He could lie so she’d stay but he didn’t like lying to anyone about anything, so he nodded.
“Yeah, they’re clear so whenever you want to go, I can take you.”
“How about now?”
“Now?”
“Yes. I’m packed and ready. I’m anxious to get to the restaurant and I want to check out the apartment.”
“Okay. You know...I’d like to see it too. I’ll call Claire to see if she can watch Mandy for a few hours.”
“No! I want to go too, Daddy.”
“Not this time, sweetheart. Maybe once Chloe gets settled, I’ll take you to visit her at the restaurant.”
“Oh! Okay.” She conceded but pushed out her lower lip in a pout then ran to Chloe and hugged her. “Bye, Chloe. I’ll miss you.”
Chloe noticeably blinked away tears when she hugged Mandy. Seeing her genuine affection for his daughter tugged at Storm’s heart. “Goodbye Mandy Pandy. We’ll see each other soon. Promise.”
When Chloe finished saying good-bye to Mandy, she walked away toward her bedroom. He presumed to get her luggage, so Storm followed her. She had stopped alongside her bags so he reached around her, and grabbed the suitcases. She looked up at him with moist eyes.
“Thank you for everything, Storm. I want you to know how much I appreciate all the time I was here and what you did for me. I would have died, if not for you finding me in the snow.”
“Anyone would have done the same thing.”
He spun on his heel and walked out of the room before he took her in his arms and kissed her until she pleaded to stay. He stopped in the kitchen, set the suitcases down by the door, took a deep breath, and then called Claire. After he told her what he needed, she told him she’d be there in a few minutes.
When Chloe entered the room and set the smaller cases down, Storm went to the mudroom and came back out with her coat. They stood there staring at each other until Chloe glanced away from him. Damn. He didn’t want her to go. Not yet.
“Chloe—” He started to tell her just that when the back door suddenly opened, and Claire stepped into the kitchen.
“Chloe, you’re leaving?”
“Yes. It’s time. The roads are clear, and I want to get to the restaurant and back to my life.”
“Is the electric on in your house? I mean, won’t it be too cold if it’s off?”
“It was kept on while I was gone. My manager at the restaurant has been keeping an eye on the house for me, and she knew to turn the heat on once it got cold.”
“Oh.” Claire walked to her and hugged her. “I’ll miss you. Don’t be a stranger.” Over Chloe’s shoulder, she glared at Storm. He raised an eyebrow then lowered his gaze, suddenly ridden with guilt over disappointing everyone.
“She’s coming back for Christmas. She promised Mandy.”
“Well, that’s great. I’ll see you then. Okay then, I’d better go check to see what mischief Mandy is in.” With a shake of her head, Claire walked away.
Storm took a deep breath. “Let’s go, if you’re ready.”
“I’m more than ready.” Chloe put on her coat, hat, and gloves then picked up a couple of her suitcases, and walked out the door.
Storm hung his head, already missing her. He picked up the other suitcases and followed her out the door.
STORM PARKED IN FRONT of the house that had once upon a time brought her such joy and good memories with her grandmother. Chloe stared at it. It looked the same but she wished she was somewhere else—the ranch. Oh, she’d missed the big old house so very much, yet was only vaguely happy to be home now. It was an old Victorian painted dark gray with white gingerbread trim. There had been so many good memories in this house with her grandmother.
She looked across the street to the restaurant and was pleased to see a full parking lot. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and stepped out into the cold. She opened the back door and retrieved a couple of her smaller suitcases. Storm grabbed the other ones and after closing the door, he walked around the truck looking up at the house.
“This is a great old house,” he said from beside her.
“It is. I’ve always loved it but really, it’s made for a family. There are four bedrooms.”
“Yeah, too big for just you, I suppose.” He glanced across the street. “The apartment may be the best choice anyway.”
“Yes.” The word wasn’t much more than a whisper because where she’d rather be was back at the ranch with him and Mandy.
With a deep breath to ward off tears, Chloe climbed the steps to the porch and stopped by the door. She unlocked it and stepped across the threshold. The memories rushed at her like a freight train. The house always held the scent of roses, and she could never figure out why since she never kept cut roses, but they had been her grandmother’s favorite flower.
“What a great house,” Storm said from beside her.
She nodded. To the left was the living room filled with antique furniture. Dark walnut wood surrounded a fireplace with a mirror above it. To the right was a large dining room. In front of Chloe and Storm were stairs leading to the second floor. A hallway ran alongside it leading to the kitchen, which her grandmother had modernized the year before she died. Upstairs were four bedrooms each with fireplaces. She loved this house and never wished to part with it but she knew she couldn’t afford it on her own so she hoped she could find a good family to rent it. A family who would love and care for it like she had. Of course, if she lived across the street, she could keep an eye on it. The door closed behind her and she turned to look at Storm. He seemed to fill the space with his presence, and she still wanted him.
“Do you want me to take these upstairs?” he asked her, indicating the luggage.
“Um...no, I’ll do it later. If you don’t mind, we could go look at the apartment now and I’d love to check in at the restaurant.”
“Sure.”
