Page 81 of Need You To Choose Me

Blake just stands still for a moment, but before long, his arms wrap around me, holding me tightly against him.

“No thanks needed, Blondie,” he whispers, his palm sliding up and down my back.

That was where he was wrong.

To him, this might be normal, but for me, it meant everything.

Slowly, I take a step back. “I’ll see you tomorrow for the appointment?”

Blake nods. “Tomorrow.”

I start to turn around when a flicker of movement in one of the windows on Blake’s house catches my attention.

Daniel.

I can feel his glare on me for a second longer before he lets the curtain drop back in place, and this time, when my stomach clenches, there is nothing warm or fuzzy about the feeling.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

BLAKE

“You know, this wasn’t what I had in mind when you called and asked if I could stop by and help you around,” I mutter as I grab a bale of hay and toss it into the tractor-trailer that’s parked not too far from us.

Thank God because that shit’s heavy, and we were nowhere near done.

“What did you think I needed help with?” Aaron asks, dusting his hands. “I’m a rancher.”

A fair point, I guess. “I don’t fucking know, dude. I guess I should be happy you didn’t put me on a horse. Because I’m not doing that shit.” Just the thought of it had me shuddering.

Moving farther down the pasture, I grab the next bale. The sun is up in the sky burning my skin as the sweat drips down my back, making my shirt plaster to my body as we work.

My muscles were aching in places I didn’t even know they could. How Aaron was doing this every day and still managed to walk, I had no fucking clue, and I wasn’t a stranger to physical work.

Still, it was better than sitting at home all day and waiting for Savannah’s appointment to roll around so I could see her again.

And I wanted to see her.

Badly.

It’s like the more time I spent with her, the more I wanted her. Some days, I wondered what would be enough because she was constantly on my mind. And not just because of the baby either. I wanted to knowher.What did she do in her free time? Did she read more of those smutty books that made her blush, or did she prefer to kick back and watch TV? What did she like to eat? Did she have any cravings now that she was pregnant? Did she go to bed early or stay up late? There was so much I wanted to know, but, at the same time, I didn’t want to scare her off.

And then there was Daniel. I was trying to give him a chance to come to terms with what was going on, which was harder than I anticipated. He completely shut me off and spent most of the time in his room, refusing to talk to me. I was willing to give him a little bit more time, but then we were getting to the bottom of it. Whether he liked it or not, Savannah and the baby were here to stay, and I wanted them all to get along because I knew if Daniel kept up with his attitude, Savannah would pull back. She wanted me to put my kids first, and she would never give us a chance if she knew it would upset Daniel.

Was it wrong of me that I didn’t want that to happen? Was I selfish for wanting to have the best of both worlds? Daniel and Levi, but also Savannah and our unborn baby?

Giving my head a shake, I look up to find Aaron observing me quietly. “What?”

“Nothing.”

“Bullshit. Something’s definitely on your mind. Spill.”

“What’s with that scowl? I thought you figured things out with Savannah.”

My eyes narrow at him. “How do you know?”

I didn’t bring Savannah up once since we got here, which could only mean one thing.

“People have been talking.”

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