Page 23 of Forgiving Chase


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“Make him. Make this place your own.”

She looked up at him and smiled, and in that moment he lost himself remembering the excitement he felt every time they were together, and how they used to sit around for hours planning their future, talking about this ranch and how they would run it if it were theirs. For the first time, he realized how lost she must have been when he disappeared on her.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“What?” Clearly caught off guard, she gazed up at him for a moment then nodded resolutely, her back straightening. “You’re right. I need to stand up to him.”

“It’s not my place to give you advice,” he offered gently.

She nodded again but flashed him a conciliatory grin that was gone as soon as it appeared. “True enough. For now, let’s focus on this case since it might be my last.”

They walked into the kitchen and saw a big bowl of steaming homemade soup sitting in the center of the table next to a big bowl of rolls.

“Jess, this looks amazing. You didn’t have to do all this,” Jacquie said as she took a seat.

“I know.” Jess wrapped her arms around Jacquie’s shoulders. “But I wanted to. I love you, sis. I can’t believe how close we came to losing you.”

Jacquie’s eyes misted as she grinned. “Thank you. I love you, too, and I really love your cooking.”

Jess laughed and took a seat next to her.

As he sat across from them, Chase had to admit, this was something he could get used to. He instantly pushed the feeling away.

9

After she atetwo bowls of soup, Jacquie felt much better. Her energy and her strength were back, and she was thinking more clearly. She led Chase into the study. “Why don’t we set up shop in here.” She carried her bag toward the desk and took out the two laptops she’d taken from Sylvia’s house, opened them up, and turned them on.

“Anything?” he said, sitting in a wing chair in front of the desk.

She sat down and waited for them both to boot up. “Darn they’re both password protected.” She shut them both, then put them back in the bag to take to Josh.

“Give them to me. I have people in my office that can get the data off them.”

“I’m not surprised.” She handed him the tote bag and sat back down, pulling out a notepad.

“Okay, we know your brother is in town and hasn’t told anyone.”

“True, and he has to be the one who vandalized my car this morning. What we don’t know is how he knew I was here so quickly.”

“He must have seen you at the hospital.”

He thought for a minute. “He was definitely there, and I spent some time outside checking the parking lots for the blue truck.”

“Which we now know he was in, but why vandalize your car? The word Go is a little on the nose, isn’t it?”

“I agree. He doesn’t want me here, but he should know vandalizing my car isn’t going to get me to leave.”

She shook her head. There must be more going on that they weren’t seeing. “Why would he care if you were here or not?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“We know he’s involved with Sylvia again.”

“True, though why she would take him back, I can’t imagine.”

He visibly flinched. She almost apologized but didn’t.

“Sylvia and two of her roommates went on a drug run to Mexico,” he continued. “If he’s involved, why not go?” He rubbed his beard, lost in thought, looking concerned.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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