Chapter 15 Violet
Violet
“Vi?” Colt’s hand was on my arm, but I couldn’t comprehend why the hell he was waking me up in the middle of the night. Well, it felt like the middle of the night, at least. And once I cracked my right eye open and found that the room was still swallowed in darkness, I knew I was right.
“Hmm?” I managed to mumble back at him as my eyes tried to roll right back into my head.
“I have to go to work, I’m so sorry. I have your medication downstairs. Can I help you inject it before I go in?”
Well, I couldn’t be mad at that. With my eyes still closed, but a smile creeping across my face, I sighed. “No. I do it at eleven. Don’t worry.”
“Okay. Shit. I’ll try to come home for it, but there’s some new evidence in a case and I need to be there for the briefing. There’s a deputy…”
His voice faded as I yawned and drifted a bit. I wanted to hear what he was saying, but the gravel in his early morning voice had always been so soothing.
“Vi? Did you hear me?”
“Yep.”
“You go back to sleep. Everything is locked up, you’re safe here.”
“I know I am.”
Colt chuckled. “Good. I also asked my dad to keep an eye on things over here. He’s up around now, anyway, and usually putters around the barn while Beau runs things out with the cattle.”
My eyes flew open. “Did you tell him—”
“No. Figured we’d do that together. Sometime soon, seeing as how our son doesn’t have much longer before he’s in our arms instead of in your belly.
” His hand palmed my bump before he leaned in and pressed a kiss into the blanket.
“Be good for your mama today.” Colt looked back at me. “Call me if anything comes up.”
I closed my eyes, waiting to hear his footsteps fade out of the room and down the hall. Instead, I felt him get closer to me. And as I fought to keep my breath steady, he leaned in, pressing his lips to my cheek.
“I’m not happy I have to go into work today, but I’m fucking thrilled I get to come home to the two of you,” he whispered. “Best feeling ever.”
I didn’t open my eyes. I didn’t dare move as his words wrapped themselves around my heart and squeezed.
Ignoring the call of the bathroom—which happened every time I woke up now—I forced myself to breathe steadily as I listened to him quietly move around the house.
A short time later, his truck started and he pulled away from our home, just as sleep pulled me back under.
Ugh. The bathroom was now an alarming need.
I groaned as I flung the blankets off myself, rolling a bit more onto my arm so I could push my body up and off the edge of the bed at the same time.
It was always a bit of a gamble at this point in my pregnancy, because my blood pressure liked to swoop if I moved too quickly.
But it was either that or wet myself, and I didn’t particularly feel like doing laundry first thing in the morning.
I hadn’t had a chance to even look around at our house with everything that happened, and I had plans on snooping…
No! Not snooping. Just seeing what Colt changed in the time I’d been gone.
After using the bathroom, and taking the shortest amount of time possible to make me look somewhat presentable while still in my pajamas, I left the bedroom and padded down the hallway. My stomach growled, and my throat was suddenly so dry I almost gagged.
Weird. I held my belly as I made my way downstairs and to the kitchen.
The sunshine immediately caught my eye. I always loved the way it danced through the side of the house in the morning, streaming in and making the kitchen the perfect place to soak in some early vitamin D.
I looked out the window over the sink, my eyes first finding the spot where Colt’s truck should be.
A little pang of anxiety kicked in my chest.
I knew he loved being a deputy, but there would always be the danger of the unknown. And as tough as it had been to deal with when we were married, it was excruciating thinking about him not coming home now that he knew about the baby.
I shook my head, trying to silence the worry. Only a different vehicle parked outside the house caught my eye, and my heart sank. Why the hell was there a deputy’s vehicle out in the driveway? It wasn’t Colt’s. I knew that immediately because it wasn’t a truck, and he wasn’t inside the house.
I slipped my shoes on, wrapped my jacket around myself so my belly wouldn’t be sticking out, and marched out the front door. The brisk air greeted me, but only added to the urgency of finding out what was going on.
