Page 50 of Wild Lies

Maddie nods reassuringly. “You have some pictures I can look at now? Ones that will show your range?”

I turn my laptop toward her and we fall quiet as she scrolls through the images. Those butterflies from earlier are back in full force and I take a sip of my coffee, more to give myself something to do than anything.

It feels like an eternity before she speaks. “These are all so good, Chloe. I might be jumping the gun, but I’d love to bring you on board.” Elation washes over me from head to toe, but I bite my tongue to hold it back as Maddie continues, “I can offer eight hundred dollars per shoot day for the ranch photos as we operate on a day rate and then we offer Lisa one thousand and two hundred dollars per wedding. Would that work for you?”

Counting back from five before replying, I try to calm the excitement and glee threatening to burst from me. “Yeah. That works for me. I’ll have a few things to figure out before I can confirm, but would it be okay to let you know by Tuesday?”

I’d have to figure out things back in Seattle, as well as somewhere to stay here, and saying yes without a plan feels a little too reckless for me. It’s far too soon to even think about moving in with Kade, if I do decide to stay, given we barely know each other and as much as I love the cabin on the Hartlands’ ranch, I can’t imagine that Maddie will give up potential income for me to stay there.

As if she’s reading my thoughts, Maddie replies, “Of course, I know this will be a huge change, so take as much time as you need. In terms of accommodation, we do have it at the ranch, but I don’t think staying with a bunch of ranch hands is what you’d have in mind, so I would suggest talking to Autumn. She has a place upstairs that she rents out occasionally and we can loan you a truck if you don’t have your own vehicle so you can get out to the ranch.”

I follow her gaze to where Autumn is standing behind the counter cleaning the coffee machine. “Thank you. I’ll think everything over and work out the logistics and make sure to give you a final decision by Tuesday.”

With a quick jerk of her head, Maddie stands, holding a hand out to me. “I hope you say yes. It’ll be great fun having you on board, I can tell.”

Staying in Coldwater feels like a no-brainer, but at the back of my mind I still have this niggling sense of doubt. What if I don’t end up liking it here because it loses its vacation shine? What if I stay and Kade and I don’t work out? Am I really ready to give up my apartment and the comfort I’ve built for myself these past seven years in Seattle, even if I have very little waiting for me there?

Those are the questions that plague my mind as I talk to Autumn about what she’d like photographed. When I leave Chapters and Crumbs and browse the stores on Main Street, the questions are still lingering. The more I think about it, the more it starts to feel like this is my chance for a fresh start. To do something all for me.

30

CHLOE

I’m sitting on the porch, a blanket over my knee, as I watch the storm that rolled in a few hours ago. After getting some pictures of the lightning hitting the lake behind the cabin, I moved to the front porch, where a loveseat and a throw blanket were waiting for me.

The gentle rumble of an approaching vehicle is like a soundtrack beneath the sound of rain hitting the ground. Headlights cut through the darkness as the truck takes the bend before coming to a stop in front of my cabin.

I turned off the porch light earlier so I could watch the strobes of lightning as they cracked across the dark sky. I wanted to immerse myself in the storm, but it does mean I’m now hidden in the shadows. I’m not expecting anyone. Kade said he’d be working late and, given the storm, that he might not be able to make it out to me.

Footsteps approach, squelching quickly through the mud, and I stand, moving to the pillar as I watch a figure I know all too well approach.

“Kade?” I call over the torrential downpour, my voice getting lost in the noise as the rain drums down on the roof.

He stops, looking up at me as he gets drenched with rain. Without thinking, I step out from under the cover and onto the first step. Rain soaks through my clothes in seconds, plastering the fabric and my hair to my skin.

“What are you doing here? I didn’t think you were coming.”

Removing his baseball cap, he squeezes it in his hands as he slowly walks toward me. Raindrops run down his face, but he doesn’t seem to care. His white T-shirt is soaked through, molding to the hard planes of his stomach.

“I… I came to talk to you, to tell you…” He pushes his hair back from his face, coming to stop at the bottom of the steps. With us positioned like this, we’re eye level. “I’ve been trying to figure out how to not scare you off, but I don’t want you to leave, Chlo. I’m not ready to let you go.”

His words are still hanging in the air when I throw myself into his arms. He stumbles back, wrapping one arm around my waist as he reaches out to grip the banister.

Thunder cracks through the air when I kiss him. He tastes of rain: both clean and a little wild. All the emotions I can’t quite get under control channel through me from my soul to his. I wrap my legs around him, tightening my arms around his neck as he carries me up the steps.

I expect him to carry me into the cabin, but he heads for the loveseat. When he takes a seat, I straddle him, our mouths still connected, tasting and exploring each other like it’s the first time.

We don’t speak; the sound of the rain and cracks of thunder mingle in the air with our heavy breaths. Our hands explore each other, pulling clothes off as we throw them in a wet pile on the floor. When we’re left only in our underwear, Kade lifts the blanket I was using earlier, wrapping it around us.

Cupping his face, I wait for his focus to shift back to me. There’s something swirling with the heat in his gaze, but I can’t pinpoint what it is. All I know is that if I was struck down right now by the lightning flashing through the sky, I’d die happy.

I think I’m falling in love with Kade Wilde.

The thought rocks me to my core, and I inhale a shaky breath. “Kade?”

He rests a warm palm over my heart, and I wonder if he can feel its erratic thumping. Any time I’m near him, it’s like this, as if I can’t quite keep it under control as it tries to beat its way out to him.

I can’t say the thing I want to, and my brain isn’t engaged enough to tell him about my conversation with Maddie, so instead, I speak from the heart and whisper, “I don’t want to leave.”