IT WAS AS IF A private army had descended on Andy’s farm. There was a swarm of bad ass looking guys in black cargo pants and shirts each wearing enough gear to overthrow a small country. They weren’t all big guys. In fact if he put a suit on, Emerson the owner of the company might look normal. Who was she kidding? There was nothing normal about any of them. They all gave of that dangerous completely competent vibe. None of them more so than Liam.

He’d taken charge, calling the local cops and explaining to the detectives over and over again what happened with Gustaf. He never left her side while she was being questioned. He held her hand, the solid wall of his presence exactly what she needed to snap out of her shock. The local cops were still there when the team from Southerland Security showed up and everyone had to run through the story again. The local guys were overwhelmed and Liam’s team was very patient and professional and in less time than she’d expected, they’d gotten the dead guy out of her soap shed and headed down the lane in an ambulance without the lights and sirens.

She’d gone to the barn while the Southerland team cleaned her shed, partly because she didn’t want to see the blood. She already knew she’d have a hard time going back into the building by herself. And partly to check on Mike. He’d stayed with the animals through all the excitement and she wanted to make sure he was okay. It wasn’t just that. The thing that kept working its way around inside her head was how comfortable Liam looked with his team—the way he’d slipped back into the role. She’d known what he did and she’d known he was a force to be reckoned with, but she hadn’t seen it in action before. Stalking around, talking to cops and taking charge, he didn’t look like the kind of guy who could be happy hanging out on a farm.

She blamed the adrenaline on giving her the courage—or making her crazy enough—to tell him he loved her and that she loved him. She knew both of those things were true. She saw it in the way he looked at her and felt it in his touch, and she couldn’t stop loving him if she wanted to. Which she didn’t, but everything was still so new. She hadn’t given any thought to the logistics of a relationship with Liam.

She was finally willing to let go of the idea that her whole life had to be a repayment for what she’d done to Millie and her husband. But if anything, that deepened her commitment to the farm. It made her want to do the best she could because it was her calling, not out of some kind of obligation. One of the goats nudged her hand, reminding her they were there. Andy scratched it behind the ears and then bumped her with her hip so she’d move into the corner of the barn they used as a milking parlor.

Travis was set up with the milking machine and a feed bucket and Mike was working beside him milking by hand. Even without the machine it only took a few minutes to milk each goat and the whole process went faster if there was someone to move the animals in and out of the parlor. Breathing in the scent of hay and sweet feed and the distinctive odor of goat, she urged the next doe forward. Mike rested his forehead against the animal’s side as he milked, looking at peace for the first time since that morning. The farm suited him. Even after what happened with Gretchen, it would help him heal. It was his place.

She couldn’t imagine Liam finding the same peace with the goats, and she wasn’t sure what that meant for them.

Shaking her head, she traded goats with Travis. She’d thrown bubble wrap at a bad guy, seen her first gunshot wound, almost lost the man she loved and actually declared her love for him. That was a lot for one day. She could put the details of happily ever after on the back burner at least for the next day or so. Unless Liam wanted to leave with his team. She hadn’t thought about it, but he’d never told her how long he planned to stay, and it certainly looked like he was in his element with the Southerland Security guys. He’d been out talking to his boss, Emerson for the past half hour.

She shoved the thoughts she didn’t want to be having off to the side. She’d take things one step at a time and whatever happened, she and Liam could work through it together. She trusted him in a way she’d never trusted anyone before.

“Hey, out of the way, girls.”

At the sound of his voice, she turned and saw Liam crossing the barn, nudging the goats gently out of his way. Like any reasonable female, they seemed enamored with the large man making his way toward her.

“What can I do to help?” he said, leaning in to give her a quick kiss on the temple.

Just that contact was enough to wake up every nerve in her body. She wasn’t sure she’d ever get used to the way she felt around him, to the way her focus narrowed to just Liam.

“You can help me move them in and out of the parlor,” she said, bumping the next goat with her hip as the Mike urged the one he’d finished milking out.

