Page 101 of The Outlaw and the Heir

"Yes."

"Good, see to it then."

We watched him leave, with Ambrose still looking confused and worried, and I was just...bemused. "You know, every time I think I have your dad figured out, he turns around and does something that completely throws that theory out the window."

"I never thought I was gonna understand 'em," Ambrose said with a slow shake of his head. "This just proves it."

I snorted, turning toward him and looking him over. "They roughed you up pretty good. Are you okay?"

"I'm going to be feelin' it, that's for sure," he said, a hand going to the wound on his head and another over his stomach. "But I'll live."

"I'll give you a look over later, in private," I said, turning toward him and reaching up to touch his cheek. "If our cabin didn't get burned down."

"It didn't."

"Good."

"Hey, Samuel?"

"Mhm?"

"Did you really...I mean...with him?"

"Remember when I said I did a lot of things I'm not proud of in order to survive?"

"He was one of them?"

"If not top of the list, it's close."

"But you never?—"

"I never went along with his plans or his schemes, no. I left when I couldn't stomach pretending to be into him anymore or that I was okay with what was happening. Couldn't do anything about it at the time, so I just...left. I don't want to think about what he did after I was gone either because he was getting worse even then."

"Samuel?"

"Yes?"

"I don't care that you were with him. Not just because it was someone else, but I don't care about your past that much anymore."

I squinted at him. “You still kind of care."

He smiled almost shyly at that. “A little, but I know how to live with it until it goes away. Too much happened today for me to worry about stuff like that."

"I suppose we'll call that a victory," I said, leaning forward and kissing him. "We'll celebrate another time. There's still plenty to do."

"Will you...not leave my side tonight and maybe the rest of the day? This could've gone wrong in so many ways, and the thought that I could've...well, I'd feel better with you there."

"You got it," I said, laying my head against his chest and letting him wrap me in his arms. "But hey, uh, Ambrose?"

"What?"

"Earlier, I said that Joseph let Elias threaten everyone you love."

"Right, why are ya remindin' me?"

"Because Elias threatened me."

"Right, yeah...okay?"

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