Cody closed the distance between them and cupped her face in his hands. “Hill is an even bigger fool than I took him for. He had no idea how lucky he was to have such a beautiful, intelligent, talented, caring woman in his life.”
He leaned over and kissed her gently. “Believe me when I say it’s absolutely his loss. I’m the lucky one.” He kissed her again, deepening it this time. “I love you so fucking much, Autumn.”
“Show me how much.”
He climbed back onto the bed, and by the time he was done with her, Autumn had been provided with a very thorough demonstration.
21
When Autumn arrived at the store the next morning, her mother was already in the kitchen, preparing pies and other goods. She gave Ruth a hug, and after taking a deep breath told her about what had happened with David Hill the previous evening. Ruth was both angered and horrified, and vowed to speak with Sheriff Collins about the incident.
She assured her mom she was fine, and they worked together to get the baked goods in the oven, ready to sell. Around ten, Cody arrived at the store. Autumn was surprised but happy to see him, greeting him with a long kiss.
“I hate to ask you, darlin’, but Gus wants you to come to the station and tell him exactly what happened yesterday with Hill before he speaks to him about it. You feel up to that?”
She didn’t, but took a deep breath and said yes anyway. The sooner she spoke with the sheriff, the sooner she could put the whole thing behind her. “Will you stay with me?”
“Absolutely.” He leaned over and kissed her temple. “I won’t leave your side.”
Cody waved off her offer to drive herself, declaring he’d bring her back once she was done at the station. His shift didn’t start until eleven, so he had time.
Once they arrived, Autumn felt a bit queasy at the idea of seeing Hill again, and hoped perhaps he wouldn’t be there, even though his shift must have started at seven if Cody had the later one.
Unfortunately, her hopes were dashed when she stepped into the large room that served as most of the entire station, apart from the sheriff’s office, and found Hill at his desk, tapping away at the keyboard.
Cody’s face darkened when he spotted his fellow deputy. “Hill,” he growled. The dark-haired man looked over at them and blanched, his face paling. “You motherfucker.”
Autumn placed her hand on his arm. “Cody.” She kept her voice soft and even, hoping to soothe him before anything happened.
Gus Collins appeared at the doorway of his office. “Autumn, thanks for coming in. Would you mind stepping in here?”
She nodded, but before either of them could move, Hill shot to his feet and came over to stand in front of her. “Autumn, I owe you an apology.”
Although she didn’t really want to hear it, she nodded. “Accepted.”
“No, it’s not.” Before anyone could react, Cody pulled his left hand back and curled it into a fist. It came flying through the air, landing smack bang in the middle of Hill’s face. A sickening crack was heard, and blood came gushing out of his nose.
“Cody!” Autumn let out a horrified gasp and clutched his arm.
“Fuck.” He bent over, his hand still fisted, and wrapped his right hand around his wrist. “That hurt.”
“Jesus, Whittaker.” Collins came over to Hill and grabbed some tissues, holding them up to his nose in a futile attempt to staunch the blood. “I’ll deal with you later.”
He coaxed Hill into lifting his head, and then shook his own when he looked carefully. “I’ll have to get him to hospital. Looks like it’s broken. Autumn, can you grab me an ice pack?”
She nodded and raced into the small kitchen. In the freezer she found several ice packs, so she took one out and wrapped it in a dish towel she found in a drawer. Handing it over to Collins, the sheriff pressed it against Hill’s nose, making the younger man hiss in pain.
Hill glared at Cody. “I’m pressing charges.”
Collins let out a long-suffering sigh. “We’ll talk about that in the car. Now let’s go.” He looked over at Cody. “Think you can handle things here without causing any more damage?”
“I’ll be fine.”
The sheriff turned his gaze to Autumn. “I’ll obviously have to postpone our chat, Autumn, but perhaps your knight in shining armor with the mean left hook can take your statement while I’m gone.”
“No rush, Sheriff. I’m available any time.”
Once Collins had ushered Hill out of the station, she turned to Cody and placed her hands on her hips. “You shouldn’t have done that.”
One arm slid around her waist, pulling her closer. “He’s lucky that’s all I did.” His face was still dark, and she ran a finger over his features lightly.
“Violence is never the answer, Cody.”
He scowled. “I’m not going to apologize. He’s an asshole and he deserved it for everything he’s done to you. He should be grateful his nose is all I broke.”
The last thing she wanted to do was argue with him, so instead she got up on her toes and kissed him, soft and slow. Although she didn’t like that he had struck the other man, she did love that he’d wanted to defend her in his own way. “What am I going to do with you, Deputy Whittaker?”
The corners of his mouth curled up into a familiar grin. “I can think of quite a few things, but none of them can be done here.”
She couldn’t help but smile at him. “We should ice your hand.” She retrieved another ice pack from the freezer and placed it on his left hand. He grunted at the cold but allowed her to fuss over him.
“Shall we do the statement? I really should get back to the store.”
“Absolutely.”
Once she’d dictated the events as she remembered them and Cody had managed to type everything up on his computer, he printed the document and she read through and signed it.
A thought suddenly occurred to her. “You should have let me drive myself here, because you can’t leave now.”
