Others in town, however, had not been sofriendly. Like Miss Hanson. She'd been his seventh-grade teacher.He assumed she was retired by now, at least, he hoped she was, outof sympathy for the current generation of awkward pre-teens. Shehad to have been 60-plus when he suffered through her class. An old60-something that had survived the Reagan-era. Short, wearingnothing but polyester pants and stiffly starched blouses day in andday out, topped with stiff, gray, curler-perfect hair.
She'd been watching him not-so-discreetlysince he moved into the house next door. He suspected she was justwaiting for him to screw up so she could tell everyoneshe-told-them-so.That Chase Anderson, always getting intotrouble.
Chase hopped out of the truck, giving his newneighbor a friendly wave with as warm of a grin as he could muster.She would see the smile as threatening, no doubt, but he tried tosoften his naturally intimidating demeanor.
Miss Hanson lived in a small, but classy oldbrick house like his and the rest of the neighborhood's. The yardswere all pristinely managed. He didn't mind a little gardening, butthe other residents were quite particular about the neighborhood'sappearance. He’d have to learn some basic gardening and lawnmaintenance to keep up. Fortunately, his landlord had left somebasic supplies for him. Some of the houses were fairly grand, butmost were cozy brick bungalows like his.
Chase tossed his gear into the entry closet,trying to keep the inside as neat as the out. He stripped down tohis boxer briefs, tiptoeing across the cold wood floor, through thesparsely furnished living room, straight for the laundry room. Hetossed his smelly clothes straight in the wash, stripping off thebriefs and adding them before starting the wash cycle.
Coffee. He made for the kitchen to brew asteamy cup. He’d brought very few of his belongings from his tinyHouston apartment with him, as most of his household items had beencheap, convenient items. But not his coffee pot. He’d invested inan efficient, grinder-attached brewer that made a perfect cup ofcoffee, every time.
It had been a long day, but the hard part hadyet to begin. Laura's retirement party started in under an hour.Coffee brewing, Chase walked back through the bright and airyliving room to the master bedroom. He'd picked up the rich brownleather sofa yesterday, but his coffee table was still a cardboardbox. He didn’t watch much TV, so that hadn’t been a priority.
Thankfully, he'd only had to crash on thefloor the first night he’d arrived. He picked up a largeking-sized, espresso-finish headboard to go with the plushestpillow-top mattress the store carried. After such an impressivecash purchase, he'd easily negotiated a nice discount on the restof the matching bedroom set.
He made his way into the master bath. Theowner had made some premium upgrades before her work hadtransferred her to Chicago on short notice. Chase wasn't normallyone to soak in a tub, but the over-sized tub had appeal. Maybe ifhe got around to dating, he'd get some candles to soften up hisman-cave a bit. It had been too long since he’d even been out on adate. For himself, he preferred the walk-in shower with itsover-abundance of shower heads.
Chase stepped into the brick-tiled shower.Eek, cold! He leaped back, avoiding the initially cold flowfrom the three black-finish showerheads.
Did he just sayeek? Good thing no onewas around to hear that high-pitched squeak. He was comfortablewith his own masculinity, but the guys on the rig, or even thefishermen, would tease him to no end if they heard a squeak likethat. First the seat heater now eek; life outside the rig wasquickly turning him into a softy.
As the water warmed, he stepped in and letthe water flow over his sore muscles. He tried to empty his brainbut couldn't help but worry over the upcoming party. Aiden hadstopped by the night before last to welcome Chase home and helpedhim unpack his few boxes of belongings.
Laura had insisted he get home in time tomake it to her retirement party. According to Aiden, they'd plannedquite the shindig. As a former member of the city council andlong-time local judge, Laura’s friends, and therefore most of theguests, would be established pillars of the community.
Drying off with his also-new plush graytowel, he debated shaving off his new-growth beard. The earlymorning winds on the boat would be frigid and the beard would benecessary. In the end he decided to neatly trim the beard for theparty.
Nervous about people’s first re-impressionsof him, Chase made an effort to dress for the occasion. He'd madesure to buy a spiffy new get-up for the party to impress Laura andher cohorts. He’d spent all damn day shopping yesterday.
