Chapter 4
KADE
It feels like I’ve known Chloe for longer than a few hours, like part of me has been waiting for her without even realizing it.
We’ve talked about mundane things, like how we take our coffee—her loaded with sugar, mine black with the smallest dash of cream—and what she wants to do with her time in Coldwater.
As well as putting the world to rights. There hasn’t been a second of uncomfortable silence between us; instead, when the conversation has lulled, the quiet has been loaded with a tension that feels oh so delicious.
I turn my truck onto the Hartlands’ Ranch driveway, easing off the gas until we’re rolling along.
Anything to spend a little more time with her.
I don’t want this night to end. The noise of the bar almost made whatever this is feel temporary.
But here, in the quiet of my truck, where it’s just the two of us, with her scent wrapping around me and settling into something familiar, I find myself craving more of her company.
I just don’t know when or if I’ll get it.
“It’s the cabin furthest from the house,” Chloe says into the quiet of the truck cab.
I nod, following the road in that direction, pulling up outside the cabin with its porch light illuminating the front steps.
In another lame attempt to drag out our time, I say, “We’ve spent all night together, and you haven’t told me what you do for work.”
Chloe shifts in her seat until she’s facing me. “Oh, well.” She looks down at her lap before inhaling deeply. “That’s because I’m currently unemployed.”
I don’t say anything even though I can feel her expectation. Instead, I wait for her to continue.
“I was laid off a few weeks ago, and I’ve been trying to figure out what my next move is.”
“What did you do?”
A smile lights up her face, as bright as if the sun had risen and was shining high in the sky.
“I’m a photographer.” It dims, only slightly but still enough for me to notice, as she continues, “I worked for one of the big fashion magazines, but after five years, it’s just not where my passion is. And I don’t think it ever was.”
I nod, understanding rushing through me because I know what it’s like to lose even just a little bit of passion for what you do.
That’s what it’s been like for me with the ranch, and I’ve been distancing myself even more so this past year.
I love working the ranch and getting involved in the business side of things, but the more I’ve been riding in the rodeo, the more I’ve been questioning if it’s what I really want.
“What do you want to photograph?” I ask, the low hum of the air conditioner the only other sound as my words hang between us.
Chloe picks a piece of lint off her skirt, rolling it between her thumb and forefinger. “I don’t know, if I’m being completely honest. When I was a kid, I wanted to take pictures of the world, but I don’t know if that’s still the case.”
I lean in, wanting to know every tiny detail there is to know about her. “Why not?”
She gives me a soft smile, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes. Her gaze is searching, but then she hiccups, and I’m reminded of exactly why I’m driving her home.
“Come on, let’s get you inside.”
Her body visibly relaxes, and she reaches out, resting a dainty hand on my arm. I feel her touch like a hot poker. It’s such a small, intimate act, yet it burns me like a brand.
“Maybe one day I can tell you all about my sad, sorry tale.”
I incline my head before reluctantly killing the engine and climbing out of the cab.
The night air is filled with the sound of crickets chirping in the long grass that covers the pasture behind the building.
It’s like they’re mocking me for my longing, and I can’t blame them.
As much as my soul feels like it knows her, the truth is, I don’t, and she’s not going to be in town long enough for me to change that.
When I reach the passenger side of the truck, I open Chloe’s door and hold my hand out for her to take. Breathlessly, she says, “Thank you.”
I clear my throat and shut the door, watching as she walks toward the cabin. When she stumbles, I dive forward, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her back into my chest. Her soft and curvy body fits against mine like she belongs there. Like she was made for me.
For a moment, the world quiets, until all I can register is her—her heat, her vanilla, fruity scent, the way she should be mine.
Calm the fuck down, Kade.
I don’t know why I’m feeling all these feelings for a woman I met less than twenty-four hours ago. It doesn’t make any sense. I’ve never felt this uncontrollable need to protect someone or claim them. Maybe it’s because she keeps looking at me like she sees something I haven’t found in myself yet.
Releasing Chloe, I step back, shaking my head free of the confusing thoughts as I ask, “You okay there, buttercup?”
