer existed in his mother’s eyes. The pain of her abandonment was sharp, and he’d often cried himself to sleep.
His father’s second marriage had been brief, hardly a blip in Chase’s memory. She was in and out of his life so fast it was difficult remembering her name. Alice, he now recalled.
As soon as he was old enough, Chase was sent off to school. He’d thrived on the routine and discipline and made friends. The first real ones of his life. Most of the boarders were likehim, sent away because they were often unwanted intrusions for wealthy, distracted parents or when dealing with their stepmothers or their fathers’ busy careers. That was certainly the case with Simon. His father was mostly a stranger to Chase until Simon had brought Chase into the business, following his graduation from college.
“I called because I wanted to tell you this paying-it-forward thing is really working with me.”
“It is?” Her voice rose slightly, revealing the first hint of enthusiasm.
“There’s a Starbucks on the street down from my office. I generally stop by for coffee in the morning on my way into the office. It made me think of you.”
“Starbucks did? Their coffee tastes bitter to me. How did you connect that with me?”
“Simple. Starbucks got its start in Seattle, right?”
