“Sure is. Once you find the right book, well, that just changes everything.”
He laughed and slid his hands into his pockets. “I’ll take your word on that.”
I narrowed my eyes. “I must admit, if you’re not interested in a book, what brings you...?”
“Right, sorry. I am actually here on behalf of my partner, Ash.”
My heart skipped simply from the mention of Ash’s name.Stupid heart, how dare you skip for him?
“Oh?” I asked.
“Yeah, I just... I used to work with Ash’s dad, Samuel, before he passed away.”
“Goodness...”
He nodded. “Yeah. I was the new kid on the block when I joined Samuel. A lot of the other guys gave me shit and treated me like a rookie. Samuel didn’t though. He treated me like his partner. He treated me like a friend. I was there the day Samuel lost his life. I was the one who gave him CPR.”
My heart pounded against my rib cage as I listened to Chase.
His eyes were glassy with emotion as he recalled the memory of being with Samuel on that fatal day. It was clear that that situation was burned into his memory. Yet I didn’t completely understand why he was sharing this information with me.
“I can only imagine how hard that was for you, Chase.”
“It was the hardest day of my life. Going to his funeral was the second hardest day of my life, because I saw Samuel’s son fall completely apart at his casket. The look of pain in Ash’s eyes is something I’d never forget. I’ve seen a lot of people lost in life. It comes with the territory at times. But I’ve never seen anyone as shattered as Ash that day. It wasn’t for another year that I saw him again. He moved back to Chicago and was looking to join the squad. I made sure he was given to me to mentor, so I could take him under my wing the same way his father took me under his.”
“That’s beautiful.”
“That’s family.” He grinned, but it looked almost like a frown. “But ever since I first saw Ash, he’s had those same broken eyes that he had at the funeral. For a while, I thought it was grief, but then it never really went away. I figured he’d always be like that. Up until a couple weeks ago.” Chase brushed his thumb against his nose and continued. “A couple weeks ago, I saw something else in his eyes than the heaviness that seemed to be sitting on his shoulders. I saw something that I didn’t think I’d ever see in that man. I’m still stunned by how he looked.”
My heart continued to beat against my chest at a rapid speed. I felt flush and dizzy as Chase’s words settled into my brain. I couldn’t even form a sentence in response.
“Listen, I don’t know what happened between you and Ash,” Chase stated. “I just know he regrets it to his core, and he also respects you enough to stay away forever. But if there’s anypart of you that still has a soft spot in your heart for him, then please... let him back in. Ash is a good guy with a fantastic heart. I just want that heart to start beating again. And I think what he could really go for is a friend like you.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card. “Here’s Ash’s phone number. If you feel like shooting him a text, I think he’d appreciate that.”
I took the card from him, and Chase turned to walk away.
I called out to him.
Chase faced me. “Yeah?”
“You said a couple weeks ago, you saw a new look in him. What was it? What did he look like?”
“Alive.” He nodded in my direction. “He looked alive, Karla.”
***
Karla:Ash?
Ash:Who is this?
Karla:It’s Karla East.
Ash:Oh...
Ash:Hi.
I swallowed hard as I stared at my glowing cell phone in my pitch-black bedroom.
Karla:Hi.
