Chapter 35
Knox
“Where are we going?”
I give Farrah a look. She huffs, her lips settling into a mulish pout I want to kiss.
I picked her up this afternoon for a surprise date, and she doesn’t love that I’ve kept the whole thing a secret.
She’s asked no less than ten questions about what we’re doing and where we’re going, but I haven’t answered a single one.
I haven’t pissed her off like this since before I kissed her the first time. I’m kind of enjoying it.
I love seeing that fire in her eyes.
I pull off the road, driving through the trees on the well-worn path.
We’re still on my property, but on the opposite side to where Farrah lives.
Her confusion is clear, but I revel in the fact that she trusts me enough to go along with my plan.
I know how hard it can be to blindly trust someone after growing up the way we did.
I don’t take that lightly either. I’m going to use every chance she gives me to prove to her I won’t take advantage of her.
The forest gives way to a small clearing, where an oblong-shaped pond sits to one side, and on the other is a small cabin on a hill.
“Where are we?” Farrah asks again, sitting up in her seat.
“This is part of my company, Waters’ Camping. There’s something called ‘glamping’ that’s become popular with the city folks who want to feel like they’re living rustically without sacrificing their creature comforts.”
Farrah giggles. “I never once imagined I’d hear you say the word glamping, let alone know what it is.”
I sigh. “I never thought I would either. I still don’t quite understand the appeal. We’ve made a killing on it though, so I can’t exactly look down my nose at it.”
“I bet. This place is beautiful.”
“Clients have the option to ride horses out to their cabins or take a guided ATV ride from our main building. Most people like taking the horses to get the full experience. And then at the end of their stay, we pick them up and bring them back to their cars. We take care of everything: food for the duration of their stay, catered meals if they don’t cook, the works. ”
“Wow. I bet that costs a pretty penny.”
I snort. “It’s astonishing how much some people are willing to pay for the experience.”
“So what are we doing here?”
“I thought it might be nice to have a picnic, maybe go fishing or something, and then watch the sunset.”
Farrah looks at me with wide eyes. “You planned all of this? You brought food and supplies and everything?”
I tilt my head, trying to figure out what she’s getting at. “Well, yeah. I wouldn’t have brought you out here without preparing everything first.”
She bites at the inside of her lip, staring out the windshield. “No one’s ever done anything like this for me before.”
“What do you mean? Taken you on a date?”
“Not like this. I’ve never had someone plan the date from beginning to end without me having to handle the details.”
I open my mouth to ask what kind of idiots she’s been dating before I think better of it. It’s not her fault if the guys she’s encountered are assholes. “Then we’d better get started. I packed a shit ton of food, and I want time to have dessert before the sun sets.”
“Dessert?” She perks up, looking at me with interest.
My heated gaze takes in her cropped shirt that shows a strip of her stomach and the cutoff blue jean shorts that I know show off a peek of the rounded curve of her ass. When I get back to her face, a blush has stolen over her cheeks.
“Oh, yeah. Dessert will definitely be on the menu.”
She rolls her eyes, but her mouth is quirked up in a pleased smile. “Come on, Romeo. You’ve got some work to do before you get to have dessert.”
I bark out a laugh as I get out of the truck.
She’s so fucking refreshing. I never knew relationships could be fun.
I’ve always believed they take a hell of a lot of work from both people to make them last. I still think that’s true, but now I know I was missing an important part of the equation.
You need a reason to want to put that effort into the relationship, and Farrah gives me one every single day I’m with her.
I just hope like hell I can give her everything in return.
She helps me unload the truck, carrying more stuff than I wanted her to, saying that if she’s going to enjoy the date, she needs to help out at least a little. I want to argue with her, but she’s got that stubborn set to her jaw—it would be a lost cause to even try.
We lay a big quilt out on the wooden dock and unpack the basket I borrowed from Mrs. Basil the other day. Once the food is spread across the blanket to snack on, we sit quietly, listening to the sounds of summer around us.
I haven’t been able to stop looking at Farrah since we got settled. She pulled her dark hair up into an artfully messy bun that elongates her neck. I’m also noticing that the dusting of freckles stretching across her nose and cheeks has gotten thicker.
She turns to me when she finds me staring at her. “What?”
“You’re beautiful.”
An embarrassed smile flashes across her face. “Thanks.”
