Page 38 of Fought and Freed

As Jace pulled back onto the road, she studied the back of Skylar’s head. He’d been staring out the window since they left the meeting.

Maddy couldn’t believe that bitch had turned his life upside down once again. Part of her wanted to tell Skylar that Amber was lying, and the other part whispered that it was possible the baby was his.

She believed Skylar when he said he used a condom with her, but nothing in life was foolproof. She wouldn’t put it past Amber to poke holes in condoms.

She sighed. So much for having a relaxing vacation.

11

MADDY

Jace pulled into the driveway, and the Jeep hadn’t even come to a complete stop before Skylar was out and running into the house.

Jace ran his hand through his hair. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

Maddy leaned between the seats and touched his shoulder. “We’ll make it through, Jace.”

Skylar came running back out, throwing on a heavy jacket as he headed to the garage.

“Shit!” Jace jumped out of the Jeep and ran toward the garage.

Maddy scrambled out to chase after him.

Jace stopped beside Skylar. “You’re in no frame of mind to ride your bike!”

“I need to think.” He opened the garage door and pulled off the covering on his bike.

“Please don’t do this right now,” Jace begged. “What if there’s black ice? It just snowed yesterday.”

“I’ll be safe.” He wheeled the bike out of the garage.

Jace threw up his hands. Skylar was stubborn when he wanted to be. “When will you be back?”

He slammed on his helmet. “I don’t know.”

He got on his bike and took off, tearing down the road.

Maddy wrapped her arm around Jace’s waist as they walked inside the house.

Cody sat on the couch in the living room, and he twisted around as they entered. “What happened to the meeting? And why did Skylar just take off on his bike?”

“I got kicked out of the meeting.” Maddy lowered her head and bit her lip.

Cody jumped up. “What happened?”

“Amber is what happened!” Irritation pushed away Maddy’s guilt. “She was at the meeting, and we got into a fight.”

“Amber Shultz?” Cody’s brow furrowed. “What the Hell was she doing at an NA meeting?”

Maddy threw her hand up in the air. “Well, she said she had to be there. It was part of her plea agreement.”

“So, she turned against her aunt,” Cody scoffed.

“Oh, it gets even better,” Jace said. “Maddy punched her in the mouth and knocked her to the ground. Then, as we were leaving, Amber blurted out that she was pregnant. Oh, and that it’s Skylar’s baby.”

“What?” Cody bellowed.

Jace closed his eyes. “She’s claiming to be five months along, which would put it right when we went back home before school started.”

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