“I can handle that.”

Honestly, she didn’t think there was anything he couldn’t handle. She stood back and watched for a moment, enjoying the view of the big hulk of a man negotiating for position with a handful of does. He tried to convince one of the more affectionate goats to head toward the parlor, but the stocky doe was having none of it, circling back around behind him.

“Fine, you can wait your turn,” he said, moving on to a different animal.

Andy saw his mistake before he did and opened her mouth to warn him. But by then it was too late.

Apparently determined to have his full attention however she could get it, the doe lowered her head and caught Liam in the butt with her horn. Liam jumped liked he’d been goosed and the goat pressed her advantage, hitting him when he was off balance and knocking him to the ground. He landed on his ass in the hay.

The laughter bubbled out of her, one more crazy emotion to add to an already overwhelming day. Liam shook his head, looking shocked at the sudden change in his circumstance, then he grinned up at her and it was her turn to have her world tilted. God, she loved him. She still couldn’t explain how it happened, but there was no denying it. The big blonde Viking could own her—body and soul—with nothing more than his smile.

“See? You thought you were the one with the dangerous job.” Her lips curved, but the words hit a little too close to what she’d been worried about.

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that,” he said, climbing to his feet and dusting himself off.

“Yeah?” she asked, trying not to sound like her heart had lodged in her throat. She knew he was concerned about putting her in danger. It wasn’t high on her list of things either, but she trusted him to be careful and she knew life didn’t come with a guarantee. Not for anyone. She wanted a chance to figure out what it was like to really love someone and she wanted it with Liam.

“I was talking to Emerson about me maybe cutting back for a time. I don’t know how any of this is going to work out, but I want a chance to try. I was thinking maybe I could hang out here for a while if that’s okay with you. Maybe help with the goats?”

He grinned at the last part but she could see another emotion buried behind his expression. Hope. It was easy to recognize because it’s exactly what she’d been feeling underneath everything else. Hope and the possibility that she could get things right this time—not as part of some kind of punishment but because of love.

“You do seem to have a way with them,” she said, reaching for him as he wrapped his arms around her, his big strong body a wall she could lean against.

“It’s one of my many talents,” he said, cupping her head with his hand. “When I get you alone tonight, I’ll show you some of the rest.”

Her breath hitched in her throat at his words, and she rocked against him, loving the feeling of his long hard body pressed up against her. Loving the feeling of him.

“Is that a yes?” he asked, heat and hope clear in his blue eyes.

“Yes,” she said and then his lips claimed hers and nothing mattered—not the logistics, not the animals, not all the reasons that usually crowded around in her head—nothing but the two of them together.

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EMERSON WATCHED FROM the open doorway of the barn as Liam scooped the pretty farmer up in his arms and kissed her like she was the air he needed to breathe. Like he’d finally found something other than work to give his life meaning. Dude was in love. It practically oozed from his pores and totally rearranged his priorities. It shocked the hell out of him when Liam asked to take the rest of his vacation time to stay at the farm and maybe cut back a little after that. Not that the guy hadn’t earned the time; he had. Emerson just never expected him to take it. He practically had to order him to take a break in the first place.

It seemed like everywhere he turned people had been falling in love. First his cousins, then his brother and sister, and now his employee and friend. They were falling like dominos around him. He was honestly glad for them. They all seemed so happy; like they could out love Hallmark, which was sweet maybe to the point of saccharine but sweet none the less.

He didn’t see it ever happening for him. Not because he didn’t think he deserved to be happy; he did. It was more that he couldn’t imagine turning over that much control to another person. He’d watched the way his parents compromised over the years, each giving up bits and pieces of themselves for each other. And he could see the argument could be made that they were stronger together, better versions of themselves, than they would be apart, but it didn’t feel like it was in the cards for him. Everyone counted on Emerson to be the one to hold things together.

