Stolen Course (Wrecked and Ruined #2)

“I want you to listen to me very carefully, Caleb,” she interrupts me while staring out the front window—not even bothering to look at me. “I will not argue with you. I will not debate this. I will not even pretend to entertain a conversation, explanation, or apology from you. I just experienced the scariest moment of my life alone because you ‘needed to get out of there.’ Did it ever occur to you to think about what I might need? Because newsflash—I just needed you. You know what? Fuck it. Go home. I’ll call a cab.” She snatches open the door, and just as quickly as she got in, Emma gets out.

I don’t have it in me to chase her anymore. For once in my fucking life, I don’t want to have to fight for a future. Life’s a struggle—I get that—but finding, loving, and marrying a woman should not be this damn difficult.

I watch as she paces the sidewalk in front of my truck for twenty minutes. I’m not about to leave her here, but I’m absolutely not willing to plead for her to come home. I’ll make sure she’s safe, but that’s about all I have in me right now.

I instantly recognize the BMW that pulls up. Brett’s tall body unfolds out then rounds the hood of my truck. He’s got that fucking look in his eye. He’s always pissed at me about something, but he can just take a number and get in line as far as I’m concerned today.

Brett leans in the passenger’s side door. “You want to tell me why you are here sitting in your truck but Jesse just called me to come pick up your pregnant girlfriend?”

“Nope,” I answer shortly, not taking my eyes off Emma as she heads for his car.

“Jones, I don’t know what is going on with your two. This hot-and-cold bullshit has got to stop. You two are having a baby. This is bigger than Sarah. Whatever spat you two had—”

Just as Emma closes the door to his car, I swing my head over to face him. “I asked her to marry me, and she said no.”

“Shit!” He begins cussing under his breath.

“I’m not doing this again. I’m not starting this cycle of hell all fucking over again.”

“She’s not Manda, Caleb,” he whispers, looking back to make sure her door is really closed.

“No. She’s carrying my child. It’s worse,” I say before putting the truck into reverse, forcing him to back away or get run over.





“SO YOU remember a few months ago when you two decided to get together and I said I didn’t want any part of it?” Brett says, climbing into the car.

“Not now. I called Jesse. I didn’t expect her to send you.”

“She had a class. But that’s not what I was going to say. I’m glad she called me. I can actually fix this situation.”

I bark out a laugh. It’s going to take way more than anything Brett can provide to fix this.

“I’m pretty sure there is no magic fix for this one. He left me. That is more than enough to secure his spot on my shit list. I had a bad feeling about today. I was scared something was going to be wrong with the baby. I’ve been sick about it all morning, and he knew it too. Yet he still got his panties in a bunch over something stupid that could have been discussed at home and walked out, leaving me to deal with my fears completely on my own.”

“Is everything okay? I mean, with the baby?” he asks, looking over with immediate concern.

It only intensifies the pain in my chest. Here is my ex-brother-in-law, worried about my baby, but Caleb didn’t even care enough to ask in the two sentences we exchanged in his truck.

“Yeah, he or she is fine. Everything looked good and measured right on track. I was nervous for no reason, but he shouldn’t have left me like that.”

“No, he shouldn’t have. That was a dick move. However, I heard he proposed.”

I begin to laugh manically. “Is that what he told you? That he proposed? Now that’s a fucking joke.”

“He said he proposed and you said no.” Brett looks over at me in confusion.

“Of course I said no. I’m not marrying him because he feels obligated because I’m pregnant. Oh, and let me tell you how he proposed.” I put on my best deep asshole voice to mimic his. “‘Emma, we really need to get married.’ In the middle of a fucking doctor’s office. It was so fucking romantic my heart almost exploded out of my chest,” I say sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

“Jesus Christ, Jones.” Brett drops his head back against the headrest.

“So, yeah. Damn straight I said no.”

“Would you have said yes if he’d done the whole one-knee-and-ring thing?”

“No! I’m sorry, but when I finally get married, I want the man to marry me, not because he feels like it’s his duty. ‘Oh, you knocked her up. Better put a ring on it.’ This isn’t 1950!” I scream, taking my frustration out on the completely wrong man.

“I hear you, Em. But I don’t think you have the full picture. Caleb is my best friend, but Jesus Christ, he can be a pouty asshole when he wants to be. Just ignore that part until you hear his reasons. Has he ever told you about his relationship with Manda?”

I roll my eyes. Of course Brett is going to take Caleb’s side. “I guess he’s mentioned her a time or two,” I say in a bitchy tone while looking anywhere but at Brett.

I wish he would just take me home already. Home. Do I even have one of those anymore? It used to be with Caleb, but I can’t go back there tonight.

“Do you know about the part where he proposed to her almost daily and she always said no?”