Page 72 of Hers to Call
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Calita yawned as she pulled together ingredients for biscuits. She had sausages going on the stovetop and eggs already settled into one of the warmers Simon had. She looked at the oven time again and frowned. Becca was late. After the woman had disappeared on her last night, she shouldn’t care, but a part of her wanted to be sure she was okay. Calita had started breakfast knowing the woman would give her a look when she arrived, but she needed something to do with her hands.
Cooking was how Calita always cleared her mind, and this morning she needed it. She would simply ignore the loud sighs and eye rolls Becca was sure to give her when she came in.
Last night, despite what she’d thought, she hadn’t had any nightmares. Of course, she’d barely shut her mind off enough to actually sleep for more than three hours, so that could’ve been why. She’d given up trying to go back to sleep an hour ago and had joined Simon in the shower when he woke. It was still dark outside, but Simon had went out to do whatever it was that ranchers did this early in the morning. She gently mixed in her biscuit ingredients and looked around Simon’s house.
What else did Becca do for him? She knew the woman cooked for him. Did she clean? That was something Calita would definitely not be doing. She hated cleaning. It was the best thing about staying in the hotel for as long as she had. She shoved the biscuits in the oven as she heard the back door open. Simon came in, and smiled, his gaze raking over her face.
“Mate,” he growled and kissed her deeply.
“I’m going into work,” she announced as he backed up.
“Are you sure?” He asked, cupping her cheek.
She nodded. Granted, she’d literally just thought of it, but yeah… “I’m sure, love. But…I did want to talk to you about something.”
He sat at the island and pulled her into his lap. “What is it?”
“I was thinking about what you said about one foot in. Now that I know I’ll be in Bear Ridge for the long run, I needed to make long term plans.”
“And,” he grabbed her around the waist.
“I want to bake. I mean, I know I do it already for Selena, but, I’m going to open my bakery.”
He smiled, pride lighting his eyes. “That sounds amazing, I’ll do whatever I can to help.”
A tide of relief flooded her and she kissed him. She stood as the timer on the stove beeped. “Then, I’ll talk to Selena today about it.”
“You can ride with me into town.”
Right, he had to go to the sheriff’s office. Her nerves skittered across her skin as she thought about last night. Simon and the town could get in trouble for what happened last night. She flipped the sausages on the stove.
“What will happen, will the committee get involved?”
“Not if I can help it,” he sighed.
Worry coated the kitchen and stood between them as they went through breakfast. When it was clear that Becca wasn’t showing up, Simon called her but didn’t get an answer. A part of him was worried, but there was nothing he could do about it until he handled the immediate problem of Charles.
He helped Calita clean the kitchen, and set up the rest of breakfast for the ranch hands. Once done, they headed to the garage.
“What are you going to do?” She wrung her hands.
“About Becca?” He handed her into the cab of his truck.
“No, Charles and Miranda.”
He ran around the front of the truck and slid into his side. “I called the clan lawyers this morning. I’ll meet with them and draw up paperwork that bans the two of them from our county.”
“What if he doesn’t sign it?” She worried her bottom lip.
He was silent a moment as he started the truck. “Then I’ll press kidnapping charges and a litany of any other things the lawyers can make stick.”
“If he has contacts—”
“Love.” He interrupted her. “I don’t want you to stress about it.”
“Well, I’m your mate, so there won’t be any of this patting the good little wife on the top of the head stuff, just so you know.”
