Page 14 of Fierce Protector

Colton tugged at the brim of his cowboy hat. “We all were affected by the shit we saw that day, man. It’s not weak to say you have issues with it. If you need to talk—”

“I don’t,” he gritted across him.

He had chores to do. And a problem to think about. A secret child growing in the womb of a small-town veterinarian. The clock was ticking like a goddamn bomb. They didn’t have long before they had to make a decision about what to do.

He needed to have that discussion with Demi.

He started away from the group. Wolfe took a step forward, blocking his path. “We’re here, man.”

Maybe Ledger should have stayed in the mountains of California. Answering their call for help was completely biting him in the ass. If he hadn’t come to Montana, to the Gracey Ranch, he wouldn’t have slept with Demi.

He could find her easy enough. She probably had an office she worked out of. He could just show up there and demand that she talk to him.

After the way she took off, he didn’t think she was eager to face their problem either. And who could blame her? The hour of lust they shared had ended in what he thought was a small inconvenience.

Now it spelled disaster.

Or at the very least, it meant a very different life than he’d ever planned for himself.

There were so many questions and no answers.

“I’m gonna check on the horse again.”

At his statement, Colton bobbed his head in agreement. “The vet will be back later today to look in on her.”

Ledger’s gut burned. If Demi stepped foot on the Gracey, it should be to speak to him, but there were too many ears around.

He had to go to her.

“I need to run an errand. I’m taking the truck, and I’ll be back in a little while.” He waited for one of them to question where he was going. When no one did, he was able to draw a deep breath of relief.

In long strides, he took off walking, a plan forming in his head. He’d go into Eden and locate the vet office. She couldn’t stay out on calls all day, right? If she wasn’t there when he arrived, then he’d wait for her.

As he drove, his chest burned with questions. The shock of her revelation smacked him over and over and over again. Each time he thought of Demi—pregnant with his child—his blood ran cold.

Then it heated.

He didn’t know what he was feeling. For all he knew, he’d eaten some bad pork. It could be a stomachache. Or gas.

The tryst with Demi had been so brief. When she propositioned him at the bar, he’d only been looking for a good time. So had she.

Fuck that. He wasn’t just another man who landed in Demi’s bed. According to her, he was responsible for the child growing inside her.

As he rolled into town, he slowed, swinging his head left and right, searching the signs for a veterinary office.

Eden was tiny—blink and it was already in your rearview mirror. He reached the end of the main street that led out to the countryside again and was just about to plug a search into his phone for the office location, when he spotted a wooden sign outside a small, dark red building.

Something about that color sparked a memory of being in Demi’s bedroom. He hadn’t been remotely tipsy after the one lager he drank, but he wasn’t accustomed to making notes on his one-night stands’ décor either.

The comforter on her bed had been white, but he distinctly remembered shoving two dark red pillows onto the floor. Coincidence?

He braked and stared at the sign. Made of wood, the words Eden Veterinary Clinic had been carved by some local and filled in with black paint. Outside the dark brown front door stood a brown cement dog statue.

Parked in the small gravel lot was a pale blue car. Not Demi’s. At least not the one she’d taken him to her place in.

He backed into a space next to the vehicle and climbed out. When he entered the small office, the waiting room was empty of clients but a receptionist sat behind the desk.

The brunette looked up. Her eyes widened, and she offered him a sweet smile.

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