Page 46 of Into the Fire
Levi’s tired eyes sparkled with gratitude as helowered his face closer to her. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Emery stood on her tiptoes and leaned in, resting her forehead against his. “Good. I’m not going anywhere.”
For a long moment, they just stood there, the warmth between them a cover against the day’s chaos.
The sun was starting to dip behind the barn roof when Emery grabbed the egg basket and slipped out the back door, sandals crunching softly over the gravel path. The air had that late summer weight to it, the kind that made the cotton of her T-shirt stick to her skin and left her thankful for the breeze.
She wasn’t in a hurry; the truth was, she liked the quiet after the mayhem of the day.
The coop door creaked when she opened it, and a few of the hens clucked in mild protest as she stepped inside. The scent of straw and feathers hit her immediately, familiar now in a way that felt strange for someone who used to order lunch from her phone while running between glass-walled meetings.
She was crouching near one of the nestingboxes, carefully collecting eggs, when the door behind her groaned again.
Bootsteps.
She straightened slowly, the awareness of someone’s presence crawling up her spine before she even turned.
“Evenin’, Emery.”
Cole. His voice was slow and grating, like it was trying to settle under her skin.
She stood, adjusting her grip on the basket. “Hi... Didn’t think chicken duty was on your list of work to get done.”
He leaned against the doorframe, one thumb hooked through his belt loop, eyes dragging over her in a way that wasn’t subtle.
“Didn’t figure you for a chore girl,” he said, smirking. “But damn if it don’t look good on you.”
He took a step closer, the shadows of the coop catching in the hollows of his face. He looked like someone who was used to pushing boundaries just to see how far they’d bend.
“Place runs smoother when you’re around,” he said, voice lower now. “Boss must be real glad to have you stickin’ around.”
There was a pause. Just a beat too long.
“Noticed you’ve been stayin’ over.”
The way he said it felt invasive and insinuating— made her skin prickle.
“I’m doing my job,” she said flatly. “Just like you oughta be.”
Cole stepped back, raising both hands in mock surrender. “Yeah, and I bet you're real good at it. Shit, I didn’t mean nothin’ by it, darlin’. Just talkin’. Shame to waste a pretty face on chicken shit and snotty noses, though.”
With that, he turned and sauntered out, leaving the door half-open behind him.
Emery let out a slow breath she had been holding, her grip still tight around the handle of the basket.
She glanced toward the house, heart still beating a little too fast.
She needed to tell Levi. But maybe not tonight. Not after everything he was already stressed about for today. He had enough on his plate right now.
For now, she just hurried to finish collecting the eggs and shutthe coop door behind her as she hurried back to the house.
Levi was nearly asleep, sitting slouched into the couch, his long body stretched out and legs slightly parted, his head tilted against the back cushions like he’d finally surrendered to the weight of the day. The lamp in the corner gave an amber hue to the room, glowing gently against the dark wood floors, and the low hum of crickets chirping drifted in through the open window.
Emery padded in quietly, barefoot, her eyes softening at the sight of him. There was something about seeing him like this—unguarded and undone—that sent a warm flutter through her chest… and lower.
She slid down beside him slowly, her thigh deliberately brushing along his as she settled in close under his arm that he had draped over the back of the couch. He cracked one eye open, a slow smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.
She arranged herself partially across him, her palm gliding over his shirt, fingers tracing the edge of his collarbone down his strong, rigid torso before slipping beneaththe cotton to touch skin. His breath shifted, chest rising a little sharper as she slid her hand down, exploring the slope of muscle.
