“I can take your statement, but understand there are six other witnesses who state Jason was the offending party.”
Mac reached into her bag and pulled out a disc. She handed it over to the officer. “Here is a copy of the surveillance footage from the cameras inside my bar. There are six separate cameras, with plenty of angles to show that not only was Jason not the aggressor, your complainant is lying. There was in fact a weapon that he used to attack Jason with from behind. I am sure he also failed to mention that prior to assaulting Jason, he also assaulted one of my waitresses,” she explained. She pointed toward me at that last statement.
“Let’s have a look then,” said the officer. We followed him back into an interviewing room where he cued up the disc. After only a moment, six different camera angles appeared on screen.
“If you fast forward to midnight, that is right before the altercation began,” Mac instructed.
Officer Kristoff did as he was told and then we all sat back in muted silence as we watched the events unfold. I heard Jaime gasp when I was thrown against the table and again when the man came at Jason with the knife.
The incident only took a matter of about 10-12 minutes in total, but that night it had felt like it had lasted forever. At the conclusion of the video, Officer Kristoff cleared his throat. Looking somewhat abashed, he turned to us and said, “It looks like an apology is in order. Based on the clear evidence of the tapes, I can see without a doubt that Jason was acting in self-defense. I will be requesting his immediate release.”
“I think it should also be known that at the time of the assault on Ally, she was with child. So, the man in the video should be charged not only with assault to her and Jason, but to her unborn child.”
A pin drop could be heard in the room as all eyes went to me. But Jaime’s were the only ones I connected with. I hadn’t wanted the news to be shared this way, but I understood why Mac did it. She was just trying to protect me.
“Is this true, Ally?” the officer asked me.
Swallowing hard, I nodded. “Yes, sir,” I mumbled.
“We will need to get some more information from you in order to process the assault charge, but that can be done at a later date.”
He left us in front of the station, while he went to process the paperwork for Jason’s release and I could hardly look Jamie in the eye.
“Is it true?” Jaime asked me gently. “Is it Jason’s?”
I simply nodded, as I hugged my arms around my waist.
“Does he know?” she asked
I shook my head. “No, I just found out for sure yesterday morning. The only person I told was Mac, and she sort of bullied me into it.”
There wasn’t much to say after that. Jaime was going to stay at the station until Jason’s release, while Mac took me home.
Exhausted by the events of the day, I flopped down on the couch and quickly fell asleep
It wasn’t until I felt a pair of gentle hands brushing the hair back from my head that I finally woke up. It was still light outside but only just. I blinked the sleep from my eyes and realized that it was Jason who was tenderly stroking my hair. He was sitting on the ottoman across from me with a big grin on his face.
I sat up quickly and threw my arms around him in a fierce hug. He laughed as he hugged me back. Tears welled up in my eyes as he pressed his lips tenderly against mine.
“I’m so sorry Jason,” I sobbed.
“Shhh, shhh. None of that matters now,” he cajoled. “What matters is that you, Jaime, and Mac saved me. All charges were dropped and my probation hasn’t been violated. I’m a free man again.”
“Thank God. I was so scared for you,” I replied.
“I’d rather talk about something else,” he smiled while looking down at my stomach.
I blushed immediately. “Isn’t there something you need to tell me?”
I smiled shyly. “Err…yes. Um, well…” I stuttered but I couldn’t get the words out. Even though I knew the he already knew, I still couldn’t get it out.
“Ally, there’s nothing I would want more,” he assured me.
I looked up at him surprised. But all I could see was genuine love and excitement is his face.
“Really, you’re not mad? I wasn’t trying to trap you or force you into having a family. I swear.”
“Ally, don’t be ridiculous. I’ve had the hots for you since forever, now, it seems I’ve trapped you.”
“You mean…” I said with a trembling voice.
“I want us to be a family,” he whispered as he took both my hands in his, “I want to do this right. Time waits for no man. I know that better than anyone. Will you let me be there for the baby? And you? I promise I will do any and everything to make you both happy. You have my word.”
