Chance: A Small Town, Enemies to Lovers, Protector Romance (Ghost Ops Book 2)
Chance: Chapter 41

Chance threwon a rain jacket and headed out to feed the chickens. Rory was still in bed, sleeping, and the rain was still coming down, though not as much as last night. There was a flash flood warning for all the creeks and tributaries of the Tennessee River that ran in and around the land here like veins inside a body. In some ways they were veins, providing water to the crops that the original farmers had planted. They still provided water for farms and animals to this day.

Developers like Ronnie Davis ruined some of the smaller veins in the name of progress, redirecting them, hiding them underground with drainage systems while they built subdivisions and retail spaces on land that’d once provided food and cotton. Sutton’s Creek had managed to avoid big developments for years but it was at their back door now, knocking insistently.

Chance opened the coop and scattered feed, collected eggs, and headed back to the house to remove his muddy boots and hang the rain jacket on the back porch. Today was Friday, the last day he, Seth, and Kane had to be at Griffin Research Labs for security training. They’d placed the cables, gotten the employee dossiers, and now they had to sit back and wait for someone to make a move.

The information on Caroline Crowell looked the way it should. Her background and security checks, her education. So far, it checked out. But Seth wasn’t done yet, which meant they weren’t dismissing her as their potential leak.

But at least it would be done from their office at the range instead of inside the company, which meant Chance would be closer to home for now. Until the threat to Rory was dealt with and Ronnie Davis either bought two farms instead of three, or gave up the idea altogether, he’d rather be a ten to twenty minute drive away rather than forty-five minutes to an hour in traffic.

Rory was at the kitchen table when he walked in, a cup of coffee in her hands. Warmth glowed in his chest at the sight of her. She centered him in a way that’d been unexpected at first. He wanted to do that for her, so badly, but there was no rushing Rory. She’d come to her senses when she came to them and not a moment before.

“Hey, Baby Daddy,” she said with a sunny smile. “I poured your coffee.”

“Thanks, honey. Baby Daddy, huh?”

“I’m trying out new nicknames. That one doesn’t quite have the ring to it I’d hoped.”

“It’s clunky. Not to mention it gives away the secret, don’t you think?”

She grinned. “Well, I wasn’t planning to use it in public just yet.”

He set the eggs on the counter. Over a dozen today. The bowl she kept them in was overflowing, but he expected she would take a bunch to Theo. They didn’t do breakfast at the Dawg, but Theo needed eggs for some of the dishes he concocted. Anything he didn’t need would go to Miss Mary or Wendy.

Chance hadn’t realized you could keep eggs on the counter until Rory explained that so long as you didn’t wash them first, eggs were perfectly fine staying out and would keep for a couple of weeks. Washing them thinned the membrane and meant immediate refrigeration. The things you learned on a farm.

“How do you feel this morning?” he asked.

“I feel good. Glucose is fine. Need to eat soon, though.”

“You want scrambled or omelette today?”

“I think I want to cook for you this time. How about an egg sandwich with smoked gouda cheese and mayo?”

“Sounds delicious. What do you need me to do?”

She stood and grabbed his hand, tugged him over to the chair she’d vacated. “Sit, BD.” She sighed. “Nope, that doesn’t work either. Guess we’re sticking with Chancey Pants.”

He chuckled as he sat. She took her coffee and pulled his from across the table.

“Drink. Talk to me. I’ll cook.”

“Okay. What brought this on?”

She took out a pan, put butter in it, and turned on the gas. “I was making my own breakfast before you shoved your way in here, you know. Just thought it was my turn.”

“Shoved my way in, huh?”

She waved the spatula around. “It wasn’t my idea, if you’ll recall. You see one random dude on the security cams and suddenly you’re moving in. Then you’re cooking breakfast, feeding chickens in the rain, and giving me orgasms. I feel obligated to do something nice for you.”

“Kitten, I feel like you do something nice for me every time we’re naked.”

“Of course I do.” She cracked eggs in the skillet and toasted the bread. “I can’t believe I’m going to admit this, but I like having you around.”

She didn’t look at him as she said it. He knew it was another big admittance for her. He could tease her, lighten the moment. But he didn’t. He told her the truth. “I like being around.”

She finished the sandwiches and brought them to the table. When she put his in front of him, she bent and kissed his cheek. “I’m trying, Chance. I heard you, and I’m trying.”

There was a knot in his throat. “I know, baby.”