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“It’s Rome.”
Cloe’s heart felt like it jumped straight into her throat. “Rome?” she croaked.
Hallie got up and looked out. “Yep. He just got out and is heading to the door. He’s pulling a trailer. I wonder if he bought himself a new horse. Hey, Rome! Did you get yourself a new horse?”
“Don’t call him over here!” Cloe snapped. Since she never snapped, all her sisters turned to her with surprise.
“Too late,” Noelle said. “He’s coming this way.”
Cloe felt panicked. She couldn’t see him. She wasn’t ready to see him. “Don’t tell him I’m here.”
Again all her sisters looked at her with confusion. Everyone but Sweetie. She took Cloe’s hand and squeezed it.
“You’ll have to see him sooner or later.”
“What’s going on?” Liberty said. “Why is Cloe so upset about seeing Rome? I thought their marriage was—”
“Hey, Hallie.” Rome’s deep voice carried up through the open doors of the loft and cut Liberty off. “Is Cloe around?”
Hallie, bless her heart, had always been good at lying. “Nope. She went to town. So did you get a new horse?”
“No. We’ve had Lady Grantham for a while now. But she’s been missing Cloe pretty badly so I figured she’d be happier here.”
Noelle looked at Cloe with wide eyes and spoke loud enough to be heard in two counties. “He brought you a horse!”
Hallie turned to Noelle and rolled her eyes before she looked at Cloe for direction. Sweetie made the decision for her.
“Come on, y’all. Let’s let Cloe and Rome have a few minutes alone.”
All her sisters got to their feet, but Liberty didn’t head for the ladder. “Before I leave, I’d like to know what’s going on.”
Belle took her arm. “I’m sure Cloe will tell us when she’s ready. Right now, she has a horse to thank Rome for.”
“Hell yeah, she does,” Hallie said. “If a man brought me a horse, I’d thank the hell out of him.”
Once they were gone, Cloe got up and moved to the open hatch. Rome stood directly below, the crown of his Stetson and his broad shoulders all she could see. He greeted her sisters as they came out of the barn and exchanged pleasantries with them. It was only after they headed to the house that he finally glanced up.
Just the sight of his face made Cloe’s eyes swim in tears. There was no way to blink them back or keep the tremble out of her voice.
“I can’t accept Lady Grantham.”
His gaze trapped her in soft gray that match the twilight sky. In those eyes, she saw something that made her breath catch and her heart warm.
“What about your husband? Will you accept me?”
Chapter Twenty
Rome didn’t wait for Cloe to answer. He had prepared a speech and he knew he needed to get it out before he lost his nerve. His stomach already felt like it was filled with Mexican jumping beans. His heart just felt tight and scared.
He swept off his hat and cleared his throat. “As you know, I’m pretty screwed up where love is concerned. I told you I didn’t trust love. And I still don’t. But as it turns out you don’t have to trust love to fall in love. I fell in love with you, Cloe Holiday. I fell in love with your kindness and the way you open your heart to everyone you meet. I fell in love with your laughter and I’ll do just about anything to see your dimples flash. I fell in love with your passion for everything you undertake—cooking, gardening, riding, fixing up the house . . . making love. We did make love, Cloe. And it scared me. It scared the hell out of me. Because I knew it wasn’t just physical. I knew my heart was involved the entire time we touched and held each other. I was afraid of getting that heart broken if you left. And you did leave. And guess what? My heart is broken.”
He could see the tears rolling down her cheeks. He wanted nothing more than to hold her and wipe each and every one away and never make her cry again. But he had learned the hard way that wasn’t how love worked. Love was tears and laughter and pain and joy all wrapped up in a big ol’ messy bundle. As much as you might want to open that bundle and only take what you wanted, you couldn’t.
It was all or nothing.
He wanted it all. The tears and pain and laughter and joy. The fear . . . and hope.
Now all he had to do was convince Cloe.
