After I’d been driving for a minute he asked, “Why don’t you want people to know what happened between us?”
I gripped the steering wheel as we bumped down the dirt road, going slow because of the ice.
“It’s easier that way. Right? Plus, Emerald has too much going on. I don’t want to add to her plate.”
He looked out the window, his jaw clenching slightly. “You think she’d be that pissed at me that I slept with you?”
“What? No. I justknowher. She’d be afraid I fell for you instead of keeping it in perspective. And she doesn’t need any added stress right now.”
He openly watched me as I drove, studying me intently. “Is it a problem that I’m here? Should I find somewhere else to go?”
The idea of him leaving made my stomach clench in knots. “No. You should stay.”
“Are you sure? Because I don’t want to add to anyone’s problems. And if you think it would upset her so much to find out that we were… intimate, then I think I should leave.”
I felt panicky at the idea. Which might be why I blurted out, “No. It’s just that the doctor told her to avoid any stress. And she’s so caught up trying to find someone to love me that it’s a bad distraction right now. I think she wants to see me settled before the baby comes. And she knows you’re not the settling down type, so she’d just fret over me making bad decisions.You, sir, are a bad decision.”
He frowned over that last part, then focused on what I’d just revealed. “She’s pregnant.”
“Yeah. But I’m not supposed to tell anyone, so you have to keep it private.”
“If anyone can keep a secret, it’s me,” he rumbled. “You know I saw her in the kitchen crying and eating ham slices right out of the package the other morning before anyone else was up. I wasn’t surewhatwas going on. Now it’s all clicking into place.”
I pulled onto the main road, finally done with the bumpy portion of the ride. “The doctors are running tests. They’re fairly certain the baby’s going to be fine, but there are a few warning signs. She’s been waiting for an appointment to open up because they were booked two weeks out.”
Glancing at him, I saw that he looked like he was deep in thought. That was a common look for him. He had a lot on his mind, but he wasn’t quick to share any of it.
Then I asked, “You promise not to say anything about the pregnancy?”
He took my hand in his, shock waves rolling through me where we touched. “You have my word.”
The way he said that feltsolid. As solid as the mountain we were driving on. Knox had an honest streak in him that I admired very much.
He kept hold of my hand, and I drove on with only one hand on the steering wheel, hating the moment when I’d need to make a turn, because I’d have to take my hand back.
“Are you okay with what happened between us the other night?” he asked.
We hadn’t had any time alone to talk about it since he snuck out of my bedroom window.
“Yeah. Um, it ended a little abruptly.”
He chuckled lightly. “I haven’t snuck out of a woman’s window in years. I hate to admit it gave me a little thrill sneaking around with you like that. But I also liked sleeping in the same bed with you. It’s been years since I woke up holding a woman in my arms, and… I kind of liked it.”
I met his eyes, flushing lightly.
A hidden heat stretched between us. It had ever since the first moment we’d met. And it just kept growing bigger and bigger and bigger.
But thinking that made the ache in my heart tighten, and I pulled my hand away. I couldn’t sleep with him again. Not knowing that it was only sex. Not now that I’d developed feelings for him. Feelings that showed no signs of disappearing anytime soon.
Knox rumbled, “Emerald doesn’t approve of me. She said as much that morning I walked in on you two talking about me. She thinks I’m an asshole. That I’m not good enough for you.”
“It’s not exactly that. You weren’t very… social during your first few days, and she might have made a snap judgement about you. But I could always see that you were just quiet, like me. There’s nothing wrong with being quiet. She’s coming around when it comes to you. Just yesterday she said you were really quite respectful, and she likes that you always put the toilet seat down. Eric forgets sometimes.”
He laughed. “The way to a woman’s heart. Putting down the toilet seat.”
We were almost at the auto shop. And we’d just talked more than we ever had before. I pushed my luck and asked, “Whatmade you decide to leave the army and move out here to Red Oak Mountain?”
His expression immediately closed down.
