20
Levi stood at the counter, pouring coffee into his travel cup before he went back out to move irrigation on the back field.
Emery had already gone to town and was back after dropping June off at school, the morning sunlight coming through the window and warming the kitchen, including the man who somehow made her heart race and settle all at once.
“You ever heard of the Spring Saddle Swap?” Levi asked, tossing her a crooked grin as he placed a fresh cup of coffee in front of her in the oversized mug that he knew had become her favorite.
She furrowed her brow, sitting down at the counter and tucking her legs up under her. “Sounds like a cowboy code for something kinky.”
Levi barked a laugh, shaking his head as he reached into the fridge to pull out her French vanilla creamer without her having to ask, sliding it over to her.
“No, ma’am, it’s a tradition. Been around longer than my grandpa’s barn.
It’s kinda like… Cold Creek’s version of Secret Santa, but it’s every fall on the same week.
People sneak each other gifts; it could be funny, sweet, or sometimes downright weird.
No names. You just find something tied to a saddle or your porch rail. ”
Emery smiled, taking a sip of her coffee and watching him tell the story, unable to stop staring at his intense, deep blue eyes, noticing that Margaret was right, and lately, they looked a bit more full of light, the scowl that used to be a permanent fixture on his face missing.
“Sounds adorable, like mysterious cowboy valentines.”
Levi chuckled, moving to stand behind her, his hands rubbing her shoulders. “Only tradition around here that makes even the grumpiest old ranchers smile.”
“Even you?” she teased.
“Even me,” he said, tipping her chin up over her shoulder for a kiss. “I'll be close by today, but this will take me most of the afternoon. Keep an eye on the porch,” he told her with a wink, looking at her so gently, scanning her face as if he were trying to memorize it.
After spending a couple of hours prepping dinner and slicing some apples and cheese sticks for an afterschool snack, and now standing at the sink, just about finishing all the dishes from her project, the breeze picked up and filtered through the curtains above the window.
Emery glanced up, catching a glimpse of something near the barn.
From the window, she couldn’t quite make it out, just the vague shape. Curiosity pulled her forward, but instinct whispered something else.
Sliding into her flip flops at the door, she stepped outside, Levi’s flannel thrown over her tank top as she walked through the soft grass towards the hitching post outside the main barn doors. As she approached the hitching post, her breath slowed.
It was a Barbie.
But not a pretty, smiling kind.
This one had been altered.
A brunette matted and rough around the edges, her hair hacked off unevenly, clothes tattered.
The Barbie’s plastic hands had been bent and tied behind her back with twine, like some sick joke.
The toes were painted pink—messy, smeared.
She held the doll in her hand while looking past it down at her own pink toenails.
And tied to the doll's ankle was a note.
Scrawled in messy, hurried writing : Do you think he will protect you?
Emery stumbled back a step.
Her stomach flipped.
Pink toenails.
Cole had said something about her like that in the barn when they first met. When he'd made that off-hand comment, she remembered the heavy way his gaze had scanned over her and how her skin had crawled.
Then the coop.
She’d never told Levi about Cole cornering her in the chicken coop; he was too close, making her feel small and powerless. She’d convinced herself it had passed.
But this?
This wasn’t harmless. This was a message.
She looked around, pulse pounding in her ears. Eyes darting to the tree line, the barn, the trails. Beyond the fence. A chill crept up her spine. Wide open, nothing visibly out of place—but every shadow now felt threatening.
She lowered the doll, trying not to look at it too long, and walked swiftly back toward the house, locking the door behind her.
She walked straight through the kitchen and tossed it on the counter as if every second holding it burned her skin.
She grabbed her phone and texted Levi, fingers trembling, but she didn’t hesitate.
EMERY: Levi. I need you to come home. Now.
Levi didn’t reply to the text; he didn’t need to. A read receipt flashed, and less than three minutes later, Emery heard the growl of his truck’s engine outside as he tore up the gravel, barely slamming it into park before jumping out.
