Page 20 of Chance

“Chance.” She pulled away, although she appreciated that he was trying to help her.

“Rob.” He gave her a stern look.

One of Matt’s workers passed by them, and he hesitated and stared at them for a moment.

“Sorry. Rob. I mean Rob.”

Chance waited until the worker was gone before releasing her. “You’ll tell me what’s going on with you tonight.” He turned to walk back into the shop.

Nerves gripped her. Could she tell him the truth? Could she really tell him that she was pregnant and terrified and had even thought about getting rid of it?

Tears slipped down her cheeks, and she quickly brushed them away. Grandma always said to “think happy thoughts” when she was sad.

Happy thoughts, happy thoughts, happy thoughts, she chanted to herself, trailing after Chance.

She was opening a gallery. That was a very happy thought.

Kelly sucked in a breath and gestured down the hallway. “Excuse me. I have to get back to this. Matt and I were just going over how I want my storage room to look. But I will see you later for dinner, okay?” Her eyes met his, and she could see the concern there.

He frowned. “Okay. I’ll pick you up at six at the address you gave me. Deal?”

She knew Chance. If she didn’t agree, he would drag her somewhere else and make her explain everything right now. “Deal.”

Chapter 13

That night, as Chance stared into the mirror in the bathroom next to the O07 room, he put some product in his hair to make it intentionally messy. It felt strange to wear it this way, but earlier he had spoken to Porter’s wife, Sadie, and she had given him this idea. Of course, they were all interested to discover that Kelly was living in South Port. All of his brothers and even Cheyenne were texting him things about dating Kelly.

He had actually facetimed Sadie and had her help him decide what to wear. He’d settled on khaki pants and a white, short-sleeved shirt. Sadie had said he looked really good. He trusted her. Dang, he was nervous.

As he walked down the stairs, Ava was waiting for him by the front door. No one was at the counter. Chance had seen Micah working there yesterday, but maybe they didn’t need as much help manning things today. Ava and Trey had mentioned that two of the families had left this morning.

Ava grinned at him. “I was hoping to catch you. You look great.”

Trey sauntered down the hallway and put his arm around Ava. “You do look good.”

Chance felt ridiculous. “Thanks. It’ll be easier to explain everything and get her cooperation in keeping my presence quiet if I have a chance to butter her up with dinner.”

“How come she threw up earlier?” Ava asked, frowning.

“I don’t know. Yesterday she did the same thing. She said she had food poisoning. I am going to ask if she’s feeling better tonight. I’m worried about her.” Chance barely knew these people, but they were already starting to feel like family. Maybe that was what shared secrets did for people.

Trey cocked an eyebrow. “Is she okay?”

“I don’t know what’s going on, but I think she might be running from her ex or something.”

“Really?” Ava bit her nail. “That’s not good. Poor thing.”

Trey shook his head slowly. “We can handle jerks around here.”

Chance couldn’t help but grin at him. He appreciated strong men who took care of women. Heck, he was one of them. He didn’t care if it was chauvinistic; he liked to help people, especially women and children. He felt like it was a man’s duty to protect them and help them when he could. “I’ll find out more tonight.”

“Where are you going to eat?” Trey asked.

Trent shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t gotten that far. I guess I should think about that.”

“Go to the Italian place on Second Street. It’s one of our favorites.” Ava gazed up at Trey and smiled.

Trey winked at him. “That’s where Ava was convinced to be my business partner, and it was where our second-chance romance began.” He gently kissed his wife on the lips.

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