Page 18 of The Convict Gets His Girl

Jewel's eyes glistened with tears. "From the beginning," she whispered.

Hunter growled, "They've known this whole damn time and not said a word?"

Jewel nodded and picked at a blood stain on her jeans. "I—I asked them not to."

Hunter stood up abruptly. "I need some time to think about this," he said, throwing open the screen door and stomping inside.

ChapterSeven

As Chase watched the sun creep above the horizon, Jewel stared at him, the sound of the screen door echoing between them. Birds chirped in the nearby trees, and horses ate in the field beside the house.

But still she watched him, unable to move even as she heard the ding of the timer on the oven inside. Ava could come out any minute and interrupt them, but after all these years, Jewel was sitting next to Chase on the front porch steps watching the sunrise.

A heavy silence fell between them, filled only by the chirping of crickets and the distant chewing of the horses. Jewel could feel the heat radiating off Chase's body, their thighs almost touching on the narrow step. She ached to close that small gap, to see if his now powerful arms still felt as safe as she remembered.

Instead, she kept her distance. A relationship wasn't what she needed right now, especially not with a broody convict she no longer knew.

Shedidneed to clear the air, though. She had a few more apologies to dish out and had to make everything right. Only then would Crimson Creek become her oasis and stress-free home.

"Why didn't you come home at spring break? Or respond to any of my emails after Christmas?"

That was the apology she still needed to make. Jewel fidgeted with the frayed edge of her cutoff shorts, avoiding Chase's intense gaze as she struggled to find an explanation. "I just... I got scared."

Chase leaned against the porch railing, jaw clenched. "Scared of what? Of me?"

"No, not you," Jewel rushed to clarify. "Of... this. Us. Everything changing." She gestured vaguely between them, the weight of their situation almost suffocating her. "It was too much. I wasn't ready to face getting pregnant or how I felt about it, about you. It was too intense and real."

Chase ran a hand through his hair, frustration clear in every movement. "And you think I was ready then, or that I am now? Damnit, Jewel, I just got my life back together. Figuring out how to live as an adult this past year has been fucking hard enough. And now a kid… this changes everything."

His words hung heavy in the air, leaving them both gasping for breath.

Jewel's eyes burned as tears pricked, and she turned to face the sun. "I know, and I'm so sorry. I should've told you both sooner. If I've learned anything in the past fifteen years, it's that everything changes, whether we want it to or not."

Chase snorted, his shoulders slumping as he leaned his elbows on his knees. "You got that right. But you still should've come home or called or emailed…"

She nodded, shame making her cheeks burn. "I know. I was a coward, and it was wrong of me to avoid you. It wasn't fair to you or Hunter."

They sat in silence for a moment, the weight of their choices pressing down on them. Chase cleared his throat. "So, uh, what now? I mean, are you—are we?—"

He broke off, raking his hand through his hair again and blowing a frustrated breath.

Jewel shook her head. "I don't know. I wish I had all the answers, but I don't. All I know is that I'm here now, and we all have to live in this little town, which means we all have to figure this out together."

He paused, then sighed. "I don't know how to be a dad, Jewel. Hell, I barely know how to be a functioning adult. Maybe you're right. She'd be better off with Hunter as her dad."

The defeat in his voice made her yearn to comfort him.

Jewel's hand twitched, almost reaching out to touch Chase's arm before she caught herself. "That's not true," she said softly. "You've always been the best of us all, Chase, no matter where you've spent the past fifteen years. That hasn't changed. If you are her father, she'd be lucky to have you."

Chase's eyes met hers, a storm of emotions swirling in their depths. "But if I am, then I'm a shit dad already. No one wants a convict for a father. Whether she's mine or Hunter's, the fact remains that neither of us were there for her birth, her first steps, her first words. We've missed so much already. Does she hate us? Is she angry that we weren't there for her?"

Jewel's heart ached. Even though he'd gone through so much, his first thought was on Destini and what she had experienced. She hadn't expected that, although she should've. He'd always been the more sensitive of the brothers.

"She's a moody, rebellious teenager, but that's not because of missing out on having a dad. It's because she and I haven't gotten along for a long while, which is mostly my fault."

Jewel shook her head and pulled out her phone to show him a picture of Destini in front of her science fair project a few months ago.

"Destini's amazing though. Smart, funny, and stubborn as hell. Obsessed with NASA and stars and astronomy."

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