60. Harper
HARPER
Back at Blackthorn Ranch, Lily's pacing in the entrance of the main house when we walk in. She gasps when she sees us, rushing to Emma first. “I made tea. Come sit down.”
“I’m fine,” Emma says with a hint of a smile. “Really.”
“You’re going to go sit,” Jake says, his hand protectively on his wife’s back. “And you’ll drink whatever Lily gives you.”
Emma rolls her eyes but lets them herd her.
I start to head to Luke’s suite. I need to change.
“Where are you going?”
Looking up, I see Lily with her hands on her hips, looking more authoritarian than I’ve ever seen her. “I don’t want tea,” I say inanely.
“You have glass all over you.” She points to the kitchen. “Get in there and sit down so I can check you for cuts.”
I roll my eyes too, but I’m not going to fight Lily when all her veterinarian instincts are fully engaged. She’s thin, but she looks scrappy.
Lily guides me to a chair at the kitchen table and immediately starts examining me—tilting my head toward the light, checking my hands for cuts, her fingers gentle but thorough.
“Shouldn’t you be checking Emma?” I try to duck out of her reach.
"Hold still." She carefully picks a shard from my hair. "You have glass everywhere."
"I feel like a prize mare getting inspected." I make a face as she extracts another bit.
Lily's mouth quirks. "Well, you did just survive a firefight. I'd say that earns you some grooming privileges." She holds up a piece of glass between her fingers. "Besides, Mason would kill me if I let you bleed all over his kitchen."
I raise my brow. "Don’t you guys technically live in the stablemaster’s cottage?"
"Semantics." She sets the glass aside and continues her inspection, her touch careful around a small cut near my temple. "Jake, can you grab the first aid kit?"
Jake’s already moving, setting it on the table next to Lily and then returning to Emma’s side.
He picks her up from the chair, sits down, and then settles her on his lap, holding her close.
His hand rests on her belly, soothing her and the baby, as he murmurs something only she can hear.
It’s such a small thing, but suddenly I understand why Emma fell for him.
Everyone deserves to be loved like they’re someone’s first instinct.
The front door opens, and I hear heavy footsteps heading our way.
Luke and Mason walk in, and the energy in the room shifts.
Luke's gaze finds me across the kitchen. He takes in Lily hovering over me, the glass on the table, and the small cuts on my hands. His jaw tightens, and he crosses the room in three strides.
I barely have time to stand before his arms are around me, pulling me against his chest. Not a quick check, not a casual touch. He's holding me—tight—the way Jake’s holding Emma, in front of everyone.
His hand cups the back of my head, his other arm wrapped tight around my waist. I feel his heart pounding against mine, feel the tension radiating through his body. "You're okay," he says against my hair, like a statement he needs to confirm.
"I'm okay," I whisper back.
He doesn't let go immediately. Just holds me, grounding himself in the fact that I'm here, I'm whole, I'm safe.
When he finally pulls back, his hand slides down to catch mine, holding it firmly, before turning to Jake. “I arranged for Hendricks to come pick up the garbage. Should be gone within the hour."
"He’ll interrogate them?" Jake asks, his voice quiet but firm.
Luke grins. “What’s left of them.”
The weight of what happened settles over me—the gunfire and the fear of not knowing where the shots were coming from, the realization that Turner isn’t going to stop unless someone makes him, knowing I can’t go to my dad for help in this.
I look around the table—at Emma and Jake, at Mason and Lily.
At Luke, standing beside me with his hand still wrapped around mine.
I have them now. I look at Luke’s hand, holding mine so solidly, and I know he has my back too.
I can’t see him betraying me, and I can’t see Jake or Mason doing anything but backing Luke up.
Gratitude wells up in me for everyone in this kitchen. Where would I be without them? Alone with my grief over my dad. But I’m not alone. And since they have my back, I have theirs too.
"I'm going to help you stop Turner," I say out loud.
The words settle over the room like a vow. Luke's hand tightens on mine. Mason nods once. Lily reaches out and squeezes my free hand.
Jake stands and crosses to me. He extends his hand. "Welcome to the team, Harper."
Something shifts inside me, final and irrevocable, as I take his hand.