Page 49 of Call It Love (Sterling Mill #5)

Anna

The morning light filtered through the kitchen windows, creating a nice sunny spot for Jack, who lay snoring while his paws twitched as if he was chasing a bunny in his sleep.

Jordan munched happily on a bowl of cereal, while Chase browsed the latest issue of a magazine.

All very domestic. Everything I dreamed of.

And yet, my coffee had grown cold while I picked at a leftover muffin from yesterday.

Last night, while Chase worked at his computer, grumbling about the bookkeeping he hated doing, I sat curled up on the couch with my laptop, diving into everything I could find about Calla Skincare.

It wasn’t just some trendy pop-up brand.

They were a polished, established company.

Emma Callahan had been featured in several magazines and news articles, all singing her praises.

She described her goal as wanting to create products around natural, sustainable ingredients—especially those with Appalachian or Southern roots, since she herself was from a small town in Georgia, and she wanted to support other small-town traditional creators .

Her mission resonated with me. Calla could open doors.

Potentially big ones. But I didn’t know if I was ready—or willing—to walk through one that might alter everything I’d just begun to rebuild.

What I had here was real. Safe. The kind of steadiness I’d longed for since I was a teen.

Even so, the idea of carving out something that was mine whispered to me like a siren.

Hard to ignore but frightening just the same.

“Anna.”

“Mmm?”

Chase’s thumb was tracing circles along the back of my hand, but I’d been too lost in thought to even notice. I hadn’t even seen Jordan slip out.

“Where’d you just go?” he asked.

“Oh, just thinking, I guess.” I tried to give him a reassuring smile, but he didn’t take the bait.

Instead, he looked at me with a steady gaze that made me feel seen. It was impossible to lie, even by omission.

I sighed. “It’s something Mallory told me when she was here.”

“What?” His voice was edged with concern.

“Nothing bad,” I reassured him. “Just an opportunity. But it’s no big deal. It’s probably not even going to work out.”

“Why don’t you tell me, anyway?”

So, I told him. About Calla Skincare. About Emma Callahan and my call with her. And how, if I wanted, I could pursue a potentially amazing opportunity with them. I could see the surprise hit him, then the slow lift of his eyebrows.

“Anna, that’s amazing! Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“Because I’m not sure how I feel about it,” I admitted. “ And yesterday was your day to shine. I didn’t want to make it about me.”

He shook his head, a faint smile tugging at his mouth. “But where there’s me, there’s also you. There’s always room for you, Anna.”

My heart wobbled, delighting in his words, but also still questioning if there was room for a different version of me.

“So, what do you think about what I told you?” I prodded, unsure of what answer I wanted.

Chase gave my plan a light squeeze. “I don’t think it’s really up to me,” he answered carefully. “If it’s something you want, you should do it.” His tone was even. Supportive.

“Even if it means I have to leave here?”

I searched his eyes, looking for some flicker of doubt. Distress. But his expression had gone completely neutral. “If that’s what it takes, then we’ll figure it out.”

I stared at him, my stomach flipping. “Just like that?” I asked. “No hesitation?”

He let out a quiet breath and looked out the window toward the barn, where just a week ago I felt like everything in my life was falling into place.

“Anna, I’m not going to be the guy who tells you what you can or can’t do. Not after everything you’ve lived through. I think you’ve spent a long time putting yourself last,” he said simply. “And if someone sees something you made and wants to help you grow it? That’s not something you ignore.”

I sat still, unsure what to say or even how to feel. It wasn’t because of what he said, but because of what he didn’t say. He didn’t ask me to stay. Hadn’t asked what it meant for us . Didn’t he care if this took me away?

I hated the thought. It wasn’t fair. But it crept into my head, anyway .

I knew Chase loved me.

But how easily could he let me go?

I hadn’t written in my journal for several days. Mostly because I’d been so busy, but also I felt settled and didn’t need it the way I once had.

But today, I didn’t know what to do with everything I was feeling. So I reached for my pen

I called Calla Skincare

I told Emma I’d think about her offer

I didn’t ask Chase what to do

But instead of feeling stronger, I felt…tired. Like I was checking boxes that didn’t feel uplifting like they should, but just sat flat on the page.

I needed my walk today more than ever. My usual paths didn’t call to me the way they usually did. I didn’t pay much attention to where I was going. I only knew that I needed to keep moving. Jack didn’t care. He trotted ahead as if he knew where he was going, and I let myself follow mindlessly.

When the old mill came into view, I paused. It was painfully appropriate that I should arrive at the very place Chase and I had made love for the first time since my return. The place where we spoke of legacy.

The word loomed in my mind as I kept walking toward it. Could I have my own? Or was I meant to just be part of someone else’s?

Jack suddenly stopped short. I barely had time to react before I stumbled over something solid in the grass .

“Ah!” I yelped, falling to the grass.

Something stirred beside me—a person, I realized, just as Trey sat up, rubbing a hand over his face and squinting into the light. His expression shifted from alarmed to amused the moment he saw me.

“Starting to think you’re following me,” he said, a lopsided grin tugging at his mouth. He was a handsome man to start with, but when he put on one of his rare smiles, he was ridiculously good-looking.

