“Aidan!” she gasped.
She didn’t know how he’d managed to sneak in behind her, but she didn’t care. She flung her arms around him.
He hugged her back. Hard. Exhaling in a long, deep sigh.
Sam closed her eyes and absorbed the feel of him. The hard padding of muscle beneath his sweatshirt. The steady thump of his heart. The tight clench of his hands at the small of her back.
She became aware of the scents of leaf mold, pine sap, and blood.
“Are you hurt?” she asked, pushing back so she could look over him. His sweatshirt was black, so it would be hard to tell. She started patting him down: chest, shoulders, arms.
He shook his head and took her hand, led her out into the hall and down to the living room.
“You’re alright?” she demanded, growing agitated with his silence.
He nodded and, still holding her hand, sat down in the recliner, pulling her down to sit in his lap.
“Baby,” she said, bracing an arm behind his neck. “Did it go okay?”
Deep blue shadows beneath his eyes spoke of his sleepless night. His smile was tired, but it was still a smile. “Nobody has to worry about that guy again.” His voice cracked with fatigue and he cleared his throat. “Also” – his grin twitched sideways – “don’t ever get on Michael’s bad side.”
“Noted.”
His hand landed on her thigh and squeezed. “Did you get any sleep?”
“No. Neither did you.”
His grin softened, became something special just for her. “You know, I…” He trailed off, shook his head.
She tickled the back of his neck with her fingers. “What?”
“I shouldn’t talk about it. Not about…”
“What it was like to kill a man?” she guessed.
His eyes came to her, a little surprised, and they regarded one another a long moment.
Sam had been thinking about this all night, as she and Lainie kept time alone, waiting on Daddy to come home. She’d made peace with some things that, truly, she’d already accepted. An official sort of peace.
“While you were gone,” she said, “I did some thinking. We both know I’m not an outlaw.” She gave him a thin smile. “You know my mom. My dad was a slightly less neurotic version of her. Safe to say I come from some very boring, law-abiding people.”
“I love your mom,” he said, immediately. “She’s a sweet lady.”
She kissed his forehead. “Thank you.” Then pulled back and continued. “So I’m not the sort of person who grew up thinking it was okay to kill people. Or do…other outlaw things.” She’d heard all the rumors around town growing up, and even if Aidan hadn’t confirmed them all, she’d guessed which were true. “God knows we’re an odd couple.”
“Don’t say that.”
“But,” she went on, “I was raised to believe that family was more important than anything. And we have that in common.” She swallowed, throat tightening. “These are strange, scary times we live in, Aidan. And sometimes keeping a family safe and whole takes…severe measures.”
He reached to push her loose hair back behind her ear, eyes shining with emotion. “Yeah. It does.”
“Don’t spare me the dirty details because you think I can’t handle them,” she said. “The only thing I can’t handle is losing my family.”
He curled a thick lock of her hair around his hand and pulled her face down to his.
“Okay?”
“Okay,” he promised, and kissed her.
