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They hightailed it back to their bigger truck, and started it and drove away.

Bix was holding on to his hand, looking at his knuckles, which were split. She looked up at him. “Let’s go back home.”

“I’m fine,” he said, jerking his hand away from her.

“Oh, stop,” she said. She stalked ahead of them to the truck.

“What?”

“You know what!” she said. “You’re being sullen and ridiculous.”

“I just turned your brother’s face into a tenderized steak.”

“He shouldn’t have tried to hit me.”

“You’re not happy with me.”

“No. I’m not. Because I trusted you. I went to get you, and you didn’t listen to me. You took matters into your own hands, and it escalated. But it’s fine. It isn’t like he’s never been punched in the face. And he has deserved it every time. Even if he didn’t, it was probably just compensating for times when he deserved to be punched and wasn’t. So I don’t feel sorry for him. But I feel like you put yourself in a dangerous situation, and that I don’t like.”

“I’m a cop, Bix. That’s going to happen sometimes.”

“It’s not the same thing and you know it! You know. Just... shut up.”

They rode back to the house in silence, and when they got back she walked wordlessly inside, and went into the bathroom.

He heard the water running in the bath and went to check on her.

“Take your clothes off, you absolute asshole.”

“I just chased those dicks off, I don’t even get a thank-you?”

“Thank you. Get naked.”

He hadn’t expected that. But when Bix wanted him naked, far be it for him to deny her. He took his shirt off, his jeans, everything else.

“Get in the tub, Sheriff.”

“What the hell are you doing?” he asked.

“Taking care of you. Now get in the tub.”

He gave her a side eye but stepped into the hot water. “You have too many clothes on,” he said.

“I’m good.” She got soap on her hands and moved to the side of him, running her hands over his shoulders. It felt good. But he didn’t deserve it.

He didn’t have the strength to stop her.

Some wall had come down inside him and he didn’t know how to build it back up. Didn’t know if wanted to even if he could.

She moved her hands down over his chest and he grunted. Then she moved to his split knuckles and he growled as she got soap into his wounds.

“Ouch, Bix.”

“Well, you should have thought of that before you behaved like an uncivilized grunion.”

“A grunion?”

“If the tiny gills fit.”