Page 27 of Cowboy’s Last Stand (His to Protect #1)
N atalie left with Marcus in the early afternoon.
She’d finished her errands and tidied the house first because she wanted a clear schedule for tomorrow.
She was looking forward to the picnic with Jason, even though Marcus had to come along.
Maybe she could ask London to babysit on a Sunday next weekend, and they could have the luxury of a private date.
Things were progressing with Jason at a rapid rate.
Every moment they spent together felt fraught with emotion and desire.
He’d trusted her enough to tell her about his traumatic accident.
How could she hold him at a distance after he’d bared his soul like that?
She wasn’t sure if she should relax her rules or continue to pump the brakes on the relationship.
No matter what she did, they seemed fated for romance.
Natalie took Marcus to visit her grandmother at Brookside Assisted Living Center.
Molly Evans had been in a wheelchair since her stroke.
Although she had trouble communicating, her mind was still sharp, and her eyes brightened with warmth every time Natalie entered the room.
She delighted in seeing Marcus most of all.
Natalie let him talk and wasn’t surprised when he mentioned Jason.
Her grandmother’s curious gaze met Natalie’s.
“I hired someone to help me fix up the empty apartment,” she explained.
“He took me to breakfast and bought me a slingshot,” Marcus added, “but Mom said I can’t use it in the house.”
Grandma Molly didn’t seem fooled by her attempt to cast Jason as a handyman rather than a potential boyfriend. She nodded her approval and patted Natalie’s arm. She’d been encouraging Natalie to date for months.
“We do tai chi together,” Marcus said, showing her the moves.
Natalie gave her grandmother an update on Marcus’s school activities and their daily life.
She said that Jason wanted to restore her grandfather’s truck.
Grandma Molly appeared pleased with the information.
She showed them an orchid she’d been caring for, and they took her for a stroll around the garden.
All of her friends loved to say hello to Marcus.
When it was time to leave, she hugged her grandma tight and promised to come back next week. Then she drove to the park down the street and let Marcus play. It was his weekly reward for letting old people pinch his cheek.
She reclined on a bench and took her phone out of her purse. Catching Jason on the phone with his father had reminded her to call hers.
He answered on the second ring. They always used the video call feature, because he liked to see her face. She liked to see his too. Shawn Davis was a handsome man in his late forties. He had the brawny physique of a weight-lifter, and his hair was just beginning to gray at the temples.
“Hey, baby.”
“Hey, Dad.” She could see greenery in the background and children in sports uniforms. “What are you doing?”
“I’m at Jeremy’s soccer game.”
“Do you want me to call back?”
He rose from a seated position and started walking. “Nah, they’re just warming up. How are you?”
She took a deep breath. “I’m OK.”
“Is something wrong with Marcus?”
“No, he’s fine. He’s playing.” She turned the phone around to show her son on the swing. “I just don’t know where to start.”
“Start with why you didn’t call last weekend.”
She chuckled at her dad’s forthright manner. “I was busy. My car broke down, and… I met someone.”
“You met someone.”
“He fixed my car.”
“He’s a mechanic?”
“Yes…”
“And you’re seeing each other now?”
“Yes.”
“Tell me about him.”
“He’s in the military.”
“What division?”
“Marines.”
A former Marine, he grunted with approval.
“His name is Jason. He’s twenty-nine, and he’s from Montana. He just hiked the Continental Divide Trail.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s a trail that goes from Montana to New Mexico. It’s over a thousand miles.”
“He hiked a thousand miles?”
“He did.”
“Why?”
She laughed, shaking her head. “He likes being outdoors.”
“Has he met Marcus?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“He’s good with him,” she said, aware that her voice had gone soft. “Really good.”
“When can I meet him?”
She straightened abruptly. “I’ve only known him a week.”
“Honey, it doesn’t matter how long you’ve known him. I can tell by your face that you’re halfway gone already.”
She nibbled on her lower lip. Was it obvious? Was she falling in love with Jason? “You don’t think it’s too soon?”
“Too soon to get attached?”
“Too soon to date.”
Her father gave her a sympathetic look. “Baby, it’s been almost two years. You’re a young woman.”
“What if I’m not ready to move on?”
“Then wait a little longer. You have time. Just remember that there’s a difference between being scared and being ready. If you wait for every fear to go away, you’ll wait forever.”
She acknowledged this difficult truth with a sigh.
“Why don’t you come here for Thanksgiving?”
“We’re coming for Christmas. You already bought the tickets.”
