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Did Max finally believe Eliza was his? Or was he just going along? “And you think that’s the only reason we’re together?”
“She’s not like any of the other women you’ve dated.”
“You keep dating the same kind of women. How is that working out for you?” Chase thought back to the one woman Max had spent quite a bit of time with. “Or maybe you don’t want to admit you let the right one get away.”
Max’s gaze hit the ground before he eyed Chase again and avoided answering his question by shooting back, “You sure she’s the right one?” Max held up his hand. “Don’t get me wrong, she’s pretty and all. It’s just... she’s quiet compared to the others.”
“She’s got so much more going on than the other women I dated. She’s compassionate. She’s kind. She listens. And when I’m with her, everything seems like it’s going to be all right.”
Max cocked his head and watched Shelby drive away. “I see that. The way you look at her... It’s like you see everything everyone else misses.”
“That’s because they see her past, not her.”
“So, you do know about what happened to her mom? Dad, Hunt, and I thought maybe you’d forgotten the old story.”
“I got an up close reminder when Kyle Hodges confronted her outside Cooper’s bar after our date.”
“What the . . .” Max stared at Eliza picking a tiny wildflower. “I can’t believe he’s out.” Max shook his head. “I feel sorry for Shelby. It can’t have been easy for her growing up with that hanging over her head. You’re older than us, so you probably didn’t know much about her, but I remember how some of the kids were unkind to her in school about how her dad was evil and her mom went crazy, tried to drown Shelby, and killed herself. They teased and taunted her.” Max shook his head. “Kids can be cruel.”
“That probably only made her feel more alone and unwanted after her grandparents treated her like an unwelcome obligation.”
Max nodded. “Dad and Hunt, they thought maybe she used Eliza as an opportunity to take financial advantage of you.”
“When we discussed child support, she asked for far less thanIdecided to pay her. Shelby is the best person I know. This is the last time I’m going to say it. Eliza is mine.”
“I know. I see that. Hunt does, too. But you know him. He needs facts. Evidence. He’s always been that way.”
Chase knew that, but it didn’t help when he knew Hunt hated him because of how he’d helped their mother find a peaceful, quiet place where she could live out her final days, so that the ones she loved most didn’t have to watch her die.
Max hooked his thumbs in his front pockets. “Are we going to the ranch to check out the cattle, or what?”
“Eliza. Come on. It’s time to go.” With that, Chase picked up Eliza and headed back inside to get himself and Eliza ready for a day at the ranch.
All he really wanted to do was spend time with Eliza, finish up her room, and make Shelby dinner tonight. He wanted to see her walk through the door and not want to walk back out until morning again. Then he’d like to repeat that for, oh . . . the rest of his life.
Chapter Fifteen
Shelby tapped her phone to send the incoming call from an unfamiliar number to voice mail.
“That’s it, Cyn. Five more reps.” Cyn was so different from Shelby. The exact opposite. Outgoing. Outspoken. Sexy. She didn’t care what people thought about her. She didn’t care that people gossiped about her carefree attitude and wild hair. Today it was a bright purple that suited Cyn like she’d been born with that vibrant color.
Add in the curves filling out a pair of black leggings and a deep V-neck emerald green T-shirt that had men’s eyes bugging out, and someone like Shelby, with softer curves and dull brown hair that didn’t have a hint of style, had no chance whatsoever of being noticed next to Cyn.
Shelby looked like a wilted dandelion next to a gorgeous rose.
Even Cyn’s name made men take notice. They saw the package, heard the name, and wanted her. And Cyn had the self-esteem and confidence to back it up.
“I can’t believe I slipped at the shop and messed up my knee like this. So stupid. Now, if I’d stumbled in a pair of platform heels while drunk and dancing my ass off at the bar . . .” Cyn nodded and pressed her lips together. “Now, that I could understand. That would make sense.”
Shelby chuckled. “Your dancing days aren’t over.”
Cyn smiled. “We should go out. You’re never at the bar. I mean, I know you have a kid, but... you deserve to have fun, too.”
It wasn’t that she never went out anywhere. But the first time she went to Cooper’s—the place most people in town went for a good time—she ended up with a kid. And the last time she went to the bar, it was to make sure Chase wasn’t giving up on his hard-won sobriety.
If Shelby could call anyone in town a real friend, it was Cyn. They weren’t besties. Cyn probably had a dozen friends she hung out with all the time. But for whatever reason, Cyn liked her. Whenever they saw each other around town, Cyn always stopped to chat.
“You hide inside too much. In your house. In your head. In those drab, too-big-for-you clothes. Behind the shy facade. You need to stop thinking about what everyone else thinks, or what they’ll say to you, and live your life like no one is watching.” Cyn finished the last rep and let her knee rest.
