Page 24 of The Convict Gets His Girl

He'd gotten his degree, but it didn't seem to matter to them. He was nothing but a disappointment, no matter what he was trying to do with his life to better himself or his situation.

And now he had to grow his nest egg to support Destini and her dreams at NASA. That would take a lot of money to put her through school.

Chase just sighed and watched, time passing in a blur as he mentally categorized his dad's actions while thinking through solutions to fund Destini's college goals.

* * *

Jewel's fingers traced the mare's quivering flank, her whispers mingling with the wind as she coaxed Medusa into a semblance of calm. The sky darkened ominously, mirroring the tension in the corral just outside the barn where they stood, her church dress clinging to her knees. Hunter's silence hung heavy between them, his presence a steady force despite the few words exchanged since their uneasy reunion.

"Sorry about my mom," Hunter murmured suddenly, breaking the stillness as a gust of air carried the scent of impending rain. "She's got this idea that—well, now that she knows about Destini..."

Jewel offered him a tight-lipped smile, her focus unyielding from the mare. "It's fine, Hunter. We're here for Medusa, not to rehash old news."

Yet the awkwardness clung to her like the sweat on her brow, memories of their shared past swirling unbidden in her mind. The beautiful horse before them tossed her head anxiously.

Jewel continued her assessment, asking Hunter questions about the horse's medical history. As the storm grew closer, so too did Medusa's stress levels. Despite Hunter's gentle crooning and the horse's trust of him, she could tell from his expression that he was worried about the poor girl.

"I can give her a shot for anxiety, but it might delay the birth. It's up to you," she offered, monitoring the horse and Hunter both.

Hunter raked a hand through his hair as thunder rumbled in the distance before he finally nodded.

With practiced ease, Jewel retrieved the syringe and medicine from the veterinarian go-bag that always stayed stocked in the truck. While the contents promised relief for the anxious creature, there were a million other things to monitor, especially if Medusa was as terrified of storms as Hunter led her to believe.

Her hands were steady for once as she administered the shot, her touch reassuring against Medusa's heaving side, and the horse barely flinched and tossed her head.

"There we go, girl," she soothed, watching as the mare's eyes softened and flitted from her to the approaching storm and back again. Jewel stroked her neck. "I know, but you're safe with us. We won't let anything happen to you or your colt. Do you want to go inside out of the rain now?"

Medusa pawed the ground, and Jewel gently led her toward the barn doors. Hunter ran ahead and opened them, directing her to a stall in the middle of the barn. By the time they got inside, Medusa's eyes were darker, and the tenseness of her steps were easing with the onset of tranquility.

Together, they guided the animal into the safety of the barn just as the first crack of thunder announced the storm's arrival. The horse flinched, but didn't buck or rear her head, which made Jewel sigh in relief. Inside the stall, the rhythmic pattering of rain on the roof created a cocoon around them, a world away from the tempest outside.

"Remember how we used to hide in here during storms?" Hunter's voice was nostalgic, wrapping around Jewel like a warm blanket as they settled beside Medusa as her labor progressed.

"Like two wild things with no care in the world, we didn't even tell Gemma and Gunner half the time where we were going." Jewel laughed softly, the sound mingling with the distant rumble of thunder.

"Pops and I remodeled the attic in the old sale barn after Chase left."

Jewel's brows rose in surprise. "That old, moldy, rat-infested attic? That one?"

Hunter chuckled, the sound comforting in the soft lamp light. "Yeah, that one. I've never seen you scream as loud as you did that day we found the family of rats under that old blanket."

"Oh no, we shall not speak of such horrors. We're trying to calm the horse down, not get her feeling my tension and stress."

She shivered and drew comfort from the horse before remembering that she was supposed to provide comfort to Medusa. She checked on her progress, and she was right on schedule.

Hunter laughed outright and changed the subject to other memories from their childhood. There was the time when her horse had unceremoniously dumped her into a mud puddle, and Hunter couldn't stop laughing, even as he helped her up. Then that time they'd gone fishing in the creek, and she'd been bit by a crawdad. Hunter had laughed then too.

"Hmm," Jewel said with narrowed eyes. "Now that I'm thinking about it, you did a lot of laughing at me when we were growing up."

Hunter shook his head and argued, "Hey, you laughed just as much at me."

Their laughter tapered into a comfortable lull, the mirth replaced by a poignant acknowledgment of their shared history. Medusa shifted uncomfortably as her contractions grew stronger.

"We were drifting apart, weren't we?" Hunter eventually said quietly, his gaze lingering on the mare. "By senior year… it was like we were headed in opposite directions."

"Yeah." The word felt heavy on Jewel's tongue, her chest aching at the memories. "Fighting over futures we couldn't even picture yet. I guess we were just kids, trying to figure it out."

"Too stubborn to talk about it." Hunter leaned back against the stall, his profile etched with the shadows of those bygone days.

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