Chapter 21 - Emmett
“I can’t believe this is happening,” I said while looking out of Colt’s windshield. We were outside the Wild Creek Country Club, where it was confirmed that Sterling and Preston were having lunch. Also in the parking lot were three FBI vans.
They were getting arrested today.
FBI agents spilled out of the vans and stormed toward the club's entrance.
It was more than what was needed for just two arrests, but I enjoyed watching them work regardless.
Seeing the Kevlar vests, the guns, the way they moved in unison—it all hit like muscle memory.
Even Colt, in his duty belt with his cuffs, taser, and gun strapped to him, brought a familiar pang of nostalgia.
I missed being part of something bigger than myself—being responsible for others and serving the greater good.
I watched as the agents stopped Sterling and Preston on the outside steps of the club. Members watched in shocked awe, gossiping to one another about what could possibly be happening.
Sterling thrashed around like a fish out of water, fighting every step of the way.
His face was red, and his combover was messed up.
He shouted threats of suing, going as far as threatening to sue the FBI.
Preston just looked like he was about to piss himself, his face pale and head hanging in shame.
It didn’t make up for all the crimes they committed, but God, was it fun to see them suffer after the hell they’d put us through.
“This feels too good to be normal,” Colt said, grinning ear to ear while he filmed the whole thing on his phone.
There was a scuffle, and Preston somehow got free. He ran across the parking lot, hands cuffed behind his back. “Oh shit.” Colt scrambled, climbing out of the car. I was two steps ahead of him, breaking into a full sprint. My muscles burned, my feet ached as they slammed against the ground.
“Preston!” I yelled after him. He looked back at me and fucking whimpered. What a coward. I pushed harder with a grunt. Seconds later, my body slammed into Preston’s, knocking him to the ground with a yelp.
“Not so fast, you piece of shit,” I panted, shoving him against the asphalt with my knee in his back. My body had moved on pure muscle memory. Guess I still had it after all.
The agents were right behind me. One of them skidded to a stop behind me, breathing hard. “Damn, you undercover?”
“No,” I answered. I lifted my knee and got up, leaving Preston for them. “Just fast, I guess.”
I wiped the sweat off my forehead, glancing back over my shoulder as they carried Preston away like a rag doll.
I wished Levi were here to see this. Watching your brother and grandfather get arrested for white-collar crimes probably wasn’t enticing stuff, though, so I didn’t blame him for wanting to skip the whole experience.
Everyone else had come, though. After the shit they’d put us through these last six months, it was kind of a celebration for our family.
“Didn’t know I was dating the Flash,” Delilah teased as she walked over, fiery hair flowing in the wind. She draped her arms over my shoulders. Her hazel eyes were sparkling. “That was hot.”
“Yeah?” I linked my hands around her lower back. “Should I chase you next?”
She bit her lip. “Only if you wear a mask.”
I rolled my eyes, laughing. “You’re a mess.”
She cocked her head, squinting in the sunlight. “Your mess,” she corrected.
“Damn straight.”
Once Preston and Sterling were in custody, we all gathered together in the parking lot. Beau had his hands on his hips. “Don’t know about y’all, but I know I’ll be sleepin’ better now that that’s over.”
“Me too,” Savannah agreed.
“Still think I should’ve burned their houses down,” Delilah pouted.
“You can burn the leaf pile back at the ranch, sugar.” I kissed her temple.
She stuck her bottom lip out, kicking a rock. “It’s not the same.”
“Honestly, I’m a little underwhelmed,” Weston confessed. “I was expecting something a little more chaotic. Like a car chase or a shoot out or I don’t know…something.”
Colt snorted. “This isn’t an old Western. It’s normally pretty cut and dry.”
“Boring’s more like it.” God, Weston and Delilah were cut from the same damn cloth.
I shrugged. “I liked it.”
“Yeah, ‘cause you got to play hero,” Claire pointed out, giving me a knowing look.
