27. Indiana
T he string lights over my head make me think of the farmers’ markets my family would go to when I was a kid.
It’s noisy and loud, and there are booths lined up as far as I can see.
I’m walking down one of the lanes, thinking about how much Han would love it here.
The colorful people and the live entertainment.
It’s just the sort of thing we would have dreamed up while telling stories to one another.
I’ve been here since seven this morning, helping Winnie set up all the baked goods, and I even helped Ivy and Florence get some packages together for the auction they’re having.
Free nights at either The Edgemont or The Holloway Hotel sound amazing, but the packages now both include a spa treatment and an outing.
“Indie!” I turn to see Hazel up on top of Knox’s shoulders. She’s waving at me frantically. The sight gives me that fuzzy feeling I’ve become well acquainted with. They both feel like mine.
“Hi, Hazey!” I yell back to her. Beside Knox are his parents. I smile at them .
“Hello, Indiana. It’s good to see you again,” Mr. Holloway greets me.
“Very good to see you again,” Mrs. Holloway chimes in.
“It’s great to see you both. Please, call me Indie. Are you enjoying your night?”
“Oh, yes. We always like to come and see the sights. This town is always celebrating something,” she comments.
“That’s something I’m looking forward to. I love this kind of thing,” I say, looking out over the festival.
“Me too!” Hazel yells. “I have cotton candy!”
“I see that. And it’s blue. That’s my favorite, you know?”
“Want some?” She holds it out to me in offering. It’s not as fluffy as I assume it used to be, and there’s some melted sugar in spots, but I will not reject this very gracious offer.
“Indie, you don’t—” Knox starts, but I lean forward and bite a small piece off.
“Mmm. Hazel. That is the best cotton candy I’ve ever had. I have to get some for myself before I eat all yours,” I tell her seriously. She grins at me.
“I can share!”
“That’s okay, baby. Why don’t we go get Indie her own?” Knox encourages shooting me a wink. With that wink, that boyish gesture, I melt like the cotton candy on his daughter’s sticky fingers.
“Okay!” Hazel agrees, and I grin at her easy-going nature. So unlike her father in that way.
“We’re going to stop by the bakery booth; we’ll catch up with you in a bit to get Hazel and head home,” Mrs. Holloway tells us.
“Yay! Sleepover with Grammy and Grandpa!” Hazel cheers .
Knox smiles but shakes his head. “It’s not like you don’t have a sleepover every week or anything.”
“Time with grandparents is very important for her development, son. It also keeps us young,” Mr. Holloway says.
“Studies have also shown that grandparents who spend time with their grandchildren retain their memories longer. You wouldn’t want me to lose my mind, would you?” Mrs. Holloway asks Knox pointedly.
“More than you already have?” Knox mutters. His dad laughs, and I bite my lip to stop mine.
Mrs. Holloway gives me a look. “It’s like he doesn’t remember that I know all the embarrassing moments of his life, and I really enjoy talking.” At that, I can’t stop the bubbling laughter.
“See you in a bit,” she calls over her shoulder as she walks away, Mr. Holloway beside her, reaching for her hand.
“Your parents are really great. They remind me a little of mine,” I tell Knox.
“They’re the best. I just like giving my mom a hard time every now and then. She would keep Hazel at her house permanently if it were an option.”
“She does give that impression,” I muse.
“But you want to stay with Daddy, right?” He looks up at Hazel, and she leans her head down to look at him.
“Forever and ever,” she says sweetly.
“That’s my girl.” She giggles at him, kissing his face.
We walk around the grounds for a while. I get my cotton candy, and we watch Hazel play some games. I try to get a hold of my heart when Knox throws a tennis ball at some milk bottles, winning her a giant dinosaur with a tutu that’s bigger than she is .
“Can you keep an eye on her while I throw this away real quick? I think I saw a trash bin just around the corner.” On the outside, this seems like such a small thing, but I know differently. Hazel is Knox’s entire universe, and he’s trusting me to keep her safe. Even if it’s only for two minutes.
“Of course! We’ll be just fine.”
“Indie, look at her!” She holds the green dinosaur up for me to get a good look.
“Oh my goodness. That’s the biggest dinosaur I’ve ever seen, and she’s beautiful. What are you going to name her?” I ask her, squatting down to see her better.