She nodded and set the suitcases down. Storm set down the ones he was holding and turned to the door. He stepped out onto the porch and Chloe followed him. The sun was shining making it a beautiful day. It was still cold and snow covered everything but the cleared sidewalks and streets. Thankfully, her manager must have shoveled the walk or they wouldn’t have made it to the door with the bags. She smiled, remembering why she loved living here. Even with snow, the sunshine made it appear warmer. They walked down the steps, crossed the street and parking lot, to the entrance to Zellene’s. When they entered the restaurant, a server approached them, smiling.
“Hi. Welcome to Zellene’s. Two?”
Chloe smiled. “I’m Chloe.”
The girl frowned at her then smiled again. “Okay. Hi, Chloe...will it just be the two of you?”
When Storm snorted out a laugh, Chloe glared at him and he shrugged.
“I’m the owner of Zellene’s.”
“You’re...? Oh! I’m so sorry. It just didn’t click. I’m Janie. I just started here last week. It’s so nice to meet you.”
“It’s nice to meet you too, Janie. Is Bev here?”
“Um...yeah...in the kitchen,” Janie said, obviously flustered by her accidental blunder.
“Thank you.” Chloe nodded for Storm to follow her and they weaved their way through the tables. A few people called out to Chloe welcoming her back and making her smile. She loved this town. They entered the kitchen and she was happy to see it running smoothly. Spotting Bev, she headed toward her and tapped her on the shoulder. Bev spun around and laughed then pulled Chloe into a hug.
“I’m so happy to see you. Are you back for good or just visiting with your—?” Bev looked past her in anticipation.
“Yes. I’m back...and alone. Do you happen to have the key to the apartment upstairs?”
“Oh...um...yeah, it’s in the office.” Suddenly, Bev cleared her throat and indicated the direction of the door to the kitchen with her eyes. “What is the gorgeous Storm Bateman doing here?”
“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you about it later.”
&
nbsp; “Okay,” Bev said with raised brows then walked ahead of Chloe to the office to get the key for her. Chloe followed behind knowing Bev was dying to ask her a million questions.
“I didn’t get married.”
“Good. You didn’t want to anyway. I’m so glad you’re back. Don’t get me wrong, I love working here, but this is your place. The good news is that we’ve gotten busier. I had to hire two new girls.”
“That’s great news. I already met one of your new hires. I trust you. That’s why I left this place in your hands. I’ll talk to you about it all later. I may be living upstairs and renting out the house so I can save some money. My parents have cut me off, so I have to make this work somehow.”
“If it will help, I’ll take a cut in pay—”
“No, you will not. We’ll figure something out. Okay? In the meantime, I need to take a look at upstairs.” Chloe walked out of the office and waved for Storm to come over to her.
He glanced around the kitchen. “Damn, it’s busy in here.”
Chloe laughed. “This is slow compared to some days. Come on, the door to the apartment is back here.”
She led him out a back door and then up metal stairs still bearing a coating of snow. After carefully climbing them with Storm behind her, she took a deep breath, put the key into the lock, and turned to look at Storm. He raised an eyebrow in question.
“I’m afraid to see what’s inside. It’s been a while since I’ve been up here.”
“Just open the door. I’m freezing my balls off out here.”
She chuckled then turned the key, and pushed the door open. A strong musty smell immediately assaulted her nose making her cough. She reached in and flipped the light switch. Storm stepped around her and entered the apartment. Chloe stepped in and closed the door. She glanced around the room and wanted to cry. It was a mess. She looked at Storm.
“It’s a total mess.” It was so cold in the space she could see her breath.
“Yeah, but it has potential.” He walked further into the room. “You didn’t tell me it had a fireplace. We’ll have to make sure it’s usable. The flue may need cleaning out before you can ever use it. In fact, I’d have that done anyway just to be safe.”
Chloe watched him walk around the apartment then followed him into the kitchen. The white appliances were in pretty good shape. They just needed a good cleaning. The living room needed new carpeting. What was there was very threadbare. The front of the apartment had a row of windows that looked down over the street and gave her a great view of her house.
Storm’s boot heels clacked on the wooden floor as he walked down a hallway. She quickly followed him to the one bedroom. He pushed the door open and entered the room. Chloe stood in the doorway and looked around.
“It’s not too bad,” Storm said as he looked around. “It really just needs some cleaning and polishing...and airing out.”
“Not as bad as I thought.”
When he opened another door that she knew led to the bathroom, Chloe tried to look over his shoulder but he was too tall, so she elbowed him out of the way. He glanced down at her.
“Sorry,” he muttered.
Chloe gasped when she saw the large claw foot tub. There were two bathrooms in her house and both had claw foot tubs. She absolutely loved taking a bath in them.
“I’m so happy to see that tub. I love taking a bath in those.” She looked around. “No shower though.”
“That’s an easy fix. They make shower kits for these types of tubs. It won’t be a problem to put one on it.”
“I think this will work for me, after all.” She looked at Storm and smiled.
He walked to her and her smile faded. She backed up but didn’t get too far, making him smirk. He leaned down and kissed her softly.
“I’ll make a list of things we need to do and what needs to be done first then I can let you know when we can start on this. In the meantime, get some ideas for colors and carpeting.”
