Page 17 of The Knotty Clause

“What did you have in mind?”

“Just some simple decorations, maybe a few small gifts.” She gave him a hopeful look. “I understand if it’s too much to ask.”

He should say no. Should maintain the boundaries he’d set. Instead, he heard himself say, “You should be able to find what you need in the main storeroom. Take whatever you want.”

“But the contract?—”

“The contract doesn’t matter,” he said gruffly, then softened his tone. “Use anything you find useful.”

The smile she gave him made him forget his walls, made him forget everything but the way her face lit up when she looked at him.

Before he could stop himself, he added, “I’ll help.”

“Thank you,” she repeated, and his heart soared.

Later that night, he lingered in the doorway of the bedroom, watching Liam sleep with the careless abandon of childhood. Just as Davi had done so long ago.

“Join me?” she asked softly, pulling him back from the past.

He nodded abruptly and followed her back to the living area. They sat on the couch just as they had the night before, but this time she sat right next to him, her warmth seeping through his fur where their bodies touched. He waited for the usual urge to pull away, to retreat. It didn’t come. Her presence felt right, natural—and that terrified him more than any storm or crash landing ever had.

They stared into the flames in silence for several minutes before she turned to face him.

“Tell me about your family,” she said softly.

He opened his mouth to refuse but the understanding on her face made him reconsider.

“My mother died when I was about Liam’s age,” he said slowly. The first loss.

“I’m so sorry. It was hard enough to lose my mother as an adult. I can’t imagine what it would be like for a child.”

“It was, although my father did his best. He served in the military but he immediately retired so that he could care for me. The first few years were hard but we adjusted. He worked as a mechanic and I used to help him. We were happy enough. Then when I was twelve he decided to remarry.”

“That must have been difficult.”

“Yes—I made sure everyone knew how unhappy I was,” he said ruefully. “But Kaela was very patient with me. She was a wonderful female and I grew to love her like a mother. She and my father had a child, a son. Davi.” His throat threatened to close, and she reached over and put her hand on his arm. “From the time he could crawl he would try to follow me around.”

“Did you mind?”

He should have done—what young male wanted a child toddling after him—but he shook his head. “No. I loved him.”

She didn’t say anything, just waited patiently, stroking his arm.

“When I was eighteen I joined the military. I wanted to follow in my father’s footsteps.” He took her hand in his, seeking comfort in her touch. “My people can be territorial, but I don’t think I ever thought I would be serving in a war. A minor skirmisherupted between two outlying provinces, and it escalated. By the time the fighting ended, my family was gone. My father. Kaela. Davi.”

He stared into the fireplace, the flames blurring before his eyes. “I wasn’t there to protect them and they died.”

“You can’t blame yourself.”

“Can’t I?” he said bitterly. “I swore to protect them and I failed. I failed them all.”

For a long time neither of them spoke, but she continued to hold his hand. It was the first time he had spoken of his family since their death and the words left him raw and aching.

“What did you do then?” she asked finally.

He shrugged.

“Stayed in the military. I had nowhere else to go. I took on the missions that no one else wanted to take because I didn’t care if I lived or died. Somehow I managed to live anyway. When there were no more combat missions, I volunteered as a remote scout. It suited me well enough, but when I crashed here I realized I had no reason to try and return. I decided to stay.”

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