I cinch a knot, loop it tight. “Not a clue.”
Charming shrugs, hauls himself up to sit on the trailer lip. “You gonna man up and tell him you’re fuckin’ around with his sister, or should I break the news?”
“That’s what you think’s goin’ on?” I ask. Maybe too sharp.
He doesn’t flinch. “That’s what everyone thinks is going on. Hell, whole town knows ya’ll didn’t go for ice cream last night.”
I run my thumb over the rope. “Mind your own damn business.”
He grins. “Better tell him before he finds out another way.”
Rogue leans against the trailer. “Heard she left your place early this mornin’.”
“Ya’ll got spies now?”
“Guess you could say half-nephew, half-spy.”
Charming cackles. “You really gotta start using your back door, man.”
“Knew I should’ve put up a privacy fence.”
Rogue leans in, eyes narrow. “You don’t let anyone stay the night. But she did. Why is that, Trouble?”
“Because the last thing I need is y’all giving me more shit than you already do.”
He makes a wounded face, hand to his chest. “We care. That’s all.”
“Yeah, you should care about getting the rest of this shit packed up,” I say, prayin’ like hell Knox heard none of this.
Later that night, we pile into Charming's truck. Charming takes the wheel, me riding shotgun, while Rogue and Knox squeeze into the back, already arguing over the playlist.
Saddle and Oak is already half lit and twice as loud when we pull up, the sign out front glitching so it reads “SAD AND O” to anyone not from around here.
Knox checks his phone, like he’s late to be somewhere, then gives me this look—the one that says he’s about to saysomethin’ serious. “Alright,” he says. “Hazel’s different, okay? She’s a nice, sweet girl. I need y’all to, like, find some damn manners.”
“You sure you’re bringing her to the right place?” I ask, kickin’ open the truck door.
He laughs. “Probably not. But I told her she could meet Sawyer, too. Thought they’d get along.”
“How’s she doing? She say anything to you since what happened?” I ask Knox, meaning Sawyer.
He rolls a shoulder, glances at the door as we approach. “Texted her. She’s all good. Glad the idiot’s gone.”
When we get inside, Hazel’s waiting, quiet and nervous, brown hair in a ponytail. She catches Knox’s wave and smiles.
“Hey!” Knox says, sounding softer than I’ve ever heard him. He wraps her in a hug that lifts her clean off her feet.
She laughs and looks right at me. “You must be the infamous best friend?”
I stick out my hand. “Depends what he’s told you.”
She shakes, firm grip. “That you’re trouble. And he’s lucky you put up with him.”
“Nah, it’s the other way around.”
Hazel nods, amused. “Noted.”
Knox tucks an arm around her. “Come on. Let’s say hi to everyone.”
