Page 43 of Caught By A Cowboy

“You could have killed that man, he’s in intensive care, Jace. And that sheriff, she knows something. She knows there’s something dodgy going on between you and Sawyer, and I’d bet your uncle’s involved too.” She knocks me sideways when she hits the nail right on its fuckin’ head.

“What we do, we do for the town. And, yeah, sometimes it gets a little brutal but no one gets what they don’t deserve.”

“And what about us, what happens to me and our baby when you get thrown into jail?” She takes a chunk right out of my heart when she starts to cry.

“That's not gonna happen. We’re careful, everything we do is well thought out, everything is planned.”

“Well, I don’t think last night went quite to plan. Clearly Riley Hale is suspicious, you saw the way she looked at you both.”

I hate that she looks away from me as if I disgust her, and for a few, silent minutes we both stare out the windshield at our picturesque little town.

“I need to get the groceries.” Maddison moves to get out of the car.

“I’ll hel–”

“No, I can manage, I need some space.” Her eyes look sad as she opens the door and slides out the seat. She slams the door after her and when I thump the steering wheel it makes the horn go off.

“Fuck!” I hiss at myself as I pull the picture of the little person we created from the inside pocket of my jacket. Then, staring at it hard, I realize that I gotta start doing better.

MADDISON

“What are you doing?” I look up from my book when the door bursts open and Jace comes inside, dragging a huge Christmas tree by its trunk.

“It’s the biggest one I could find.” He rests both his hands on his knees while he catches his breath, and I have to hide the smile I want to make because I’m still mad at him. It’s been three days since I discovered that the father of my child sees himself as some kind of town vigilante and although I find it brave, it’s also very fucking stupid.

“I thought you didn’t celebrate Christmas, anymore.” I shrug, picking my book back up and trying to look unimpressed, it’s going to take a lot more than a Christmas tree to make up for the fact he might be meeting his child for the first time through prison bars.

“Come on, don’t be like that. I did this because I want us to celebrate the holidays together. It’s gonna be the first one, and only one, we get to ourselves.” He tries to sound cheery, but he could put on a red suit and grow a beard for all I care.

“I wonder if they’ll let you drag that thing into your prison cell?” I slam the book shut and get up to move toward the kitchen, every time I think about it I get more furious. Howcould he come up with this plan for us to make a baby together when he knows he could be taken away from us?

“Mads, please. I know what I do scares you, but those men, being out there roaming free, they scare me. Especially now you're here.” He stands in my way, blocking me with that strong, muscly chest. He smells of pine and hard work, there's a glisten of sweat on his forearms and he must have carried that tree some distance because the veins in them are popping up beneath all his ink.

The fact my hormones are making me a wound-up coil of sexual energy, and that I‘ve been holding out on him in protest the past few days, makes it almost impossible not to reach out and touch him.

“Darlin’, I hate it when we fight, I hate that you won’t let me touch you, and I–”

“Move out my way.” I refuse to look up at him.

“C’mon, stop being a bra–”

“Don’t youdarecall me a brat, not this time. Me being mad at you for this is not me being a brat or a princess, it’s me being a mother. We’re having a baby, Jace. I don’t want to do that without you. I did not sign up for that.” I can feel my tears starting to build, which is another thing I’m blaming on my hormones.

“Shit, Mads, don’t cry.” He looks devastated, but it’s not enough. I need him to promise that he’s gonna stop what he does.

“I’ve got every reason to cry. You brought me here, you made me fall in love with you, you put your baby inside me and all while youknewthere was a chance you could be taken from me.” I sound so weak and vulnerable, and it makes me want to bang my fists into his chest.

“That’s never gonna happen, babe, it’s not just my uncle that's involved in this. Eli, Hayden, they’re all part of the cause.”

“What cause, Jace?” I can feel myself losing my temper.

“The town we live in needs protecting, it’s part of our family's history, and now, it’s my kid's future.” He flattens his palm on my lower stomach and reminds me how much I’ve missed having him touch me there.

“I want him to have all this, I want him to live in a decent town with decent people around him.”

“And at what sacrifice?” I question.

Jace doesn’t say anything back, just pulls his hand away and uses it to scratch the back of his neck.

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