Knox laughs again, putting the truck in reverse and backing up to my broken-down truck. When he hops out to hook up the truck, I’m hit with his scent. The familiar and rugged smell of amber and pine. I groan, sinking into the seat and remembering the way that scent hit me the first time.
The first time everything felt like it wasn’t collapsing around me.
The first time I felt seen.
CHAPTER 2
KNOX
The first time I saw Emery Bennett, I wanted her all to myself.
I knew immediately she wasn’t from here. I spotted her mousy brown hair and small button nose from across the room at a house party I stumbled into after a long day of working at Sal’s. I loved the feeling of grease underneath my fingernails even at sixteen.
She wasn’t like the other girls in Honey Grove. An extra-large T-shirt of a band I had never heard of was draped over her body, and I could tell she was the type who liked to stay hidden. It was almost like she was daring me to notice, and I couldn’t help but fall right into her trap.
She was standing alone. Obviously dragged here by some shitty friend who left her there to fend for herself.
Her arms were crossed tightly over her chest, and something told me she’d rather be anywhere but here. I wasn’t the only one staring, either. There was a group of boys around my age eyeing her up. They were just as intrigued as me, but she had no clue as she watched the crowd avoiding everyone’s gaze.
When I finally got tired of watching, I stepped forward only to be cut off by one of the younger guys on my football team. His name was Tommy.Idipped back into the shadows and decided to watch the show.
Tommy strutted up to her with all the confidence of Prince Charming—except he was more like a frog in an oversized football jersey. He wasted no time slithering next to Emery and even attempted to throw his arm around her before she ducked at the last second.
Emery had a polite smile on her face the entire time that made my jaw click. I was expecting some fight from the new mystery girl, and all I saw was a damsel in distress. But at the time, that was my bread and butter, so I jumped at the chance to be the hero.
“Tommy, why are you bothering this poor girl?” I asked. My eyes adjusted to the dim lighting of the room and noticed a light patch of freckles decorating the bridge of her nose. And those eyes reminded me of two storm clouds ready to burst at any moment.
“Come on, Knox,” Tommy whined in a nasally voice. “Can you let me have this one? Just once?”
Emery’s nose wrinkled in disgust, and she politely shuffled away from the boy, still not making eye contact with me.
“Get lost, Tommy, before I have the coach bench you for the rest of the season.”
One eyebrow lift and a few pointed scowls had Tommy disappearing into a cartoon-like ball of smoke. I didn’t see him for the rest of the night.
“Am I supposed to thank you or something?” Emery asked with the tiniest bit of bite behind the question. There she was.
I shrugged, trying my hardest to play it cool. “No need for thanks, Bambi. Just saving you from a very mediocre night.”
She looked up at me then and really looked this time. Hereyes scanned me carefully, trying to decide if I was trouble or not. Her judgment wasn’t very good back then. I knew I had her locked in when her lips twitched into a half-smile.
“Bambi? That’s not my name.”
“I never said it was. It just suits you.”
She rolled her eyes, but the smile on her face never dropped. “You don’t know anything about me.”
“Is that an invitation?” I asked, leaning in. She was as good as gone.
“Why do I get the feeling I traded one clueless idiot for another?” she asked with a playful drawl.
I laughed, tilting my head to the side and leaning over her small body. “I may be clueless, but I can promise to show you a much better time.”
She shook her head, still smiling. It had the makings of a girl I’d flirt with and never speak to again, but everything about her captivated me from the moment we met.
Her smile, her quiet, careful presence, and the kind of sadness behind her eyes that motivated me to do anything to make her laugh. God, I used to love her laugh.
Looking back, maybe I should’ve walked away. Let Tommy take his shot. But no—I wanted her, and for a while, I had her.
