Page 85 of Cowboy of Convenience
Or the one where he said he was only telling Darla the truth when he fed her the bullshit about Grady stealing the ranch.
That was when she grabbed the closest thing, thankfully not Grady’s father, and tried to lob it at his head. For some reason, Grady stopped her, his frustratingly soothing voice working to calm her down as he wrestled away the cast iron statue of a horse and put it out of reach before parking her on the sofa.
The whole thing was unbelievable. How in the world could two people who pretended to care so much be so fucking awful to a man who was nothing but good to them?
The police officer gave her a sympathetic smile. "I'm not sure what’s going to happen with Charlene just yet."
Knowing Charlene had been searching the house and helping Larry feed Grady's sick mother lies made her out of her mind with anger. It also made her consider taking Grady's dad out for a little road trip. He probably wouldn't mind the opportunity to get another lick in.
Grady rested his arm on her shoulders, pulling her close to press a kiss against her temple then continuing to hold tight. Like he wanted to hold onto her just in case she decided to try to assault someone with a horse again. "It's okay, Ev. Everything’s going to be fine."
“Fine?” Was he out of his mind? Did Gram-Gram accidentally clip him with the urn too? She faced him, incredulous. "The man you thought of as an uncle broke in here and tried to find the cash he knew your parents kept on hand because he was a greedy asshole with an inflated sense of entitlement." It was about the nicest way she could put it, and part of her was proud she was being as tactful as she was.
"What’s done is done, Sweetheart. There's no reason to keep being upset about it." His words were calm and even.
Which only infuriated her more. "Why aren’t you mad?"
Grady gave her a grin. "Because you're mad enough for both of us." He palmed the back of her head, pulling her lips to his in a kiss that probably wasn't fit for decent company and took a little of the edge off her rage.
But only a little.
She didn’t expect to ever have someone like him. And the thought of someone hurting him the way Larry and Charlene just did brought out a whole different side of her. One she was having a tough time reeling back in.
The officer cleared his throat, giving her a smile when she looked over. "Just a few more questions."
Evelyn went through the same story she'd already told Cooper and the other cop who’d been tasked with this mess. Explaining how she and her grandmother pulled up at the house and noticed a strange pickup truck instead of Grady’s. She assumed it was a friend of the family who'd come over to offer their condolences, so they quietly went in the back door, not wanting to interrupt. Once they were in, she went to the bathroom because it had taken way too much coffee to get her through the past two days. When she came out, her grandmother was gone and all hell was breaking loose upstairs.
"So you didn't actually see anything that happened?" The police officer summed up her statement.
"No. And that's probably a good thing, because I would have lost my shit." Grady’s parents were so good.Hewas so good. They had what she never would and for some reason she felt wildly protective of them.
Grady leaned into her ear. "To be fair, Ev, you're kind of losing your shit a little bit."
Evelyn faced him again. "That's the expected reaction a person should have to a situation like this. To be angry. To be outraged, and frankly I'm a little concerned you're not." Normally she loved his calm demeanor, but at this moment it was sort of getting to her. Making her want to protect him even more.
"I could choose to be upset, and there may come a time that I will," Grady reached up to run his fingers through her hair, "but right now, I'm just thinking about what a great mama bear you’re gonna be."
All the rage racing through her veins bled away almost instantly. "Really?"
Ever since Grady had mentioned kids, she'd struggled not to think about what that might be like. How it would feel to be a mother. How great Grady would be as a dad.
And how unprepared she was for motherhood.
Her only example left a lot to be desired. Part of her worried it was genetic. That no matter how hard she tried, she would be the exact same way her own mother was. Disconnected and self-centered. Unable to form any sort of emotional connection or provide the love and care a child needed.
But hearing that Grady believed differently culled a little of the fear.
"Sweetheart, you are the most caring, warm, kind and selfless person I know." Grady continued sliding his fingers down her hair. "And you are protective as hell. Ready to stand up and fight for the people you love and willing to put in the work it takes to be better." His thumb came to trace along her lower lip. "There is no one else in this world I would want as the mother of my children."
The police officer cleared his throat again.
Evelyn took a deep breath, letting it back out as she forced herself back into her comfort zone. Making plans. She’d always had one, and making one now might help her feel better. Less ragey. "What do we do now?"
"You don't have to do anything." The cop closed his notepad and tapped it with his pen. "I'm the one who gets to do all the work now."
Evelyn managed a small smile. “I’m sorry you have to deal with all this. And I’m sorry I was a little,” she fished around for a decent sounding word, “reactive earlier.”
Grady leaned closer, but his voice was loud enough the cop would hear. "Don't feel too bad for him. Peters loves his job." He grinned at the cop who must also be his friend. "And he's used to dealing with wild women."
