The Bluff (Calamity Montana)

“READY FOR THIS?” Hux asked, his voice low.

Was he asking me? Or himself?

“Yes,” I lied.

His knee bounced under the table. It had been since the moment we’d taken our seats. I reached under the table, laying my palm on his thigh. The bouncing stopped but his anxiety was still palpable.

It had been almost a week since Hux and I had taken our downtown stroll. That had been the last time Hux had been relaxed and at ease. The morning after, Aiden had called and told us to be ready for a court appearance on Monday afternoon.

It was Monday afternoon.

And I was not ready.

We hadn’t had enough time to show the town that Reese Huxley was a good man. We hadn’t had enough time to be seen as those cute newlyweds. We hadn’t had enough time to prepare in case this went the wrong way.

But ready or not . . .

The courtroom was larger than I’d expected for a town the size of Calamity. There were probably ten rows of chairs behind us, all empty except for a woman with a white bob wearing a gray pantsuit who’d slipped in a few minutes after we’d arrived. The floors were covered in an industrial gray carpet. The walls had wainscotting of honey-stained oak that matched the judge’s bench and the table in front of us. Besides the wood, the room was devoid of almost all color save for an American flag and a Montana state flag, each on golden posts.

The chair in the witness stand had probably held a lot of interesting characters. Criminals. Lawyers. Desperate parents?

Was I going to have to sit in that seat? Was I going to have to say something? Aiden hadn’t given us any instructions. Hux had done this before, but he hadn’t told me anything. Had they assumed I’d just know what to do? Because I had no freaking clue.

My stomach did another somersault. The acrobatics had been constant since we’d arrived.

Hux blew out a shaky breath. “If this doesn’t happen, we can get this annulled.”

“No.” I looked up at his profile. “If this doesn’t happen today, then we try again. And again.”

I’d promised Hux the chance to get his daughter. If the decision today didn’t go in our favor, then maybe the next one would. Or the next. But I wasn’t going to give up or let Hux give up.

He was fighting, even after the process had beaten him down time and time again. If he needed my backbone to keep going, then it was his.

Hux closed his eyes, letting out an exhale. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

His hand covered mine, trapping it on his thigh and squeezing tight.

The door behind us opened. The temptation to look over my shoulder was too much to resist.

April strutted inside, wearing a demure skirt, pale blue cardigan and—pearls, really? She looked like she belonged in the PTA. Meanwhile I was in black slacks and a plain white blouse. Maybe I should have dug out some pearls. April kept her chin high and gaze forward as she marched, followed by a stocky man with dark hair.

Hux didn’t spare them a glance as they took their seats opposite ours, but his already tense jaw turned to granite.

“Is that—”

“Julian,” he whispered.

From what Lucy had told me, the rumor was Julian liked to get rough with April, and April got off on it. Their business, not mine, unless it harmed Savannah. But she wasn’t talking about anything, including the time Julian had slapped her.

The day of the farmhouse, I’d seen the faint red mark on her cheek before everything had fallen apart. Maybe it was the one and only time Julian had touched her. Maybe not.

It didn’t matter.

Slap or not, we were here for Savannah.

The door behind us opened again, and Aiden strode into the room. He was a tall man, about Hux’s height at over six feet. He was good looking with dark, disheveled hair and bright hazel eyes. There was no urgency in his steps as he walked down the aisle, just confidence and charisma. One hand was tucked into the pocket of his slacks while the other carried a briefcase. He wore a tweed suit coat, a colorful tie and an easy smile.

At least one person on the home team wasn’t nervous.

He acknowledged April and Julian with a nod, then clapped Hux on the shoulder and gave me a wink before taking his seat.

“Hi. I’m Aiden,” he said, keeping his voice low. It probably wouldn’t be good for the Toshes to know that I was just now meeting Hux’s lawyer.

“Hi,” I whispered back.

“How are you guys doing today?”

Hux’s hand gripped mine tighter. “Ready.”

Aiden gave him a sympathetic smile that told me he wasn’t buying Hux’s lie either. “Should be fairly straightforward. We’ve got Judge Labb today. He’ll review the information. Ask some questions. Be honest and you’ll do great.”

Honesty? Uh, no. This entire thing was built on a fake marriage. Honesty was much too risky. I gulped. “Will he ask me anything?”

“Maybe,” Aiden said. “Though I doubt it.”

“Okay.” I let go of the breath I’d been holding, then did a quick glance at my blouse to make sure it hadn’t dipped to show cleavage. There were no pearls, but I looked somewhat capable of rearing a sixteen-year-old child, didn’t I?