I looked at him with eyes wide and my heart literally drumming against my chest. A few weeks ago, he was nothing but a memory, and now suddenly he was sitting in front of me asking me to be with him.
“Yes, yes, I’d like that,” I whispered.
“Yes!”
It was Jaime who came bolting into the living room leaping onto Jason’s back, “I swear, if it took you two any longer to make-up, I would have done it for you!”
All the stress of the past few weeks, or rather years, had simply vanished in the blink of an eye, and we all broke out in laughter. Jaime was ecstatic to become an aunt, and Jason couldn’t stop pressing his ear to my stomach.
***
THE END
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Home At Last
May
A glance in the rearview leaves me sure no one is following me. Not that there’s anyone to follow me anyway. Out here, under the stifling Texas sun, I realize I’ve driven nearly six hundred miles and I’m tired.
The kind of tired that’s sinking right down deep into my bones. But that scared side of me tells me to keep running. I have to keep going. I haven’t gone far enough.
Pushing aside the troubling thoughts, I try to settle into happier times, happier memories. Out here, on an old dirt road that reminds me of home, I’ve seen a few gates between stretches of fenced land. The gates have huge wooden frames of old logs that are a throwback the time when Texas was truly wild. Hung from each wooden frame is a name; the name of the ranch proudly on display. One creeps up on me now: Mustang Ranch.
I slow down as I notice an odd-looking bit of paper clinging to the beam on the right side of the frame.
Help wanted.
It’s like every prayer I’ve ever said that’s gone unanswered has suddenly left me here, finally heard and saved.
Before I can change my mind, I pull in before the closed gate. I sit for a moment. Am I really doing this? Am I crazy? I can’t stop. I haven’t put enough distance between me and…
It’ll be fine.
With a deep breath, I calm myself and I get out of my old car. It’s on its last legs after the punishing drive we’ve just endured. The sky just seems to stretch on endlessly as I open the gate before heading back to my car to pull through. On the other side, I get back out and close the gate behind me. Might as well make a good first impression, right?
What was that old rule dad made sure I remembered? A closed gate must be closed behind oneself.
The drive is dirt and rough, potholes claim my tires and jolt the car. Along both sides, fences trap plots of land and pastures stretch as far as the eye can see. The sparse grasses and few trees offer spotty shade to majestic-looking horses of many colors that stand in groups of two and threes.
I drive slowly, but still, my tires kick up enough dust to announce my presence long before I ever even see the house.
When the house comes into view, I feel my jaw drop. It’s not an old ranch house; it’s an old ranch mansion. It’s like a cross between an old plantation mansion and a castle. My heart thunders in my chest as I pull up and park my car.
They’re looking
for help, I remind myself. I know that Texas is a stand your ground state, but the sign said they’re looking for help. Besides, what self-respecting man would shoot an unarmed, obviously tired woman?
With slow steps, I walk up the sprawling porch, loving the white swinging loveseat and the several matching white wicker chairs. This place reminds me more of home than home did in its final glory days.
I step up to the door and gather my courage to knock. Before I can, the door swings open and I find myself under the intense brown stare of a man who’s taller than me by a foot and a half at least. He leans on the doorframe, his imposing form enough to make every drop of saliva dry up on my tongue.
His heavy brow, shiny black hair and tanned skin all make up an incredibly handsome face. His eyes are hooded, like he trusts no one and nothing, his jaw is wide and powerful and working like he’s clenching it and deciding whether or not to shoot me.
Maybe he should shoot me. Put me out of my misery.
Suddenly, he smiles and it’s like the sun parting heavy gray thunderclouds. “Ma’am,” he says, tipping his hat. “May I help you?”
At a loss for words, I turn and gesture back to the gate that’s easily several miles down the drive. “I’m May. You’re looking for help?” My voice sounds small and breathless, even to me and I see his eyes narrow a bit before someone behind him calls out something I don’t quite hear.
