Accidental Knight: A Marriage Mistake Romance(42)

“I’ll need to put some butterfly strips on your knee, which means you won’t be able to get it wet for a few days.” I stand. “You can still take a shower in the bathroom down here, get the rest of the gravel off you, then I’ll grab the strips and make sure it’s bandaged.”

“Here? Since when does this bathroom have a shower?”

I pick up the bowl of water and set it aside for cleanup later. “Since the remodel.”

She watches as I take the bottle of pain pills out of the cupboard and a water from the fridge, and set them on the table next to her. “I’ll go upstairs and get you some fresh clothes to put on. Need anything else?”

“No. Thanks.”

She’s gingerly pulling her feet out of the jeans piled around her ankles. I consider offering to help, but having been in close proximity to that damn-near naked perfection for too long already, I know my limit before bad shit happens.

I need willpower in charge now. Not more temptations.

I’ll need it again if she can’t get those bandages on right herself.

Feeding an honest, self-destructive hard-on for Annabelle Reed is the last damn thing we need right now.

“I’ll be right back, and then I’ll help you to the bathroom.” I leave the kitchen without waiting for her response, taking the stairs two at a time.





The shorts and t-shirt she’d been wearing this morning when she’d opened her bedroom door are lying on her bed. I snatch them, then flip open the top of her unzipped suitcase. The same flowery sweet scent that fills the air when she’s around pours out softly.

Fuck no. I refuse to let it affect me. Can’t let it.

This job is no different than other missions I’ve done in the past. During my military service. I just have to stay focused on the final outcome. An outcome I’ve been working at with Jonah for a long damn time.

This mission is as much for the girl I tell myself I won’t remember when I close my eyes.

Not today, dammit. But, of course, I can’t stop it.

Winnie. That’s why I’m doing this.

Winnie and Jonah and Dad and Bella. Plus that black fucking spot on my soul.

I grab a pair of underwear out of the suitcase, drop the cover in place, and leave the room. In the bathroom, I collect her shampoo and cream rinse from the shelf in the shower and grab the bag she left on the counter next to the sink.

She’s in the bathroom off the kitchen, leaning against the stacked washer and dryer I’d installed during the remodel. This laundry room doubled as another downstairs bathroom with just a toilet behind a short partition wall. Now it’s got a shower and sink as well as a new toilet and several storage cabinets.

“Wow. It’s bigger than before,” she says quietly, turning her eyes up and down, taking in my work.

I set the items I’d gathered on the counter. Then open a cabinet and lift out two towels and a washcloth.

“Took a little space from the old dining room and a brand new wall.”

She’s standing stiff, barely moving. Slowly, I take her arm. “Need some help?”

She shakes her head, looking past me. “No. I’m just...why is there a shower chair?”

I follow her gaze inside the shower.

“Well, the stairs got to be more than Jonah could handle sometimes.” Placing my other hand on her back, I add, “Come on. I’ll help you to it.”

She sighs. “I don’t need any help. I’ll be fine.”

Questioning leaving her, I ask, “You sure?”

Taking a step forward, she nods. “Thank you again. For, well, everything.”

“Okay. Before I get those enchiladas on, I’m going to see to Edison and—”

“Wait! There are some candy canes on the table beside my bed, would you take one out to him please? He loves them.”

She’d twisted around, looking at me, and the hollowness of her eyes tells me a lot about what she’s thinking.

Jonah’s failing health, and how he kept it from her, are hitting home.

“Sure.” I nod toward the shower. “Use that chair so you don’t slip. You’ll feel better after you’ve showered.”

She nods but doesn’t move. Whether she wants my help or not, she needs it.

I scoop her off the floor, careful of her injuries, and carry her across the room. I set her on the chair, and then pull the shower curtain halfway closed.

“I won’t be gone long.” I collect her items and the towels and set them on the small table near the shower just like I had for Jonah. “Don’t try to get out by yourself. I’ll be back to help you.”

“Don’t forget the candy cane.”

That’s one mystery solved. I’d thought it was weird that Jonah asked me to buy several boxes of candy canes this winter and put one in her room because she liked them.

Now I know different. “He’ll get what he’s owed, no worries.”

There are five other boxes in the kitchen pantry, so I grab a cane from one of those boxes. After collecting a few SD cards to swap for the ones in the cameras, I head out the back door.

Edison is in the barn, snorting from his stall as I walk inside. When the lights don’t come on as I flip the switch, I let out a curse.

Whoever came in that pickup was here awhile. Long enough to find the breaker box.