Chapter 29

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

E mmerleigh

The old truck creaked over the curb as I turned into the gas station. Warrick was gone when I woke up this morning and he hadn't filled up my tank with gas, which was also odd. For the last several weeks, my truck would somehow always be topped off. When I asked him about it, he admitted he would check my gauge daily and gas up my truck if it was getting low.

The gesture was sweet. Insanely thoughtful.

Yet another reason I felt myself falling in love with this overprotective man. I fought so fiercely to be independent and yet Warrick took care of me in ways I didn't know I needed. And I discovered I liked it.

I pulled up to the pump and hopped out of the truck, rushing to slide my credit card into the machine and get the gas going. I didn't want to be late to Roger's place or Pip and Savannah were liable to quit on me if they had to deal with the grump all on their own.

The ding over the convenience store door caught my attention, but it was the man who emerged that had me doing a double take.

No.

This couldn't be happening.

Cayden was striding across the parking lot, scowl on his face and receipt in hand. My heart stopped and every thought about getting to my jobsite left my head. He looked older, which was a stupid thought to have. Of course he looked older. Over five years had passed since I'd talked to him. I probably looked older too.

He didn't see me, probably because he was moving quickly toward a new truck he hadn't had when we were together. I blinked, trying to find enough spit in my mouth to swallow. My stomach churned, not at all happy to see this man who'd made my life so hard and turned his back on the best little girl to ever exist. Cayden threw the receipt through the passenger window, which was when I realized a woman sat in the truck, jumping in fright.

Rage filled my chest, the kind that made my lungs pump air in and out in loud audible gasps. How dare he treat another woman like that? I'd gotten away, but he was still up to his bullshit, treating women like we were a second-class citizen. My hands balled into fists.

"Hey, asshole!" I bellowed.

Fuck. I hadn't meant to open my mouth, but here we were.

Cayden turned around slowly, his cruel eyes scanning me from head to toe like he had any right to gaze at me with such scrutiny.

"Emmerleigh?" he asked, having the audacity to smirk at me.

Smirk ? That fucker turned his back on me and his daughter, leaving us to fend for ourselves, and he thought smirking at me five years later was the best way to greet me?

I marched my ass over to his truck and shoved his chest. "What the fuck are you doing in my town, asshole?"

"Cayden?" the woman asked softly through the open window .

Cayden didn't bother to answer her or to introduce us, but his smirk did slide away, leaving that ugly scowl he liked to use to intimidate people into doing his bidding.

"Didn't realize this was your town, Leigh." He swiveled his head. "Yep, pretty sure this is still public property."

"Don't call me that," I hissed, hating that nickname back then and even more now. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see my daughter and?—"

"She's not yours," I snapped. He didn't deserve to even have Georgia's name in his mouth.

"The court might have a different opinion." He looked so fucking smug.

"Maybe," I admitted, my blood running cold at the thought. "But until we face a judge, stay the fuck away from me and my daughter or I'll get a restraining order."

Cayden huffed, his eyes turning even colder. "Pretty sure your watchdog wants to keep this out of court. I'm willing to play nice, so watch your tone."

Forget icy veins. My blood was now boiling for more than one reason.

"You lost the right to offer me any sort of advice when you kicked me out of the house pregnant with our child." I darted my gaze to the woman who'd gone pale. "Run, honey. Get out now."

Cayden stepped between us, cutting off my view of the woman. "You've ruined my life, Emmerleigh. Kept my daughter from me. Ruined my business when you walked away. How about you not try to ruin my upcoming marriage, huh?"

I shook my head, feeling numb. The man was positively psychotic. He'd taken everything he'd done and twisted it to make me out as the bad guy. What kind of mind games must that take to believe his own lies?

"That's funny. I thought you ruined mine, but you actually set me free. Thanks for that." I shot him a wink and walked back to my truck, feeling remarkably free from the past .

"You've got some nerve, Leigh!" he shouted after me, continuing to spew profanities at my back like he was actually losing his mind.

The gas station attendant came out the door of the convenience store with a cell phone jammed to his ear. He pointed at Cayden. "I've called the cops. You might as well clear out."

Cayden scrambled to get in his truck while the woman stared out the windshield at me, her eyes huge. She looked lost, beaten down. I wanted to help her, but I had Georgia to think about. I couldn't do anything to antagonize Cayden further. I didn't want him to retaliate and somehow affect the little family I'd put together.

His truck bounced out of the lot and he shot me one last scowl. I shook my head and let out a long breath as his truck disappeared around the corner. My hands were shaking, but I somehow felt more empowered than I ever had. When everything went down with him back home, I just kind of slunk away, too hurt and lost and pregnant to put up a fight. Facing him today felt almost cathartic.

I sat there a few minutes longer, just breathing and letting the adrenaline fade away. When I finally turned the truck toward Roger's, I had another thought, one that didn't feel empowering.

Watchdog.

I could only assume Cayden meant Warrick. What other watchdog would I have here in Blueball? Had Warrick met with Cayden and not told me? Had there been news from the lawyers that he'd conveniently forgotten to share with me? I knew he was taking care of things on that front, but to talk to my ex and not even mention it to me? That was taking things too far. This was my daughter. My life. I should have been consulted.

At the last second, I took a left instead of a right, heading back to Gigi's to confront Warrick. I had to know what was going on. Roger and his complaints could wait.

