Accidental Knight: A Marriage Mistake Romance(86)

Since then, I’ve never seen her cry. Not even when she told me about that scumbag who lived with her for three years, who she caught cheating with his ex, right in her bed. Not even after her parents’ funeral, when she was just numb and shocked and sick.

“Hey, come on. They’re revving up the karaoke machine tonight, and guess what? It’s been ages since Kinsleyville had Drake Larkin around to tear up the show. You sit there and watch. I’m gonna give old Linda a run for her money tonight.”

She’s laughing before I even glug down my beer for liquid courage and step up to the mic. By the end of the night, those tears are all happy ones. I win a whole free round for the bar when Linda concedes defeat after I smoke her on three Johnny Cash songs.

It’s the last time I get to see Winnie laugh or cry.

It’s the last fucking time I see her alive.

Because three days later, that Friday, Angie calls me up.

She’s a nursing assistant at the hospital, and she tells me Drew was rushed in, beaten up bad. Four broken ribs, a gash across his face, something like a stab wound in his side where he’d lost a lot of blood.

First, I tried dialing Winnie, but she wouldn’t answer. Thinking she was at the hospital, I rushed on over, expecting I’d find her there. No trace.

I didn’t hear a thing till later, when the kid woke up and talked to the Tribal Police. I knew one of the guys, and he slipped me what little they got.

Drew told them two things.

First he said Winnie was gone. Disappeared, and the entire house was trashed.

Then he mumbled something about the Dragon, the man who took her.

It took me days to do some casing, figure out what the fuck he meant by such an odd, fucked up nickname. Time I wish I’d never spent.

Because by the time I had anything to go on, and went out in a blinding rage, hunting them in a snowstorm, it was too late.

Too damn late for Winnie and Dad both.





Present





“What’re you doing?”

Startled, I spin around. Bella’s on the porch.

Shaking off the bad memories, I say, “Just looking at Edison and wondering how many more bales I need to toss down.”

“You’re such a machine. All that crap with Dad and you want to go right back where you left off.” She snickers. “Need some help?”

It takes my fool head a second to realize what kind of help she means.

Her smile’s so sexy I nearly trip.

“Soon, darlin’. Real soon. Right now, I need you to take this.” I hand her the mail from her old man. “I’m going to finish in the hayloft, shower, and then we’re going to town for supper.”

As much as I’d love to have a repeat of our time in the hayloft, and finish what we’d started, it has to wait till tonight. Or else we’ll never get anything done.

“Fine, suit yourself.” She flashes a wink at me before turning around.

Little minx. Just you wait.

I walk to the barn, trying to convince myself I’m right. A repeat of today can’t happen if I’ve got any common sense, but I can’t come up with a good reason why.

We’re both adults. Consenting adults. Hell, we’re married for fuck’s sake.

I’m dripping with sweat by the time I get the bales tossed down and then stacked in the hay stall. While shoving the last bale in place, I see something tucked behind the string.

An old Post-it note.

I grin. Jonah loved those things.

Reaching, I pull it out carefully so it doesn’t rip. Yep, it’s his writing, all right.



Bella, make me proud.

Drake, do me prouder.

Edison, behave.

If any of you are reading this, then you know I’m still with you.

Love, Gramps (Jonah)



I freeze, staring at the phrase he wrote for me. Do me prouder.

Sly old bastard. I think I’d told him once those were the last words I’d ever said to Winnie. If he wanted to hit me right between the eyes without even being here, he’d done it.

He knows how to motivate me, remind me what’s at stake.

I smile at how he added his name, too, like I wouldn’t know who wrote it. I feed and water Edison, then head for the house.

Bella’s in the kitchen, wearing a thin, silky bathrobe. A short one. Very short.

An animal heat forms a growl, tearing at my throat. “Is that what you’re wearing to town?”

Her entire face shines. “Nope. My cell phone was down here, ringing, when I stepped out of the shower. I just hung up with my friend, Alexa.” She glances at my hand. “What’s that?”

“Yours. I found it in a hay bale. Jonah must’ve stuck it in there before I put them up in the loft.”

She reads it and laughs. For her, there’s no hidden meaning, just a touching, happy note from her grandfather.

We walk upstairs together, talking about Jonah’s infamous love of Post-its.

I fight the desire to ask her to join me in the shower with every step. She grins as we part in the hallway.

I shower under cool, crisp water. The only help I’ll get making my dick behave for a few more hours.

I’ve got patience and discipline in spades, but fuck.

Sitting next to Bella done up real pretty, knowing how she looks naked, and having to put up with Molly Reed’s antics might be too damn much for any raging hard-on.