“It was sexy,” Delilah smirked. My sisters grimaced. While they supported us fully, they hadn’t gotten completely used to us being together. Delilah didn’t exactly make it easy on them, either. But I loved it that she clung to me, that we were joined at the hip.
“I’m just glad it’s done, and we can focus on the ranch now. Freedom Reins is opening next week, and we all need to be focusing on that,” Claire said.
Beau and I locked eyes. We hadn’t talked again about his plans to propose.
All I knew was that he was waiting for next week to happen so Claire would be less stressed.
I didn’t even know why she was stressed, though.
Delilah had the whole thing sorted. All ten patients were booked, their care plans were ready, and the construction was completed.
Before we knew it, Golden Circle would be up and running at full capacity.
It was bittersweet to see how much the ranch had transformed in such a small amount of time. I couldn’t help but think of my parents and wonder what they’d think. I hoped they’d be proud of us—of me. For the first time, I thought maybe they would be.
“You still taking me out tonight?” Delilah asked, her arms around my waist. Everyone had broken off into their own conversations while I was stuck in my head.
My stomach twisted. Tonight was our first date. A real one. It’d been a week since we became official, and I’d announced like a dumbass earlier that I’d take her out. Now that it was here, I was hoping she’d forgotten. But of course, she hadn’t.
“Yep.”
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to take her out. I did. I was just nervous. It was ridiculous, but it was true. I’d jumped out of planes into active war zones, and yet Delilah—my girlfriend—had me more on edge. After everything we’d survived, something simple like dinner felt like a new kind of risk.
She grinned, and I knew then I’d have to suck it up. I’d crawl over glass for that smile. “Pick me up at seven?”
“Okay.” She gave me a kiss. One that made my head spin and my heart flip.
“Maybe if you’re lucky, I won’t wear panties,” she said, walking backwards towards her Jeep with a smirk that made my knees weak. She stepped onto the running board of her car and blew me a kiss, hair wild in the wind.
I caught the kiss and put it in my pocket. “God,” I murmured to myself, voice tinged with awe. I still couldn’t fully believe she was mine. Sometimes I couldn’t even believe Delilah was real. She was too perfect. Everything I’d ever wanted in a woman and then some.
“Hey,” Colt said, pulling me from my thoughts. “I want to talk to you about something.”
I watched Delilah pull out before I gave him my full attention. I turned to face him, crossing my arms. “What’s up?”
“You ever think about what’s next for you?”
I frowned, not catching on. “I’m not following.”
“I know you manage the ranch hands, but”—he let out a long breath, resting his hands on his hips—“you ever think about doing something else?”
“Like what?”
“Like putting on another uniform.”
My brows raised a fraction. “A police uniform?”
He huffed a laugh. “Yes, Emmett, a police uniform. We could use someone like you.”
“I don’t know…”
“Talk it over with Delilah. Whatever you need to do. Just promise you’ll think about it.” I nodded. “Good.” He clapped my shoulder. “I think you’d like it.” I didn’t need to think, I knew I’d like it. But I’d still take the time to mull it over.
The ranch was never meant to be more than a stepping stone for me anyway.
But maybe it had been what I needed to slow down long enough to remember what peace felt like.
I’d spent so many years chasing the next mission, the next fight, the next thing to fix.
Turns out, peace wasn’t something to chase—it was something to build.
Maybe Colt was right. Maybe another uniform was in my future.
But whatever path I chose, I knew Delilah would be by my side.
With her, the ghosts that haunted me didn’t seem all that scary, and I felt more capable than ever before.
Later that night, I sat across from Delilah at a little Italian restaurant over in Copper Creek.
She looked radiant, stunning, all the words.
Her hair spilled in curls down one shoulder, makeup dark and sultry.
And I wanted to peel her black strappy dress off with my teeth.
But my favorite thing she wore was her smile.
She was so beautiful, I didn’t know what to do with myself, so I just stared at her like a lovesick idiot.
