Page 20 of Into the Fire
Emery glanced up. “Yeah,” she said too quickly. “Just tired. Long day.”
He didn’t push—not with June just down the hall, but he didn’t look convinced either.
“All right,” he said simply. “Dinner’s all prepped. Thought I’d fire up the grill, see if June’ll eat something other than macaroni for once.”
That earned him the smallest of smiles from her, and he held her gaze for an extra beat.
She turned back to washing out June’s lunchbox,keeping her hands busy.
Levi walked outside toward the grill, but not before glancing back just long enough to wonder who or what had put that shadow behind her eyes.
The smell of grilled chicken hung in the air as the sun dipped low, casting golden light across the porch and the small outdoor table. June was chatting happily between bites, retelling a story about a girl in her class who claimed her dog could talk. Levi chuckled, humoring her, asking if the dog had anything smart to say.
Emery smiled faintly and pushed food around her plate, nodding along but not saying much.
She felt off-kilter, like her skin didn’t quite fit. The conversation still echoed in her head, squashing her appetite and dimming her usual light. Maybe they were right, and she didn't fit here. Maybe she had made up any sort of spark she thought she felt between her and Levi.
After dinner, June asked if she could go inside and play. “Please? I wanna set up a tea party for my stuffed animals,” she grinned up at Emery.
“Of course,” Emery said, brushing a crumb off June’s cheek before she darted back into the house.
Levi stayed outside, scraping the grill with a wire brush, the metal-on-metal sound filling the quiet space that followed.
Emery sat a few feet away in a chair on the porch, soaking up the warmth from the evening sun with her arms crossed, unsure if she should offer to help or head out for the night.
“All right, sunshine. You ready to tell me what’s wrong yet?” Levi asked without looking up.
His voice wasn’t sharp, but it cut straight through her wall anyway—low, steady, concerned.
Emery blinked, startled. “I’m fine,” she replied just a little too quickly.
Levi set the brush down on the side of the grill and turned to face her, wiping his hands on a rag. “No, you’re not.”
He wasn’t pressing. Just… there. Solid. Still in his usual faded jeans but comfortable in his socks, arms now folded across his chest, he watched her like he could wait all night.
Emery shifted, eyes dropping to the edge of the porch.
She didn’t want to sound petty. She didn’t want to look insecure or like she expected something from him that he had never offered. But the words were already right there on the tip of her tongue, too heavy to keep swallowing.
“I was at the grocery store earlier,” she said quietly, still not looking at him. “Overheard a couple of women who had a lot to say about the city girl playing house out here.”
Levi’s brows pulled together slightly. “What?”
“They think I’m…” She let out a breath. “They think I’m just here trying to change you. That I’m shacking up, playing games, and have no clue what I’m getting myself into.”
Levi was quiet, but the kind of quiet that filled a space, sharp and alert, not passive.
“I know it’s not a big deal,” she added quickly, arms folding tighter. “People talk. But it got under myskin. I didn’t even realize how much until I was halfway home and realized I forgot the damn fruit I went in for.”
Now she looked up at him, and the moment she did, she regretted it—because he wasn’t brushing it off. He wasn’t smirking or making light of it. He was looking at her, jaw tight, like the idea of anyone talking poorly about her made his blood run hot.
Levi took a slow step forward, then another.
“Is that why you barely touched your dinner?” he asked, voice low. “Because a couple of bored women with nothing better to do ran their fucking mouths?”
Emery gave a half-hearted shrug. “It’s stupid, I know. I'm just so tired of people assuming that the only way I can be good at something, or get anything worthwhile in life, is because I’m sleeping my way to success.”
“It’s not,” he said, shaking his head. “It’s not stupid, Emery.”
