Walking on Her Grave (Rogue River Novella, Book 4) by Melinda Leigh

kill us, but I still hate to think of them burning to death. What an awful way to die.”
    Seth pointed at her. “Remember, that’s exactly what they wanted to do to us. I have no doubt the investigation will prove they killed Mike. It was us or them. I’m very happy with the way things turned out.”
    “You’re right.” She nodded.
    But Seth knew Carly hated to think anyone was beyond saving.
    “Be happy. You saved Peter.” Seth tugged the privacy curtain aside. The movement pulled at his stitches. Pain burst through his arm. He closed his eyes until it passed.
    Carly’s eyes narrowed at him. “I hope so.”
    Seth swallowed. “He made some really stupid decisions, but he’s not a totally bad kid.” Seth grudgingly admitted that the teenager’s dumbassery in the woods had been caused mainly by his being a teenager. “As soon as he heard about Mike’s disappearance, he figured it was only a matter of time until those men came for him.”
    “He wanted to make everything right.”
    “You know where good intentions lead. Setting a fire in the middle of a dry forest was the ultimate in stupidity.”
    Carly winced. “He didn’t think it through or plan to set a fire. He wanted to destroy the drug operation. He saw the men loading more chemicals into the trailer, he saw the gas cans they used to run the portable generator, and he acted on his anger.”
    “Okay. I’ll give him a break, but he’s not getting off scot-free.”
    “And he shouldn’t,” Carly said. “It isn’t healthy for him to avoid responsibility for his actions.”
    Seth grabbed the plastic bag of personal effects on the bed. He shoved his wallet and keys in his pockets. Pain clanged through his elbow like church bells. Under the thirty stitches was a bruise the size of a watermelon and the color of a ripe eggplant. “I’m ready.”
    “Are you all right?”
    He pulled his lips off his teeth. “Fine.”
    Carly wasn’t fooled by his ridiculous attempt to smile. She rolled her eyes. “Stubborn as a mule.”
    Seth shoved his feet into his flip-flops. “Let’s go.” He walked out of the room.
    Carly grabbed his discharge papers from the tray table. “Don’t you want these?”
    He shrugged. “You can hold on to them for me.”
    “Do you want to come to my mom’s with me?”
    Seth rubbed a hand across his hair. “But I’m a mess. I don’t want Brianna to see me like this.”
    “She won’t care.”
    “No. But I might scare her, and I smell like three-day-old trout,” he said. “Can you drop me at home? I’ll clean up and come over.”
    “You promise?”
    “Of course. I have to check on my kittens.”
    “Your kittens?” Surprise raised her voice.
    “Yes, why is that so shocking?”
    “You said no one was home enough for us to get a pet.”
    Seth shrugged. “I’m going to be home more. Besides, with two of them, they’ll have each other for company.”
    “All right.” She drove him home, parked in the driveway, and walked him in. “Do you need help?”
    “I might not be able to get my shorts off.”
    “Not funny, Seth.”
    “I thought it was pretty funny.”
    “Let me cover your arm in plastic. Again. Seriously, Seth, please stop getting hurt. We’ve made too many visits to the ER this week.” Her phone buzzed. She read the display. “Mom says she’ll heat up some leftover pot roast.”
    He turned toward the bathroom. Carly stepped up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. She pressed her face into his back. Seth turned and folded his arms around her. Tears soaked his borrowed shirt. “Hey, what’s all this for?”
    “It was a hell of a day.” She sniffed.
    “Can’t argue with that.” Seth rubbed her back. Despite the horror of the day, warmth spread through his chest. His wife had had a horrible day and turned to him for comfort. She might not be ready to take him back yet, but baby steps still moved him closer to his goal.
    With a deep sigh, she pushed back and wiped her knuckles under her