Page 18 of Caught By A Cowboy

“Stay right there, darlin’…Uncle Jamie, this is my girlfriend.” I stop dead when I hear the way he introduces me.

“Girlfriend?” Jamie’s laugh sounds nasty.

“You heard right.Girlfriend.” I feel Jace’s strong hand reach around my waist and drag me back. “Maddison, this here’s my dad’s brother, Jamie.”

“Pleased to meet you, Jamie.” I hold out my hand and wish it wasn’t trembling. I also wish I had more covering my legs, but that's all my own stupid fault.

“And where did we find Maddison?” Jamie studies me over,again, eventually taking my hand and giving it a half-hearted shake. “You're not from round here.” He looks at me accusingly.

“No, she ain’t. But she’s sticking around. In fact, she’s moved in,” Jace explains and I notice his uncle's eyes flare.

“I really should get going.” I untangle myself from his arms and head out the door, taking a huge sigh of relief when I’m free from the tension. Rushing up the stairs, I throw on some jeans then watch out the window until I see his uncle get in his Mercedes and drive off. Jace is cracking eggs into a bowl when I head back into the kitchen and he half smiles when he sees me.

“Sorry about that, he’s not exactly known for his charm.” He takes out a whisk and starts beating.

“It’s fine, I was a little thrown off when you called me your girlfriend,” I mention.

“What else am I supposed to call ya?” He places down the bowl, stepping closer and when his hand slides behind my ear, my head automatically leans into it. “I was thinkin’ it’s a little too soon for Baby Momma yet, but?—”

“So, what do we have this morning?” We get interrupted for a second time and I hear the frustration in Jace’s sigh as I turn around and greet the first two bunkhouse boys to join us. “Jeeez. Sorry, boss, I didn’t mean to interrupt anything.” Carter turns a little red as he makes his way to the table and takes a seat.

“Eggs?” I pick up the bowl and take over, beating them as hard as I can while the others start piling in. I find a pan big enough to cook them in while they all get settled, then smile in appreciation when the one called Miles, pulls out some plates and starts laying the table.

“I’ll get the cutlery.” One of the others gets up and opens the drawer, and Jace makes a satisfied grin at me as he pours himself a coffee.

The eggs seem to be going well, and when I pull out the turkey rashers that Jace had already put under the grill, I feel like a fraud as I place it all on the table.

“Lookin’ good, Cheerio,” one of them says, and even the old grump manages an impressed nod of his head. I take a deep breath and get to cleaning up my mess, running the faucet so I can soak the pan.

“Carter, you best take your eyes off my girl’s ass if you wanna keep ‘em in ya sockets,” I hear Jace call over their voices and stop what I’m doing.

“Your girl? That sounds like a statement,” another one of them pipes up and when I turn around and see everyone staring at me, I hold my still-soapy hands up in front of me in defense.

“That’sexactlywhat it is. And if I catch any of ya lookin’ at her in a way I don’t like, it’ll be the Burdizzo for you.” He steps up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist. Everyone around the table looks stunned when he places a kiss on my cheek

“Jace, what's Burdizzo?” I question him.

“It’s what we use to castrate the bulls,” Kyle answers for him.

“Guys, nothing changes, you’re still going to get shit, inadequate food,” I explain to them all and giggle nervously, cussing Jace in my head. A little warning would have been good. No one laughs with me, they all still seem far too shocked for that.

“I’m glad we got that covered.” Jace lifts his hat up from the counter and heads out the door.

“Anyone for coffee?” I shrug awkwardly at all their dumbstruck faces when I get left alone with them.

JACE

“I’m telling ya, I had nothin’ to do with it.” The quivering wreck in front of me shakes his head, trying his best to sound convincing.

“I know that there was someone else in that car with my mom when it went off the road.” I crouch down so me and him are eye to eye, he needs to know that lying to me is dangerous.

“Jace, it wasn’t me. I swear.” The tremble in his voice tells me he’s gettin’ real scared now. He’s been here a few days. Alone with his thoughts. I’ll bet cabin fever’s really kicked in now. “The police spoke to me, I was cleared, you know that.”

“I know that your alibi was full of shit. Easiest $200 that whore had ever made from using her mouth.” Those scared eyes drop down to the chains that are wrapped around his chest when he realizes I’ve been doing some investigating of my own. “You and my mom were gettin’ close. The whole town was talkin’ about it,” I remind him.

Everyone around here knows that Billy McGee is bad news. The shop he owns in town has changed trade more times than Cheryl Rushford has husbands. No one trusts him, which made me curious as to why my mom was givin’ him the time of day.

“If you let me go now, I swear I won’t go to the cops. I get that you’re hurting. You loved ya momma and she loved you, you were–”

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