She looks at the dinosaur, smiling so big her eyes are squinting, then back to me. “Greenie!”
“Greenie? That’s the perfect name for her because of her green scales!”
“I like her skirt.”
“Did you know that’s called a tutu when you’re a ballerina?” I ask her.
“I want to be a balletina!”
“You do? I bet there are some classes you could take. Would you like that?”
“Yes!” she shouts, hugging me and knocking me off balance, so I fall backward. I laugh as my back hits the ground with Hazel on top of me.
“What’s going on here?” I hear Knox’s deep drawl from above us. I rise into a sitting position and then stand with Hazel and Greenie in my arms.
“We named our beloved dinosaur.”
“It’s Greenie, and I want to do dance!”
“You want to do dance? What does that mean?” Knox asks her, slightly amused .
“She said she wanted to be a ballerina, so I said maybe there was a class or something,” I say, shrugging.
“I’m not sure if that fits into our schedule.” Oh. Do I fit into their schedule?
“I could help out, maybe take her or something?” I offer, hoping to understand his mood change.
“Maybe. We’ll see what happens.” Okay? Maybe I’ve gotten a little too comfortable.
“Hello! Oh my word, Hazey! What do we have here?” I file that response away, turning to see Florence walking over to us.
“It’s Greenie, Andy Lo!”
“That’s perfect! Greenie is bigger than you!”
“I know!” Hazel shouts back excitedly.
“Hi, Indie. How are you? My brother being nice to you?” I can’t stop my blush in response. If by making out like we’re horny teenagers, letting me hump him in the lake, and then washing my hair after sharing one of my most intimate moments is nice? Then yes, Knox has been very nice.
“Am I being nice to you, Indie?” Knox gives me a knowing grin, echoing my thoughts.
“I was wondering if you could stop by the hotel in a couple of weeks to work on the website with me.”
“Absolutely. Just say when.”
“Perfect, I’ll text you. I’m heading over to a friend’s. Someone left a note on my car after work, and I’m not sure what it meant, but I don’t want to be out, and I don’t want to be at home tonight.”
“Someone left a note on your car? What did it say? Did you see anyone? I told you to get outside cameras.” Knox is the picture of concern, and I can’t say I blame him. Safety isn’t something you mess around with .
“Easy, big brother. I’m fine. It was probably one of the guests.
I turned a guy down when he asked for my number earlier.
He’s harmless.” Her words come out easily enough, but I’m not sure she’s convinced either of us.
“I just wanted to stop by and drop off my auction items. I’m visiting Winnie’s booth for some baked goods, and then I’m off.
Love you, Hazey!” She drops a kiss onto Hazel's cheek and heads off.
“I guess I need to order some cameras,” Knox says.
“I guess you do,” I agree.
We get a corndog at the fried food station, and Hazel and I try a fried Oreo.
It was delicious, and I could probably go the rest of my life without ever having another one.
Knox has twined our fingers together more than once, run his fingers down my arms, and wrapped his around me while playing carnival games.
The tension from earlier seems to be forgotten, and I shake it off.
It wouldn’t be the first time I read something wrong.
Mr. and Mrs. Holloway, or Tom and Mary as I have been instructed to call them, came by and got Hazel.
So now it’s just Knox and me—and Alder and Ivy, Colt, Mare and her boyfriend, and Rhett and Winnie.
We’re crowded around a small arena, and in the middle sits a mechanical bull.
I’ve already signed both of us up to ride it.
“You know I’m more grateful to be pregnant now than I was a few minutes ago, knowing I don’t have to get up there,” Ivy comments.
“Oh, come on. I bet you’d absolutely crush it,” I say.
“Crush it and look so hot doing it,” Ivy agrees.
Winnie sighs. “I think we all know it’s better that I stay out of the ring.” A chorus of agreement follows.
“Agreed. ”
“Yes.”
“Affirmative, baby sis.”
“Okay! Rude! Let’s see you get up there!” Winnie says to Colt.
“More than happy to demonstrate a successful ride.” His look at Marigold is anything but subtle, and I fight a blush.
“I wanna go!” I say, and I’m met with cheers from the crowd.
“You gonna be okay on that thing?” I spin to face Knox, grinning.
“Are you worried about me?”
