Leaving Home by Chase, A. (life books to read .txt) 📗

soaked in the bathtub for a while, trying to do

what had worked for him while he was with Peter. Of course, he had another pill because his back was beginning to lock up again.

Afterwards, he lay in bed and picked up his phone. He didn’t know if Peter would be

awake still or not, but he figured he wouldn’t mind getting a call from him. The phone rang a couple of times before Peter answered.

“Hello?”

“Hey, honey, how’s it going?” Chaz settled back against the pillows and his heating

pad.

“It’s going great. How are you doing? Your back hold up on your first night?” Peter

didn’t sound like Chaz had woken him.

“It’s doing all right. I soaked in hot water when I got back to the hotel, and I have a

heating pad on it. Figure it can’t hurt, right?”

“Good for you.” Papers rustling in the background made Chaz think Peter was still

sitting at his desk in the office.

“Are you still working?” He glanced over at the clock. “Isn’t it a little late for that?”

“Everyone’s coming home tomorrow. Les is going to want to go over the accounts at

some point, and I wanted to make sure they were all in order. Also, Jackson came home from his honeymoon, and we were out most of the day checking out how the ranch fared while he

was gone.” Peter chuckled.

Chaz laughed along with him. “I’m assuming everything was fine.”

Peter huffed. “Of course it was. I might not be a good cowboy, but I do have a basic

understanding of how to run a ranch. Plus Les and Randy have hired some really good guys

here. They’re not about to let anything happen.”

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LEAVING HOME T.A. Chase 108

He loved the fact that Peter took pride in his work, whether it was doing accounts for

Les or watching over the ranch for Randy.

“That’s why they were all comfortable with leaving you in charge and took extra

vacations. So what are you up to tomorrow?”

“Margie and I are putting together a welcome home dinner for everyone, then we’ll be

hearing their stories and looking at their pictures while secretly wishing we could’ve gone.”

Peter sounded a little wistful.

Chaz stared up at the ceiling. “I’m sure Les would have taken you if he’d known how

much you wanted to go.”

“I know that, but I didn’t want to bother them, and someone needed to stay behind to

keep an eye on things here.” Peter sighed. “I’m just being moody tonight. I guess I’m missing you.”

The sharply inhaled breath told him Peter hadn’t meant to say that. Chaz thought about

how he felt the moment he’d heard those words from Peter. There was a hint of fear,

knowing someone else cared about him enough to miss him. Someone that wasn’t his family.

There had been excitement as well as a mutual feeling of loneliness because Peter wasn’t

beside him in the bed.

“I miss you too, Peter, but maybe I could stop by during the week to visit. The next

event is in Nashville, so it won’t be any big deal if I come to see you. That is, if it’s all right with Les and Randy.”

Chaz wasn’t exactly sure how much he wanted to meet the legendary Les and Randy.

He was a little nervous about them not thinking he was good enough for Peter. Frowning, he tried to figure out when he’d decided a relationship with Peter was worth working to keep going.

At what point had he fallen in love with Peter? They’d been together for two weeks

and, while it had been longer than most men Chaz had spent time with, Chaz hadn’t been a

hundred per cent sure Peter was worth the effort. Yet there he was, telling Peter he missed him, and making plans to go and visit him in between events. Christ! He was crazy. He didn’t need the complications having Peter in his life would bring.

Yet Chaz admitted that having someone who cared about him and who wanted know

how he was doing was actually pretty cool. And maybe it was worth the extra effort to see exactly where Peter and he wound up.

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LEAVING HOME T.A. Chase 109

“I’ll ask Les tomorrow when they get home, but I’m sure they’ll say it’s fine. So plan on coming. Let me know when you’re going to arrive, and I’ll have my work done. If your

back’s doing all right, we’ll go for a ride or something.”

“Sounds good to me. I’ll let you go now. Try and get some sleep before they get home.

I’ll call you tomorrow after the round is done.”

Chaz hung up before putting his phone aside. He got ready for bed, then crawled under

the blankets. He looked at the bottle of pills he’d set on the nightstand. Should he have another one, or could he survive until the morning without it? The heat had helped the knots in his lower back, but, without having Peter to massage his muscles, he was afraid he

wouldn’t be able to get out of bed.

He shook his head. No, he’d gone this long without taking more than one pill at a time.

He could last longer.

* * * *

Chaz regretted his decision the next morning when he could barely get out of bed. He

almost rolled onto the floor before he managed to sit up. Every muscle in his back screamed as he straightened. Holy shit! Chaz braced his hands on his knees while taking a few deep breaths.

He reached out and grabbed the bottle to tap out three pills. That would get him

through the rounds today without wiping him out. He wrinkled his nose at the taste left in his mouth. He’d have to remember to start putting a glass of water by his bed as well.

While he waited for the pills to kick in, he stared at the floor. Chaz thought about a

conversation he’d had with Matthew about his injuries. His brother had asked him when

enough would be enough. At what point would Chaz call it quits? When he couldn’t walk

anymore because another injury had severed his spine? Or when