Page 45 of Into the Fire
“I was going to,” she quickly said. “I just—you were moving cattle, we had that argument, and then I was sick. I guess I didn’t know how. I didn’t want you to think less of me.”
Levi pushed off the counter, his feet moving against the worn wood floor as he took a few slow steps toward her. “Why the hell would I think less of you? Emery, what could that bastard possibly say that would change how I feel about you?”
Emery’s eyes welled. She held up the letter with trembling fingers. “He twisted everything. Said I was... seducing clients. That I used people, Levi. Said he’d ruin anything good I tried to build.”
Levi took the letter, not looking at it right away, his stare locked on her instead. “And you believed even for a second, I’d buyany of that bullshit? That I’d think you were capable of that?”
She stood still, wrapping her arms around her ribs like she needed to hold herself together. “You don’t understand what it felt like—being in that office, the whispers, the way people looked at me after he created the perfect opportunity to make things look any way he wanted. I barely escaped it. And then I got here, and things felt so good, and I was worried that he would ruin it all.”
His voice sharpened. “So you decided to face it alone?”
“I guess part of me thought if I ignored it, maybe it would go away. And now I told you, and you're mad.”
He ran a hand down his face, pacing to the far side of the room before turning back. “I’m not mad at you, just upset that you didn’t trust me enough to share the weight of it.”
That landed heavily.
Emery looked up at him, eyes glistening. “I’m sorry.”
He stared at her for a moment, long and unreadable. Then he closed any distance and cupped her face in both hands, thumbs brushing her cheekbones. “Don’t apologize, but you’re not alone anymore, Em. You don’t carry that shit by yourself. Not here. Not with me.”
Her breath shuddered out, and she leaned into his touch, into his steadiness. “I just didn’t want to ruin what we have.”
Levi shook his head, pressing his forehead to hers. “Not happening.”
She melted against him as he wrapped his arms around her, anchoring her there.
“And Denny?” Levi murmured against her hair. “He doesn’t get to touch what we’ve built. I don’t care if I have to burn every bridge leading back to that old life—I will not let that man hurt you again.”
“I don't want anyone to get hurt,” she whispered.
Levi pulled back just enough to look her in the eyes. “Baby, for you? I’d run right into the fire.”
16
With Lainey now back from her internship and Emery moving to the ranch, the mornings had settled into a new rhythm. June’s giggles filled the kitchen as Emery helped her scramble eggs, while Levi sat at the table scrolling through messages from his crew on his phone.
Though the daily hustle felt smoother with Emery’s help, Levi’s jaw tightened as another text from one of his ranch hands popped up—questions, delays, excuses. His fingers tapped the table impatiently. Even on theweekends, the work never stopped.
Then his mom’s voice came over the phone, sharp with frustration as she vented about Jess and his wild ways. “I don’t know how he expects to keep getting away with partying like this. He’s got responsibilities, Levi.”
Levi rubbed the bridge of his nose, the weight of it all pressing down hard. “I know, Ma. I’m trying to keep him in line and keep everything afloat here, too.”
But when he looked up at Emery—busy cleaning up after breakfast and chatting easily with June, he forced a tight smile. He didn’t want his stress to spill over on them.
Later that evening, as Emery helped June with flashcards, Levi stepped outside to take a breath. The wide-open fields stretched before him, but the noise in his head was anything but peaceful.
He walked to the fence of the paddock where one of his mares was grazing on some green grass on the fence line. He ran a hand over her muzzle when she brought her nose to him to sniff out if he brought any treats for her. He forced some deep breaths of the fresh air and shook it off the best he knew how before he went back inside, determined to keep his temper in check, when Emery caught his eye.
“You, okay?” she asked gently, as he walked into the living room. She got up from where she had been sitting on the floor doing a puzzle with June and wrapped her arms lowaround his waist. The smell of her shampoo reached him as he habitually lowered his nose to her hair in her signature messy bun, her waves semi-gathered together and piled on top of her head. Taking a deep breath, Levi nodded, a little smile breaking through the tension. “Better now, but sometimes it feels like maybe I'm the babysitter. Like I’m micromanaging a dozen kids instead of ranch hands. Between the crew and my brother, he's a mess... It’s like I’m running a circus.”
He looked at her, eyes tired but honest. “Sometimes I worry I’m not doing enough… or that I’m losing control. I hate that feeling.”
Emery shifted, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Levi, you don’t have to be perfect. You’re human. And you’ve got me and June here—we want to help.”
He let out a humorless chuckle. “Help, huh?”
Her lips curved into a playful smile. “How about a break tonight? I’m going to switch the laundry and then close up the chicken coop. You just… breathe. Go get a shower, maybe read with June.”
