by Meghyn King
“Where is he?” she snarled, harsher than she meant to—mostly because she was angry at herself, and even angrier at Ethan for making her feel this way. She had rules, dammit!
“Me?” Ethan stood in a doorway to one side, his arms crossed over his chest. His lips were set in a rigid line, his gaze dull as he stared at her. Rob hadn’t been lying when he said he looked bad. “Aren’t you supposed to be on the highway? Rob messaged me to let me know that you left. If you came to say goodbye, you shouldn’t have worried about it.”
“Ugh, you’re so frustrating.” She stormed toward him, poking him in the chest. “You didn’t say goodbye.”
“Why does it matter if I said goodbye?”
She was aware of the multiple sets of eyes trained on them, including Rodriguez and Abby, but at that moment, she didn’t give a damn. The whole town could gossip about her business for all she cared. “You were supposed to come after me. You were supposed to pull me over in your darn police car and arrest me and… and say you don’t want me to leave. You’re supposed to be a damn romantic Southern man, who does one final big romantic gesture to win me over.”
Ethan’s face screwed up in confusion. “Why would I do that? You made up your mind, Scarlett, and I couldn’t change it.”
“You already had changed it.” Scarlett groaned, dropping her face into her hands. “Jee-sus, you ruined me. You made me break every one of my rules.”
He wrapped his hands around her wrists, tugging them away from her face. His features had softened, the hard edges from before now gone, and he smiled. “You want to stay?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe….”
His smile began to drop, and she couldn’t let that happen. She needed to be truthful with him, with herself.
“Yes. I want to stay.” She swallowed around the lump in her throat. She had to say it, he deserved to know. “I had rules, rules you made me break, and I don’t care anymore. I realized that when I left town. It was too hard to leave.”
He cupped her cheek, his thumb caressing her skin. “I’m in love with you, Scarlett Prescott. I have been since we were teenagers.”
Hearing those words made the butterflies in her stomach go wild.
“I’m sorry I didn’t give you the final romantic gesture you wanted.”
She shook her head. “No, I needed to do this. It was my turn to come to you, because… I love you too, and I want to stay in Ponchatoula. With you.”
He kissed her, his lips pressed passionately against her own. They fell against each other, cradling each other’s bodies. The world disappeared around them, and all that Scarlett cared about was what Ethan’s lips felt like against hers.
When he broke the kiss, she wanted to pull him in again but decided against it. There would be more time in the future for that. She came back to her senses, realizing that there were catcalls echoing throughout the room from the other cops. She flushed, and cleared her throat.
“Sorry. I forgot where we were.”
Ethan waved it off with a laugh. “All y’all piss off.”
The cops shuffled off, some of them chuckling as they went about their business. Abby waggled her eyebrows at them and returned her attention to the computer in front of her.
Scarlett groaned. The news would get back to Shy and her parents before she could tell them herself.
“Are you really staying?” Ethan asked.
She stared up at him, a smile caressing her face. “Absolutely—but I will let you know right now, Mr. Antonelli, that if you break my heart in any way, I’ll rip off your balls and feed them to the alligators. Am I clear?”
Ethan grinned. “Yes, ma’am, but that’s not something you’ll have to worry about.”
“Good. And I expect one romantic gesture a week, at the very least. I liked those roses.”
“Was it worth breaking your rules?” He touched her forehead with his own, his arms still wrapped tightly around her waist.
Scarlett didn’t need to think about the answer. “Absolutely.”
“Good. Prepare to be cherished, because I’ll treat you like a queen.”
She kissed him softly. “Just treat me right and I’ll be happy. I don’t need to be pampered.”
“That’ll never be an issue.”
Scarlett knew it wouldn’t be.
Her phone buzzed in her handbag and she pulled it out. She rolled her eyes.
“What is it?” he asked.
“A text message from Shy.” She flashed him the phone.
Susie texted me. She heard from Teeny, who heard from Abby, that you’re staying in town to be with Ethan. Is this true???
They threw their heads back and laughed.
Two Years Later
Scarlett cursed her momma and cursed Shy too. They told her they were taking her to a show, not a massage place, but they all ended up enjoying what turned into a good three-hour workout on their bodies by the talented staff there. Not that Scarlett could complain, either. She hadn’t known how amazing a foot massage would feel while being six months pregnant.
Sofia and Nicole were in on it too and had met them there, and she couldn’t be angry at them either. After numerous highly emotional court cases and appeals, they deserved the pampering now that Jeremy was finally back in jail where he belonged. Everything was right in the world.
She turned her SUV into their neighborhood. While she still had her red beast, she couldn’t fit into it well with her extended stomach, and it was hell to try and get out of with how low it sat to the road. They bought the SUV a couple of months back, and it was the perfect height and size for their soon-to-be-expanding family.
