36. Jack
Jack
Ends of the Earth by Ty Myers
S heriff Matthews pulls up in that dented county cruiser like it’s been to war. Dust kicks up around his tires, and the second he climbs out and fixes his hat, I know something’s up. He’s here in a professional capacity.
“Jack,” he calls. “Cami around?”
I glance toward the barn where she’s saying something to Love and holding a half-empty feed bag. Her hair’s a mess, cheeks flushed, and she’s somehow the most beautiful damn chaos I’ve ever seen.
“She’s around,” I say. “What’s this about?”
Matthews sighs and adjusts his belt like he’s about to step into a minefield. “Better if I talk to you both.”
“Hey, Sheriff,” Cami says as she walks up. “What’s going on?”
Matthews clears his throat, avoiding eye contact. “Got a complaint this morning. From Granger. ”
Cami crosses her arms. “Tell him to file it under ‘not my problem.’”
Matthews coughs. “He claims you pepper sprayed him.”
Her eyes go wide. “Excuse me? This was weeks ago, and he came at me with a knife in my barn. Now I know I should have reported it, but why is this just now being reported?”
“Once the video went viral, he came forward to claim that you pepper sprayed him. But I suspect because he’s facing losing his ranch. He’s desperate.”
The image of Granger anywhere near her has my jaw tightening.
Cami scoffs. “I didn’t pepper spray him.”
Matthews winces. “Cami…”
“I didn’t! Technically.” She lifts her chin. “I used bear spray.”
Matthews just stares.
Cami throws her arms up. “He was trying to break the windows out of my trailer! What was I supposed to do, make him a coffee?”
I bite back a laugh and rub a hand over my mouth.
“It was a controlled spritz,” she mutters. “More of a warning mist.”
Matthews doesn’t even try to hide the smile. “He’s trying to press charges. Says you ‘violently attacked’ him.”
“Oh, please,” Cami says. “He tripped over his own boots and screamed like a baby when he ran. I never physically touched him. If anyone’s pressing charges, it should be me. He spray painted my trailer.”
Matthews pulls out his phone and scrolls. “I wasn’t gonna make a big deal out of it. But then… this happened.”
He turns the screen toward us, and Cami leans in.
It’s a video on social media that Poppy posted, caught from the trail cam Cami had set up.
Cami storming out of her trailer like a queen with a canister raised and ready.
Granger looks like he’s screaming at her and waving a bat like a lunatic.
And then a direct hit from the bear spray.
The sound’s cut, but Taylor Swift’s Karma plays over it like a battle anthem.
I cover my mouth to stifle a laugh, but Cami’s already groaning. “Oh my god , Poppy. When did she post this?”
Matthews nods. “The video went viral. Someone even added sparkles and a slow-mo shot.”
“Karma is the guy on the screen,” I quote softly, unable to help myself.
Cami shoots me a glare. “Don’t you start.”
Matthews flips the phone back. “The video’s… everywhere. Maggie called a town safety board meeting.”
Cami blinks. “A what?”
“It’s basically a get-him-out-of-town intervention. She’s catering in pie.”
I laugh. “Of course she did.”
Matthews scratches the back of his neck. “Look, legally speaking, it’s a gray area. He was trespassing. You defended your place of business. It’s just… the optics.”
Cami throws her hands up. “The optics are incredible . Honestly, I should be in a commercial. Bear spray sales are going to skyrocket.”
“Like a feral Disney princess,” I mutter.
“Exactly!”
Matthews shakes his head. “Anyway, he’s being fined. Harassment, property damage. The video helped more than hurt, honestly. But I had to follow up.”
Cami smirks. “So he gets hit with fines, a viral humiliation, and Maggie’s public disapproval?”
“His ranch is going up for sale,” Matthews adds. “Word is, it’s been struggling. This just pushed it over the edge.”
I glance at Cami, expecting triumph .
But instead, her smile falters for just a second. Just long enough for me to catch it.
“He deserves it,” she says, quieter now. “But it still sucks. That land was good once.”
Matthews nods like he understands and turns to leave. “Just try not to spray anyone else this week, alright?”
“No promises,” Cami calls, grinning again.
He waves without turning around.
When the sheriff’s cruiser disappears down the road, Cami lets out a breath like she’s been holding it for days. She turns to me, eyes wide but dry, tough as ever even when the wind’s knocked out of her.
“Okay,” she mutters. “That was not what I expected.”
I raise a brow. “You think?”
She shakes her head, half-frustrated, half-exhausted. “He came at me with a knife that time, Jack.”
The way she says that time like it’s just time out of many that she was messed with.
And I hate that I wasn’t there to protect her.
The memory hits me hard and hot. The rage I felt then comes back in a snap, curling tight in my chest. I can still see her standing there—fists clenched, chin high, not backing down.
But she shouldn’t have had to be brave that day or any other day.
She shouldn’t have had to face any of that.
“I should’ve done more,” I say quietly. “I should’ve kept him away from you the second he tried to step foot on your land.”
Cami looks at me, eyes softening. “This isn’t on you.”
“It is,” I say, voice low. “He doesn’t get to keep showing up in your life like this. Doesn’t get to mess with your peace. Not anymore.”
She doesn’t say anything right away, just leans into me, shoulder against my chest, forehead almost brushing my jaw. It’s not dramatic. Not even obvious. But it guts me a little how natural it feels .
I wrap an arm around her, pull her in tight. Her body softens like maybe, just maybe, she knows I mean it when I say I’ve got her. That I always will.
Knowing Granger’s out there trying to twist this story, painting her like she’s the threat?
It makes my blood simmer. The guy’s a coward.
And worse, he’s dangerous. The fact that he’s still trying, still reaching for any scrap of power over her, it makes me wonder how far he’d go.
What kind of man he really is when no one’s watching.
I press a kiss to the top of her head without even thinking. “He’s not stepping foot on this property again. I’ll make damn sure of it.”
She exhales again, slower this time. “I know.”
And I think maybe she’s finally starting to understand this. It’s about time.
“I love it when you get so protective and all broody alpha cowboy, Jack,” she says as she gives me a sexy look.
I pull her into my arms, and wrap my arms around her, “Oh, yeah?”
“Wait until you see my new dress I got to wear to Walker’s party…”
“I can’t wait,” I murmur. I can already see us dancing under the moonlight and not letting her out of my arms.