Chapter 24
JACE
FOUR WEEKS LATER
“ S top looking at me like that.” Maddison glares at me while the nurse takes her blood, she gets queasy when it comes to needles so she’s squeezing my hand at the same time.
“Look at you like what?” I laugh.
“Like you’re a wounded puppy. I told you, I don’t want to know.” She smiles at the nurse when she unstraps her arm, and I notice the look that passes between the pair of them.
“All I’m saying is that there's a sonographer in the next room who knows what we got in there. While me, the father, does not.” I make my point clear.
“Jace, you’ve been calling this baby ‘him’ since it was a blueberry. What happened to being sure?” She turns her attention to the nurse who talks about her next appointment and once she’s finished, she picks the envelope up from the desk that contains our updated images.
“I am sure. I just need confirmation.” I hold open the door and tip my chin at the nurse before I follow her out to the reception.
“Well, in another twenty week’s time, you’ll get that confirmation.” She smiles at me cleverly, and it makes me want to spank her ass.
“Come on, you can take me to Jean’s diner for some pie.” She rests her shoulders against the passenger door of my truck when we get to it. My girl is one hot mess these days, and she knows exactly how to press all my buttons. The top she’s wearing is low enough to showcase her ever-growing tits and cropped so her slightly-rounded belly sticks out over the top of her new low-waist jeans.
“Babe, we’re in the city, you can get pie from any place you like,” I laugh, reaching my hands around her ass and tucking them into her back pockets.
“I know, but little JJ’s really got his heart set on Jean’s cherry pie.” She rubs a circle around her bump proudly. It has me wantin’ to fuck her right here, right now, up against this door but right now it’s not dick she wants, it’s pie, and I’m happy to make it my life’s work to give her exactly what she needs.
“So, come on, tell me why you don’t want to find out.” I wait until she's inhaled her pie and is resting back in the booth before I quiz her.
“I’m not telling you, you’ll think I’m stupid.” She looks out of the window to avoid making eye contact.
“Baby, last night you cried over Wheel of Fortune. I already think you're stupid.” My teasing earns me a kick under the table and I take both her hands in mine so she can’t escape me before I lean forward on its surface.
“You can tell me anything,” I remind her. That’s the promise we made to each other, and there ain’t a thought inside her head that I’d want her to keep from me.
“Fine.” She twists her lips in that bratty little way that sometimes makes me forget she’s pregnant and want to punish her, just for being so damn cute.
“I was talking to some other expectant moms on the forum…”
I immediately roll my eyes, I swear that fuckin’ forum is the bane of my life right now.
“Hear me out before you judge.” She stares back at me accusingly.
“One or two of them have had babies before, and they say that not knowing really helped them get through labor, you know, like an incentive kind of thing.”
“Sweetheart, I’m pretty sure the baby you get at the end is the incentive,” I remind her.
“I know you're excited to find out for sure, and so am I. But I'm also really nervous about…you know.” She looks around the room and blushes.
“I couldn’t help overhear.” Jean nudges me out of her way as she slides into the booth beside me. “And I agree with the forum moms, I was in labor for seventy-three hours with Cade.” She places down her tray like she intends on staying put.
“ Seventy-three? ” Maddison stares at me in horror.
“That's right, and I can tell you it wasn’t easy. Have you ever suffered from hemorr–”
“Thank you, Jean, that's quite enough.” I budge back into my space and almost knock her off the seat. “Can we get the check, please, darlin’?” I throw her a look that tells her she ain’t helping and although she’s clearly put out, she still marches off to get it.
“Seventy-three hours, Jace. I’d never survive that long.” Her head shakes.
“Jean exaggerates,” I tell her, lifting my hat and placing it on my head as I stand up. Everyone in town has known for a few weeks now, that Maddison’s expecting, yet they all still have to stare at her.
“I hate it when they do that,” she whispers under her breath as I place some bills on the table and when she starts tugging on that top she’s wearing to hide her stomach, I take her hand in mine so she can’t. She seemed so confident when she came down the stairs wearing it this morning. I thought all my efforts to make her understand how much I adore the way her body’s changing had finally sunk in. I guess I was wrong.
