Page 55 of Sheriff's City Girl

Though I had no idea how not to think about her all the time.

I climbed into the Bronco and backed out of her driveway, glancing back to a still sleeping Jess. Her face was relaxed, and in moments like this, I always saw so much of myself in her. She had my dark hair and face shape…

And also, my hardheadedness.

I smiled as I made the drive home, thankful as hell that she was safe—and that Emma had defused the situation. I had nearly lost my head when I had seen her all cuddled up with that Hudson kid. Emma knew how to tread lightly, keeping her head. She made the night easier…

And I had to admit, no matter how much I tried to argue with myself, she sure seemed to make things better.

For everyone.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Emma

“Everything looks great,” Dr. Jordan said to me, a smile on her face. “Welcome to the second trimester.”

“Thank you,” I muttered, trying not to think about what it meant when it came to Mason.

“I can see you’re starting to show,” Dr. Jordan continued, her eyes jumping to Lily and then back to me. “It’ll only get more pronounced as you go. This is your first, so it takes a while.”

I forced a nod and a smile, worry rattling my chest as we finished up the appointment and bid the doctor goodbye. I had traveled all the way to Austin for the appointment, and convinced Lily to come with me. I didn’t want to risk anyone finding out about the pregnancy…

Not yet.

“You know, you’re going to have to tell him, Emma,” Lily said in a low voice as we made our way out of the hospital. “And once you do, we don’t have to drive so dang far for an appointment.”

I pursed my lips, knowing she was right. “I know.”

“Okay, but you’re in the second trimester, and you’re literally just a couple months away from finding out the gender… I bet Mason would love to be a part of it.”

“I have no idea what we are,” I throw out at her while my mind raced back to the night he kissed me on my front porch. Nothing more had really materialized, other than him visiting the café to eat breakfast most mornings. Of course, I knew more cattle were missing from other ranches, and I had seen on Facebook that he was spending more time with Jess.

“Well, the gala is this weekend, so you’ll be going to that with him—as a couple.”

“A fake couple,” I corrected her, thinking back to the conversation with Lucas. “You heard him say it.”

“Yeah, but I also don’t think fake couples kiss goodnight. He’s been to the café every morning, Jess. The food is amazing, yeah, but he comes in to see you. I think they’re just really busy with the investigation and Dara said he’s been at the ranch with Jess a lot.”

“Probably because Cody picked up a job there,” I muttered, stepping off the sidewalk and heading toward Lily’s car. The sun was baking the streets today, and as much as I loved Austin, I didn’t love the traffic or the noise. Small-town life had grown on me… And honestly, I was starting to think I preferred it.

“Maybe. I don’t know what’s going on with that mess. Every time I ask Dara about it, she just shuts down.”

I shrugged, thinking back to the private conversation between Jess and I that night of the party. I had sworn to her that I wouldn’t talk about her strong feelings for the kid—she thought she was in love and I wasn’t going to tell her otherwise. “I think Jess is just in that teenage relationship phase… I just don’t know why the two of them aren’t, um, what do they call it these days? Official?”

“You think that’s because of Mason?” Lily asked me as she slid into the driver’s seat. “I feel like maybe Jess holds back because of who Cody is and the bad blood running between them all. I can’t blame her for that.”

“You say that, but Cody’s working at the ranch,” I pointed out, confused by it all myself—but maybe that was why Mason was hanging out at the ranch all the time.

“Yeah, I think it’s fishy,” my best friend said, her nose crinkling up. “I don’t think that’s some coincidence. I think Graham is up to something. I mean, honestly, I get the kid is trying to be a cowboy, but I don’t know… There’s plenty of ranches around here.”

I nodded in agreement. “And if Lucas is in a bad financial spot, why would he be hiring more hands?”

“See, you get what I’m saying! I think there’s more to it. I just don’t know what it would be—maybe inside information about the ranch so he can buy it?”

“You don’t think he’s behind the missing cattle, do you?”

Lily shrugged. “I don’t know. Part of me thinks he could be, but stealing cattle has always kind of been a thing around here. It was real bad back when I was a little kid. The Lowe Ranch lost almost two hundred head—and never found them or who took them.”

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