Page 44 of Protective Cowboy

Jayden nodded and made another trip over to the dining table.

When he returned with the big salad bowl hugged to his chest, he looked up at Matt with worried eyes. “Do you think my daddy will take me away from Mommy?”

Matt’s heart ached at the unexpected question. “Your dad can’t take you anywhere without your mom’s permission,” he assured Jayden. “Not without breaking the law. Why do you want to know?”

Jayden’s shoulders slumped. He looked down at his Spider-Man sneakers.

“Last weekend, Daddy told me he wants to take me to New Jersey to meet my new baby sister,” he confessed. “But I don’t want to go to New Jersey! I want to stay here with Mommy and Grandma and Grandpa and the horses and the goats. And you. You’re cool, Deputy Matt!”

“Thanks, buddy. And you can just call me Matt from now on,” Matt told him, warmed by the boy’s words. He added, “If you don’t want to go with your dad, I’ll do everything I can to make sure you get to stay right here where you belong.”

“Promise?” Jayden held up his little finger.

Matt linked his pinkie with Jayden’s. “Pinky swears.”

Apparently reassured, Jayden asked, “Which Batman movie is your favorite?”

“Definitely The Dark Knight,” Matt answered. “How about you? What’s your favorite Spider-Man movie?”

“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse!” Jayden replied, excitement in his voice. “It’s got all those different Spider-People from other dimensions!”

“That one’s pretty great too,” Matt admitted.

As they continued discussing superhero movies, Matt decided that Autumn’s son was a sweet, funny kid. He deserved better than the way Phillip treated him.

Autumn peeked into the kitchen a short while later.

“Uh-oh, I see you two are having a Marvel versus DC Comics debate,” she said, leaning against the doorway.

“Guilty as charged,” Matt replied, winking at her.

“Don’t forget about the female superheroes. Like Wonder Woman versus the Black Widow,” she said. “Or the Amazons versus the Dora Milaje.”

“Good point. I sure wouldn’t want to be a bad guy facing any of those women,” Matt said. “And you should give yourself some credit, too, Super Mom.”

“Yeah!” Jayden declared. “You’re definitely a Super Mom! An’ Matt an’ me, we’ll protect you from any bad guys who show up.”

“Well, it’s good to know I’ve got two superheroes right here to protect me,” she said.

Matt grinned and touched the brim of his imaginary cowboy hat. “We’re here to protect and serve, Ms. Snowberry.”

Jayden straightened up and saluted. “Yes, Mom! That’s us!”

Autumn’s smile lit up her eyes and made her face glow.

∞∞∞

After tucking Jayden in, Autumn carried two glasses of iced tea out to where Matt was sitting on the porch, catching up on the latest baseball news. The August night was almost tropically warm, perfumed with the sweet scents of roses and honeysuckle.

“All finished with the paperwork?” he asked, putting aside his tablet as she settled herself next to him.

Autumn nodded, brushing a loose tendril of auburn hair behind her ear. “I’ll be driving up to Livingston first thing Monday morning to file it.”

“I’m off work Mondays. I could go with you,” Matt offered.

Autumn smiled, her blue eyes lighting up. “I’d like that. We could get lunch at Fiesta Jalisco afterwards.”

Matt grinned. “Sounds great. I haven’t been there in ages.”

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