26
Emery stood barefoot at the sink, wrapping both hands around a cup of hot coffee. Outside, the world was waking slowly—dew glistened on the fence posts, a few distant cows grazed lazily, and a light breeze drifted in through the open window.
Behind her, the back door creaked open. Levi stepped in, smelling faintly of hay and with ash on his boots, heavy on the floorboards.
He had been out chatting with Jess about plans for rebuilding where the barn once stood.
He was still moving a little stiffly, recovering from the bruises and aches of the fight with Cole, the barn fire, and the stress of nearly losing everything.
But there was a lightness in the way his eyes settled on Emery. Something softer. Easier.
“Hey, Daddy, you coulda woke me,” she grinned, glancing over her shoulder at him.
“Em—you know what it does to me when you call me that. And I know,” he said simply, walking up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist, letting his hands rest over her flat belly, tucking his chin into her neck.
“But you looked too pretty sleepin' like that, all peaceful on my pillow to bother.”
Placing a couple of kisses up her neck and across her jawline, he continued, “Figure I’ll fix the gate by the smaller paddock today and maybe get to that tractor tire swapped out.
Jess’ll handle the far field. Gage said he’d swing by to update us and he should be here any minute, so as much as I love you wearin’ nothing but my shirt, standing barefoot in my kitchen, you probably better run up and get dressed, I’ll make you some toast, so you’ve got something in your stomach.
” he gave her a lite smack on the ass and a kiss on her cheek as she set her coffee down and headed up to get ready for the day.
? ? ?
Sheriff Carter stepped out of his vehicle, his tan uniform crisp, his hat down low. His face was serious, but not heavy. Just business.
“I figured I’d come out in person,” he said. “Didn’t want this one to come over the phone.”
Levi met him at the bottom of the porch stairs and folded his arms. “Appreciate it.”
Gage nodded. “Cole talked. All of it. Every last bit. Told us how Denny had been wiring him money, feeding him details. The stalking, the letters, the Barbie stunt—all of it tied back to Denny. And Cole gave us more than enough to nail them both.”
Emery came down the steps slowly, anxiously twisting her hair into a low braid, then tossing it over her shoulder. “What happens now?”
“Charges are stacked pretty high—stalking, conspiracy, arson, assault. Hell, I don’t even know what else the DA’s gonna tack on, but they’re not walking free. Denny’s lawyers tried to start his usual song and dance, but Cole had the receipts. Literal ones. Bank transfers, burner phones, the works.”
Levi exhaled hard, dragging a hand down his face. “So, they’re done.”
“Done,” Gage confirmed. “You’ve got nothing to worry about. You can breathe easy.”
Emery looked like she didn’t know whether to cry or laugh. She took a few steps closer to Levi, who drapped his arm gently around her shoulders.
“Thank you,” Emery said quietly, her voice thick with relief.
Gage smiled gently, tipping his hat toward her. “You’ve had more than your fair share of chaos. You and this place, you deserve some peace.”
Levi nodded. “We’re gettin’ there. Thanks for your help.”
“Don’t thank me,” Gage said, tossing a wry glance at Levi. “You’re the guy who cracked Cole’s jaw in the middle of a burning barn.”
Emery gave a soft laugh and leaned into Levi’s side.
As Gage climbed back into his cruiser and drove off, Emery turned to Levi. “It’s really over?”
Levi looked down at her, his thumb brushing against her cheek. “Yeah. It’s over.”
“Good,” she said, standing on her tiptoes and wrapping her arms around his neck. “Maybe we can finally just live.”
Levi kissed her slowly, taking his time. The kind of kiss that tasted like the start of true freedom.
“Damn right, we will.”
***
The late afternoon stretched across the ranch as smoke from the grill lifted into the warm summer air.
Laughter rang out near the picnic tables where Jess was dramatically retelling one of his stories with a rib bone in hand and barbecue sauce on his cheek, and June squealed as she chased bubbles with a couple of the neighbor kids.
A circle of women gathered where Emery stood barefoot in the grass, holding a mason jar of lemonade, her hair twisted up in a clip with some wayward pieces that had fallen now framing her face. Her ivory floral print sundress moved softly in the breeze, and Levi couldn’t take his eyes off her.
He’d been watching her all afternoon. The way she moved through his life now. Natural and steady, as if she’d always belonged there.
Margaret leaned in to say something that made Emery blush, and Lainey laughed out loud, and that was it. Levi’s heart thudded, hard and certain.
He cleared his throat and walked over, brushing his hand gently along Emery’s lower back. “Mind takin’ a little walk with me?”
She glanced up, smiling at him. “Sure, cowboy, you okay?”
“Yeah, baby, I’m okay.”
He led her across the yard, past the garden boxes she’d begged him to build, past the swing June loved to play on after school, hanging from the big oak tree they now stood in the shade of, overlooking the fields and hills beyond. It was quiet, just far enough from the crowd.
“I’ve been thinkin’,” Levi started, rocking back on his boots a bit. “’bout all the ways you changed this place. The house. Me.”
He cleared his throat, glanced off toward the tree line, then back to her.
Emery tilted her head, curious, heart already racing.
“I didn’t think I’d ever be the kind of man to have more than work, and June, and this piece of land to worry about. But then you walked into my world in your ridiculous flip-flops, cussed me under your breath when you thought I couldn’t hear, and somehow made me want more.”
She stared at him, lips parting, eyes already brimming with tears.
“I know we didn’t do this the traditional way. You didn’t come here for this. But hell, Em… you’re the only future I want.”
Then, Levi dropped to one knee and pulled a small velvet box from his back pocket.
Her breath caught as he opened the small box with a creak. A ring showcasing an emerald-cut stone, catching the light with bright flashes. Set in a simple, white gold band, the ring was gorgeous without being flashy. Just like the smile he had on his face.
“I want the nights on the porch with you. The mornings with you sippin’ on your coffee while I kiss your shoulder, and June asking for pancakes in the background. I want to hold your hand when you have our baby. I want you. Forever. Will you marry me?”
Tears slipped down her cheeks before she could even nod. “Yes. God, yes. Kiss me, Levi.”
He did. Right there, under the big oak tree, cheers started to rise behind them as the family caught on. Jess whooped, Margaret teared up, Lainey and the other women were clapping and cheering, and June came barreling toward them in her grass-stained dress, yelling, “Did you say yes?!”
Emery scooped her into a hug. “I did, Juney, I absolutely did.”
Levi stood there, arms around his girls, grinning like a man who finally had everything he never thought was in the cards for him.