Page 41 of Call Me Yours (Lodestar Ranch #4)

CHLOE

“I can’t believe how big she’s getting!” I cooed, stroking Belle’s velvety pink nose.

James gave the mare an affectionate pat on the neck and grinned at me. Belle was special to her, and her pregnancy meant big things for the breeding operation at Lodestar Ranch.

“My two favorite mamas-to-be,” James said.

She placed one hand on Belle’s belly, and her other on mine.

“I can’t wait to spoil both babies rotten.

Within reason, of course. Foals can be real brats, and you don’t want to reward that behavior no matter how cute they are, because when they get big—hey, what’s wrong?

” James’s big brown eyes got even bigger as she took in the tears leaking down my face. “Why are you crying?”

“Because you’re an amazing friend, and I am the worst ,” I wailed. “The literal worst.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” James wrapped her arms around me. “What’s going on?”

“I can’t move to the ranch.” I gulped back a sob and hiccupped.

James rubbed my back soothingly. “Okay. That’s okay.”

“It’s not okay,” I said. “It’s really not. I did the worst possible thing. It’s Steven’s fault, really. He made me go and fall in love with him.”

James did a slow blink. “Say that again?”

“I’m in love with Steven.”

“McAllister?” she asked dubiously.

“We don’t know another Steven.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Ew.”

My eyes narrowed. “Careful,” I warned.

“He is hot,” she admitted. She cocked her head, studying me. “But he’s still the guy who spooked my horse and called me a slut.”

“I know.” I rubbed my forehead. Fuck, fuck, fuck .

“I could give you a hundred other things he’s done.

Good things. Sweet things. I mean, the man caught my vomit barehanded to save the shoes you embroidered for me because he knew how much they meant to me.

But I’m not going to sit here and try to balance out his soul for you.

You don’t have to like him. But if you could learn to tolerate him…

” My voice wobbled and I slid to the ground in a pathetic heap. “Goddammit, James, I love him so much.”

“Oh, honey.” James sighed. She sat down next to me, and we leaned back against the stall wall. “I really hope you landed on clean hay.”

“I tried really hard not to love him, James. You have no idea. I fought it for weeks.”

“Weeks,” James echoed drily. “You don’t say.”

“You haven’t seen that man’s abs. It was a Herculean effort on my part, and I want credit for it.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” She snickered.

I sighed. “I really did try, you know. You mean the world to me, and it felt like such a betrayal of our friendship. I feel terrible about keeping it a secret from you. But I’m also…

” I struggled to find the words. “I’m also glad I love him.

I wouldn’t want to be in love with anyone else. He’s so… Steven .”

She studied me. Stroked my hair off my damp cheek. “You really do love him, huh?”

I nodded. “So much I can’t remember what it felt like to hate him. It’s not really his abs, you know. He’s so good to me that it’s almost embarrassing. I could list all of it, but you still wouldn’t understand. Because all those nice things, that’s not why I love him. I…”

The enormity of the emotion rolled over me like a tsunami. “It’s the strangest thing, falling in love with someone. The strangest damn thing, James. I know why I should love him, but that’s not really why I do.”

James linked her elbow through mine. “All right. I’m listening.”

“It’s all these little moments, you know?

I love him because he’s infatuated with a pig and because he refused to come inside after a bad day because he didn’t want to take it out on his sister.

I love him because the more he cares, the grumpier he gets and you know what?

That’s adorable. I go so soft every time.

” I felt soft right now, just thinking about it.

“And I love him because he tries. He tries so fucking hard.”

James squeezed me closer. I knew she understood, but I also knew that might not be enough.

I hesitated before asking the question I knew I had to ask. I wasn’t sure I was ready for the answer. “Do you think someday you could be okay with that? You don’t have to be his friend,” I added hastily. “But maybe you could come over sometime? Visit the baby?”

She rolled her lips together, thinking. “Honestly, I don’t know. I want to say yes because I love you so much, but the truth is, I’m not sure how I feel about him. What I do know is that I love you enough to try.”

“Really?” I asked hopefully.

She nodded. “Really.”

Her phone buzzed and she pulled it out of her pocket. Her eyebrows shot up. “It’s from Adam. Steven is here.”

“Steven is here ?” I squawked. “At Lodestar Ranch? And Adam knows?” I scrambled to my feet. “Oh, god, they’re going to kill him.”

James pushed herself up the wall. “Chloe, wait?—”

But I did not wait. I couldn’t.

I left the stables at a sprint that quickly devolved into an awkward jog. I wrapped my hands underneath my belly for support and hustled toward the house, looking this way and that for any sign of Steven or the Hale brothers or blood.

When I saw Steven’s truck parked in the circular driveway, I picked up speed…and then immediately slowed down again because Radish was somehow taking up all the space in my lungs and I couldn’t pull in a full breath.

“Chloe!” James hollered behind me as I made for the front door. “Back deck!”

I changed direction, huffing and puffing. James finally caught up with me and we skidded to a stop as we found them. Steven, Adam, Brax, and Zack had each claimed a rocking chair with a beer in hand.

I grabbed the deck rail and wheezed.

“Chloe?” Steven was on his feet in a flash. “What happened?”

“I thought…you…I ran…fuck,” I wheezed.

That goddamn grin of his could power the whole earth. It lit up his face, the sky, the mountains. Me . “Aww.” His arms went around me, loosely because I was still panting. “Were you worried about me, princess?”

“You just had to go and fall in love with that asshole, didn’t you,” Adam said, pushing a glass of water into my hand.

I took a long, grateful swallow. “His abs , Adam. Have you seen his abs?”

Adam made a face. “It’s a good thing James likes you so much.”

“Yeah. It really is,” I agreed.

We both looked to where Steven and James were talking quietly, far enough away that we couldn’t hear their conversation, but still close by. I shifted anxiously. I wanted everything to be okay so badly, but I had to let them work it out for themselves.

Adam sighed. “I know he didn’t mean for her to get hurt the way she did, but every time I look at him, all I see is James unconscious and crumpled on the fence.”

I winced. “I’m sorry. I know this isn’t easy to accept.”

“No. It’s fucking hard.” He paused, tipped his beer to his mouth, and then looked at James again. “But good things are worth the hard.”

Feeling our eyes on them, they looked up. Steven’s lips moved, and James nodded. They headed back to us.

I stood. Steven’s arm wrapped around my waist like I was a missing limb. I glanced from his face to hers, trying to get a read on how things were between them. “Should we get going?” I asked hesitantly.

Steven looked to James, who looked to Adam and then back to me. She smiled.

“Stay awhile,” she said.