Page 77 of The Cowboy Comes Home

“I can understand that.” She hesitated for a moment, then said, “I hope you don’t regret something else I did.”

Tucker went still, looking at her. “What?” he asked, beyond wary now.

“I talked to my husband about you.”

Tucker blinked. That, he hadn’t expected. “The chief?”And Emily’s boss.“Why?”

“Because I wanted to talk to you about the similarities in how you and he grew up.”

That startled him. “How do you mean?”

“His mother was a drunk,” she said bluntly. “He told me the only time she stayed sober was when she was pregnant, which is why all five of the Highwater siblings were born within eight years. He said that was his father, trying to keep her from doing what she eventually did, which was commit suicide by alcohol.”

He stared at her, speechless, stunned not only by what she’d said but that she’d said it at all.

What was it with this town? First Kane spilling his guts, now the chief’s wife?

After a moment she went on. “He was ten years old. The oldest. He stepped up to help his father take care of the family. And then when his father was killed—on duty, although it was an accident—twelve years later, he gave up everything, college, his rodeoing, to come home and see to the ranch, and the family. Especially his little sister Sage, who was only fourteen.”

He’d known none of this, not that he would have expected to, given he’d only been here barely over a month. He was still stunned she was telling him this at all. But he remembered what she’d first said, and listening to this horrible tale, he could only think of one thing to say.

“Sounds like he had it much worse. I didn’t have siblings to worry about, or a ranch.”

“But if you had, you would have stepped up. Just as Shane did, just as Jackson did for Jeremy.”

“I…hope so.”

“My husband is a cop for the best possible reasons, and he holds his department to the same standard. He’s honest to the bone. He’s in it to help people, his own in uniform and the citizens of his town. He’d go to the mat for any of them, and they all—we all—know it. And if there’s one rule Shane hires by, it’s that one. That all his people feel the same way.”

His brow furrowed. Why was she telling him all this? But she didn’t give him a chance to process, just kept going, making him feel a bit overwhelmed.

“My point is not that Shane had it rough too, or to compare who had the worse life growing up, or whose losses were worse. My point is that all those things, and how he dealt with them, how he deals with everything life throws at him, is why I love him. It’s why sometimes I look at him and marvel that he loves me.” She held his gaze steadily, her hazel eyes seeming to hold more gold than green today. “That does not mean I’m not afraid for him. But I handle it because there is no other way. I love him, more than I ever thought possible. And I knew who and what he was, probably better than most, when I married him. And what he is, is a hero. There’s a potential high price for that, but it’s a maybe. What we have is real, solid, and the bedrock of my existence. And every day I have with him outweighs what could happen.”

It suddenly hit him what this was about.

All his people.

Emily.

He wondered if Emily had put her up to this. He dismissed the thought almost instantly. She wouldn’t. But he knew someone who would.

“Nic,” he said flatly. “She put you up to this, didn’t she?”

“She might have suggested you needed to know a bit about loving a cop,” she admitted.

…loving a cop.

Just the phrase sent a little tremor through him. Not a chill, it was too…hot for that. He was glad when she went on before he said something stupid.

“Shane’s father died on duty. But he still became a cop himself. Are there times when I wish he was something boring, like an accountant? Sure. But much more often there are times when I’m so proud of who he is and what he does that I want to yell it to the skies.”

“Even knowing you could get that late-night visit someday?”

“Even knowing,” she said solemnly. “Having him in my life, loving me, is worth any price.” She paused, as if to let that sink in, before saying, “One last thing and I’ll leave you in peace. There is no one on Last Stand PD who represents the chief’s standards better than Emily Stratton. Her heart and her compassion, the things that make her so good at the job, are welcomed and treasured.”

Tucker felt his gut clench. He had Nic to thank for this. Or maybe it was just this place. He didn’t know if he’d ever get used to the Last Stand grapevine, and how everybody seemed to know everything about everybody else.

When he didn’t speak, she turned to go, then looked back. “Oh,” she said, “and welcome to Last Stand. I hope you decide to stay.”

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