“If you don’t stop looking at me like that, we’re going to have to cut this short,” she warned before taking a sip of her cocktail. It was some weird thing with a cherry floating on top. She’d already tied the stem with her tongue, and when I tried to pull her out of here, she wouldn’t let me.
I played dumb. “Like what?”
She peered up at me through her lashes. “Like you’re obsessed with me.”
“But I am obsessed with you.” She rolled her eyes, looking almost bashful.
I loved that I was the only person who saw this shy side of her.
The vulnerable, real side. “It’s actually pretty inconvenient.
Can’t think. Can’t sleep. Can’t workout.
My routine is shot to shit with you around, sugar. ” But I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Her expression turned smug. “Good. Your routine was boring.”
I swallowed roughly. Now was as good a time as any to talk to her about what Colt said earlier. “Speaking of routines…”
Her eyes narrowed. “What now? I thought our problems would end with Preston and Sterling in prison.”
“It’s not bad. Colt basically offered me a job after you left the country club.”
Delilah’s menu fell to the table, and her mouth hung open. “As a cop? Like, a real police officer?”
“Yeah.”
“With the uniform?”
I chuckled. “Yes, Delilah. I’d be a whole cop with a uniform.”
“Do it,” she said immediately. She looked like she’d just won the damn lottery. “You have to.”
My brows pulled together. “What? Why?”
“The uniform,” she said as if it were obvious. “I want to see you all decked out with the vest and the belt and the handcuffs. You’d look so fucking hot.” She reached into her purse and pulled something out of her wallet. She slid the small photo across the table. “Hot like that.”
“Holy shit.” I picked up the picture of me from at least ten years ago.
It was from my first deployment. I was in the mountains in full combat uniform, an M4 in my hands.
The edges were worn soft, the top left corner creased.
It felt like looking at a stranger. I was barely twenty-one, feeling on top of the world, smiling as if I were.
A familiar ache pulsed through me—Danny took this picture.
He told a joke about our squad leader and took the picture while I was mid-laugh.
I had no idea how Delilah of all people got it.
“Where did you get this?”
“I might’ve stolen it from your mom,” she confessed, dragging the words out.
I blinked at her, stunned silent for a moment. “And you think I’m obsessed with you?” I scoffed, “Take a look in damn the mirror, Lilah.”
Her jaw dropped, pretending to be offended.
She snatched the photo back. “Mutual obsession is healthy! I’m a therapist, I would know.
” An almost wistful expression crossed her face as she ran a finger along the edge of the photo.
“I’d look at this and wonder what you were doing.
If you were safe. If you were lonely and missed home.
Everyone else got FaceTimes and phone calls.
” Her voice came out quieter. “All I had was this picture.”
I hadn’t thought of it that way. Even though I hadn’t felt the same, she was still just a young girl in love with a guy who could’ve died at any given moment. I couldn’t imagine how hard that must’ve been for her. I reached across the table, taking her hand. “I’m sorry, sugar.”
Delilah shrugged. “You didn’t know.” She put the picture away, forcing the heavy emotions away. Her eyes glinted with something soft. “You really think you’d like being a cop, though?” she asked. “You’ve already given so much, Emmett.”
I thought about it for a moment. Really thought about it. “Yeah, I do. It felt…good to help out this morning. And being kinda involved in gathering all the evidence was interesting. I think it’d be good for me to have a purpose. I don’t think I was meant to work on the ranch.”
“You’d look so sexy in the uniform,” she said, leaning in. “And you’d get handcuffs.”
I glanced around before shifting towards her. “You want me to tie you up and fuck you, Lilah? Is that what you’re getting at?”
Her eyes darkened, dropping to my mouth. Her voice was a low rasp. “Maybe.” The sultry look vanished when I stood up fast enough to nearly send my chair to the floor. I tossed some cash on the table. “What are you doing?”
“We’re leaving.”
Without a word, she grabbed her purse, on the same page. I took her hand in mine and led her out the door.
We didn’t even make it out of the parking lot before I had her moaning my name. And she had, in fact, not worn any panties.