Hux was wearing the same slacks and shirt he’d worn to this very courthouse the day we’d gotten married.

Please, let this work.

If it didn’t, Hux would be heartbroken. Hux’s shoulders were as stiff as steel plates. His mouth was set in a firm line. Those beautiful blue eyes brimmed with dread. He was already preparing himself for disappointment.

I squeezed his hand tighter.

“Will this work?” he asked.

Aiden jerked his head to the woman behind us. “That’s the family services agent assigned to this case. She spoke to Savannah. I don’t know exactly how it went but she’s sitting on our side of the room. I always take that as a good sign.”

“What?” Hux’s forehead furrowed. “When did she talk to Savannah?”

“Yesterday at school. She arranged for it not to be at Julian and April’s place.”

Hux scowled. “She didn’t tell me.”

After Aiden had called last week with our courthouse schedule, Hux had finally told Savannah about the petition. I’d shamelessly eavesdropped on their phone call. He’d told her no less than ten times not to get her hopes up.

Since then, she hadn’t spoken to him much other than to reply to his texts.

Maybe the reason Savannah hadn’t told him about the family services agent was because she was already preparing for disappointment too.

Please. Please, let this work.

I wanted so badly to get Savannah under our roof. Legally. To give her the chance to let her guard down. To open her heart. To heal.

Hux knew part of the reason I’d married him was because of guilt. Maybe it would ease some of those feelings if Savannah grew into a happy, flourishing young woman. But today, that guilt didn’t matter. Today, I wanted Savannah for Hux.

He loved her so fiercely, it broke my heart to see his pain.

Hux deserved the chance to be her father. And fuck April for screwing him out of that from the start. If this didn’t go her way—when, stay positive—I was going to love this front-row seat to see the look on her face.

The door behind the judge’s bench opened, and a man with white hair and a bushy, dark gray beard emerged wearing a black robe.

My mouth fell open.

I knew that white hair. I knew that bushy beard.

Nelson.

My friend from the café who I’d missed seeing these past few weeks.

Nelson was Judge Labb.

He took his seat and adjusted the placard in front of his chair, the one that had his name etched in block letters on a gold plate. Then Nelson looked right at me, holding my gaze, as the corner of his mouth turned up. Was that a good sign? Because he didn’t exactly look happy to see me. It was hard to tell with the beard. He almost looked . . . smug.

Nelson. The man I’d lectured relentlessly to give up fried cheese as a lunch staple. The man who knew I’d spent months hiding in my downtown apartment.

The man I’d offered to marry because I didn’t have a boyfriend and my prospects were looking slim.

Nelson.

Oh, fuck.

THE MINUTE that Nelson had stepped out of his chambers, my stomach had dropped, and it had been hovering around my ankles ever since.

Two weeks a month.

That’s all Nelson had given Hux. He’d changed the parenting plan from no visitation to two weeks a month. Hux was also granted every other major holiday.

I thought he’d be overjoyed. I thought he’d crack that elusive smile. But since we’d left the courthouse, my husband had been eerily silent.

“Hux, I’m . . .” The words dried on my tongue as his jaw ticked.

His hands were so tight on the wheel I was worried the skin on his knuckles would crack. I’d tried to speak twice since leaving the courthouse, but I had no words.

Two weeks a month. That was better than nothing, right? But it wasn’t what Hux had wanted and my husband was pissed. Probably because Savannah would still spend half her time with April and Julian.

Who knew what would happen during those weeks? Would April retaliate against her daughter? Would she make Savannah’s life a living hell?

The look on April’s face as she’d stormed out of the courtroom had been nothing less than murderous. According to past actions, her habit would be to lash out at Hux. But today, she’d lost some of the hold she’d had on him for sixteen years. Would Savannah become her next target?

We’d soon find out.

Nelson—Judge Labb—had put the new plan into effect immediately.

Nelson.

Talk about a surprise. I should have asked more questions about his profession during our late lunches at the White Oak.

The only look he’d sent me was the one right after he’d taken his seat. From then on out, he’d been a different Nelson. He’d assumed command of the room and I was merely a spectator. Nelson had put on a pair of wire-framed reading glasses and reviewed the paperwork. Then he’d called on the family services agent to deliver a report from her meeting with Savannah.

It shouldn’t have come as a surprise that Savannah had requested to live with Hux. But from the way April had gasped and started crying, you would think Savannah had just stabbed her mother in the back.