“All right. I’ll have Kennie take me to pick some out after you get the measurements.”
She followed him back through the apartment and when he stopped in the kitchen, she watched him as he glanced around.
“Paint is first. Kennie can take you if you can’t wait for your car. I don’t think it will take us long to make this livable.” He opened and closed the cabinet doors as he spoke.
“Thank you.”
Suddenly, one of the cabinet doors slipped off its hinge and Storm grabbed it. He handed Chloe his phone, and hooked it back on, tightening the remaining screw with his fingertips. “I guess we need to check all the hinges too.”
The phone in her hand vibrated gently, and a text popped up on the screen. It was from someone named Sarah and read:
Hey cowboy, the roads are finally clear, how about a visit?
You bring the condoms I’ll supply the sexy underwear.
A kiss emoticon followed the text. Chloe nearly dropped the phone because the words were like a punch in the chest.
“Do you need me to walk you back home?” Storm’s question made her jump in response. What the hell was she thinking? He would never settle down with her and as far as sex goes, he could get it whenever he wanted. She was just convenient because they’d been snowed in together.
“No. I’m fine.” She knew her tone was too snippy but she wasn’t in the mood for niceties right now. “I’m going to get something to eat downstairs. I didn’t have breakfast this morning.”
Storm nodded, seemed like he was about to say something then reconsidered. “I’ll call you and let you know when we’ll be able to start.” He didn’t move from where he stood, but instead reached out and took a few strands of her hair between his fingers. “So soft,” he murmured.
“And not yours,” she replied and stepped away. “Here’s your phone. Thank you for bringing me home.”
He stared at her and for a moment, she thought she saw something sad cross his face but then he took his phone, spun on his heel and walked out. She heard the door close behind him and let the breath out she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. She was going to miss seeing him and Mandy every day. She’d fallen in love with the little girl and Storm was a good father. He loved his little girl and that made him even sexier to her but now she understood that she wasn’t anything to him—never was.
Her cell phone suddenly rang, startling her. She pulled it from her pocket and smiled when she saw it was David.
“David, how are you?” she said by way of answer as she walked to the thermostat to turn the heat up.
His laugh came across the line. “I’m wonderful. How are you doing, Chloe?”
“I’m good. I’m very happy to be home.”
“You sound like it. Look, I called to thank you again. What you did was so brave. We both had to do this but you led the way. As much as I love you, it never would have worked for us.”
“I know. I love you too. How are your parents taking it?”
“Believe it or not, they’ve come to terms with it.”
“What? Are you serious?”
“I am. I was shocked. My mom came over to my condo when Brad and I got home from the honeymoon. She said she was sorry for what she and Dad did. I deserved to be happy and she was only trying to make herself happy.”
“Oh, David...that’s so wonderful. What about your dad?”
“He came here the other day and apologized too. They both seemed to like Brad and said they just want me to be happy. Have you talked to your parents?”
“No. My mother has left horrible messages. She blames me for ruining their plans. I can’t believe how rude she’s being. She’s never been a mother to me and I don’t think that will ever change. Her latest message was that they were going to come to Dry River and drag me home. Lovely, huh?”
“That sucks, hon. I’m sorry but we are both better off not getting married to each other.”
“I know. You love Brad, and I—” She stopped herself.
“You what?”
“It’s nothing. Never mind.”
“Chloe...?”
“It doesn’t matter, David. It’ll never happen. I’ve been in love with him for a long time and he’s not into relationships. He was terribly hurt years ago and he doesn’t trust women. He has a little girl he has to think about and he won’t let her get hurt by having a woman in his life who could leave him and his daughter behind like his ex-wife did.”
“I can understand that. Don’t give up though. Never give up. We made the right decision, babe. I gotta run. We’ll talk soon. Love you.”
“I love you too. Give Brad my love. I’m happy for you both.”
Chloe hit End, put the phone in her pocket, and then walked around the apartment. The hardest thing was going to be sleeping alone tonight, waking up tomorrow, and not seeing Storm and Mandy. She needed to go home and take a nice hot bath in that big tub she loved, and she would do just that right after she got some food in her. She had a feeling it was going to be a long, lonely night.
Chapter Ten
Storm drove through town and wondered, yet again, what he’d been thinking to get involved with Chloe. It couldn’t be what she wanted it to be. Now she was pissed off at him because he can’t be what she wants. He just couldn’t take that risk.
So, you’re going to be alone for the rest of your life?
“If that’s what it comes to, yes,” he said aloud and fisted his hands around the steering wheel.
All of his friends were happily married now. Five of the six bad boys of Dry River had settled down and seemed to love it. They were having kids and adored their wives. Part of him was envious but he’d had a wife he’d adored too, once upon a time. Now, if he never saw Tracy again, it would be too soon.
As he drove toward the feed store, he decided to stop in and get some oats while he was in town. It never hurt to have too much. He pulled into the parking lot and shut the truck off then climbed out and entered the store. The people inside waved or called out to him. He smiled and nodded to them as he walked to the counter.
“What can I get you, Storm?” the clerk asked him.
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