Page 35 of Call Me Yours (Lodestar Ranch #4)

CHLOE

“Peanut butter or chocolate chip?” James asked as she piled flour, sugar, and salt—the ingredients needed for either cookie—onto the counter.

“Peanut butter,” I decided. “My doctor says I need to eat more protein. Peanut butter has more protein, right?”

James consulted the label on the jar of peanut butter. “More than chocolate chips, anyway. But probably not as much as, say, lentils.”

I made a face. “The baby doesn’t want lentils, James. The baby wants cookies.”

“Peanut butter it is,” James said.

“Good choice,” Adam said approvingly.

“Peanut butter is his favorite,” James explained. She made a shooing motion at her fiancé. “These cookies aren’t for you, cowboy. They’re for Chloe and her fetus.”

“And, um, Steven and Amy,” I mumbled. I nibbled my lip. “I can’t walk in there with freshly baked cookies and not share. That would be rude. Since he won’t even let me pay rent.”

“Hell, no.” Adam glowered. “That asshole isn’t getting my cookies.”

“They’re not your cookies,” James reiterated. “Chloe can share her cookies with whoever she wants. Even if,” she added sweetly, “that someone is a giant douche canoe.”

I opened my mouth to defend Steven, then snapped it shut, feeling guilty for even considering it. Was I really going to stand up for the man who had gotten her bucked off a horse?

Yes , my heart whispered. Or maybe it was my pussy. That was the problem with having mind-blowing sex with your best friend’s enemy. It divided your loyalties right along with your legs.

But Steven was more than my best friend’s enemy, and more than a casual fuck. He had done so much for me. And he hadn’t meant for James to get hurt. That counted for something, didn’t it?

Great. Now I felt guilty for not defending him, too. I couldn’t win.

James pivoted to the refrigerator, glancing at me over her shoulder before opening it.

“You don’t have to pay rent? That’s nice of him.

” When Adam scowled, she rolled her eyes.

“What? It is . I don’t like him, either, but you know he’s not pure evil.

He’s not even the worst person in Aspen Springs.

Remember that guy Essie stole the horse from? Way worse.”

I grimaced. James wasn’t exactly setting a high bar for Steven to clear. And the thing was, I didn’t think he was a bad guy at all. Not anymore. Steven was a good guy who had done a very bad thing.

“It’s just temporary,” I reminded all of us.

I rubbed my forehead. “Mom wants me to move back home and work for my dad while she babysits.” We hadn’t spoken since yesterday when Steven had dragged me out of there.

I wondered if she was waiting for me to call her to apologize.

If she was, she’d be waiting forever because I wasn’t sorry.

James frowned. “What about your clients? I thought you were pushing the clinic to expand its telehealth options.”

“Obviously, she’s hoping I’ll come to my senses.” I fiddled with the bag of chocolate chips. If we weren’t using them for cookies, I might as well eat a handful. “She’s never liked running the business. It would be great for her if I took over.”

James’s frown deepened. “It’s your life, Chloe. What do you want?”

I sighed. “I just want everyone to be okay, you know?”

James stood behind me and wrapped me up in a tight hug. “I know. I get it.”

I knew she would. I squeezed her forearm that rested across my clavicle. “Thanks.”

She released me and got back to work on the cookies.

“So, what are you going to do, really? If you move back in with your parents, you know you’re gonna be there for at least a few years. You don’t want that, do you?” James asked. When I shook my head, she continued, “But you don’t want to stay with Steven after the baby is born, either.”

“Right,” I said uncertainly.

But…what if I did? Would I live there as his roommate, or something more?

And what would that mean for my friendship with James?

She wasn’t going to step foot in Steven’s house to see me or Radish.

It was one thing for this to be temporary, but permanent?

I was going to live somewhere she didn’t feel comfortable visiting?

No. Our friendship wouldn’t survive that kind of betrayal.

“Right,” I said again, with conviction this time.

“So, where are you gonna go?” James asked. “Have you started looking?”

“I started this morning. There really wasn’t anything yet. A one-bedroom rental above the hardware store on Second Street.” My pulse ticked anxiously. I was fucked.

“You know, one of the ranch hand cabins is empty.” Adam rubbed his jaw. “I wouldn’t say it’s a suitable option for a woman and a newborn baby, but…When are you due, again?”

“May,” I told him.

He nodded. “We could get it in shape by then. Build a small addition for a second bedroom. Hell of a commute to your office, though.”

“If the clinic agrees to my telehealth proposal, I’ll mostly be working from home,” I said.

