Page 2 of Hit the Ground
Of course, she waited for me to be right in front of her to reply. “We need to talk about Jesse.”
I stood three feet from her, lowering my chin to look her over. We’d had a casual thing off and on when we were teens and into our early twenties. One of those “on” times had resulted in Jesse.
We’d been co-parents all these years, and it’d been all right. Never too many conflicts or fights. Shelby was easygoing for the most part and a good mom to our boy. She was also a fine-looking woman, with her thick blonde hair, curves that looked good in a tight pair of jeans and, when she took those sunglasses off, bright-blue eyes that were nice to look into.
There’d been hope—and not just from her—we’d end up together. The pretty homecoming queen and heir to the Kelly ranch. There’d been a time she would’ve jumped if I’d said I wanted to do the whole family thing with her, but we weren’t a real match, and we’d both moved on from each other.
“We need to talk…in the middle of my workday?” I groused.
“Yeah, Caleb. You’re either working or busy. Not much time to sneak in a conversation that needs to be had.”
“You could have called.”
“I could have, but I didn’t.” She dropped her arms, sighing. “Sorry if I alarmed you by showing up here unannounced. Jesse’s fine, all right? But I do need to talk about him—and you and me.”
I frowned. “You and me? There’s no you and me, Shel.”
Her mouth puckered like that had tasted sour to her. But if she was trying to imply there was something between us, I’d missed a chapter or two. That was news to me.
“Cay…”
I canted my head. “Shel, I’ve got a list a mile long I need to get done. If Jesse’s fine, I can’t think of anything else we need to talk about. Clearly, you’ve got something on your mind, though, so how ’bout we get on with it?”
She took her time huffing, showing me how displeased she was with me. “I’m thinking about moving.”
“Okay.” I couldn’t see what that had to do with me. Shel had lived in a couple different places over the years. As long as I had the address, it was none of my concern. “Why’s that urgent?”
“Because I’m thinking about moving to Denver.”
I did not hesitate. “Not with Jesse.”
She flicked her hand out like this was a casual topic. “I’m not leaving my kid behind. Of course Jesse would come too. It’s only a three-hour drive, so—”
“No.” My hands balled into fists, and that wouldn’t do, so I rested them on my hips. Getting mad over something that wasn’t going to happen wasn’t in my wheelhouse. “I’m shutting this down. You move to Denver, I’ll work with you on making sure you see him, but you’re not taking my boy.”
She shoved her glasses to the top of her head, giving me those sky-blue eyes, and batted her lashes at me, like that’d have any effect.
“Nothing’s set in stone. But I’d like you to really think about it before you fight me. I—”
I shook my head. “Not fighting you, Shel. It’s not gonna happen. There’s nothing to fight about.”
She blew out a heavy, exasperated breath. “There’s better opportunity in the city. I don’t think I have to tell you Jesse is outgrowing the schools here. He needs—”
“Nope.” My hands were balling again, so I tucked them into my pockets. “This conversation is finished.”
I started to turn, and she scrambled toward me, her hand landing on my bicep. “It’s not only Jesse who needs a bigger pond. There are a lot more jobs in Denver, and Kent has a lead there.”
I stopped dead in my tracks. “So this is about your boyfriend, and not our son, right?” My jaw worked back and forth to keepmy voice steady. “You’ve been dating this guy…what? A few months? And you wanna uproot your life and Jesse’s for him? I thought you were smarter than that.”
Her cheeks reddened, and not with embarrassment. No, I’d set her off, and I was about to get it.
“Six months,” she hissed. “Kent and I are very serious, if you must know. And not everyone has been handed a cushy life on their family’s ranch. He’s had to work for everything he has.”
I almost laughed. Sure, this land had belonged to my family for generations, and I was lucky as hell for what I had, but Shelby implying I didn’t work my ass off had to be a joke. But I wasn’t feeling particularly humorous, and she kept right on going.
“The job market in Sugar Brush is tiny. Kent has friends in Denver who’ll put good words in for him at their companies if we move down there. And the schools are really good. Jesse will have access to—”
I put my hand up. “No. You and Kent want to move; have at it. Jesse isn’t going, and I’m done with this line of conversation.”
