Page 16 of Into the Fire
She shook her head lightly. “They were… busy. Always somewhere else. Some deal to close, some conference to attend. We traveled a lot. I grew up in hotel rooms and was babysat by personal assistants.
They loved me. I think just in their own way, and from a distance. We just never had a bond, not like you and June.”
“That’s gotta be tough.”
“My cousin was the one constant. Summers with her family were the closest I ever got to feeling like part of a real family. So, when everything fell apart at work, she was the first person I called. Didn’t expect to find myself out here with a moody cowboy and a five-year-old who’s got so much sass.”
Glancing up at her, his browsfurrowed, Levi said, “I ain’t a cowboy.”
“Oh, really? You ride a horse, have a ranch full of cows, wear boots, jeans, and a hat every day of the week, but you’re not a cowboy?”
“Just ‘cause I’ve got cows, and a hat doesn’t make me some rodeo poster boy.”
“So what do you call yourself then?”
“A rancher. A man who works sun-up to sun-down so people can eat cheeseburgers without thinking twice.”
Emery let out a laugh. “Okay, Mr. Cheeseburger Provider, noted.”
“Keep it up, and I’ll put you on fence duty tomorrow. See how sassy you feel after running barbed wire for three hours.”
“Oh, you think I can’t handle a little barbed wire? I’ll bring gloves and lip gloss.”
“Make sure it’s sweat-proof, sweetheart. This ain’t a fashion show.”
“Sounds awhole lot like something a cowboy would say!”
“Keep talkin’, and I’ll make you shovel stalls with Jess.”
With a genuine full smile on her face, now relieved at how light things felt in this moment, she threw a sideways glance at him. “I know it probably wasn't easy having me come in here, but I do think it's sweet that your mom cares. Like, actually cares. My parents probably wouldn’t even know if I moved across the country unless they got the address for their Christmas card list. So, once I was old enough, I started following their footsteps— because that's all I knew. I went to work for a corporate agency in the city. It was high-pressure, high-drama, and looked a lot more glamorous on the outside than it was on the inside. My boss was the kind of man who praised you when people were looking and tried to cross the line when no one was around. I handled it—until I couldn’t anymore. I was tired. Burnt out. Tired ofconstantly having to be smarter, faster, tougher, just to be left alone.”
Levi’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t interrupt, letting it sit between them before he finally asked, his voice soft and almost careful. “So… what happens after the house-sitting ends?”
She looked over at him then, really looked. “That depends,” she said. “Maybe I'll go back. Or maybe I figure out something different.”
His brow lifted just a little. “Different how?”
She smiled and stood, making her way to the porch steps. “I don’t know yet. But I think I like the idea of different.”
Levi nodded, pushing off the railing. “Different doesn’t sound half bad.” He stood at the door watching as Emery made her way down the steps with a simple wave, before getting into her SUV and starting back down the gravel driveway.
7
Levi and Jess made the slow walk back toward the house from the barn, boots kicking up dust with each step. The day's work had been tiring and demanding today—hauling hay since before sun-up, setting irrigation in the far fields, and tagging new calves.
Levi was tired and well aware of the sweat clinging to his shirt, already looking forward to a hot shower to wash the day away. His body was sore in a way that made every step up the gravel path feel heavier than it should’ve.
Jess walked a few paces behind, slapping the dust off his jeans with his hat. “Man, I’m tellin’ you right now I’m not lifting a damn thing tomorrowunless it's a beer.”
Wiping a line of dust off his brow with the back of his arm, Levi cast a sideways glance over his shoulder at his younger brother. “You say that every week.”
“Yeah, and somehow you still rope me into all this.”
"You gonna stick around this time?" Levi asked gruffly. "Or just keep being a damn tumbleweed blowin’ wherever the next party takes you?"
Jess let out a low chuckle. “I like to think of it as bein’ selectively dependable.”
Levi just grunted, but something up ahead caught his eye, and Jess paused mid-step.