“They’re staring because you're beautiful,” I remind her, glancing over to Hayden Chambers who’s notably checking out my girl's ass and her new-rounded figure.
He quickly looks away when he notices me glaring at him, and I feel my girl’s body tense when Sheriff Hale steps into the diner and joins him at his table.
“Come on, let's getcha home.” I quickly guide her out the door and toward my truck.
“Do you know if they have any leads on that missing person?” she asks suspiciously as I open her door and help her up into her seat. She shoos me away when I go to buckle her up, and gives me that warning look that tells me I’m being overbearing again.
“Not that I know of.” I kiss her cheek and tap her tummy before making my way around the hood so I can jump behind the wheel.
She buckles herself up and when she takes a deep breath, I can tell that she isn’t done.
“Isabel was telling me that he and your mom were seeing each other.” She pries some more.
“Did she now?” I start the engine and pull onto the street.
“I was just–”
“I ain’t got anything to do with him being missing if that’s what you’re asking, not this time anyway.” I don’t want to talk about Billy McGee on a happy day like today. I’m still reeling from the fact that I’m clueless as to who ended him.
“Not this time?” She looks at me with concern.
“Ya heard right.” I twist my hands on the wheel, knowing that it’s better to be honest but not liking it, one bit. “When you first came to town, I was kinda holding him.” I try to play it down as I drive toward home.
“I don’t like the way that sounds, Jace.” She’s looking as fearful as she is angry.
“Yeah, well, we resolved our differences so whatever has happened to him this time, ain’t on me.”
“How can you just brush that off as being normal?” She’s still stunned. “The whole town is worrying about him, if you have any idea where he could be you need to speak to that sheriff.”
“I don’t have a clue where he could be. Like I said, we resolved our differences.”
“Why do I get the feeling you're not telling me something?” She tilts her head suspiciously and instead of answering her question, I focus on driving.
I can tell she’s upset. These days, she’s either jumping my bones or being pissed at me, not that I mind. Her being pissed always leads to the jumping my bones part and I ain’t ever gonna complain about that.
When we get back to the yard she announces that she’s going inside for a nap and the way she slams the door, as I step up onto the porch, makes it very clear that I ain’t invited.
“What ya do this time?” Tyler asks with a grin on his face. I’m endlessly getting ripped into by the boys because of the way she’s changed me, and I ain't in the mood for their shit today. Ignoring his question, I head over to the woodshed to stock up on wood. If my girl’s gonna be mad at me, she can at least do it while she’s warm.
“I hear congratulations are in order.” My uncle’s sitting on the porch chair when I return from checking the herd. I’ve spent the whole afternoon giving Maddison her space, and a visit from him is the last thing I need.
“Little slow ain’t ya? The town has been talking about that for weeks.” The fact my uncle hasn’t been seen since Eli found Billy’s body has me suspicious and if I’m being honest, I feel a little uncomfortable with him being here.
“I had work, it was a big ca?—”
“Save that shit for someone who’ll believe it.” I tie Buck to the corral and check no one’s around before I step up to him.
“You killed Billy and I wanna know why.” I stand nose to nose with the man I always thought I could trust.
“Jace, I swear it wasn’t me. I had no idea about what had happened till Eli called me and asked for a cleanup.”
“So who? Who would want Billy dead?” I scrub my hands over my face and rack my brains again.
“Your father would be proud, he always loved kids. Was good with ‘em too” Uncle Jamie looks as if he’s ready for a deep and meaningful as he retakes his chair, and I wonder if this is genuine or if it’s a distraction.
“It’s a shame he won’t be around for it. Him and Mom would have loved a grandkid to spoil.” I get sucked in regardless of his intentions. No one ever speaks about Mom or Dad, anymore.
“It was sloppy to let her trap ya like that.” His words make that warmth in my chest turn cold. “You should have known better.” He lights himself a cigarette and chuckles while I stare at him and talk myself outta snapping his neck.
