Page 44 of Some Cowboys Brave the Flames

Her gaze whipped to meet his. “Yes, I am.”

He snorted. “You know I love you, so remember that when I tell you that I can see more than you think you’re letting me see. Your body is tense. Your eyes have lost the light I’ve grown to love so much. You’re dealing with something alone, and you don’t have to because I’m here. We’re a team.” He pressed his lips together briefly, and then he tried again. “Is it your brothers? I know they’ve been giving you a hard time. They’re not giving you the cold shoulder, are they?” To have one person do it would have been bad enough, but for the whole family? He would have been willing to burn everything down just to make sure she was being cared for, and that included getting her brothers back on her side. “It’s me they’re mad at.”

She waved a dismissive hand through the air and looked away. “My brothers are jerks sometimes. But eventually they come around. You should have seen the way they treated Carter when they found out what he did. They’re uncomfortable, but that’s on them.” It was the first time he could hear the normal Charlie in her voice.

“Then what is it?”

Her eyes darted to meet his briefly, then she dragged them away and heaved a sigh. “I really don’t want to talk about it.”

“Why?”

She groaned. “Because! Isn’t that a good enough reason? I don’t want to mess up what we have.”

His heart lurched. That was the closest she’d ever gotten to telling him that their relationship wasn’t going to work. She might not have said it outright, but she hadn’t needed to. Shewas struggling, and no one wanted to stick with a relationship where it was more work than it was worth. Ash pulled back from her, facing her fully. His whole body felt tight, and his heart ached as it banged against his ribs. “Talk to me,” he pleaded. “I can’t help you if you won’t say anything.”

Moisture pooled in her eyes and a single tear escaped before she swiped it away. “It’s dumb.”

“Nothing is dumb if you’re bothered by it,” he coaxed.

She let out a laugh that almost sounded like a sob. “Really? Because I’m still having a heck of a time dealing with what you do for a living.”

He knew this topic would come up sooner or later, but he had no idea this was what she was upset about. All he could do was listen to her vent and tell her that he would always be there for her. He swallowed, waiting for her to go on.

“The more time that passes this summer without rain, the more I let it get to me. I keep waiting for you to be called out to a fire. I have nightmares of getting a call from your boss that you’re not coming home. I’m scared to go to sleep.”

He blinked.

“You seemsurprised,” she said derisively. “It really shouldn’t surprise you at all. I’ve never kept my opinions about your job a secret.”

“No… you haven’t.”

She gazed at him with those eyes that were capable of staring right into his soul. “And I don’t know how long I’m going to be able to take feeling this way.” Those words hung in the air with a sort of finality. He could feel himself scrambling. He needed to convince her that it wasn’t as bad as she was making it out to be.

Ash reached for her, cupping her face in his hand. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“You can’t make that promise,” she whispered.

“I can tell you that I’ve been doing this for several years and I’ve never gotten anything more than aching muscles. I know what I’m doing. Nothing is going to happen to me.” He ducked closer, his voice firm. “I won’t leave you.”

Her hard expression wavered.

“It’s no different than what some of your brothers do for work. I’m sure their jobs are just as dangerous in certain circumstances.”

“I’ve never liked what they do, either,” she admitted.

He chuckled despite himself. “Well, then I guess this must be your lot in life.”

She scowled at him, and he laughed again before pressing a kiss to her lips, drawing a small smile out from behind it.

Ash touched his forehead to hers, waiting for her to look up at him through her lashes. Then he murmured, “I know I can’t tell you that you shouldn’t worry. But I can tell you that there are many safeguards in my job. We have procedures put in place to make sure that we come home every night.”

“Really?” she whispered.

He nodded. “Really.”

Charlie’s reservations about his job were crumbling in real time. Ash needed to take advantage of it.

“I know it’s hard for you to understand, but this job is everything to me. It’s more than the adrenaline?—”

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