Page 22 of Against My Fire

“Will she leave again?” His little voice breaks as he looks around the room.

“No, I promise I won’t ever let her leave again.” That might have sounded a little weird or obsessive but I was not going to let her walk away from us without a fight.

She walks out of the room dressed in a light pink summer dress and sandals. She always looks perfect. She is perfect to me. “I am not going anywhere.” Taylor gets up and runs over to her. I swear he is happier to see her than he was to see me. But then again who can blame him? She is better to look at than me.

I get up as the two of them sit down on the couch. I needed to go get ready. I want to talk to her about her past. I want to know why she never said anything about Patrick. I also want to know if he did anything to hurt her because I would love to ram my fist down his throat and pull his throat out.

I quickly pull on a pair of jeans and a pink T-shirt. I run my hands through my hair to make it look a little more presentable. I am going to wear a hat anyway. After I am done in the bathroom I head out. I am instantly met with the sweet sound of Bentley and Taylor’s laughter. It’s like the sound of them happy hugs my heart.

I walk into the living room and the bed we had for last night is picked up and the blankets are put away. Logan is sitting in the armchair with Taylor on his lap. All three of them turn when they hear me enter. I grin as I walk over to Bentley.

“Are you ready, sweetheart?” She takes my hand as she stands up.

“I am always ready.” She hugs closer to me and Logan clears his throat to get both of our attention.

“You better not come back here married.” Bentley chokes on air and I glare at him. Thankfully my son saves the day with his quick thinking.

“I would have gone with them. They might leave you behind but never me.” He sticks his tongue out at Logan who tickles him. “Stop… Okay… stop…” He laughs as Logan seizes his tickle attack on him.

I walk over to Taylor kissing the top of his head. “We will see you in a little while.” Bentley does the same before I pull her to follow me. I help her into my truck before I get in on the other side. All of this feels right and Logan mentioning getting married didn’t scare the shit out of me. I could actually see my future with her. I see us raising Taylor together and hopefully giving him a sibling or two.

I pull up to the open field next to the lake and help Bentley out. She looks around and smiles as she sees the picnic set up under a tree. “Jax, this is beautiful.” She wraps her arms around my neck as I wrap mine around her waist.

“I wanted this to be a date, but we need to talk and clear the air. I should have listened to you and I hope you know that I will never act like that again. Losing you is not an option.”

“I know. And I want to tell you everything.” I let go of her just to take her hand and lead her over to the blanket. She sits down and I take a seat next to her.

“I have some sandwiches, fruit, and pancakes. We can talk while we enjoy our breakfast.” I start to take out the containers and she helps me open them up.

We try one of everything we have and I wait for her to start. She takes my hand as she looks up at me and the words just flow out of her mouth. She tells me about everything the estate agency has done and how she went to the police after suspecting that they caused the death of the man whose property they wanted to buy.

“I met Patrick at a fundraiser for the fire department. I didn’t like him at first, but he didn’t give up. He told me that he worked at the bank. But I later found out that he was behind the estate agency. He was one of them that would torment the people to get their properties.” She looks down at her hands for the first time. I can see the guilt of not being able to do anything eat at her.

“You know this is on him, right?” I place my fingers under her chin to get her to look at me.

“I should have known he wasn’t who he said he was.” Her voice is low and I have to move closer to hear her.

“Babe, did he ever hurt you?” Her eyes widen as she shakes her head.

“Not physically. I never knew that he was slowly breaking me down emotionally. Not until I met you. You have shown me how a man should love a woman.” Fuck she just made my heart swell. How can anyone mistreat the person they say they love? He might not have touched her, but he did hurt her in a different way and for that, he will pay. “Blake and I went to the police and Lieutenant Andrews is working on the case.” She pops a strawberry in her mouth.

“We should let him know that Patrick is in town. We should also tell him about the fake photos of you and Patrick.”

“I was wondering about them. I swear I haven’t seen him since I left Charlotte. I didn’t even know he was in town.” She jumps up. “Jaxon, we need to go now.” She pulls my hand and I get up and follow her. We get into the truck and she turns towards me as I drive off. “We need to go to the police station. If Patrick is here, he might be the one that set the fire to your paddock.”

She didn’t have to convince me. I am willing to take these assholes down for what they have been doing. They have come to the wrong town and messed with the wrong Cowboy. My girl might put fires out but I will burn them to the ground.

Chapter Twenty One

? Bentley ?

I should have known that Patrick would be a fucking moron. Why is he here? Did he follow me?

I hate the fact that he tried to hurt Jaxon. I know they want his ranch and I am sure they saw us together. I just don’t know how. Of all the things Patrick has done this is by far the most outrageous. He has never gone after a ranch that is this well-known. Everyone in Piper Falls loves the Walkers; they do so much for everyone. He can’t think that he would win this war, can he?

I have been distracted the whole way and didn’t notice that we parked in front of the police station. Jaxon brings my hand that he has been holding this whole time to his lips and kisses the back of it.

“I will be with you the whole time.” I nod as I squeeze his hand. He is my rock and I didn’t even know it. I don’t know how he became the center of my attention so fast, but I like it. “I love you.” He leans over and kisses me softly. It’s a promise to always be there for me.

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