“She didn’t trap me, if anything, I trapped her,” I admit, sitting my ass beside him and letting the guilt of that sink in. I’ve spent the past few weeks being far too happy to let myself be reminded of how selfish I’m being.
“Why?” My uncle doesn’t look disappointed in me like I expected him to, he looks curious, instead.
“I don’t know. I can’t explain it. I just saw her and knew that she was the reason.”
“Reason for what?” His eyes narrow as if he’s testing me.
“For all the bad shit I’ve done to keep this town clean. For every sick fucker whose life I took. I never understood why I liked it so much, now I realize that I was making the world a better place for her.”
“You got it bad, kid.” He laughs at me, again.
“Real bad,” I admit without shame. “You were right to get into law. This place barely makes a dime but it’s mine. It was his.” I smile when I think about how my dad would sit right here in this very spot, looking over the yard and feeling proud of what he’d achieved. “It’s long days and hard work, but it's ours and I want it all to be his too.”
“So, you're having a boy?” My uncle smiles and this time it’s not clever or smug like it usually is, it’s genuine and almost looks as if it came from the heart.
“Mads tells me not to get my hopes up but I got a gut feeling.” I laugh to myself.
“So you ain’t thinking of selling to the Gendrys?” I don’t know why, but his question fuckin’ hurts.
“Never.” I shake my head firmly. “Like I said, this here's Sullivan property, we’ve worked hard for it and some of us have gone even further.” I stare down at my hands and although the blood’s been washed off ‘em, the memories still remain.
“I’m happy for ya, Jace. I am.” He slaps me on the back before he gets up and steps off the porch. Suddenly a thought pops into my head and I call after him.
“Whatcha doin’ Sunday?” It’s a stupid idea to even ask, Uncle Jamie’s never been a family man.
“Well, I ain’t going to church, that's for sure.” He looks back at me and sniggers.
“Mads will be making something after service. I can’t promise that it’ll taste good but I know she’d like for you to join us, so you can at least pretend to like it.”
Maddison’s right, this old grump is the only extended family our kid is gonna have, and he may not be the best of men out there but he’s always come through for me. I never should have doubted him over Billy.
“Sure.” He nods his head, gratefully before getting in his car and speeding off.
I’m a little surprised as I head inside but at the same time, I’m pleased. Maddison’s been desperate for me to invite him over and maybe the fact I have and he’s accepted, might get me outta the dog house.
She’s lying out on the couch, wearing my sweats and a baggy tee when I step through the door and after hanging up my hat and kicking off my boots, I move over to join her.
Lifting up her legs, I take their spot and place them on my lap while she continues to read. I watch her, knowing full well that she ain’t taking in any of the words from the way she keeps glancing at me.
“How long ya gonna stay mad for?” I ask, stroking her leg and then rubbing my thumb into the sole of her foot.
“Until yo–” She gasps as her whole body tenses and her eyes stare at me in shock. I immediately straighten up and panic.
“Mads, what's wrong?” My heart is beating outta my chest while I wait for her to tell me.
“I…I felt something,” she tells me.
“Felt what? What kinda something?” Shit, I shouldn’t have left her while she was mad, she’s gotten herself worked up.
“A good something, like a wriggle.” She lifts up her tee and stares down at her stomach. “I think it was him.” Her lips pick up into a smile and I immediately place my hand over her slight swell in the hope that I might feel it too.
“Is he doing it now?” I check when I feel nothing.
“Yeah.” She nods her head as she drags my hand a little lower. “It’s more here.” She shows me and when I still feel nothing, the happiness on her face distracts me from feeling any disappointment.
“How does it feel?” I smile as I watch her become overwhelmed with emotion.
“Wonderful. Amazing. Kind of weird.” She giggles. “How is it possible to love something so much that isn’t here yet?” she asks with eyes full of hope.
“I don’t know but I like how it feels, a whole lot.” I keep my hand resting there for the rest of the night, just in case I miss something, and the fact that she lets me, is enough for me to know that she ain’t mad at me anymore.