Chapter 20
20
T he distraction gave Chloe the couple of seconds she needed to get to her feet. A shot of adrenaline helped with the pain. But it wouldn’t last forever.
The light from another flashlight scanned the room. Chloe couldn’t make out who had just entered the doorway. Fear gripped her, causing her lungs to seize. She had a chance of surviving up against one person. But two?
Was Craig working with someone? Because if so—
“What the hell is going on?” Guy asked as the beam moved from her to Craig.
“Watch out!” Chloe immediately shouted as the first sign of hope had just arrived in the form of her neighbor.
Baseball bat in hand, Craig swung at Guy. The hit struck with a hard crack.
Chloe jumped on Craig’s back, wrapping her left arm around his neck in a chokehold.
Craig might be out of shape, but he was still as strong as an ox. He plucked her weaker hand off like it was nothing and then flung her toward the dresser.
She scrambled up on all fours. At least she could see a little better now. A glint of metal revealed the knife was just out of reach.
“Lights out, bitch,” Craig said as he raised the baseball bat above his head in preparation for delivering a final blow.
Could she distract him? Stall? Movement in the hallway gave her hope that a neighbor had heard all the commotion and was checking on them. “Why, Craig? What do you have to gain from killing me?”
“You mean besides the millions of dollars you stand to inherit from your family’s horseracing business?” Craig asked, his face twisted into a sneer. “Your death means your inheritance goes to your son, correct? The father of your bastard child will step up to claim him, and the band will be back in business. Blake can drink himself to death after that, for all I care. I have power of attorney over his money anyway. Problem solved.”
She glanced toward the knife.
“Oh, hell no,” Craig said as he raised up, ready to smash her skull in.
“Not this time, asshole,” came Travis’s voice from behind. It was the closest sound to heaven she’d ever heard.
The momentary distraction gave her the crucial seconds she needed to grab the knife and raise it.
“You’re going to spend the rest of your life behind bars instead of on a fancy yacht in the Mediterranean,” she said to Craig, whose expression dropped.
And then he made the mistake of turning around to swing at Travis.
“Drop your weapon, or I’ll shoot,” Travis said with authority before identifying himself as sheriff.
Craig issued a grunt and then moved toward Travis.
Guy, who’d been on the floor unconscious, stuck a hand out in time to trip Craig. The big man went facedown. Not two seconds later, Travis was on top of him, securing him by placing zip ties on him.
“Ms. Bouche,” Chloe whispered, turning to where the older woman lay on the floor unconscious. She ran to her and then dropped down beside her.
“Check for a pulse,” Travis said as he wrestled a cuffed Craig, who was spouting all kinds of threats and curses, digging an even deeper grave as he fought against Travis.
In the next few seconds, Guy was beside her as they checked for and found a pulse.
“Got one,” Chloe said, checking her neighbor over for signs of bleeding.
“Where’s Annmarie?” Guy immediately asked with concern in his voice. “Is she safe?”
It dawned on Chloe that Guy’s crush wasn’t on her but on her roommate.
“She’s safe at the ranch with the boys,” Chloe quickly reassured.
He exhaled the kind of breath that revealed his true feelings. Chloe would know. She had the same ones for Trav. Could she tell him?
Ms. Bouche sucked in a breath and then opened her eyes. She blinked a few times like she was trying to orient herself. “What happened?”
“You’re safe,” Chloe reassured. “Everything is okay.”
“Don’t move,” Guy stated. “Help is on the way.”
Ms. Bouche glanced around the room and then locked eyes with Chloe. “Thank you for saving my life.”
“I had a lot of help,” Chloe said with a small smile. “And I owed you one.”
Ms. Bouche’s smile was weak, but her pulse was strong.
In the next couple of minutes, the place was abuzz with activity. EMTs placed Ms. Bouche on a gurney, reassuring everyone her vitals were strong. Craig was tucked in the back of Sandy’s department-issue SUV, headed for jail. And the three left were checked out medically.
It was no small miracle that Chloe didn’t have a concussion. She did, however, break her clavicle and would need further medical treatment.
“I’d like to drive you to the hospital,” Trav said to her.
“Okay,” she said as a dozen butterflies released in her stomach. The case was over. He was no longer on duty. Could she drum up the courage to have the conversation she needed to have? “Can I have a minute before we go?”
“Aren’t you in pain?” Trav asked as Sandy shouted for him to come over. His gaze bounced from Chloe to Sandy and back.
“I can hold on a few more minutes,” she said, needing to say something to Guy in private. “Go on.”
He hesitated before saying, “I’ll be right back.”
She nodded. As soon as Trav was gone, she turned to Guy. “Why don’t you ask Annmarie out?”
“Why don’t you ask him out?” Guy motioned toward Trav, who was thankfully out of earshot.
“You answer first,” she quipped.
Guy exhaled. “Because I don’t want to lose her. Or you. Or the boys.”
“How do you know that you will?”
He sat there for a long moment, then cracked a smile. “I guess I don’t.”
“Even if she says she wants to keep things as they are between you two, at least you’d know,” Chloe said.
“Sounds like you’re coming from personal experience.”
She nodded. “I decided knowing is better than wondering.” She bumped her left shoulder into his right. “Besides, you could never lose us. We love you too much.”
“Let’s hope she feels the same,” he said.
