Chapter 3
Chapter three
Something Changes Fast
Jace
The word hits me harder than any bull ever has. Everything in me locks up for a second, not from fear or anger, but from something I don’t have a name for yet. Something that settles deep in my chest and refuses to move, like it belongs there whether I’m ready for it or not.
I look down at her, really look this time. At the way her arms are wrapped around my leg like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
Like she didn’t just turn my life upside down with one quiet word. The thought hits fast and hard that she’s been out there for five years while I didn’t know, didn’t show up, didn’t protect her, didn’t do a damn thing I should have.
That realization lands sharp, but it doesn’t stay long. Something else pushes in right behind it, stronger and louder, something instinctive that doesn’t ask permission before it takes over.
I shift my weight carefully, slow and deliberate, like I’m handling something fragile.
Even though she’s the one holding onto me, not the other way around.
I lower my voice without thinking. “Hey there,” I say, rougher than I expect, but steady enough that I don’t pull back or step away.
“You just gonna claim me like that, huh?”
Her grip tightens like she’s making sure I’m not going anywhere, and she looks up at me with complete certainty. “Yep.”
That almost knocks a breath out of me.
Behind me, Wade lets out a low whistle. “Well hell,” he mutters. “Guess introductions are optional now.”
Brooks huffs out something that might be a laugh. “Kid moves faster than you ever did, Jace.”
I shake my head once, still looking down at her. I can’t seem to look anywhere else. “Yeah, well… she’s got better instincts and she is way cuter than you guys.”
That earns a quiet snort from somewhere behind me. It fades quickly. The weight of this doesn’t go anywhere, and neither does she.
I lower myself a little more, bending at the knee so I’m not towering over her. My hand is hovering for a second before I finally let it settle lightly on her back. Careful in a way I don’t recognize, like I’m not sure if I’m allowed to do that yet and don’t want to get it wrong.
She leans into it anyway, no hesitation, no doubt, and something in my chest tightens all over again, but this time it isn’t sharp or panicked, it’s solid, steady, and protective in a way that feels like it’s been there all along.
My gaze flicks up then, straight to Riley, and everything else comes rushing back in, the questions, the anger that should be there but isn’t hitting as hard as I expected. The reality of what she just dropped into my life.
“You’re telling me she’s mine,” I say, my voice low and controlled, but with an edge to it now that wasn’t there before.
Riley doesn’t flinch, she just nods once, steady as anything. “I am.”
I study her for a second, searching for anything that doesn’t line up, anything that gives me a reason to question it or slow this down. I don’t find it, and instead my focus shifts right back down to the kid still holding onto me like she’s already decided I’m hers.
And just like that, something settles into place whether I’m ready for it or not.
“Alright,” I say quietly, more to myself than anyone else.
Wade shifts behind me. “That it? That’s all you got?”
I glance over my shoulder just enough to catch his expression, somewhere between stunned and trying not to grin. “What do you want me to say?”
He shrugs. “I don’t know. Maybe start with ‘holy hell’ or something.”
Luke’s voice cuts in, calm but with a hint of amusement. “Give him a second. He’s processing.”
“Pretty sure we all are,” Brooks adds dryly.
I shake my head again, dragging a hand through my hair before I look back down at her, because that’s where this keeps pulling me, not the questions or the shock, but her. The longer I stand here, the clearer it gets.
Whatever comes next, I’m not walking away from it.
Not from her.
She doesn’t let go, not right away, and I find myself not wanting her to.
Which is a strange thing to realize about a kid I met all of five seconds ago, nothing about this feels normal.
I don’t question it. I just shift a little so she’s more comfortable and rest my hand a touch more firmly against her back like I mean it.
“You like horses?” I ask. It’s the first thing that comes to mind and it feels safer than everything else I could say.
She tips her head back to look up at me again, eyes bright and curious. “Uh-huh,” she says, dragging the word out a little like she’s deciding how much she wants to tell me. “I like the little ones best.”
I can’t help the corner of my mouth from lifting. “Ponies, huh?”
She nods, serious as anything. “They’re cuter.”
“Yeah,” I say, glancing back over my shoulder toward the pasture. “Don’t let the big ones hear you say that. They’ve got opinions.”
That gets a small smile out of her, and it hits me square in the chest in a way I don’t expect, like I just unlocked something without even trying.
