Page 50 of Silver Sanctuary (The Silver Springs #3)

Thirty-Two

“ I can’t wait to tell everyone in my class that my dad knows how to fly a plane! Not only that… he actually flew us to Montana and back! I have the coolest dad ever!”

Christ. That kid knew how to hit him right in the heart.

“How many times do you think she’ll say ‘dad’ today?” Lacy joked. Embrie had been full throttle with the title. And although he reassured her it would be okay if she decided not to call him that after things settled down from the day she was taken, he loved that it stuck.

“She could say it a million times, every hour, and it would never be enough for me.”

Nash unlocked his truck, dropping the tailgate to pull their luggage out. Four weeks in Montana with his family had passed by in a blink.

For the first time since he’d lost his parents, it felt good to relive the memories he had with his mom and dad. Embrie was so curious about his life growing up that he had started looking forward to taking her to all the spots that were special for him and his dad .

“Pops said I can get my pilot’s license when I’m sixteen! How cool would that be?”

“That’d be incredible, Casu Marzu.”

Embrie looked over her shoulder at him as she opened the door. “These are getting too hard, Dad.”

“I don’t know what to tell you, kid. I’m too stubborn to let this joke die.”

“The sign of a true dad.” Lacy laughed as she patted him on the back.

“So, what’s your guess?”

“Australia?”

“No way, mate!”

“Ecuador?”

“Nope.”

“I give up.” Embrie sighed dramatically.

“Italy.”

“What?! No way!”

“Way, Cheese.”

Embrie laughed. “I think maybe it’s time to change the game…”

Lacy pulled her shirt down over her head, the final step in getting ready for bed on their first night back.

Well, that wasn’t completely true. They weren’t really her shirts.

She’d absolutely raided her husband's collection while they were in Montana, and there was no way she would be giving them back. They were too soft, too cozy, and smelled too much like him. Even though Nash and Lacy were wrapped in each other’s arms at night, she needed that extra layer of him to remind her that everything was okay.

“Colt called me today.” Nash’s voice drifted out from the bathroom as he finished brushing his teeth.

She instantly froze. Lacy waited until the bathroom light clicked off, and Nash walked back into the bedroom. “Why?”

“Heard we were back and wanted to give me an update on the case since I asked to be left alone in Montana unless it was an emergency.”

Lacy smiled as she sat down in bed. “It was nice to have that time to ourselves. What did he say?”

“Archer’s parents agreed to twenty hours of community service, each, on top of a fine. They promised Archer would be there with them, and, if Embrie is comfortable with it, we can set something up for Archer to apologize to her.”

“Okay. We can talk to her tomorrow about it.”

Nash leaned against the wall, his arms resting across his chest. She loved when he did that. All the little veins in his arm would pop out, and she could so easily get lost in the trails they made.

“There’s more.”

She bit the corner of her mouth. “Tell me.”

“Ike admitted that he was aware of his nephews targeting you. The rock through your window, what happened in the parking lot, your trailer?—”

“But Deputy Shannon?”

“He’s Ike and Clarissa’s nephew. Apparently he and the little shit that served us dinner at Davney’s are cousins. They thought it was some sort of justice for their cousin who overdosed after Amber sold a bad cut of something to him.”

Lacy closed her eyes, forcing herself to breathe before her emotions started to go haywire. “Is it all over now? Or are we walking right back into the same situation all over again? Is everyone in this town just going to hate me forever for the actions of my mom? Why are we even here?”

Amber Graves hadn’t been seen or heard from since the Clarence County Sheriff’s Department let her out of custody once Embrie was found.

She didn’t contest a single action that the lawyers brought forth in Embrie’s custody case, and Lacy pushed for the extortion charges to be dropped.

Nash wasn’t happy with her for that, but it was the last thing she’d do for her mother. That chapter of her life was over.

“You know why we had to come back.”

“I know.” Lacy smiled. “Monday is going to be such a great day.”

The day Nash would officially become Embrie’s dad. The day his name would go on her birth certificate. The day she would officially become a Caldwell, just like Lacy had a few weeks earlier.

“And after that, we’ll take it one day at a time. If you don’t feel safe in Silver Springs, if you think even for a second that you or Embrie are still in danger, then I’ll pack everything up in a heartbeat and we’ll go. You deserve to live in a place that feels like a sanctuary.”

He sat on his side of the bed, waiting like he always did for her to crawl over and snuggle in his arms. And she did just that.

“You’re my safe place, Nash.” Her fingers reached up to run through his salt and pepper hair. “My own very handsome, very silver sanctuary—my home. I love you.”

“I love you, Lace.”

Lacy ran her hand under his shirt, letting her fingers trace along his muscles. And her hunky husband sure had a lot of them for her to enjoy.

When her hands moved up to his chest, he froze. She saw the wince before she felt the strange, plastic wrap-like texture on his skin.

“What’s wrong? What is this?” she asked as she grabbed the bottom of his shirt and tugged it over his head. “What did you do?”

Her heart couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

Nash’s tattoos had always been incredible.

Each one held a special meaning for him and she loved tracing over them as they laid in bed at night, especially the trident that he had directly over his heart.

