Page 77 of The Cowboy's Second Chance Bride

Fort raised a brow at me. “How ya feeling, Rocky?”

“Foolish. I really feel badly. I hit her in front of her kid.” The awfulness of it all was starting to come into clarity. I had a hard time meeting Fort’s eye.

“Sadly, it’s not the first time,” he said.

I groaned and covered my face. “That makes it worse.”

“You wanna press charges?”

I shook my head. “No. Of course not. Not that I condone this, but I get the feeling there is more at play here.”

Fort took a seat next to me. “And you would be right.” He looked at Cal. “Remember Casey from the community center?”

“Her nephew is Casey’s creeper,” I supplied.

Fort nodded again. “Apparently, some of Casey’s family members talked her out of doing most of the suggestions you gave. Said you were being dramatic. No outdoor-motion sensors. No house alarms. But she did add a safety latch to her door, so when he showed up the other night and she wouldn’t let him in, he lost his shit. It took a while for him to kick down the door. Gave her enough time to hide in a closet and call us. He’s got a record for this sort of stuff in two other states.”

Cal gave a low whistle through his teeth. “This is what I mean about my dad affecting my credibility. Someone other than me is gonna get hurt—did get hurt.” He tapped his watch, and I moved the ice to my hand.

“Take me home,” I said to Cal, who wasted not a second scooping me up. Fort handed him my crutches.

“I can walk. I just meant that we should leave.” I laughed.

“I’m a little shaken here, Reenie. I didn’t like seeing you get hit. Even if it was by a woman.”

“I’ll text you to reschedule,” Cricket said.

I felt foolish being carried like a bride. “No, come to the ranch if you can. We can figure everything out there.”

She nodded. “I’ll be right behind you.” Then she took off.

“Listen,” Fort said before turning away. “I’ve got a bead on Jamison’s whereabouts. I’ll let you know if it gets confirmed. Looks like he took a trip to Mexico.”

I sighed. “And the day started out so promising.”

ChapterThirty

SABRINA

We weren’t back at the ranch ten minutes when Cori pulled in. She’d heard what had happened in town from her husband.

“You didn’t have to come all the way out here,” I told her. We were whispering over her sleeping baby.

“The baby sleeps in the car, so it was really more for me than you.” She smiled, but it faltered quickly. She moved the baby, still sleeping in the car seat, to the floor.

“You look exhausted,” I told her.

Cori slumped onto the couch.

“Kid’s not sleeping well, huh?” Cricket asked.

“No, and Fort has been called in every night, and my in-laws took Tabby for a couple days to Cheyenne to give me a break. Joke’s on them. This one”—she pointed to the cupid-faced baby—“has turned into an evil dictator and has been a straight-up asshole since they left.” She leaned forward conspiratorially. “It’s like she knows.”

Cori’s eyes strayed to the stairs.

“Why don’t you go up and catch a nap. We’ve got her. My room is the third door on the right.” I jerked my head to tell her to go.

“Do you mean it?” She sat up, full of hope.

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