Red and blue lights flashed behind her, the sound of a siren audible over the low tone of the music she had playing in the car. Scarlett glanced in her mirror, grinning as she pulled over to the side of the road.
A police officer stepped out of the highway patrol car, striding toward her in his black uniform. He knocked on her window, and it slid down when she pressed the button.
“Hello, Officer. Was I speeding?”
The officer bent down to her eye level and grinned at her. “You weren’t this time, ma’am, but I heard you’ve been known for it. I wanted to check in on you, to make sure you’re aware of the speed limit around these areas. You look like you’re carrying some precious cargo there,” he added, eyeing her stomach and then winking.
“I’m very aware, thank you, Officer. My husband is a police officer.”
“Do I know him?”
“He’s very sexy, stands about your height, and has the most amazing body on him. I am particularly fond of his chest.” Scarlett stared at the officer from beneath lowered eyelashes. She tugged at the front of her dress, exposing the top of her breasts. “You remind me a lot of him. If I’ve done something illegal, surely we could work something out?”
The officer’s gaze dipped to her breasts and he licked his lips. “I can think of a few things we could work out.” He opened the door. “Please step out of the car, ma’am.”
She took his hand when he held it out, and slid from the car. Hand resting on her rounded stomach, she grinned. “As you mentioned, I am a little pregnant, but nothing you can’t ignore.”
“I ain’t that kind of man, ma’am. I have a wife of my own. She reminds me a lot of you too.”
“Really? Is she pretty?”
The officer nodded. “Stunning.”
“I bet she’s not as fat as I am.” Scarlett winked.
“She’s pregnant too, ma’am. Not fat. That’s a ridiculous word.” He leaned in closer, his breath caressing her lips. “You look relaxed today.”
“Momma and Shy took me for a massage.” She curled her arms around the officer—Ethan’s—shoulders. Even though her stomach got in the way, she still pushed as close as she could get to him. “Did you miss me?”
“I always miss you.” Ethan kissed her gently, his hands grasping her ass. “Two years, and I’m in love with you as much as I was in the beginning
.”
“Say that again in ten years when we have five kids.”
Ethan’s brows rose. “You want five kids?”
“I was being dramatic, Ethan.” She laughed.
He pressed one, two, three kisses on her lips in quick succession. “Well, I wouldn’t mind five kids.”
Scarlett snorted. “Are you going to push them out of your vagina?”
“If I had one, I would,” he teased.
She laughed harder. “Liar. You are terrible with pain. You went pale just listening to Shy give birth.”
“It sounded like she was being possessed,” he argued.
“What do you think I’ll sound like?”
“Like you’re getting a massage?”
She punched him in the shoulder. “You’re an idiot, but I love you.”
“Good thing too, or you would have kicked me out ages ago.”
“Never.” She screwed up her nose. “Although, when you leave your damn work shoes in the hallway, I do think about kicking you out.”
“I knew it.” He laid his hands on her stomach, petting it.
Scarlett watched him. Her lips curled into a smile when he looked at her. “I love you,” she said softly.
“I love you too, Scar.”
The End
Helplines
This story touches on the very sensitive topic of domestic abuse. If you or anyone you know is suffering, I implore you to contact related helplines in your area. Please remember that suffering abuse doesn’t make you weak or helpless, and there are plenty of people in this world willing to help.
Here are some related helplines to contact:
USA
The National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1−800−799−7233
National Crisis Hotline: Text CONNECT to 74 17 41
Australia
1800 Respect: 1800 737 732
Lifeline: 13 11 14
Mensline Australia (for males): 1300 789 978
UK
National Domestic Violence Freephone Helpline: 0808 2000 247
Support Line: 020 8554 9004
Survivors UK (for male abuse victims): 0845 122 1201
To one of my best friends, Kaylah, for supporting me and reminding me that I should be writing when I wasn’t.
Also, to my beautiful editors, Ann and Susan, for making my story the beautiful gem it is!
And to Brooke and Kiyle, for your continued support.
Love you all!
Thank you
Thank you for reading Scarred! If you enjoyed this story, I’d really appreciate it if you could leave a review on its Goodreads or Amazon page.
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Meghyn King was born in a small Australian town where sugar cane burned hot and the working mills smelled sweet. Growing up in Ayr, Queensland, didn't give her many options in friends, but she preferred to create her own anyway. Through the multiple stories she began to write as a child, her characters ranged in age, ethnicity, and gender, with one common attribute with each story: it involved a romance.
She writes with a cat for company and music for inspiration. You'll often find her lost in her imagination, surfacing only for food and a good conversation.