My dad studied him. Bruises on a woman were not something he took lightly. They weren’t something anyone should.
“I was trying to protect her,” Ian said.
Josh snorted. “From herself, which in itself is a full-time job.”
A few scattered chuckles broke through the silence.
For once I didn’t mind my brother’s teasing.
The tension cracked. Not shattered but cracked enough.
Dad’s posture eased a fraction. Not fully relaxed, he was still sheriff, but this time he was more of a dad.
“You’re certain?” my dad asked.
“Aye, sir, you have my word on it,” Ian said with certainty.
I had to smile, his Scottish brogue not in sync with his cowboy look.
Dad held his gaze another second, then nodded once. “All right.”
Josh stood and clapped Ian on the shoulder, a bit harder than necessary, but not hostile.
“Next time,” Josh said lightly, “let gravity take her.”
“I heard that,” I said.
Ian finally looked at me. His expression softened just slightly, the edge of tension dissolving when he saw I was smiling.
Zelda reappeared from the kitchen, arms folded, and her eyes roamed the room.
“Enough,” she announced briskly. “Show’s over. Eat your breakfast.”
Conversation resumed in hesitant waves.
Dad remained standing, still facing Ian.
“Is this the reason you called me earlier?” he asked.
“Aye,” Ian said. “But I was told you were in a meeting and would get back to me. I assumed once the texts started hitting my phone, you’d come here first. I would’ve preferred to explain it to you before anyone saw Pep.”
That earned him a long look.
“I appreciate that,” Dad said, “and having come to know you these many months, I found it difficult to believe you harmed my daughter.”
“Then why interrogate me?” I asked, surprised.
My dad turned to me. “Because when I saw your face up close, I got upset.”
“It is very upsetting to see you so bruised,” my mom agreed. “But I felt the same as your dad. I didn’t think for a minute Ian was guilty.”
“So, we all thought the same,” Josh said with a grin, “that somehow it was Pepper’s fault.”
I take it back that I didn’t mind my brother’s teasing. He’s an idiot as usual.
My dad turned to Josh. “You’ve got patrol.”
Josh looked at Ian. “You sure you want to stay entangled with her?” He jerked his chin toward me. “She’s a bit hazardous.”
