Page 21 of Chance

Chance couldn’t help but laugh. “Okay. Another surprise about you, Trey. I would expect that from the women, but from you?”

Trey actually blushed. “Yeah, yeah. I guess all these women have rubbed off on me. Plus, I got to see my brothers and their second-chance romances, and it’s kind of fun.” He frowned. “If you need backup, you’ve got my number. If there’s something that needs to be investigated, we can call Tim. I know you have connections, but please keep us in the loop.”

“I will. Thank you.” Who knew that in coming to South Port, Chance would inherit another family? Maybe the gold was good for something after all. He’d never considered that his family and the Stone family could be close. Yet, why not? Their fathers had been, and sorting this whole mess out would take all of them.

A couple of minutes later, Chance pulled up to Kelly’s house. She was already coming out the door when he parked Trey’s truck. He got out and walked around to open her door. “I was going to come to the door and knock and be all official.”

She shook her head. “It’s a mess in there. I need a couple days to settle in, and then I’ll show you.”

He marveled at how beautiful she looked. Her long blond hair and green eyes were stunning. She wore black shorts and a silk turquoise top that outlined her curves. His eyes traveled along the strappy shoes that went up her legs and heels. “You look amazing.” His heart raced, and suddenly he was a nervous teenager again.

This was more than just a teenage love thing, though. They’d been best friends for most of their lives. He’d always enjoyed her flair for fashion. Maybe it was the artsy part of her that always had her designing the next thing to wear.

“Thank you.” She reached for her ear, holding out a longer earring. “I actually designed these. I thought I would wear them with this top.”

He looked closer, seeing that it was an infinity symbol shaped in topaz. “Wow. You’re talented. And that symbol. You’ve always loved the infinity symbol.”

“Good memory.” She got into the truck when he opened the door for her.

When they made it to the restaurant and got seated, Chance decided that he really liked the ambiance. “Trey recommended this place.” He left out the part about how this was where they would supposedly get back together.

Kelly pointed to the outside patio. “I saw this when I walked past on the beach the other day. I wanted to try it, so I’m glad were here.”

Chance ordered an Italian dish with steak. She ordered fish.

When the server left, Chance reached for some breadsticks. “That’s funny. I’m the meat guy; you’re the fish girl.”

It had always been their little joke.

She nibbled on a breadstick. “True. I guess the more things change, the more they stay the same.”

He looked up, and her eyes were riveted on his. Those nervous flutters began in his gut, and he couldn’t stop himself from saying, “Tell me about Brian. What happened? Is he the reason you’re here?”

Her expression instantly changed to annoyance. “No way. You tell me about your family and South Port. If you remember, I’m the one keeping your identity a secret.” Then she looked around, seeming concerned.

“What’s wrong?”

“Um. Nothing. I mean, I don’t know …” she trailed off, still looking around suspiciously. “Well, I might as well tell you. I feel like someone’s been watching me. I mean, it’s probably nothing,” she said, taking a sip of water. “But sometimes I just randomly feel like someone is watching. My ex, maybe?”

“What?” He didn’t like the sound of that. “Tell me about it.”

She shrugged. “No, it’s fine. Probably nothing.”

Chance hesitated. She was being skittish again. He’d have to play the long game. “Okay. So how is the construction going? Looks like it will be quick. Matt will get you up and running in no time.”

Her face fell, and she shook her head. “It looked that way, except now there are some busted pipes. Matt says it’ll probably be at least two weeks before those can all be pulled out and fixed, and then they can get back to construction.”

Their conversation was interrupted as a man walked toward them. “Rob. How are you doing tonight?”

Raine Birch.

Chance stood, and they shook hands. He had met Raine a couple times when the Stones had been to the ranch and on the Zoom calls. Raine was also the foster brother of Truman, who had caused the Cross family all sorts of problems. “Hey.”

Raine turned and looked at Kelly.

“Where are my manners?” Chance was suddenly nervous. “This is Kelly Hamilton. She just relocated here. She’s opening a shop on Main Street.”

“I heard.” Raine’s expression brightened as his wife walked up to him. “You remember Sarah,” he told Chance. He gestured to Kelly. “Kelly, Sarah. Sarah, Kelly.”

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