Which is why she immediately recognized the new design.

“Is this what you were doing with your cousin in the barn this morning?”

Her eyes never left his chest, but she heard him chuckle, his chest moving up and down as the sound reverberated around her.

“Yeah. Did I forget to mention that Brooks has a pretty successful tattoo parlor in town? He’s done quite a few of them for me over the years.”

“But this is…”

“It’s you and Embrie. Right over my heart, where you’ve always belonged.”

Lacy nodded, blinking away the tears that were clouding her vision. There, draped over the trident, were two pink bitterroot flowers. But not just any bitterroot flowers. They were the same ones she’d painted with Embrie and gifted to him on their first date.

“Do you like it?” he whispered, tipping her chin up with his thumb so she had to look in his eyes.

“I love it.”

“And I love you.”

His lips captured hers. “I love you too,” she whispered as they broke apart.

“Embrie’s asleep…”

“And?”

“And I’d like to practice making her a little brother or a little sister.”

Lacy’s breath hitched. “You know it’s just practice. I still have my birth control implant.”

“I know.” He kissed her cheek as his thumb brushed over the spot on her arm where the birth control had been inserted. “ But I hope, one day soon, we can talk about what steps we have to take to get that removed.”

Nash had brought it up a few times in Montana, joking that the fresh air would definitely make her more fertile. Something that she laughed at at first, but then immediately feared once she met all of Nash’s cousins and their kids. He had to be right—there was something in that open, expansive air.

His hand landed on her belly, and he lowered his head, pressing a kiss directly between her hips. “I never understood why Gunner is so obsessed with Lily being pregnant, but the thought of you carrying my child…”

“Nash.” She giggled, raking her fingers through his hair.

“It just does something for me. My wife, big and round with my baby. Getting to make Embrie a big sister. Growing our family. I’m so excited for it all.”

Lacy pushed against his shoulders. “Go over there.” She pointed to the chair in the corner of their bedroom. “I can’t think when you touch me like this.”

“Maybe that’s all part of the plan.” He winked, but still followed her command, sinking into the chair with a huff.

“A baby… It’s so much responsibility—a ton of work. I barely survived it. And I’m scared. I didn’t even birth her and it almost killed me. I know you want to be a dad and experience that?—”

“Hey. I get to be Embrie’s dad—I am her dad.

And that’s the best gift I’ve ever been given.

But she’s coming to me as this incredible nine-year-old human solely because of you and your love.

I know you had to do it all on your own the first time around, but this time, we’d be doing it together.

All the late nights and early mornings, I’d be there for.

Hell, I’ll take all the night shifts while you sleep and recover.

I won’t pressure you into it, but I’m very serious when I say that taking care of you, and our children, is the greatest honor to me.

It’s the single most valuable thing I’ll contribute to this world. ”

Lacy blew out all her breath and nodded. “Well, sailor. We better practice a few more times before we officially start trying. Wouldn’t want to not be on our A-game when the time comes.”

“That’s my girl.” Nash stood, a gleam in his eye. But she wasn’t going to give it to him without a little hard work.

She shook her head and watched him freeze, his eyebrows drawing together in confusion.

“How bad do you want a baby?” Lacy smiled as she captured her bottom lip with her teeth, pulling it through slow enough that she could enjoy every warring emotion on her husband’s face.

“Bad.”

“Bad enough that you’re willing to beg?”

“If that’s what it takes.” The corner of his mouth tipped up in a smirk.

“Well, husband … I think your wife would like to see you down on your knees. What do you say to that?”

Nash lowered himself to the ground, never once taking his eyes off of her. Lacy’s stomach fluttered with need, her thighs squeezing together as Nash’s gaze raked over every last inch of her.

“Yes, ma’am.” He held out his hands as soon as his knees hit the floor.

“No. You’re coming to me, handsome. Crawl.”

“Wife.” The fire in his eyes was matched by the ache deep in her core.

“Crawl to me. Beg. Show me how much this means to you.”

Nash’s deep chuckle filled the room. “Lace. I fucking love this side of you.”

“That’s good. Because I have no plans of shrinking myself anymore.

So… Crawl. To. Me. Get that god-like cock over here and fuck me so good my birth control doesn’t stand a chance.

I promise to reward you once you get over here.

” She lay back, spreading her legs apart and letting her hand drift down her body.

“Don’t you dare touch yourself. You’re mine. All mine.”

Her eyes lowered to watch her husband crawl towards her, an apex predator about to devour his prey. And she couldn’t wait.

Nash cracked his eyes open, the first light of dawn just starting to make its way over the horizon. Lacy shifted, still deep in sleep. So, what was it? Something had woken him up.

There was a buzzing on his nightstand. His phone. Nash groaned as he rolled over, slapping his hand down a few times before it landed on the familiar shape. The screen illuminated as he brought it close to his face. And as soon as his eyes focused on the notification, his heart sank.

“Fuck. I have to get up.”

“What’s going on?” Lacy whispered as he jumped up from the bed, slipping on his discarded pants.

“I don’t really know. There’s been some sort of an accident. It’s Stone.”