"I know," he says. But he doesn’t tell me not to be. Nor does he offer a neat fix. Instead, he lifts his hand to the back of my neck, resting it there, warm and steady. "You did the brave thing."
"What do we do?" I ask, voice small. The we slips out, and I don’t pull it back.
"We make a plan." He looks toward the barn and then at Emma again, measuring the space between fury and caution. "First, you write down every detail. Dates. Phrases. Names. Keep that somewhere safe. Not at work. Second, you do not go anywhere alone with anyone from their office. If they ask you to drive out to a site, you say no. If they press, you say you have a conflict. Text me if anything feels off."
"You think they would come after me?"
"I think people who hide their plans like that do not like being seen," he says. "We are going to make sure you and Emma are safe while we figure the rest out."
The we steadies me. "Who will you tell?"
"My brothers and my parents. Josh," he says. "Ben. Maybe Cade knows someone who can point us to the right kind of lawyer to get ahead of this. I will not make a lot of noise until we havesomething that sticks. But I’m not letting them put a rig in this dirt."
"Okay," I whisper, and the word feels like handing him a taut rope I have been holding alone.
Emma finishes with Phantom and runs back to us, cheeks flushed, hair a wild halo. "He let me brush near his ears," she reports, pride radiating off her. "He is brave."
"So are you," Asher says, and he means more than brushing a horse.
Emma looks between us, curious but content. "Can I give them carrots?"
"You can," Asher says. "Let’s go get some."
He walks with her to the feed room. I watch them go, the long, easy stride of him matched with the quick bounce of her. The sight tilts something inside me into place.
When they come back with a small bucket, Emma holds out the carrot sticks with a flat palm, the way he shows her, serious and careful. Midnight takes them away one by one. Phantom waits his turn like a gentleman. Emma beams at me every time a velvety mouth tickles her skin, as if I am the one making the magic happen.
I step closer to Asher and keep my voice low. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For not looking at me like I’m the problem." I shake my head. "For not making me say it twice."
He studies me, and the look is the same one that undid me a few minutes ago. It is patient, steady. It gives me enough quiet to hear my own truth. "You did the hardest part," he says. "You told me."
Emma finishes the last carrot and wipes her hands on the sides of her shorts. "Can we come again?" she asks.
"If your mom says yes," Asher answers.
Emma turns the full force of her hope on me. I pretend to think very hard because it makes her bounce on her toes. "We can come again," I say. "If we bring more carrots."
Emma cheers and runs a small circle in the grass, the cat chasing her shadow. Phantom snorts like he’s laughing. Midnight flicks an ear and stands as patiently as a saint.
Asher's fingers brush mine. The touch is small, but it’s everything. I curl my hand around his and hold on for a heartbeat longer than I should. He squeezes once and lets go first, because he knows I won’t.
On the drive home, Emma chatters about horse kisses and cat whiskers and how Phantom is her second-favorite name now after Midnight. I smile and answer, and keep my voice light. Inside, I’m already sorting through the list he asked for. Names and dates as the plan starts to take shape.
At a red light, my phone buzzes.
Bear:Proud of you.
I don’t know how he knows the exact thing I need to hear, only that he always seems to. I type back before the light shifts.
Me:Me too. A little.
Bear:Good. Start there.
Putting the phone face down, I look at my daughter in the rear-view mirror. She is humming to herself and tapping the brush he gave her against her knee, impatient to use it again. The fear is still there. The danger is real. But for the first time since I heard those voices through the door, the ground under my feet does not feel like it will give way the second I take a step.