Page 30 of Unbroken (Amber Ridge #4)

“ W e had our first fight this morning.”

Indie’s lips curved as she lifted her peppermint tea, coffee still not sitting well in her belly. She didn’t love the tea, but it was supposed to be good for nausea. “You and Holden had a fight? About what?”

“We went out to that new Italian place for dinner. I was dressed very casual—leggings, my hair was in a claw clip, and I had no makeup on. Basically invisible.”

Indie scoffed. “You’re never invisible, Clara.” The opposite. Her cousin was gorgeous.

“No, I looked terrible. And this waiter comes over and asks how we’re doing. He smiles, hands us menus. That’s it. That’s all he does.”

“Sounds very standard.”

Clara threw her hands up. “Exactly! Well, the second the waiter leaves, Holden says he was flirting with me.”

“What gave him that idea?”

“He said the guy’s gaze lingered and he had a tone .”

“What kind of tone?”

Clara lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know, a flirty one that I somehow missed. Anyway, he spends the entire dinner eyeing this guy like he’s about to wage a war against him. I get annoyed, tell him he’s overreacting. Then when I go to the bathroom, the waiter hands me his number.”

Indie almost choked on her tea. “ What? Holden’s a million feet tall and all muscle. What was he thinking?”

“I know! And I was so mad because he was right and I was wrong. I didn’t talk to him for a full hour.”

Indie laughed. It wasn’t the worst thing to fight about. “I’m sorry. Kind of cute that he was so overprotective though.”

“Yeah. And we did have really good makeup sex later that night.”

“Sounds like you should fight more often.”

“You know, I was thinking the same thing.” Clara sipped her sweet tea. “Tell me about you. How’s your head?”

Indie swallowed. “My head’s good.” It had been a week since the attack.

She’d rested a lot during that time and was finally feeling ready to be out and about, especially now that she didn’t have to worry about Gordon.

“Actually, there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.

I didn’t earlier because there was so much going on with Gordon and my concussion, and there were often other people around when I saw you. ”

Clara set her glass onto the table, a frown between her brows. “What?”

“I’m pregnant.”

Her mouth dropped. “No.”

“Yes.”

“Yes?”

“Mm-hmm.”

Suddenly, Clara screamed before jumping out of the booth, rounding the table, and throwing her arms around Indie. “I’m so happy for you!”

“Thank you.”

“I can’t believe you let me go on about that waiter and makeup sex when you were sitting on this information!”

Indie chuckled. “Hey, I liked that story.”

When Clara pulled back, she had tears in her eyes. “You’re really pregnant?”

“Really, really. But it’s early. I’m still in my first trimester.”

“But there’s a baby growing in there.”

Clara’s tears made wetness fill Indie’s eyes. “I don’t know how.”

“Because Colt’s home. Because you love each other. Because things are right in the world.”

“Now that Gordon’s been arrested, it kind of feels that way.”

“How else are you feeling?”

“A mix of happy and shocked and sick and scared.”

Clara frowned. “Why scared?”

“Because there’s a reason women aren’t supposed to tell people in their first trimester. The chance of miscarriage—”

“No. Don’t say that. Don’t even think it. You are safe. Your baby is safe.”

“You can’t promise me that.”

“I shouldn’t, but I am anyway. Because my gut tells me I’m right.”

Indie’s lips curved. “I wish I had your faith.”

“You will.” Clara slipped some hair behind Indie’s ear. “I’m going to be the best auntie for this little baby.”

“You really are. You’re amazing.”

“Only because I have an amazing cousin who also happens to be my best friend. Now, when can I stick needles into you?”

Indie laughed, and they spent the next half hour talking about all things baby. Colt’s reaction. Her symptoms. Where she planned to put the nursery.

When it was time to go, they both headed outside, where Clara pulled her into another big bear hug. “I am so happy for you. You’re going to make the best mother. You deserve this pregnancy.”

“Pregnancy?”

Indie gasped—and turned to see Sylvia behind them, purse in her hands. “Sylvia, I didn’t see you.”

Sylvia stepped closer. “Indie? Are you pregnant?”

Crap. She’d wanted Colt to tell his mother when he was ready. Too late. “I am.”

Sylvia’s gaze lowered to Indie’s stomach before rising again, her expression shocked. “Congratulations, dear.”

Indie dipped her head. “Thank you.”

Sylvia offered a small smile before stepping around her into The Tea House.

Clara cringed. “I’m so sorry.”

Indie shook her head. “It’s not your fault. I didn’t see her either.”

They said goodbye and Indie headed down the street.

She’d parked at the print shop because she’d picked up some photos she’d printed for a client before meeting Clara.