“Sure I can. I’ll just run you back to the store and come straight back to the station. Any calls will be diverted to my radio, so it’s fine. Let’s go.”
He dropped her back off at the store with a kiss, and when he was gone, she went inside and told her mother what had happened. Ruth gasped, but didn’t seem too upset about Hill’s predicament. “I hope Gus fires him.”
“I hope he doesn’t press charges against Cody for assault. He’d be able to legally, you know.” The very thought had Autumn chewing on her lip nervously.
“I’m sure Gus will smooth everything over.” Ruth brushed back the loose hair on her daughter’s face. “You ready for the lunch rush?”
Lunch times were usually busy for the women, with the folks who worked popping over to the store on their breaks to purchase baked and jarred goods.
The Grant ladies worked in tandem to handle the rush, but Autumn’s thoughts were never far from what had happened over the previous twenty-four hours, and she tried unsuccessfully not to worry.
So it was to her great relief that Collins stopped by later that afternoon. He told them that Hill’s nose had indeed been broken but would heal with time and rest. It had taken some persuading, but Hill had eventually agreed not to press charges of assault against Cody if Autumn agreed not to take further action against him for false imprisonment.
He also told the women Hill had agreed to resign from the department. A small part of her felt awful, but she couldn’t lie to herself. She was relieved that Hill would no longer retain his badge and gun.
The way he’d treated her was unacceptable for a man in his position, and she very much doubted he and Cody would ever have been able to work together again peacefully.
She readily agreed, and Collins told her he’d read through her statement and call if he needed any further information. With a tip of his hat and a piece of apple pie pressed into his hand by Ruth, he was gone.
Autumn hoped that would be the last of it, but she had a feeling of foreboding coming from
deep within her. She didn’t regret having told Cody about her previous relationship with Hill, but she wasn’t entirely sure she trusted Hill not to take some sort of revenge against them both. No doubt he’d blame her for the loss of his job.
She stared out the front of the store. There was nothing to be seen but green grass and dirt road, but while such a familiar vista would normally have calmed her, the sickening feeling that had begun to roil in her stomach was getting worse.
It was all going to come to a head, and sooner rather than later. Her father. David Hill. Gisele Dunne. All three of them would not be sad to see her in distress, and she feared the life she had slowly and carefully been building for herself—a happy one with the man she was deeply in love with—was about to come crashing down around her.
And she’d be able to do nothing but stand in the eye of the hurricane and watch it tear her life apart.
22
September
As soon as Autumn walked into the house where she lived, a strange chill skittered down her spine. Something was off, but she had no idea what. Frowning, she went into the kitchen to get herself a glass of water, only to find her father seated at the kitchen table.
He was reading the local paper, glasses balanced on the end of his nose. He didn’t look up at her as he spoke. “Autumn, take a seat.”
She knew it wasn’t a request, so she slid into the chair farthest away from him. “What’s up, Dad?”
Jed said nothing for a few moments, turning the page and studying it as though he was absorbed in the news. This was something he did on a regular basis. He’d speak when he was good and ready, so she tried to steady her rapidly increasing heartbeat as she waited.
Finally, he spoke. “I ran into Gisele Dunne today. We had a very interesting conversation.”
Tendrils of fear snaked up from deep within her and wrapped around her heart. Whatever the conversation had been about, it wasn’t good. “Oh?”
He continued to scan the newspaper. “Imagine my surprise when she told me you’re dating the deputy sheriff.”
Her heart stopped beating in her chest, completely frozen. Oh God. He knew. Her father knew she was dating Cody.
“I—”
“I haven’t finished speaking yet.” He hadn’t raised his voice, but the warning was clear. Autumn wisely closed her mouth again. “I thought she was talking about David Hill at first. Wondered why you’d be stupid enough to go back to that idiot. But then I realized she wasn’t talking about Hill at all.”
He looked up at her for the first time since she’d entered the room, and she saw it immediately. The anger that flashed in his eyes. She was in a lot of trouble, and the one person she wanted to be with at that moment was the last person she could be.
“Now, I told myself that surely she must’ve been wrong. My daughter, my own flesh and blood, wouldn’t betray and disgrace me in such a manner by dating the Whittaker boy.”
He folded the newspaper up and thumped it onto the table, which made her jump in fright. “Because no good could ever come out of that. I mean, it would be a real shame if history were to repeat itself.”
Autumn didn’t grasp his meaning at first, until he looked to one side and she followed his gaze to find him staring at one of his shotguns. It was propped up against the kitchen counter. “Real shame. Think of how your mother would feel if it happened all over again. Just like Jacob and the Whittaker girl.”
She could scarcely breathe as the meaning of his words sank in. He was threatening to kill her and Cody. “You wouldn’t.” She’d wanted to roar the words at him, but they were barely above a whisper.
“You know goddamn well how I feel about that family.” He spat out the last word, as if describing the Whittakers as such was physically painful. “You better not have let that Whittaker boy touch you.”
Autumn didn’t move a muscle. Didn’t show any sort of emotion on her face. She was terrified that if she so much as mentioned Cody’s name, something bad would happen. She couldn’t bring herself to speak.
