Between the Seams by Aubrey Gross Page B

exiting the truck as if it were on fire. He ran the ten yards to her, worried and scared at the way her lungs were heaving.
    He reached her in seconds, placed a reassuring hand on her upper arm, and was greeted by having his hand ripped of her arm and a kick to the shin.
    “Get your hands off of me!” Jo yelled as she stood up, and Chase realized that her right hand was going for the fanny pack at her waist.
    Having no desire to find himself at the wrong end of what he suspected was in that fanny pack, he calmly said, “Jo! Jo! It’s me, Chase!”
    She stopped, hand poised over the black pouch, blinked her eyes and sunk to the ground, her legs crossed Indian-style. Her forehead smacked into her hands as she continued to cry.
    Gingerly now, clueless and just a little scared, Chase crouched down beside her. Jo had always been pretty even-tempered as a kid, so the few times he’d been around her when she’d been upset he’d been completely clueless as to how to make her feel better. Funny how in that regard things really hadn’t changed—he still had no clue what to do to make her feel better.
    But he wanted to try.
    ~~*~~
    Jo tried desperately to get her breathing under control and to make the tears stop as she sat there on the ground, Chase mere inches away from her.
    Why wouldn’t they stop?
    No matter how many deep breaths she took, the shaky feeling in her insides wouldn’t go away, and the tears wouldn’t stop flowing.
    She’d almost shot him.
    Rationally, she realized that she hadn’t known it was him when she’d felt a man’s hand on her arm. She’d been bent at the waist, trying to calm herself down from the panic attack that had gripped her while she’d been running. She’d been thinking about him and bitching and moaning to herself and bam! Panic attack.
    Jo hadn’t had one in years, not since after Ray—the one boyfriend she’d actually loved—had broken up with her after finding out he was being shipped off to Afghanistan. Panic—over being alone, over the thought of him being killed—had gripped her and sent her over the edge. Even then, though, it hadn’t felt like this.
    And then, to make things even better, she’d almost shot him.
    Shot him!
    Her body started shaking, and oxygen seemed harder and harder to come by. Numbly, she registered Chase’s hand on her shoulder, then smoothing her hair. And then she was in his lap and his arms were around her and he was saying something to her in a really soft voice. She couldn’t understand it, but it sounded nice and comforting.
    Air.
    Slowly, but surely, she found air.
    Jo wasn’t sure how long she sat there in his lap, vaguely realized anyone could be staring at them and the odd tableau they made. Stupidly, because she felt something needed to be said, she said the first thing that popped out of her mouth: “Why haven’t you called me?”
    She felt his muscles tense slightly before relaxing again, and felt stupid and childish and selfish for even asking such a thing.
    “I’m sorry, Chase. I shouldn’t have asked you that. You’ve been dealing with your brother, I know. Jenn’s mentioned it. I’ve just been…”
    Worried, she’d been worried, dammit.
    “So you almost shot me because I hadn’t called you?”
    She heard the teasing tone of his voice, but couldn’t keep her body from tensing. She’d almost shot him.
    “Oh, God, Chase. I almost shot you!”
    “It’s not your fault, Jo. I should have said something rather than just grabbing your arm. I know better.”
    She shook her head, knowing that he was right, but still feeling panicky over the entire situation. “I should have known it was you.”
    “How, Jo?”
    Her hands fluttered at her sides, as if searching for answers. “I don’t know. I just should have.”
    “You and I both know that’s a load of bullshit. I approached you without warning, without saying anything and grabbed your arm. You were protecting yourself.” He paused. “If anything, we need to work