“I’d say call with the news, but I have no doubt I’ll know before you get the chance to pick up the phone,” he laughed as we walked out the door.
“God, this town is way too nosy,” Blake hissed as we headed back to our vehicle.
“You’ll get used to it.”
“You didn’t! You left because of this. And now we’re back here. Are we crazy? Should we have moved to my hometown?”
“Well, that depends. Did you want a shotgun wedding?”
She stopped, her face suddenly growing pale. “Oh my God. I’m gonna have to tell my father and my brothers!”
“Yeah,” I said slowly, confused by her sudden revelation that I already knew was coming.
“You don’t understand, Parker. They’re going to come here and?—”
“And what? Beat me up? Make me marry you? Done. Not an issue.”
“Not an issue?” she screeched, stomping away from me. “Do you have any idea what it will be like?”
Spinning back to face me, she was about to say something when a punk kid ran past her, tearing the purse from her shoulder. I was about to give chase when I saw the change in Blake’s eyes.
“Aw, hell. This is gonna be bad,” I said right as she took off after him.
5
BLAKE
I’d beenin some really shitty situations in my life, but a kid stealing my purse just seemed to take the cake right now.
I wasn’t sure what I was more pissed about—that he took my purse or that I didn’t see it coming.
Either one was pretty bad. We were in a small town. It was supposed to be safe. And yet, I’d just had my purse stolen by some kid.
I felt the chase wash over me, and before I could think about what I was doing, I took off at a dead sprint after the punk. Yes, I was fast, but this kid? Hell, I was having a hard time catching up to him. I wasn’t sure if that was because I was getting older, possibly pregnant, or just losing my edge.
“This is not happening!” I shouted, pushing myself to the limit.
The kid looked over his shoulder, his eyes widening as he saw me gaining on him. He tripped over his own feet, but there was no slowing down. I was already at full speed with no way to hit the brakes.
I slammed into him, but my momentum with him tripping over his own damn feet sent us flying right toward a shop window.
“Not again!” I shouted as we crashed right through the glass, landing on a display of books.
Groaning, I shifted off the kid, hoping he wasn’t in the same condition Parker was when I sent him flying through a window.
“Hey, kid. You okay?”
“Take it!” he said, shoving the purse at me. “Geez, lady.”
As he rolled over, I gasped in horror when I saw the glass sticking out of his stomach in almost the same exact spot Parker had been impaled.
“Oh my God!”
I spun in the glass just as I heard Parker’s footsteps slow. His wide eyes said it all. This was bad. Really freaking bad.
“Geezus, Blake! You don’t have to shove every person you see through a window!”
“I didn’t mean to!” I shouted, suddenly not feeling so good. “He tripped!”
