Page 67 of Sheriff's City Girl

“How come?” She furrowed her brows. “I don’t mind talking in front of people. It doesn’t bother me at all.”

“It’s not that, Emma,” I said carefully. “I’m just… I’m starting to get a bad feeling from these people. I don’t like the way they’re starting to act about it all. Graham was a real bully to Lucas—and I think you were right. Lucas only hired Cody to try and keep the peace. He’s just trying to avoid the drama… But it showed up in full force yesterday morning.”

She looked worried. “Maybe we shouldn’t go at all to this thing?”

“Well,” I chewed the inside of my cheek. “There will be a lot of other people there who are not really connected to the Hudsons. Yeah, they’re going to the gala at their home, but that doesn’t mean that they support what they’re doing. We might be able to sway them our way.”

Emma nodded. “I like the idea of a challenge like that. I think if people know the rich history, they might hear us out. And maybe if we turn enough of their high society friends, they might back off.”

“That’s the goal,” Mason said with a sigh. “I don’t know if they’ll give us any money for it, but maybe they will. I don’t want to see Lucas lose his ranch. He’s already preparing to take a load of cows to the sale this weekend. Maybe selling some of his breeding stock will make the payment. It’s tough, you know.” I felt nothing but sympathy for him, wishing that I could do more to help. “They’ve worked on that bloodline for a long time, but it is what it is.”

Emma was quiet as she fidgeted with her purse in her lap. “I can’t imagine what he’s going through with all this. Losing everything you and your family have worked so hard on is just… It’s just heartbreaking.”

“Yes, it is,” I agreed, turning onto the gravel road leading to Graham’s massive house. I never judged people for their big houses, but something about Graham’s house just bothered me. Maybe it felt excessive, but Lucas’s estate could be deemed as such, too…

It’s just the assholes that live there that make the difference.

I focused on the road as Emma and I fell into silence. Ever since spending more time at the ranch, I had gotten to see Cody, Jess’s presumed boyfriend and Graham’s son, a lot more. Honestly, he didn’t seem like such a bad kid, though I wondered if he had some ulterior motive as to why he was there. But still… The kid wasn’t quite the same cut as his parents…

Not that I could tell anyway.

And I knew that he was working at the ranch tonight, rather than being there at the gala. Jess was there, too, and Lucas had promised to keep an eye on the two of them.

“Here we go,” Emma said, her voice full of the same nerves I was feeling as I turned down their asphalt drive. As we made it to the house, I saw rows and rows of luxury vehicles parked in the grass in front of the house.

“This is way bigger than I thought it would be,” I admitted as I navigated the grassy area. A handful of vehicles parked off to the side were not quite as high end, and some had nonprofits listed on the back or sides. I felt better parking my sheriff’s truck next to theirs.

God forbid a scratch show up on one of those Mercedes and the sheriff’s office come under fire.

“Are you ready?” I turned to Emma as I put it in park and unclicked my seatbelt.

“I suppose so.” Her smile was forced as she clung to her purse.

I nodded. “I’ll get your door for you.” I climbed out, grabbing my Stetson and fastening it to my head as I walked around the truck, not stopping until I made it to the passenger side of the Bronco.

As I opened the door, she slid out, forgetting that her purse was in her lap. I caught it before it hit the ground, but not before a picture fell out…

My heart stopped at the black and white photo—one that I was familiar with. It was an ultrasound picture. I’d seen plenty of them when my ex-wife was pregnant with Jess, and the way that Emma’s hand flew to her stomach…

I knew it was hers.

“Um,” I stumbled over the thoughts erupting in my brain as I picked it up. “I… You… Here,” I handed her back the purse—and the picture. I didn’t even know what to say, but I had seen the date on the picture.

Emma is pregnant.

“Mason…” her voice trailed off as her voice trembled. “I was meaning to tell you, I just… It never seemed like the right time.”

I shook my head at her, trying to reason with myself as I suddenly noticed her slightly protruding stomach in her dress. Holy shit. “Whose is it?” I choked out, under the assumption it wasn’t mine. She would’ve told me, right? “I knew we weren’t official,” I continued, trying to push away the heartache. “But I didn’t know… I didn’t know you were seeing other people.”

Her face contorted in confusion. “I’m not seeing other people, Mason.”

I blinked a few times. “How far along are you?”

“Almost sixteen weeks,” she answered quietly, her eyes falling to her shoes. “I should’ve told you about?—”

“That first night we hooked up,” I cut in, catching her gaze. “That was about sixteen weeks ago, wasn’t it?”

She bit her lip, and I saw her hands shaking as she gripped her purse and the picture. “I didn’t want to force you to be with me because of a pregnancy, Mason. I wanted you to be with me because you loved me, not because I’d accidentally gotten pregnant.”

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