Page 94 of Falling for Autumn Again

Canelo slams the cruiser door shut, and with it, Mav's rants go silent.

“You are a better man than me, Ezra. I would have shut him up with my fist.” Canelo’s brows bounce once. Did my lawful friend just give me permission for disorderly conduct as long as it’s warranted?

“Where are you taking him?”

“He can cool off behind bars tonight.”

I nod once—good.

I turn back for Autumn, but she’s already walking five steps ahead of me in the direction of the parking space we purposely took—a mile away from the festival so we could walk hand in hand this fall night.

Jogging three long steps, I catch up to her. I reach for her hand but she folds her arms into a tight fold.

“I’m sorry, Autumn. I know he caused a scene and—”

“Do you really think I care about a scene?” She swats at another tear on her face, growling in the process as if that tear has insulted her.

I’m not sure what the answer is here. No one loves a scene like that, right? “Okay. Still, you’re upset and I’m sorry. I didn’t know he’d—”

She stops her trek, only feet from the car. “Of course you didn’t know. I’m not blaming you.” But her tone says she’s angry…

I scratch my head. Once upon a time, I felt responsible forMav's actions. Somehow in my mind, his wrongs were my fault. Somehow I was supposed to control or change him.

I know better now.

I’m not responsible for his words or actions. And while I’m sorry that encounter happened, I won’t take credit for it. Autumn wouldn’t want me to. But she’s clearly upset. And I’m not sure how to help.

“I’m sorry,” she says through another bout of tears.

“You?” I shake my head. “What do you have to be sorry for?”

“If I hadn’t brought you to the festival. If you hadn’t beenhere.”

“Autumn.” I wrap one hand around each of her shoulders, dipping my head to force eye contact. “No one is responsible for Mav but him. I’m not going to live in a box because Mav Bennett is still alive and ranting. So, what’s new? His behavior tonight isn’t my fault and it isn’t yours.”

Her throat bobs with a swallow and she nods, but no words escape her.

Leaning in, I press a soft kiss to her mouth. She lets me, but she doesn’t kiss me back.

Chapter Forty-Six

Autumn

“Let me make you some cider,”Ezra says, walking me over and sitting me on my couch.

“Stop it,” I tell him. “Stop fussing. I’m not injured. I’m not hurt. You—” My eyes flutter up to his, bent and hovering over me. “You were the one attacked.” Like a nightmare come to life, there was Mav, ready to hurt Ezra all over again. Like time hadn’t passed at all.

His brows knit. “Not attacked.”

My throat aches with a swallow and I lift a hand to his face, where Mav made his mark. “You’re bleeding, Ezra.” Tears well in my dumb eyes again. They won’t stop. “You’re bleeding because he got near you again.”

“I’m fine.”

I cup my hand to his cheek and run my thumb just below his eye and over his still-bleeding cut. Ezra may not realize it, but he’s got a string of blood running down his cheek. He winces with my touch and I let my hand fall back into my lap, wiping the blood on my finger onto the thigh of my jeans.

“Hey,” he says, attempting to erase what I’ve done. “That’ll stain.”

A sad scoff falls from my lips. Mav has stained so many things. “It will.”

---