Hunter walks in, nodding at me. I smile politely.
He pulls off his hat and drops it on Ace's side table, and something about the way he moves tells me this isn't a casual visit. His jaw is tight. His shoulders are locked.
"Do you want me to— " I point upstairs, offering to give them space.
He shakes his head. Ace smiles at me.
"Nah. All good, Harper," Hunter says, dropping onto the sofa like the weight of him could crack it in half. "You got a beer?"
Ace frowns. "Yeah."
He walks toward me first, his hand finding my waist, pulling me in close.
"This is weird as shit," he whispers against my ear, and I have to press my lips together to stop the laugh.
He grabs his brother a beer, then comes back and takes my hand, guiding us onto the opposite sofa. His arm goes around my shoulder, and I tuck into his side.
"You wanna tell me why you look so…" Ace pauses. Tips his head. "I don't know the word. This is a new emotion for you, Hunter."
Hunter chuckles, draining half the beer in one pull.
"I had to get out of the house. All hell's broken loose, and that ain't the place for me right now."
"Is everything okay?" I ask.
"Violet just dropped the bomb that she's pregnant."
"Oh, shit," Ace hisses.
My heart jumps straight into my throat.No. It's not Ace's. He told me he hasn't slept with anyone. I trust him.But the thought fires through me before I can stop it, and I turn to look at him.
Ace arches an eyebrow; he reads me instantly. "You better not ask me what I think is rattling around in that brain of yours, Goldie."
I press a kiss to his cheek. "I won't."
He pulls me tighter against him. "Good girl," he murmurs, low enough that only I hear it, and my stomach flips.
"Is it Jett's?" Ace asks Hunter, sounding almost horrified.
Hunter laughs. "In this situation, it would've been better for everyone involved if Jett were the father. Nah. It's her ex. That asshole who left them in a bar shootout and then skipped town."
He rubs a hand over his jaw. The frustration rolls off him in waves.
"That's awful," I say. I can't help myself. The investigator in me never shuts off. "Does he know she's having his baby?"
Hunter nods. "Yeah. Wants nothing to do with her or the kid. He ain't coming back to New Falls. Not that he’s welcome here anyway."
My heart sinks.
"Is she okay?" I ask.
Hunter shrugs. "Lola's looking after her, or trying to calm her down. But Lola's pregnant too. She doesn't need the extra stress."
"What kind of man does that?" Ace says, his voice dropping into something harder. "Doesn't show up for his kid? Want me to track him down? I’ll drag his ass back here and make him be a father. Or kill him. Either works."
I smile and lean my head against his chest. Because, of course, that's his answer.
"Well, I thought that too," Hunter says. "But it ain't our fight to get involved in yet. Violet's a feisty woman. If she wants him dead, she'll tell us."