I raised my fist and knocked on the glass. The deputy inside smiled as he rolled down the window.
“Good morning, ma’am.”
“Good morning. Is there a problem, Deputy?”
His brows pulled together. “A problem? No ma’am.”
The feeling returned to my fingertips. “Why are you here then? I almost had a heart attack thinking something was wrong with Colt!”
He chuckled. “No, no, everything is fine. I promise. I’m just here to make sure you’re safe. Per the acting sheriff’s request.”
My jaw fell open.
“He requested what?”
“Colt requested a deputy to stay here on the Silver Ridge Ranch to make sure you're protected. Which I will make sure you are, ma’am.” The deputy’s eyes dropped to my belly, and I shoved down the urge to groan.
I knew I had to look absolutely ridiculous in Colt’s old sweats and t-shirt, my bump no longer wrapped inside the jacket.
“Please stop calling me ma’am. I’m Violet.” I held out my hand. He reached through the window and took my hand, giving it a firm shake.
“Deputy Johnathan Boone. But please, feel free to call me John.”
“Well, John, it’s very nice to meet you. Do you need anything? Coffee? Breakfast? You’re more than welcome to come inside if you need to use the restroom…”
John smiled. “I’m all set here, ma—sorry, Violet. Thank you. If you need anything…”
“I’ll get your attention. Promise.”
He nodded, his smile never wavering, even if his eyes did look tired. “Alright. Have a good morning.”
“Oh, I will.”
And I would, because as soon as I was back in the house, I marched straight upstairs.
Colt had filled my bag with the most ridiculous mismatch of random clothes possible, so it was going to be a black legging and sweatshirt kind of day.
Lucky for me, my ex-husband still had his extensive collection of sweatshirts, so it was the dealer's choice.
My eyes skimmed over the folded fabric until it landed on a gray sweatshirt that looked well loved.
Unfolding it, my breath caught in my throat.
Embroidered across the chest was Chesapeake Bay and my mind was instantly back on the shore, eating so much seafood that Colt joked he was going to have to roll me back to the little bed and breakfast we were staying at for our honeymoon.
I’d bought a canvas bag to carry my laptop in when we were shopping the day before we left, and I had insisted he get something to take home with him.
“I already have exactly what I want going home with me, Vi. My wife.”
Smiling at the memory, I slipped the sweatshirt over my head and made my way back downstairs. Before I slipped my shoes back on, I grabbed my laptop and slid it into my bag. I marched over to the counter and removed my injection from the big box before slipping that into my bag, too.
Colt wanted me to be safe? He wanted to help with my medication? Perfect. I’d make it possible for all that to happen. But no way, no how, was a deputy wasting his time sitting outside this house all day long.
Slinging my bag over my shoulder, I opened the door, flipped the lock, and shut it behind me as I stepped onto the porch once more.
I smiled as I walked in front of the vehicle.
Of course, my car was still at my parents’ place, so Deputy Boone was going to get the honors of driving me into town, all the way to the Sheriff’s Department.
“Violet?” John’s voice questioned me as I pulled open the passenger side door. “Are you okay?” His eyes dropped to my belly.
“Fine,” I huffed, startlingly out of breath. “I just need you to drive me into town.”
John nodded, his hand reaching to turn the key. The engine rumbled to life and I closed my door, slipping my hand around the seat belt and yanking it over my body towards the receiver.
“I would never normally ask this of you,” I start, “but since Colt drove me here last night and left my car at my parents, this will have to do.”
“I don’t mind one bit. But could you let me know where you need to go so that I can let him know we’ve left, and I can get you there safely?”
I laughed. “Oh, you don’t need to tell him where we’re going. He’ll see once we get there.”
A smile pulled across John’s face. “Ah. We’re heading to the Sheriff’s Department?”
“You would be one-hundred percent correct.”
“To come home from our honeymoon and hear we were having twins a few weeks later was the shock of a lifetime,” John laughed. I smiled as he finished telling me about his wife, Abby, their daughter Katy, and their twin boys.
