Page 87 of The Coppersmith Farmhouse (Jamison Valley 1)
He kissed me until I could barely stand on my own, my legs weak and wobbling. Then he held me up and kissed me some more until I was so turned on, I begged him to take me to bed.
“Time’s up, Freckles,” Jess whispered.
Like most nights, I was tucked into Jess’s side and we were talking quietly before we fell asleep. Him speaking to the top of my head, me talking into his chest.
“Time’s up for what?” I asked.
“I feel like we’re getting you there. To a spot where you know I won’t hurt you. Where you know you can trust me. But something’s still out there. I know you’ve still got doubts. I need to know what you’re guarding yourself from. Guessing it has to do with Roe’s dad, but you gotta tell me.”
I took in a slow breath, completely filling my lungs and holding it until it burned. Then I blew it out and sagged into Jess’s side. This wasn’t going to be a fun conversation but he was right, he needed to know.
“I got drunk at a friend’s wedding. Had a one-night stand with a groomsman. Got pregnant.”
“I’m assuming he didn’t take it well,” Jess said.
“That would be an understatement. Had I known what an asshole he was, I never would have slept with him. But I don’t regret it because I got Roe.”
“What’d he do?”
“His family had money. They thought I was after it. Or that I was trying to trap him into marriage. I don’t know. But they just attacked me. Said Roe wasn’t his. Called me a gold digger and a whore. When I emailed Nate to tell him we were having a girl, they filed harassment charges against me. It was crazy and went on for months and months. Finally when she was born we could do a paternity test.”
“Then what?” Jess asked.
“They offered me money to go away.”
“Fuck,” he muttered.
“Yeah. Nice people,” I deadpanned. “I told them they could keep it as long as Nate signed away his rights and promised never to contact me or Rowen.”
Jess stayed quiet for a while, letting my story sink in. “What’s his last name?” he finally asked.
“Fletcher. Why?”
“Just want to make sure that if I ever meet him, I shake his hand. The dumb fuck brought the most beautiful woman in the world into my life. Owe him my gratitude,” Jess said.
I squeezed him a little tighter.
“That’s sweet, honey. But if you ever meet him, I’d much prefer several punches to the face in lieu of a handshake. Okay?”
He chuckled. “Anything for my girl.”
“Hi, Sheriff,” I called, walking into Jess’s office.
“Freckles,” he rumbled, standing from his black leather desk chair to greet me.
“I think that desk gets messier every time I come and visit.”
He grunted before leaning down to deliver a quick kiss to my cheek.
One thing I liked about our relationship was that neither Jess nor I felt the need to go at each other in public. It’s not that I had a problem with couples who liked mauling one another in front of strangers. If they needed that for their relationship to work, more power to them. To each their own. Jess and I just didn’t need it.
We were more of a hand-holding, kiss on the cheek, arms around each other type of couple. And I liked it. Not that I didn’t like it when Jess attacked my mouth or hauled me around in the bedroom. I did. A lot.
But there was something special and sweet about his gentle touches when we were in public. I would feel his kiss on my cheek for hours, the tingles lingering from where he brushed his soft lips to my skin.
I was visiting the station to try and convince Jess that we should go out tonight with Maisy and Everett. Ever since the first Mustangs game, Maisy had been asking repeatedly when we could have a double date. I had been putting her off, not because I didn’t want to go but because there was a lot of stuff going on. Jess working extra shifts when he didn’t have a dispatcher. Nights spent at my dining room table crafting Halloween decorations. Cleaning up the mess caused by the demolition of eleven pumpkins.
But Maisy had asked me again this week and I didn’t want to put her off again. There were only two obstacles standing in the way of a night out: finding a babysitter and convincing Jess. If I could hurdle them both, I told her we’d be up for it.
