Page 13 of Into the Fire
Levi ran a hand down his face. “You can’t just…” He sighed. “You can’t leave the place lookin’ like it got hit by a tornado, you could’ve left a damn note.”
“You could’ve called me without acting like Liam Neeson.”
“I walked into this mess with no one here,” he said, voice low. “I was worried about June!”
“She was with me, Levi!” She studied him for a second. “You were really scared?”
“Yeah, I was fucking scared! I didn't know you’d turn the house upside down like a psycho!”
She narrowed her eyes. “If you don’t want me helping, fine. Just say that.”
He held up both hands. “I didn’t say that.”
“You implied it.”
“Gage is right, I panicked!” he exploded. “Walked in, thought something could have happened to June… or you. And then you just… show up with Tupperware like it’s any other Tuesday.”
The tension broke a little. She grinned with a small laugh.
Levi muttered under his breath, then stepped closer, eyes stillstormy but his voice lower. “You scared me, Em.”
Her face softened. “Shit, you scared me, too.”
He looked down at her, stubborn as ever, but something warm flickered under the scowl. “How ‘bout next time, maybe don’t make it look like a crime scene.”
She gave him a little shrug, a smug look on her face. “Fair enough.”
Levi glanced toward the bins, then back at her. “Still gonna organize?”
“That depends, you gonna grumble and glare while I do it?”
He gave her a faint smirk. “Probably.”
She rolled her eyes and bumped past him into the house. “Fine. But I’m labeling your junk drawer ‘Grumpy Cowboy junk.’”
Levi followed her in with a faint shake of his head, and maybe the smallest ghost of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
6
After school the next day, while June changed into some play clothes, Emery quickly got started on the leftover dishes, wiped down the counters, and then set out a few ingredients to start prepping dinner.
By the time June had reappeared in leggings and a t-shirt with a sparkly unicorn on it, Emery had already started peeling potatoes.
“Can I help?”
“Sure,” Emery said, sliding a step stool over. “You can rinse these green beans. And no flicking water everywhere—I knowyour tricks.”
June giggled but agreed, humming to herself as she rinsed the beans at the sink. For a while, it was just the simple sounds of the kitchen. Water running, vegetables being chopped, and the low volume of Emery’s phone playing some music.
Emery moved through the house as she worked, starting a load of laundry, folding the basket of clean towels that had been sitting by the dryer, and checking a to-do list she’d scribbled in her notes app. She even pulled out some frozen chicken to thaw for the next day and tucked it into the fridge.
By the time Levi’s truck crunched down the driveway again, the house smelled like roasted garlic, and gravy was bubbling gently on the stove.
June now sat at the table coloring, her cheeks pink from post-school energy and her hair wild from a dance party that Emery had indulged her in halfway through folding towels.
Levi stepped through the door, pausing a moment. The room felt… different. Like a little order had snuck back into his day without him lifting a finger.
He spotted Emery at the stove, barefoot, stirring the pot with one hand and a towel flung over her shoulder.
