Page 84 of The Outlaw and the Heir

"And then tried to catch yourself with your left arm."

"That was the side closest to the fence."

"It's your injured side!"

I sighed. “It wasn't that bad."

"You're just gonna act like you're not pale and sweating from how much you hurt yourself doing that?"

"I am not," I said, knowing full well that was a lie, or at least a partial one. "I'm sweating because it's hot. I'm pale because that hurt like Hell."

Thankfully, that had the intended effect, and he let out a snort. “God, I never thought I'd find someoneIwould accuse of bein' stubborn, but here you are."

"Here I am," I said, knowing others could hear us and trying to be mindful of their presence. Our bickering had been on full display.

People could make the connection if we weren't careful and, honestly? I was trying to be more careful. By all accounts, Ambrose had been more than a little worried when I'd been injured. His routine guard over my unconscious form was widely known, and while that might be seen as friendship, we hadn't known each other long enough or gone through enough together to justify that in most people's eyes.

It didn't help that Ambrose wouldn't stop touching me, even if it was to keep me steady.

I grunted when a large weight pushed against my hip, and I stared down into the furry face in exasperation. “Not you too! I'm fine, I'm completely and absolutely fine."

"You have a healing bullet wound in your back," Ambrose said dryly.

"Actually, I have a healing burn scar on my back, courtesy of your sister," I pointed out.

"Which probably helped save your life."

"I'm not ungrateful, but if you're going to name my wound, at least do it properly."

Ambrose sighed heavily. “Can you please just...take it easy for a while longer?"

"I wasn't aware that walking was strenuous, and I didn't trip on purpose."

"Samuel."

I sighed, looking at him and finally hanging my head. “Fine. There isn't much I can do with this injury in any case. I'll head back to the cabin."

His expression drooped for a moment before he nodded. “Alright, let's go."

"I said I was going back," I told him with a shake of my head. "You still have things to do today."

It had been Elizabeth who’d filled me in on what had happened while I’d been unconscious. The pride I'd felt when she told me how Ambrose had shut down his brother and didn't hesitate totelltheir father what was going to happen had been absurdly strong. You might have thought Ambrose was my child who had finally decided to spread his wings and take flight for the first time. In reality, that was his actual father's job, and truthfully, although Ambrose wouldn't believe me, I suspected that was true. Deep down, I think the elder Isaiah had been waiting to see if his youngest would ever find it in himself to stand on his own two feet.

Few people knew what happened between the brothers, but apparently, it had spread like wildfire. It didn't help that Joseph had one hell of a nasty bruise on his face after the family came out of the office, where an argument between brothers was overheard by house staff. All too often, employers seemed to think that being uneducated meant stupid, but that was not the case. The house staff and, subsequently, the ranch hands could do the math, and everyone was abuzz not only about the threat of Le Garou but that their favorite boss had finally managed to knock some sense into the most hated member of the family.

Ambrose's brow furrowed. "Ain't much to do today that other people can't handle. There ain't much to do aboutthemeither. Guess you messin' with their plan to take Lizzie sent 'em back into hiding. And we can't find 'em."

Which I knew was a source of great frustration for him. Everyone thought it would be better if we could have whatever fight was coming our way and be done with it. The waiting and anticipation that came with it were far worse than any immediate threat. It seemed the gang didn't want to give that sort of relief, though, so everyone was left to cool their heels and wait for them to make the first move or hope someone figured out where they were.

"You just want to follow me around and make sure I don't trip over something again," I said with a heavy sigh.

"Ya do seem to like findin' trouble wherever you go." Once upon a time, it would have been said with an annoyed growl and a scowl. Now, it was said with a heavy sigh and a look that I swore was as exasperated as it was affectionate. I don't know what it was about my brush with death, but something had shifted in Ambrose. He was still his normal self, but a softer, more patient side of him had emerged. I still wasn't sure what to do with that.

There were several things I wanted to say, but I was still aware of how many potential listening ears there were and decided to go with, “Fine. Because if I don't, you'll just make Arthur follow me around again. For the record, bringing a child into this is just low."

Ambrose rolled his eyes. “Go, I'll be right behind you."

I bit back a comment and gave him a roll of my eyes, turning and walking away because there was no point in arguing. Truth be told, going back to the cabin to sit by myself didn't sound appealing. There was a pile of books from the main house's library, courtesy of Ambrose, who’d grown tired of my complaints about boredom. And while I could entertain myself for long periods, it was actually nice having someone else around.

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