Page 104 of When The Mountains Held Us

“Miss, your husband⁠—”

“He is not my husband.” Oakley practically snarls at the paramedic who takes a surprised step back and raises his hands in front of him in apology.

“Er, right. Well, we’re taking him to the nearest hospital. His injuries are severe, but he regained consciousness while we were working on him, so that’s a good sign.” Oakley’s eyes darken at his assessment, and he clears his throat nervously before continuing. “Can I look at that gash on your head?”

Oakley looks up at me in question, like she’s waiting for my permission to let her know it’s safe, and, of course, I nod my agreement.

“I’ll be right over here,” I tell her, dropping a kiss to the top of her head before she lets the paramedic lead her to the open back of another ambulance.

After a moment, I turn back to face Sheriff Hadley. He looks weary, tired in a way I know has more to do with his many years on the job than with his age. Fine lines crinkle at the corners of his eyes as he regards me. I expect to see disappointment in his eyes, but no trace of it lingers in his steel gaze.

“Where do we go from here?” I ask, unable to play this game any longer, desperate to know whether I’ll be taking my girl home tonight or spending the foreseeable future in a concrete jail cell.

Sheriff Hadley lets out a long breath and glances at Justin, who gives a curt nod, words passing silently between them. I make a mental note to ask him later what he said before Oakley and I left the apartment.

Maybe. I’m not so sure I want to know.

“No charges pressed against you. Between you and me, I’m proud of you, son. You did what your father never did. You protected what’s yours. Let me worry about the rest.”

Shock ripples through me at his words. He can’t be serious. I nearly beat a man to death. No matter my reasoning, there’s no way that this can go unnoticed or unpunished. Not that I particularly want to be punished for this, but still.

“Are you serious?” I ask, bewildered.

“Yup. Justin told me a little bit about the situation before you got out here. Despite my duty to uphold the law, given your history, I really don’t want to see you get dragged through the mud on the witness stand. Though something tells me, in a town this size, the jury would be in your favor anyway.”

“Thank you, sir.” It feels like a pathetic response, given the gift he’s giving me by not pursuing it any further, but I’m at a loss for words. The effects of the adrenaline I’ve been running on for the past few hours drain from my body, replaced by a quick-setting exhaustion that permeates down to my bones. My limbs feel heavy, and all I want to do now is head home with Oakley, take a long shower, and crawl into bed with her tucked in my arms.

“Just promise me one thing,” Sheriff Hadley says, drawing my attention back to him.

“Anything.”

“Keep taking care of her. She’s yours to cherish, to protect, and you did just that. But maybe next time, don’t go as apeshit as you did tonight. Better yet, don’t let there be a next time. I have a lot of pull in this town, but there comes a point where even I can only do so much.”

I nod my agreement and mumble another “thank you” under my breath before returning my gaze to Oakley. The paramedic has cleaned up her head and placed a butterfly bandage over the wound and is now examining the abrasions on her wrists.

“Thanks, Dad,” Justin says, clapping him on the back as he walks back towards his squad car, muttering something under his breath about a mountain of paperwork.

I look at my friend standing in front of me and realize he’s not just my friend. He’s my brother. A man who would walk through fire for me without question, just because I asked him to. I’m lucky to have him, and I don’t deserve it.

“I don’t know if tonight would have ended up the way it did if you hadn’t been there.”

“Anytime, Levi. You’re family. If she’s important to you, then she’s important to me too.” I give him a small smile as he pulls his phone out of his pocket. “Shit,” he curses under his breath, and I noticed the litany of missed calls and texts from Jessie on his screen. Just then, the phone rings again, the screen lighting up with a picture of a smiling Jessie. “I better take this. She’s probably worried sick.”

I give him a pat on the shoulder as he lifts the phone to his ear and walks away towards his truck. I’m not sure where he found the time to tell Jessie what was going on, but it’s the furthest thing from my mind as I make my way over to my girl. The paramedic is just finishing up.

“She’s all clear,” he tells me, and I nod my thanks. “She was hit in the head pretty hard, but I’m not seeing any signs of a concussion, so that’s good. Keep an eye on her though. If she experiences any symptoms at all, get her checked out. I set her wrist, but she’ll need to follow up with a doctor so they can do a more thorough check. She should be okay for tonight, though. Other than that, the abrasions on her wrists and ankles, and general soreness, she’ll be back to normal in a few days or so.”

“Thanks, man.”

“Anytime.”

With that, he gathers his bag and throws it in the back of the ambulance as Oakley hops down from her perch and makes her way into my open arms. She wraps her arms around my waist and looks up at me with those gorgeous eyes that hold nothing but adoration in them as she rests her chin on my chest.

“Now what?” she asks, a bit of her playfulness seeping into her question amid the fatigue.

My answer is simple.

“Now, we go home.”