Page 84 of Mended Fences

I’m having lunch with Tessa and Natalie, then I work at 7.

CHASE

Nights?

ELENA

Yes, but only for another week, thank god.

CHASE

Well, I hope you have a good day.

The conversation was awkward, stilted—nothing like our previous banter. I supposed it would take more than one evening spent together to undo months of pain and separation. But I missed Chase—myChase.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

CHASE

Then, September 2024

“Get off your ass and help,”Elliot barked.

“No can do, brother.” I tipped my beer bottle back and kicked my heels up on my parents’ patio. ‘Today, I am celebrating my achievements as an American worker.”

Jay and Emma Everton celebrated every single fucking holiday on the calendar, but Labor Day was one of their favorites. Dad was a fan of the patriotism, and Mom enjoyed hosting one last hurrah during the warm months out in the backyard of their home on the orchard.

“You’ve been gainfully employed for less than a year.” He slapped at my feet, knocking them off the table. My boots landed on the deck with a loud thud, and my beer sloshed out of the bottle. “Get. Up.”

“Jesus, fine. No need to spill my beer, ya douche canoe.”

“What a colorful insult,” Charlie chirped as she walked by carrying a tray of watermelon slices. I plucked one from the plate and took a big bite, letting the juices run down my chin.

I miss juices running down my chin.

My mind drifted to Elena; it never strayed too far from her, to be honest. I hadn’t held her or kissed her or buried my cock inside her in weeks, and it felt fuckingwrong.

I’d had a few glimpses of her around town. She looked good, and from what I’d overheard from Tessa, she was doing good, too.

“Go grab a couple bags of ice from the barn,” Elliot demanded.

“Aye aye, Captain!” I offered my twin a watermelon slice salute and bounded down the porch steps.

On my way to the barn, I passed Tessa, who was setting up Mom’s folding tables in the yard, decorating them with red, white, and blue tablecloths, star confetti, and little centerpieces that looked like glittery plastic fountains.

“Hey, Tess.”

“What’s up, buttercup?” She spun to face me, blonde hair wild.

“Is Elena coming?”

Tessa’s eyebrows bunched, and she shifted on her bare feet. Her scrutiny made me squirm. I had no clue how much Elena had told her, but given the fact that my balls were still attached to my body and I hadn’t received a stern,“Don’t do drugs,”from any family members lately, I was guessing not much.

“No. She has company this weekend.”

Company?Who the fuck would be visiting her? I knew from spending months wrapped up in her, safely under the covers inher cottage, that her trusted circle consisted of people with the last name Everton. Her mother had passed, her father had abandoned her, and she had no siblings. I guess, technically, she had a husband and his family, but might as well throw me in jail right fucking now if anyone with the last name Stone was visiting her.

I chucked my watermelon rind in a nearby trash can and balled my fists at my side. “Who?”