Behind me, Wade mutters, “Great, now he’s talking to her like one of the horses,” and I hear Brooks chuckle under his breath.
“Better than how you talk to people,” I shoot back without looking, my attention still on her. I don’t want to break whatever this is.
She shifts her weight and finally loosens her grip just enough to step back. She doesn’t move far, staying close like she’s already decided this is where she belongs. I don’t miss the way her small hand brushes against mine like she’s checking if I’m still there.
I turn my palm slightly, giving her the chance to take it if she wants to, keeping the movement easy so it doesn’t feel like pressure.
She takes it.
No hesitation.
Something tight in my chest eases just a fraction.
“You got a name? I ask, keeping my tone light even though the word still feels like it’s echoing somewhere deep in me. I realize her mother already told me this information but the shock, I believe, blocked my brain.
She grins at that, a little more confident now. “Hadley. Hadley Grant.”
“Hadley,” I repeat, testing it out like I don’t ever want to forget it. “That’s a good name.”
She studies me again, the way kids do when they’re figuring you out piece by piece. “What’s yours?”
I huff out a quiet laugh. “Jace.”
She nods like that makes sense, like she’s filing it away somewhere important. “Jace,” she repeats, a little softer.
The sound of my name coming from her hits differently, and I don’t try to explain it, I just let it sit there between us.
“You ever been on a horse before?” I ask, shifting us just a little so we’re not standing in the middle of everything, my body already angling in a way that puts her slightly behind me without thinking about it.
She shakes her head, curls bouncing. “Mommy says maybe someday.”
I glance up at Riley for half a second, catching her watching us like she’s not sure what to do with this any more than I am, then I look back down at Hadley.
“Well, someday might come sooner than you think,” I tell her, keeping it easy, not promising anything I don’t understand yet, but not shutting it down either.
Her face lights up just enough to tell me that matters.
And just like that, without thinking about it, without questioning it, I find myself stepping a little more solidly into place. As if there’s a line drawn in the dirt I didn’t see before and now I’m standing on the right side of it.
Because whatever else this is going to be, whatever comes next with Riley and the rest of it, one thing is already clear.
She’s mine.
And I’m not letting anything or anyone hurt her.
The shift doesn’t go unnoticed.
I can feel it before anyone says a word, the way my brothers close in just a little, not crowding, not stepping on anything that just happened. Just making it clear they’re part of this whether I like it or not.
Family doesn’t hang back when something hits this hard.
Wade steps in a little closer and drops into a half crouch so he’s not towering over her. His voice softening in a way I don’t hear often. “Hey there,” he says, offering a small, careful smile. “I’m Wade. I’m your uncle.”
Hadley looks at him, curious but not shy, her hand still tucked in mine as she studies his face like she’s deciding if she approves.
Brooks follows, not as close, but enough to be part of it, his tone easy and steady. “Brooks,” he adds, giving her a small nod. “Another uncle.”
Luke hangs back a second, then steps forward just enough to meet her at eye level. “I’m Luke,” he says, calm as always. “Guess that makes three of us.”
Hadley’s gaze moves between them, taking it all in with that quiet, observant way of hers, and I feel the shift in the air as the edges soften just a fraction, like something just settled into place that none of us were expecting but all of us are adjusting to.
She looks over at Riley, smiles and says, "I have 3 uncles."
“Alright,” Wade says after a second, his tone quieter now, but there’s still that edge to it, like he’s trying to decide whether to push or give me space. “You wanna explain what the hell just happened, or are we all just gonna pretend this is a normal Tuesday?”
I huff out a breath, glancing over my shoulder at him while keeping Hadley close at my side. “Still working on that myself.”
“That makes two of us,” Brooks adds, stepping in a little closer, his gaze flicking between me, Riley, and then down to Hadley in a way that isn’t hard or suspicious, just assessing, taking everything in the way he always does. “You good?”
The question isn’t simple.
It isn’t just about me.
It’s about whether I’m about to bolt, whether I’m thinking straight, whether I understand what this means for all of us.
I nod once, slow and deliberate. “Yeah. I’m good.”
Luke watches me a second longer than the others, his expression calm but sharp in a way that tells me he’s reading everything I’m not saying out loud. “You sure about that?” he asks, not challenging, just steady.