None of those theatrics had stopped the agent from delivering the cold, hard truth. Savannah was a troubled teenage girl. Her relationship with her mother was turbulent at best. She didn’t have much of a relationship with Julian. And she hated going home.

The agent had speculated some, stating that the reason Savannah might be unhappy with her current living situation was because April and Julian kept her on a tight leash—or they’d tried. If Savannah thought life with Hux would allow her more freedom to bend the rules, then of course she’d exaggerate.

But in the end, the agent told Nelson that she suspected a change might do the girl good. Especially now that there was a female under Hux’s roof.

The entire room, save Nelson, had looked my way. Not even standing on stage, singing to a crowded bar had been so nerve-racking.

But while everyone else had stared at me, Nelson had kept his eyes on the agent, his hands steepled in front of his chin. Maybe he suspected this marriage was a fraud. If so, he hadn’t called us on it.

He’d simply thanked the agent, then called on Julian to speak first.

One sentence out of Julian’s mouth and I’d wanted to pick up a chair and slam it over the bastard’s head.

Julian had instantly reminded Nelson of Hux’s past. He’d gone into gruesome detail about the beating Hux had delivered years ago. Then he’d waxed on and on about how hard it had been for April. How he’d stepped into the role of father and wasn’t comfortable letting Hux ruin Savannah’s life.

I’d never been so furious in my life.

Nelson had listened, taking a few notes as Julian had spoken, but he’d asked Julian no questions. He hadn’t called on April either.

No, he’d saved only three questions for Hux.

You’re a newlywed, correct?

Do you have contact with your daughter now?

She’s a troubled young lady, isn’t she?

Hux had given a simple yes, sir to all three.

What had happened next was a blur. One second I was sitting there with my heart racing, the next, Nelson had slammed his gavel on its block and vanished inside his chamber before his decision had even registered in my brain.

Two weeks a month.

I’d smiled. I’d been so happy. Two weeks! That was so much better than nothing. But then I’d looked to Hux and seen nothing on his face. It had just been . . . blank.

Up to that point, Hux had kept a death grip on my hand. With the slam of Nelson’s gavel, he’d let me go. He’d crossed his arms over his chest and sat like a statue as April and Julian huffed their way out of the courtroom.

Aiden had clapped Hux on the back, congratulating him. Reminding him that it was progress.

All Hux had done was nod, stand and leave the room. I’d rushed to catch up, blurting a thank-you to Aiden as I scurried for the door.

The ten-minute drive home from the courthouse had been miserable. The waves of anger radiating off of Hux had turned the cab so stifling hot that I was sweating by the time he pulled into the garage. That scowl of his had never been harsher as he’d shut off the truck, climbed out and marched inside.

Shit. Two weeks was better than none.

But it wasn’t enough.

I took a fortifying breath and followed Hux inside, bracing for the conversation to come. Could Aiden recommend me a decent divorce lawyer? Or was that a conflict of interest? I had a feeling I’d need representation before too long. If I was still married by the time summer hit, I’d be shocked.

Hux was in the kitchen, chugging a glass of water when I found him. He’d stripped off his coat, laying it on the island. I did the same with mine.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I know two weeks wasn’t what you wanted, but it’s a start. We can try again.”

He set the water glass down too hard. He braced his hands on the island, his gaze locked on me.

My heart thundered. “Hux—”

He shoved away from the island and charged across the space. One moment he was staring at me, the next his body was flush against mine and his hands were threading into my hair. His thumbs caressed my cheeks as his lips crushed mine.

I gasped.

He took advantage, sliding his tongue between my teeth.

What the hell? I was so stunned that all I could do was stand there while he plundered my mouth. While he licked and sucked and nipped. With one last nibble on my bottom lip, he broke the kiss and dropped his forehead to mine.

“Thank you.”

“Huh?” I panted.

“Thank you,” he repeated. “Two weeks a month is more than I’ve ever had. It’s . . . everything. Don’t know why but when the judge came in, looked at you and smiled, I just knew it was going to work this time. This whole thing worked. Because of you.”

I blinked. “So you’re not mad? Because you seemed mad.”

“No, I’m not mad.” He looked at me like I’d completely read him wrong. Which, I had. But seriously, this man’s moods were as hard to solve as a Rubik’s Cube.

“We really need to work on that scowl of yours.”

Hux chuckled, leaning back. “I was afraid if I touched you in that courtroom, I’d fuck you in that courtroom.”