The last thing in the world he wanted was something or someone messing with the way he did things. People called it controlling—hell, his brother, Gabe called him a lunatic freak—but for Emerson, it was simply a sensible way to do things. He controlled the variables in his business and his life and he didn’t compromise with anyone. It’s part of why Southerland Security was so effective and so successful. Why leave anything to chance if he could influence a positive outcome? If it meant he had to be on all the time and pay attention to every single detail, it was a small price to pay for the slice of certainty he could hammer out in an uncertain world.

If it meant he didn’t have a lot of fun, well that was the way it had always been. It was part of being a responsible adult. Fun was for people like Gabe. His brother never let a good time pass him by until he met Berlin. Since they got together he seemed to be having more fun than he had before, but that was Gabe. And Liam apparently, he thought as he heard the laughter coming from inside the barn. No one could accuse Liam of being an irresponsible player like his brother had been, but really none of that had anything to do with Emerson.

He turned his back on the barn and the happy couple and scanned the yard in front of him, cataloguing men, vehicles and gear. It hadn’t taken long to deal with the local cops and by the time he and the rest of the team arrived on site, the heavy lifting had been done. He felt his lips curve remembering what Liam had told him about Andy and the bubble wrap. That story was going to get a lot of play back at the office. From the looks of things, they were packed and ready to go. He just had to drag the rest of his team out of Millie’s kitchen and away from her baked goods, and they could get back to business.

The phone dinged at his belt and he answered without bothering to look at the screen. Only work and his family had his direct number and the ringtone wasn’t the one he reserved for family so it had to be work. As usual.

“Emerson,” he answered and then waited to see what would demand his attention next.

“Hey boss, we got another ping on the Seaton account. Someone tried to hack into the system,” said Andrew, the best tech guy Southerland Security had. The kid was amazing.

“Did you find them?” He didn’t ask if the hackers got through. He already knew they wouldn’t. The security system they’d designed for the pearl broker was as close to impenetrable as possible. If they got through Andrew wouldn’t be making a casual call, they’d be neck deep in full crisis mode.

“Hell, no. I got less of a trace this time than last and what I did get was an obvious plant.”

“You’re sure?”

“They routed through the Toy Barn’s email system. They’re fucking with me.”

“Run a full diagnostic.” He ignored the groan on the other end of the line. It was overkill but variables didn’t eliminate themselves. “When I get back we can set up a trap to try to catch them next time instead of just stopping them.” Whoever was trying to get into the system had tried it at least three times before. Andrew was right. It felt more like the hacker was messing with them, not trying to actually steal anything.

“When will that be?” asked Andrew.

“I’m on my way back now. I’ll meet you at the office in the morning.” He finished the call and started across the lawn to light a fire under his team and get back to work when his phone vibrated with an incoming email. Some days he felt like he ought have the damn thing implanted in his head like some kind of cyborg thing. It would save time. 

He slid open the screen and saw a message alert from The Arrangement. The game was a cross between a Victorian steampunk thing and sci-fi fantasy. It was the one vice he allowed himself, not that he’d ever share that information with his brother or anyone else. Gabe would never let him live it down.

ARE YOU GONNA BE ON TONIGHT? I HAVEN’T KICKED YOUR ASS IN DAYS. DON’T WANT TO GET OUT OF PRACTICE. ~S

He’d been so busy with work; the Seaton thing and the Giacometti case, he hadn’t had a chance to play in ages. He and S—short for Severhan—regularly beat the crap out of each other online and still had one the highest solve ratios for the puzzles that were part of the game. It was full on geek mode—like something right out of the Big Bang Theory.

I DON’T NEED THE PRACTICE TO KICK YOUR ASS. BE ON LATER THIS WEEKEND ~E

He hit send before he started to dwell on how pathetic it was that while everyone around him was falling in love with real live people, his only fun came from playing in a made-up world with people he’d never met and never would. It seriously messed with his badass vibe. Closing out of his email he headed to the house to get his team and get back to work.

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You can read Emerson’s story in Slow Motion coming Fall 2017