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She was starting to feel bad again.
She lifted her chin higher. “I’m going to keep the baby. And raise it myself.”
His hard nod was as unexpected as him shoving away from the table. He gained his feet, towering over her. “Get some rest, Demi. I’ll check on you later. If you need anything, my number’s in your phone.”
Turning abruptly, she saw just how fast he could move when he wanted to. In a few strides, he reached the door. The quiet click of it closing resounded louder than if he’d slammed it.
Chapter Seven
In the week that Demi had been on the ranch, Ledger’s entire life had been turned on its ear more than when he left his SEAL team.
He was no longer taking night watch. While he missed the silence of deep night with nothing but the stars and the occasional howl of a coyote for company, he much preferred his humble billet on the floor in front of the futon.
He liked waking up to the sound of Demi breathing. Opening his eyes and seeing her face.
How many times had he wished he could dull his senses with a bottle of whiskey even before the sun came up? Sharing the shed with a woman he ached for day and night was starting to wear him down.
That morning, he woke from a dream of her too-full bottom lip trapped between his teeth while he sank into her tight, gripping heat.
Fuck, his balls were still as blue as the sky. And the scorching sun wasn’t helping the level of heat burning inside him.
He never knew an angel could drag him through so many damn emotions in a week’s time. One minute he wanted to pin her to the wall and bang her until that damn teacup collection hit the floor in shards. The next, he thought he’d go mad with the need to give Demi a piece of his mind.
And her ideas about him stepping aside and staying out of his child’s life had his fists clenching.
He poured his irritation into patrolling the ranch every minute he wasn’t watching over Demi.
What she required was rest. She’d been through an ordeal, and goddamn if he was going to add to her stress. No one could ever claim that he was responsible for a rocky pregnancy.
Not sleeping wasn’t helping his mood either. Every little noise he heard outside the shed had him reaching for the weapon he kept within arm’s reach. Even with the hours he did sleep, he both wanted to turn Demi over his knee and spank her sweet ass until she came to her senses and hunt down the man who attacked her.
The sun rose over the sprawling ranch, casting an orange hue over the land. Ledger tugged his work gloves over his hands. They were callused and rough, but gloves protected them from any cuts and scrapes.
Dragging a deep breath of crisp air into his lungs, he turned at the deep rumble of a low voice singing. Zach Webb rounded the corner of the barn, looked up and saw him.
He dipped his head at Webb. “How’s it goin’?”
“Couldn’t ask for a nicer morning. You’re up early.”
“Had trouble sleeping.”
Webb let out a huff in reply. “Early mornings on the ranch are the best medicine for a bad night’s sleep.”
He met Webb’s stare. The man wasn’t well-liked on the Gracey—but he was respected. The family trusted his ability to lead the ranch hands and get the work done, yet Ledger heard the ranch hands discussing a matter of equipment going missing and Webb being among the suspects.
He drew the conclusion that Sean Gracey was a wimp and wouldn’t stand up to Webb if he was in fact stealing from him, and he didn’t look into the truth of the matter either.
Yet when it came to ranch security, Colton held Webb in high esteem. Hunter seemed to reserve his opinion on the man. And Wolfe, spending most of his time at Badlands and with Livia in town, didn’t seem to have much of an opinion at all. But Ledger was a good judge of character, and he liked Webb.
Maybe because he saw himself in the man.
More than one late night, he saw the man awake, just walking the fence line. Whether it was on patrol of the land that he loved like it was his own or he had trouble sleeping too, Ledger didn’t know. But he understood Webb on a different level than the others seemed to.
“I can guess what’s keeping you awake at night. The vet is a beautiful woman.”
His chest tightened. He yanked on the other glove. “She’s pregnant.”
Webb cocked a brow. “Yours?”
