Page 37 of The Convict Gets His Girl

"Hey," he greeted, opening the door and climbing into the passenger seat. The cab was filled with the rich aroma of coffee, a welcome assault on his senses. He settled in, glancing over at Jewel who lifted her cup for another sip, the steam curling up in the cool air between them.

"Evening went well?" Chase ventured into small talk, trying to gauge her mood. Chase had gotten back to the ranch just as Hunter had walked out the bunkhouse door. They'd chatted, and Chase was left gasping from the casual drop of information about the date Hunter had with Jewel.

He couldn't blame them for needing to talk things out, and it was high time his brother got his head out of his ass when it came to Jewel, but unease had settled around him as the evening wore on. He'd worried about whether she'd even show up tonight, if she'd decided Hunter was the better brother after all. But here she was, and a certain relief flooded his system as he searched her features in the dim light of the interior.

"It was fine," she said with a yawn.

He frowned, wishing he could drive for her. "The date with Hunter went long? Looks like you didn't rest at all."

"If I would've tried to sleep first, I wouldn't have woken up," she exhaled, cradling the cup between her hand and driving with the other. "Hoping the coffee helps. Got you one, but wasn't sure how you took it."

"Thanks," he said, lifting the extra coffee cup from the center console. "You didn't answer the question about the date with Hunter, though."

She shrugged. "I wouldn't call it a date, although I'm sure your mom hopes it was. Hunter and I are just friends now."

Chase took a deep breath, her words unleashing a knot from his stomach. He sipped the warm brew.

"Thought you might still be out with him." He sighed. "Wasn't sure I'd actually see you tonight."

"I told you I would, and I'm a woman of my word." She gave him a wry smile, eyes fixed on the road ahead as she put the truck into gear. "Hunter dropped me off about an hour ago, then I promptly had a fight with my dad," she admitted, a hint of tension creeping into her voice.

"About what?" Chase pressed. He wanted to know everything about her, and he only knew of her relationship with her family by his own observations over the past few weeks.

"The usual." She sighed heavily, shoulders slumping as if the weight of the world rested upon them. "Same old, same old with him."

"I don't know what that means," he said, frustrated that he couldn't help or be there for her. "You were always outside with Hunter, Gemma, and Gunner, while I was inside on the computer or reading. I don't know what the relationship is."

She glanced at him and smiled. "That's right. You were always the nerdy one. You and Destini have that in common."

The air was tense with what remained unsaid about Destini's father. She cleared her throat and continued.

"Being outdoors is my escape," she murmured, breaking the silence. "My dad doesn't understand that, or me for that matter. We're both easy to anger but that's where our similarities end. Gemma has Mom's even-going personality. It's the only way she's been able to put up with him for this long."

"I get that," he said softly, staring out the window as the fields passed them by. "I didn't talk to my parents for fifteen years."

She gasped, "What? The whole time?—"

"Yeah, the whole time. I talked with Hunter and Landry on the phone. Occasionally Parker. But never my parents or Gunner. Now, it's just awkward around them, and I'm not sure how to get past it."

"It's very grown-up of you to even recognize the awkwardness," she said.

He shrugged. "Years of therapy. I was bound to learn something. At least I know why the awkwardness is there. Why do you and your dad fight?"

Jewel shifted on the seat and took a sip, pausing before she answered. "He sees too much of my mom in me. I look just like her, and it changes how he treats me. It's stifling, like he's taking out his anger at her death on me. They loved each other so much, but after she died… he changed." She set the coffee cup in the cup holder. "I've been looking at places to live. Can't stay with him and Gemma forever, maybe not even another week, at the rate we're going."

Chase listened, a knot forming in his stomach at her words. "I get it," he said softly. "I've never lived on my own. I've been staying at the hunting cabin a few days a week to learn how to do things for myself. The thought of being responsible for a house and for everything I would need to live freaks me out, but I think I'm ready to try. Ready for some space."

"Space is good," she agreed, a hint of a smile touching her lips. She parked the truck on the shoulder of the highway with a soft crunch of gravel under the tires. She turned the truck and lights off, and they both stared down the long-overgrown dirt path, the trailer's lights looming eerily a few hundred yards away, a dark sentinel in the night.

"You ever done this kind of thing before?" he asked, his stomach twisting in nerves. There were so many ways this could go wrong, and he didn't want her to get hurt.

She opened the truck door and hopped down, grabbing a thin blanket from under the seat. "Yep, it happens a lot. Well, not a lot. Only a few times a year, maybe. I usually go with the cops, though, or send the humane society. You can wait here if you'd like."

She gently closed the door, careful not to be too loud. He got out, quietly shutting the door behind him and meeting her on the drive, the cool air wrapping around them like an unseen cloak.

"I'm not letting you do this alone," he whispered as they walked on the gravel.

The darkness felt thicker as they neared the McBride place, an island of shadow against the starlit sky. Chase glanced at Jewel and nudged her gently. "If you get another call like this, call me," he whispered. "There's no way in hell I'm letting you do this kind of thing alone. Promise you'll call me."

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