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I followed his lead into the place with my hand in his, realizing it was an Italian restaurant. I looked around as we were quickly seated. It was such a cute restaurant, very little Italy, from the design to the layout, to the people that worked there.
It was perfect.
He was perfect.
“Are you a mind reader?”
“I wish I were.”
“How did you know lasagna was my favorite?”
“Huh…”
“What?”
“It’s mine too.”
“Looks like we have something in common, Hayes.”
“We have more in common than you think, Haven.”
Before I could ask what he meant by that, the hostess made her appearance.
“Now are my eyes failing me?” she greeted with enthusiasm. “Chase Hayes is in my booth?”
Chase?
“I can’t believe what my eyes are seeing. Good Lord, look at you. You’re all man now. My goodness. How long has it been since you were in here?”
“It’s been a while.”
“More than a while. I think the last time you were in my booth it was before your mom—”
“We’ll take two lasagnas,” he interrupted.
“Of course. Where are my manners? You want your usual Cherry Coke?”
“Sure.”
She peered at me. “And you, honey?”
“I’ll take the same please.”
“Well,” she rasped, smiling big. “Aren’t you as pretty as a peach.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s so good to see you, Chase. Don’t be a stranger, okay? You bring her back to see me.”
“I’ll do my best.”
She nodded. “I’ll go put your orders in, and then I’ll bring out a fresh basket of garlic bread for you.”
“That’d be great. Thanks.”
As soon as she was gone, I asked, “Chase?”
“Nobody calls me that anymore.”
“Why not?”
“It’s just one of those things.”
“That’s super vague of you. You don’t like talking about yourself, do you?”
“I know all about this motherfucker. I want to know about you.”
“What would you like to know?”
“Everything.”
I smirked. “You look like a Chase. Maybe I’ll start calling you that instead of Hayes?”
“Please don’t.”
“You don’t like that name?”
“Something like that.”
“Fine.” I leaned back in my seat. “Hayes it is.”
“She’s right, you know.”
“About what?”
“You are as pretty as a peach.”
“You’re saying all the right things.”
“I aim to please.”
“I’m sure you do.”
“You going to leave me in suspense?”
“Okay,” I gave in. “Where do I start?” I thought about it for a second. “First time I rode a horse was with my dad when I was six months old. I basically grew up on one. He’s a rancher and my whole life has revolved around our ranch.”
“Must have been nice growing up like that.”
“Some of my best memories.”
“How much cattle do you own?”
“More than I can count. I used to name them all when I was younger, but then I’d get sad when they were sold off. I did own a baby pig I named Wilbur.”
“You a fan of Charlottes Web?”
I giggled. “I guess you are.”
“I like to read.”
“Really? What kinds?”
“A little of everything.”
“Did you go to college?”
He shook his head. “No. I took the GED exam when I was sixteen. I wasn’t much for school.”
“Yeah. School isn’t for everyone. My brother isn’t a fan either. I don’t know why he keeps wasting Daddy’s money, sometimes I think he’s just punishing him.”
He zeroed in on me. “For what?”
“I’m not entirely sure. Troy has always been kind of the black sheep, I guess. He’s the wild card. Out of all my brothers, I’m closest to him. We’re only three years apart.”
“I see.”
“My oldest brother Jace is twenty years older than I am. It’s pretty crazy when you think about it, but my mom always said they had five boys because they were waiting for me.”
“Their baby girl.”
“Yeah…” I breathed out. “It’s kind of annoying. I was always treated differently because I was a girl, and they were boys. Don’t get me wrong, I love them all. My family means everything to me, but sometimes I wish they wouldn’t treat me like I can’t make any decisions for myself.”
“They’re just trying to protect you from making a mistake.”
“You sound like you have some experience with that?”
I didn’t expect him to confess…
“Sweetheart, mistake is my middle name.”
Sixteen
Hayes
By the time we pulled into my driveway it was almost midnight. We spent hours at the restaurant just shooting the shit.
“Are you going to drive me back to the bar?” she asked, hopping off my Harley.
“I can in the morning.”
Her eyebrows pinched together. “In the morning?”
“Can you spend the night with me?”
“Why, Chase Hayes, you want to have a slumber party?”
“You’re just begging me to take you over my knee, Peach.”
“What can I say?” She smiled. “I’m a bad girl.”
“In more ways than one.”
“Let me call my dad and let him know I’m crashing at Cove’s.”
“Is that where he thinks you are?”
“I’m always with Cove.”
“She seems like trouble.”
“She can be.”
“I imagine the boys at your school go crazy over the two of you?”
“I don’t like boys.”
“Is that right?”
She nodded, throwing her arms around my neck. “I like you.”
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love hearing her say that. After she finished her call with her old man, I led her up to the observation deck next to my bedroom. It was where I’d usually end most of my nights, looking up at the sky, getting lost in my thoughts.
