Chapter 14 Room for Case
Case pulled up the drive to the large, white farmhouse. Open fields with beautiful views surrounded it. When Andrea was a little girl, her mom had always talked about how beautiful the house was, with its wide porches and peaceful setting. As soon as Andrea could afford it, she had bought the house for her mom and Tim. It looked so beautiful in the snow, with Christmas lights twinkling, she would’ve liked to stand outside and admire it if it weren’t so cold.
Leslie and Brent’s car headed up the drive, and Andrea hastened her steps inside. The last thing she wanted was to have to talk to Brent again. He was driving her sister’s sportscar, a BMW she’d picked out for her birthday a couple of years ago. Andrea loved that she could buy her family such nice gifts, but she wasn’t going to stand around and admire it right now!
Inside, the house smelled like Christmas. Cinnamon and pine filled her lungs. Karen had done so much decorating—every room was beautiful, filled with Christmas trees, twinkling lights, and displays of reindeer and Santas.
“Wow—your mom sure is great at decorating for the holidays,” Case said, taking everything in.
“This is her favorite time of year,” Andrea noted. “You can make yourself at home. The kitchen is in there, and this is the main living room where Mom and Tim watch TV.” She heard car doors outside and loud voices. Leslie and Brent were still arguing. “I’ll show you to your room.”
Case smiled, guessing why she was in such a hurry, and followed her up the stairs. He insisted on carrying her heavy suitcase for her and also brought along his while she carried her smaller bag.
At the top of the stairs, she led him down one of two hallways and stopped in front of the second to last door. “This is the guest room.” The room was much larger than the one they’d shared the night before. “My room is at the end of the hall, so you can set my suitcase down, and I’ll get it.”
Instead, Case carried it over to her door and put it down. He was such a gentleman! He came back and took a few steps into the room. It had a king size bed, nice oak furniture, and a sitting area by a large window. A TV was mounted to the wall across from the bed. “This is really nice. I like the navy blue and forest green bedspread and curtains.”
“Thank you. My mom really does have an eye for decorating. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have a bathroom, so we will have to share this one.” She pointed to a door across the hall and back toward the stairs a little ways.
“That should be no problem.” Case smiled at her, and Andrea felt her heart race a little faster than normal. “I hope you don’t mind that I took your mom’s offer to stay for a few days. I know you were reluctant to have me come in the first place, but I would like the opportunity to talk to your grandfather, if you don’t mind. I love talking to fans about racing, especially old timers who remember all of the history of the sport.”
“No, I don’t mind at all.” Andrea meant it. She was actually very happy he’d agreed to stay. Thoughts of Case leaving made her heart feel heavy. She was sure he’d want to see his family for the holidays, but she was having a hard time imagining Christmas without him.
The thought made her nervous. This was Sarah’s ex-boyfriend, after all. What would her rival say if she knew he was here? She wasn't afraid of Sarah, but she didn't want to stir things up either. That woman was capable of doing horrible things. Andrea knew that too well. What would her fans say if they knew? Luckily, so far, no one had taken a picture of them together, but if they did... she’d have a lot of questions to answer.
“Andrea? Are you okay?” Case was standing so close to her, Andrea could smell his cologne again. It made her light headed.
“I’m fine, thank you.” She shook her head, trying to clear it. She shouldn’t get too close to Case. It would be a mistake to start to have feelings for her nemesis’s old flame. “I think I’ll go unpack and rest for a while.”
“Okay. Thanks again for agreeing to let me stay.”
“Thank you for driving me here.” She smiled at him, thinking she should go now, but looking at him made her heart flutter. She needed to stop these feelings before they went too far. “I hope Sarah won’t be mad when she finds out.”
Case’s face changed. He looked irritated and possibly a little sad. Andrea hadn’t wanted to make him mad, but she was glad he was no longer looking at her amorously. “Sarah doesn’t have any say in what I do now. You know we broke up over three months ago, right?”
“I know. I’m just saying... she’ll be mad, and then I’ll have to deal with her attitude, that’s all.”
Case ran a hand through his hair as if he never wanted to talk about Sarah again. “Andrea, I really think the two of you should clear the air. Maybe you’d see she’s not so bad.”
Now, Andrea really was starting to feel mad. He must not know exactly what Sarah had done. Keeping that back, she suggested, “Maybe you should go back and read some of the awful things she said about me. Clear the air? No way. Sarah Lockton is an awful person. I don’t want to have anything to do with her.”
Wearing a frown she couldn’t quite understand, he said, “I’m sorry you feel that way.”
Without anything more to say, Andrea went to her room, hoping she’d have a chance to rest. Making Case angry hurt her heart, but at least she wouldn’t have to worry about him developing feelings for her. It was better this way.
She sank down on her bed, tears in her eyes once more. If it was better... why did she feel so sad?
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