Page 31 of Montana Justice

“According to the doctor who examined her.” My fist hit the table, making our glasses jump. The conversation at the next table stuttered to a stop before resuming. “Jesus, Hunter, she’s got old fractures. Scar tissue from years of abuse.”

“Could be from anything. Bar fights, accidents?—”

“Or from getting the shit beat out of her repeatedly.” Lucas’s quiet voice cut through. “I know what abuse victims look like, Hunter. So do you.”

Hunter sat back, his expression still skeptical. “I’m just saying, the timing is suspicious. She could have reached out months ago. Why wait until she’s desperate?”

“Maybe because she knew I’d react exactly like you are right now?” The words tasted like copper. “Maybe because she was scared?”

“Or maybe because she was with someone else and that didn’t work out, so now she’s coming to you as Plan B.” Hunter’s gaze didn’t waver. “Look, I’m not trying to be an asshole?—”

“Could’ve fooled me.”

“—but someone needs to ask the hard questions. You’re letting her live in your house. What if she takes off again? What if she’s playing you?”

My hands clenched and unclenched under the table. Part of me—the part that had woken up to an empty bed and a missing wallet—agreed with every word Hunter was saying. But then I pictured Piper’s face when she held Caleb. The way she’d positioned herself between him and the door, even while sleeping on my couch.

“If she is, then she is. He’s still my kid.”

“So what do you want to do?” Beckett asked, always the peacemaker.

“I want to be a father to Caleb. That’s not negotiable.” The certainty steadied me. “But Piper…”

“More complicated?”

“Yeah.” I rolled the glass between my palms, watching the amber liquid swirl. “I can forgive what she did. But something’s off. She cries all the time and seems terrified of everything.”

“Could be a general trauma response,” Lucas offered. “When Evelyn first came to the ranch, she jumped at shadows for months. Of course, ended up she had a psychotic ex who was after her.”

I stared into my glass. If someone came after Piper the way Evelyn’s ex had come after her, I would do everything in my power to protect her, no matter the circumstances.

“She won’t talk about much of anything. I don’t know where she’s been or what’s been happening. She just said she’s been moving around.”

“With a premature baby.” Hunter’s tone made it clear what he thought of that story.

The man was a good friend, former Special Forces when he’d been in the military. He’d seen and done some shit in his life and had paid a high price for it. He didn’t trust easily.

There was nobody I’d rather have at my back during a fight. But he needed to stand down.

“What are you suggesting I do, Hunter? Kick her and my son out? Demand a DNA test?” My voice had gone dangerously quiet.

“I’m suggesting you protect yourself. Get a legal custody agreement. Document everything. Install some security cameras if you haven’t already?—”

My face must have given something away because Hunter stopped mid-sentence.

“You already did.” A ghost of a smile crossed his face. “Good. Smart.”

“I’m not an idiot.”

“Never said you were. Just making sure you’re thinking with your brain and not—” He gestured vaguely.

“My dick? Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“That’s not what he meant,” Lucas intervened. “We’re worried about you. This is a lot to process.”

“You think I don’t know that?” The words exploded out of me. “You think I haven’t been up every night wondering what the hell I’m supposed to do? How to be a father to a baby I justmet? How to help a woman who flinches when I move too fast? Christ, I’m completely out of my depth here.”

The admission hung in the air. My chest heaved like I’d been running. At the next table, someone dropped quarters into the jukebox, and Johnny Cash’s voice filled the sudden silence.

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