Page 63 of Caught By A Cowboy

“What?” My shock extinguishes my fear.

“She made up one of her lies and said you were staying at a facility, recovering from a breakdown with Adam’s full support,” he explains.

“Don't you see? It’s all going to work out perfectly. You can have your child, we can find him or her a good home, and then you can marry Adam.” He’s smiling now, almost as if he’s assuring me that everything is going to be okay.

“Mr Handley, I’m not giving my baby toanybody.You need to get some help. You're not being rational.” I don’t know if it’s a good idea for me to tell him that while he has a gun to my head, but I’m all out of words.

“I’m not being rational?” he bellows at me. “I’mnot being rational!?! How is running away from the perfect life you were gifted rational, Maddison?” He places his face so close to mine I can smell the whiskey on his breath. “You did this, you spoiled, little whore. You destroyed me!”

I scream out when he smacks the base of the gun against my cheekbone and as I stroke my wound, he looks over me andshakes his head like I disgust him. A loud thud on the door distracts both of our attention and when I hear Adam’s voice call out, I’m surprisingly relieved.

“Dad…? Maddison!” He calls over the pounding on the front door and when I scream as loud as I can manage, his father immediately covers my mouth and presses his gun to my stomach.

“Scream again and you won’t have a baby to give away.” He presses me back against the couch by my mouth, and all I can do is hope that Adam heard me.

I close my eyes and picture myself being back at home on the porch, waiting for Jace to come home. It’s always my favorite part of the day, especially when I see how pleased he looks to see me.

“Maddison…Oh shit!” I open my eyes and I see Adam on the other side of the glass patio doors, the terrified look on his face giving me no confidence.

“Dad, get away from her! We can fix this.” His voice comes out muffled through the glass,

“Iamfixing this, and I’m doing it my way. Look what giving her space and time did.” He releases me and steps aside so his son has a full view. “Do you see what this is?” He prods my stomach with the barrel of the gun. “This is the work of a man who knew how to get the job fucking done.”

“Dad, none of this is going to help the situation. It’s over. Mom already knows. The debt collectors are at the house. She really needs you, and you can’t be there for her if you're in jail.”

“Did you hear that?” Paul’s wild, bloodshot eyes turn to look at me, and when he drops the gun from his hands, for a split second I feel relief. “Youdid this.” His hands wrap around my throat like they did when I opened the door, only this time they throttle me as well as squeeze.

“Dad…DAD!” Adam bangs on the glass as I feel my head start to spin and the limbs I’m using to fight him off seem to get heavy and weak. My vision goes blurry, I can’t hear myself choking anymore and when I hear a loud crash, I can’t keep my eyes open long enough to find where it came from.

JACE

“What do you mean I can’t see her? I’m her fiancé!” I yell at the receptionist behind the desk when she refuses to tell me where Maddison is. I was on the road to God knows where when I left Clearwater Creek. I didn’t have an address for her folks, and I don’t know how many speeding fines I’ve incurred on my way here because I really put my toe to the gas when I got a call from Maddison's friend, Kendra. She’d gone to the house as arranged and found the place smashed up, luckily she found Maddison’s phone on the floor and called me straight away or I’d still be trying to find out where her parents lived. Kendra gave me the address and, by the time I got there, she’d already called the police and all the local hospitals.

Now we’ve finally tracked my girl down, and this bitch is trying to hold me off from seeing her.

“I’m sorry sir, but herfiancéis with her now.” The receptionist looks wary of me but I don’t care how suspicious she fuckin’ is, right now my girl’s lying in a hospital bed, and I can’t get to her.

“No, ma’am,I’mher fia… She’s pregnant, and it’s my baby. I need to see her, right now.”

“I’m sure you can understand that I can’t just let anyone walk through those doors.”

“I ain’t just any fuckin’ body!” I slam my fist down hard on the counter and when Kendra steps forward and places her hand on my arm in an attempt to calm me, she smiles sweetly at the receptionist.

“Hi, I’m Maddison’s best friend. At least, I think I still am, it’s been some time and I’m sure she’s…” I glare at her when she starts to ramble. “Okay, I’ll just get to the point.” She smiles innocently when she sees that me and the receptionist are both running out of patience.

“What I’m saying is, that I can promise that what this man’s saying is true. And if I know my friend, it’s him she’d be wanting by her side right now.” The woman looks between us both and sags her shoulders.

“Before anyone gets to see her, he needs to calm down,” she tells Kendra, pointing her finger at me. “ I’ll go find the doctor and see if he’ll speak to you.” She looks at us both in frustration as she gets up and walks toward the back office.

“Cover me,” Kendra whispers as she quickly steps around the reception desk and starts flicking through the computer. I watch the office door and check the space around us while she unclips a keycard from the pocket of the blazer that hangs on the receptionist's chair.

“Follow me.” She winks and I hold my hands up and do as she says, deciding that I like this girl.

We eventually get to the room where Maddison is, and as much as I want to barge my way through the door, I suddenly fear going inside.

“Whatever’s happened, she’s going to need you,” Kendra encourages me before I take the handle and let myself in.

My anger inflates when I see her laid out on the bed with her eyes closed, and I have to ignore the fact that that bastard of an ex is here so I can rush to be beside her.

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