Page 21 of Wild for the Knight

“What happened?!” She says as she barrels into the kitchen, barely stopping in time before she bowls us over. Her eyes bounce between where I’m holding Abby’s hurt hand and our faces. “Are you okay? Do I need to take you to the hospital?” I look at her through narrowed eyes, and she flings her hand through the air, brushing me off. Her best friend, on the other hand, is still looking at me. I give her a wink with the eye Hannah can’t see, and her face and neck break out in the most beautiful pink flush I’ve ever seen.

Hmm, I want to be the reason for that reaction again. “I’m fine. I got distracted and forgot I took the oven mitt off. I grabbed the pan with my hand.” Hannah’s eyebrows pull low above her eyes as she takes Abby in.

“You never get distracted.” Hannah steps in closer to us, taking Abby’s hand from mine. I want to protest, but I don’t see that going well for anyone. “What’s going on? And don’t lie to me; I know something’s off.” She whispers. Abby looks at me over Hannah’s shoulder, and I give her a small smile before I walk away. Grabbing my beer, I walk out to the balcony.

My solitude doesn’t last long when the door opens, and my brother moves to stand beside me. His hands are shoved in the front pockets of his jeans as he looks over the landscape at the back of the house. The rest of his teammates and Zeke are in the hot tub. Well, Monroe might not be with whatever he and Abby have up their sleeve. Whatever, not my problem. “Thank you,” Greyson says after a few minutes.

I turn and lean my hip against the railing, crossing my arms over my chest as I look at him. “For what?”

His smile is small, causing alarm bells to ring through my head. That’s a smile that's reserved for his dark days. Did something happen? Is he spiraling? I don’t–

“You and Abby putting this together,” he finally says. “I know that wasn’t an easy ask, but I appreciate it.” He steps toward me and wraps his arms around my shoulders, patting me on the back in the typical bro hug.

His voice takes on a hopeful tone as he continues. “You and Abby are two of the most important people in our lives. We want both of you to be happy.” He takes a deep breath, one I feel through my entire body.

“I know this was hard for both of you to get through, so thank you. Thank you for putting your differences aside to help me pull this off.” He gives me one last pat before he pulls away. “When your time comes, and you need us to do the same, Hannah and I have you both covered.”

Huh? This was not the direction I thought this was going. I nod and turn back to the tree line. “How did you do it?” He turns his head slightly, but I keep my eyes focused on the swaying trees. “After Kara, how did you let someone in?” He blows out a breath, his lips flapping like a horse. I rest my forearms on the railing as I turn my head slightly toward him. He rubs the back of his neck, eyes darting around the yard.

His hands find their way into his sweatshirt pocket as he leans against the railing. “I was her friend first.” I snort; that was not how it happened. She was never his friend in his eyes. He raises one hand in the air as he continues. “Albeit a short friendship. But, I just kinda knew she was it.” His hand returns to his pocket as he crosses one ankle over the other. The smile that’s reserved for “all things Hannah” makes its way to his face. “She made me want to be better. Not only for her, but for everyone else in my life. She helped me see that the manipulation wasn’t my fault.”

He looks down at his feet and shakes his head before looking up to meet my eyes. “But what sealed the deal was the way she was there for me. She knew my struggles, and she didn’t run. She’s never once made me feel like less of a man because I have days so dark I can’t get out of bed. She sits with me through it and pulls me out when I can’t do it myself. She’s the peace to my chaos.”

His eyes shine with tears threatening to fall. But I know they’re happy tears, grateful tears. “The way she loves me,” He lets out a watery laugh as a tear falls through his lashes. “It saved me, Tate. Maybe it won’t happen all at once or as fast as it did for us.” His head turns to the side, and I watch as a few more tears trail down his cheek. “Hell, maybe it will. But one day, some very lucky, very tough woman is going to love you the same way. And you’ll just know. The peace in your heart when you think about her, the desire to protect and provide, even though she can do it herself. It all just pieces itself together.”

His thoughtful look turns hopeful at the drop of a hat. “Does that mean you’re seeing someone?” He asks, and I let my head drop forward as I laugh. I never thought I’d be having this discussion. I never thought I’d be thinking about letting someone in ever again. But here I am with a blonde little pixie flitting around in my mind.

“No, I’m not.” I clear my throat, buying myself some time. “But I think it might be time I try to put myself back out there. I don’t want to be broken and alone forever.”