She stood frozen in the kitchen, arms wrapped tightly over her chest, but stepped mindlessly to the door to unbolt the lock and open it as he climbed the stairs in one easy step, Levi’s boots pounding heavily across the porch.
“Em?” he asked, jaw tight, his eyes scanning her face.
“In here,” she whispered, though it barely came out as she turned and led him towards the kitchen.
He stormed into the kitchen. “What the hell is that?” he growled, walking straight to the doll. He didn’t touch it. Just stared, his brow furrowed, fists clenched.
“It was outside, I—I thought it was one of the Saddle Swap gifts,” Emery said softly. “Until I got close enough.”
She swallowed hard, watching him tense. “There’s a note.”
He read it, eyes narrowing.
The muscle in his jaw ticked as he ground his teeth together so hard that she thought he might chip them.
He turned to her, every line in his body vibrating with restrained fury. “Who the fuck left this?”
“I don’t know,” she whispered. “But I have a feeling...”
His head whipped toward her. “A feeling?”
She looked down, guilt burning hot in her throat. “I didn’t tell you. Weeks ago, Cole…” She trailed off, unable to look at him.
“Cole, what?” Levi demanded, voice low and fierce.
Emery took a breath. “He cornered me. In the chicken coop. Said some things. Nothing happened—he didn’t hurt me, but he… was too close, it wasn't right.”
Levi’s whole body stiffened. “And you didn’t tell me!?”
“I didn’t want to make it a thing,” she quickly said. “You were already dealing with so much, and I thought—maybe it was just me overreacting. I pushed it out of my mind. But now.”
Her eyes flicked to the doll.
Now there was no mistaking it.
Now she knew exactly what those words meant. What he had been implying when he’d made her feel stuck in that coop with his breath far too close.
Levi didn’t say anything at first.
His nostrils flared, brow tight, but his gaze never left hers. His silence was louder than shouting.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I should’ve told you. I just didn’t want to cause trouble.”
He finally snapped. “You think I’d care more about keeping the damn peace than protecting you?”
His words made her blink, tears starting to rise, her throat tightening.
He took a breath, rubbing the back of his neck. “Shit. I’m not mad at you. I’m mad that you felt like you couldn’t tell me. Emery, look at me… I’d burn the whole fucking world down for you.”
Levi stared down at her for a long moment. Then, slowly, he stepped closer, and held the side of her face, his thumb brushing under her eye.
“I’ll say it again. You’re mine, Em. And when someone threatens what’s mine?” He glanced at the doll again. “They don’t get a warning; they get war. No more secrets, baby.”
? ? ?
Levi stood just outside the barn, arms crossed, glaring as Sheriff Carter leaned back against the cruiser, one thumb hooked on his belt and the other resting on the radio clipped to his shoulder.
The brown-haired Barbie and the note were sealed in an evidence bag in the front seat.
Emery was inside with Margaret, who had picked up June after school and was now prepping dinner, distracting her from the commotion outside.
“Don’t need a forensics team to tell me that’s sick,” Gage said, shaking his head. “But knowing and proving are two different things, Levi.”
Levi’s jaw worked. “You know it was Cole.”
“I got a strong hunch,” Gage said carefully. “But he didn’t leave fingerprints. No cameras near the place. And he’s playing it quiet. That doesn’t give me much to work with.”
“He left a Barbie doll with its hands tied behind her back, Gage,” Levi said, his voice low and heated. “And pink damn toenails. After the comment he made to Emery in the barn. You telling me that’s not enough?”
Gage exhaled through his nose. “It’s not that I don’t believe you. Hell, I do. But unless you catch him in the act or he slips up, we’re stuck.”
Levi stepped in close, frustration flashing in his eyes. “He’s watching her. He’s watching my girls. What happens when the next ‘gift’ ain’t a damn doll?”