“A lady inquiring about the job,” he says over his shoulder and I hear laughter. My face flames red hot and I turn to walk away, an apology quick on my lips.
“I’m sorry for wasting your time--”
The words die as a strong hand curls around my arm just above my elbow and stops me dead in my tracks. I turn to face the man and notice there’s not even a hint of amusement in his face.
“Can you work hard, miss?” he asks, all seriousness that send my heart fluttering like a scrap of paper caught in the wind.
“I can,” I say, wondering why I can hardly draw a deep breath.
He looks me up and down, his hand falling away from me like he realized he’d been touching me for much longer than is proper. “You’re not suitable for a ranch hand, but I might have something else for you,” he says slowly, his eyes wandering across my face like he’s committing my features to memory – or like he recognizes me.
Clint
May isn’t what I’m looking for as far as help is concerned. I need men. Strong, hardworking, rough men willing to take on backbreaking labor, punishing hours, and fair pay. But May, she’s so pale and fragile looking I’m not sure she could handle the simplest task I’ve got here.
Still, something in her eyes begs me to let her stay. And she looks so tired I wouldn’t forgive myself if I let her go right now. There’s a strength to her, a quiet power that leads me to believe she’s stronger than I’m giving her credit for.
Her big blue eyes are as pale as the skies behind her, and there’s a light sprinkle of freckles across her nose. She’s so innocent looking I find myself needing to know how old she is.
“How old are you?”
She seems relieved, and I wonder what she expected me to say. “Twenty-four,” she says, her blue eyes solemn on me. Of age. I want to let out a breath I wasn’t aware I’d been holding. As she brings her hands forward to clasp before the hips of her jeans, I debate. What could I have her do?
When she draws a deep breath, I notice the gentle thrust of her breasts under the thin material of her black shirt. I’m careful not to actually look, though, and keep my eyes locked on hers. Still, she’s a beautiful girl, and it’s hard to keep my attention off her charms.
“Come in,” I say, suddenly remembering my manners. “My name’s Clint. Clint Quentin.” I can find something for her. Even now, a plan, partially formed, nags at the back of my mind. As I step back and allow her in, I hear the guys stand up and begin moving.
We’ve got some horses we’ve got to get moving from beyond the pasture they’d escaped. It’ll take all night to ride out there and drive them back home, and I realize that May might help alleviate one problem I’ve got.
“Have you ever taken care of kids?” I ask as she moves through the house to the dining room where men are filing out toward the front door. Shane lowers his shoulder as he comes to pass me and I engage my core, ready and braced for impact. He doesn’t disappoint and the clash of our shoulders would have been enough to knock a smaller man to the ground.
After what he did, he should be glad it’s not my fist across his jaw again.
“I haven’t, but I imagine it’s common sense.” May is solemn as I guide her into the emptying dining room. Carson meets my gaze and looks away, an unsure glint in his blue eyes. His harshly tanned Texas skin is rough from a layer of grit and sun.
He takes his hat in his hands and May studies him as he nods to her with a thick air of politeness. “Sorry to interrupt,” he says to her, and she nods graciously as his eyes skip to me. As always, fixed with his icy stare, I’m a bit unsettled. “Should I saddle your horse, boss?”
“Yes,” I say, and he dips his head, “Buy me ten.”
He leaves as the last few guys file out of the room like sand whipped from the corner of a canyon by storm winds.
“Am I keeping you?” May asks, her wide blue eyes worried.
“Only a moment, miss,” I say, watching a bit of relief creep into her features. “I must ask you for a favor,” I say, and she nods.
“Anything.” The way she says it, breathless and unintentionally seductive takes me aback. Clamping down with steely control, I get back on track. I can’t be thinking about how long it’s been since I had a woman in my bed.
