Page 37 of The Challenge

His smile faded. “Is that how you tell me you’re happy to see me?”

“You should’ve called.”

“You gave me this address before you left. I thought I’d surprise you.” His eyes darkened as he looked over at Evan. “Who the hell is he?”

“It’s not what you think,” I explained.

“What is it then?” Scott seethed.

Evan stood with his arms crossed, a look on his face that said he was ready to kill.

“Let’s go outside,” I urged, taking a step out the door. “His daughter is sleeping.”

Thankfully, Scott didn’t argue about taking our talk outdoors. I could only imagine what Evan must’ve been thinking, especially right after we’d settled the living situation. This was such a clusterfuck.

Scott paced in the driveway. “Who the hell is that guy?”

“That’s Evan. He owns the house. There was a mix-up, and it turned out he’d taken the house off the market for rentals before I got here. But there wasn’t any other place available in town, so he let me stay. I have my own room.”

“You’ve been living with a strange man all this time?”

I shook my head. “He’s not a stranger. Evan is…an old family friend. He actually lived with my family for several years when I was growing up. I know him well. He’s practically family. He’s a good person and a single father now. As you heard me say, his daughter is sleeping inside, which is why you and I are out here.”

Scott squinted. “Why didn’t you mention any of this to me when I called you?”

That was a damn good question, and I had no real excuse. I just hadn’t wanted to add stress to an already stressful time. “I guess I didn’t want you to get the wrong idea, like you seem to have now.”

“Well, fuck, Chloe.” He held up his hands. “I didn’t book a place to stay because I assumed you were living alone, as you were supposed to be. What the hell am I going to do now?”

“I wish you had told me you were coming.” I blew a breath of frustration up into my hair.

“Then it wouldn’t have been a surprise.”

“I would’ve told you not to come.”

“That’s real nice,” he huffed, running a hand through his short brown hair.

As we fell silent, crickets chirped.

“Scott…” I finally said. “I’m sorry. I can’t invite you to stay here. It wouldn’t be fair to his daughter.”

“Where else am I gonna stay if you couldn’t find a place in town?”

This was a conundrum. He’d come all this way, and I couldn’t kick him out on the street this late in the evening.

I shook my head. “I’m sorry for not being more welcoming.” Waving him in, I added, “Come inside. I’ll explain the situation to Evan.”

As we entered, though, there was no sign of Evan in the kitchen or the living room.

I pointed to my bedroom. “That’s mine. Go hang out in there for a bit. Relax. You came a long way. I’m gonna talk to him.”

Scott groaned under his breath as he begrudgingly entered my room. He and I had only been dating about five months. While he treated me well, and I enjoyed this company, I’d often doubted whether he was the one. I had wanted my time alone here in Dry River to clear my head in that regard. Before I’d come, I’d told him I wouldn’t blame him if he wanted to see other people. We’d left things fairly up in the air but hadn’t technically broken up. I’d tried to discourage him from coming to visit because my focus needed to be on Mom and on clearing the storage unit. He’d apparently thought I didn’t mean it.

My heart raced as I went to find Evan. By process of elimination, I realized he was in his bedroom.

I knocked lightly.

“Come in,” I heard him say.