Gage straightened up. “Look, I’ve known you since we were kids. You’re not the kind of man to sit on your hands. But you need to be smart about this. Whoever’s doin’ this…” He paused. “Is not just un stable. It's strategic and calculated.”
Levi met his gaze.
Gage continued, “You could fire Cole. Hell, you probably should. But if it is him… backing him into a corner might light a fuse that neither of us can put out. You’ve seen the type, unpredictable, the kind that wants to hurt something just to feel like a man again.”
Levi’s silence was the only answer he needed.
“You got Em and June to think about,” Gage added gently. “I know your instincts are telling you to strike first. But this ain’t a bar fight. This is dangerous. And I don’t want to see your name in the paper ‘cause you took the bait and it blew up on you.”
Levi stared off toward the tree line for a long moment. “So what? I just wait for him to snap?”
Gage sighed. “You protect your family. You do what you’re already doin’. Lock the place down. Get cameras rolling.” They stood in silence for a beat. Then Gage added, “I’ll keep patrols near your place. Off the record. And if you see him even lookin’ in the wrong direction, you call me. ”
Levi nodded, still tense. “And if you don’t get here fast enough?”
Gage stepped back toward the cruiser. “Then you make damn sure he doesn’t get the chance to hurt them. But you do it right, Levi. You hear me? And I’ll clean it up after.”
Levi nodded once, jaw tight. “Loud and clear.”
As Gage got into the cruiser and pulled away, Levi stood alone, the weight of it all sinking deep into his bones.
This wasn’t just some prank trying to scare them.
But Levi had made his choice, and no man—not Cole, not Denny, not anybody—was going to take her away from him.
Not without one hell of a fight.
The house was still.
Levi closed the front door behind him, flipping the deadbolt as Emery stepped out of June’s room, the nightlight casting a soft glow behind her.
“She’s out cold,” she whispered with a small smile. “Didn’t even finish her bedtime story. ”
“Good,” Levi murmured, stepping up and curling his arms around her waist. Emery leaned into his chest, kissing the curve of her neck, slow and sure. Emery relaxed in his arms, brushing her fingers along the collar of his soft tee.
Their eyes locked in a gentle understanding. After everything that day, they’d earned this moment. Safe. Together. Steady.
He leaned in, brushing his lips against hers in a kiss that deepened by several degrees when her hands slid into his hair, and his fingers traced the curve of her back. The tension they’d both been carrying began to slip off their shoulders.
The way his teeth clamped down on her bottom lip, harder than normal, sent fire to her core.
Already aching for him, she dragged her nails down his sides until she reached the waist of his jeans, grabbing firmly at his still buckled belt as she pushed him back a step.
Noticing the hunger in his eyes, she said, “Take me to bed, cowboy.” His eyes darkened.
He didn't speak but bent and picked her up at the waist instead, throwing her over his shoulder and smacking her ass with one hand, kneading his fingers into her thighs.
She muffled a surprised yelp and giggled into his back as he carried her effortlessly up the stairs.
He toed the door shut behind them, setting her down a few feet in front of his bed and locking her in place with a look that undoubtedly could melt glass.
He raised his open palm and pressed it flat against the center of her chest, pushing her backwards firmly until the back of her legs bumped into the edge of the bed.
He reached down and peeled her shirt off, gripping her shoulders to guide her down to the bed, taking his shirt off before meeting her body and consuming her mouth with his own until she reached for his belt to hurriedly undo it, making quick work of the button and zipper on his jeans.
He pulled away. “Impatient, baby?” Lacing his fingers through hers, he pinned her hands to the mattress, grinding his hips against her while nipping at her collarbone.
He kissed his way down to the waistband of her cut-off jean shorts that didn't stand a chance, skillfully taking them off and throwing them across the room.
“God damn, baby, your body…” His eyes were wild, meeting hers. “Do you know what you do to me?”
She opened her mouth to answer, but right as she did, he yanked off her lace thong and shoved it into her mouth, with a crooked grin, “Don't wake June.”