Austin cries quietly, but Gabriel’s face is a mask of tension. He stares out the window. His voice comes out a croaky whisper. “I want to keep training.”
“Me too!” Austin wails.
Finally, my tears overflow. “I’d love that.”
The three of us cry all the way home.
30
RHETT
My phone keeps pingingwith messages. “What the hell is so important right now?” I pat my cow between her big brown eyes. “Want some more pumpkin, sweetheart?” I ask her as I hand her a piece.
Her calf bumps against me, and I chuckle. “You want some too, huh?” I break off a small chunk, which he gobbles out of my hand.
My phone buzzes again, and I grab it out of my back pocket. It’s Jace.
Jace: Is Paige okay?
Me: Why wouldn’t she be?
Jace: You haven’t seen the video yet, huh? One sec.
What video? It takes a full five minutes for the damn thing to load. I hold my phone up to try to get another bar, but the signal is weak out here.
Finally, it plays. My stomach drops as I watch my ex tear into my sweet wife. Whoever’s recording this follows them back to my truck. I hold my breath as I wait for Paige to start crying because Amber is a viper. And then it’s like a switch flips, and Paige yells back. I watch, riveted, as my wife defends herself, but the part that kills me dead is when she yells that I belong to her now. “I will cherish him with my whole heart for as long as he’ll have me!”
Fuck, yes, she belongs to me.
I grab my horse’s reins, slide my boot into the stirrup, and hoist myself into the saddle. “Let’s get home,” I tell Apollo.
By the time I open the sliding glass door to the kitchen, my heart is pounding. I have no idea what to expect.
I find Paige and the boys huddled together in front of the TV. Cartoons are playing, but they don’t look like they’re watching.
“Hey, guys.” I kneel in front of them. “Are y’all okay? I heard what happened.”
All three of them have bloodshot eyes and red noses. I hold open my arms, and the boys rush into them. Paige’s eyes are swollen, and I’m so pissed that Amber hurt her, I wanna howl at the sky like a wild beast.
I can’t go another minute without her in my arms. So I sit next to her, scoot Gabriel next to me while I keep my arm around him, put Austin in my lap, and pull Paige to me with my other arm, so that I have all three of them close.
She shoves her face against my chest, and I can feel her shoulders shake as she cries. “Who told you?”
I wince. She’s not gonna be excited about this, but I don’t wanna lie. “Jace forwarded a video someone took.”
Tugging her closer, I rub her back, and she hiccups. “I’m sorry I didn’t get the boys out of there quicker.”
“Baby, you have nothing to apologize for. I appreciate you not letting her take them.” Amber has gone too fucking far.
Paige sits up and wipes her eyes. “I feel bad that Gabe and Austin had to see… had to see that.”
I kiss her forehead. “Well, let’s do a little family check-in.” I look down at my boys. “Today was tough, and I know you two don’t understand everything that happened, but the most important thing is that y’all did nothing wrong. And I want you to know I love you both more than I can say. You two are my whole world, and I’ll do anything to keep you safe.”
Austin starts crying. “I’m sad.”
“Aww, buddy, it’s okay. I’m sad too that everyone got so upset today.”
Gabriel sniffles. “Is Mom gonna take us back this week? ’Cause I don’t wanna go.”