“Never better, handsome.” She giggles, carrying on toward the front porch like she didn’t feel anything when I had her in my arms.
It’s all in your fucking head.
I don’t move. I can’t. Instead, I stand between the truck and the front porch, watching her dig through her purse, searching for her keys. A breeze slips through the air, cutting through what’s left of the day’s humidity. It cools my skin, but not nearly enough to settle the heat she’s caused.
Triumphantly, Chloe pulls her keys out, holding them above her head, declaring, “Found them.” She looks over her shoulder at me, a frown marring her features. “Are you not coming in?”
The corner of my mouth kicks up, and I shake my head. “No, I just wanna make sure you get inside safely.”
She pouts, and I suck in a sharp breath. Fuck me. She doesn’t even know what she’s doing to me by just existing. Is this what my dad felt when he first met my mom? He said he knew she was the one the instant he laid eyes on her, but was it this all-consuming?
Moving to stand at the top of the steps, Chloe tilts her head. “I need to ask you a favor though.”
Shoving my hands into my jeans pockets so I don’t reach for her, I force my body to relax. “Yeah, what’s that?”
She ambles back down the steps, and when she comes to a stop within touching distance of me, I see the pleading look in her eyes. I’ll say yes to whatever she needs. “Will you come to my sister’s wedding with me?” She pauses before blurting, “As my plus-one?”
I blink. Well, that wasn’t what I was expecting, that’s for sure.
“You don’t have to. Actually, that was a silly thing for me to ask. We don’t even know each other like that. I don’t know what I was thinking, I just feel so comfortable around you. Ignore me. Clearly, I wasn’t thinking,” she rushes, turning back to the cabin and all but running up the steps.
Panic seizes my chest, like if I let her get through the door, that will be it. I’ll have missed my one shot to get to know every part of her.
“I’ll come with you.”
She faces me again, a grin spreading across her lips and nearly splitting her face in two. “You will?”
I shrug. “Yeah, I will.”
Chloe closes the distance between us at a sprint, her body slamming into mine as she jumps into my arms and strangles me with a tight hug that I never would have guessed she’d be capable of.
I’m acutely aware of every aspect of her, and as much as I want more, crave more, I know that I can’t. Not tonight.
Chloe takes a step back and I reluctantly allow my arms to fall to my side, feeling the loss of her more than I should.
She looks down at her shoes before tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, muttering under her breath, “If that doesn’t sober me up.
” Shaking her head, she talks a little louder when she adds, “I shouldn’t have asked you to do that.
We don’t know each other. And believe me when I say, there’s going to be a lot of drama, mostly aimed at me, and nobody deserves to be subjected to that. ”
I watch her, assessing her features as I look for a sign of…
anything. It’s clear she feels she needs a supportive presence, if her family would make her feel uncomfortable enough to ask a stranger to be her plus-one.
Perhaps that’s why, instead of agreeing with her and walking away, I find myself asking, “Do you want me there?”
Rolling her lips together, she shifts from one foot to the other. “I don’t think that matters. You’d be walking into a hot mess. Besides, I’m sure you have better things to do on a Saturday.”
We stand in the quiet night, the only sound that of the crickets surrounding us as I try to get a read on her in the dim lighting.
“Are you sure?” I ask, adding, “I don’t have plans, so if you need me there, I can be.”
Even if I did have plans, I think I’d cancel them all just to be able to spend more time with her.
“We don’t know each other,” she blurts, her eyes widening enough for me to see the whites.
I lift a shoulder, trying to exude an air of nonchalance. “We didn’t know each other when you got into my truck.”
Chloe rubs at her forehead before pacing in front of me. “You have a point, but this is different.” She comes to a stop in front of me. “My whole family is going to be there. Can we just pretend I never said anything?”
I hold my hands up, reassuring her when I say, “If that’s what you want.”
She nods distractedly, looking down at the keys in her hand before giving a firmer one.
I watch her let herself into the cabin, waiting until the door is closed before I climb into my truck and drive away with an idea forming that I can’t quite shut down.