Page 108 of Silver Sanctuary
“Okay. We can talk to her tomorrow about it.”
Nash leaned against the wall, his arms resting across his chest. She loved when he did that. All the little veins in his arm would pop out, and she could so easily get lost in the trails they made.
“There’s more.”
She bit the corner of her mouth. “Tell me.”
“Ike admitted that he was aware of his nephews targeting you. The rock through your window, what happened in the parking lot, your trailer?—”
“But Deputy Shannon?”
“He’s Ike and Clarissa’s nephew. Apparently he and the little shit that served us dinner at Davney’s are cousins. They thought it was some sort of justice for their cousin who overdosed after Amber sold a bad cut of something to him.”
Lacy closed her eyes, forcing herself to breathe before her emotions started to go haywire. “Is it all over now? Or are we walking right back into the same situation all over again? Is everyone in this town just going to hate me forever for the actions of my mom? Why are we even here?”
Amber Graves hadn’t been seen or heard from since the Clarence County Sheriff’s Department let her out of custody once Embrie was found. She didn’t contest a single action thatthe lawyers brought forth in Embrie’s custody case, and Lacy pushed for the extortion charges to be dropped. Nash wasn’t happy with her for that, but it was the last thing she’d do for her mother. That chapter of her life was over.
“You know why we had to come back.”
“I know.” Lacy smiled. “Monday is going to be such a great day.”
The day Nash would officially become Embrie’s dad. The day his name would go on her birth certificate. The day she would officially become a Caldwell, just like Lacy had a few weeks earlier.
“And after that, we’ll take it one day at a time. If you don’t feel safe in Silver Springs, if you think even for a second that you or Embrie are still in danger, then I’ll pack everything up in a heartbeat and we’ll go. You deserve to live in a place that feels like a sanctuary.”
He sat on his side of the bed, waiting like he always did for her to crawl over and snuggle in his arms. And she did just that.
“You’re my safe place, Nash.” Her fingers reached up to run through his salt and pepper hair. “My own very handsome, very silver sanctuary—my home. I love you.”
“I love you, Lace.”
Lacy ran her hand under his shirt, letting her fingers trace along his muscles. And her hunky husband sure had a lot of them for her to enjoy.
When her hands moved up to his chest, he froze. She saw the wince before she felt the strange, plastic wrap-like texture on his skin.
“What’s wrong? What is this?” she asked as she grabbed the bottom of his shirt and tugged it over his head. “What did you do?”
Her heart couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Nash’s tattoos had always been incredible. Each one held a specialmeaning for him and she loved tracing over them as they laid in bed at night, especially the trident that he had directly over his heart. Which is why she immediately recognized the new design.
“Is this what you were doing with your cousin in the barn this morning?”
Her eyes never left his chest, but she heard him chuckle, his chest moving up and down as the sound reverberated around her.
“Yeah. Did I forget to mention that Brooks has a pretty successful tattoo parlor in town? He’s done quite a few of them for me over the years.”
“But this is…”
“It’s you and Embrie. Right over my heart, where you’ve always belonged.”
Lacy nodded, blinking away the tears that were clouding her vision. There, draped over the trident, were two pink bitterroot flowers. But not just any bitterroot flowers. They were the same ones she’d painted with Embrie and gifted to him on their first date.
“Do you like it?” he whispered, tipping her chin up with his thumb so she had to look in his eyes.
“I love it.”
“And I love you.”
His lips captured hers. “I love you too,” she whispered as they broke apart.
