She fought the urge to stomp her foot on his instep. “Knox, I am not in your family. I’m not joining your family, and I don’t need your help.”
He looked around as if giving up on gaining her assistance with the shovel. “Could you open the garage door for me?”
“No,” she snapped.
He rolled his eyes and stalked over to punch in the keycode.
“How do you know my code?” she asked, her voice rising.
“Rory gave it to me.”
How dare he? “Now, listen—”
“No,youlisten.” Knox walked inside the garage past her SUV, grabbed her bright yellow shovel, and returned, already scraping snow out of the way. “If you’re in danger, you’re covered, even if you and Rory never get back together. But if you ask me, you’re both being stupid if you don’t patch things up.”
He kept his head down as he concentrated, each toss and lift of the shovel revealing his underlying strength as his muscles flexed subtly under the heavy jacket. Man, he looked like Rory.
“You’re all stubborn, you know that?” she griped.
His chuckle sounded just like Rory’s. “We’re well aware,” he said dryly, looking up. “Are you guys getting back together or what?”
“Why do you care?” she challenged.
“Because I’d like to be your brother.”
The words hit her center mass, and she took a step back. She couldn’t think of a reply because, honestly, it was the sweetest thing Knox Albertini had ever said to her, and he’d always been a nice guy. She looked at the shovel and then up at his face.
“I’m not sure I could take the overprotectiveness.” Humor bubbled through her.
He grinned. “Not sure you’ll have a choice there, darlin’.” A bark sounded, and Knox paused, jogging to open the back door of his truck. A massive mutt jumped out, landing in the snow and sliding.
“Thought you were going to sleep forever,” Knox said.
The dog took one look around and then ran full bore for Serenity.
“Halt,” Knox snapped.
The dog tried to stop his advance but slid on the snowy ice, barreling right for her. He hit her in the knees, and they both went down.
“Fabio,” she protested, laughing and curling both hands in his thick fur. “You are a menace.”
The dog panted happily, leaning forward to lick her face. His eyes were a deep brown against the many colors around his snout, shades ranging from white and black to everything in between. He panted happily and then snorted, snuffling snot on her face.
“Gross,” she said, pushing him up. He was heavy, but she adored him.
“Sorry about that,” Knox said, not sounding too apologetic as he approached them. “Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine. You know I am.”
She rolled to her feet with her hands still on the dog. He was a sweetie, and Rory often babysat him when Knox was out of town. For the first time, she better understood why that might be. “How dangerous is your business?” she asked abruptly.
Knox went back to work with the shovel. “We know what we’re doing, but there is danger involved.” He looked up again, his eyes piercing through the darkness. “
“I think you should give him another chance.” He glanced at her hair. “By the way, I kind of like the blond streaks.”
“Thanks,” she said. “I was trying something different.”
He chuckled. “Oh, come on. That’s a heartbreak move.” He stretched his back. “You two belong together, and you need to stop being stubborn.”
