Sugarplums and Second Chances

Chapter Six

Chase stood on the deck and looked out over frozen Lake Endwell. The sun was rising. Snow drifted along the shore. Down the way a large section had been shoveled for a makeshift ice rink. He never tired of this view. Didn't matter the season the lake fascinated him.

And the woman sleeping upstairs in his guest room? Fascinated him, too.

Spending the past couple of days with her had filled a hole he hadn't realized was there. Every day after Wyatt left for school, Chase and Courtney would start talking and not stop until they realized it was lunchtime. He'd taken her to Pat's Diner yesterday for a down home meal. Afterward, they'd come back here. Courtney had played Christmas music through his sound system, and they'd fallen into another conversation lasting for hours.

He'd learned she'd graduated from Penn State, where she'd met JJ, and they'd gotten married the summer before his rookie season in Detroit. She had no siblings. Her dad died when she was young, and she and her mother had been close. Losing her had crushed her.

Other things—unspoken things—had come through loud and clear. She was struggling to fit in without having JJ and her mother anymore. The thought of reentering the workforce intimidated her. He got the impression she had no idea what an amazing person she was.

He wanted her to know. Didn't want any confusion on her part that she was special. The most incredible woman he'd ever met.

"Mind if I join you?"

He whirled, almost spilling his coffee. Courtney's hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and her face was free of makeup. She wore gray sweatpants and a light pink sweatshirt, and her feet were tucked into fuzzy boots. Steam from the mug she carried drifted to the sky.

"I love this view." He shifted as she stood next to him. "You should see it in the summer. And the fall."

Her smile teased. "Not the spring?"

"Oh, definitely see it in the spring." He tried not to stare but without makeup she seemed even prettier than usual.

"I feel like I'm in another world here." Her hands cradled the mug.

"I do, too. It's a world I only dreamed about. Drew used to tell me stories of growing up in this town, and I thought it must be the best place in the entire world."

"And now what do you think?"

"I was right. It's the best place in the entire world."

"Where did you grow up?" She took a tentative drink. "Mm...this is good."

"Trailer park in Texas. Dad left before I could walk. Mom did her best, but she was young. Worked two jobs, partied to blow off steam. I didn't have much structure as a kid. Thankfully, I found it in football."

"Really? And yet you're so driven." She looked taken aback. "Interesting."

"What do you mean?" He rested his elbow on the deck rail.

"Structure is important to you."

He nodded. "Yeah. It is. That's why moving here...well, it's been great, but it's been a struggle in some ways as well."

"Ah."

"What?"

"We both have too much time on our hands with no real clue what to do with it."

Exactly.

She turned to face him, and he couldn't help adding up the fact mere inches separated them and she smelled like vanilla and flowers. A combination which shouldn't be enticing, and yet, was.