“She just might,” Chloe said. Then joked, “Plus, then you can stop trying to buy our friendship with all those freebies. You can’t possibly afford to keep it up.”
He looked at her with a questioning expression. “What makes you think I can’t afford to bring you guys things?”
Chloe glanced around. “Oh, I don’t know. Because you live here. With us. In a trailer park.”
“Doesn’t mean anything,” he said.
“Wait. What are you not telling me?” she asked. “And why didn’t you tell me who you loaned your truck to?”
“Because it was no big deal.”
“It cast a shadow of doubt,” she said.
“I know who I am and that I would never harm anyone. That’s enough for me.”
“Point taken,” she said. Guy really was a good human. “What else?”
“I rented the trailer when I first moved here because I was looking to build on a plot of land, and I wanted to get to know the area first,” he said. “I stayed because I fell in love. And I found a friend in you. You two, the boys, made me feel useful after my girlfriend died in a crash. I was driving the car, and I walked away. There was nothing I could do to save her.”
“Ohmygosh, Guy. I’m so sorry,” she said.
“That’s why I don’t talk about the past,” he admitted. “It’s too painful, and there’s nothing back there for me anymore.”
She hugged his arm with her good one.
“I wish you’d told us,” she said.
“No way,” he said. “Everyone in my old hometown looked at me with pity in their eyes after I lost her. I couldn’t stomach it anymore. So, I bought the store and came to work as a night stocker.”
“Undercover?”
“Can you think of a better way to get to know who does the hard work and who skates by? Who mistreats employees, and who is worth keeping?” he asked.
Chloe laughed. “No, I can’t. And you are full of surprises.”
Now, it was his turn to laugh.
“Ask her out. Okay?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said.
At least one person would be brave enough to make a move. Could Chloe?
Travis sat in his truck, engine idling. Chloe was fastened in next to him. It was quiet. Too quiet.
But he couldn’t find the right words to tell her how he felt about her.
Chicken shit.
“So, there’s something I’ve been needing to talk to you about,” she said, breaking the silence.
Now or never.
“Me, too,” he managed to croak out. He cleared his throat. “Mind if I go first?”
“Okay,” she said with a note in her voice that sounded a lot like uncertainty.
He hoped he wasn’t about to completely surprise her.
Here goes.
“Spending these last few days with you have been some of the best moments of my life,” he started. “I understand how busy you are with Grayson and working nights, and that you don’t date because of it, and I respect the hell out of your decision, but I’m in love with you, Chloe. And I’m not trying to complicate your life, but I wanted you to know.”
Silence.
You’re not done.
“And if you found that maybe you could give me a chance— us a chance—I’d be honored,” he continued. “But you need to know something upfront. I might be putting the cart before the horse here, but this is important. If you and I, if we , decided to give this a go, I can’t give you children.” He heaved a sigh. “I know how important having a big family is to you, so I’d understand if that’s a deal breaker for you. I’d understand, too, if you don’t have the same feelings for me, and I’m just walking the plank here.”
Almost here.
“What I’m trying to say is that I’m head over heels in love with you, Chloe. If you’d give us a chance, I’ll take whatever time you can give me, even if it isn’t much. Someone like you doesn’t come around but once in a lifetime, and I’d like to spend my lifetime with you.”
There. Done.
He held his breath, awaiting a response.
“Well, it’s a good thing you love me, Trav,” she said, “because I love you too. I can’t imagine a better father for Grayson or a life partner for me. I want to marry you and make our family official when we’re ready.”
“I’ve never been more ready for anything in my life,” he said as a mix of relief and joy washed over him. “And I can’t wait to spend forever with the woman I love.”
“Then, kiss me, Sheriff,” she said to him.
Travis leaned over and did just that. He kissed the love of his life, his future bride. And when they pulled apart, he looked her in the eyes and asked, “Are you sure about being with me? Because I can’t give you children.”
“I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life,” she said without hesitation. “There are many ways to expand our family. And I want to be clear about something. There’s nothing broken about you because of it. You are perfect and whole just the way you are. And you’re the person I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with.”
Travis brushed a tender kiss across her lips at the words he’d been needing to hear for longer than he’d realized.
“I love you, Chloe. And I always will. That is my promise.”
“You, Travis, are all I need.”
He kissed her. His beautiful Chloe.
“There’s one more thing,” he said when their lips parted. “About Grayson’s dad.”
“I’ve been thinking about Blake ever since we found out about Craig,” she said. “I’m questioning everything Craig said in the past.”
“Then, you and I are thinking along the same lines,” Travis said.
“I’d like to meet up with Blake when the dust settles to see if he really has cleaned up his act,” she said.
“Do you think it’s a good idea for me to come with you?” He didn’t want to force himself into the situation.
“That would be amazing, Trav.” She smiled. “For all we know, Craig could have been lying about everything, including there being another woman in Blake’s life.”
“True,” he agreed. “There’s also the possibility Craig was the one feeding Blake liquor and drugs. If he’s willing to sober up and be in his son’s life, it would mean a lot to Grayson.”
“I love you,” Chloe said to him, sending more rockets of desire shooting through him.
“Good,” he said. “Because I’m planning on forever.”
The smile Chloe gave would light the darkest soul. He couldn’t imagine loving her more than he did now. But somewhere deep down, he realized this was just the beginning.