Page 28 of Protective Cowboy

She couldn’t tell if he honestly couldn’t remember, or if he wanted to ignore an inconvenient fact. Either was possible.

“But I want you back,” he pleaded, a desperate edge in his voice. “Give me another chance. Please, baby.”

A shiver of revulsion arrowed through her. “A chance for what, Phillip? To cheat on me again with another younger woman?”

“Baby, no!” His eyes swam with tears. The sight alarmed her. Phillip prided himself on always being in control of his emotions.

He staggered up the porch steps, his hands outstretched. “I’m here to apologize.”

She stared at him in shock. Who are you, and what have you done with my ex?

For as long as she’d known him, Phillip had never apologized. For anything.

Because nothing was ever his fault. He had a way of making sure someone else—usually her—took the blame for things that went wrong

“I made a mistake, the biggest mistake, okay?” he babbled, apparently spurred by her lack of response. “A huge mistake. I… Theresa… she… oh, never mind. What I’m trying to tell you is, I want to be with you again, baby. We were so good together.”

“Funny. I don’t remember it that way.” She kept a nervous eye on the shrinking distance between them as he climbed the porch steps with ponderous care.

Swaying, Phillip made it to the top of the steps. Then he came to a dead stop and clutched at the porch railing to steady himself.

“Let’s have dinner tomorrow night. One date. That’s all I’m asking.”

The breeze wafted alcoholic fumes in her direction. She couldn’t believe he’d actually driven here. She only hoped he hadn’t run anyone off the highway on his way over.

“Just give me a chance to prove I’ve changed,” he continued. “To make things right. If you want, we could even have dinner at that cowboy restaurant your sister owns.”

Autumn hesitated momentarily. Am I being unfair to deny him a chance?

Then her common sense returned and smacked her upside the head. “No. It’s too late, Phillip. You had your shot at being a good husband and father. You failed. Now, please leave.”

“But I’ve changed, baby! Give me a chance to show you.” His tone turned wheedling. “If you don’t want to do dinner, then how about coffee tomorrow? Coffee’s not too much to ask, right?”

She recognized the opening steps to his familiar dance of manipulation. Phillip’s favorite boast was: ‘No’ is just the beginning of the journey to ‘yes.’

Autumn shook her head. “No. It’s over. We’re done. You destroyed what we had. I’ve moved on.”

Behind her, the front screen door opened and closed quietly.

Phillip’s face twisted. “It’s because of him, isn’t it?” he sneered, pointing over her shoulder.

She didn’t have to turn around to know that Matt stood behind her. His tall, silent presence felt like a pillar of support. “This isn’t about Matt. It’s about you and me. And we’re done.”

“I can’t believe you moved on so quickly,” he scoffed, scanning Matt up and down. “He’s just a small-town cop, Autumn, with a small-town cop’s salary. What can he offer you that I can’t?”

She raised her chin, a fresh spurt of anger fueling her words. “Honesty? Respect? Oh, and I know for sure he doesn’t have a second family in New Jersey.”

Matt made a strangled noise.

Phillip glowered. “That’s not fair—”

The screen door burst open again. Phillip’s eyes widened as Autumn recognized her dad’s heavy tread on the porch board.

She glanced over her shoulder and saw the thunderous expression on his normally genial face. Her brother and Brock followed close on Dad’s heels. They looked just as pissed off.

“That’s enough, Phillip,” Dad declared, his voice crisp with authority. “You’ve said your piece. Now, get your ass off my ranch. Pronto.”

Phillip huffed indignantly. But when Spring and Brock stepped up beside Dad, Phillip began digging frantically in his pants pocket.

---