Chapter Thirty-Eight

The sound that left Emma's lips at the sound of Liam's voice was desperate and animalistic. She spun around and threw herself into his waiting arms and Liam held her close to him.

Holding her washed away all the negative thoughts and emotions he'd been consumed in. Liam needed her and he wasn't ashamed to let everyone around see him clinging to her on the street.

He saw Kyle and Chase slip away into the doc's house but he remained where he was, content to simply hold his wife.

"Did you....? Did you take care of things?" Emma whispered, her voice muffled against his chest.

Liam nodded as he kissed her hair. It wasn't an easy thing to tell your wife that you had killed her father—even if that father had been responsible for nearly killing her.

"We won't have to worry about him ever again," Liam promised. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I had to do what I did today and I'm sorry that I didn't do it sooner—if I had, then he never would have been able to...."

Emma pulled away and cut him off with a sharp glace. Liam had learned over the months to simply stop talking and listen when she gave him that look. "Liam, I don't blame you for anything. None of it. My father was evil.... But you're not. You didn't want to kill him and no one can fault you for that."

"But I did kill him," Liam countered. "And there wasn't anything poetic or heroic about it. He was cowering on the floor, covered in blood and I shot him dead."

Emma shivered, swallowed hard and averted her gaze a moment. She wrapped her good arm around herself and stared down the road. Liam waited for her to speak. He might have said more than he should have but Emma was the only person he could talk to that way... the only person he felt real comfortable opening up to.

Finally, she reached out and took his hand before meeting his gaze with sadness in her blue eyes. "You didn't have a choice, Liam. You are a good man—too good and decent and fair a man to be backed into that corner and left with no choice but to murder a man. My father is to blame for that. He forced your hand."

Liam felt the ghost of a smile curve his lips. Without hesitation he pulled her back into his arms. "How'd I get lucky enough to end up with you?"

Emma's light laughter filled the morning. "I believe it happened because I stumbled into your barn."

"Either way, I'm damn glad."

Liam laid his hand over her rounded stomach. He felt the movement of their child—a fluttering beneath his palm. "We've had rough times this year, Emma, but we made it. And come spring we'll have our son here and we won't have a single threat hanging over our heads."

"I'm glad life will be peaceful for our daughter," Emma replied pointedly, causing Liam to chuckle. Then she bit her lip and his chuckle faded. "But are you sure there are no threats? Won't other mountain men be upset...?"

Liam recalled the mountain surrounding him and Kyle on the mountain. Damn, he'd been terrified. He'd been so sure they were going to end up dead.

"No. We were surrounded on the way back down. I thought they were going to kill us but they thanked us instead. Silas had gotten out of control, unpredictable and violent. And they made it clear they hadn't had any part in his attack on you."

Emma sighed and Liam swore it seemed like one-hundred tons of weight were suddenly lifted from her shoulders. "So, it's really over then?" she asked. "We can finally stop looking over our shoulders and being afraid?"

"Yes, love." Liam stooped low and kissed her lips tenderly. He pulled his lips away slowly and pressed his brow to hers. "It's finally over."

There tender moment was interrupted when Lauren burst from the doctor's office and raced down the stairs with William right behind her. "What's going on?" Liam demanded, fearing perhaps his father had taken a bad turn.

Lauren's eyes were wide and her face was pale beneath her freckles. "It's Antia and Patrick!" she exclaimed.

"What about them?" Emma urged.

When Lauren seemed unable to speak, William threw up his hands. "Hellfire, y'all, they're gettin' married!"

***

Liam sat on the doctor's steps that afternoon feeling more than a little conflicted and confused. Emma was sleeping soundly in the spare bedroom and Liam was glad for that. She'd been in a lot of pain, pain she'd attempted to hide from everyone, but had been unable to hide from him—he knew her too well.

Today had been a roller coaster. He'd thought his wife was dead, had found her alive but wounded at her father's hand and had gone up on that mountain and murdered her father without mercy.... Only to come back home and find that his father was marrying his aunt.

And they hadn't wasted any time.... Ben had married them right there in the doc's house while his father had laid in the hospital bed and she'd sat at his side.

Liam had known that a relationship had been growing between them but he'd assumed it was mainly friendship—he'd never imagined that the two once sworn bitter enemies, would end up in love with each other!

Then again, his father wasn't the same man he'd been when they'd last known once another—the past few months had proven that.

Liam was overwhelmed... he was more than ready to go home and disappear in the cabin for winter. He needed a bit of peace and solitude—with his wife by his side of course.

The door opened behind him and Liam turned to see William coming outside. The boy sat down beside him on the staircase and picked at his pants leg.

"Something on your mind?" Liam asked.

William shrugged one bony shoulder. "It just seems strange is all."

Liam looked out over the bustling street. "People get married all the time, William."

"Not that." William snorted. "Even though Lauren seemed more than a little surprised by the wedding.... No, I was talking about you killing that man the way you did."

Liam tensed. Kyle had told Chase the gory details and Chase, being the man he was, had decided to regale everyone with the tale. "Why does that seem strange to you?"

William scratched at his hair. "It's just you were always talking about what made a man but you shot an unarmed man.... It seems strange."

Liam wanted to get angry, but, William was a child. An impressionable child without much guidance at home—the fact that he'd been away and no one had come looking for him proved that. And Liam supposed it did seem strange to a child. Children tended to see things in black and white—it was only when they matured that they began to see all the gray.

"A man does what he has to in order to keep his family safe. Pulling a gun and killing someone, taking a life, shouldn't ever be your first choice but sometimes you're left with no options. If I hadn't done what I did, Silas would have killed me eventually, or Emma, or the baby or someone else we cared about.... There is evil in this world that no amount of speaking sense will cure."

William nodded. "I wasn't saying that what you did was wrong," he assured him. "I would have killed him too."

Liam winced. "I truly hope you never get backed into that corner."

The two of them sat on the step a while longer. They didn't speak, simply stared off into town.

Finally, William stood. "Well, I better be getting back in... Can I say one more thing, Mr. McIntyre?"

Liam nodded and waited for the boy to speak.

"I sure as hell hope I'm able to be a lot like you when I grow up."

***

"Home sweet home," Liam announced as he carried Emma into the cabin and kicked the door closed behind them.

He was quick to carry her through the mess of the kitchen and sitting room and lock both of them away in the comfort of their undisturbed bedroom.

"I have a mess to tend to tomorrow," Emma whispered, staring at the closed door.

Liam laid her gently on the bed. "I don't reckon you do. I'll take care of it all."

"But...."

"Don't argue with me. I'm a stubborn man and you'll lose."

He lit the small lantern in the corner of the room before slipping from his clothes. Liam felt Emma's eyes on him and hunger rushed through him when he looked her way and saw those blue eyes trail up his body.

Leaving the lamp on, Liam stalked to the bed. Emma whispered his name as he slowly removed her clothes, piece by piece.

Skin on skin, Liam pressed his lips against hers and Emma moaned against him.

In that moment he knew. No matter how strange life became—no matter what terrible things they faced, no matter what chaos or oddities happened around them—as long as they could end their days like this, lost in each other's arms—they'd both be just fine.