Page 52 of Sheriff's City Girl

I reached out, squeezing his arm. “You’re not going to lose her, and she’s got a great life. You’re a good father, and she’s surrounded by a lot of people who love her. I didn’t have a dad, and I turned out just fine.” My stomach knotted up, though, and guilt for dodging my mom’s phone calls slipped in—maybe I should call her back.

Maybe I should tell her about my pregnancy.

Not until I figure things out with Mason.

She had expectations about men, and she always told us she didn’t want us to be like her—a single mom. My sister had succeeded in that, but at this rate… I had no idea if I would be a single mom or not. But I did know one thing…

I’d rather be a single mom than trapped in a loveless relationship together because of a baby.

“Almost there,” Mason muttered, turning off onto a gravel road. The Bronco fishtailed as he stomped the gas and I grabbed onto the side of the door, having to remind myself that he could drive.

It was only a few minutes later that I heard the music, the bass thumping so loud that we could hear it before we could see the house. I kept my focus out the window, taking a deep breath as he turned into a fancy asphalt drive. It seemed out of place for the area, which was mostly middle-class farmhouses.

The Hudson’s house was massive, towering over the rolling hills at three stories high. It reminded me of the mansions in Austin and having known a few of those kinds of people there, I easily knew that the house had to be nearly ten thousand square feet.

“This is excessive,” Mason grumbled, throwing the truck in park. “Who the hell needs a house this big?”

“They do, apparently,” I laughed uneasily as I caught sight of teenagers spilling out and around the house. I couldn’t see Jess right off the bat, but with the sheer number of teenagers… I had a good feeling she was in the mix. Millfield was a small enough town that there was really no other place for her to be.

“Come on,” Mason threw open the door and got out. “I’m tired and wanna get back home.”

Same.

I kept a smile on my face as I followed him around the side of the house, ignoring the whispers and looks some of the kids were giving us. They weren’t running off, but I made the assumption that it was probably because Mason was in plain clothes—and maybe the fact that I was with him…

And the fact I was, was definitely going to get around town.

“Jessica Ann Hewitt!” Mason’s shouting startled me, and my mouth dropped as he charged toward her. She was clad in a cropped white T-shirt and jeans, cozied up with a high school boy around her age. He was a cute kid with blonde hair and bright blue eyes—and anyone who had seen Graham Hudson for longer than a minute, would know that it was definitely his son. He was wearing a pair of dark wash jeans, a black T-shirt, and one giant western belt buckle.

Must be Cody.

“Dad!” Jess’s eyes went wide as she pushed off the teenage boy, rushing toward him. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” he shot back at her. “You snuck out of the damn house, Jess!”

My heart stuttered as I saw the scene going down around the two. I had no idea how to help, but I did know that it was not conducive to go making a scene in front of a bunch of gossipy teenagers.

“Dude, just chill out. I was gonna make sure she got home safe.” The kid—who I assumed was Cody—stepped in between them. “It’s not a big deal.”

“Cody, stop,” Jess grabbed his arm, pulling him away. “Just let me deal with it.”

He shook his head, shooting Mason a glare before heading off, corralling his friends away from the scene. The glare was disrespectful, but I was relieved he was taking some of his friends with him.

“Get in the truck,” he barked, pointing behind him. “And you won’t be leaving the house for a very long time.”

She was quiet, folding her arms across her chest as she stormed past him, heading around the side of the truck. Her eyes drifted to me, and when they met mine, a shade of crimson flooded her cheeks…

Poor girl.

I mean, yeah, she shouldn’t have snuck out—that was dumb—but I was certain that she was enraptured by some dumb teenage boy… And I knew how that felt. I followed her to the Bronco, getting ahead of Mason.

Maybe I can talk to her.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Mason

“Hey, um, could we talk for a minute?” Emma asked, grabbing Jess’s attention. “Before we get in the truck with your dad,” she added, much to my annoyance.

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