She hadn’t realized her eyes were shiny with her own unshed tears until Jax pushed his way into the room and crouched at her side.
“Honey, Sawyer will be back before you know it,” he said quietly.
Her throat tightened, and she spoke the words that had been flitting through her head for two days, the ones she hadn’t been able to admit even to herself. “He didn’t kiss me good-bye.”
Jax let out a breath and ran a hand down her hair. “You know how he is, stoic as shit. And he’s worried about you.”
“Then he shouldn’t have left.”
“It’s his job,” Jax said.
Chloe closed her eyes. God, she wanted that to be true, wanted to know that Sawyer wasn’t taking on all this crazy dangerous DEA work in order to escape her.
Then maybe you should stop driving him away with all your crazy…
“He loves you,” Jax said.
Chloe sniffed and dropped her head forward until it rested on her brother-in-law’s shoulder. “You’re my favorite,” she said.
He snorted. “Only until Ford brings you dinner.”
True.
“Can I take you home now?” Jax asked.
“Can’t see my feet to put on my shoes.”
Jax had been through pregnancy hormones with Maddie, and he was a smart man. He didn’t make a comment until he picked up one of her shoes. “Kick me and I’ll make sure Ford brings you liver and onions,” he said mildly, and had her laughing as he got her out to his Jeep.
Jax drove her home but not before picking up hoagie sandwiches—for the baby, she’d told him. When he dropped her off, he walked her in, made sure she had everything she needed, and then left, promising her things would get better.
“When?” she asked, but he was already gone.
It wasn’t until that night that she found another wrapped present, on her pillow this time.
A cashmere scarf softer than air.
She called Tara. “Thanks for the gorgeous scarf.”
There was a beat of silence. “I’ll be there in five,” her sister said.
“I don’t need—” But Chloe was talking to air. Tara had disconnected. She showed up ten minutes later and took Chloe to the B&B that the three sisters ran. Maddie met them in the kitchen and served hot chocolate and cookies.
“Not that this isn’t delicious,” Chloe said, stuffing her face. “But what’s up?”
“Neither of us sent you any gifts,” Maddie said, face worried. But Maddie, the middle sister, the peacemaker, was perpetually worried. “Honey, do you think you have another stalker?”
“Jeez,” Chloe said. “One time…”
“We should call Sawyer,” Tara said.
“No,” Chloe said quickly. Too quickly.
Her sisters exchanged a look. “Sugar,” Tara said, “you’re drowning in pregnancy hormones so you might have forgotten just how much that man would live or die for you.”
Damn it if Chloe’s eyes didn’t suddenly burn. She closed them and set her head on Maddie’s shoulder. “I’m making him be a daddy. I’m afraid he’s going to resent me for that, or worse, that he already does.”
Maddie stroked her hair. “Did you poke holes in his condom?”
“What? No, of course not,” Chloe said. “We forgot entirely that one night.”
“So you’re both responsible. Which means you’re not making him be a daddy,” Tara said reasonably. “And besides, have you met your husband? He’s just about the toughest, most impenetrable man I’ve ever met. No one, and I mean no one, especially not a tiny little thing like yourself, makes Sheriff Sawyer Thompson do anything that he doesn’t want to.”
Chloe squeezed her eyes tight. “I want to believe that,” she whispered.
“Then do,” Tara said firmly. “Now have another of my cookies. The baby loves them.”
Chloe snorted and ate another cookie. The baby kicked. “You’re right,” she said to Tara.
“Sugar, I always am,” Tara said.
To occupy herself, Chloe went through the stack of mail at her side. She opened a box delivered to Tara from Victoria’s Secret. A gorgeous, deep bordello red velour robe. “Wish my stalker had sent this,” she said.
The three of them ate and chatted some more until Chloe couldn’t keep her eyes open. Her sisters fussed over her and put her to bed in one of their guest rooms, promising Tara would serve her a luxe breakfast in bed the next morning.
She knew what they were doing; they were giving her comfort in the best and only way they knew how, by bossing her around.
And she was just lonely enough to let them…