Hot Westmoreland Nights - Brenda Jackson [51]
When he reached his office he eased down in the chair behind his desk wondering how long his visitors intended to stay. His men would be showing up in a few hours for lunch and he hadn’t had any private time with Chloe since they’d last made love this morning. He at least wanted to kiss her the way he had wanted to do without an audience.
He picked up the folder on his desk. He would try to get some work done and hoped like hell his sisters would leave in a timely manner. Otherwise, he would be tempted to ask them to leave.
He smiled thinking doing something like that wouldn’t go over well. He’d escorted them to the door before, but always in a teasing manner; however, today he would be dead serious. And he intended to do something about the locks on his back door where anyone thought they could just walk in whenever they wanted. That had never bothered him before but now it did.
He threw down the folder he’d been holding in his hands, not believing the way his thoughts were going. The only reason he was considering changing the damn lock was because on two different occasions he had been caught kissing Chloe. Because she would be leaving after Friday, did it really matter now?
He slumped back in his chair, finally admitting to himself that yes, it did matter. He didn’t want things between them to end yet. He could ask Chloe to go out with him on occasion, he would take her to dinner and pursue some sort of a relationship with her. Nothing real serious, mind you. Was that what he really wanted? With lambing starting next week as well as some of his men returning to sheepherding, would he have the time? He knew at that moment he would do something he hadn’t done in well over ten years and that is to make time for a woman.
He glanced up when he heard a knock on his door. His pulse leaped. Had his sisters left and Chloe had come looking for him? He stood and a frown settled on his face when Callum walked in. He dropped back down in the chair disappointed.
Ramsey didn’t have to ask his friend why he was there. He knew. And the way Ramsey was feeling about his sisters at that moment, he was tempted to pay Callum a hefty fee to take Gemma off his hands. There was no hope for Megan and Bailey. Megan wasn’t dating anyone seriously since she had finally dumped that asshole of a doctor she’d gotten involved with last year. And lucky for him Bailey was more into her books than the opposite sex. She was determined to finish college in three years instead of four and then obtain a law degree. Although she could get on his last nerve at times, he was proud of her and her dedication to her studies.
“What are you doing here, Cal?” Ramsey couldn’t resist the opportunity to tease his friend. Callum had given him enough grief over Chloe during the last couple of days to last a lifetime, so to Ramsey’s way of thinking the ribbing was justified.
“What do you think?”
Ramsey rolled his eyes. Callum had been hanging around Zane too much lately. He was beginning to sound just like him. “You do know that one day you’re going to have to take matters into your own hands, and I don’t mean something as extreme as kidnapping,” Ramsey said.
Callum didn’t say anything, he just smiled. At any other point in time that smile would have made Ramsey uneasy, had him somewhat worried, but not today. He had his own problems to deal with and for once Callum and Gemma were the least of his concern.
His only concern was whether Chloe would be interested in continuing their relationship after Friday. And he intended to do whatever it took to make sure she wanted that as much as he did.
Nine
As soon as the last vehicle pulled out of Ramsey’s yard, Chloe glanced over at him. He was leaning in the kitchen doorway staring at her. The men had arrived on time for lunch and Ramsey’s sisters had stuck around to join them for the meal. Zane, Derringer and Jason had also shown up, and Callum had appeared out of the back with Ramsey, which meant he had been there for a while.
After everyone had been fed, Ramsey’s sisters had