A/N.: Sorrry for the massive wait guys. I've just gone back to school and I am SWAMPED like you would not believe. This chapter also gave me a huge headache bc I wasn't sure how to do the introductions without it being overwhelming so I ended up not doing half of them (yet). That said, this chapter couldn't contain all the things I wanted to add, but it was either this chapter today, or you weren't going to get an update for at least another week as I have exams and assignments lined up one after the other this week. (Yes. I did mention I JUST went back to school. It is bloody murder!) But this way, we get some of the boring stuff out of the way and who's excited for Krislynn to see Chase's (and Jace's) baby photos next chapter? =P

P.S: Thanks a bunches to all of you who were worried about my root canal btw. (<3) If you were wondering how it went... well... Apparently, one of my canals is a "ribbon" shape meaning my dentist couldn't pull it all out??? So she referred me to a root canal "specialist" which is BESIDES me bc I have no idea why anyone could be so enthusiatic about teeth that they'd want to do root canals everyday. =__= Then again, it's not like they're the ones sitting in the fancy chair so I guess they don't really care.

50. Way To Make A First Impression

            The moment Krislynn hopped off the plane in Nebraska Thursday morning, her body started to convulse with anticipation. Her eyes were alert and her mind intoxicated with caffeine, which only added to the hammering of her heart against her chest. However intense though, her state was hardly worth mentioning compared to Chase’s.

            Krislynn could tell from the way he carried himself, tired and meek compared to the usual arrogant atmosphere his presence seemed to leak. Apparently the last time he had seen his mom was over three years ago, and not a word had he spoken to her besides the phone call last week and the occasional letters or gifts he sent during birthdays and specific holidays – never with any return address.

            He had still yet to mention the reason for his peculiar behaviour, but seeing that he wasn’t ready to share, Krislynn didn’t want to seem invasive so she kept her curiosity more or less to herself.

            After grabbing their bags and hiring a taxi driver, the two of them started on the long drive to Sweet Home Ranch, which was situated two hours away from the nearest airport, transporting them from near civilization to the edge of nowhere. Unsurprisingly, Krislynn fell asleep after the first forty minutes of watching patchworks of crops outside her window, but Chase fought his exhaustion, revisiting his memories with the scenery in his head.

            He couldn’t remember the last time he visited Sweet Home. Initially, the ranch belonged to his great aunt and he remembered summers of stacking up hay and riding on horses during his childhood and adolescent years, but the memories were vague, and he could scarcely remember all the details of the cheerful woman that once ran the place.

            When she died Chase hadn’t heard about it, and it was only after his parents decided to quit their busy social life in New York and take over the otherwise deserted ranch, did he find out the particular details here and there. By then he was already a struggling so-called artist and being so inhabited by his own life, never had the chance to go back and visit the ranch that was such an evident part of his childhood. Now the fields of corn seemed to wave at him as the autumn breeze touched their tall stalks back and forth.

            A low squirm alerted him and he promptly brought his attention back to the sleeping girl beside him. She was still asleep, her head leaning against the window with her hands clutching onto her upper arms. Judging that she was cold, Chase took off his jacket, only gathering Krislynn into his arms so that she had something softer to lean on once he covered her with the material.

            “Excuse me, can you turn off the air conditioning?”

            The taxi driver smiled at him through the rearview mirror before giving him a nod. “Not a problem,” he said, his fingers fiddling with the dials up front. “You folks don’t look much like you’re from around here. Just visiting family for the holidays with the wife?”

            Chase raised an eyebrow at the taxi driver’s suggestion before shifting his gaze to the sleeping girl in his arms. He smiled, and feeling rather mischievous, he issued a small shrug. “Sure,” he said. “Yeah.”

            “Wha mm ya talkin’ about?” Immediately Chase’s blood ran cold at the sound of Krislynn’s voice. She smacked her lips, let out another murmur before shifting herself closer to warmth by snuggling her cheek against his shirt. “We’re not married. I’m…” She let out an obnoxious yawn. “…Nobody’s wife.” Krislynn let out another yawn and with that comment out of the way, went back to sleep.

            Chase couldn’t even believe it. She wasn’t even awake! All she did was subconsciously hear herself being referred to as his wife and automatically spoke up to correct the mistake. He wanted to strangle her at that moment. Why did she always have to ruin things for him?! He highly doubted she would even remember any traces of the conversation when she woke up, but he’d remember it, and the taxi driver, who was now giving him a really weird look, would definitely remember it for sure.

            His cheeks lighting up at the realization, he spun his head to the side and stared out the window for the rest of the ride. Why bother explaining anything at all?

            When the cab finally pulled up in front of the big, beautiful, log house that was the main residence of Sweet Home, Chase could see his mother standing up on the large balcony of the second floor. A watering can in one hand, she was pretending to water the purple flowers that coiled and weaved itself around the wooden railings, but it was obvious, much to Chase’s chagrin, that she had been anticipating his arrival.

            Immediately upon seeing the car drive up through the narrow dirt path, she dropped the watering can, and fled back inside the house. “Right here is good?” The taxi driver asked him, the first word that had came out of his mouth since the incident with Krislynn.

            “Yeah,” he said. “How much do I owe you?” The driver gave him the amount due and Chase gently laid Krislynn down in the backseat before pulling out his wallet, giving the driver a several hundred dollar tip as a small bonus for his trouble. Delighted, the stubby man jumped out after receiving his pay and scurried to the trunk to pull out their luggage while Chase got out to stretch.

            Before he had even properly loosened his muscles from the long car ride, his mother came running out the front porch with Amy and his dad close behind. Isla was the forth to run out of the house, but with her long legs and athletic structure, easily darted passed them. “Chase!!!”

