Chapter 6
JACE
I stare the scrawny prick right in his face as I keep him pressed against my truck.
“I don’t know who the fuck you are, but I’ll be pressing charges,” he warns me.
“Press what ya like. But if you step up at her like that again, I’ll ensure you never step another foot in your life.” I release him, keeping my foot over his phone so he can’t pick it up.
“Who are you?” He shakes his head in confusion. Maddison already told him who I was, she told him I was her boss, which I have to admit kinda stung. I don’t wanna just be the girl’s fuckin’ boss. I don’t just wanna be the guy who fucked her last night. I wanna be the start, and end, of her world. And everything in between.
What the fuck’s gotten into me?
“It doesn’t matter who I am.” I fold my arms to make it clear that he won’t be stepping past me.
“I need to talk to her.” He looks burned, and maybe if he hadn’t put his hands on her, I could sympathize with him. Yesterday morning, this guy woke up thinking he had the whole world, and now she’s inside packing her things.
“You heard her, she ain’t ready to talk,” I remind him
“What she did needs explanation, if you had any idea how much was spent on that wedding–”
“Is that your biggest concern, right now?” I laugh at him.
“No, right now you're my biggest concern. You show up here with my fiancée, you punch me in the face and you break my cell. Now you’re keeping me out of my own house.”
“I don’t think she’s your fiancée, anymore.” I scratch my fingers through my stubble and smile at him.
“I’ve got what I need.” I turn my head when I hear Maddison’s voice and see her walking down the path with a gym bag on her shoulder. I take it from her and give her ex a look of warning as I place it in my truck.
“I’m sorry, Adam,” she whispers, and I keep my head down, pretending not to be listening.
“Stay.” He begs her. Sounding desperate and kinda broken. It confirms what I already suspected. This girl has the ability to destroy a man.
“I can’t, and I don’t expect you to understand. Just tell my parents that I’ll be in touch.” She leans forward to kiss him on the cheek, then smiles sadly as she gets inside my truck.
“You're going to regret this.” That snarl returns to his face as he shakes his head at her, and I step around the hood so I can get in beside her.
“Sorry,” she tells him again, and I quickly start the engine and pull away before she changes her mind.
“Ya good?” I ask once I’ve pulled out of her street.
“You didn’t have to punch him.” She side-eyes me.
“Well, he shouldn't have put his hands on you like that. Has he done it before?” I frown at the thought of it.
“He’s clearly been drinking, his car wasn’t there and I smelled it on his breath.” She starts fidgeting her fingers, it’s a trait that I’m quickly learning she does when she’s anxious.
“That’s not what I asked.” I grip the wheel and feel the blood heat my veins.
“He’s never hit me.” She shakes her head and keeps her eyes fixed on her lap. “We should probably stop by a grocery store on the way home. I need to get some supplies if I’m gonna attempt dinner.” She laughs, but her attempt to be cheery doesn't distract me.
“Maddison, I asked if he’d ever hurt you?” I refuse to back down from this, I need answers.
“Adam can be hard work if he’s under too much stress or if he’s had too much to drink. But–”
“Don’t make excuses for him, answer the damn question. Has he hurt you?” I ask again, getting more frustrated by the second.
“There have been times when he’s been a little heavy-handed, but–-”
“Stop! Stop saying but .” My knuckles turn white.
“I can be difficult sometimes.” She laughs, still trying to play things down again.
“It’s not a joke. He had no right to try dragging you out the car the way he did, and I’ve got a good mind to go back there and–”
“Don’t!” Her hand reaches over toward the wheel and rests on top of mine. “The last thing I wanna do is go back. Just take me home.” She smiles; and the fact she just called where we’re heading home, combined with the pretty, little gleam of excitement I see in her eyes, makes my shoulders relax.
“Okay.” I even manage a smile back at her.
“Try this.” I hand her the potato peeler when I step into the kitchen and find her using a carving knife.
‘I wondered what that thing was.” She laughs as she takes it from me and gets back to work.
“I think the boys are going to really like this.” She keeps her eyes on the job and when I pick up a potato and a much smaller knife so I can help, she shakes her head.