“If I find out what she was saying is true and you have been seeing that boy, I’ll be very disappointed, Autumn.” His voice was still calm, but the menacing look on his face instilled a fear in her like no other she’d ever felt before. “Very disappointed indeed.”
He unfolded the newspaper again and went back to reading it as though they were chatting about the weather. “If it is true, it ends today. Right now. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
She nodded complicitly, and when he looked up at her she managed to find her voice. “Yes. I understand.”
“Good. You’re excused.”
She slipped out of the chair and left the room as quickly as possible, making a beeline for her bedroom. Locking the door behind her, she crawled onto her bed and cried her heart out.
She had no choice. She knew her father well enough to know he didn’t make idle threats. He would shoot Cody if he found out they were dating.
She had to end things with the man she loved, and she had to do it that night.
When Cody woke up the next morning, he was disappointed to find himself alone in bed. He’d been hoping to find his woman curled up next to him in his arms. He yawned as he dragged himself into the shower and let the hot water wake him up.
He was going to help Luke around the ranch for the day as they did a few repairs and finished up their newest lodgings, so he scarfed down breakfast and headed for the front door, looking forward to snuggling his adorable nephews before work beckoned.
It wasn’t until he neared the door that he noticed the white envelope which had been slid underneath it. He knew it hadn’t been there when he’d gone to bed, so someone had obviously been to the cabin during the night.
Frowning, he bent over to pick it up and ripped it open. The letter inside turned his heart to ice.
Cody had to read the missive three times before the words truly began to sink in. Autumn was ending their relationship and had asked him not to contact her any further.
She’d made a point of stressing it wasn’t anything he’d done, but rather that she knew it wasn’t fair to either of them for their relationship to continue in secrecy as it had been.
She was sorry for not having ended it sooner, and she was also apologetic for not talking to him in person but felt it best to just end it now, before their feelings grew any deeper.
He crumpled the piece of paper up in anger. How the fuck was that possible? That ship had already sailed. He couldn’t fall any deeper in love with Autumn Grant if he tried.
Cody attempted to wrap his brain around it, but he couldn’t quite believe it. She’d dumped him. Ended their relationship—their love—without even talking to him about it. Wasn’t he allowed to have a say?
A part of him—the rejected, hurting part—wanted to rush over to the Grant ranch and demand she speak to him. Tell Jed Grant to go fuck himself. Pack up all her worldly possession, put Autumn in his truck, and move her straight into his cabin.
She’d be the last thing he’d see before he closed his eyes and the first thing he saw when he opened them again.
But that clearly wasn’t ever going to be an option, and his heart felt like it was breaking into a million pieces that would never be put back together again.
Could never be.
He contemplated leaving the letter crumpled up on the floor where he’d thrown it, but instead he picked it up, smoothed it out, and tucked it into his pocket. Maybe Luke could make some sense of it.
He downed the rest of his now-cold coffee and grabbed his hat before making the short drive to his twin’s place. Cuddling his nephews would lighten his heart and focusing on them instead of wallowing would help him at least get through this day.
Tomorrow would be another story.
Once he got to Luke and Evie’s cabin, he quietly let himself in, just in case the babies were still asleep. Which he soon discovered they were. His brother and sister-in-law were at the kitchen table, eating breakfast in betwe
en kisses.
The love between them was unmistakable, and the sight of them together made his heart ache so badly he wanted to cry.
He thought he’d had the same sort of relationship with Autumn, that they’d somehow eventually work out how to deal with her father and find a way to be together forever. Get married, make babies, grow old side by side.
Pushing his troubles aside, he forced the corners of his mouth up into a smile and lifted a hand in greeting. “Hey.”
When their faces fell, he realized he hadn’t been able to hide his feelings as well as he’d hoped. Evie rose out of her chair and came around her husband to stand right in front of him. She lifted a hand up and placed it on his cheek. “Cody, what’s wrong?”
He continued to stare at her blankly. “Nothing. I’m fine.”
When she got up on her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck tightly, his face crumpled and he put his head down on her shoulder, holding her in his embrace.
He didn’t realize tears had started to fall until she spoke again. “Oh, sweetheart. What’s happened? You can tell us.”
Another set of arms encircled him, and he leaned on two of the people he loved most in the world, knowing they wouldn’t judge him. He needed their comfort and greedily took it.
It was a long time before they let him go, and when they did Evie reached up and wiped his face with her thumbs.
“Talk to us, bud.” Luke’s expression was sympathetic, and Cody knew without a doubt he could trust them. Perhaps they’d be able to think of something he could do.
He reached into his back pocket and pulled out the sheet of paper, handing it to his brother. Luke frowned at it before opening it up, and his face fell after he scanned a few sentences.
He read it out loud for his wife’s benefit, and she gasped when Luke got to the part where Autumn had told him that not only was their relationship over for good, but it would be best if he didn’t try to contact her.
“Oh, Cody.” Evie kissed his cheek. “She can’t mean that. She’s not thinking clearly. I know she loves you.”
Finding Home (Being Home Book 2) Page 17