They were gorgeous; she always loved seeing her photos in print.

With the rise of the digital age, prints had become less and less common.

But there was something so special about seeing the photos framed or in a book.

As she stepped into the parking lot, she texted Colt.

Indie: I have to tell you something.

His response was immediate.

Colt: Are you okay?

Indie: Yes, but your mom overheard me talking to Clara. She knows about the pregnancy. I’m sorry.

Colt: Why are you sorry?

Indie: Because you should have been able to tell her.

Indie unlocked her car door and climbed in. There’d been a delay on her new car, so she still had another week to go. Colt wasn’t happy.

She was actually a bit sad to say goodbye to this one. Since its trip to the mechanic, it had been a lot more reliable.

Colt: How’d she take it?

Indie was about to respond when a figure flashed in her rearview mirror from the back seat. All she saw was dark hair and eyes. She didn’t have time to scream before something wrapped around her neck and pulled tight. So tight she couldn’t breathe.

Panic clawed at her throat, her hands going to the rope and trying to rip it away, but she couldn’t get her fingers beneath it.

A mouth suddenly touched her ear, humid breath against her skin. Then a man’s unfamiliar voice. “Where is he?”

He eased the rope off just a fraction so she could speak. “Who?”

The rope tightened again. “Don’t fuck with me, woman. I will hurt you. Where’s Sharp?”

Sharp… Gordon .

“Hos…pital,” she choked out. “Room two-five-eight.”

The rope tightened again, and suddenly she couldn’t breathe at all. Not a single breath. Pain cut through her chest, the panic making her heartbeat roar between her ears.

His breath was hot against her ear as he growled, “That asshole owes me money. And if I don’t get it from him , you better believe I’ll be back to take it from his family.”

Terror clawed at her insides.

Air. She needed air! It felt like her chest was going to explode. Like the rope around her neck was going to cut her in two and suffocate her at the same time.

Then suddenly, the rope disappeared.

She dropped forward, sucking in huge gulps of air, her hands going to her aching throat. Tears burned her eyes, and even though she could breathe, it still felt like she was choking.

She stumbled out of her car, her chest heaving, fear alive in her bones.

Someone stepped toward her. Another man. He was big, but everything else about him was a blur. She was about to scream when he spoke.

“Hey, are you okay?”

She collapsed into his arms, and he caught her.

“How the hell did you guys get this done so quickly?” Colt asked as he looked at the finished office. There was fresh paint. New carpet. A big window, which gave a view of the mountains. They just needed the reception desk and some more furniture for the attached office and they’d be done.

But it wasn’t just the office that was finished—the entire park would be ready to open in the next month.

He hadn’t been here nearly as much as he’d wanted to be, but he’d tried to make up for that in the last week since his dad had been arrested.

“I’ve got a great group of guys,” Randy said, crossing his arms.

Noah’s gaze ran over the mountains outside. “I can’t believe we’re doing it.”

“You’d better be doing it after all that work.” Randy chuckled. “We’re still waiting on your signage, but most things are ready to go. The zip line. The mountain bike trails. The cabins. You still organizing a food truck?”

“I haven’t advertised yet, but I will,” Noah answered.

“What about staff?”

“We’ve spent the last few weeks interviewing,” Colt said. Not that there’d been too many candidates. In the small town of Amber Ridge, there were only so many people looking for work.

“We’ve got enough to get us started,” Noah confirmed.

“Am I still meeting the new receptionist today?” Colt asked.

Noah looked at his watch. “She’s due any minute. I’m going over the website she’s started building with her.”

At that exact moment, a short blonde stepped in. She looked young, but that was expected. How old had Noah said she was? Twenty-two?

A smile widened on Noah’s face. “Addison, hey.”

“Hi, Noah. And please, call me Addie.”

“Addie, meet Randy, the man responsible for the magic of this park coming together so quickly. And my partner, Colt.”

She shook his and Randy’s hands. “It’s nice to meet you both.”

“You too.” Colt frowned. “Are you new in town?”

“I am, but I’m from Bozeman. A good excuse to try living in a new area and meeting some new people without going too far. Plus, I love this outdoorsy kind of stuff.”

Colt took in her makeup, the perfectly curled hair, and the fake long nails. Didn’t exactly scream outdoorsy , but maybe he was wrong. “Well, it’s good to have you on the team.”

“Thanks. It’s good to be here.” She nibbled her lip and glanced behind her out the door. There was something about the way she did it, a hesitation that made Colt frown. Was she feeling uneasy?

Noah cleared his throat. “Would you like to go into the office? There are some drawers we can use as a makeshift desk.”

She chuckled. “Sure.”