Gloria didn’t even try to lie. She just laughed, sharp and bitter. “You think you’re so smart, digging up the past. I was desperate, okay? They told me if I didn’t pay, they’d kill me. I did what I had to do.”
Knox didn’t budge. “Nobody’s after you. We called. You’re running a long con, and you thought you could score one more payout before heading south.”
She looked at Levi, all mask gone now, just a mean glitter to her eyes. “I needed you to believe, Levi. You always were soft. Always so desperate to belong. I figured McKenzie’s checkbook would be worth a shot.”
He said nothing, just stared at the ground, face blank.
Knox looked at me, then at Levi. “You wanna go or you need more proof?”
I shook my head. “We’re done.”
Levi was shaking again, but this time I could tell it wasn’t fear. It was rage—hot and clean, burning off everything she’d tried to pin on him.
Gloria spat on the sidewalk, then staggered off, her gait turning shambolic as she made for the motel up the street. We watched her go, none of us saying a word until she was just a blonde smear against the horizon.
Knox slid the paper into my hand, then gave Levi a look I’d never seen from him—something close to respect, maybe even pride. “You good?”
Levi nodded. “Yeah. I’m good.”
I got him into the truck, belted him in, and waited until Knox was out of earshot. Then I just held him, both hands cuppinghis face, thumbs tracing over the places her words had tried to wound him.
He didn’t cry, not right away. But after a minute, his whole body buckled, and I pulled him in, letting him shake against my chest. He made no sound—just silent, wracking sobs that left him gasping and limp.
“I almost fell for it,” he whispered. “All over again.”
I pressed my lips to his hair, breathing him in, the weight of his pain and the strange relief mixing in my lungs. “It’s not your fault,” I said, voice rough. “You want to see the best in people. That’s not a weakness, Levi. Not ever.”
He let me hold him, and when he finally looked up, his eyes were clear. “You sure about that?”
I nodded. “Yeah. And you know what else? She doesn’t get to have you. Not now, not ever again.”
His mouth twisted, then broke into a smile that was more relief than happiness. “You promise?”
I grinned, just a little. “Mine to protect, remember?”
He laughed, weak but genuine, and slumped against me, letting his whole body rest there.
The drive back to the farm was quiet. He stared out the window, watching the valley roll by, the color coming back into his face inch by inch. Every now and then, he’d glance at me, a quick flick of blue that said more than words ever could.
I kept my eyes on the road, but my mind was spinning. Gloria was gone, for now, but I knew she’d be back. She’d seen the size of the prize—the land, the house, the family Levi had built from nothing. She wouldn’t give up until she’d tried every angle. But that was fine. Let her try.
I reached over and took his hand, squeezing it hard enough to remind him that I was here, and that I’d never let go.
As the farm came into view, the old barn and the new skeleton of our house outlined against the sky, I felt somethingsettle in my chest. Not relief, exactly, but certainty. This was the battle. And I was made for it.
Inside the loft, I got him onto the couch, wrapped him in a blanket, and sat close enough that he could lean on me whenever he wanted.
“Sunshine?” I said.
He looked up, eyes wide.
“You did good today. I mean it.”
He nodded, and for the first time since morning, he looked like he believed me.
We sat there, the sun setting slow and gold over the fields, until the house was dark and the only sound was the creek outside. I watched the horizon, waiting for the first sign of trouble. Let the world come.
I was ready.
