Chapter 16
HANNA
Knox helps me out of his truck, and as soon as my feet hit the driveway, a deep, contented shudder runs through me. He holds me close, a large firm hand running up and down my back. "Cold, darlin'?"
"No. I just…feel the weight lifting." I look up to smile into his gorgeous deep eyes. “I shouldn’t say anything bad about my family, but I was really starting to hate Blaire. How could she pull something like that?"
I tuck my head right into his firm chest as he rocks me from side to side, like we're practically slow dancing. "It's over. You're here with me now. The only places on this entire mountain that are safer than this property are with a few of my relatives."
"I'm excited to meet them all."
"Yeah?" He smirks. "My family’s pretty big, and I'm not good with crowds. So I don't know… Maybe I'll just make a better effort to run into them every so often. How's that?"
"Whatever you like."
Knox only lets me take two trips into the house with my stuff.
"That's enough work for you today,” he says.
“Why don't you go upstairs and pick out one of the guestrooms?
" I guess I look surprised, because he chuckles.
"Of course I want you to stay in my room as much as you like.
But you should have your own space, with your clothes and your makeup…
" He chuckles again. "And your books. By the way, I'll be replacing the ones that got burned as soon as we get to a bookstore. "
"You don't have to do that."
He leans down to give me a soft, tender kiss. "Darlin', it is going to be my extreme honor to care for you." He steps back, the corner of his lip twitching. Is he…uncomfortable?
"Look – you're an independent young woman.
You can do whatever you want in this world and I will support you.
Or I can stay out of your way if that's what you'd prefer.
But providing for you…caring for you…" He scratches his head.
"I'm probably not supposed to say things like this, because it's old-fashioned.
But the thought of it feels really good to me. Is that okay?"
I fling my arms around his neck in a big hug. “How about we make our own rules?"
"Sounds great.” His grin lights up the air around us. “Rule number one, it’s okay for me to go ahead and confess that I love you.”
I swear, all the birds in the forest fall silent for three heartbeats.
“Don’t freak out, darlin’.” Knox reaches for me. “Just let me love you. Please?”
I exhale into his chest as he strokes my hair. “I love you, too. Wild, right?”
“Yeah.”
We breathe together for a while, making the most of the moment. Then Knox kisses the top of my hair. “Go pick a room. I'll get your stuff inside."
My heart is fluttering as I take a quick peek through the rooms upstairs. It’s exciting to notice the house is set up well for children, even if that’s years down the road.
Knox is smart to suggest this is only temporary for now, but in my heart I know this is forever. We belong together. It just feels strange to say that out loud yet.
The bedroom across from the library is the furthest from the master bedroom. It will also have the best early morning light. I drop my bags on the bed and sprawl out for a moment. I've barely begun to relax when my phone rings with, surprisingly, a video call.
I sit up and answer. "Hi, Mom."
My mother is holding the phone close to her face, glaring at me. "You got my sister arrested?"
"Not exactly."
She huffs so intensely that the camera fogs up for a second. I quickly explain everything that happened as succinctly as possible. Mom's eyes widen. "You’re exaggerating."
"I'm really not. Honestly, I still can’t believe that you sent me to live with that woman."
"She’s my sister, Hanna. I've known her longer than I've known you."
"Well, you must not have been paying attention for the past several years. Read the reviews of her shoe store – people can't stand her. She's a psycho."
"You’re overreacting. Since when are you so dramatic?"
A shadow moves in the hallway, and a few boxes hit the floor. Knox leans against the doorframe and I wave for him to come inside. He might as well hear this, too.
"Mom, I'm not being dramatic. You just don't want to face the fact that your sister is evil."
"How dare you—"
"Also, you don't want me coming home.”
She blinks at me slowly. Then she pulls the phone back and starts spinning the silver hoop in her left ear. She only does that when she's trying not to blurt something out.
"Don't worry, Mom. I'm not coming home. Ever."
She sighs with relief, forgetting that I can see her. "That still doesn't excuse the fact that you called the authorities on your own aunt."
Suddenly I realize I’ve fallen into my old pattern.
I'm not breathing fully. My shoulders have pitched forward.
I'm practically curled up in a ball. It takes me a few breaths, but I expand my shoulders, lift my chin, and center myself as a little voice in the back of my head chants just let it all out.
"Aunt Blaire is a menace. She could've burned down the entire neighborhood. What kind of psycho sets their niece’s books on fire? What kind of lunatic plans a second fire in the garage to ruin all my belongings with smoke?"
"That didn't happen," Mom snaps. "You're making it all up. There's just no way—"
She continues babbling while I look over at Knox, lifting my eyebrows. "Everyone in my family has lost their minds," I mouth.
He nods, sitting beside me and turning the phone away.
"I loved hearing you stand up for yourself, darlin'," he murmurs in my ear.
“It was beautiful. I'm so proud of you.” His head shakes.
“People can be weird about family. And Blaire has obviously pulled the wool over your mom's eyes for quite some time. "
I can hear Mom shrieking at the other end of the phone. "Who is that? Is that the mountain man weirdo Blaire was talking about?"
"I could either scream at her or hang up," I say to Knox. "Neither will do any good."
"Do you want to decide, or do you want me to take over for you?"
I’m looking forward to fighting my own battles for the rest of my life, but in this case…? I hand Knox the phone, knowing this has the potential to be an eye-opening experience for my sheltered mother.
He gently takes the phone from my hand, holding it at arm’s length. “Good evening, Mrs. Myers. I'm Knox Wolfe. I'm the one that called the fire department on Blaire."
"How could you? She wasn't doing anything wrong!"
"On the contrary. She was burning Hanna's property in an unsafe structure in her back yard, putting the entire neighborhood at risk. She also threatened to start an indoor fire to destroy the rest of her things. The authorities have the right to do whatever they must to keep the community safe."
Mom jerks back as if ice water had just been dumped over her. "Wait… Blaire truly did those things?"
"Yes. And it speaks volumes that you’ll believe me, but not your own daughter.
" His arm slides around me, squeezing my waist. “Hanna will need some time and space to recover from all this.
Don't worry about her. I will provide her with everything she needs.
I'll also suggest that she give you a call in a few weeks or a month once everyone has cooled down. Have a lovely evening."
He ends the call as I listen to Mom sputtering in shock. I snuggle into his arms, trembling, trying to hold back tears.
“Don’t cry, darlin’.” His warm hands roam all over my back, my shoulders, my hip. “Actually, go ahead. Cry it all out.”
My head tips up and I grin as I blink away a few tears. “It’s relief,” I sputter. “I didn’t realize how much I’d been tiptoeing about those people for so long.”
“No more tiptoeing, darlin’,” Knox grins. “We’re going to stomp all over this mountain and the world together.”