Kristen Ashley - Breathe

Or he had. But then he lost her.

“Think your hunting ground should be Denver, bud,” Chace murmured his advice, his eyes moving back to the plain.

“Then it’s good I’ve taken a job there,” Deck murmured back.

“Gone long?” Chace asked.

“Leave tomorrow and gone as long as it takes,” Deck answered.

“Try not to get arrested,” Chace muttered and Deck chuckled.

“Like anyone could catch me,” Deck muttered back.

This, fortunately, was true. This also, unfortunately, gave indication of the kind of “job” Deck had taken.

Chace let that go as he always did and moved onto more important matters.

“You know, the head’s up you gave Faye about Ma set her up to deal with that. You at my side when that shit went down with Faye and what you did with Dad –”

“Brother, we don’t discuss that shit.”

“We don’t. Also don’t care. In those instances, you gotta know you got my gratitude.”

“I already know it, Chace.”

“Well, give me somethin’, man, and accept it anyway.”

“You’ve had my back a lot of times,” Deck reminded him.

“Not one where someone you loved was buried alive.”

“This is true,” Deck muttered.

“So just give me this and accept my gratitude.”

Deck was silent.

Then he whispered, “Do anything for you, man.”

“I know,” Chace whispered back.

“You know why.”

“I do.”

“Losin’ her was the worst thing to happen to me.”

Chace pulled in breath. Deck didn’t bring her up. Ever. She wasn’t a ghost. She wasn’t a memory. As far as Deck was concerned, she didn’t exist.

Then, still whispering, he said, “I know.”

“Your ending was a fuckuva lot better than mine.”

“I know, Deck.”

“You kept me from flyin’ apart.”

Chace didn’t reply.

“Do anything for you,” Deck whispered.

“Then give me this,” Chace pushed. “Move past her. She’s gone. Quit dickin’ around. Find what I got, Deck. You know how it feels. Find it again.”

Deck was silent.

Then he muttered, “We’ll see what Denver brings.”

Chace knew that was as good as it was going to get so he let it alone.

Chace took a drag from his beer and Deck did the same.

They stared at the plain in silence.

Deck broke it. “Happy for you, brother.”

“Not as happy as me.”

“No,” Deck agreed. “And that’s precisely why I’m happy.”

Chace grinned at his beer bottle before he took another drag.

Then he sat with his best friend in silence, contemplating what the next day would bring and beyond that, the island adventure that his soon-to-be wife didn’t know she was getting for her honeymoon.

Which meant he sat beside his best friend in silence and he did it still grinning.

Faye

The next afternoon, Chace and Faye’s wedding reception

It was a moment alone.

A moment after dinner, my first dance with Chace, dancing to (of course) Ella Mae singing “Holding out for a Hero”. A moment after my dance with my Dad and Chace’s with Valerie. A moment after we cut the enormous, ornate but awesome cake, that moment not being one where we shoved it in each other’s faces but we did lick the frosting off each other’s fingers to hoots and catcalls we barely heard. After that moment Chace kissed me and he’d done it deeply. And after that moment he’d whispered, “Cake. Better than bubblemint.” Which made me all melty as well as slightly turned on.

I was sitting by myself and watching Ty and Lexie dancing, Ty having one arm around his again pregnant wife, his other arm holding his daughter and they were close, grinning at each other and whispering while sweet, pretty Ella pulled at her Mom’s hair.

My eyes moved to Bubba dancing close with Krystal. Then they moved to Tate doing the same with Laurie, then they moved to my sister doing the same with Boyd and Max doing the same with Nina. And then they moved to Twyla doing the same with her partner Cindy. Not done, my eyes glided through Mom and Dad, Valerie and Trane, Sunny and Shambles, Wood and Maggie and Sam Sterling and his woman Jada all doing the same thing.

Last, they moved to Chace who was holding both of Becky’s hands and her feet were on top of his feet, she was arched back, grinning up at him and he had his neck bent and he was grinning down at her in her little bridesmaid gown.

Yeah, Chace needed a princess.

Or, another one.

My gaze shifted from my husband…

My husband.

At that thought, I smiled a small smile to myself as my eyes took in friends and family including my brother Jude chatting up Amber, one of the waitresses at Bubba’s and Deck, laughing with Jim-Billy, Stoney and Wings. Finally, they lighted on Miah looking like he was getting into trouble with Robbie and Jarot. Robbie was crawling under a table, Miah stooping to do the same while Jarot appeared to be playing look out.

All was well in my world.

Very well.

Fraking brilliant.

My body started when two chairs were dragged up to either side of me. I looked up and to my right to see Ally moving in to sit on that side then I looked to the left to see the short man with narrow shoulders, a big belly, thinning light brown hair and a sweet smile taking the seat there.

Benji.

The second he settled, my body drooped to the side, hit his and his arm slid around me.

“So glad you came,” I muttered and looked to Ally. “Both of you.”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Ally muttered.

“Me either,” Benji also muttered.

My eyes went to Benji. “It was a long way for you.”

His eyes caught mine. “Better than a TV show. Better than a book. Because it’s real. Once in a lifetime. So no way I’d miss it. I’d beam to the moon to see you this happy.”

“Totally,” Ally muttered and I felt her hand find mine, wrap around and squeeze.

I squeezed back.

Then my gaze went to the dance floor again and I sighed.

“Coming back for Comic-Con. Now that the seal has been broken and we all know each other as in know each other , expect you and Chace to meet me there,” Benji told me and my mind filled with thoughts of Chace at a Comic-Con.

Because it did, I burst out laughing.

Chace’s eyes came right to me and seeing the look on his face, openly happy, I sighed again but this time on the inside.

I grinned at him but murmured, “I’m not sure that’ll ever happen.”

“I am,” Ally replied and I tore my eyes away from my husband…

My husband.

I looked to her. “No way.”

Ally looked to me. “That man would do anything for you. Even commune with a bunch of geeks.”

Well, I figured she would know. Since she had one like mine.

I grinned at her.

The song changed to Norah Jones’s “Come Away with Me” and I watched Dad claim Becky and Chace’s gaze come to me.

Then he lifted a hand and crooked a finger.

“Hot,” Ally muttered then, “Righteous.”

“I’m being summoned,” I told them something they couldn’t miss.

“Go, darling,” Benji encouraged, his arm giving me a squeeze.

I tossed them both a smile, got up and walked across the grass to the dance floor. I was two feet away when Chace leaned down, grabbed my hand, guided me up and pulled me immediately into his arms. Close. Tight. My arms wrapped around his shoulders and he started us swaying.

I didn’t even hear the song. I just felt Chace.

My husband.

“Havin’ a good day?” he murmured into the hair on the side of my head where his jaw was resting.

“The best. You?”

His arms gave me a squeeze. “Yeah, baby.”