Then he’d come home all riled up and she’d close her eyes tightly in bed, hoping he’d believe she was asleep.
She pressed her lips together. That was old news. It didn’t matter anymore. Shaun was gone. But Carl… he was a whole other problem.
“Court?” Carl’s voice echoed over the speaker. Then she heard a buzz. “It’s open, come on up.”
He lived on the second floor. Rather than take the elevator, she climbed the stairs, then walked down the hall to number 23. Rapping on the door, she squared her shoulders. She wasn’t looking forward to this at all.
He opened the door and stepped back to let her in. His apartment was clean and well-furnished, with a long black leather sofa on one wall and a huge flat screen on the other. She took a look at him. He was wearing dark colored jeans and a black t-shirt, his hair wet as though he’d stepped out of the shower.
“You want a drink?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I’m not staying long. I just wanted to talk to you after the other day in the square.”
“Yeah, about that. I should have called you. I’m sorry. I just saw him and the red mist descended.”
“You behaved like an idiot,” she told him. “It was horrible and embarrassing. And Logan didn’t deserve that. You’re lucky he didn’t report you.”
Carl looked down at his bare feet. “Yeah, I know.”
“And you upset me.”
His head tipped up. “I never wanted to do that. Never,” he said, his voice urgent. “I want to protect you. He knocked you up, Court. He needs to know the consequences.”
“I think he knows them,” she told him.
“Is he gonna marry you? Take care of you?”
She exhaled softly. “I can take care of myself. But he wants to be a father to the baby, yes. We’re talking about joint custody.”
“The baby deserves a full time father,” Carl told her. “Not some guy who just flies in when he wants to.”
“How do you know so much about Logan?” she asked suspiciously.
Carl looked away from her. “I’ve heard some things. I don’t like the sound of him.”
“He’s a good man. And he’ll be a good father.” She sighed. “So I’d really like you not to hit him again.”
Carl looked at her through narrowed eyes. “Okay,” he said through gritted teeth. “I’ll be nice, for your sake. But if he hurts you, I’m gonna hurt him back. Just so you know. You’re family, Court, whether you like it or not. And I owe it to Shaun to take care of you.”
“I told you before, I don’t need your protection. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself. No more threats, Carl, and no more punches, okay?” She sighed. “Because if you hurt this baby’s father, you’ll be out of my life.” She glanced at her watch. “And now I need to go. I have a hundred things to do at the farm. Are we good?”
He nodded slowly. “Yeah, we’re good.”
Courtney nodded, even though he looked anything but good. She didn’t need any more trouble from him. She had enough of it, in the form of the little strawberry growing inside of her, and it’s father. The man who set her on fire even though he shouldn’t.
It was hard enough fighting herself. She didn’t have the energy to fight anybody else.
Chapter Fifteen
Courtney’s lips curled into a smile as she parked in the town square and climbed out of her old truck, turning to look at the giant Christmas tree in the center of the square. It was festooned with red, green, and white sparkling lights. Perched at the top was an oversized star that looked almost precarious. The rest of the square was decorated as well – with bright lanterns hanging from the oak branches, and a Christmas garland hanging from the bandstand roof. Inside was a sleigh and three comical looking reindeer, ready for the weekend before Christmas when Santa was due to visit the children of the town.
A biting wind was blowing from the west, making her pull her padded coat tightly around her. At three months pregnant, she couldn’t do it up anymore, it was too tight at the waist. But she couldn’t bring herself to purchase a new one either.
Not when she wanted to decorate the nursery she was putting together in the spare room of her little cottage.
“Hi. It’s Courtney, right?”
Courtney turned to see a woman standing to her left, her hands curled around a double stroller. Two little boys were sitting inside, wearing matching padded jackets, wooly hats, and gloves.
“Hi.” Courtney winked at the little ones, then looked at their mom.
“I hope you don’t mind me introducing myself, but I saw you walking this way and thought it would be rude not to,” she said warmly. “I’m Maddie.” She leaned forward to shake Courtney’s hand. “I think we’re going to be kind of related, aren’t we?”
“Kind of,” Courtney said shyly. “You’re Gray Hartson’s wife, aren’t you?”
“Fiancée.” Maddie grimaced. “With these two little monkeys I haven’t had time to arrange the wedding. We keep talking about eloping to Vegas.” She brought her gaze up to Courtney’s. “Anyway, how are you doing? And congratulations.”
“Thank you.” Courtney smiled. “I’m doing good. Just slipping into the second trimester, which everybody tells me is a breeze compared to the first.”
“It is,” Maddie agreed happily. “Though the third is worse.” She slapped her hand over her mouth. “Uh oh, ignore me. I’m pretty sure I wasn’t supposed to tell you that. I feel like I’ve broken some kind of code.”
Courtney couldn’t help but laugh at her dismayed expression. “It’s okay. It’s nice to have somebody who knows how it really is. Apart from the animals on my farm, I haven’t come into contact with that many pregnant women.”
“In that case,
