Page 52 of Into the Fire
The woman blinked, flustered. “Oh, I just meant…”
“I don’t care what you meant,” he cut in, eyes hard. “You don’t talk about her like that. You don’t know her, and you clearly don’t know me if you think I’d let someone I didn’t trust with my whole life around my daughter.”
His hand tightened slightly on Emery’s waist, grounding her, reassuring her, making sure she heardhim too.
The woman stammered, her cheeks coloring as she took a small step back. “I was just trying to help.”
“You want to help?” Levi said, jaw tight. “Stop spreading gossip and worry about yourself.”
With that, the woman turned, practically speed-walking in the opposite direction.
Only once she disappeared around the corner did Levi turn fully to face Emery. He reached up, gently brushing her cheek with his fingertips.
“I saw that look on your face, sunshine,” he murmured. “Don’t even think it, baby. Not for one second.”
Nodding, Emery let out a sigh. His eyes searched hers, and he brushed a thumb along her jaw.
“Come on,” he said, letting his hand slide to her lower back as he guided her toward the truck. “We’ve got time before June gets out. Let’s get something sweet, so you stop thinking about people who don’t matter.”
She grinned up at him, already feeling lighter. “What if I only want you?”
Hisgrin deepened as he leaned in and whispered, “You’ve got me.”
He guided her across the street, his hand warm and firm resting on the small of her back, toward a little ice cream stand tucked between the hardware store and the feed supply.
“You want ice cream?” she asked, raising a brow at him. “You’re gonna ruin your dinner, cowboy.”
“I’m a grown man,” he said, glancing down at her with a grin. “I can eat ice cream and dinner, and still have room for dessert afterwards,” he said with a wink.
They stood in line, Levi’s hand never leaving her waist. Even when they got their cones—her caramel swirl, his something obnoxiously chocolatey—he licked a slow stripe up his before leaning close.
“Wanna taste mine?” he asked, the mischief in his voice unmistakable.
“Are we still talking about the ice cream?” she said, deadpan.
Levi choked ona laugh, his eyes snapping to hers. “Damn, you caught me. That was quick.”
“Mmm, good call. This is delicious,” she said, licking her cone slowly and watching him from beneath her lashes.
“You have no idea,” he murmured, moving them toward the bench tucked along the sidewalk, shaded by an old oak tree. He pulled her right onto his lap when they sat, his thigh under hers like it was the most natural thing in the world. “I wasn’t thinking clearly. Watching you lick an ice cream cone like that in a public place like this is a certain sort of punishment I didn’t realize I was dealing myself.”
She blushed, heat crawling up her neck, and he grinned against her cheek before kissing it. Not a chaste peck but—slow, warm, deliberate.
Emery laughed and tried to hide her face, but Levi was beaming. Emery shook her head, but she leaned in again anyway, pressing a quick kiss to the corner of his mouth.
“I think you’re obsessedwith me,” she whispered.
Levi licked the last of his ice cream off his thumb, then wrapped both arms around her and pulled her snug to his chest. “Oh, baby,” he murmured, voice low and rough. “I know I am.”
Since they were both in town, Levi left his truck at the mechanic's shop to check the transmission that had been acting up. They hopped in Emery’s car to pick up June from school together, her SUV coming to a stop in front of Cold Creek Elementary. From the driver's seat, Levi reached over and turned down the radio, glancing out the window toward the school doors, where kids were starting to trickle out. He leaned back against the seat, one arm draped over the wheel, the other hand resting lightly on Emery’s thigh. “My mama’s stirrin’ up trouble again,” he said with a grin.
Emery turned to him, brow lifting. “What kind of trouble?”
“The kind that involves half the town, twenty crockpots, and about six different kinds of potato salad.”
Emery laughed. “Potluck trouble?”
“Exactly.” Levi squeezed her leg gently. “She’s throwin’ one tomorrow evening out at the ranch. Claims it’s to celebrate Jess stickin’ around and not runnin’ off to Montana or California, or wherever the hell he was flirtin’ with this time.”
