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She studied him. “Everything okay?”
“We can talk about it once we get to your place.” Would he, though? He clenched his back teeth hard. Right now, he wanted to keep the news to himself while he figured out how the hell he was supposed to become a father in a matter of days. “Let’s get out of here. This place is getting inside my head.”
The drive to Chloe’s took the full forty-five minutes. Saddle Junction was short on population and long on ranch land. He managed to get ahead of her, so he parked in a visitor spot and waited. How had his life blown up so fast?
Chloe parked in her spot. She waved for him to join her as she exited the vehicle and walked to the porch and then her front door. Kade was already making a mental list of everything he needed to do before leaving for Alaska. Beau showing up had complicated the sale of the ranch. But that didn’t hold a candle to the shock of learning Kade was about to become a father.
Stepping inside the small trailer on the outskirts of town, it was painfully obvious Chloe needed more money. She barely made enough to make ends meet.
Her roommate Annmarie put a finger to her lips, telling them to keep quiet. She tiptoed to the first door down the hall and gently closed it before returning to the living room.
“Grayson’s taking a nap, finally,” Annmarie said. She was five-feet-five inches with long brown hair that was barely controlled by a hair clip. “He’s been cranky all afternoon, the poor baby.”
“Do you think he’s coming down with something?” Chloe asked, worry lines etching her forehead as she started toward the bedroom door.
“He’s fine for now,” Annmarie said. “I’d let him sleep. It was hard to get him to go down. He woke three times.”
Chloe stopped, calculated her next move, and then turned toward the kitchen. She glanced at Kade. “Coffee?”
“Yes, please,” he said as Annmarie came over and gave him a quick hug.
“I heard you were coming back,” Annmarie said. “Thank the heavens you’re in one piece.”
He nodded, then frowned before joining his sister in the kitchen. “What can I do to help?”
“I got it.” Chloe pointed to the kitchen table as she popped in one of those pods. “I’ll join you in a sec.”
Kade took a seat opposite the coffee machine.
“I’m sorry,” Annmarie said. “I didn’t think about how that came across. What happened to Zeke is the worst. I’m just thankful those bastards didn’t take you both from us.”
“I appreciate your good wishes,” Kade said. Not a day would go by without him wishing Zeke had been the one to come home. “Didn’t mean to make you think otherwise.”
Annmarie smiled, then turned to Chloe. “Miguel gave Grayson the sweetest hug when he realized his best buddy was in a bad mood. You should’ve seen the two of them together, like brothers.”
“They are brothers as far as I’m concerned,” Chloe said as she handed over a cup of black coffee to Kade, then went to work making one for herself.
“I hope they stay close,” Annmarie said. “After all, neither has a father figure in their life.” Annmarie’s former boyfriend had said he was taking a job in construction in order to support her and their unborn baby. When he made enough money, he was supposed to buy a ring and come back to make them a family. The man had disappeared without ever making contact. Last she’d heard, he was living in a small town in Ecuador.
Neither has a father figure in their life.Annmarie’s words were the equivalent of a physical blow.
In retrospect, Zeke couldn’t possibly have known the baby wasn’t his. Had Bree deceived him? Would she do something like that?
“Hey,” Chloe said, snapping her fingers to get his attention as she joined him at the table. “Beau showing up today really has you inside your head, doesn’t it?”
Annmarie shot a confused look.
“I’ll explain later,” Chloe promised before Annmarie excused herself, no doubt to grab a few hours of sleep. Chloe worked late nights at a bar so she could spend as many waking moments as possible with Grayson while Annmarie worked early mornings at The Bean Counter. The two worked opposite shifts so one could always be home with the boys.
Kade had witnessed the changes in his sister after having a child. Those little carpet crawlers possessed magic like no one when it came to wrapping folks around their little pacifier pinkies. There wasn’t much Kade wouldn’t do for his nephew.
Shit.
Since Chloe had brought up the subject of their half-sibling, Kade didn’t see the harm in letting her think Beau was the reason he was distracted.
“His presence complicates things,” Kade said.
“As do his rights to the ranch,” Chloe agreed. “The group chat has been blowing up since we left the ranch property.”
