Page 7 of Fierce Protector

“Want me to take you to the pharmacy for Plan B? You think a store’s open at this time of night?”

She had to remain calm, but her nerves were pinging. “I’ll go to the next town. It’s open twenty-four hours.”

“I’ll drive you.” He reached for his clothes.

“No. I’ve got it. Thanks. Just get dressed and I’ll drive you to your vehicle.”

He went into the bathroom. When he emerged, he was dressed. She already had her shoes on and her purse in hand.

His dark gaze held hers. “At least let me pay for the pill.”

She nodded and thanked him. They rode in silence to Badlands. The bar was still open, the parking lot just as packed.

How quickly the tone of the evening had changed, from fun to concern in the blink of an eye.

Before Ledger climbed out of her car, he twisted in his seat. He opened his mouth to speak, but she cut across him.

“It’s all right, Ledger. Really.”

He snapped his mouth shut and nodded. He started to climb out and then turned back to her and planted a kiss right on her lips. “Drive safe, Demi. Get out your phone and take down my number.”

The last thing she wanted. “You drive safe too.”

Before he could insist on sharing his number, she drove off, glancing at him in the rearview mirror. He stood in the dim lights of the parking lot.

Ledger was not safe dick after all.

Chapter Two

Six weeks later

Ledger fixed his gaze on the mountain peaks. Hours before, the sun had sunk behind the ridges. The deep black of night brought a chill that he could appreciate after spending countless months in the hot Middle Eastern desert.

He filled his lungs with breath after breath, savoring the flavors on the breeze that washed down from the mountains and the tang from a field of hay they’d just cut and baled.

He never minded fire watch. The late shift had always suited him best. He started the night on a small knoll that overlooked the ranch. As the hours passed, he got restless and moved on foot, checking the perimeter of the property and ensuring the occupants of the house were safe.

He scanned the landscape, taking in the open fields and black dots of the cattle that snoozed there. A faint rustling sound mingled with the gentle lowing of cows.

With silent steps, he circled the foundation of the bunkhouse that had been burned to the ground. Ledger had watched it burn with his own eyes shortly after his arrival on the Gracey Ranch.

But he knew everything about the ranch long before he ever arrived. His fellow SEAL, Forest Gracey, had spent hours just talking about his home and family back in Montana.

He also conveyed his concerns that his father was deep in financial trouble of his own making. Forest never came right out and said it, but he alluded to gambling debt.

Many times since that terrible day when Forest died, Ledger had revisited those talks. Forest was one of those men blessed with a gift for narration—and everything he said brought the listener into their world.

By the time Ledger came to the Gracey, he already knew how it looked and could point out every building on it. He almost felt like Forest’s little sisters were his own.

Knowing that Meadow and Ivy now had two of the best SEALs in the country to love and protect them left Ledger with a measure of relief he knew that Forest would have felt too, if he were alive to witness it.

It was no coincidence that they’d all ended up on their late friend’s ranch, guarding his family. He’d never said it in so many words, but Forest had known what was coming. That his family would be under fire, the ranch on the line.

Being here took his mind off his own troubles, and for that he was grateful. The inky sky, with the moon playing hide-and-seek behind clouds that drifted by, provided a measure of comfort and peace he rarely experienced since that tragic day, when his best friend bled out in his arms.

Fuck. He shook his head, trying to dislodge the imagery that came with the memory. Focusing hard on his duty was the only way to really erase the visions.

He was a goddamn SEAL. His will was stronger than steel. If he wanted, he could wipe his mind clean of the feel of hot blood on his hands.

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