Page 8 of Her Grumpy Cowboy (Courage County Standalones #1)

Walker

On the way to the feed store, I reach for Jenna’s hand, but she won’t let me take hers.

In fact, she hasn’t let me touch her all morning.

Every time I try, she ducks me. I know I didn’t read yesterday wrong.

She wanted everything we did. She even cuddled up against me all night.

I don’t know why she’s acting so different this morning, but I intend to get to the bottom of it.

Seeing Jenna hold Lily this morning made me think of last night and how I took her bare. It’s possible that she could already be pregnant with my baby and the idea feels so right. If she’s not pregnant, I plan to spend the next few months doing my damnedest to breed her.

She’s my woman now. I can’t wait until her belly is round with my child and the whole world knows that she belongs to me in every way.

As soon as I pull the truck into the parking lot of the feed store, Jenna hops out and thanks me for the ride.

Her voice is too chipper, and her expression is all wrong.

Something is bothering her, and I have to figure out what it is because there’s no way I’m letting my beautiful curvy woman think that last night didn’t mean everything to me.

I’m around the truck in two quick strides. This is not how it will end with her. We’ll have the kind of relationship where we talk shit out even if it’s hard for me to find my words sometimes. “Wait, just a minute—”

Before she can say anything, her dad is coming out of the store. I expect him to greet her with relief and excitement. But instead, he’s yelling at her, “There you are! Where is my truck? You stupid girl. Did you get it stuck after I told you not to? You’re useless.”

My blood boils in my veins at the way he speaks to her. Who the hell does he think he is, yelling at my Jenna like this?

I glance at her and she’s wilting beneath his words. I see it clearly now. She’s a beautiful, delicate wildflower that’s been crushed under his boot for years. Well, that ends today. From now on, she has a man on her side who will always defend and protect her.

There are already people staring across the street because of Sam’s loud tone and blotchy red face. Jenna’s cheeks are pink, and she’s hunched her shoulders as if she’s trying to make herself even smaller.

My heart breaks at the sight. As long as she’s with me, she’ll always stand tall because no one will ever be allowed to make her feel small.

“Shut your mouth right now, Sam!”

He opens and closes his mouth, like a trout out of water. Damn, he reeks of cheap beer. Does he just marinate in a vat of it overnight? Is this what Jenna has been dealing with on her own, her father’s alcoholism?

Now that I have his full attention, I intend to make sure he knows his place.

“Don’t you ever raise your voice at my future wife again.

This woman is the most incredible person I’ve ever met.

And for some inexplicable reason, she loves you and worships the ground you walk on.

But you’re too busy tearing her down to see that.

This shit ends now. You don’t talk to her unless you can say kind things. ”

Jenna’s eyes fill with tears and she blinks them back. “Future wife?”

“Future wife,” I repeat. “You didn’t think that I was just going to let you walk away after what we shared, did you? You’re the reason my heart beats now, and I’ll always love you. Always defend you. You’re my woman and that’s how it’s going to be.”

She chuckles and the grin that lights up her face lets me know that everything is going to be alright between us. “Is this your way of proposing?”

“No, this is my way of telling you that we’re getting hitched.

” I close the distance between us and take her in my arms, my hands automatically settling against these thick hips of hers.

She’s perfect in every way. I don’t know why her idiot father can’t see that, but I’m done letting her define herself through his eyes.

From this day forward, she’ll only ever look at herself through my eyes, the eyes of love and acceptance.

Jenna

I’ll always love you. Always defend you. You’re my woman and that’s how it’s going to be.

Walker loves me just the way I am. He accepts me and he’s claiming me as his woman in front of my dad. My heart swells with hope and love and warmth. This grumpy cowboy wants me .

I smile so big that it feels like my face is going to crack from the pressure. But I can’t help it. I’ve never been this happy. In a teasing tone, I ask, “Is this your way of proposing?”

He scowls and steps closer, taking me in his arms. Everything in my world is right again now that he’s touching me. “No, this is my way of telling you that we’re getting hitched.”

Walker is everything I could have ever wanted in a cowboy. I open my mouth to tell him that I’ll marry him any time any place.

“What in the hell do you think you’re doing? Why would you ever want to take my ugly daughter for yourself? There are plenty of other women—”

Before he can finish getting the words out, my dad is on the ground with a trickle of blood dripping down his chin.

Walker squats next to him and says something in a low tone. Just like in the barn with Michael, I recognize that he’s threatening him. He’s threatening my dad because of me.

He helps him to his feet and my dad turns to me. He opens his mouth like he’s going to say something. When he doesn’t, Walker arches an eyebrow at him. He finally throws up his hands and stomps back into his store.

Walker presses me against his chest and holds me close. “I’m sorry, kitten.”

I inhale his masculine scent. “Do you think you could take me home to get my things? I’m going to stay with Mallory for a few days.”

“I’ll take you anywhere you want to go,” he promises in his deep, gruff voice.

At home, I give Walker a quick tour of the place that hasn’t been updated in the past twenty years. It’s embarrassing to step around the empty beer cans and puddle of puke on the carpet. Normally, I’m here to clean up his messes but I can’t be that person anymore.

I pause in front of a little curio filled with ceramics that my mom collected. “After my mom died, it was like time froze for my father. I used to think it was weird, that it meant he was broken.”

“And you feel differently now?” Walker questions. He’s behind me, standing so close that I can feel the heat from his body. I love it when this man surrounds me.

“Now, I have you and just the thought of losing you makes me feel like I can’t breathe, like my heart will stop—”

“You’ll never lose me.” He wraps an arm around my waist and tugs me to him. “Never ever. I’ll fight hell itself to get back to you.”

“My point is just that I get it now and I forgive him. For not being able to love me or accept me. It wasn’t his fault, and it wasn’t mine.

I think…I’m finally ready to move on.” I’m still sad and there will always be grief when I think of my dad and what I wanted our relationship to be.

“It was never healthy. He’s not going to accept and love me the way I need him to. ”

“Sometimes, people can change,” Walker whispers. “In the meantime, it’s OK to set boundaries to protect yourself while holding out hope that he’ll make different choices one day.”

I nod. “Then I guess I’m in that place of cautious hope.”

After our discussion, it doesn’t take me long to pack a bag. “I’ll get the rest of my stuff when I have a permanent place to live. Mallory and River don’t have the space for me to take everything I own.”

He eyes my furniture. It’d probably all fit in the bed of the truck we’re driving. “I’ve got a better idea. You come home with me. Where you belong.”

My heart skips a beat at his words. Where you belong . “Walker…I belong with you?”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you since last night, sweet girl. You’re mine now and I want you right there where I can always watch over you.”