Exactly. He needed her to be a friend and to spend time with his daughter.
“Once you’re really moved in and settled, it will feel like home.” She glanced up and down the street, looking for a familiar car and breathing easier when she didn’t see it.
“Are you going to tell me what’s got you unnerved? Or is it me and you just don’t want to say so?”
“What? No. It’s not you.” Well, him being so close did make her wholly aware of him and the strange way he always made her feel. But he didn’t make her uncomfortable in a bad way, just . . . soawareof him. Like she could feel him next to her. But she couldn’t say that without sounding like a crazy person and tried to come up with a reasonable explanation. “I guess I’m just unsettled. I thought Hunt dropped the paternity test thing right after Eliza was born.” She really needed to stop lying to him. He didn’t deserve that, and it made her feel terrible.
Chase’s shoulders sagged. “I’m really sorry about that.”
Great, now she’d made him apologize to her. “It’s not your fault.”
“Yeah. It is. I don’t know why they’re pursuing this DNA thing.”
“They’re standing up for you.” She wondered what that felt like.
“I don’t need their protection.”
“I would never lie to you about Eliza,” she assured him, because she felt guilty for holding back the real reason she was on edge. Yes, being around him brought back all kinds of memories and made her long for things that would never be more than yearnings. Chase gave her the best night of her life but never promised more. He was home to start over, and she would give him the time and space to do that because he’d been through enough. And now he got to decide what he wanted for his future.
She wouldn’t put her wants and desires on him to try to build the family she’d never had but wanted for her little girl. His family had forced Chase to make desperate attempts to save the ranch and his family relationships. And because of his efforts, he’d nearly lost his life—several times.
He deserved to be happy. And that meant letting him find that happiness on his terms.
Right now, he needed the attachment to her and Eliza to ground him. But once he found his footing, once he had his balance back, he still had a world of possibilities in front of him. And she couldn’t stand in his way or force or expect him to choose her just because they shared a child.
She liked her life. She was fine with it being just her and Eliza. She didn’t need anyone to make her feel fulfilled.
But sometimes, she did get lonely.
Chapter Five
Kyle walked into his family home in Willow Fork, excited to share his news with his parents. They didn’t want to be here. They’d moved down south after he was arrested and incarcerated. They couldn’t stand the gossip and hateful looks people gave them. They wanted to live where no one knew what he’d done. But he’d forced them to come back with him.
They’d told him a dozen times to stay away from Shelby and Eliza, that he didn’t have a right to see his own child and grandchild because of what he’d done.
They didn’t understand.
After all the years he missed with them, sitting in a locked cell, he needed to see them.
Maybe if his parents had shared news about them while he was away, the need wouldn’t be so great to learn everything he could about them.
He went up the stairs to their room, opened the door, and stared at the two people who were never on his side or let him do what he wanted. “I saw Eliza today with Shelby. They’re both so beautiful. Shelby looks so much like her mom, my Rebecca.”
“Leave them alone,” his mother warned. “If Shelby sees you, she’ll call the police again.”
“That’s why I parked on another street and watched from behind a tree. I’m not stupid.”
“You’ll be caught, just like the last time.” His father sounded so sure, and it grated.
“She didn’t see me. Neither did that guy she’s with.”
“He’s ex-military. He will fight to keep you away fromhisfamily.” His father looked all too happy about that.
“They’remyfamily.”
Shelby and Chase looked like they were getting really close. You could tell by the way they stood near each other and kind of leaned toward each other. They had a lot to say to each other. He wished he knew how Chase managed to get her to forgive him for screwing things up.
Kyle had done some digging and discovered Chase was back home from rehab.