Page 16 of Found By You

“You also said you’d be the Montgomery to die alone on this mountain,” he adds, tipping his head in the direction of the coffee shop. “Seems you changed your mind pretty fast on that, too.”

Bastard always knows how to kick a man when he’s down. “Fuck off,” I mutter as I stalk past him. I throw open the heavy glass-framed door and step inside the bustling local coffee house.

I find Maci a second later, standing fifth in line. I come up beside her, laying a gentle hand on her lower back. She jumps, staring up at me with those pretty, expressive eyes. I wonder if she knows how much she gives away in them.

“Everything okay?” she asks quietly.

I nod.

“There’s no open tables,” she adds, peering around.

“We can take it to go,” I say, my gaze trained ahead, jaw ticking. There are at least a dozen sets of eyes on us even now, and I hate it. I hate the whispers that’ll be flying around by noon. And I hate that Maci, the stranger in town seen with the broken widower who hasn’t been on a date in years, will be at the center of it.

She has no idea the shit she just got dropped into.

“Oh, okay.” She fidgets beside me, her arm brushing against mine. “So, um, were you just in the area this morning, or did something happen with my car?” she asks.

“I was on my way to the shop and saw your door wide open,” I admit, not adding that I had to take the long way around to pass the motel to check on her. “Your car got in safe and sound last night. We can check on it if you don’t believe me.”

She worries on her lower lip as we move up in line. “No, that’s all right.”

Five minutes later, we’re stepping up to the register. “Hey, Duke,” Cassidy beams, her smile blinding as her eyes widen at the sight of Maci standing close. “You just missed Butch.”

Unfortunately, I didn’t. “Caught him outside,” I say, gesturing for Maci to order. She gets two blueberry muffins, a green tea, and a small coffee while I grab a breakfast sandwich, an apple-cinnamon muffin, and the biggest coffee I can get to go.

I didn’t get much sleep last night. The whole night I spent watching my phone like a hawk, worried I was going to miss her call or text. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say I even missed her. Fuck. I missed a woman I know nothing about besides the fact she’s gorgeous and stranded alone in a town she didn’t know the name of less than twelve hours ago.

Oh, and she’s…pregnant.

And single. Can’t forget that.

What kind of sick joke is this? Is it a joke or a sign?

A delicate hand on my arm drags me from the thought just in time. “I’ll be right back,” Maci tells me.

My heart thuds in fear for no reason at all. I’m not thinking as I wrap an arm around her, pull her to me, and search her gaze. “Why? What’s wrong?” The very fragment of a thought the cold from earlier could’ve harmed her or the baby… I can’t even think about it without wanting to rip those two idiots to shreds.

Her cheeks blush a deep enough red to match her hair. “I have to pee,” she whispers.

“Oh.” The tightness in my shoulders ease and I drop my arm from her waist. Way to jump to the worst-case scenario. “Right, well, the bathroom is over there.” I point to the narrow hallway near the back.

She smiles with a shake of her head as she slips past me. I keep an eye on her longer than I should, glaring at Don Mays as he leans to get a better look at her ass. His leer lifts at my heated stare. The moron gives me a thumbs-up before looking elsewhere. Asshole.

“She’s pretty,” Cassidy says, setting down two brown paper bags and a disposable tray of drinks on the counter between us. I grunt, fishing out my wallet as she rattles off the price. “I didn’t know you were…on the market.”

“What?”

“Dating,” she clarifies.

“I’m not,” I deadpan. Why does everything have to be about my love life? Or lack thereof.

She shrugs. “Well, you’re welcome to invite her to the bar tonight after dinner,” she says. “The more the merrier.”

I’d like to say the idea hadn’t already crossed my mind, but it has. I’ve caught myself thinking of ways I can help her—protect her. It’s probably one of the more primitive urges I’ve ever had.

Again, I ask, What the hell is going on with me?

When Maci returns to me, there’s a lightness I feel when I’m around her that I can’t deny—even despite the prying eyes surrounding us. It replaces the dark cloud that’s been fogging my mind these last few years with…her.

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