I dashed through the rain, nudging the door to the grocery store open with my elbow. Throwing the hood on my jacket back once I walked in, I snagged a cart and started making my way through the store. As with basically any moment when I wasn’t completely preoccupied, my mind skipped between two tracks – Ward and our baby.

My obsession this morning – whether our baby was a boy or a girl, and how to decide on a name. Oh, and whether or not to include Ward in that decision making process. I also needed to talk to my parents and let them know what was going on. Because my parents were supportive and found a way to cheer me on even when I didn’t make the best decisions, I knew they’d be awesome about it, if not a little startled and confused.

I was generally a responsible person. It wasn’t like I wanted to explain how wild and crazy that night of sex had been with Ward. Close as I was to both of my parents, that topic was off limits. As with all of my thoughts these days, this train looped right back around to Ward.

Dammit, can’t you think of anyone other than him?

No, apparently not.

Topic of the second: when and how to introduce Ward to my parents. And how would I explain him? Did I say he was my boyfriend? Did I say he was an accidental sperm donor? Fuck. I was a mess.

This was the whole problem. Just like Lucy said. I needed to be straight with him.

Rounding the end of one of the aisles, I glanced up when I heard my name. Chad Meyer was standing in front of the beer section, which happened to be right before the egg section. I’d never figure out the rhyme or reason to grocery store organization. But that was the least of my concerns. The last person I wanted to see right now, or at any time for that matter, might’ve been Chad if I’d given him the favor of taking up space in my mind. Ugh.

Despite all of my mixed feelings about how to deal with Ward as the new superintendent of my crew, he’d proved me right about his leadership by promptly firing Chad. The entire crew had been relieved by his decision.

Ward had been smart about it too. He’d made sure to include Beck and Cade in the decision and in the meeting. Ward, of course, hadn’t discussed it with me, nor had I expected that. All of the guys at the station respected Beck and Cade completely. Like myself, they’d also grown up here in Willow Brook. That gave them a level of cachet and respect, if only because everyone at the station knew so much about them and many of the crewmembers had known them for years.

Running into Chad right now? Not exactly what I wanted to deal with. Chad had also been the equivalent of a gnat as far as hitting on me. Rex Masters and Al, our former crew superintendent, had once pulled me aside last year to check in. Chad’s pursuit of me had been that obvious. They wanted to make sure I felt okay coming to them if he was a problem.

I’d been fine. Frankly, it had annoyed me to have them worry I couldn’t handle it myself. Looking back, I realized they were only trying to make sure I knew they had my back. Chad had dialed it down after the last time I told him to fuck off, but he never gave up the chase altogether. He struck me as the kind of guy who fed off of anything he perceived as a challenge. By turning him down, I’d unintentionally become a challenge he wanted to beat.

Meeting Chad’s flat brown gaze, which always held a hint of anger, I smiled tightly and kept on moving. “Hey Chad,” I said casually as I walked past him with my cart.

My cart came to an abrupt, swinging stop when he gripped the side of it quickly. I hadn’t been moving that fast, but had just enough momentum going to bump into the cart. Reflexively, I curled my arm over my belly.

Annoyed, I cast my eyes sideways. “Here for a reason Chad, and it’s not to socialize.”

He smiled, a smile that never quite reached his eyes. “How about dinner?” he asked.

“No.” I reached over and tried to knock his hand off, but he didn’t budge, only tightening his grip on the side of the cart.

“We don’t work together now. No convenient excuse anymore,” he said flatly.

“Like I’ve told you many times before, whether we work together or not, we’re not having dinner, we’re not having lunch, we’re not having breakfast, and we’re not doing anything together. Not interested,” I said firmly, not even bothering to try to be polite.

Furious, I reached up and gave his knuckles a hard knock. He only tightened his grip again with a grim smile.

“Chad, let go.”

I was about to open my mouth again when I felt Ward approaching me from behind. That was how familiar I’d become with Ward. I could sense his presence without even seeing him. Relief washed over me. I wasn’t scared of Chad, but he was a fucking asshole, and an entitled asshole to boot. I might not want to admit that sometimes it was nice to have a man around, but right now it was. Unlike me, Ward was bigger, taller and stronger than Chad.

Ward stopped at my side. His eyes flicked to me briefly and then to Chad. “Pretty sure I just heard her ask you to let go,” he said, his voice low with a hint of danger.

Because I was getting quite familiar with how Ward felt, I knew he was furious right now. He was fairly vibrating with fury.

Chad, being the idiot he was, still didn’t let go of my cart. He sneered at Ward. “What the hell are you gonna do about it? You’re not my boss anymore. Did you forget that?”

Ward’s eyes narrowed. He reached over, curled his hand over Chad’s arm, his grip closing down. “I didn’t forget a thing. Actually, it’s better I’m not your boss anymore. I don’t have to be professional about this. Get your fucking hands off of her cart and leave her alone.”

Ward must’ve squeezed down hard enough to cause Chad a hint of pain. Chad’s cheeks reddened, and he swore as he yanked his hand away.

“Fuck you. Fuck you both. Speaking of fucking, I know you want a piece of that,” Chad said, jutting his chin in my direction.

For a flash, I worried Ward would haul off and hit Chad right here in the grocery store. But, he was a controlled man. With his fists balled at his sides and his eyes dark, he simply stated, “Get the hell away from her. Now.”

Conveniently, someone turned into the aisle, a mother with three children clustered around her hips. Chad took the opportunity to stride away quickly. Ward watched as he walked away, only turning to me when Chad was out of sight. His eyes coasted over me, the concern contained in his gaze sending my pulse off like a rocket and a curl of warmth around my heart.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Of course. Chad was just being an ass, but then he’s always an ass. We didn’t talk about it, but you might want to know the crew’s happy you fired him.”

Ward simply nodded, his gaze still considering. “Did he ask you out?”

His question startled me. I finally shrugged because it wasn’t exactly news that Chad had chased after me last year. “Yeah. He’s been on me for about a year. He used to think I was saying no because we worked together. Didn’t matter that I told him every single time I wasn’t interested.”

Ward’s eyes darkened—like the sky on a stormy day. Another family turned down the aisle, a little boy running past us and calling out, “Candy!”

Ward curled his hands on the cart handle. “Let’s finish shopping.”

Although this definitely wasn’t the time or place, my mouth seemed to have a mind of its own. “Let’s? Let’s make one thing clear. I was here shopping. On my own. I can certainly finish by myself.”

His gaze was implacable. If he was rattled at all by my comments, it didn’t show.

“I’m here now,” was all he said.

“And what does that mean?”

That question seemed to pierce him. Narrowing his eyes, he stared at me. After a beat, he replied, “Don’t push me away for something as minor as helping you with groceries.”

Although a part of me was ready to argue the point, I was suddenly tired. I was too emotionally out of whack to make sense of any of this right now. I just wanted to finish shopping and go home.