“Should I be?”
“It would be the friendly thing to do,” I tease.
“I don’t think we’re friends, Indiana.”
“We’re not friends? I wasn’t sure.” I play dumb. Teasing him is fun.
He leans closer to me, his mouth coming right next to my ear before whispering. “Friends don’t want to do what I want to do with you, Honey.”
His words send heat racing into my veins.
“Is that a promise?”
“You can bet on it.” I laugh, feeling free and light and bright and shiny. It’s new and exciting, and looking at him, like this, is something I didn’t know I wanted. How can you know you want something when you’ve never felt it before?
“Alright, let’s see it, Colt!” Rhett yells at Colt as he hops onto the back of the metal saddle with horns.
I won’t deny that he looks good up there.
There’s a twinkle in his eye that tells me he loves the attention on him right now.
I subconsciously glance at Marigold. Her boyfriend, Grant, is telling her he needs to leave again .
“You just got here,” she says.
“I know, and I wish I could stay, but I can’t help it that I’m on call.
I’ll make it up to you,” he tells her, making her giggle before kissing her hair and heading toward the parking lot.
I avert my eyes, not wanting to get caught eavesdropping.
The buzzer sounds, and Colt hangs on for the full eight seconds before jumping off and taking a bow.
There is a sea of women vying for his attention, but it seems to me that he only has eyes for one.
“Okay, Indie! You’re up!” Colt yells. I nod.
“Here goes nothing,” I mutter and make my way to the entrance.
The man there tells me the basics, and then it’s up to me.
When I get to the machine, though, I’m finding it difficult to find a way on.
That’s when I feel strong arms lift me, helping swing my leg over the saddle.
I giggle and look down to see Knox has come to help me. My hero.
“You look like a real cowgirl up there,” he says, grinning.
“Is that what you’re into, Knox? Cowgirls?”
“I’m into whatever you want me to be, Honey.”
I’m dizzy—drunk on his openness. Probably not the best way to go into riding a mechanical bull—but here we are. Knox stands at the edge of the arena, leaning against the railing, a disgustingly sexy smirk on his face. Like he knows what he just said has knocked me so off-kilter I can barely think.
The buzzer blows, and I hang on for dear life, doing my best to mimic what I saw Colt doing up here.
Unfortunately for me, that’s not at all what’s happening—I’m flailing.
It’s like when you think you sound like a pop star singing in your car, so you record it, then you find out the truth.
Well, the truth here comes in the form of me flying off a hunk of metal and face-planting into a plastic-covered mat. I roll over, laughing .
“You did good,” Knox tells me, grinning and holding out a hand to help me up.
I chuckle. “No, I didn’t. But you’re sweet to say so.”
“Wanna get out of here?” The heat behind his words doesn’t escape my notice.
“If it’s with you, then yes,” I tell him.
In a surprising display of public affection, he presses a quick kiss to my lips before hauling me over his shoulder like he did the other night at the bar. The crowd cheers, and I blush what must be scarlet.
“Well, I think this is going to start some rumors,” I tease.
“They’re not rumors if they’re true,” he tells me, smacking my ass, causing me to squeal. I really want them to be true.
“You’re making a habit of leaving family events like this, Indie!” Rhett calls along with a few wolf whistles. I try to wave from my perch and see Winnie leaning into Mare laughing, clutching her stomach.
As I’m carried out to the dimly lit parking lot, my brain clings on to “family events,” and the warmth inside me glows a bit brighter. I’ve missed these kinds of nights. Carefree and surrounded by people you care about.
At the edge of the parking lot, Knox slides me down the front of his body, cupping my ass as I wrap my arms around the back of his neck.
“Do you make a habit of carrying women off?” I ask, playing with the hair curling on the back of his neck.
“Woman,” he corrects. “Just one.” My heart feels like it may break out of my chest at his admission. His mouth ticks up on one side, and I kiss the corner.
Knox is forty-one. A man in full. Boyfriend probably feels so juvenile to him, and even though it hasn’t been that long, I’m feeling desperate to lay claim to him.
Back on my feet, Knox kisses the hell and the heaven out of me against his truck. He kisses me until I can’t breathe and my lungs burn, but I don’t ever want to stop. I want to be kissed by this man for however long I’m allowed.