Page 13 of The Wrangler Takes a Wife

“Hey, Brat,” Roddick greeted Amara as she opened the door. “Is that Chase’s truck out front?”

“Um, yup.” Amara stuttered.

Chase wiped his face and headed towards the door. Sounded like she needed some help. By the time he reached it, her brother was standing in the foyer.

“Hey Roddick.” Chase greeted him.

“Chase? What are you doing here?”

“Amara and I were working out a surprise.”Well, it wasn’t a lie.

“Oh, all right.” Roddick looked between them, but his gaze lingered on Amara. When she nodded in confirmation, her brother shrugged. “I heard you were going to visit Jo.”

Amara sighed and rolled her eyes.

Unbothered, Roddick continued, “I’m here for my biscuits.”

“You know, just because I make Jo some, doesn’t mean you get some too.”

“That’s exactly what it means. Where are my biscuits?”

Amara walked over to the counter and grabbed a container. “Here.” She thrust it into her brother’s waiting hands.

“What kind did you—” Roddick stopped mid-sentence. It probably was because of the look Amara was giving him. “Fine. I’ll get out of your hair.”

Roddick took a step to the door, then stopped. “This surprise?” He let his question linger in the air.

“Everyone will know soon enough, nosey pants,” Amara answered.

“Alright. I’m going to go put this away before I head over to the Sagebrush Hills. See you later.” Roddick looked at each of them, then nodded. Chase returned the nod.

“Later,” Amara called. “Don’t slam the door.” Her instruction fell on deaf ears. “He does that shit on purpose.” She clapped her hands together.

Her attention was drawn to her watch. “Crap! We should head out soon, or we’ll be late.” She pivoted on her heels and sauntered over to her kitchen.

Is she really going to ignore what happened before her brother interrupted us?He walked over to the counter, stopping right in front of where she was packing the bag. She paused mid-action but wouldn’t look up at him.

Chase wasn’t into playing games. He had been as patient as he was willing to be. At least he resisted the urge to reach out andtouch her. Although, that was for an entirely different reason. “Let’s talk about what happened before Roddick arrived.”

Amara looked up at him, as she worried her bottom lip. He hadn’t seen her look uncomfortable before.

“We are going to be late.” She placed the container in the bag, then zipped it up. When he continued to stare at her, she picked up the bag and walked around the counter. “I’m not trying to avoid what happened.” He arched an eyebrow at her. “I’m not. Look. I hate being late. We can discuss the um… kiss on the way to Jo’s if you want.”

“Deal,” Chase answered, taking the bag from her.

They made it all the way to the door when she stopped mid-step. “I can’t do this.”

What the hell was she talking about? Did she want to call off their deal? Hell no, he couldn’t allow it.

She pivoted, then made a beeline to her sink. “I promise it won’t take long. I can’t leave this plate in the sink.”

Of course, something like the plate would bother her. Get under her skin. He smiled, but it faded when he realised how deeply he had felt about the thought of her changing her mind about their deal. The realisation of how much he wanted their arrangement shocked him. Fortune favoured the brave. So even though the signs were there that he should walk away before he got in too deep.He wouldn’t.

Chase helped Amara into his truck, then placed the bag in the back seat of the cab. When he rounded the hood and joined her, she was sitting in the same position, with her purse on herlap, staring ahead. He reached over and grabbed her seat belt. Despite her swatting at his hand, Chase buckled her in.

“What the hell, Wrangler? I can buckle my own seatbelt.”

“Well, you looked like a deer caught in the headlights. So, I did you a solid.” Grabbing his own seatbelt, he buckled it. He placed the truck in gear and pulled off towards Willowridge.

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