I raised my chin and stared Emma down. Carter took his mother’s arm. “Let’s go, Mom. This will only get worse if we stay.”
“Gray, you’re going to regret this!”
The second they were out of sight, tremors shook Ozzie’s body, confirming that I’d done the right thing. I hadn’t loved on him over the past few weeks just for Carter and Emma to tear him down.
“Hey, hey,” I murmured, wrapping both arms around Ozzie’s trembling frame. “It’s all right, sweetheart. You’re safe here.”
“I’m so sorry.” A sob escaped Ozzie, and he buried his face into the crook of my neck, his tears seeping into the fabric of my shirt. “I didn’t expect it to get this out of hand. You should apologize and get Carter to stay so you can work things out. You don’t have to worry about me and my feelings.”
I cradled the back of his head. “I can apologize for sleeping with you while you’re still engaged, but I won’t ever apologize for kicking him out after what he said about you. You’re nobody’s seconds. You’re the man I love, and don’t you ever forget that, Ozzie.”
35
OZZIE
“Gray?” I reached out for his warm body next to mine but came up empty.
Stretching, I rolled over onto my stomach and slowly opened my eyes. We’d gone to bed with the curtains open, and silver streaks of moonlight silhouetted the bedroom furniture in an ethereal glow. For a moment, I lay there, my mind half-awake as I absorbed the lunar beauty dotted with faint shadows in the room.
Slowly the coolness of Gray’s side of the bed penetrated through my mental haze. He’d left our bed a while ago. Where was he? I grappled for my phone on the bedside table.
After one in the morning.
Concerned, I peeled back the sheets. After the confrontation between Carter and Emma two days ago, things had settled back down at the ranch. Thankfully, my days were busy taking care of Hudson’s daughter, but each time I ran into a ranch hand, they avoided looking at me. I hadn’t been into town, but Hudson had kept me informed that Gray and I were the hot topic everywhere.
I padded across the floor on my bare feet and got dressed. Sex last night had been frantic and desperate. I’d loved every second of it, especially after Carter left me briefly with a momentary lapse of insecurity about myself. No one wanted to hear themselves described the way Carter had me—his sloppy seconds.
“You’re nobody’s seconds. You’re the man I love.”
Smiling, I went to find Gray. If not for the man he was, I would never have taken such an enormous risk sleeping with someone who wasn’t my fiancé and coming out with it. But I believed in Gray. He wouldn’t allow me to face the criticisms all alone. He’d deliberately gone into town earlier today so he could confront the first wave of gossip without me. It was a coward’s move on my part, but with Gray, I didn’t have to be brave. He would always have my back. That was new for me, and I loved him for it.
At the top of the stairs, I listened for any sounds that would indicate where Gray might be. A door creaked down the hall, and Matty poked his head out.
“He’s at the birthing paddock,” he said, then closed the door.
I sighed. While he still treated me better than when I’d just arrived, he was back to being mostly silent and avoiding me. Thank god for Gertie, Hudson, and Opie, who didn’t make me feel like the biggest slut on the planet. If not for them, I would bawl my eyes out every day and greet Gray with a phony smile each evening.
They formed a protective village around me, shielding me from the backlash.
I pushed open the back door and stepped into the moonlit night, my breath misting in the cool air. The faint smell of hay and horses wafted over from the stables. I crossed the yard and slipped between bales of hay stacked against the stable walls.Gray stood inside the wooden fence, watching a dappled mare lying on her side, heaving and groaning.
“Hey,” I called softly, not wanting to startle him or the mare.
Gray turned his head. My heart fluttered. He was rugged and handsome but the gentlest, most patient man I’d ever met. Under the weight of the town’s gossip and judgment, he remained unflinchingly himself and unwavering in how he felt about me.
“Baby, what are you doing out of bed?” Though we were on different sides of the fence, he kissed me.
“I couldn’t sleep without you. I was worried.”
He sighed. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you.”
“Actually, worried is not the right word. Just missed you.”
His lips curved into a soft smile. Then he turned his attention back to the mare. “This girl here’s about to give birth any minute now. Matty was with her earlier, so now I’m relieving him. You can stay and watch if you want or go back to bed, but I might be another hour or so.”
“I’ll stay with you.” I entered the paddock, moving quietly. When I was close enough, Gray pulled me down to sit on a bed of straw he’d made with a blanket. Next to his little arrangement was what looked like a medical kit and a thermos.
“What’s that for?” I asked.
