Page 8 of Blue Norther
“Violet?”
I must be hearing things. The wind shook the leaves overhead. A bird chirped from somewhere in the distance. And I certainly didn’t hear a?—
“Vi?”
Shit.My head spun as I faced the source of the voice I hadn’t heard in almost a decade. And as much as I wanted to believe there wasn’t a single way in this world that my ex-husband would be there, standing on my parents’ porch the very minute I made it back to my hometown, my ears hadn’t failed me.
He was there. And his eyes were locked on mine, the same disbelief I felt staring right back at me.
My breath caught in the back of my throat, my eyes stinging at the sight of him. As much as I wanted to play it off as if they were aching from the long drive or sensitive to the sunlight, I knew the truth. And it made me want to let every tear I was holding back fall to the earth.
Because my husband was still the love of my life. Myex-husband. Even after all the loss. Even after all the heartbreak. Just because I had to walk away to survive didn’t mean it wasn’t the toughest decision I ever had to make in my life.
The baby rolled as I straightened my back, tugging my jacket tightly around my chest. I fought the urge to groan. There was no way Colt wouldn’t notice my belly. I was going to have to tell him the truth before I’d even thought of a way to soften the blow.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, his eyes wide and not blinking, as if I would disappear if he did.
“I should be asking you that. You make it a habit of trespassing on my property?”
He chuckled, bouncing as he came down the steps. God, he looked good. Colton Ford had always been a solid man, but even with his Deputy’s jacket wrapped around him, I could see he’d bulked up in the time since I’d said goodbye to Silver Springs. That cowboy hat on his head made my legs feel all sorts of wobbly that had nothing to do with being in the car for too long.
“It’s not trespassing when your dad asks me to check in on the place. I thought it was strange, seeing as how I normally come on the first of the month to make sure everything is still okay. Should have known you were coming down to use it when he mentioned someone visiting.”
“Yup. I’m here,” I laughed, trying not to wince as the baby rolled again. I needed to use the bathroom, and it was close to being an emergency.
His feet hit the gravel of the driveway, his eyes narrowing on my face.Shit.He was about ten steps away from making it around the car. And then he’d see all of me. He’d see my belly.
“You okay?” he asked, pulling me from my panic. This was good. It was okay. Better to get it out in the open now first thing. We could talk. I could explain.
“Sorry. It’s been a long day. A long week, actually. What did you say?”
“Are your bags in the trunk? Pop it for me and I’ll bring them inside for you.”
“I can handle it on my own.”
Colt’s right eyebrow jumped. “Are you? On your own?”
“Smooth.”
He shrugged, walking towards the trunk. Maybe I could just stand here until he had my bags inside? Maybe I could move around the car as he walked back to his truck? Maybe…I should press the button on my fob to pop the trunk for him so he would stop staring at me.
Come on, Violet. Pull it together.
“There,” I sighed as the trunk popped open, “and thank you.”
Colt nodded as he reached in, setting the two small suitcases I had packed in my hurry to leave New York on the ground.
“Not planning on staying long?” His voice held a note of sadness as he asked.
“Actually, I'm planning on staying for a while. Just figured I could get whatever I really needed in town.”
Colt’s eyes locked on mine, but he simply nodded before shutting the trunk.
“We’ve been having some trouble with a group of kids the last few months breaking into places. Just want to make sure you’re okay, that you’ll be safe out here.”
“Oh…” What Colt had just said scared me. Not about the rowdy kids, not really. I had something else to be worried about—and his words reminded me of that. “I guess I should think about getting some security cameras or something.”
Colt nodded. “We’ve got a company in town now. The guys at Montgomery Defense are great. Jessie’s husband Hawk actually works there. I’ll ask?—”
