Boyd took a full inhale, trying to make himself bigger, but Jonah spun the mahogany cane in his hand.
I knew what it was like facing Jonah’s anger. I’d been on the receiving end. And like Boyd, I’d deserved it. But Jonah would never hit a woman.
I forced myself to meet Boyd’s glare. Hatred shone in his eyes.
He snarled, baring his teeth. “I regret the years I wasted on your hillbilly ass.”
Jonah growled and stepped forward. Boyd scurried away. My ex put an arm around his mom to comfort her. I got a clear vision of how my marriage would’ve been. Me, alone, against them.
She stopped, nearly tripping both of them. “Get the ring,” she cried and clutched his arm.
Boyd’s glare skipped off Jonah and landed on me.
The stupid, obnoxious emerald-cut ring he’d claimed was a family heirloom and was adamant that we couldn’t resize. I’d been terrified for four months the damn thing would land in the toilet and Corinne would roast me in hell.
I yanked it off and chucked it down the hall. “Be a good boy and fetch that for your mother.”
“She always was crass and unrefined,” Corinne told Boyd as she hauled him in the direction the ring had bounced. “I told you.”
Acid sloshed into the back of my throat. That woman didn’t know me. Yet I couldn’t escape the sense that she did see me and that was why I’d tried so hard to please her and Boyd. I wasn’t crass and unrefined, but I was a scared and selfish girl at the worst of times.
Jonah ignored them again. His dark focus was on me. “Summer?” he said quietly.
The tears were back and spilling over. I’d made a mess of this day. I would have to face my family, Jonah’s parents, other family friends, and tell them I’d fucked up. People had spent money and time to get to this damn wedding, and it was my fault they were getting nothing out of it.
My skin crawled. My lack of action had cost people I cared about everything before. And now it was happening again.
“I don’t want to face them.” I didn’t want to see anyone. I was supposed to be the role model, yet I’d been snowed.
I was a fool. A scared and selfish little girl.
“I can’t let my sisters see me like this.” Could I leave before they heard what had happened? Could I just leave? “I don’t want to go home.”
If I went to my condo in Bozeman, I might have an encounter with Boyd. He didn’t have a key, but he could come pounding. If I went home, to the house that always felt like home, Mama’s house on the Bailey ranch, then I’d be witnessed in all my failure. I’d have to face my brothers’ questions and stay strong for my sisters and I just wanted tobe.
Jonah’s steely gaze went to the exit door. His eyes were a deep indigo blue. I hadn’t remembered until he glanced toward the glow of the exit sign. There’d been a lot of things about Jonah Dunn I’d tried to forget.
The muscles in his jaw clenched. “All right. Get your stuff.”
I shook my head. A walk of shame. A spectacle. I’d be the center of attention for all the wrong reasons. “My stuff is in the changing room. I just can’t...” The tears continued to roll. “I was so stupid.” My voice was ragged, barely a whisper. “So stupid. I don’t want them to see.”
His sigh was barely audible. He put an arm around me and led me to the exit. “I’ll get you out of here.”
His steps were uneven and his cane hit the ground erratically. When we barreled out the door, a cold wind hit me in the face. Another detail I hadn’t wanted for my wedding. Frigid weather and snowpack on my happy day. Forecasted snow and dark gray clouds in the distance. More snow was coming.
Happy Valentine’s Day.
I sank into Jonah’s side, not caring where he steered me, only that it was away. The steel of his body shouldn’tbe comforting but it was. I’d known Jonah for a long time, but this was the closest I’d ever been to him.
“Summer!” Wynter called.
I tensed and almost stopped but was helpless against Jonah’s strength. “She can’t be running out here. She’s too pregnant.”
He finally halted and looked over his shoulder. “I’ll get her home.”
I snuck a peek. My sisters were charging outside. Myles already had an arm around Wynter’s waist to keep her from chasing me. Junie’s eyes widened when her gaze landed on Jonah. He didn’t get out much, and Junie no longer lived in our hometown. She probably hadn’t seen him for years. Did she know who he was? Jonah had once been close to my brothers, especially Teller, but the guys were all older than us.
My brothers crowded in the doorway. Tate, Teller, and Tenor, all in suits, all with severe concern etched into their faces.
