Page 73 of The Coppersmith Farmhouse (Jamison Valley 1)
People were pouring out of the stadium at halftime and we were weaving in and out of the crowd. My hand tightened around Rowen’s to ensure I was pulling her right behind me.
We had almost reached the stairs when a hand clasped my upper arm. I gasped and spun around, about to cuss out the person who had so rudely grabbed me when I looked up into Jess’s face.
“Oh, hi,” I said, relaxing.
“Hey. I was calling you. Didn’t you hear me?”
“No, sorry,” I said, still a little dazed.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, great,” I lied.
“Georgia.”
“Later, Jess, okay?”
He stared at me for a few seconds and then nodded.
Roe had been taking in the wonder of the crowd but when she finally realized we’d met up with Jess, she jumped up into his arms to get a better view.
Jess led me to a group of men huddled next to the bleachers. Silas was there talking to Beau and another man I’d never met.
“Nick. Meet Gigi and her daughter, Rowen,” Jess said.
“Pleasure.” Nick shook my hand.
“Nice to meet you, Nick.”
“Nick runs the fire department, Freckles.”
“Ah. Busy week for you then.”
“You could say that. We haven’t had a fire in town in years. I forgot how much paperwork I have to do. Usually, I just help Beau and the Forest Service with forest fires. They can’t seem to handle them without me,” he teased.
This must have been the hot guy hangout spot because Nick was equally as handsome as Beau and Silas. Jess outshone them all but their circle was entirely good-looking. Which explained the group of girls lurking close, trying to hide their stares and giggling.
Nick appeared to be much more jovial than any of the other men in the group. He had a mischievous smile and a short brown beard that matched the color of his shaggy hair.
The men started talking about the football team and I got lost in thought.
I couldn’t help but look around the moving crowd. I wondered if any of the people looking at us thought I was reaching beyond my league, trying to be with Jess. Had he been with any of the women milling around, staring at us?
When I closed my eyes, I heard Nate Fletcher calling me an ugly whore. I remembered the hateful email he sent me after I’d sent him an ultrasound picture of baby Rowen. He’d accused me of being desperate to trap him because that was the only way I could get a rich, handsome man like him. How many people in the Prescott crowd were wondering what a beautiful man like Jess was doing with me?
Jess’s hand jerked and I snapped out of my head. I followed his glare into the crowd until I saw its target.
Wes.
Striding toward us with a leggy blond on his arm.
All of the men in our huddle had their eyes trained on Wes as he made his approach. Tension clouded the air.
Jess was pissed, his frame strung tight, but Silas was dangerous. Silas looked at Wes like he wanted to commit murder. Now I knew why Maisy thought he was terrifying.
Wes stopped in front of the group and turned his eyes on me, the blond on his arm looking straight at Jess.
Wes’s eyes were glassy again and rimmed with dark circles. The skin on his face was splotchy.
