She was up several times during the night, watching half of the third Crusaders movie during one of her nighttime awakenings. Sadly, Bennett Pike reminded her of Chase. She had weird dreams about Chase fighting aliens for her when she finally did fall asleep.
She slept late and felt disoriented and awful as sun streamed through her window and hit her face.
Sun?
She sprang out of bed. Staring out the huge windows, she looked at a world of white. It was pristine and beautiful and she wanted to get out in it.
She called Iris, Meredith, and Hope, reveling in the good news that the weddings would happen this afternoon and evening. She checked on everything from the flowers being shipped in from Missoula—the floral shop said their skies were clear and as soon as the plows did their job, they’d be on their way—to the cakes being made by a local friend of the Chadwicks, to the food being prepared by the steak house downstairs, to the setup crew from the resort who were all on standby for whatever she needed.
Glancing at the clock, she realized it was only nine a.m. The first wedding didn’t start until five. She worried her lip. Should she insist the family come early and practice? The brides hadn’t asked for that, but Ashley wanted everything to go off without a hitch.
She needed to get outside. She needed to go for a run. It would clear her head, settle her, and she could think through every last detail as she pounded through the miles.
Dressing in warm running gear, she put on her running shoes, wishing she’d thought to bring her spikes. It might be slick out there, but who cared? She’d be outside.
Hurrying out her door and down the hallway, she wondered which of these suites was Chase’s and what he was doing. Did he hate her? Probably. Could she blame him? Nope.
A door swung open and the perfect, incredible man she’d been hoping to avoid strode out.
Chase stopped, obviously surprised to see her. His gaze swept over her and he said almost worshipfully, “Ashley … See why I said you were tantalizing?”
Ashley’s breath stuttered in her chest. “Oh, Chase.”
He quickly changed the subject. “Are you running outside?”
She nodded.
“Do you want to run together?”
Did she ever, but she didn’t think she could do that to him. Not that he was proposing, but she always fell in love at Christmas. If she could just get through this holiday and get back home, maybe she could observe him in different situations and make certain he wasn’t a flirt. She could pursue him and see if she had finally found the one she wouldn’t run away from.
She had to somehow stay strong and distanced from him, no matter how appealing he was. She shook her head, hating how his eyes dimmed. “I’m going crazy trying to make sure every last detail is perfect for the weddings. I need to run alone and think it all through.”
“Oh,” was all he said. He lifted a hand. “Good luck.”
Ashley wished he’d beg her to run with him, to talk to him, to kiss him, but she was the one who kept rejecting him. She gave him a tight smile and hurried to the stairs, dashing down them. Within half a minute, she was through the foyer with only a wave at a front desk girl she didn’t recognize and then into the sunshine. It looked like Daisy was able to get home to her family for Christmas. That was great.
The outside air was brisk, chilly on her cheeks, and so invigorating. She felt like she was escaping prison. If only she wasn’t running from what might be the perfect man for her.
Chase gave a grunt of frustration, at himself and Ashley, and quietly followed her down the stairs. He’d spent a restless night worried about everything from Ashley to the Chadwicks to where in the world his mom was. He’d woken up at five a.m. as usual, lifted weights, and swam, hoping the entire time for Ashley to appear. After breakfast, he’d been stir-crazy and dying to get outside, so he’d dressed in workout clothes. It was sheer luck that he’d seen Ashley. Or was it luck?
When he exited the resort, he relished the bright sun on his face and the chill in the air. It felt good to be outside. He looked right and left and saw Ashley running toward the west, away from town and toward the cabins circling the lake. He gave her a few beats and then followed at a steady pace. Every so often, he caught her bright red running shirt through a break in the trees. She was running on the road. It had been plowed, but it wasn’t clear. It was hard-packed snow that wasn’t bad to run on.
If only he knew why he was such a wimp. Why did he continually chase a woman who didn’t want to be chased? Plenty of women wanted him to chase them, but did he care? No. He wanted the one he couldn’t have. That had to say something about him. Was it because he had no father? Was it because his mom wasn’t returning his calls and so maybe he had no mother anymore? That worry was growing in his mind, but he said a prayer and tried to tamp down the rising concern. No reason to borrow trouble, as his mom would say. There seemed to be a lot of trouble coming at him no matter what he did.
They’d probably run over three miles and Ashley wasn’t slowing down. Chase was impressed, and wished he dared approach her, kiss her, beg to know why she kept dodging and ditching him. He had this unreasonable hope that if he could talk Ashley into dating him, he could deal with introducing himself to the Chadwicks as their most likely unwanted son and brother and even deal with whatever was making his mom absentee.
A dark shape raced through the trees to his left. Chase was pulled from his own worries and instantly concerned for Ashley. It had to be an animal, but what was it? Was it headed for Ashley?
He could see her red shirt bobbing away from him and then that dark shape racing after her. He upped his speed right as he heard a low growl that made his spine prickle.
“Ashley!” he hollered in warning as he sprinted after her and whatever was about to attack her. He cleared the stand of trees and was racing along the road.
“Chase?” She stopped and turned to face him just as the black animal plowed into her, knocking her onto the snowy bank on the side of the road.
“Ashley!” he called, dodging toward her.
He heard a loud bark and Ashley’s cry for help. He was almost upon her and he could see the wagging tail of a huge black dog.
“Go! Stop!” Ashley cried out. “Help!”
Chase grabbed the dog’s collar and ripped the animal off of Ashley. The dog was huge, probably almost a hundred and fifty pounds, but his adrenaline was rushing through him. The dog whimpered in surprise and nestled against his leg, panting for attention. He was a Great Dane, known for their mild temperaments. He didn’t seem to be a threat. Chase released the dog’s collar and bent down for Ashley, lifting her out of the snow and into his arms.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I think so.” She seemed to evaluate and then said, “He didn’t bite me or anything, but he was heavy. It scared me and I flipped out.” She glanced up at him. “You rescued me.”
Then she flung her arms around his neck and kissed him. Chase didn’t feel the cold or his worries any longer. The dog pressed into his leg and whined for attention, but no way was Chase giving up this kiss for any kind of distraction. He cradled Ashley close and deepened the kiss. She responded, oh how she responded, and he felt like he would never come down from the happy spot he was soaring to. Everything would work out. He knew it in that moment.