“Oh.” A flush bloomed in my cheeks as I registered the hardness swelling against my hip.

“Thank you,” he said again. “I’ll make it up to you.”

“In orgasms?” I grinned.

Hux laughed, the smile on his face spreading wider than any I’d seen before, just before I lost it and his lips dropped to mine. His hands roamed over my shoulders, falling to cup my ass in his palms.

I inched closer, sliding my hands up his broad chest. Hux was steel disguised as muscle and bone. Beyond that steel was a bleeding heart shielded behind concrete walls built from years of pain. But today, there was no pain.

Today, we tasted victory.

Hux’s lips brushed mine, testing and teasing. He flicked the tip of his tongue at the peak of my top lip, demanding I open for him.

I was just about to drop to my knees, unzip his pants and take him into my mouth when the doorbell rang.

A growl, low and feral rumbled from my chest. “I’ll get it.”

He sighed and let me go, nodding toward the bulge behind his zipper. “It’s probably Aiden checking in. Just give me a sec to cool off.”

I didn’t want him to cool off. Hux was at his best when he was fire and heat and burning desire. But when the doorbell rang again, I frowned and walked away.

Hux didn’t have a peephole to check. If he wasn’t home, I didn’t answer the door. But with him in the kitchen, I shoved old fears aside and twisted the knob.

“Hi.” I gave the man on the stoop a forced smile. “Can I help you?”

He leaned back, looked at the house number tacked outside. “Reese Huxley still live here?”

“Um, yes.” Who was this guy? He wasn’t much taller than I was at five seven, but he was nearly twice as wide. Even with a coat on, the extreme bulk of muscle was hard to conceal. He must spend a lot of time in the gym.

And on steroids.

His dark hair was buzzed short and he wore a pleasant smile. But there was something about his dull brown eyes that made me want to take a step inside and bolt the lock.

A single, fast flick of his gaze and he scanned me head to toe. It happened quickly, a size-up similar to the one I’d just given him. But his perusal didn’t feel like an assessment. It felt more like he’d seen me before, from afar. And now that he was closer, he was getting a better look.

I inched back, only to collide with Hux’s chest.

“Chase?” Hux asked. “What are you doing here?”

Chase grinned. “Hey, man. Long time.”

“Uh . . . yeah. Didn’t realize you were in town.”

“Just passing through the area. Wanted to stop by and say hi.”

Hux nodded as a tight smile spread across his face. Either he was still cooling off from our kitchen escapade, or he wasn’t all that happy to see Chase.

Chase’s gaze dropped to me.

“This is my wife, Everly.” Hux put his arm around my shoulders. “Ev, this is Chase Yelder. An old . . . friend.”

“Nice to meet you.” I gave him a little finger wave as I tried to get over the feeling from earlier. Chase was Hux’s friend. Nothing more. I shook off the unease and smiled wider.

Hux shuffled us to the side and waved Chase inside. “Come on in.”

“Thanks.” Chase smacked Hux on the arm as he walked inside. “I can’t believe I’m standing in front of your wife. Didn’t think you’d get married again.”

“Uh, yeah. Me neither.” Hux sighed. “How long are you here?”

“Not long. I’m headed to North Dakota. Hoping to find some work in Williston.”

“Good.” Hux nodded, clearly searching for something to say.

Who was this guy? Because the longer the silence hung, the more I knew friend was a generous term.

Chase scanned the room and zeroed in on the couch. “I know this is out of the blue and I hate to ask, but I’m trying to save cash for my trip. Would you, uh, mind if I crashed tonight on your couch?”

No. I did not want this guy sleeping here. It was too bad that Savannah’s visitation didn’t start immediately because that would be the perfect excuse to boot Hux’s friend.

“Um . . .” Hux swallowed hard. “This is kind of a strange time for us.”

“Say no more.” Chase held up a hand. “I’ll just crash with Katie.”

Katie? He knew Katie.

Chase took one step for the door, but Hux shot out a hand. “No. It’s okay. You can crash here tonight. Don’t call Katie.”

“Thanks. Appreciate it.” A smile stretched across Chase’s face. A victorious smile, like he’d played the Katie card and knew Hux would falter.

The unease crept further into my veins. I shoved it aside and assumed my smile, biding time until Hux and I could have a word alone. “We were going to order—”

“Go out to dinner.” Hux cut me off and shot me a look to keep quiet. “We were going to head out to dinner. Grab your coat, babe. Let’s go.”