Page 49 of Blue Norther
“Where is she?”
No. My eyes flew to my sister-in-law’s.What a little skunk she was!
“Where ismy wife?!”
“Jessie,” I groaned, my eyes closing as the heart rate monitor attached to my finger picked up.
“I didn’t tell him anything, Vi. I’m not sure?—”
The partially closed door flew open, and a frantic looking Colt filled the door frame. He pointed at Nate.
“You’re fired! Get out.”
“Colt!” I yelled.
Nate nodded. “I’m really sorry, Ford. I?—”
“I don’t want to hear it. Get. Out.”
“You are absolutely not firing him over this!” I barked, the monitors beeping a little faster as my heart rate skyrocketed with my rage.
Colt shook his head. He closed his eyes, his shoulders rising as he sucked in a harsh breath. “Vi’s right. I’m not…I’m not goingto fire you. Just…give me two seconds to get my head on straight here, and we’ll talk.”
“I’ll be in the waiting room down the hall.” Nate looked at me. “I hope you feel better, Violet.”
“You did absolutely nothing wrong.” Tears stung my eyes. “Thank you for making sure I was okay.”
Nate nodded, closing the door behind him. The rage on Colt’s face melted the instant Nate left.
“Jesus Christ, are you okay?”
“You were so mean to Nate! And for what? I’m fine,” I croaked. Colt was moving towards me before the words even finished coming out of my mouth. His body was stiff with tension, but his eyes held a well of emotion I didn’t know how to react to.
And then he shocked the hell out of me. Colt leaned in, his arms wrapping around me in a tight hug. I felt him relax against me, his breath pulling in deep as if he hadn’t allowed himself a single inhale in the time it took him to get to me.
I didn’t want to move, because through that hug, I could feel the same dread, the same anxiety I’d been living with for the entire pregnancy in the soft, cautious way he was holding me. Like I might fall apart. Like I’d need him to be the strong pillar he once was for me.
His arms finally released me, except I wasn’t ready for the emotions the loss of his hold would bring to the surface. Jesus. These hormones were a nightmare.
“Tell me what happened. When the hospital called…Jesus, Vi. A decade shaved right off my life. At least.” One of Colt’s hands pressed down on my head, caressing my hair, while the other rested on my belly between the monitors tracking our son’s heartbeat and movement. “I thought you were safe at the station.”
“I got hungry, and I wanted food from Dolly’s. I had a silly vasovagal reaction when I was getting in the car. Everyone made sure I was okay, and I only agreed to come here out of an abundance of caution.”
“It wasn’t a silly reaction,” Jessie muttered from the chair. She reached into her purse and pulled out the white—now crinkled—piece of paper that I’d found on my windshield. “Someone leftthison Deputy Jones’s car. She was looking at it when I heard her gasp, and then she turned around, white as a damn ghost. Nate caught her before she hit the ground, thank God.”
His gaze slammed into mine. “Vi?”
“I…”
Colt opened the piece of paper, and I swear his entire body froze. No words came out. He was locked on to the picture, the same as I had been.
It showed us walking hand in hand outside his parents’ house. Except there was a large circle around me. And a note.
Still looking so beautiful. Can’t wait to take that dress off you one day soon. You’re mine, baby. All mine.
The door opened, and Hawk slipped back in behind Colt.
“I just got off the phone with Gage. He’s going to come out to the ranch tomorrow and work on figuring out where this dickhead could have been on the property to take that picture. If you’re not able to take the time off because of Hank being out, I’ll stay home from work and can figure out something with your brothers.”
