Read Online Under the Lights by Shannon Stacey - Free Book Online Page A

He knew she did because she’d been the one he’d confided in. Not everything, because their relationship wasn’t exactly deep, but enough.
    â€œEverybody loves Coach.”
    A customer stepped up behind him, so Chase took the opportunity to exit the conversation and hit the soda case. He grabbed a couple of bottles, figuring he’d drain the first one pretty quickly, and then stepped back into line.
    â€œIt was good to see you,” Janie said as she handed him his change.
    â€œYou, too. I’m glad you’re happy.”
    She smiled and nodded. “I am. I hope you are, too.”
    He smiled back, but it faded as soon as he was through the swinging glass door to the parking lot. Was he happy? He didn’t consider himself
unhappy
, exactly, but happy seemed like a little bit of a stretch.
    When he pulled up to the town square, Kelly jogged over to the curb, and he had to admit watching her run made him a little happier. He even managed to tear his gaze from herlegs long enough to appreciate the entire package. Officer McDonnell was in really nice shape.
    Chase took a swig of soda, hoping to cool himself off a bit as she went around to the passenger door. He needed to stop thinking of her as Officer McDonnell, which brought to mind that fruity cop smell of hers, and think of her as Coach’s daughter. That was better than a cold shower or a cool drink any day of the week.

05
    K elly took a deep breath before opening the passenger door of the truck. She’d already proven she could handle a little close proximity to Chase without making a fool of herself, but she needed to stop tempting herself like this. She should have begged off and let somebody else help him lug stuff back to the Walker farm.
    She opened the door and then laughed. “Did somebody dump their garbage in your truck as a prank?”
    He looked around, not seeming to grasp what she was talking about. “Where?”
    â€œSeriously? Chase, it looks like a Dumpster exploded in here.”
    He frowned and then brushed a straw wrapper from the passenger seat onto the floor. “Sorry. I should probably clean it out.”
    â€œOr you could just set it on fire and start over.”
    He rolled his eyes and gestured for her to get in. “It’s a few papers. I suppose you’re one of those people who alphabetizes their spices.”
    â€œOf course not. They’re shelved near my stove in order of how frequently I use them.”
    â€œBut they have an order.”
    She climbed up into the seat and rested her feet on a pile of bank slips, torn notebook pages and who knew what else. “You’re a very messy person.”
    â€œYou have no idea,” he muttered.
    â€œWhat’s that supposed to mean?”
    â€œNothing.”
    She kicked at the pile of crap under her feet. “Did you lose your dog under here?”
    â€œWhat dog?” He glanced over his shoulder and then pulled the truck away from the curb. “I don’t have a dog.”
    â€œThe first time I called you, you said you were talking to your dog.”
    â€œOh.” He gave her a look of chagrin before turning back to the road. “I was having a bad day and was mostly talking to myself, but I didn’t want you to think I was crazy, so I lied. Rina wouldn’t let me have a dog.”
    â€œRina?”
    â€œMy ex. She really hated dog hair, for some reason.”
    His ex, but ex what? Fiancée? Wife? “Your ex . . . ?”
    â€œGirlfriend. Ex-girlfriend. When you called me, I’d already been on the phone with her new boyfriend and also with some people who were really unhappy with my business partner, so I wasn’t at my best.”
    â€œYeah, that sounds like a bad day.”
    As he drove, he told her about how things had gone to crap for him, from business being slow to his girlfriend cheating to his business partner absconding with their money. While his tone didn’t