Page 17 of Protective Cowboy

She was clearly eager to get away from Phillip. Plus, there was a rapt audience watching their every move from the bakery’s outside tables.

She looked down at her son.

“Jayden, I’m sure Daisy wants you to visit her at the petting zoo.”

Jayden nodded. “Sure!” He threw a longing glance at a nearby table, where a half-eaten dish of ice cream stood melting. “But can I finish my ice cream first?”

Phillip’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “You can’t keep me from my son, Autumn! He needs his father in his life. Not some boyfriend.”

“Stay away from us,” Autumn said tightly. “You had your chance. You didn’t want anything to do with us, remember?”

“But I’ve seen the error of my ways. I miss you both so much,” he declared, grinning nastily at her. “I’m sure my lawyer can get a judge to amend that custody order.”

Autumn sucked in a breath. “We’ll see about that.” But her voice shook.

Matt put his arms protectively around her shoulders. “Don’t worry,” he assured her. “The Park County judges take everything into account when deciding to amend custody agreements.” He looked Phillip square in the eyes. “And they hate people who try to game the system. Especially when there are kids involved.”

Phillip bristled, but Matt stared him down with the unflinching gaze that made perps quake in their boots.

“Now, Mr. Garthe, I think it’s time you were on your way,” Matt continued, steel in his tone. “Autumn’s got work to do, and Jayden needs to get back to his grandparents. Everyone’s worried about him.”

After a tense beat, Phillip rasped, “This isn’t over, babycakes.”

With a final menacing glare, he stalked away.

As he disappeared around the corner, Autumn slumped against Matt, some of the rigid tension leaving her body. “Oh, shit,” she whispered.

He squeezed her briefly in reassurance.

“Mommy, that’s a bad word,” Jayden said reprovingly.

“I know, sweetie. I’m sorry.”

Jayden nodded. “Can I go finish my banana split now?” he asked, sounding plaintive.

“Sure,” she said. “But don’t go anywhere else while I talk to Deputy Matt.”

“I promise, Mommy!”

Both Autumn and Matt watched him like hawks until he climbed into the chair in front of his half-melted sundae.

“You okay?” He rubbed her back and felt her take a deep breath.

“Yeah, I think so. Thank you for standing up to him.”

“Happy to help,” he said, then added, “But you were doing a pretty good job of that on your own. I was just your backup.”

She exhaled sharply. “I can’t believe Phillip just showed up like that, out of the blue! He’s supposed to be in New Jersey, but it sounds like his fiancée kicked him out. Now he wants to get back together with me. As if.”

Anger flared through Matt’s chest. “What is he? Delusional?”

She shivered. “I don’t know. But he scared the daylights out of me today, taking Jayden like that…” She tilted her head back and gave him an assessing look. “Speaking of which, why did you tell him we were, uh, dating?”

“Because I couldn’t just stand there and let that jerk act like he owned you,” he admitted. “I had to do something.” He felt his lips twist in a wry smile. “And I can’t really punch his lights out while I’m in uniform.”

Autumn chuckled. Then her arms tightened around him in a fierce hug. “Matt, that was inspired! Phillip was way out of line, and sad to say, the only way he’ll back down is if he thinks some other man has staked a claim on me.” She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “I can’t believe I ever married him.”

“We all make mistakes.” Matt shrugged. “What matters is you got yourself out of a bad situation.” He paused. “Your ex seems like a real asshole.”

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