“You certainly have your hands full.”
“I do. But it’s the best. You must be looking forward to the chaos.”
“More than you could ever know.”
John nodded as he flipped on the blinker and pulled into the station.
“Wait right there, I’ll help you down,” he instructed.
“I managed just fine on the way in.”
“Yeah, I’m all for a woman standing in her independence and all, but I really would like to keep my job. Colt will suspend me with his temporary powers—no question asked—if he hears I didn’t help you down.”
I nodded. “Well, I can’t be responsible for that.”
Once I had two feet firmly on the pavement, I grabbed my bag, threw it over my shoulder and marched into the station with my head held high and the biggest scowl I could manage.
Of course, Colt wasn’t milling about. I had figured with whatever investigation he was working on he wouldn’t just be standing around, staring at the front door.
“Mrs. Ford, is everything okay?” Nate smiled from behind the glass partition.
I sighed, and for a moment let the title wash over me. It had been so long since someone had called me that.
“No sassy nickname for me today, Nate?”
“Didn’t want to step on toes,” he admitted.
“She’s here to see Ford.” John cleared his throat, a smile dancing across his face.
Deputy Jones nodded, pressing whatever magic button he had back behind the glass to open the door for us.
I fully planned to keep walking until I made it to Colt’s office, but just as I stepped over the threshold, Colt came walking out of a different room. His eyes scanned over us, recognition flaring in an instant.
He stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes tracing over me. Searing heat lit up my body as he lingered on my torso. A smirk kicked up in the corner of his mouth, and I realized he recognized I was wearing his clothes.
I crossed my arms and stared back at him.
Holy hot sauce! His sleeves were rolled up, exposing several of his intricate tattoos.
His forearms had always been one of my favorite features of his.
Strong from working on the ranch, but still soft enough that they felt so safe each time they wrapped around me.
And how had I not realized he was wearing glasses?
I mean, yeah, he looked shocked to see me, and that shock morphed into worry as he walked closer to us, but my God.
I could not stop looking at this man and his glasses.
The salt and pepper edges of his temples were enough to make my knees weak, but pair them with an ocular accessory and I was downright almost panting!
They were hot. He was hot in them.
“Vi?”
Yeah, my hot and bothered self was too hot and bothered to reply. All sense of indignation went right out the window. I couldn’t remember what I was doing there.
“Come on.” His hand went to my elbow, and before I knew it, John’s chuckles were just a distant sound as Colt shuffled me into his office and shut the door.
I set my bag on the chair, fully intent on sitting in the other, but as I turned, my head swam.
Shit. I hadn’t had breakfast. A cold sweat hit the small of my back and I closed my eyes, willing away the flood of saliva and roll of nausea that hit me like a tsunami.
“Colt,” I whispered as I reached out to steady myself.
“Whoa. What’s wrong?”
I swallowed, breathing in his scent. I couldn’t believe I’d been so wrapped up in my nerves that I hadn’t recognized it last night.
That scent took me right back to the first Christmas we lived together.
The first year we were renovating the house.
God, we barely had any money, but I’d gotten him the nicest smelling cologne at a fancy shop I’d found in Dallas.
He wore it all the time. Even now. My heart galloped, the dizziness coming back in full force.
Only this time, I didn’t think it was because of my blood sugar.
“Vi? Hey, I’m going to help you sit down, okay?”
I nodded, letting him guide my body back into the chair that sat in front of his desk. The same one I’d sat in the day before, telling him about my stalker. So much had changed in so little time.
His thumbs traced steady circles over the back of my hands. “I don’t like how pale you are right now. What’s wrong?”
“I’m fine,” I whispered. Hating how unsure that sounded, I cleared my throat. “I’m sorry. I was about to make breakfast when I saw Deputy Boone sitting in your driveway and made him drive me over here. The baby doesn’t like when I forget to eat.”
His thumbs stopped moving as he shook his head, his jaw ticking once before he swallowed. “I’ll be right back. Do not move.”