Page 124 of What Remains

"Oh yeah?"

"The plan was for you to go back to Cara and Jay's. I would stay here. It was... simpler that way."

He actually laughed then—a real laugh, deep and unguarded. The sound seemed to break the tension of the last few hours. Josie shook her head, but she was smiling now, a genuine warmth breaking through the exhaustion and bruises. Then her expression gentled into something more honest.

"I was going to miss you."

Seth's laughter faded. "I already missed you."

That silenced her completely. He lifted her hand and pressed his lips gently against her knuckles—nothing desperate, nothing demanding, quiet affection offered without condition.

Josie stepped into him and rested her forehead against his chest. Seth wrapped his arms carefully around her, mindful of her ribs. They stood together beneath the snow-covered trees as the cold settled, and neither made a move to pull away.

Josie tilted her head back to look at him. "What happens now?"

Seth gazed down at her. "First?"

"Yeah."

"We get you back to the ranch."

"And then?"

His gaze shifted toward the trees, in the direction of the man they'd left behind, and a coldness crept back into his expression. "We figure out who the hell he meant when he said more were coming."

The smile fell from Josie's face.

Seth squeezed her hand. "But after that..." He looked back at her, and the hard tension left his eyes. "We figure out us."

A small smile returned to her lips. "Together?"

"That's what I was thinking."

Josie rose onto her toes and kissed him—brief and soft, nothing like the desperate kisses they'd shared before. It was a steady pressure, a promise that lingered after she pulled away. When she pulled away, Seth kept his forehead pressed against hers, unwilling to surrender the closeness yet.

"Come on, Doc." He intertwined their fingers again, his grip warm and sure. "Let's go home."

Epilogue

Aweek later

"How much longer until we get there?"

Seth glanced into the rearview mirror. Layla stared back from the tiny patch of backseat still visible beneath what looked like the entire contents of the Adler ranch.

"Not long."

Josie turned her head slowly toward him. "You've said that the last four times she's asked."

"Because it is still true."

"How long is 'not long'?" Layla asked.

Seth considered it. "Less time than it took the last time you asked."

A dramatic sigh drifted up from the backseat. "That's not an answer."

Josie covered her mouth, unsuccessfully hiding a laugh, while Seth feigned a look of deep offense.