“At Oliver’s condo.” Renee thought it best to leave out any mention of Oliver’s ranch house. “It’s a really long story, but I needed a place to lie low and you’re... Where are you?”
“Omaha.” Then Chloe’s voice got muffled and Renee got the feeling she was giving instructions to someone. “Sorry. Oliver has given me a lot more control over the rodeo—which is great. But it’s a lot of responsibility and combined with the Princess clothing launch...”
Renee exhaled in relief. “Which was exactly why I didn’t try to track you down. I figured I would just hang out here until you came to Dallas and then we could catch up.”
There was a long pause. “I told you not to marry that asshole.”
“You were the only one,” Renee said, trying to keep the bitterness out of her voice and failing. It wasn’t Chloe’s fault she’d been right—or that Renee hadn’t listened. She deserved that I told you so. And probably a few others.
“Oliver would’ve told you not to marry him, too,” Chloe said, because even as a kid, she’d never been able to let anything go.
Because this was a telephone call and not a video call, Renee rolled her eyes. “Tell me about the clothing line.” Nothing like a change of subject to dance around the Oliver issue. “Couture or cowgirl?”
“Cowgirl,” Chloe said so firmly that Renee had to wonder if she was insulted by the couture suggestion. “Why?”
So Renee laid it all out as quickly as she could. It was odd that Chloe was more up-to-date on the situation than Oliver had been. But she knew of Chet Willoughby’s suicide—she’d sent flowers. She knew about the pyramid scheme and had sent emails—not a lot, but some—offering Renee support and help if she needed it.
What she didn’t know was how the prosecutors had seized anything that was even remotely close to an asset.
“So all of the designer clothes are gone and even if I still had them, they wouldn’t fit. I’m pregnant. I only brought two bras with me and neither works anymore.” The words your brother doesn’t seem to mind danced right up to the tip of Renee’s tongue, but she bit down on them before they could escape. “Nothing’s going to fit in a few weeks and I might be here longer than that.”
“Man, I long for the days when I can wear nothing but yoga pants,” Chloe said with a sigh. “But I understand the problem. I bet it’s driving Oliver nuts that you’re not in a suit or something. I hope he’s not being a total butthead.”
“He’s...fine.” Which was not a lie. He certainly wasn’t being a butthead. But that left a lot of room around what fine meant. “It’s not like anyone will see me in his condo.”
“Wait—why did he take you to the condo? Why didn’t he take you to the ranch?”
Renee bit her lip. “He did. But I decided I wanted to bake cookies and there was...an incident. The fire department showed up.”
“Did you burn Red Oak Hill down?” Chloe asked in a panic. “He loves that place! And those stupid swans!”
“No, no.” Although just thinking about it—again—made her stomach flip. “It was only some cookies. The swans are fine. It was just smoke.”
Unexpectedly, Chloe began to laugh. “Was Oliver mad? He’s such a stick-in-the-mud.”
That was the thing Renee kept coming back to—he had been upset. But he hadn’t taken it out on her. Instead, he’d treated it more like she’d pulled off a successful, funny prank and he was impressed. She told Chloe the whole story.
Chloe hooted with laughter. “I would’ve paid good money to see that. I knew he was hiding something! If he’d told me you were there, I would’ve tried to get there, even if only for the day.”
“Yeah? I’ll admit, it’d be great to see you.” Of course, Chloe was too smart by half. She’d take one look at Renee and know for sure that she was sleeping with Oliver. “But Oliver’s taking care of me. So you don’t have to worry.”
Chloe made a humming noise and Renee realized she might have overplayed her hand. But then Chloe said, “Hey, the rodeo is coming to Dallas—well, Fort Worth, which is practically the same thing—in three weeks. I’ll be in town for at least five days—longer if I can swing it. You, my friend, are going to spend a few days with me and we are going to catch up. I’m going to take you to the rodeo,” Chloe said in a tone of voice that made it clear this was nonnegotiable. “A pitcher of sangria, unhealthy snacks and—”
“I’m pregnant.” As if anyone could forget that small detail.
“I don’t mind. That’s more sangria for me.” She was quiet for a moment. “Renee, are you sure you’re doing okay? I know Oliver can be grumpy. And rude. And bossy. And—”
“It’s fine,” Renee interrupted. True, Oliver could be all of those things. But far more often, he was encouraging and kind. When he teased her, she could tease right back and feel safe that, instead of telling her she was wrong, he’d laugh with her instead. “And are you sure going to a rodeo is the best idea? I’m supposed to be lying low.”
“It’ll be fine! I’ll send you some Princess clothes to tide you over but when we’re at my place, we’ll try everything on. We’ll get you a fab hat and I’ll tell Oliver to keep an eye on you.” She sighed heavily. “As long as we keep you away from Flash, it’ll be fine.”
“Well...” She remembered Flash being an extremely irritating little brother. There had been lizards involved. But maybe he’d changed. After all, she wasn’t the same little sister she’d been back then, either. “I’d actually love to go to one. I’ve never seen the Princess of the Rodeo in all her glory.” Chloe snorted. “But only if Oliver agrees...” She was pretty sure he wouldn’t.
“Oh, he will,” Chloe said, sounding way too pleased with herself. “It’s
