Page 76 of A Montana Fake Marriage

Before her father showed up, she’d been the happiest she could remember since before her mother passed. And she knew it had a lot to do with Caleb.

He truly had been there for her in more ways than she deserved. If there was a small chance that he could love her, she owed it to herself to find out. Right?

No matter how terrifying it might be.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

The factthat Caleb hadn’t worn a hole in his carpet was a testament to how durable those fibers were. He’d been marching in his room countless hours since he’d discovered that Sammie was still in town.

She was avoiding him.

While his brother had caught sight of her, he hadn’t managed to figure out for certain if she actually worked at the restaurant. He’d sent her a message yesterday asking how she was—he even told her he missed her, for heaven’s sake.

Sammie hadn’t responded.

He had half a mind to go over to The Steer House and camp out if he needed to. He’d get a tent and wait for her to show if he had to. Then she wouldn’t be able to ignore him.

She was the one who had left without a goodbye. She was the one who signed the divorce papers and made sure he found them in her absence.

Up until Mack confirmed that he’d seen Sammie, Caleb had assumed that all of Sammie’s actions were a way for her to stick it to him one last time after they’d broken things off.

He rubbed his jaw as he kept his eyes trained on the documents he’d tossed onto his bed. It was too bad they couldn’t just burst into flame. Then the ball wouldn’t be in his court any longer. He could tell Sammie that he didn’t have a chance to make the divorce official. At that point, she’d have to decide if she wanted to stay married to him.

Caleb stopped and faced the bed, pressing his fists into the mattress as he glowered at the documents before him. Sammie had left. She’d signed the dang thing and left without a word. But she hadn’t gone far. There had to be a reason for that.

He pushed himself off the bed and resumed his pacing. The more he thought it over, the harder it got to sit still. He needed to talk to her and find out why she was still in Rocky Ridge. If he could get her to admit that she didn’t have anywhere else to go, then would there be a chance that she’d come home?

Home.

That’s what he really wanted.

If he could have Sammie back, he’d do so many things differently—starting with being more upfront about his finances. He could do that. He had to believe she’d accept the offering, and they could open a dialogue on something that shouldn’t have been an issue before.

A knock sounded at his open bedroom door, and Mack leaned against it, amusement coating his expression. “So I talked to someone at the restaurant. At first, they said that they didn’thave a Sammie working for them. But then they admitted they hired a Sarah Ann recently.”

Caleb froze. “You’re sure it’s her?”

“I don’t know many Sarah Ann Michaels, do you? This town is pretty small. I doubt we’ll run into another one.” Mack nodded to the paperwork on the bed. “Still haven’t signed it yet, have you.”

“No, and I won’t.”

“I hate to break it to you, but if she wants out, you can’t stop her.”

“She’ll have to take me to court first.”

His brother snorted. “So romantic.”

Caleb glared at him. “I’m not trying to be romantic. I’m trying to…” He didn’t know what he was trying to do.

“Well, whatever it is, you’re nailing it.”

He shot another disgruntled look at his brother. “I can’t wait until you find someone that makesyoucrazy.”

Mack chuckled, withdrawing as he did. His laughter followed him down the hallway, only adding to Caleb’s irritation. He was right about one thing, though. Neither one of them knew anyone in town who shared Sammie’s name. There couldn’t be anyone else at the restaurant who would have been hired recently. Tonight, he’d have the chance to confront her. He wasn’t going to bother her at work, but he wasn’t against following her home to find out where she was staying.

Caleb bit down on his knuckle. He couldn’t believe he was actually going to do this. His behavior bordered on stalking. Arational person would have just called her over and over until she finally picked up.

But he didn’t want to wait that long. He needed to see her now.

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