Thank you for reading!

On the way home from the Givens house, Ava and Boyd were both silent, lost in thoughts of what had happened, what could have happened … what could still happen.

At least, Ava was. She couldn't rid herself of the feeling that it could just as easily have been Boyd who surprised someone in the house late at night and was shot dead in the process.

"You have anyone nearby you could stay with?" Boyd asked abruptly.

"Me?"

He glanced at her, started to speak, then pulled the truck off the road and parked it there. Turning to her, he said earnestly, "I can't stop thinking about the danger I've put you in. How that could have been you last night instead of Helen, if Dickie had decided to come after me."

"Or it could have been you," Ava pointed out. She could see that the thought hadn't crossed his mind, and that he dismissed as soon as she brought it up, and felt an immediate annoyance that she, a woman, was considered vulnerable while he, a man, thought himself capable of taking on any number of the Bennetts and their people. Helen had been as good with her shotgun as any man—Ava had no doubt that if Arlo had been the one to surprise Dickie Bennett in the middle of the night, it would be Arlo in the funeral home today. She opened the door of the truck and got out, leaning against it, feeling somewhat better outside in the fresh air.

Boyd followed her, coming around the front of the truck. "Ava, I … I find myself in a position I never expected to be in. I could not bear it if anything happened to you. And if I was the means by which harm came to you, I would—" He shook his head. "I would not be capable of rational thought."

"And you think I would? What do you think I would do if I lost you?"

She could see he was surprised by the question, surprised and touched, as if it had never occurred to him that she might care as deeply as he did. He reached out cup the side of her face, gently, as though she might break. "Ava."

Grasping his jacket, she pulled him close to her. "Kiss me."

He did, thoroughly, and with a hunger that would not easily be satisfied. There was a sense of belonging, as though she had always been meant to be standing here being kissed by this man, and nothing else would ever feel right again if she couldn't have this.

When the kiss broke, Ava took his face in both her hands, looking deep into his eyes. "I'm with you now, Boyd. I'm not gonna run and hide, not from the Bennetts or from anybody."

"You could get hurt, Ava."

"I lived with your brother and his fists for a lot of years. You saw me show up with bruises I couldn't cover with makeup, stitches I stopped bothering to explain away … and you know what I did to him when I'd had enough. Don't talk to me about getting hurt."

"I am so sorry I never stepped in. He was—"

"Your brother." She withdrew her hands, shoving them in the pockets of her sweater and leaning back against the door of the truck. "I know about kin, Boyd, I've lived here my whole life. But don't think I'm ever going to stand for another man trying to make me feel like less than I am. If we're together, then we're together. I'm part of your life—every part."

He was looking at her intently, in that way he had, the way that said he wasn't just listening to her words, he was hearing what she was saying. "I understand. It was—it was not my intention to make you feel diminished by trying to protect you."

"Good. Then it's settled."

"I … Ava, I have never felt like this about anyone before, this …" Boyd shook his head. "To put it frankly, I'm afraid for you, for your life, and that makes it hard to think, or to plan."

"Then let me help you. I'm not afraid."

"You aren't, are you?" There was admiration in the look he gave her. "You're a hell of a lot smarter than Devil, that's for sure, and more practical than Johnny. You'll make the best partner I ever had."

Ava smiled at that. "I intend to." She reached for his jacket again, pulling him in for another kiss. "I wish the house was empty," she whispered.

Boyd smiled, his hands warm on her back under the sweater. "I do, too." He glanced at the truck bed, then back at her. "Of course, we appear to be alone right this very moment."

"Boyd!" Ava swatted at his arm, scandalized. But his hands were moving on her back, his fingers restless as though they wanted to explore further, and she was hungry for that touch. She needed it, and she didn't want to wait any longer than she had to. "Fine, but let's pull it farther off the road."

His smile widened, brightening the whole day. "You just give me two minutes to move this truck, Ava Crowder, and I'm gon' show you everything you mean to me."