Page 35 of The Convict Gets His Girl

She laughed softly. "Good to see not much has changed."

"Except for you and Chase…"

The silence was broken only by the cicadas before she sighed again. "I don't know what's there, to be honest. It's—it's a strange situation. I can't believe you even want to talk about this."

He looked up at the stars. "Me neither, but here we are. Maybe we just should've stayed friends all those years ago. It's so much easier than being your boyfriend ever was."

A pain in her chest left her wincing. "That's what they all say. All the guys I've dated since we actually broke up, anyway. I'm always better as the girl next door. Never the romantic lead."

"But you want to be that with Chase?" There was no judgment in his voice, just simple curiosity, which had her relaxing and actually thinking about his question.

"Yes. No. Maybe. He's younger than us, and we didn't really hang out with him growing up. He was always into the nerdy shit, and we were always outside. I don't really know him well enough to know if I want to be with him."

But she was definitely drawn to him. Her body gravitated to his like bees to flowers. She glanced at Hunter.

"What if there is something between us, though? Are you okay if I—I don't know—date Chase or something?"

"I'm fine. The only concern I have is how you and I broke up. I don't want Chase to get hurt or go through something like what we went through at the end."

Jewel nodded but didn't say anything, her chest aching for the pain she'd caused Hunter and the heartache she'd experienced back then.

"I'm so sorry, Hunter," she said softly.

"I know, and I am too. No one can predict the future. While Chase is tough to have survived prison, promise you won't hurt him, Jewel. Please." The raw emotion in Hunter's voice, the worry and love for his brother bright as day, made her angry.

"For fuck's sake, I won't hurt him," Jewel growled, clenching her fists. She regulated her breathing, pushing down the emotions that spiked from nowhere even as her knees and ankles ached.

She rubbed the back of her neck and glanced at her watch. "Sorry, I'm just tired. Can you take me home now?" She yawned, revealing the truth of her statement. She really was bone weary, and she still had to go rescue a dog and deal with Chase.

Hunter took her home and dropped her off on the curb. The crunch of Jewel's boots punctuated the still night as she walked up the sidewalk to the house, the soft glow from the living room window casting a welcoming light on her path. She twisted the key in the lock quietly and eased the front door open, stepping into the familiar scent of leather and pine.

Sprawled in the recliner, her dad's chest rose and fell with the rhythm of sleep, but as the door clicked shut, he jolted awake, his eyes darting around the room before settling on her with a mixture of confusion and irritation.

"Crystal?" His voice was gravelly, edged with the remnants of a dream.

Jewel's chest tightened at the mention of her mom's name, and she sighed. "No, Dad, it's just me." The tension in her shoulders eased at the sight of him, even if his furrowed brow promised disapproval.

Dad popped the recliner footrest down and rubbed his eyes. "Ah, Jewel. What're you doin' out and about? I thought you were asleep in your room."

"Had a date. Sorry to wake you," she said, kicking her boots off by the door.

"It's not the first time," Henry grumbled, standing to stretch.

She didn't want to get into it with him tonight, so she deflected. "What are you doing out here?"

"Gemma got called out to the Robsons'. Horse trouble," Henry grumbled, scrubbing a hand over his face. "Can't seem to get back to sleep after she left."

"Sorry to hear that," Jewel said, wondering if he'd have stayed up worrying about her if he'd known about the call to the McBrides.

"How's Hunter? And foaling season?" Henry asked, scratching his stomach as he walked to the kitchen and filled a glass of water.

"Going alright. Busy, but alright. They're up to nine healthy foals so far this season."

Henry whistled and shook his head, his expression souring. "I knew they were going to grow a bit more this year, with Hunter in charge. That boy's nothing but?—"

"Trouble? Fun? What is it this time?" Jewel interjected, feeling the old sting of never quite meeting his expectations. It seemed everything she did or chose sparked some kind of complaint from him. That's just the way it had been for years now.

"Doesn't matter," he muttered. "He's ambitious but not in the way you need."

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