Page 90 of Silver Sanctuary
“Nash—”
“I remember, Brie. We don’t have to talk about what happened at the party.”
Nash stood in the kitchen, his hip leaning against the counter until he heard Lacy’s key slide into the lock. The door opened, and a very flushed version of his wife walked in.
“Hey, how was lunch?”
“Good! I had such a nice time, and Sloane seemed more relaxed around me. It was nice to see her smiling and I really felt like I was a part of the group. I’ve never had that before.”
Nash pulled Lacy into a hug, wrapping his arms tightly around her body. “I love that, Lace. I’m so glad it was a good time. You deserve that.”
“Something did happen though.”
His hands rested on her arms and he held her out to look in her eyes. The way she said it so clearly framed that it wasn’t anything good.
“What? Are you okay?”
“Mhm. My mom showed up.”
“In Lark Lake?!” What were the fucking odds of that?
“Yeah. She said she’s staying at an old friend’s house now. The only thing is, she doesn’t have any old friends. She has a lot of old dealers, though.”
“I’m sorry, babe.”
“That’s not all. I saw him, too.”
“Him?” His mind went blank until he saw a crack in his wife’s facade. She was hiding pain behind her beautiful smile. “No. Why didn’t you call me? Please, please tell me Gunner’s fists are bloody from beating him to a pulp!”
“No, but we did call the sheriff’s department, and they did send someone out to deal with them. I called our lawyers to let them know what happened and that they threatened Embrie again, so that should all get documented and at least add to things in our favor.”
He took a step closer, pushing her hair behind her ear. “What do you mean they threatened Embrie?”
“It was all the same things she said the first time around, nothing new. Just more… crass.”
“I don’t like that you didn’t call me. How am I supposed to keep you safe if I can’t even trust that you’ll call me when you need me?”
She sighed, her hands sliding around his neck before pulling him down toward her until they were standing eye to eye.
“You told me I could trust our friends—our family—and I did. Please don’t be mad at me.”
“Lace.” He lowered his face just a few inches and kissed her. “I’m not mad at you; I’m so fucking proud of you. I guess I just don’t like the idea of someone else getting to step in and be there for you when it should always be me.”
“Don’t worry.” She laughed as her head drifted down onto his chest. “I’ll take you over the grumpy statue any day.”
He held her, swaying gently to the music filtering in from the living room.
“How did everything go here? Did Embrie have a good time at the party?”
“Everything hereis fine.”
“Is?” Her head popped up off his chest. “Was it not for a while?”
“I handled it. She asked me if I would be willing to talk to you about it, but that she doesn’t want to speak about it yet. Not with me, and not with you.”
Her brows furrowed. “She’s not hurt?”
“I would have called you immediately if she’d been hurt, Lace. You’re her mom.”
