Page 29 of His Fake Fiancé

She might as well have smacked Claire upside the head. At least then, Claire wouldn’t have been so shocked. How sweet.

Then the doubts crept in. Sure, Jake might have been thinking about her wellbeing, but, more likely, he didn’t want to face her after she’d made a fool of herself last night. Her cheeks prickled just thinking about it.

At a loss for what to say, Claire took a sip of her coffee. The creamy, sweet taste made her feel slightly more human. And then Mrs. C pushed a plate of food in front of her and she felt like a freaking princess. Scrambled eggs, bacon and homemade hash browns—there was no such thing as the frozen kind in the Callahan house. Not that Claire had a problem with the frozen kind. Her entire family had grown up on them. While things at the Callahan’s had always been a bit more on the refined side—Mrs. C was a transplanted East Coast socialite, after all—at the McKinney’s, everything was whatever was the easiest.

Maybe if Claire’s mom hadn’t died things might have been different. But her dad had been left with three rambunctious boys and a new baby girl, to go along with his cattle ranch, so she’d always been inclined to cut him some slack. Maybe too much, when she stopped to think about it.

Her stomach growled super loud. She’d been too nervous yesterday to eat much of anything, so she was currently starving. The smell of the food made her mouth water. She dug into her breakfast, swallowing down a moan. It was so freaking good, she practically inhaled the food. Just call her hoover.

Mrs. C filled the sink with hot, soapy water and went to slide the dishes into it. Clair stood and took her empty plate over to the sink. “Please, let me do the dishes. You’ve already looked after Olivia and made me breakfast and everything.”

Mrs. C waved her spatula in Claire’s direction again, taking the plate and cutlery with her free hand. “Nonsense. You go and have a shower and I’ll take care of everything here.”

Claire wanted to argue, but she knew better. Jake and his brothers hadn’t only gotten their stubborn streaks from their dad. When Mrs. C had her mind set, it was damn near impossible to sway her.

Claire shuffled toward the hallway, blowing Olivia a kiss on the way by. It was the first time in her life that she’d ever felt dismissed by Mrs. C, and she didn’t know what to do about it. Because it hurt. A small kernel of something she’d never felt before burned through her insides. She felt like crying. Which was stupid, because she was a grown woman. What did it matter that Mrs. C was disappointed in her? She wasn’t Claire’s mother.

The tear that slid down her cheek made a mockery of her argument.

Jake heard Olivia start fussing through the baby monitor, mainly because he was still tossing and turning. His phone was on the table next to him, so he picked it up. Six twenty. That was the latest she’d ever slept in, and the first time he could remember her sleeping through the night, but it was still way too early.

He rolled over, getting ready get up, but Claire opening the bedroom door stopped him. For some stupid reason, the idea of seeing her this morning freaked him out.

So, he laid there, straining to hear what was going on down the hallway. He couldn’t make out the words, but he could hear her voice, her tone sweet as sugar, as it always was when she was with Olivia. It made his chest ache in a weird way. And, no matter how many times he rubbed at the spot, it didn’t go away.

The sound of Claire heading back down the hallway drifted toward him. His entire body tensed, which was so dumb, he was embarrassed for himself. And then, like an idiot, he closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep.

He waited what had felt like an eternity, but was probably only ten minutes, but nothing happened. The only sound was the breaths he was trying to keep even. He cracked open an eye. The house was silent, the air still. He slid out of bed, cursing the way the sofa bed creaked. She had to have heard that, had to know he was awake.

Still nothing.

He crept down the hall, holding his breath for some dumb reason, the tension in him rising to ridiculous levels.

Claire’s bedroom door was open, soft, subtle light from the nightlight spilling into the hallway. He stopped and leaned against the wall just outside the door, trying to get his shit together. It must be the lack of sleep. There was no other reason for him to be so fucking weird.

Taking a deep breath, he peeked into the room. The ache in his chest flared bright, making it hard to breathe. Claire and Olivia were snuggled together in bed, Claire’s arm cradling the baby protectively.

He had no idea what the fuck that sort of reaction meant, but it freaked him out. Rushing back into the living room, he grabbed some clothes from his bag, which was still sitting on the floor. A weird restless energy coursed through him. He needed to get out of here.

Before he could second guess anything, he was dressed and striding across the lawn toward the main house. The light in the kitchen was on—not a surprise, since Mama and Owen were always up early. Life on the ranch often started long before the sun came up. Which may be one of the reasons Jake never really took to ranching. He wasn’t much of a morning person.

Mama was sitting at the table, drinking her tea, and doing something on her tablet. When he was a kid, she used to read the newspaper, and it was still a little weird to see her with such new tech. While plenty of things had changed over the years, the ranching operation growing with technology and advancements, sometimes he missed the old-fashioned feeling from when he was a kid.

She looked up, and when she realized it was him, she smiled. “Good morning, sweetheart. What are you doing up so early?”

He poured himself the biggest cup of coffee he could find. It was needed if he wanted to make it through today. After adding a heap of sugar and a good splash of cream, he took a sip and sat at the table next to her. “Couldn’t sleep.”

“Something on your mind?” She kept scrolling through her news apps or whatever she was reading, but her tone said she knew something was up.

He wasn’t sure what the hell was going on himself, let alone in any condition to try and put it into words. So, he shook his head and sipped his coffee.

Mama turned off her tablet and stood. “I’m going to make some breakfast. Anything in particular you want?”

Normally, he wouldn’t refuse food, but he was been feeling out of sorts and wasn’t sure food was going to add or subtract from the equation. Better safe than sorry. He shook his head. “N-naw, I’m g-going to head out.” He scowled at the stupid stutter, finished his coffee and stood. “Go find Owen or Sam and see if they need any help.”

“Okay,” she said and patted him on the arm.

He leaned down and kissed her cheek. She was a little lady, but her backbone was made of pure steel, and it ran through her veins. It had to, in order for her to forge a life with Calvin Callahan. Jake’s dad had been a hard man, gruff and unbending. Mama had somehow managed to tame him, at least in regards to her and their relationship.