Page 45 of Someone to Hold

“I don’t have a fucking Instagram account,” he shouts.

“No need to share it with the whole neighborhood.”

“Wearethe neighborhood, Molly. Would you please?—”

“But while we’re on the topic of sharing,” I interrupt from the top of the ramp, “perhaps you’d like to explain the secret squirrel agreement you have with my mother-in-law.”

His head snaps back like I’ve slapped him. “I don’t?—”

“In exchange for babysitting me,” I say with a tight smile, “she’s going to sell the farm to you.”

“Who told you that?” His voice goes from shout to whisper in the span of seconds. “No one was...” He closes his eyes for a moment and I see his chest rise and fall in an unsteady breath.

“Chase, I’m not just anyone. I told you my plan to approach Linda about buying the farm. You knew something about me, and you didn’t think to mention that I can pound sand because you’ve already worked out a deal with her.”

He walks up the steps until he’s standing on the one below me, putting us at eye level. “I’d never tell you to pound sand, and nothing with Linda is a done deal. When she and I discussed a sale, I didn’t know you wanted the farm.”

“Are you going to back out now that you do?” I ask.

When he just stares at me, I roll my eyes. “That’s what I thought. I hope you get why I don’t want to be around you.” Liar, my body chants, and I mentally shush it. “It’s not at all about the kiss.”

I turn toward the house, wishing I could stomp or flounce away, but the crutches make that impossible. He follows me, and although I could tell him no, I don’t.

Despite my anger and frustration, I want him here.

“If I’m going to make a go of my plan for a cattle operation,” he explains, “I need to add the acreage from this property to my family’s land. It will give me access to the public land beyond it for grazing. It’s not as simple as walking away, Molly.”

Don’t I know it. But complications don’t seem to hold as much weight when it’s just the two of us in this quiet house. A place that doesn’t belong to me, but still feels like home.

Avah’s words spin through my mind.

Hate sex.

Do I hate Chase? No. It would be easier if I did.

I stop before I get to the stairs. “Do you know whatissimple?”

I don’t even realize I’ve asked the question out loud until Chase answers.

“Tell me,” he says, his tone coaxing. “Because I could use a little simple and straightforward about now.”

He’s staring at my eyes, but I’m staring at his mouth. There’s a shift in the energy between us, and he has to know where my thoughts have gone. Following my needy body down a dangerous path that could end in me falling off a cliff.

I can’t seem to bring myself to care.

It’s not hate.Tumultuouswas the word Avah used. It fits the mood.

I expect Chase to step forward and take control. It’s what I expect from the people in my life, and it’s what always happens.

He continues to watch me without moving. I can practically feel the tension vibrating from his body.

“Tell me,” he repeats, his tone rough but also tender.

Ignoring the warning from my better self and tossing good sense straight out the window into the dark outside, I reach for him, cursing how awkward the crutches make me feel.

But I love that he comes without hesitation, like I’m somebody he’ll let command him.

And damn, I want to.