Page 98 of Fought and Freed

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She was sitting on the couch, waiting, when Cody came home later that night. There was no way she would get any sleep when he was mad at her.

“Hey?” He glanced around as he sat down beside her. “Where is everyone?”

Maddy closed the book she was reading and turned toward him. “Ryder is still at work, and Jace is up in his room. He wanted to give us some space to talk.”

Cody rubbed his eyes. “All I keep seeing is you lying in a ditch hurt, and I’m not around to help you.”

She understood how he felt, but he needed to remember how she grew up. She was not some weak girl. “A car could hit me just as easily as someone hurting me.”

“I know. I’m scared, all right?” He let out a frustrated sigh. “I’m scared that if Mike hurts you, I won’t handle it well. You’re the light in my dark world.”

Her annoyance at Cody’s overprotective attitude deflated, and she crawled onto his lap, wrapping her arms around him. “You need to stop focusing on all the bad stuff that might happen to me and start thinking about all the good. Look at everything I’ve survived. I’m learning to fight because I want to stay here with you four.”

“I know.” He wrapped his arms around her. “It’s in my bones to protect you, but I’ll try not to wrap you in bubble wrap.”

She laughed. “Thanks. I don’t think my teachers would like the noise.”

“How about I make us some dinner?” he suggested. “Then, I can take you out driving.”

“Sounds good.” She slid off his lap and followed him into the kitchen.

They made a nice dinner of spaghetti and meatballs.

When they finished, Jace handed her the keys to his Jeep to use for practice.

She took them with a slight shakiness in her hands.

Cody had her drive on some back roads instead of the parking lot, and he even directed her to go on the highway.

She was scared at first, but then relaxed and enjoyed driving.

24

SKYLAR

Skylar yawned as he drove down Highway 16.

He’d left Longville at about noon, and Amber’s appointment was at three. He hated driving back and forth.

Last night, he’d had dinner with his parents and told them about Amber’s pregnancy.

The first words out of his dad’s mouth were, “Is it yours?”

He explained how they visited a DNA testing place, and that the child was his.

His mom had bawled her eyes out, mumbling that he was too young to have a baby.

His dad had asked if Skylar planned to marry Amber.

He’d adamantly shook his head no. “I’ll take care of the child, but I want nothing to do with the baby’s mother.”

He told them how Amber had blackmailed him into dating her and even gone as far as drugging him.

“Why isn’t she in jail?” his father had demanded.

Skylar had shrugged. “She said she would testify against her aunt.”

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