Page 16 of The Convict Gets His Girl

"Jewel, come have some breakfast, sweetheart. Biscuits will be out in five minutes."

Jewel smiled tightly, her gut twisting. There was no way she was leaving this ranch without getting it all out in the open. For all her dad's gruff exterior, there was a lot to be said for ripping off the Band-Aid and being upfront about a situation.

"Yes, ma'am, I'd be lying if I said I hadn't missed your breakfast. I'll come inside and eat in a few minutes."

Ava paused and nodded. "Great, Chase, come help set the table."

Jewel bit her lip and lifted her head. "Actually, I'd like to speak with both of them, if you don't mind."

Ava frowned, then shrugged, the screen door shutting softly behind her. A heavy silence settled around them, and Jewel looked down, scuffing her boots in the dirt. Her knees ached, and her head was pounding too.

There was no other way than to come right out and ask.

Jewel's heart pounded as she looked up at Hunter, struggling to find the words. "Did Chase tell you what happened?"

She hated how her voice trembled with worry and guilt. Hunter nodded, confirming her fears even as relief filled her that she wouldn't have to do that herself.

He set his coffee cup on the side table, and the light caught on his black eye. "Thursday actually, thus my black eye and sore ribs." His tone was heavy with exhaustion.

Surprised, Jewel turned to look at Chase, narrowing her eyes at his bruised jaw. Guilt licked her spine, knowing that she caused the two brothers' fight. She had hoped to avoid that, all those years ago. It was a big reason she'd not had the courage to tell Hunter what had happened back then.

Chase simply shrugged, as if it was no big deal. "It was bound to happen, eventually. You knew that."

Jewel sighed and leaned against the porch railing, unsure how to feel. "I guess I thought y'all would've settled it long ago."

She tried to sense any lingering tension between the two brothers, but both of them were solely focused on her.

She swallowed hard and said, "Either way, I owe you both an apology. Hunter, when Chase and I?—"

"I don't want details," Hunter said wearily, sipping his coffee again.

Jewel swallowed hard and shook her head. "I understand that, but please let me explain. That first time in the barn, I actually thought he was you. It was an accident?—"

Hunter snorted, but she took two steps up, bringing her closer to both of them. "It's true," she argued. "It was dark inside, and I'd been waiting for you. It wasn't until we were already in the middle of it that I realized?—"

"For fuck's sake, Jewel, you expect me to believe that?" Hunter asked, sitting forward on the rocking chair, coffee sloshing over his wrist. He ignored it.

She waved her hands wide, and her chest ached to cause him pain. "It's true, I swear. I never meant to sleep with him." Tears slipped out of her eyes, and she wiped them furiously away.

Chase's voice was deep with accusation when he growled, "What about the second and third time?"

Jewel winced, but sank onto the step next to Chase, unable to resist being close to him even as she turned to face them both and scooted as far back from Chase as possible. Her heart wanted closer to him but her mind told her to wait and pull back. Her voice softened, and she wanted to lean closer, touch his knee, comfort him, but she refused to go down that path of destruction again.

Why had things shifted between them years ago? Why couldn't he have just continued being Hunter's annoying little brother?

Instead she just said, "That was different."

He stared into her eyes, and she couldn't look away. Hunter finally cleared his throat, and Jewel looked up at him.

"And the guy from college?" he asked.

Jewel rolled her eyes and sighed. "He was gay, Hunter. He had nowhere to go for the holiday, which is why I invited him home with me. After the Christmas program at church, you didn't let me talk or explain about him or about Chase. You just assumed and talked over me."

"When we had the huge fight in front of everyone," Hunter said dryly. "I knew you were seeing someone else. I could tell by how you acted that summer, at Thanksgiving, and again that Christmas. That college guy was the logical choice, because I never would've guessed?—"

Her eyes widened, and they both glanced at Chase, who just rested his elbows on his knees and stared at her darkly.

She swallowed hard and nodded, looking down as realization struck. "That summer with Chase—you started acting jealous before I went to college. The phone calls, the paranoid questions, needing to know who I was with at all hours."

---