I brush my thumb along her jaw. “You okay?”
She nods. “Yeah. I think so.”
I study her face, looking for cracks. There aren’t any.
I’ve gotten good at spotting them.
The most recent being Caleb.
The thought of his name hits like it always does—sudden and sharp and unwanted.
I don’t let my expression change, though. Because I’ve practiced that too.
Killing a man doesn’t leave you. Not really. It lives somewhere under your skin. In the quiet moments. In the way you assess every move a person makes from here on out, not only once, but twice. It’s in everything I do now.
I don’t regret it.
I didn’t that day, and I still don’t now.
He could’ve hurt Lawson. Could have hurther. Could have hurt the future we have because of her.
I did what had to be done.
But there’s a difference between not regretting something and notfeelingit.
And boy, do I feel it.
They have all asked me time and time again if I’mfine.And I am fine. I’m as fine as I’ll ever be, knowing the death of another person is on my hands.
I did what had to be done,I repeat to myself.
I did it for her. For my family. For our ranch. I did it for me.
Abigail’s hand slides into mine, pulling me back. “Hey, where’d you go just now?”
“Just thinking,” I answer softly.
“That’s dangerous.”
I huff a laugh. “You dancin’ around the kitchen like that is what’s dangerous,” I say, desperate to move on from my mental spiral.
Her eyebrow arches, clearly not buying my tactic, but she chooses to play along anyway. “Oh yeah?”
“Yeah.”
She leans in closer. “Explain.”
“You sway your hips like that when it’s just the two of us home…” She waits. “Makes a man think about pinning you against this counter.”
Her breath catches just slightly. “Someone’s in a playful mood today.”
“Been that way since about a half hour ago.”
“What a coincidence. Did that happen to be when Jas, Law, and Beau left, and you figured out we’d be all alone in this big ol’ house?”
Smart girl.
“Maybe.”