I pressed my hand to my chest as I sat up. “You scared the hell out of me! What are you doing here? I didn’t think anyone else knew about this place.”

He shrugged and stretched his arms overhead, then sat on the old millstone. “Didn’t know you had claimed it.”

“Technically, it’s not mine , but it’s become a special spot.”

“Can’t argue there. I found it a few months ago. Even when I’m alone, I know that once upon a time, someone else carved a life out right here. Something about being here helps me clear my head. Like, if they could create something out of nothing, maybe I can too.”

That was probably the most I’d ever heard Trey speak, but his words rang true with me.

“Seems we have that in common,” I muttered, as I joined him on the stone. “What’s on your mind?”

He shook his head. “Just pondering over what to do with a place that was given to me.”

“Place? Like, someone gave you a house ?”

“More like inherited it. Someone I knew died.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

He gave me a slight nod but didn’t say anything; he just went back to being the quiet guy I knew.

I didn’t mind. His kind of quiet didn’t make me feel invisible.

Instead, it was the kind of quiet that was restful because he didn’t expect anything.

But I knew from his reaction the last time I bumped into him that he was fast to jump in when someone he cared about needed something.

And somehow, he’d added me to what I suspected was a very short list.

So, it startled me when he spoke up again. “How’d the thing go with the Christmas tree?”

“Everything went fine, other than my former father-in-law being part of the committee.” I caught him up to speed.

“Well, I wouldn’t worry about him.”

“Why not?” He didn’t know James Washington and the power he seemed to yield.

“People like him think they have influence, but they don’t get the final say.”

“Hmm.” I wanted to believe him, but I wasn’t sure I did.

“Is that why you’re here?” he asked.

I shifted on the stone, hugging my knees to my chest and resting my chin on them. “Kind of like you, an opportunity found me, and I’m not sure what to do with it. I guess I’m also pondering, as you said.”

“Ah. Want to talk it out?”

I hesitated, trying to figure out how to explain and not sound whiny. “It’s caused me to think a lot about what I want. What I’m allowed to want.”

That caused him to frown. “You’re allowed to want anything, as long as no one gets hurt.”

That was the problem, wasn’t it? Me. Chase. Jordan. Any of us—all of us—could be hurt by my decision.

“I have everything I ever wanted right here,” I murmured. “Chase, the farm, Jordan… they’ve given me more than I ever expected. But lately…” I trailed off, unsure how to say the rest without sounding ungrateful.

He didn’t move, didn’t speak. Just listened as usual. In doing so, I had a feeling Trey was good at sensing what people weren’t saying.

“I’m scared of messing it up,” I admitted. “Scared of losing what I have here because I reach for something more.” I closed my eyes and shook my head.

Trey finally spoke, his voice low and steady. “Why does it have to be one or the other?”

I looked up at him.

“You talk like choosing something for yourself means leaving something else behind,” he said, shrugging.

“Maybe it does. Maybe it doesn’t. But sometimes leaving something behind is a good thing, especially if it’s fear.

You just need to believe that what you’ve built is strong enough to hold more than one dream. Ain’t nothing wrong with that.”

I stared at him for a second, his words sinking deeper than I expected. Not because they were poetic or profound. But because they were simple. And true.

“I don’t even know what my dream is,” I said, my voice tight.

“Sure, you do. You just have to be honest with yourself.”

I blinked, my throat thick. “You make it sound so easy. Chase did, too.”

“And that’s a bad thing?”

“He told me it was my decision. That he didn’t want to be controlling like Mason. And I appreciate that. I do.”

“But?” Trey prompted.

“He didn’t ask me to stay. Like, it would be easy to let me go if this took me away.”

Trey let out a low snort. “If you think that would be easy for him, then you’re not as smart as I think you are.

” I gave him a sharp glance, but he didn’t back down.

“He’s trying not to clip your wings.” Trey’s brow furrowed a little, then softened.

“But I get it. When he didn’t say it out loud, you filled in the silence with your own doubts. ”

The sting of the truth pinched. “I guess.”

Trey rested his elbows on his knees. “You’re doing what a lot of us do when we’ve been under someone’s thumb too long. You mistake being caged as being wanted. You mistake freedom for abandonment. But you’re not a prisoner now. You don’t need permission to go after something good.”

The clearing settled into silence again. Jack shifted in the grass with a sigh.

I let out a soft, surprised laugh and shook my head. “You know, you’re better than my therapist was.”

He grinned. “Probably cheaper, too. This will just cost you one of your pies.”

“Done. Maybe a meal to go with it one night?”

I wasn’t sure if he’d take me up on it. I sensed Trey was a bit of a loner, only coming to family events because it was expected. So I was thrilled when he nodded. I’d make sure he took me up on it.

“I would say we should stop running into each other this way, but weirdly, it seems to work out,” I teased. “At least, for me.”

“Me, too. You helped me decide what to do.”

“But we didn’t even talk about what you were ‘pondering.’”

He winked at me as he stood. “Oh, but we did. You just didn’t know it.”

Impulsively, I stepped closer and wrapped my arms around him. For a second, he froze, like he was rusty at returning affection. But then his strong arms enfolded me with an exhale, as if tension rolled off him as well. Maybe he’d needed that hug as much as I did.