Page 36 of Last Resort

Maci didn’t respond and she definitely wasn’t smiling. The second the door closed on her mother, Maci collapsed onto the threadbare couch in the living room. As suddenly as she dropped, she was on her feet pacing again.

He cleared his throat, gathering her attention. He pushed the sandwich he’d made toward her over the counter, but she shook her head, obviously too wound up to eat.

He wanted to push. This was part of the secrets she was keeping and he wanted to know. But when he looked at her, Chance could see the exhaustion setting in. It had already been a traumatic night, and the strained relationship Maci had with her mother was taking a further toll.

He pushed the sandwich toward her again. “I’m not going to pry, but I’m sorry having your mother here made things more stressful.”

Maci rubbed at her eyes. “Mom has a gift of making everything more stressful.”

“Does she show up a lot?”

“More than I’d like.”

That didn’t tell him much, but it gave him an idea. “Would you like to come home with me instead of us staying here? It’ll be a lot calmer there, plus no unexpected visitors.”

He held his breath, fully expecting her to say no. And if she did, he’d honor it. But at least at his house he felt like he could better protect her.

Even from foes he didn’t even know she had.

“Yes, please.”

No arguments. No complaints. Nothing. Chance couldn’t help the grin that spread over his face, one that got bigger when she let him hold her hand. “Let’s pack a bag and take you home then.”

Chapter Eleven

Maci woke up the next morning in Chance’s guest room feeling much better. Her head still hurt, but not as bad as it had. Plus, she didn’t have to worry about going undercover as Stella anymore.

Most importantly, she didn’t have to pretend like she wasn’t pregnant. It was okay if she got sick, okay if she needed to sit down, okay to be completely overwhelmed. She didn’t have to hide it.

Chance had taken the news much better than she’d thought he would. She definitely hadn’t expected him to want to stay with her. If she could’ve thought of a reason to tell him why she shouldn’t go back to her apartment, she would’ve done it.

She wasn’t embarrassed by it, per se. But compared to his place, hers was pretty run-down. Everything was clean, but secondhand. The place fairly screamed that Maci was barely on her feet financially.

And then Evelyn being there... Maci rubbed her eyes. It could’ve gone much worse than it had. Once she’d gotten her mom back to the bedroom, she’d offered her all the cash she had on hand to leave.

Long-term, it wasn’t the best way to deal with Evelyn. But Maci hadn’t been thinking long-term. She’d just wanted Evelyn out before she revealed all Maci’s sordid secrets—or the few she was sober enough to remember.

At least Evelyn wouldn’t be showing up here. That was the most immediate reason why Maci had agreed to stay at Chance’s house when he offered.

She’d slept most of the day, so there hadn’t been much chance for them to talk. She knew he must have questions. She was less sure whether she had answers for any of them.

When they ate dinner across from each other, it was mostly silent. Chance’s life had changed practically overnight, and she wanted to give him time to digest everything. He deserved a second to breathe. Truthfully, she wanted the time too.

She wouldn’t avoid the big conversations forever. She just needed a second to get her bearings.

When Chance sat down on the same couch she’d curled up on after dinner, Maci knew her time was up.

“We should talk—” he started, only to be interrupted by a knock on the door. Frowning, he turned to her. “Were you expecting anyone?”

“Nope.” Especially not here.

She stayed where she was as Chance headed toward the door, grabbing his weapon from the gun safe as he did. She heard him let out a sigh.

“Open the door, Chance! We want to see your baby mama.” Claire’s voice was muffled through the front door, but Maci could still hear her friend’s cheerful pep.

“Incoming,” Chance muttered, then opened the door.

It wasn’t just Claire, Luke’s wife. It was also Brax’s wife, Tessa, and Weston’s fiancée, Kayleigh.

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