First new furniture, then new kitchen andbath necessities… he had certainly helped the local stores to meettheir sales for the quarter. After his first night of sleeping onthe floor in a sleeping bag and air-drying after his shower, herealized he had to do some serious shopping. He never imagined howmany damn "necessities" one needed in a home. Sheets–two sets, bulkpack of dish towels and rags, bath towels, hand towels, washcloths.Laundry soap, dish soap, hand soap. Exhausting.
He hadn't left out the clothing retailers. Inaddition to house necessities, he picked up some very neededwardrobe updates. He couldn't remember the last time he'd goneshopping. It's like he'd been waiting for something, like his timeaway from Seaview was purgatory. Paying his dues. Lucrative,however.
The entire ordeal had sealed it, heofficially hated shopping. Not his scene. He'd managed to buyhimself a few basics. Who knew there were so many styles and pricesof jeans and t-shirts? Maybe he'd try one of those personalshoppers for the rest of his new wardrobe and avoid the mallindefinitely.
Although, the clerk at the store had been alittle too helpful. Perky, with her very-low cut top, the clerk hadsold him on an "athletic fit" black button-up. Chase still thoughtit was a bit snug, but she had insisted it accented his well-earnedmuscles and was very “on trend.” Which she had told him while sheleaned forward to straighten the cuff of the black slacks she'dtried to sell him, quite intentionally giving him a spectacularview of the too-small black lace bra she was bursting out of.
Enough ego-stroking and he was suckered intoit. He was a guy. A guy suffering from a very long dry spell.
A few years ago, he might have gotten hernumber. Or even taken her right there in the dressing room. But inthe past few years, he'd lost his taste for quick hook-ups. He'davoided any relationships in general, having grown tired ofmeaningless one-nighters. Nor would he put a woman – or himself –through the limited time he spent ashore, then lack of contactwhile aboard the rig.
He'd agreed to pairing the "sexy" button-upwith some black boat shoes and coordinating black belt but refusedthe "skinny fit" slacks she'd pushed. When did those become instyle for men? He settled on some casual khaki chinos. The chinosat least had some cargo pockets.
Catching his reflection in the mirror, hefelt he was dressed to impress. He wanted to fit in, but he refusedto be someone else. No one would have dared question his confidenceon the rig. His past hadn't mattered to them. They only cared abouthis ability to get the job done efficiently, effectively, andsafely. If not, he would have kicked their ass.
Chase finally chugged the luke-warm coffeehe’d forgotten about. Among other frightening figures, Mayor JosephWilson would be there. Before his Honor was elected mayor, Chasehad had a quick kneetrembler with the man's oldest daughter in thefootball stadium bathroom during the homecoming game. Making thehomecoming queen late for her coronation. He sure hoped MayorWilson didn't know about that little incident. He was, however,fairly certain that his Honor suspected that Chase and Aiden hadbeen the ones to graffiti his Porsche later that year, as the limegreen paint they'd chosen had splattered and hadn't washed off oftheir hands or hair very well.
There would be others with similar memoriesor suspicions. Chase shook his head at the ridiculous egotisticalinvincibility he'd built around himself back then. He hadn't heardyet how Aiden's return to town went, but Aiden had alwaysmaintained a good image despite his antics.
Aiden’s parents had been an important part ofthe community, and Aiden had a bright future, despite hisrebellious teenage behavior. Chase had hardly graduated. He had thebrains; he just hadn’t given a shit.
Rolling his eyes at his own insecurities, hemade for the door. Might as well get it over with.
4
Maddy was glad to be done with the day. She'dexperienced some intense days on the force when she first became acop in Seattle. Long nights of drug busts, bloody murder scenes;she’d loved every minute working vice, but it was intense. She wasgood at it, too. Top of her class. Had quickly made detective.
Somehow, today had been harder. Dylan'sreturn was hanging over her head like a thunder cloud. Maddyunlocked her front door and let out a tired sigh as she entered thecheery oceanfront cabin. The house was just south of the BeachsideAvenue hustle and bustle, surrounded by wind-blown trees andsimilar gray, seasoned cedar cabins.
