Page 89 of On His Ranch

“Oh, I’m sure that’s not true,” Patti answered immediately.

Out of the corner of her eye, Piper saw the older woman step toward her, but Chase got there first.

He hooked a finger under her chin, forcing her head up so she had no choice but to meet his eye. She soon wished he hadn’t. Chase’s face was stone, except for his eyes glinting dangerously at her. “How’s that now?”

“I…” She took a deep breath, and tried to answer but her lower lip trembled so hard she lost her nerve.

“Sweetie, whatever it is, you can tell us.”

Piper wanted to run to Patti and have her hug her, like a mother would. To tell her that everything would be okay. Did Chase have any idea how lucky he was to have a woman like that in his life? Probably not. The lucky ones never did.

She looked at Patti, but seeing that matronly, gentle face, eyes full of understanding, made her throat close up and tears fill her eyes. She had to look away.

When she felt a hand on her shoulder, she cringed. It wasn’t the kind touch of a patient woman—it was too firm to be anything but a trap.

“Mom, I need a few moments with Piper.”

“But, son—”

“No, it’s alright,” she interrupted, summoning her courage. “She can stay.”Ineedher to stay.

Chase was clearly annoyed, his toe drumming a rapid beat against the floor, but he nodded, his jaw clenched. “Out with it then.”

She inhaled sharply, the air stinging her tight throat. “Okay. But you have to understand I didn’t do it on purpose. What I mean is, I didn’t mean for them to follow me here. To you. I mean, I didn’t think—”

“Piper. Start slowly. Look at me.”

Reluctantly, her eyes found his. His voice was still rough, his jaw tight, but his eyes had softened the slightest bit. “I told you some of this,” she began haltingly.

“Okay.”

She shifted her gaze to Patti. Warm, understanding Patti. Maybe if she looked at her she’d be able to get the whole thing out before she broke down bawling. “I got this amazing idea. I was working a dead-end job as a waitress and I knew I didn’t want to do that forever.”

“Makes sense,” Patti said, her tone encouraging.

Piper relaxed the slightest bit and tried to ignore the impatience she could feel wafting off Chase in waves. “You know how when people talk about business, they say you have to bet on yourself?”

“Might be the worst piece of advice you can give to someone wantin’ to own a business,” Chase commented.

Both women turned to him with glares.

“Go on,” Patti encouraged.

Piper took a deep breath and tucked her hair behind her ears just to give her hands something to do. “So I decided to bet on myself, to go all-in. I invested every dime of my savings, which wasn’t much to begin with anyway. I quit my job. I sold my car.” She winced as she said it. “And I bought stuffies—um, stuffed animals,” she amended for Patti’s benefit, “and fabric and little bits of jewelry and… well, you get the idea. I was going to open a store with handmade, personally crafted stuffed animals for…” She dropped her gaze to the floor, blushing. “People my age. Or older.”

“That sounds lovely, dear.”

Piper looked up and it was all she could do to keep herself from wrapping her arms around the older woman’s neck then and there.

“Go on,” Chase said, his voice tight.

“Okay. Well, anyway… I had these big dreams, but I ran out of money.”

“So you looked for another job,” he guessed.

The knots in her belly tightened. This was even harder than she’d thought it would be. “Um, well, actually… I borrowed some money. It was stupid, and I shouldn’t have done it. I know that now. If I could turn back time, I—”

“Slow down,” Chase said, squeezing her shoulder. “Go back a bit. Who did you borrow the money from?”

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