His hand finds my shoulder as he squeezes it. “You aren’t broken. You’ve been burned.” His big brother's voice comes out strong as he continues. “They tried to ruin your future, but they didn’t. Build a friendship with someone first; let it come naturally. Don’t just jump in head first like I did.” I focus on the branches swaying in the distance as I let his words settle, “I know you don’t view relationships the same way I do, and that’s okay. Build a strong foundation, one built on trust and mutual understanding. If it grows into more from there, let it ride.”

He says it like it’s no big deal, like trusting someone doesn’t have the ability to break me all over again. But like a moth to a flame, my eyes go to Abby, who has her head down over the sink. I watch as she turns and dries her hands off on a towel before picking up her phone.

Whatever was on there had the color draining from her face, and the phone dropping out of her hand onto the floor. The same look of fear she had at the gas station is back. And just like that, I go from hating her existence to wanting to protect it with my own.

Chapter 10 - Abby

I stare at the clock; it’s 4:45 in the morning; I couldn’t sleep last night. I got a text from an unknown number that said, “Don’t worry, little mouse, I enjoy the chase.” I don’t know where or who it came from. But it set off a deep sense of unease. I didn’t even eat dinner. I locked myself in my room and even shoved a chair under the door handle to the bathroom because I lost count of the number of times he knocked on the door.

My mind is a whirlpool of unresolved emotions, the spiral I’m desperately trying to delay. I looked up a boxing gym in the area; it’s half an hour away, but with the burn on my hand... That’s pretty much out of the question. I can’t just sit here, though, so I hop out of bed, put my workout clothes on, and settle on going for a run. Cold mountain air and muscle exhaustion might do the trick.

I grab an energy drink from the fridge and pop it open. It tastes like a creamsicle, it’s one of my favorites. I put the can down on the counter and flip my head upside down to pull it up in a high ponytail. When I stand back up, my hand flies to my mouth as I smother a scream. “Jesus, Tatum,” I say once my eyes adjust enough to make out the figure standing in the shadows. “Do you get some sort of satisfaction from scaring the piss out of me?” He steps further into the light and damn him.

He’s in grey sweatpants with no shirt on, his feet covered in white socks, and perfectly messy sleep hair. “Going somewhere?” He asks, completely ignoring my question as he slides his hands into his pockets, drawing my attention to his eight pack, more specifically, the V-lines chiseled straight from marble. When my eyes travel back up his body, they land on a face that tells me he knows exactly what he’s doing. In place of his normal scowl, a devilish smirk pulls at the corner of his mouth. Jerk.

I put a hand on my hip, crossing one ankle over the other as my free hip leans against the island. I take a sip of my energy drink, maintaining eye contact the entire time. His throat bobs as he watches me take a big sip. “I am, actually.” My chin raises in challenge. He hums before he turns and walks away. Okay then, what a riveting conversation that was.

I go back to my pre-workout routine, cutting a banana in half, peeling half, and putting the other back in the fruit basket for Hannah to eat when she wakes up. When I’m done with that, I start to warm up with some leg swings, followed by quad stretches, calf raises, and finally, my favorite, a hip flexor stretch. I stand up and turn to grab my water, but run straight into the chest I had been ogling ten minutes ago.

“What are you doing?” I ask as I take in his fully clothed form.

“You think you’re going out alone before 5 AM in a place you’ve never been before?” He huffs. “It’s dark, Tink. Fat freaking chance I’m letting you go wherever it is you’re going, alone.”

My hand runs down my face as I sigh. “I was going to go box, but last night's burn festivities kind of ruined that for me. So, I figured I’d go run.” He stares at me, eyes wide, stuck somewhere between disbelief and amusement. Then, without a word, his head slowly tips back, and a low, breathy chuckle escapes him; his shoulders slightly shake as he fails miserably to keep his laughter at bay.

My arms cross over my chest, my foot impatiently taps as I try to wrap up this delay in my plans. “I’m sorry,” he says as he holds up his hand. “It sounded like you said you were going to go run, in the middle of the mountains, where you have zero idea where you’re going, alone.”

“That’s exactly what I said.” His face falls, void of any emotion, as he steps into my space. He leans down, his movement slow and deliberate, like the apex predator he is. This close, I can see the freckles that dot his cheekbones, the way his eyelashes cast a shadow under his eyes. The shine on his lips that follows his tongue as he drags it across the seam.