Chapter 44
Knox
“No!” My entire world narrows as I watch Leona tackle Farrah to the floor, and then it shatters with the pained sound coming out of the woman I love.
A red haze descends as I rush over, yanking Leona off Farrah and throwing her onto the floor.
Without a second thought, I knock Leona out with a punch straight to her temple before I rush to Farrah.
A knife is sticking out of her side as she lies there limply.
Blood is running in rivulets from a cut to her eyebrow, and I reach out with shaking hands to find a pulse in her neck.
I sag when I feel a strong heartbeat there. I don’t like that she’s been knocked out, but at least I know she’s alive. I gently press my hands around the knife wound in an effort to slow the bleeding down.
Pounding footsteps have me whirling around, ready to fight whoever I need to.
When police officers fly into the room, I relax.
I called them on the way out to the house because I had the exact same feeling I had the night Finn almost died.
“I need a paramedic. Farrah’s been stabbed, and she’s unconscious. ”
Officer Pritchard calls it in through her radio before turning to Leona. “Is this the offender?”
“Yes. Her name is Leona Waters. She’s my ex-wife.
I thought she was in jail. I saw her tackle Farrah to the ground when I came into the house.
I yanked her off and had to punch her when she fought back.
” That’s mostly a lie, but I was not about to hold Leona down and wait for the police to arrive while Farrah bled out right next to me.
I had no idea how close behind me they’d be.
Officer Pritchard follows up on her last call out with a request for a second ambulance. When the paramedics rush toward Farrah, I step back and let them do their job.
I’m looking around as it dawns on me that my son isn’t here. “Where’s Finn?” Panic has me rushing throughout the house, calling his name.
“Daddy!” His scream comes from outside, and I sprint out there. He’s standing in the middle of the yard with a police officer, tears streaming down his face. I wrap him in my arms, holding him to my chest. Sobs rack his body as he holds onto me as tight as he can.
My own tears flow with my relief that he’s okay. At least physically, as far as I can tell. “Are you hurt? Did she hurt you?”
Finn shakes his head. “Is Mommy okay?”
I’m momentarily struck dumb as I try to figure out why Finn would ask if Leona was fine.
“Farrah made me run away when the scary lady attacked her. Is she okay?”
I don’t have time to comprehend that Finn was calling Farrah his mom because the paramedic calls out my name. They’re loading Farrah into the ambulance to go to the ER. I carry Finn closer, but not enough that he can see the state she’s in.
“I’ll follow you to the hospital,” I tell them, knowing I won’t be able to get in the ambulance with Finn, and there’s no way I’m leaving him alone for a good long while. The paramedics nod, closing the door and driving away from my house.
“Knox.” Officer Pritchard steps up next to me. “We’ll need a formal statement eventually, but go make sure Farrah and Finn are okay.”
“I’ll call you when I know anything.”
She nods, patting my arm before heading back into my house.
What a fucking mess.
* * *
Farrah’s hand is warm in mine, and I soak in every gentle squeeze of her fingers. She’s listening to the doctor intently as he tells her what her recovery will look like. It’s all muffled words to me right now.
The only thing I’ve retained is that the knife missed any major vital organ, the slice in her head was long but only needed a few butterfly bandages, and she has a mild concussion from cracking her skull on the coffee table when Leona tackled her.
Farrah woke up a few hours after she arrived at the hospital.
They’d gotten her patched up, but she was disoriented and confused as to why she was there.
It broke my heart to have to remind her about what happened.
Watching the panic and fear fill her face as the memories came back to her was like a knife in my own side.
Officer Pritchard and her partner got our statements, and the metaphorical knife twisted harder, hearing Finn’s account of what happened.
He kept calling Farrah Mommy, and I almost corrected him until I saw the proud look on her face every time he did.
I’m glad Finn didn’t believe Leona’s lies, that he’s choosing to ignore them.
Officer Pritchard informed us that Leona was also let out for early release because of overcrowding, and Farrah and I both made jokes about how shitty our choices were in exes. It was a dark joke that we didn’t really laugh at, but it helped to remove the air of worry we still had floating around.
But then Finn finally fell asleep on Farrah’s chest, and she asked me what happened all those years ago between Leona and me.
She was properly outraged when I told her about how Leona conned me and what almost happened to Finn that night.
She held on to Finn a little tighter while he slept, and I couldn’t blame her.
I should have known money was the cause for Leona’s attack.
The little she stole from me was all she had access to back then.
I’d kept the business accounts in my name, paying myself a “salary” every month instead of living out of the farm account.
I knew combining the money would get murky, and I never wanted to spend more than I could afford.
Leona must’ve found out how successful Waters’ Camping became and thought she could waltz back into our lives as if nothing had happened.
Even if I hadn’t met Farrah, that never would have happened.
This morning, Farrah is doing much better despite the migraine she’s sporting. I, on the other hand, have been panicking all night instead of sleeping. It’s as if the threat is still here, even though I know Leona’s been discharged and locked up. I can’t get my racing heart to slow down.
Finn is still cuddled against Farrah’s side, and she doesn’t seem to be ready to let him go anywhere. Seeing them safe together has been a balm to my anxiety, but I can’t figure out how to calm down.
Farrah’s about to get discharged, and I have no idea what I’m going to do when we get home. Our friends said they cleaned things up for us, but what if there’s still blood on the floor? Seeing that might send me over the edge of hysteria I’m teetering on at the moment.
“Knox?” Farrah’s soft voice pulls me from my thoughts.
“Huh?”
“What’s going on in that head of yours? Talk to me.
” She pulls my hand to her chest, forcing me to lean in closer to her.
Finn wraps his little fingers around my wrist, and it’s their combined comfort that makes me finally lose it.
My tears fall unchecked until I have to drop my forehead onto the hospital bed.
I’d been trying to be strong for both of them. I wanted to be the rock they could rage against at the unfairness of what Leona did to them, but it’s hitting me just how close I came to losing the two people I love most in the world.
It takes a minute before I’m able to calm down. Finn’s been rubbing my arm while Farrah has kept her free hand on the back of my head. I sniff back the rest of my tears and lift my head to grab the tissue being held out. Farrah and Finn work to clean up their own tears while I do the same.
When the three of us have finally composed ourselves, I lean in to press a kiss first to Finn’s forehead and then to Farrah’s, avoiding her cut.
“God, I’m so glad you’re both okay. I keep thinking about how close I got to losing you, and it’s killing me. I shouldn’t have left you alone. I should have been there. I’m so sorry this happened.”
“Shh,” Farrah interrupts me. “Whether it was yesterday or some other day, she still would have done it. I’m honestly glad she did it sooner rather than later because now we can move on with our lives without worrying about anyone else showing up unannounced.”
I sigh, pressing my forehead against hers. “I love you, Farrah. All I kept thinking about yesterday was that I hadn’t said those words out loud, and I need you to know how I feel.”
“I love you too, Knox. With every cracked and broken piece of me, I love you.”
I smile. “I think our broken pieces fit together perfectly.”
“Are you guys getting married now?”
We look down at Finn’s giant grin and start cracking up. I hold Farrah’s gaze as I respond, “One day, we might decide to do that, but for now, we’re just going to be happy as we are.”
“Yeah, we can still be a family even if you’re not married,” Finn says.
Farrah hugs both Finn and me to her chest. “Exactly.”