Chapter 73
MASON
Today was a shitshow of a day.
Every nerve in my body feels stretched tight.
Turner’s back, Kelly’s still breathing, and Lily’s alternating between being pissed and terrified.
On top of it all, I had to bribe Luke to go into town earlier to bring back Lily’s truck to the ranch.
At the moment, the only thing keeping me from going one-man-army on this town is the weight of Lily’s hand in mine.
That’s how we walk into the Rusty Spur: hand in hand.
It’s Friday night, so it’s packed. I scan the room the moment we walk through the door—exits, sight lines, potential threats. Normally, that’s all habit, but tonight we’re on alert.
When we first came to Iron Ridge, I installed cameras in here so we could make sure Emma was safe when she met her friends for drinks. The cameras are still operational. We checked the feeds before we came, to make sure we weren’t walking into a situation.
Jake and Emma arrived a few minutes before we do. Somehow they managed to get a booth in the back. I take one look at Jake’s forbidding expression and am not surprised.
Lily's hand tightens in mine as we cross the room.
"Breathe," I murmur against her ear.
She does, but I feel the tension radiating through her.
"Jake got us a booth, and he only had to make one threat to do it." Emma rolls her eyes. She looks radiant tonight—glowing in that way pregnant women do, though most people wouldn't know yet.
“Have you ordered?” I ask as we slide into the booth. I position myself so I'm facing the door, Lily tucked against my side. Jake gives me a knowing look. He's doing the same thing with Emma.
“Luke and Harper are getting the drinks.”
I glance at the bar. Luke’s easy to pick out—tall and imposing, his blond hair shaggy and a little long since we retired from the unit. Next to him is Harper Garrett. She’s got deputy sheriff written all over her, even in civilian clothes.
Luke and Harper come over holding three drinks each. Harper looks at Lily, then me and the way I’m holding her, and then back at Lily. “Oh my God, am I the only one not getting any?” she says as she holds out what looks like a Shirley Temple to Emma.
“Yep,” Emma says cheerfully. She tips her head toward Luke. “You have options though.”
Harper glances at Luke and shakes her head. “I’m not that desperate.”
“It’s less desperate and more statistically inevitable.” Luke grins, setting our beers on the table. He pulls a chair from another table and sits on it backward, crowding Harper.
She doesn't move away.
I look at him.
The corner of his mouth turns up. Then he faces everyone. “We should kick off this early celebration with a toast.” He raises his beer. "To Uncle Luke, the fun one."
"The irresponsible one," Jake corrects as he lifts his bottle.
"Same thing." Luke grins and clinks his bottle against Jake's, and then he leans in and kisses Emma’s cheek.
I lift my beer and catch Jake's eye. There's weight in that look—the acknowledgment of what this means. A baby. New life. Something worth protecting at all costs.
Emma clinks glasses with everyone and then hums as she sips her drink.
"Living dangerously," Luke teases her.
"I like to live on the edge." She cuddles into Jake.
The conversation flows easy after that. Harper tells a story about breaking up a fight at the high school baseball game last week.
Luke keeps finding excuses to lean closer to her, and she keeps pretending not to notice.
Emma asks Harper about people they know, and I think Jake is copping a feel under the table based on the blush on Emma’s cheeks.
Lily relaxes incrementally against my side, her hand resting on my thigh.
For a moment—just a moment—it feels normal.
Then the door opens.