But when I pulled up to the hobby farm, the Timberwolfe Farms sign swinging in the breeze, his truck wasn't in the driveway. I hit my steering wheel with my palm and headed back out to Roger's. The confrontation would have to wait, which was not good news for Warrick, because the longer I stewed on it, the angrier I got. The more his actions seemed heavy-handed and almost like he'd gone behind my back. Even Roger steered clear of me when I snapped at him after he asked his first question of the day. If Warrick had just shared with me what was going on, I wouldn't have been blindsided by running into my ex and his new fiancée in my own damn town. A little warning would have been nice.

I left work early, wanting to get home and talk with Warrick before Gigi and Georgia came back from their excursion. I got there first, pacing the porch until his truck pulled up the long driveway. He slid out of the truck and shot me a smile. When I didn't return it, his expression turned into a careful neutral mask. He walked over, leaning down to kiss my cheek, despite the anger crackling off me.

"What'd I do this time?" he asked, like we were discussing his inability to put dirty dishes into the dishwasher.

I folded my arms across my chest and tempered myself. I wanted to scream and shout, but that wouldn't solve anything.

"Did you talk to Cayden?"

Warrick straightened. "Yes."

I closed my eyes for a brief second, disappointment washing over me. I'd been holding a sliver of hope that I was wrong. "When?"

"This morning."

"Is that why you left so early?"

Warrick looked confused. "No. I ran into him outside Crazy Beans. Knew who he was because of the pictures my detective emailed me yesterday. Figured it was a good opportunity to settle things."

I mulled that over. Okay, so he hadn't intentionally sought out Cayden. "Good idea to settle things when I wasn't even part of the conversation? "

Warrick tipped his head to the side, looking like he was choosing his words carefully. "We agreed that I could insert myself into things that pertain to this family, but not in your business. I was only following what we both agreed to, Em."

Just a day ago, I would have melted when he referenced "this family" but not today. Not when he'd once again taken things too far.

"You don't think including me in the lawsuit over my daughter would have been better?"

Warrick frowned, throwing his hands up, his voice finally rising. "You and Georgia are mine to protect, Slaywright! I will not apologize for doing what was necessary."

"Are we though?" I asked, my own volume matching his. "Are you named on that court order? No, you're not. I am. And I can take care of my own child. Have been ever since that little stick had two lines on it. I would appreciate if you would actually have some faith in my ability to handle my life."

Warrick screwed up his face. "I do! But you also have a thousand things on your plate. If I can take one thing off so you're not so stressed, why are you upset about that?"

I huffed and began to pace, my hands flying through the air as I tried to explain. "Because! Cayden took away my power. Left me at my most vulnerable. And yet I survived. I have already proven I can take care of myself! You jumping into my personal business shows that you don't trust me." He opened his mouth to disagree, but I cut him off, not yet finished. "And furthermore, you doing these things without telling me feels like you're trying to control things. Control me. Not that much different from Cayden, honestly."

He drew his head back, the fire in his eyes banking. His jaw locked tight and I felt a pang of guilt. I opened my mouth to apologize for that last part, but he took a step back.

"If that's what you think of me, why are you still here? You're free to go anytime you want, Em. I don't want any control over you. I just want to take care of you. You just can't see the difference between the two. You refuse to see the difference, just clinging to your hurt, defending your wounds so hard they'll never heal."

Tears stung my eyes. His words hurt, probably as much as my words hurt him. "I think we should end this conversation for now."

He nodded sharply. "Agreed."

I licked my lips, wondering how this day had gone to such shit. "I'll pack a suitcase and take Georgia to a hotel for the night."

Warrick stepped back again. "Whatever you want. I wouldn't want to offer a suggestion and be accused of controlling you."

I couldn't look at him. Couldn't stand to see the hurt radiating off of him. I'd done that. I'd taken a kind, noble man and made him feel bad for helping. Maybe he was right. Maybe I couldn't see him accurately, not when Cayden's damage was still front and center in my mind.

My boots clomped across the porch as I fled the conversation. I made a beeline for the guest room and started gathering pajamas and a change of clothes for me and Georgia. Warrick was nowhere to be found when I went back out on the porch with an overnight bag to wait for Gigi to return with my daughter.

Thirty minutes later, they returned, Gigi's smile instantly falling when she saw the bag at my feet. She helped get Georgia out of the car seat in the back of her car and lowered her voice.

"You okay, honey?"

I shook my head, but steeled my spine. I couldn't get into it with Warrick's mom, not when I was so confused. "Yeah, all good. Thanks for taking her today."

I turned to Georgia, heart aching seeing the happiness that followed her like a shadow. Knowing that my actions could be the reason she lost that smile. "We're going to a fancy hotel tonight! Isn't that exciting? Pizza first and then ice cream! "

Georgia latched on to my excitement and ran for my truck. "Wa-wy coming too?"

I almost couldn't speak past the lump in my throat. "Not tonight, baby. He's working."

I helped Georgia climb into my car seat and then shut the door. Gigi stood on the porch, watching us go, a concerned look on her face. She waved and plastered on a fake smile for Georgia.

As we drove down the driveway, I forced myself not to look in the rearview mirror. This was a good thing. I needed space to think over everything that had happened since I moved to Blueball. Everything had happened so fast and taking time to think it all through was simply prudent.

This was a good thing.

This was a good thing.

Not even the constant repetition helped me actually believe that thought.