Page 79 of The Oath We Take

“Don’t ask questions you know the answer to, Hudson.”

My first thought is I want to spank her ass for being a brat.

“I know you’re stressed, sweetheart, but don’t snap at me.”

She places her hands on her hips. “I already told you; I want to go back. And what I was doing was loading up my horse so I could do that.”

For some reason, I’m entertained. I love the flash of fire in her eyes. “I know where you think you’re going. What I don’t know is what you’re going to do when you get there. You don’t have a plan. At least here, you can stay with me. When you get back, where are you going to stay? My guess is your apartment will need a deep clean to get rid of the smell of smoke. You know your father is going to insist you stay with him. Wraith will hate the idea as much as I do. There, you’ll make other wild suggestions. A motel. Quinn’s. Jada’s. It’ll be a nightmare to secure. But you’ll eventually get your way because you always do.”

Her eyes go wide. “What the hell do you mean by that?”

I tug a hand through my hair. “I don’t want to fight with you, and we’re dancing dangerously close to one. You’re going back without a plan and will expect everyone to jump when you decide what it is.”

“I don’t expect anyone to jump. It’s all of you who insist on protecting me. I don’t want to stay with my father. I want to go back to my bar and see the damage and make plans to meet with the insurance adjustor, and Sheriff Radcliffe, and make sure my staff are okay. Then, I want to walk upstairs to my place, if I can, and salvage anything that isn’t smoke-damaged. If there is time, I’ll make the arrangements for it to be industrially cleaned and repaired. Where I sleep after that is of no consequence.”

I step right into her space. “Well, it’s of consequence to me. I only just got you, and I fucking hate the idea that someone could have taken you from me. I’m not prepared to give them the chance to do that again.”

I’m not sure where all those words come from. They sort of free flowed from me as if they bypassed the part of my brain where it decides if something should be said out loud or not.

Ember steps so close to me that our bodies touch, and shocks the hell out of me by throwing her arms tightly around my waist. “You’re worried about me?”

The question throws me off guard. “Of course I am, Em.”

When she looks up at me, the lines of frustration are gone from her face. “No. Like, you were really worried about me.”

“Never been more scared than when I realized the smoke was coming out of Whiskey Fever.”

“Now I understand.”

I kiss her lips, sensing that the storm that was brewing between us has passed. “Understand what?”

She shrugs. “You’re not questioning my judgement or my right to do what I want. You’re just scared for me and want to protect me.”

“Of course. Why else—wait—is that what you thought?”

“You made me sound flighty, irresponsible, uncaring of the impact my decisions had on others. But you get a bit of a pass because you were scared for me.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Don’t patronize me.”

She smiles, and I swear to God, it’s more beautiful than the view. “I wouldn’t dare. I want to go back, Hudson. If you want to sit down and make a plan with me first, one you feel comfortable knowing all the angles to, then let’s do that. But I am going back today and would prefer to make the ride in the light.”

Maybe I should have started with that. “I’m sorry. Mouth got ahead of my brain. I’m scared shitless you’re gonna get hurt. And so, I want to do this as safely as possible while recognizing you’re too much like Lemmy to ever be corralled.”

“I love that your analogy involved my horse.”

“You two were cut from the same cloth. I used to ride him when you were away, and he never responded to me the way he responds to you.”

Ember shields her eyes from the sun as she looks up at me. “He didn’t?”

“He needed the kind of ride you used to give him. When I ride him, he always wants to go off down routes that are gonna hurt him and doesn’t like being reined in.”

Ember chuckles at that.

“What?” I ask.

She bites down on her lip to stop from laughing. “I mean, if you extrapolate the earlier part of our conversation, I think what you’re saying is when you try to control my horse, he doesn’t do what you want. Whereby, when I ride him and give him the freedom to make the majority of the decisions, we both have the best ride of our lives. And when you try to control me, I don’t do what you?—”

“Okay,” I say, wrapping her tightly in my arms. “I get it. Let’s make your plan so we can get underway before I decide to spank your ass for being a know-it-all.”

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