Page 37 of Barbed Wire Hearts

Levi snorts. “Almost. I was going to, had you two assholes not stopped me.”

“We can’t just go around killing people,” I tell him like he’s a petulant child. “That’s bad.”

“He grabbed Kate’s ass and when she told him to back off, he grabbed her tit. I think it was warranted,” Levi gruffs, looking out the window to avoid eye contact.

Silence falls and Dakota looks over at Kate where she sits silently. She doesn’t say anything, and she certainly doesn’t look at any of us. Her eyes remain focused out the window on the road and nothing else.

“Kate?” Dakota asks.

She glances at him and then her gaze dances away. “It’s true,” she murmurs. “The guy had it coming.”

We let her words hang in the air between us.

“You good?” I ask hesitantly.

She turns and meets my eyes. “Oh, yeah. I’m fine. Why do you ask?”

I raise my brow. “You’re acting strange.”

“Just tired,” she says, turning to face the front again, her eyes on the window. “It’s been a long day.”

Dakota nods. “Let’s get you home then.”

She blinks at his use of home, but she doesn’t argue. I like that. I like that a lot.

Because if I have anything to do with it, I’d like Steele Mountain to be her home forever.

A rock kicks up beneath the wheel and clangs and before I’m conscious of it, I flinch. Dakota’s eyes meet mine in the mirror and I shake my head. Don’t bring it up. I’m fine. It’s just every now and then a sound like that catches me off guard and puts me right back in?—

It doesn’t matter. I take a few deep breaths like my therapist showed me and push it away. It works. It always works. Almost. . .

When we pull back up to the ranch and Dakota throws the truck in park, it takes a minute for everyone to register we’ve stopped. Levi hops out first, but when I expect him to storm off, he comes around and opens Kate’s door for her. He doesn’t look her in the eyes as he offers her a hand out. His knuckles are bloody and torn, but Kate doesn’t hesitate to take his hand anyway.

“I’m sorry I ruined your night,” he murmurs.

My eyes widen and when I look at Dakota, I find his are the same. When’s the last time we heard Levi apologize to someone other than us? Jesus, I don’t think I’ve ever heard it.

“You didn’t,” Kate counters, her voice strong. “That guy deserves every ounce of pain coming his way. Don’t apologize for it.”

His eyes flick up to hers briefly before he looks away again. He nods, accepting her words, before releasing her hand. “Night.”

And then he turns and storms off, his limp more pronounced than usual.

Kate lingers there for a moment, her hand hanging in the air before she clears her throat. “I should check on William.”

I hop out of the truck and rush over to her door. “I’ll walk you to your door,” I offer.

She doesn’t complain. Instead, she takes my hand and lets me lead her away. Dakota gives no protest, but I don’t expect him to. Kate is quiet on the walk over and when she opens the door and greets William, she only meets my eyes when she turns and prepares to close the door in my face.

“Penny for your thoughts?” I ask, leaning against the doorframe.

Her bottom lip rolls beneath her teeth as she contemplates my request. After a few seconds, she finally speaks. “I’m. . . confused.”

“About what?”

“You,” she admits. “Dakota. Levi.”

I smile gently at her. “If you’re uncomfortable with our attention, we can stop. We should have asked first.”

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