Sweet and Wild - Carmen Jenner Page 0,39

still wanna kill me—West too—but little by little they’re coming round. Just last month we shook hands on a deal that would tie me to this land forever—my own slice of heaven right here at Winchester Wild. And though Lemon don’t know nothin’ about it, the three of us have been working hard on getting things sorted for her and the baby.

I’m making it right, doing right by Lemon and her folks, trying not to tarnish the family name further. This town don’t make it easy though. She’s just finished high school, and if her peers talking behind her back weren’t enough, she’s gotta face the judgement of every Betty Lue Sue in town looking down on her. Sometimes I wish we could trade places, because it’s so much easier for men. I’m older, I’m the one who got her pregnant, I’m the one who should have known better, and yet she’s the one who’s forced to carry all the shame of our situation along with our unborn child.

Part of me wonders whether staying in this town is the best thing for her, but where the hell else would we go? Our family is here, our life is here, and I can’t imagine ever leaving.

Miguel Ángel—a ranch hand who’s stayed back at the stables to keep everything running smoothly at the house—crests the rise at a bolt on Mulk, a horse who hasn’t run for ten years now. They both look flustered as he yanks on Mulk’s reins.

“What in the world are you doin’, Miguel?”

“Mr. Winchester, you and Colt need to come quick. It’s Lemon.”

“What happened? Is the baby okay?” I shout.

“West,” Mr. Winchester shouts. “Get this head of cattle through the gate on the north side.”

“We can just herd them back into the west pasture until tomorrow, Pops.”

“No. I need ’em moved today.”

“Okay.” West nods and he glances at me. “I got it. Just go.”

I glance at Mr. Winchester, half expecting him to order me to stay, but I dig my heels into Knievel’s side and take off for the house at a full tilt.

Thirty minutes later, I enter the yard and jump off Knievel. I don’t have time to take off his tack, curry his coat, or hose him down. I tie him to the fence post and run to the house. I yank open the front door and storm in without mucking off my boots—a punishable offence in Mama Winchester’s house.

“Lemon!”

I take the stairs two at a time and burst into her room. It’s empty, but the bright red stain in the middle of her sheets tells me everything I need to know. I holler and slam my fist into the door, leaving a hole in the solid oak wood. “Fuck!”

“Colton!” Mr. Winchester comes up the stairs, panting like he’s just covered 100,000 acres in a sprint and not his horse. “Where is she?”

“Hospital is my guess.”

“Come on, then. I’ll drive.”

“If it’s all the same, sir, I’d rather drive myself.”

“Why? So you can break the speed limit the whole way and end up dying before you get there?”

“I’m afraid, sir.”

“I know it, but you gotta pull yourself together and be strong for her. You understand me?”

I nod, though I don’t feel strong. I feel as if I’m falling apart. Please, God, let my woman and my baby be okay.

I follow Lemon’s daddy down the stairs, my nerves shot to hell. And I climb into his truck, though it takes everything in me not to just drive myself. But I can’t stand the thought of leaving Lemon to do this alone, and forcing my child to grow up without a father.

When we finally get to the hospital, I race inside while Lemon’s daddy finds a park. I’m led upstairs to the maternity ward, and through the viewing window inlaid into the door, I see the love of my life sitting on a bed in a white hospital gown, her normally tanned face almost as pale as the robe she’s wearing. Her mama is talking to a doctor, and I enter the room and rush to Lemon’s side.

“Colt,” she sobs.

“I’m here, darlin’. What happened?”

Mama Winchester excuses herself from her conversation and comes to stand on the opposite side of the bed from me. “Why don’t you come outside and I’ll fill you in.”

“No, don’t leave—” Lemon’s words are abruptly cut off by a sharp gasp, and she clutches her stomach.

“Lemon, what is it?”

“You’re okay, sweetheart,” Mama Winchester says as she rubs Lemon’s back. “Just breathe.”

“Do something!” I yell at