Another deep breath. "May I please come live with you for…a month? Maybe more?"
"Like I was saying, yes. Definitely." I lean down for a kiss, but before it can build up too much steam, Liam comes out from the back yard.
He shakes my hand first, then Hanna's.
"Thanks for calling this in," he says. "People who are clueless about small fires tend to start larger ones."
"Yes," Hanna says. "I heard her say she was going to start a fire in the garage so the smoke damage would ruin everything upstairs in my apartment."
Rage surges from my ankles to my shoulders, making my body stiffen. "Can we throw her in jail for that?" I growl.
Liam's head shakes. "Unfortunately, no, but she’ll be fined for this incident. And we'll certainly be keeping an eye on her. " He smiles at my girl. "You must be her niece, Hanna. Do you have anywhere safe to go?"
"She’s coming with me." My arm tightens around her, as Hanna looks up with that warm look in her eyes that drives me wild.
"Good." Liam runs a hand through his hair. "I'm not supposed to put it this way, but that woman is batshit crazy."
"Is it safe to move my girl out right now?" I ask.
"Yes. The guys are boxing up the undamaged books. Then we'll run Blaire down to the police station.” Liam flashes Hanna a grin. "Even though she's just getting a fine, sometimes that helps scare the crap out of people."
"Thank you," Hanna says. "Please scare her as much as you can."
He nods and sends a text, then brushes his hands off on his pants. "Want some help moving your stuff? The other guys can take care of your aunt."
With the three of us working together, packing everything into some empty boxes from the garage, Hanna and I are able to leave fairly quickly.
Just as we’re turning onto the back road leading to my house, I squeeze her hand. "For now, we can just think of this as temporary. Maybe a couple of months. If you want to stay forever, I would be honored. But you don't have to think about that for a few weeks. Just take a well-earned mental vacation. Okay?"
She sighs. "That sounds like heaven."
"You're going to curl up in the library and read everything under the sun, aren't you?"
"Yes."
I squeeze her knee. "That’s my girl.”
16
HANNA
Knox helps me out of his truck, and as soon as my feet hit the driveway, a deep, contented shudder runs through me. He holds me close, a large firm hand running up and down my back. "Cold, darlin'?"
"No. I just…feel the weight lifting." I look up to smile into his gorgeous deep eyes. “I shouldn’t say anything bad about my family, but I was really starting to hate Blaire. How could she pull something like that?"
I tuck my head right into his firm chest as he rocks me from side to side, like we're practically slow dancing. "It's over. You're here with me now. The only places on this entire mountain that are safer than this property are with a few of my relatives."
"I'm excited to meet them all."
"Yeah?" He smirks. "My family’s pretty big, and I'm not good with crowds. So I don't know… Maybe I'll just make a better effort to run into them every so often. How's that?"
"Whatever you like."
Knox only lets me take two trips into the house with my stuff. "That's enough work for you today,” he says. “Why don't you go upstairs and pick out one of the guestrooms?" I guess I looksurprised, because he chuckles. "Of course I want you to stay in my room as much as you like. But you should have your own space, with your clothes and your makeup…" He chuckles again. "And your books. By the way, I'll be replacing the ones that got burned as soon as we get to a bookstore."
"You don't have to do that."
He leans down to give me a soft, tender kiss. "Darlin', it is going to be my extreme honor to care for you." He steps back, the corner of his lip twitching. Is he…uncomfortable?