“No, you’ve done enough for me, today.” She takes them both from my hand. “You drove for over eight hours, with barely any rest stops.” She makes her way to the fridge and pulls out a beer. “You deserve this.”
“I appreciate that but I got six men out there waiting to be fed,” I remind her. I can see she’s making an effort, but dinner is always served at six-thirty.
“I totally got this. I got a recipe up on my phone. I’ve seasoned the chicken, and it’s in the oven. I’m serving up a big bowl of mashed potato and I’ll get working on that sweetcorn when I’m done here. Go rest,” she orders me with that sassy look on her face.
Holding up my hands, I take a step back and pull out a chair from the table.
I’m a man who never rests. There are plenty of things I could be doing around here, but I’d much rather watch her bustle around my kitchen.
“Hey, Cheerio.” Linc winks as he steps through the door and takes a seat beside me. It’s not until the noise picks up in the room, and Maddison places a huge bowl of mashed potatoes in front of me, that I realize how much time I’ve wasted just watching her.
“Breakfast was a learning curve. I promise I’m trying to improve.” She proudly puts down a tray of chicken in the center of the table as all the boys pile in and load up their plates. Then standing back to rest against the counter, she watches on and sighs contently as they all dig in. The girl’s so beautiful, I wanna lift her onto that counter and fuck her till everyone in the room gets the hint that she’s mine.
“Mmmm, this is good.” Carter nods his head as he shovels another fork full into his mouth.
“Great chicken, Mads.” Kyle flicks his eyes across the table to me continuing to chew, and when I look over to Grayson expectantly, he rolls his eyes and grumbles something under his breath.
“It’s good.” He eventually tips his chin at her.
Every single one of them is a liar. The chicken’s burned dry, and I don’t know what the hell she put with these potatoes, but it tastes all kindsa strange.
“Well, since you're all enjoying it, I’m going to go run myself a nice, warm bath.” She leaves the room pleased with herself and soon as she’s out of sight, Kyle spits his chicken back on his plate.
“Boss…” He widens his eyes at me.
“I know.” I look around the table at all their pissed faces. “She’s gonna get better, this is all new to her, and it’ll beat having to pick up from the diner every night.”
“I’ve never known someone hire a cook who can’t cook,” Grayson points out. “I wouldn’t feed this shit to my horse.”
“Okay. I’m hearing ya. Just give the girl a little time, she’s going through some stuff and this ain’t what she’s used to.”
“I’m headin’ into town, who’s comin’?” Lincoln gets up from the table and everyone follows him out the door except for Grayson.
“I’ll be right out,” he calls after them, keeping his eyes fixed on mine.
“What’s up, boss?” he asks once we’re alone. I’ve known Grayson my whole life, him and Dad were best friends and he fuckin’ knows that I hate it when he calls me boss.
“Nothing's up.” I do my best to sound casual and not like my world hasn’t just been turned upside down.
“You like her.” He points his finger at me accusingly as his lips hitch up into a smile.
“Don’t be ridiculous.” I shake my head as I start scraping all the food onto one plate. I’m gonna have to trash it outside so she doesn’t see how much is leftover.
“Just look at yaself, ya spent today driving her around, ya sent us all that text telling us to hype up this shit show.” He laughs as he looks down at the table. “We both know she’s not cut out for this job and ye–”
“Will you keep your damn voice down?” I whisper-yell, checking over my shoulder. The last thing I want is for Maddison to start doubting that she belongs here. “Okay, I’ll admit she’s got some improvements to make but it’s the same when we get someone new out on the yard. They gotta be taught shit, learn from their mistakes. Maddison’s got nowhere to go and–”
“She’s not a stray puppy, Jace. And this shit is only gonna lie with the boys for so long. We all knew when we lost Marie that things wouldn’t be the same around here.” I feel my guts wrench when I think about my mom, she treated all the bunkhouse boys as if they were her sons. “but we can’t be traveling to the diner to be fed morning, noon, and night. Hard workers are hard to find, they need to be looked after,” he reminds me, picking up his hat and sliding it back on his head before he leaves to catch up with the others.