Page 12 of Finding Chloe

“It seems that Chloe and Hunter have history.” I didn’t have a lot of details, and I certainly wasn’t going to tell them Chloe had orgasmic dreams about him.

“Our Chloe? Practically our baby sister Chloe? What kind of history?” Caleb asked, his forehead creasing.

“Wait, is she the one Hunter keeps talking about?” Andrew was putting two and two together faster than his brother.

“I thought you and Chloe were… you know.” Caleb crossed his arms.

“We are, and we aren’t.” This wasn’t a conversation I wanted to have with them. I barely knew what was going on myself. Chloe and I got together every time she came to town; this was the longest time she’d been staying since we started seeing each other. This time, she was living on the ranch, so I got to see her all the time. It felt right. It felt natural.

More than once, I had thought about asking Chloe to be more than casual. It wasn’t like we weren’t talking and texting most days anyway and having the occasional fun, steamy video call.

She came to visit as often as she could, but it was nearly impossible for me to visit her while she was at school. She was staying in the dorms on campus, and her class schedule was crazy.

I was proud of her. We’d talked often enough about how she felt overshadowed by her family and wanted to make a name for herself. She got a full ride to college, and she was so close to finishing her degree.

Hunter and Kyle wanted a Cosland relationship, where I was just fine having a woman to myself. I didn’t want my woman’s attention divided. I wanted to be the only one she thought about.

Was it selfish? I didn’t think so.

Chloe felt right.

My heart nearly stopped. Yes, I’d thought about her that way before, but this was the first time panic didn’t barrel in when thinking about long term. Only the lightness in my chest at the realization that I finally knew what I wanted.

I wanted Chloe to be mine.Onlymine.

“I wish I could read your mind. Your face is allshit just got real. Whatever it is, it’s gonna be good.” Andrew smirked. The fucker.

“Just thinking about how disappointed Hunter will be when he doesn’t get the girl.” The corner of my mouth twitched upward.

“Oooh, damn. Don’t forget he’s also a friend.” Caleb clapped me on the shoulder.

I huffed. “He’ll still be a friend if he learns to stop messing with my woman.”

“She’s your woman now?” Andrew barked. “You might want to get your thoughts straight before you go after Hunter or see Chloe. Because you know we will kickyourass if you hurt her.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I waved my hand at him. It wasn’t the first time they’d said that to me, and it wouldn’t be the last. I was more afraid of Jessie than I was of them following through on the threat.

I pushed my way through the body blockade. It wasn’t like I was going to hunt Hunter down and rip his head off or anything. I just needed to make sure he understood how things were.

Except I didn’t know how things were. Was Chloe even interested in Hunter? Would she want a relationship with Kyle as well? Where did that leave me?

Hunter’s trailer was the farthest away. I could hear the heavy boots of Andrew and Caleb following me. They thought something was going to happen, but I would prove them wrong. I could control myself. I just needed to have a word with Hunter.

I ran my hand along the side of the trailer until I reached the tack compartment. All three men were inside, piling their arms with equipment.

The first to notice me was Liam.

“Did you need something, Matt?” Liam asked, causing Hunter and Kyle to turn around.

Well shit.

This didn’t have anything to do with Liam, and I didn’t want him to be stuck in the middle, so I headed for another issue—one that didn’t voice my insecurities to the entire ranch.

“Don’t forget to clean out the trailer. It’s dirty as fuck in there.” I hit my fist on the side of it. Not the best, but it would do in a pinch.

Hunter, Kyle, and Liam’s eyebrows shot up. I wasn’t usually like this, but it wasn’t every day that someone was trying to steal my girl right out from under me.

“Sure thing, dude.” Kyle straightened with his hands full. “Just finishing clearing the gear out first, then we’ll be all over it.”

---