“Absolutely. I do catering at the Cheyenne Zoo,” Carol said. “So please let me know what I can bring. I love to cook.”
“No need, but you’re welcome to bring something if you’d like,” Chase replied.
Jade put Bella down and hugged Carol as the men shook hands.
“I’m so sorry to lose you as our neighbor, Jade,” Carol said. “But I know you’ll be happy and safe with Chase.”
“We’ll see each other again soon,” Jade said as Bill gave her a hug.
Jade suddenly wondered if she’d still be at Chase’s ranch on the Fourth of July. Maybe she was presuming too much. Way too much. With mounting trepidation for several reasons—worrying about her future with Chase, saying goodbye to her friends, and fearing additional retaliation from the Spatafores—Jade walked to the garage. She opened the garage door with the clicker, backed her car out, and lowered the door for the last time. Chase took the clicker from her and placed it, along with the house key, inside the house and closed the front door. With a wink, he swaggered down the driveway to his truck. She started out following him but couldn’t resist passing him after they left the city. She saw him grin, and she giggled. A glance in her rearview mirror a minute later, and Chase was nowhere in sight.
* * *
Though Boband the moving van had a head start, fifteen minutes later, Jade saw them. She traveled behind the van, and in due course, they reached Chloe’s bed-and-breakfast. Chloe was headed out in her Jeep and honked hello as their caravan drove past. Surely Chloe wondered, along with Jade, where Chase was. Up ahead, Bob soon turned left under the Triple C Ranch-Central sign, and the van followed him down the horseshoe drive.
In surprised wonder, Jade spotted Chase waiting under the portico. Craving the touch of this Hollywood-handsome, ornery, wild man with every fiber of her entire being, she brought her car to a stop alongside his big black truck. Chase spoke to Bob, who then drove on down the side road leading to his house. Jade got out of her car, and Chase came striding toward her.
“You are full of surprises!” Jade said. “How did you get here first?”
“Shortcut.”
“Where?”
“Back road through my property.” Chase held up his left hand in the direction of the movers, which kept them in the van. Jade tensed. Had he decided against storing her furniture for her? “Here’s another shortcut,” he said and looked at her. “What do you think about putting your furniture wherever you want it in the house instead of in the barn? I assume you’re bringing your clothes in, may as well bring everything else in too.”
Jade’s heart leaped into her throat. Talk aboutfull of surprises. It was such a huge house her living room furniture could blend in, hardly making a dent. Her kitchenware wouldn’t even take up a whole cabinet. But she wasn’t sure what to make of his suggestion. A shortcut to—what exactly?
“Is there room for my bedroom furniture?” she asked awkwardly and thought,what a dumb reply. Unnerved, she sputtered, “I—I mean, a couple of the upstairs bedrooms are empty.”
“Three of those bedrooms are empty. But you’ll still sleep with me.” His grin was coaxing and cocky. “Right?”
“Right.”
“I want you here with me, Jade.” His expression grew serious. “If you want that, too, your answer is yes. If your answer is no, we’ll store your things in the barn as planned with no hard feelings on my part.”
“My answer is yes, Chase,” Jade said, her eyes stinging and throat burning with emotion. “I think you’re the best thing since sliced bread.”
“Good.” Chase thumbed away her tear as it floated down her cheek.
“And just so you know, there may behardfeelings on your partifI do my striptease pole dance in your bedroom.”
Chase chuckled. “If?”
“If, cowboy,” Jade flirted and held out her hand. “I’ll need a key.”
“When, buttercup.” Chase dropped his key in her hand. As Jade entered the house, he called to the movers, “Change of plan. Everything goes in here. She’ll tell you where.”
Jade’s head and heart were spinning as she heard the conversation behind her.
“Good plan,” one of the movers told Chase.
“You’re a lucky man,” the other guy commented.
“Yes, I am.”
CHAPTERTHIRTY-ONE
Chase smiled as he glanced toward the front of the house.
