Moving On (Rolling Thunder #7) - P.J. Fiala Page 0,50
down?"
Taking little steps, he maneuvered himself, so he was standing in front of the recliner. "I think I can do this part." He tried lowering himself slowly, but a sharp pain shot across his ribs and he landed with a thud followed by a howl as his ribs punished him for the wrong move.
"Chase? Oh my God, are you alright?"
She knelt in front of him. At the moment, he could only see a blur as his eyes failed to focus. Taking shallow breaths, he closed his eyes laying a hand on her right shoulder, so he had contact with her. After a few moments he managed to open his eyes.
"The sofa would likely have been better, but then again, I'm not sure. So, if you don't mind, I'm going to take a little rest because that excursion just wore me out."
"Of course." She stood, pulled a blanket from the back of the sofa and lay it over his lap, then she gently kissed his lips. "Would you like water, juice or milk?"
"I don't have..."
"I shopped last night. You've got a fully stocked fridge and pantry."
"Lu." He grabbed her hand and kissed her fingers. "Thank you."
She giggled. "That's Nurse Lu to you. Take a nap, I'll wake you when lunch is ready."
She walked back to the kitchen and he dozed off listening to her humming, smelling a delicious lunch and happy to be home.
His phone ringing woke him up. As he realized what he was hearing he dug into his pocket and pulled his phone out.
"Yeah. Chase here."
He heard laughing on the other end of the line. "Sounds like maybe I woke you. This is Gil Jones from Chief's in Colorado."
"Hi Gil. Yeah, you caught me napping. I was in an accident a couple of days ago and I'm now home convalescing."
"Well, shit son, I'm sorry to hear that. Are you going to be alright?"
"Yeah, just a few more days and I'll be fine. Mostly got my bell rung and my air bag and seatbelt did a number on my rib cage."
"Well, I am sorry to hear that. But, I'll send up some good prayers for you to heal quickly."
Chase chuckled. "Thanks. I'll take them."
"So, I'm just checking in with you on our discussion earlier this week. Have you given any thought at all to my offer?"
"I have actually. But first, hang on Gil." He pulled his phone away from his ear and scrolled through his pictures. Finding the picture of the bike he'd drawn just before his accident, he texted that to Gil. "I just texted you a picture of a drawing I made just before my accident. Take a look and give me your honest opinion on that."
He listened as he could hear Gil on the other end, but he looked around wondering where LuAnn was.
"Hot damn, Chase, that there is a sexy-ass bike. Did you make it yet?"
"No. I want to. If we can make this work, it’ll be the first Chase Matthews design for Chief's Cycles."
Gil whistled on the other end of the phone but said nothing for a long time.
"What do we have to work out, Chase?"
"Okay, can you give me a little time here? I need to talk to my girl. If I can find her, I'm not sure where she's at right now. I want to have this conversation with her and see what she thinks. Then I think we need to come out for a face to face."
"Them's the best words I've heard all day, Chase. Give me a call tomorrow and let's nail down some of the details. I'm looking forward to seeing you in person."
"Sounds good. I'm looking forward to seeing you in person as well, I just need a little time."
He ended the call and scooted to the edge of his recliner. Using his leg muscles, he managed to stand without the stabbing pain in his ribs. Turning toward the kitchen, he saw LuAnn standing there, fresh from outside, a look of fear on her face.
"Who are you excited to see in person?"
Her gorgeous blue eyes welled with tears as he made his way slowly to her. Once he was standing before her, he pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her, enjoying the way her body felt against his.
"We need to talk."
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Staring across the corner of the table at Chase, she could see the indecision in his eyes. His gorgeous dark brown, earnest eyes. "So, you actually are thinking about leaving Rolling Thunder?"