            “Hey Sprout,” he muttered, giving her a cheeky smile as she flung her arms around his neck. Isla’s arms squeezed around him as hard as she could, but the affectionate hug was short-lived as she shifted into attack mode and started shaking his head with her hands cupped tightly on his cheeks.

            “How dare you disappear for so long,” she cried. “Not a single call! Not a single visit! What are you?! Too famous for your own family now!! Did you completely forget about us?!”

            He wanted to argue with her for good times sake, tell her if he had really forgotten about them he wouldn’t have sent so many presents over the years, but instead, could only express his feelings with a guilt-stricken smile. His gaze slowly crept over her shoulder and met his mom’s while Isla knowingly stepped away. “Hey mom…” He mumbled as she stepped forward.

            Height wise, Isla was probably everything that his mom wasn’t. Having gotten most of her physical attributes from their dad, she was thin and lanky while their mother was short and pudgy around her upper body. Nonetheless, she carried a sort of warmth about her that Isla lacked and that same warmth when Chase saw her, made his insides tremble. Like a child that was prepared for punishment, he smiled and studied her cautiously as she walked up to him, her hands covering her mouth and her eyes brimming with tears.

            “You’ve gown so much,” she murmured, taking one hand off her mouth and cupping it around his face. She parted her lips to say more, but instead, tears quickly swept any traces of her thoughts away, leaving her weeping silently as Chase pulled her in for a hug.

            “Mom, I’ve haven’t grown since I was nineteen,” he muttered, and when she pulled away from him a moment after, it was a smile that had taken over her face and her pale, blue eyes.

            “You don’t know that,” she chuckled, wiping her tears off her cheeks and then drying her hands briefly on her apron. “You’re my little boy and in my eyes, you’re always growing and changing.” She beamed at him now that her cheeks were dry and after releasing a short shout of excitement, grabbed him again and blessed his cheeks with kisses. “Oh I’ve missed my little boy so much!!”

            After his quick reunion with his mom, Chase went on to greet his dad, who gave him a mighty hug and even mightier pats on the back before he moved on to give Amy, Adam’s wife, a hug. The fiery redhead whose temperament was actually rather timid in nature only wrinkled her nose and called him a naughty rascal before ending the first reunion that morning.

           Chase was surprised his parents were just glad to see him, and rather than lecturing about his failure as a filial son, they welcomed him with affectionate words and glances. Isla must have been equally surprised, though having been on the other side of the misdemeanour saw no reason to hide her shock. “Aren’t you going to punish him somehow?” She urged. “No one is even going to give him heck for all the crap he’s done? I mean, the first thing he does when he graduates is run away from home. Without a word! And then it’s a phone call once or twice a year before he completely disappears! What does family even mean to him!!”

            “Delilah!” His mom shouted, trying to restrain the level of her voice. “Your brother just came back! Do you really want to send him packing up again?” Tears quickly welled in her eyes. “Do you really want this family to fall apart?!”

            “No,” she cried. “It’s just that you’re always so lenient with him! That’s why he doesn’t even care! Chase can get away with murder and he knows it!”

            “Alright, that’s enough Delilah.” His father quickly interrupted. “Your brother is a grown man and he’s free to make whatever choices he wants to make. We are not to pry into them do you understand?”

            “But– ”

             “Do you understand,” his dad pressed, raising one eyebrow at the strong-willed girl standing in front of him.

            “Ugh, I understand,” she hissed. “You guys always play favourites! Gah!!” She rushed back inside the house after leaving Amy laughing at her immaturity.

            “It’s just because Isla was the closest to you,” she explained, giving Chase a warm grin. “It’s just her way of making sure you don’t run off without a word again so don’t mind that whole tantrum too much.”

            Chase nodded, but even without the explanation, he knew his own sister well enough to comprehend her thoughts. Feeling remorseful for all the emotional turmoil he had put his family through, he decided to change the topic into something more light-hearted, but also because a part of him needed the kind of support his family couldn’t give to him at that moment. “Uh… Krislynn’s just in the car,” he said, turning to the driver who had taken his bags out and was waiting patiently for him to take care of the girl.

            His mom immediately gasped in delight. “Oh yes,” she exclaimed. “You brought my wonderful daughter-in-law back with you, didn’t you?! Oh Chase! Oh you! She must be so, so beautiful!”

            “She’s not your daughter-in-law mom,” he groaned. “Don’t scare her with that later.”

            “Wasn’t what you said to me in the car,” the driver mumbled.

            “Hey!” He hissed. “What happens in the backseat of a taxicab stays in the backseat of a taxicab!” The driver sniggered at him, but the laughter didn’t really bug him as much as the hibernating Krislynn inside the car. Several times he tried to wake her, but after staying up the whole night worrying about making a good impression on his parents and then all the coffee and sugar she had on the plane to keep her energy high, not even an earthquake could have woken her from her slumber.  

            His dad tried not to be obvious with his curiosity – after all, it was the first girl Chase had ever brought home to show-off – but Amy and his mom quickly threw their pride away and pressed their cheeks up against the windows, eyeing Krislynn as if she was a spectacle at the zoo. “Oh, she’s still asleep,” Amy cooed. “She’s so adorable Chase! She’s so perfect for you!”

            “Good job son,” his dad said. “Good job.”

            “You guys are going to have so many beautiful babies together,” his mom added. “So many!! She’s such a beautiful thing! Oh Chase! Oh you!”

            “Mom,” Chase grumbled, eyeing the wet splotch Krislynn had left on the backseat with a look of disdain. “She’s drooling… Like a lot.”