Casey reached over and caught her hand in his. He lifted her fingers to his lips and kissed them, keeping his lips against her skin longer than he needed to. It helped stabilize him a little bit. He’d almost lost her today, and his heart was still catching up with that. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”
He lowered her hand and put the truck back into Drive. Then he pulled back onto the gravel road, his heartbeat still not quite slowing down to normal.
There were dangers out here that Ember hadn’t even thought of. And she wanted to let the land go wild and bring a bunch of city folk onto the property! Maybe after they risked life and limb they’d walk away from here with a little bit of perspective, he thought bitterly, her idea of a therapy center sounding crazier than ever.
And her idea to come out here alone was even crazier.
He was angry, he realized, because it was easier than processing the rest of his pounding emotions. And his anger wasn’t about the land being ranched anymore, or even about her father—in this moment, it was about her safety.
If she’d gone out there and gotten herself killed, he’d have lost something that was only just awakening in his heart. What it was, he couldn’t say, but he knew he’d carry that loss with him for the rest of his life.
“Let’s get you back to my place, and we’ll get you dried off and warmed up. That’ll help matters, too. Just make sure you bring me with you the next time you go exploring,” he said, glancing over at her.
“I will.”
“Promise me,” he pressed. This mattered. It was her safety on the line.
“I promise.” And those blue eyes met his and his heart stuttered in his chest. Whatever he was feeling for her was a very bad idea. He just wished he had a choice in the matter.
Chapter Ten
An hour later, Ember sat in the La-Z-Boy chair, pulled up next to the wood-burning stove in Casey’s living room. Orange flames glowed behind the glass, and heat pumped pleasantly against her aching foot. Her jeans were still damp, but warm now, and steadily drying. The fear and pain from her recent adventure were melting away as she sat in that chair.
Thank You for protecting us, she prayed in her heart. I could have died out there. If Casey had been a few minutes later, or if the wolves hadn’t stopped when he confronted them... Father, You protected us!
The babies were sleeping in the matching cradles, and from the kitchen, she could hear Casey clattering away putting together a sandwich for her. That stubborn cowboy was still taking care of her, and she felt so grateful for it all that she could almost cry.
It was only now sinking in how close she’d come to meeting her Maker. The memory of those white fangs bared, the fur standing up on end, the sparkling, hungry eyes... A shudder ran down her spine. If Casey hadn’t swept her up in his arms the way he had and carried her most of the way to the truck, if he hadn’t faced the wolves himself, roaring back at them as if he could take on a pack of wolves with his own ferocious desire to protect her—
Casey had saved her life, and he’d proved today what he was made of. He was a brave, good man who would lay it all on the line for a stranger who was going to buy this land out from under him.
Can I do it? Ember leaned her head back against the chair and breathed out a sigh. Unless she was certain this land was the site of the Harper homestead, she couldn’t go through with buying it. One ranch was as good as another for her professional purposes. There would be other options. Unless this was the Harper land, the place where all those family stories had taken place—then she would have a claim on this land and she wouldn’t be able to walk away.
She’d gotten an email back from the Cascade County Historical Society and found it on her phone when they returned to the ranch. While they didn’t have any information for her directly, they did have a website with scanned early photos from the area. Most were undated and about half had some names attached. But if she wanted to go through the website, she might find some familiar people, or images of landmarks her ancestor had described. For what it was worth...
She’d asked God to show her something out there at Milk River, and she’d seen the rugged beauty of nature and felt a strange connection to this land...right up until they’d been hunted by a pack of hungry wolves. What did it mean? Was this land for her, or was God showing her how foolhardy she was being over this? She wished the message were clear!
“Is the aspirin helping?” Casey asked, coming back into the room with a fat sandwich on a plate.
“It took the edge off the pain,” she said. “Thanks.”
Casey handed her the sandwich, and she adjusted herself in her chair, sitting up a little taller so she could eat.
“Aren’t you going to have one?” she asked. The sandwich—turkey, lettuce, tomato and cheese—was sliced diagonally in half, and she took half then handed him the plate. “Come on. We were in that adventure together.”
Casey accepted the plate with a small smile. “All right. I do make one good sandwich.”
He raised his half in a sort of salute and took a bite. Ember took a bite, too, her teeth sinking into soft white bread with a tangy crunch of pickle. It was delicious, and she finished
