I explain how the boys knocked over the trash.
Her voice cracks. “You’re not upset about the baby? I know that’s not what you want. I think it happened the day I went to the ER because I threw up after I took my birth control. I’m so sorry.”
I kiss her again. “Don’t apologize. I was a dumbass. Of course I want this baby, if you’ll do me the honor of having a family with me. A bigger one, that is.” I have no fucking idea where we’ll live since I’m probably going to lose the ranch, but I have a feeling that with Paige by my side, I can weather any storm. I stroke her hair. “I’m just glad you’re okay. That’s all that matters right now.”
Her bottom lip quivers. “Because of the physical therapy you got me, I was able to outrun this asshole. Look at the path.” She points behind us. “I never would’ve been able to run that a few months ago, much less at full speed. My ankle held up.”
Turning, I take stock of the terrain and realize she’s right. It’s rocky and full of tree roots and rocks. Fuck. What if she hadn’t fully rehabbed her ankle? What if she hadn’t been an elite cheerleader and in amazing shape? “Jesus. Wildflower, I can’t imagine?—”
Before I can say anything else, she throws her arms around my neck and kisses me. I let out a groan and pull her closer.
Jace coughs dramatically. “I hate to break up this happy reunion, but we have a situation over here.”
The guy moans, and I smirk. “Look at that. He’s not dead. Guess I don’t need my shovel.” I look at my wife. “Who is this guy? What did he do to you? Because I can still break both his legs.”
Paige bites her bottom lip. “Call the sheriff. It’s bad.”
A growl rumbles through me. “If this son of a bitch touched one hair on your head…”
She shakes her head. “I’m fine. This isn’t about me. It’s about the ranch.”
I let out a sigh of relief and reach for my cell. With my other arm, I hold her close and kiss her forehead. I don’t let her go as I call the sheriff.
In fact, I’m never letting her go.
47
PAIGE
Shivers rackmy body by the time the sheriff’s cruiser arrives. Rhett waves him over to the path that leads to my attacker, who’s being guarded by Jace.
Rhett hasn’t let go of me since he found me, and I lean into his side.
As Sheriff Reynolds strides toward us, my heart beats harder.
That fear I had when I was in high school, the worry Rhett won’t believe what I saw this morning, makes my stomach hurt. I haven’t told him what happened yet. I’ve spent the last few minutes trying to gather my thoughts.
But then I glance up at my husband, and the look he gives me makes all that negativity melt away. Leaning down, he presses a kiss to my forehead, and I hug him closer, his sturdy presence centering me.
“What do we got here?” the sheriff asks.
Rhett motions behind us. “Some asshole attacked Paige this morning. Chased her into the damn forest.”
“Who is it?”
I shake my head. “I never got a good look at him.”
And since the guy’s face is kinda smashed from where I took him out with a thick branch, Rhett couldn’t figure out who he was.
We head down the trail to where Jace is leaning against a tree. At his feet, my attacker is moaning and holding his face.
The sheriff frowns when he sees him. “Jimmy Calhoun? That you? Or did you steal Jimmy’s belt buckle?”
That’s when I notice the gaudy JC belt he’s sporting.
Harlan’s son.
Jimmy moans. “That bitch hit me.”
