Page 36 of Chance
Chapter 21
Chance and his brothers made a command decision for him to catch a flight back to Wyoming. They had told the whole town that he would be gone and helping out an uncle, just so it wouldn’t look suspicious if he came home sooner. They didn’t want to take a risk. Plus, Chance lived on a part of the ranch that was off the highway. Few drivers passed his area of land, and his house was farther back from the road.
He and Kelly took a flight into Cody and then rented a car. Even though she seemed excited to be with him on this journey, he could tell she was nervous too.
It was easy to catch up on the gossip of the town and fill her in on Porter and Sadie’s story of getting back together. Plus, she had the opportunity to catch up with Blaze and Nash on the phone while they were driving. She’d asked Chance if any of them thought they would ever get married, to which he’d answered of course; they were just waiting for the right girl.
As the sun was setting and they pulled into his home, she asked, “Are you sure you want me here? I know we’re trying to be as undercover as we can, but is it hard to have me?”
He heard the vulnerability in her voice, and he knew the real question she was asking. “You mean is it hard to be around the girl who broke my heart? Well, I would have to say yes, but what can you do? Life throws curveballs.” Gingerly, he took her hand. “Plus, maybe our love story is not over yet.”
She blushed. “Are you serious?”
This whole situation had been niggling at him. Even though they were on a hunt for gold and they didn’t know what they would face, he couldn’t deny his attraction to her, or the serendipitous way she’d been placed back into his life. “Yeah, I’m serious.” He parked the rental car and turned it off.
She turned to face him. “Even though I’m pregnant with another man’s child? That doesn’t bother you? I’d understand if it puts you off dating me.”
Her question irritated him, but he refused to show it. Did it bother her? That was the better question—and he wasn’t sure he was ready for the answer.
He stepped out, not wanting to tackle this whole situation right now.
She followed suit without waiting for him and looked around. “Chance, your house is gorgeous.”
Chance had almost forgotten that she’d never seen it. He’d built it five years ago, with his brothers’ help. He took a couple steps to see if it looked okay. He’d set everything to automatic timers, but Colt was supposed to check on it and the animals. “Thanks.” Wanting things to be normal, he gestured for her to follow him. “I’ll give you the tour.”
He started with the front door. He unlocked it, and they stepped in. “This is the front room. I was going for a cabin feel, but a little more modern.” Was it prideful to really like his home?
Kelly studied it for a long moment. He sensed that she was looking at it through her artist’s eyes. Then she turned and smiled at him. “It fits you. It’s masculine and cowboy. And it’s modern. I like the lines and the way you tempered the cowboy theme with almost a contemporary feel. I like the light fixtures, and I really love all the windows and the skylight.”
He felt a little thrill that she approved of his home.
She strolled through the house toward the kitchen and opened the windows. “I remember when we were kids, we would ride out here and you would tell me that you wanted your backyard to be the river. I guess you got it.”
Chance moved to her side, and once again, the past met the present. “I guess I did.” He sucked in a breath and relished the green pastures around the river. He wasn’t right on top of the river; he didn’t think that would be safe for children. And he did plan on having some. That’s why he was confused as he stood next to Kelly, who was pregnant with someone else’s child. When he had been in high school, and even that year after she’d gone to Oxford and come home, he had hoped she’d be the one.
He opted to focus on something else. “I’m grateful for this view, and that I get to live out here. I like to sit out on the deck and look at the stars, putter around my garden, and—of course—go for rides on Sparky and Shayla.”
She turned with a twinkle in her eyes. “Are those your horses’ names?” It was an inside joke between them. They had caught frogs one year at the river, put them in a cage, and named them Sparky and Shayla.
He grinned back at her. “I thought the names worked well for the horses. If you play your card cards right, I’ll let you ride them with me.”
She gulped, but she held his gaze. The tension grew thick between them.
Suddenly, she put a hand to her stomach. “Oh, shoot. Where’s your bathroom?”
He pointed down the hall. “Second door on the right.”
She sprinted down the hallway, and he heard her throwing up. Moving around in the kitchen, he found some saltines in the pantry and filled up a glass of cold water. Then he waited by the kitchen counter, grateful that everything seemed to be in order. Colton had even picked up his mail and set it in a pile next to his landline phone.
Kelly came back, looking peaky. “Sorry,” she mumbled.
It would take a lot to get used to the situation, but Chance wouldn’t make it awkward. He gestured to the crackers and the water. “Maybe it’s cliché, I don’t know, but do crackers and water help you? I dug some out of the pantry.”
She sat at the counter and munched on a cracker. “Actually, it does.” She took a sip of water. “Thank you.”
He stared at her, maybe longer than he should.
She met his gaze and gave him a little smile. “I guess life doesn’t turn out the way we think, does it? Here I am, pregnant and back in Cross Creek. If Grandma could see me now …” Then she blinked rapidly. “I think I would be a huge disappointment.”