KRISTI GOLD - The Son He Never Knew

Jess suspected she’d be in the same boat after he left. “You can take a nap before you head back.”

“I don’t know, Jess. If I fell asleep, I might not wake up in time to catch the bus.”

All the more reason for him to stay. “I’ll make sure you don’t sleep that long. Besides, you can’t march in here, announce you’re about to head off to a war zone and then just leave me all by myself to deal with it.”

Jess could tell by his expression she’d worn him down. She confirmed that when he said, “Okay, but only an hour or so.”

“Great.” She hopped onto her bed, scooted as close to the wall as she could to reserve a place for him. “Take off your shoes and stay a while, sailor.”

“I’m not a sailor,” he grumbled as he unlaced his boots and then toed out of them. “U.S. Army, Special Forces, and don’t forget it.”

Not much chance in that, thanks to the obvious reminders.

After Chase settled in beside her, Jess flipped on the TV with the remote and chose an ancient rerun. He slid his arm beneath her shoulder, she rested her cheek against his chest, like they’d done a thousand times before.

A span of silence passed before Jess said, “I wish we could go back to those summers when we used to hang out at the pond. We had some great times.”

“Before you started dating the jerk,” he muttered.

“He’s really a good guy, Chase.”

He kept his gaze fixed on the ceiling. “Being born to a father who owns half the state of Mississippi doesn’t make him a good guy.”

“And being rich doesn’t make him bad, either.”

He nailed her with a serious stare. “Are you going to marry him, Jess?”

She’d asked herself that question many times during the month she and Dalton had been apart. So far, no solid answer. “I could do worse.”

“You could do better.”

“He’s going to take good care of me, Chase. He’ll make sure I have a great life.”

“Sounds to me like you’ve made up your mind.”

Not exactly. “If I do decide to go through with it, I’ll wait until you’re home so you can be my man of honor.”

His frown returned. “Thanks, but no thanks. I don’t see myself being front and center when I believe you’ll be making the biggest mistake of your life.”

That stung Jess to the core. “I wish you’d give me some credit. I’m not a complete airhead.”

He shifted to his side and surveyed her face. “I just want you to be happy, Jess. I want to leave here knowing you’re going to have a solid future with someone who deserves you.” He sounded and looked so sincere, so sweet, that Jess started to cry again.

Chase held her securely in his strong arms. “It’s going to be okay,” he told her in a soft, even tone.

“Nothing’s okay,” she said. “It won’t ever be okay if you go.”

He pressed a kiss on her forehead, brushed a kiss across one cheek, then the other. “I’ll be back. I promise.”

“You better.”

As the time ticked away, they simply stared at each other, caught in a place they’d never been before. And then in one unexpected, defining moment, Chase kissed Jess on the lips. Not an innocent kiss. A deep, insistent kiss that made her head spin out of control.

In all the years they’d known each other—practically since birth—not once had they ever ventured beyond a platonic bond. Not once had Chase ever made a move on her. For years Jess had told herself she’d never wanted more from him. She’d rejected the fantasies that crept in on occasion as she wondered what it would be like to kiss him. What it would be like if he saw her as a woman, not a surrogate sister.

Chase tipped his forehead against hers. “Tell me to leave, Jess.”

That was the last thing she planned to tell him. “I want you to stay.” And she did, right or wrong.

He framed her face in his palms, forced her to look right into his eyes. “If I don’t go, I don’t know what might happen. Right now I just need…”

“To be with someone,” she finished for him, knowing she risked becoming only another of his meaningless hook-ups if she let this continue. But she couldn’t—wouldn’t—let the chance go by, consequences be damned. “You need to feel alive, Chase, and I need that, too. Whatever happens from this point forward, nothing will change between us. We’ll still be friends and no one will have to know.”

“But I’ll know, Jess. And I can’t give you—”

Jess pressed a fingertip against his lips to silence him. “You’ve given me more than you know.” She lifted her finger and pressed her lips against his. “Now no more talk.” She took his hand and slid it beneath the robe’s opening above her breasts. “Just touch.”

That seemed to unleash something in Chase, something uncontrolled but unbelievably sexy as he skimmed his palms down her body. Somehow she’d managed to bring them past the turn-back point, but she honestly didn’t care. She only cared about the prospect of being with him completely.

Maybe this was the reason she’d held back committing to Dalton. Maybe subconsciously she’d always loved Chase a little more than she’d cared to admit. More than the way he loved her as a friend.

Regardless, this could be the last opportunity to know what she’d been missing. The last chance to explore the feelings for Chase that had suddenly surfaced. Possibly the last time she ever saw him again.

She’d been caught between two men for years—the one who treated her like a queen, and the one who’d viewed her as only a best friend. The one who could give her the world, and the other who could only give her this one night.

She wanted this one night…even if it proved to be a life-altering mistake.

Placid, Mississippi

Ten years later

THERE HAD TO BE SOME MISTAKE.

As he pulled out of the sheriff’s station parking lot, Chase Reed requested the dispatcher repeat the address one more time.

1101 Oakwood Lane.

No mistake, and no time to waste.

Chase flipped on his emergency lights and siren as he sped through downtown, concerned over what he might be facing when he arrived at his destination on the outskirts of Placid—the recently-divorced Jessica Keller Wainwright’s home. He only knew that a domestic dispute call had been placed by a hysterical woman and an ambulance had been dispatched. He didn’t know who had been injured or how. One thing was certain. If Dalton Wainwright had laid a finger on Jess, he’d kill him.

In the six months since he’d returned to Placid, he’d only spoken to Jess once by phone, a tense conversation that involved generalities—her new job teaching second grade, his new job as deputy sheriff and briefly about her divorce, like they were only acquaintances. Even though they’d corresponded through the years, they’d never talked about the night before he left for his first tour of duty.

He hated that he’d obviously hurt her with his careless behavior. Hated that she’d run off and married Wainwright two weeks later. Hated that he’d somehow driven her to that decision and in turn, set a course that had ultimately led to this moment.

Chase’s mind continued to reel with the possibilities as he whipped into the lengthy drive leading to the massive redbrick mansion. He barely had the car stopped before he slid out of the driver’s side and his feet hit the pavement. A gust of unseasonably cold, bitter wind sent a spiral of leaves across the stone walkway as he strode past the for sale sign toward the planked porch. The white holiday lights hanging from the eaves and the huge artificial Christmas tree filling the entry window gave the appearance of normalcy. But when he found the front door partially ajar, he prepared for anything but a normal situation.