I press into him instinctively.
Heat floods my veins. The dizziness fades almost instantly.
My breathing evens. His heart pounds against my cheek.
Three beats. Four. Aligned.
“Control,” he murmurs.
I clutch his shirt. “They could have everything now,” I confess. “Your photo. My measurements. The overlay of Mags’ face with the nineteen ten photograph. The earlobe ratios. The bone spread. The boundary response times. The pulse synchronization observations.”
I feel him harden.
“Everything.”
“If you don’t let this go,” he says between clenched teeth, they’ll seize the land, too.
I gasp, hand going to my chest.
His face is grim, but I know he’s right.
The SUVs pull away in a cloud of dust. Leaving silence behind. Not empty. Watched.
Ash doesn’t let go. And for the first time since this started, I don’t pull away.
Then he repeats, voice eerily steady. “They don’t have it all.”
Grandma sniffles from the porch, eyes washing over us. Curiosity first. Then, something more guarded.
“I’m so sorry,” I say to her, to Ash.
The cowboy’s face is all severe lines, eyes narrow. His Adam’s apple bobs in his throat, but he says nothing.
Maybe the silence is worse.
I should go upstairs. Survey the damage. But I can’t bring myself to confront what happened.
The porch boards squeak as Grandpa comes outside, wrapping an arm around Grandma. “We better start cleaning up.” He eyes me and Ash, his jaw ticking. Like he understands something I still don’t.
“Everyone knows what’s going on but me,” I whisper against Ash’s chest, though I know I should pull away.
I expect to find anger in his eyes. Instead, they’re warm, though controlled. Like there’s much more he wants to say.
Grandma opens her mouth. But Grandpa cuts her off. “Trust you’ll take good care of my granddaughter while she’s…processing.”
The word sounds too new for Grandpa.
“You want to go inside?” Ash asks softly. “I can help you clean up?”
I shake my head. “I need to walk. To clear my mind.”
The sliding door closes, my grandparents no longer in view.
“Then I’m coming with you.”
Final.
No room for argument.
