her baby to the car and drove off.
Other than quick instructions to Spud and the nurse, Chase had barely spoken for fifteen minutes. Standing next to the motorcycle after they’d packed everything up, Dani touched his arm.
“That was amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it. You should be very proud of what you did today.”
He didn’t respond, just looked at her. She couldn’t decipher the emotion on his face exactly but it definitely wasn’t triumph, which was what she thought he’d be feeling. It seemed more like despair.
He reached for her, grasping her shoulders, and slowly pulled her against his bare chest, which was still sprinkled with dried blood. His lips touched her forehead, lingered, until he stepped back to mount the bike.
Chase was quiet the entire ride back to the GPC compound. Not that there could be much conversation over the loud engine, but on the way to the village he’d managed to throw the occasional comment or observation over his shoulder. Probably the low light made it even more important that he concentrate on avoiding precarious ruts and potholes.
This time her arms were wrapped around a naked torso, and she had to control the constant urge to press her palms to his skin, slide them across the soft hair on his chest, down to the hard corrugated muscle of his stomach. Distracting him while driving in the near dark was definitely not a good idea.
After they’d unpacked the items they hadn’t used and returned them to the clinic, Chase seemed remote, preoccupied. “I’m going to go clean up. See you and Drew at dinner.”
“Okay.” She didn’t know what to think of his demeanor. Distance. The lack of touching and flirting earlier that day. And for the past forty-five minutes he’d spoken to her as though they were strangers.
Annoyed with herself at the hurt she felt because of the sudden change in him, she decided to check on Drew before she, too, washed off all the road dirt and changed her bloody clothes. She knew the Bowens had Drew, but had no idea exactly where they were. She turned to find out and felt a hand close over her forearm.
“Do you have pictures of Drew when he was first born? When he was a baby?”
“Of course. Though I don’t know how many I have with me. Some on my laptop and a few on my phone.”
“I’d like to see them.”
Why did he appear so oddly somber? How could he not be elated that fate had sent them to the village that day? “You know, you did just save two lives today. I’m surprised you aren’t exhilarated.” She certainly had been, until his seriousness had tempered it.
“We saved their lives together.” He placed his hand on her cheek. “And three years ago we made a life together.”
His eyes were now darkly intense, and she tried to decipher the jumble of emotions there, all mixed up with his somber demeanor and the grim lines around his mouth. He almost looked... Could the word be vulnerable? She searched his face and realized, stunned, that was exactly the word. Never would she have guessed the über -talented, ultra-confident Chase Bowen could ever look or feel vulnerable in any way. No matter what the circumstances, he always seemed...invincible.
“Yes, we did,” Dani said softly. “And I can see you’re as proud of him as I am. I’ll find what photos I can and show them to you after dinner.”
He nodded and turned to walk to his room, leaving her staring at his back and asking herself if she really knew him as well as she thought she did.
She went to find Drew, and had to wonder. In her infatuation with Chase, with his obvious strengths that had dazzled her so, had she never taken time to look inside at the rest of the man? At all facets of him and his life and what had shaped him to become the person he was today?
Chase was her son’s father. They might not be spending much time together in the future, but the emotion on Chase’s face tonight proved she needed to understand better what made the man
Other than quick instructions to Spud and the nurse, Chase had barely spoken for fifteen minutes. Standing next to the motorcycle after they’d packed everything up, Dani touched his arm.
“That was amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it. You should be very proud of what you did today.”
He didn’t respond, just looked at her. She couldn’t decipher the emotion on his face exactly but it definitely wasn’t triumph, which was what she thought he’d be feeling. It seemed more like despair.
He reached for her, grasping her shoulders, and slowly pulled her against his bare chest, which was still sprinkled with dried blood. His lips touched her forehead, lingered, until he stepped back to mount the bike.
Chase was quiet the entire ride back to the GPC compound. Not that there could be much conversation over the loud engine, but on the way to the village he’d managed to throw the occasional comment or observation over his shoulder. Probably the low light made it even more important that he concentrate on avoiding precarious ruts and potholes.
This time her arms were wrapped around a naked torso, and she had to control the constant urge to press her palms to his skin, slide them across the soft hair on his chest, down to the hard corrugated muscle of his stomach. Distracting him while driving in the near dark was definitely not a good idea.
After they’d unpacked the items they hadn’t used and returned them to the clinic, Chase seemed remote, preoccupied. “I’m going to go clean up. See you and Drew at dinner.”
“Okay.” She didn’t know what to think of his demeanor. Distance. The lack of touching and flirting earlier that day. And for the past forty-five minutes he’d spoken to her as though they were strangers.
Annoyed with herself at the hurt she felt because of the sudden change in him, she decided to check on Drew before she, too, washed off all the road dirt and changed her bloody clothes. She knew the Bowens had Drew, but had no idea exactly where they were. She turned to find out and felt a hand close over her forearm.
“Do you have pictures of Drew when he was first born? When he was a baby?”
“Of course. Though I don’t know how many I have with me. Some on my laptop and a few on my phone.”
“I’d like to see them.”
Why did he appear so oddly somber? How could he not be elated that fate had sent them to the village that day? “You know, you did just save two lives today. I’m surprised you aren’t exhilarated.” She certainly had been, until his seriousness had tempered it.
“We saved their lives together.” He placed his hand on her cheek. “And three years ago we made a life together.”
His eyes were now darkly intense, and she tried to decipher the jumble of emotions there, all mixed up with his somber demeanor and the grim lines around his mouth. He almost looked... Could the word be vulnerable? She searched his face and realized, stunned, that was exactly the word. Never would she have guessed the über -talented, ultra-confident Chase Bowen could ever look or feel vulnerable in any way. No matter what the circumstances, he always seemed...invincible.
“Yes, we did,” Dani said softly. “And I can see you’re as proud of him as I am. I’ll find what photos I can and show them to you after dinner.”
He nodded and turned to walk to his room, leaving her staring at his back and asking herself if she really knew him as well as she thought she did.
She went to find Drew, and had to wonder. In her infatuation with Chase, with his obvious strengths that had dazzled her so, had she never taken time to look inside at the rest of the man? At all facets of him and his life and what had shaped him to become the person he was today?
Chase was her son’s father. They might not be spending much time together in the future, but the emotion on Chase’s face tonight proved she needed to understand better what made the man
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