Farrah’s phone starts ringing, startling both of us. A deep frown mars her face until she reads the caller ID. All the blood drains from her face, leaving a young, scared woman in its wake. I bolt upright with the change in her demeanor.
“H-hello?” Her answer is shaky while her hand trembles as she tries to hold the phone to her ear.
I can’t hear what the person on the other end of the call is saying, but I can see by Farrah’s face that whatever it is, it isn’t good.
A few seconds later, she ends the call, her hands falling to her lap. She stares unseeingly at the quilt, and I can’t hold back from saying anything. Whoever that was scared the shit out of her, and my protective instincts are blaring at me to do something to erase that fear in her eyes.
“Princess?”
Farrah startles as if she forgot I was here. “What? Sorry. I… Did you ask me something?”
Then her lip trembles, and I can’t take it anymore.
As gently as I can, I pull her onto my lap, soaking in the feeling of her willingly finding refuge in my arms. She presses her nose into my neck to hide away from whatever is weighing on her.
I give her a few minutes to process before I can’t hold my question in any longer.
“Will you tell me what that was about?”
Sighing, she tilts her head so she can respond. “It’s not a pretty story, Knox.”
“I’m quite familiar with grim tales, Princess.”
She nods, diving headfirst into a history I wouldn’t wish on anyone.
Her haunted words send a cold wave of fury through me with each horrid detail.
I have to take deep breaths to keep her from feeling my muscles tighten with the need to leave her here and kill the man who put that tremble in my princess’s voice.
“The trial was brutal,” she says. “I was still black-and-blue and in a shoulder sling when I had to take the stand.”
“I’m so sorry you had to go through that,” I murmur into her hair. I can’t imagine the pain she was in while having to sit there pretending she was fine.
She snuggles deeper into my neck. “I kept my eyes on the prosecutor the entire time. Alex tried everything to get me to look at him, but I never did. Even when his defense attorney tried to sell some story that I’d made up this fake story because I was mad at Alex, I didn’t break.”
“Jesus, Farrah. You’re so fucking strong.” I never knew I could be proud of someone other than Finn, but it’s radiating out of me right now. My girl is the bravest person I’ve ever met.
“It only took the jury a few hours to find him guilty, and he was sentenced a week later. As he was being taken away in chains, I finally looked at him. I wanted to see him finally put away for what he’d done to me for years.
I’d never felt more vindicated yet terrified in my life.
He was looking at me already. The malice in his eyes haunted my dreams for months afterward, but I got to wake up every day without him in my life. It was a dream come true.”
“I understand that feeling. I’d never felt relief like I did after my dad died. Knowing he’d never be able to touch me again was almost euphoric.”
“Exactly. But the detective who was assigned to my case just called me. Alex got paroled because of overcrowding. He’s out now.”
“Fuck. I’m sorry, sweetheart. Do you have a protective order?”
“Yes. And he’s not allowed to leave Wyoming without telling his parole officer, although I’m sure that won’t stop him from coming for me anyway.”
“You’re positive he’ll come after you?”
“I got everything in the divorce. I have no doubt he’ll try to get the money he thinks he’s owed. Not to mention getting revenge for me having the audacity to testify against him in the first place.”
“I hate this fucker.”
My words make Farrah snort. “So do I, but there’s nothing we can do until he makes the first move.”
“Bullshit. I’ve already got a list of things we need to do to prepare.”
She pulls back, her brown eyes shiny with tears. I quickly swipe at them with my thumbs as she says, “You do?”
“I’m going to get your house outfitted with the best security system, first and foremost. Then we’re going to talk to our friends, the police, and most importantly, the town to let them know they need to be on the lookout for this douchebag.
If anyone will find him before he finds you, it’ll be those nosy hens who sit at the Grind and gossip. ”
A slow smile spreads on Farrah’s face. “That sounds like a good start.”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Because for the first time in my entire life, I’m not afraid of that bastard. I’ve never felt more cared for than I do right here in your arms, Knox.”
“I swear on my life, Farrah Nelson, I’m going to protect you with everything I have.”
“I know.” She presses a soft kiss to my mouth.
I pull back. “Now, how good is your firearm knowledge?”
Farrah laughs as if I’m kidding, but I’m about to turn her into a threat her bastard of an ex will never see coming.