the face-sheet out of her hand so that he could see what they were dealing with here. There were five bedrooms, three full bathrooms including a master bathroom, a two-car garage, an office, a living room, a family room, a large kitchen, a pool, a hot tub, and…
“I don’t need this many rooms,” Chase said even as he couldn’t help but notice that this was exactly the kind of house that he’d always wanted.
“I’m going to need my own room when I visit,” Sloane explained as she gestured impatiently for him to roll them back so that they could check out the rest of the house.
Since he knew that she wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon, Chase decided not to worry. She’d promised to help him get back on his feet, and since his fucking legs wouldn’t cooperate, he wasn’t too worried about losing her yet.
“This house is beautiful,” Sloane said in a reverent whisper as they slowly made their way through the rest of the house.
For several minutes, she was content to sit on his lap to tour the house, but that all changed when they came across a small hallway that led to a door at the end. With an absently mumbled, “I’ll be right back,” she climbed off his lap and quickly headed down the hallway, leaving him to check out the kitchen on his own and
“I call this bedroom!” came the excited gasp from the other side of the house, making him chuckle as he rolled into the large kitchen that overlooked the pool.
“This is more space than I need,” Chase said, sighing as he took everything in from the large kitchen island to the granite countertops, cabinets, Spanish tile on the floor, the large pool, and the backyard lined with orange and lemon trees, and…
It was a beautiful house, but it was too fucking big for him. He needed something smaller, maybe another two-bedroom house, but in a different neighborhood that had a bathtub. God, what he wouldn’t have done for a fucking hot bath over the past year, but his house only had a walk-in shower.
“I have a few other houses that I can show you if you’re looking for something smaller,” Natalie said as she joined him in the kitchen.
Knowing that was probably a good idea, Chase started to nod his head only to end up chuckling with a murmured, “We’ll take it,” when Sloane rushed past them with an excited squeal and a, “I love this house!”
Chapter 23
One Week Later…
“Oh, my god, open the door, Chase!” Sloane said, frantically trying to open the car door only to curse, shoot a glare at the man that was trying to get her killed, glance over her shoulder, curse again, and ran another lap around the car in a desperate attempt to get away from the pack of Wilderness Girls determined to make her pay.
“Get her!” came the command that had Sloane whimpering as she turned around and headed back the way that she came only to realize that the pack had split up.
“What’s wrong, Pookie?” Chase drawled as he rolled down his window.
“I hate you,” Sloane managed to get out even as she couldn’t help but wonder where their parents were.
“Aw, you don’t mean that, Pookie,” Chase said with a sad shake of his head even as he gestured lazily in her direction her with a murmured, “Looks like she’s getting tired,” further encouraging the rabid pack of six-year-olds that Chase had somehow managed to set on her.
When they narrowed their eyes on her as one, and oh god, was that creepy, Sloane shifted to her right and nearly sighed with relief when she spotted the oak tree by the bike path. Deciding that was her best bet, she headed that way only to groan when she was cut off by two cute little girls with pigtails and a look of determination that actually terrified her.
That led her to turn back around and nearly sighed with relief as she watched Chase transition himself from the car back into the wheelchair that she hadn’t had a chance to put in the back before the attack happened. Before he was settled back in his chair, Sloane was there, climbing onto his lap and wrapping her arms around him, hoping it would be enough to stop the little vigilantes from dragging her away so that they could throw more overpriced cookies at her.
There was a heavy sigh and then…
“I don’t know what you would do without me, Pookie.”