“I don’t get to see you enough. Now you’re going to get married and move to Montana.”
“I’m not,” she protested. “Stop.”
They talked for another thirty minutes about Marcus, the weather in Chicago, and her half brothers and half sister. Marcus ran over to say hello before Jaden’s game started. She promised to call again next weekend.
“I miss you,” her dad said.
“I miss you too.”
They said they loved each other before she signed off. Then she hopped up from the bench, too giddy to sit still. Talking to her dad always helped her feel centered. His opinion meant the world to her.
“Let’s go see the ducks,” she said to Marcus.
He accompanied her to the shore of a small pond, where he raced along the edge.
It was a beautiful day, crisp and bright.
Warmth from the sun permeated her sweater.
She loved Texas in late fall, when the humidity ebbed.
She wondered if she could live in a place like Montana, where it snowed all winter.
They left the grounds and returned to the parking lot, which was almost empty. There were a few other cars, but none nearby. She noticed something was wrong immediately. Her car appeared slumped to one side.
She had a flat tire.
Cursing under her breath, she rushed forward to inspect the rear tire on the driver’s side. She didn’t see a nail or any punctures. She straightened, scanning the parking lot again. Her heart began to race with unease.
“What happened?” Marcus asked.
“I don’t know.” She pulled the phone from her pocket to call Jason.
“Hello?”
“There’s a problem.”
“What is it?”
“I have a flat tire.”
“Where are you?”
She described the location. “I’m ten miles away.”
“Do you have a spare?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll call a cab and come to you.”
“I think I can change a tire myself.”
“Have you done it before?”
“No.”
“I’ll walk you through it.”
“OK.”
“First, tell me what it looks like.”
She handed the phone to Marcus. “You’re going to be my helper,” she said. “Sit down right here and hold up the phone up so I can hear Jason.”
Marcus nodded and did as he was told. She looked at the tire again.
“Any damage?” Jason asked.
“The cap is missing on the air thing. Maybe it fell off.”
“Hmm.”
Jason helped her locate her spare and the necessary tools in her trunk.
Then he talked her through the process of changing the tire.
He made it sound easy, and all of the steps were familiar.
She’d watched Mike do this before. Marcus held the phone, and he took care of the lug nuts by tucking them into his pocket.
Twenty minutes later, she was finished. She rose, dusting off her hands.
“You did it,” Marcus said. “Good job!”
She ended the call with Jason and drove home carefully. He was waiting for her in the driveway, a red shop rag twisted in his hands. She sent Marcus inside and stood by as Jason inspected her tire.
“Someone let the air out.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure,” he said, sounding irritated. “The stem cap can fall off, but it won’t deflate your tire. You have to stick a screwdriver or something in there to release the pressure. This was no accident. Whoever did it broke the valve.”
She shivered at the thought.
“Did you see anyone?”
“No.”
“You should call Wade.”
She wrote him a text with shaking fingers. When he responded a moment later, she read the text out loud to Jason: “I’m in the middle of processing an arrest, so I’ll be a few hours. I’ll stop by as soon as I’m finished.”
After she put away her phone, she considered the note in her glove compartment. Tension filled her as she went to retrieve the crumpled paper. She handed it to Jason.
His face became thunderous. “When did you get this?”
“Yesterday.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
She shifted with discomfort.
“Did you tell Wade?”
“No.”
He started pacing her front yard, cursing under his breath. “Where does Billy live?” he asked, his eyes narrow.
She tried to take the note back, but he wouldn’t let her. He put it in his pocket.
“Where does he live?”
Her temper flared. “I don’t know, but he probably wants you to go there. If he shoots you on his property, he won’t even go to jail!”
“I warned him not to bother you again. I told him he wouldn’t walk away next time.”
“You have to let Wade handle it.”
“No,” he said coldly. “I don’t.”
She grasped his forearm in an attempt to calm him. “Be reasonable. Please.”
He jerked away from her and circled her vehicle like a prowling panther. Then he walked to the garage and searched its contents. She didn’t know what he was looking for—weapons, maybe. He rifled through drawers, tossing tools around. He came back empty-handed. “I have to buy a valve repair kit.”
“Fine.”
“Are you coming with me?”
“I need to get ready for work.”
A muscle in his jaw flexed at the mention of the job he disliked. To his credit, he managed to stay quiet.
She tried to reason with him again. “He wrote a stupid note and let air out of a tire. It’s not worth getting upset over.”