“Huh.” Adam tilted his head thoughtfully. “We have strong wi-fi. That could work.”

I stared at him. “Are you serious? I could live here at Lodestar?”

James squealed and threw her arms around Adam. “Of course he’s serious! Oh, my gosh, that would be perfect! And I bet Ted wouldn’t mind pitching in with childcare while you’re working.”

Adam laughed. “Dad does love babies.”

“It’s perfect,” James said again, her big dark eyes sparkling with excitement. “You won’t have to live with Steven anymore.”

I should have felt nothing but relief. I had a plan. Problem solved. Everything would go back to the way it should be.

So why did I feel so sad?

I wished this glass of water was wine. Or, better yet, whiskey. Because the feelings tornado-ing in my chest when I watched Steven out the kitchen window weren’t the kind of things someone should have to suffer through sober.

He disappeared from view and I sighed, knowing what was coming next.

The back door opened and closed. I stayed where I was, sipping my useless water, listening.

A thump as he removed his boots. Footsteps.

Then there he was, looking like a cowboy and smelling like pine trees and cold air.

And I was supposed to not touch him? Honestly. How was that even reasonable?

His stride faltered when he caught sight of me. “You’re home,” he said. “Your car was gone when I woke up. I thought you were at work.”

I shook my head. “Holiday hours. I don’t go back until Tuesday.”

He came right to me and my heart fluttered in my chest. Then I realized he wanted the sink. I moved aside to give him space to wash his hands.

“Where’s Amy?” I asked.

“Out hiking with friends. Some kind of tradition they have instead of hitting the Black Friday sales.” He dried his hands on the towel hanging off the refrigerator door. “You hungry?”

“No, I had cookies.” I gave him a wide berth as I moved to the counter and pushed the plate of cookies forward. “James and I made them this morning.”

He tensed and then slowly rolled his neck. “She still likes to bake, huh? How is she?” The words sounded reluctant, like he had to drag them from his mouth.

“Good,” I said. “You can have one, you know.”

He considered the plate. “Why do I feel like I shouldn’t?”

I snorted. “Because you know it would piss Adam off.”

“Fuck that guy,” Steven muttered and snagged a cookie off the top.

“Fuck that guy?” I repeated. My eyebrows went up. “For what? Firing you after that shit you pulled with James? For breaking your nose?”

A muscle ticked in his jaw. “No. I don’t blame him for any of that. I would have done way worse, if it had been…” His gaze dropped along with the words unsaid.

“Then what?” I pressed. “What do you have to be mad at him for?”

His shoulders jerked slightly, like he was trying to shrug something off. “It feels good to hate him, okay? It feels good to be angry at someone else instead of just myself. What does it matter, anyway? He hates me, too.”

My lips flattened. “I’m not taking your side on this.”

“Yeah, no shit,” he bit out. “I never thought you would. I didn’t ask you to.”

The words cut deep, even though they shouldn’t have. Of course I couldn’t take his side. James and Adam hadn’t done anything wrong.

“Adam is a good man,” I said, almost pleading. For what? For Steven to figure out time travel and go back and fix everything? Some things couldn’t be fixed. It was a hard pill to swallow for someone who believed every problem had a solution.

Steven’s eyes narrowed. “So I’ve heard.”

I give up . My shoulders slumped. Whatever this thing was between us, it didn’t work. I had always known it wouldn’t. But that didn’t make it hurt any less. Because part of me had hoped that somehow, some way, it would all work out.

“Adam offered me a cabin at Lodestar Ranch,” I said, looking everywhere but at him. “I can move there with Radish in May.”

Steven froze. “Lodestar Ranch? You’re going to move to the one place in Aspen Springs I can’t go? What the hell, Chloe? Did I fucking imagine last night, or was that you begging for my dick?”

I flushed. Oh, shit, he was furious. The tendons in his throat bulged as he stared me down, his dark eyes nearly black.

Well, that was fine, because I was mad, too.

Mad at him for hurting James. Mad at him for not being able to fix it.

Mad at myself for thinking even for a second that we would end up anywhere but right here, in this moment, with all these bad feelings and disappointments swirling around us like an inferno.

“Where else am I supposed to go, Steven?” I demanded, slapping a hand on the counter. “Home?”

He growled. “You are home, Chloe. This is your home. Even if you never let me into your bed again, this is still yours. Hell, you can turn my room into a nursery. I’ll sleep in the basement if that’s what you want.

Just don’t—” His voice cracked. “Just don’t go where I can’t follow. Please, princess.”