His admission floors me. I can’t believe he’s jealous of Nix or that he’d even admit that. I fully believed getting Knox to tell me anything would be like pulling teeth. It seems the man is more communicative than I am.
“He’s only ever been a friend. Nothing more. And if it makes you feel better, I was jealous of that little blonde woman you brought into the diner.” I keep my eyes on my task. I don’t think I can look him in the eye right now.
“That’s Alicia. She’s my business manager for the cabins and stuff.”
I jerk my head up only to find Knox’s smug smile pointed right at me.
He guides me to sit down on his tailgate, stepping between my legs after he gently pushes them apart. “You were jealous that day?”
I nod. The way he’s looking at me makes my mouth dry.
“Is that why you came stomping up to my house after I tipped you?”
I nod again. “But also because that was a stupid amount of money. You shouldn’t have given me that much.”
He snorts. “Princess, I’ve been running a profitable farm since I was eighteen years old. Add in the tourist shit, and I’ve got more money than I know what to do with.”
My jaw drops, and Knox laughs at my shock.
“The only thing I spend money on is Finn and the farm. Everything else gets invested.”
“You still shouldn’t have tipped me that much. I was actually kind of rude to you.”
The widest grin stretches across Knox’s face. I’ve never seen him smile like that before. It’s dazzling. Reaching up, Irun the pad of my fingers across the grooves that appeared in his cheek from his expression.
He slides his fingers into my hair at the base of my neck. “You’re perfect, you know?”
I frown. “Hardly.”
“Perfect for me, I should say then.” He kisses me before I can respond. I have no idea what I did to make him think I’m perfect for him, but the way he’s kissing me distracts me enough not to care.
“Come on, lovebirds!” Emmett yells, making us startle apart. I giggle when Knox winks at me.
We finish loading the horses, and then it’s time for me to show off how little I remember about riding a horse. I use the stand Gia recommends to get into the saddle. Lady stands perfectly still while I get comfortable. I talk quietly to her, reminding her about how I haven’t done this in a while and to take it slow with me. I’m probably imagining it, but I swear she nods her head at me in understanding.
“You ready, Princess?” Knox’s voice startles me.
Thankfully, Lady isn’t fazed. “I think so. If I fall off, just leave me on the trail and let the buzzards eat me.”
Knox barks out a laugh. “I’m not going to do that, but I will promise not to make fun of you if you do fall.”
I relax a little in the saddle. “I’ll take it.”
“Just follow behind Finn. Lady won’t need much direction with all the rest of us riding together.”
With that, I click my tongue to get Lady moving, surprised that the sound comes easily to me. I clench my muscles with her movement before I settle into the saddle. We move as a caravan, riding along trails created over years of use. It’s a beautiful day. The sun streaks through the trees in sparkling rays while the canopy of leaves provides enough shade to keep us cool.
The kids laugh with each other, all of them riding theirown horse, with the exception of Grayson’s daughter, London. She’s happily riding with Gray, randomly patting their horse’s neck with her little hand.
We only stop when the kids start to get hungry. Holt leads us to a clearing with a massive pond for the horses to drink from. Blankets are set up, and food is handed out with only a vague sense of organization. Everyone shares what they’ve brought with anyone who wants some.
Stan is going to meet us at our campsite in the side-by-side tonight with coolers full of drinks and dinner. For now, we’re all happily munching on sandwiches and chips and drinking from water bottles we filled before we left.
We get back onto the trail an hour later, switching up the order of our horses. The kids are all riding together, and I happily ended up next to Gia, closer to the front of the caravan.
“You doing okay?” she asks me.
“Better than I expected, actually.”