“My daughter, Grace, will be home from school this evening and I’ve got a long job ahead of me.” I hated to ask, but this is easier than calling on the babysitter. If only those damn mustangs hadn’t busted out. But I’d rather be there for the ride than let the guys handle it.
But I didn’t want to call the sitter. She just eyes me with disproval every second and tries too hard to make Grace be a proper little lady.
“How old is Grace?” May asks, and I wonder why that’s the first question.
“She’s five,” I say, hoping that this isn’t the detail that breaks her. Grace could use a real woman, someone soft-spoken like May to talk to her. Gertie isn’t the best adult woman figure to have on hand. She’s brash, loud mouthed, and insists that Grace be a little lady at all times and quiet. Things I’m not all that happy with. I’ve thought about finding a new sitter for a while, but I hadn’t actively been looking.
Maybe lady luck is smiling down on me today. Maybe May is the answer to a question I hadn’t known I had.
“Allergies?” May asks, and I shake my head. She looks up at me as if she doesn’t trust that I’m not holding something back. “Is there anything I need to know?” She asks, those serious blue eyes on mine.
Her full lips press together a bit and I can’t help but look at them. Before I can stop myself, I reach out and touch her lower lip with my thumb as if brushing away the stressed expression. It works. Her lips relax and she’s beautiful. My thumb travels toward the middle of her lower lip and there’s a sense of wonder in me that she’s softer than she looks somehow.
And she shivers.
Her lip is so soft, so kissable. My thumb leaves her chin to trace down her slim, pale throat, no longer even pretending at having a reason or right to be touching her. I look into those big, blue, trusting eyes and see she’s looking at my lips like she wants nothing more than for me to kiss her.
I snap out of it and my hand drops from her satin skin. Somehow, my voice sounds like nothing happened between us, but my throbbing cock begs to differ.
“I’ll be out of cell service,” I say without missing a beat. There’s disappointment in her big blue eyes and I suddenly wish I’d kissed her after all. But perhaps that would have left her disappointed for other reasons.
“But there are other emergency numbers you can call on the fridge
.” I gesture past her toward the kitchen and the fridge. I’m sure she’ll explore when she’s ready. Her eyes follow my gesture before snapping back to my face like she’s trying to decode the sudden distance I’d put between us. I’ve been hurt before. It’s not like me to just put myself out there. There’s no way she’d take on someone with baggage like mine.
But fuck if I didn’t wish otherwise. “Other than that, I’ll set you up in the guest room and you’re free to make yourself at home.” The thought that she’ll be sleeping down the hall hits me like a tractor tire to the gut. I wish I’d thought that through. Hell, if I’d thought first, I’d have paid to have her stay in town… far away from me.
Her tongue darts out to trace her lower lip and I feel a sudden wash of desire rush over me. The soft sheen of dampness makes my heart start thumping. Damn. This girl is going to ruin me.
“Thank you,” she says softly.
Wrestling to keep my reactions to her in check, I lead her back toward the guest room. She follows and when I glance back, she’s looking at pictures along the walls, tears sparkling in her eyes.
Facing forward, I remind myself that it’s none of my business what she’s doing here. But I’d bet my bottom dollar she’s running from something… or someone.
May
Of everything I expected, I think that watching my boss’ child was near the end of the list. But then again, I’m not afraid of kids. It’s hard to screw up; make sure they eat and drink. Make sure they’re entertained. Get them to bed at a reasonable hour.
How hard can it really be?
I walk to the window of the room I’m going to be staying in. The half circle of guys are slouched in the saddle like the weight of the world is on their shoulders. I scan the group, looking for Clint. He’s shockingly good looking. And the way he looks at me, like he’s able to look past my skin, down deeper than bone to my deepest, darkest buried secret.
It’s indescribable.
As I watch, Clint walks over to a saddle horse that’s standing beside the man who’d asked him if he needed his horse saddled while Clint and I talked.
Seal'd to Her: A Billionaire Second Chance Romance Page 43
