Page 34 of Mountain Protector

My own nightmare is forgotten as I think about Knox and what he must dream about. After almost twenty years in the Army, he must have seen some horrible things. Lost people he cared about. “You can call me,” I tell him. “If you can’t sleep. Not to replace Gage. But if he can’t get online, or… I don’t know.”

His features soften. “Thank you.”

We both fall silent as we look at each other. So much is tangled up inside me—how I feel about what just happened, about being in Knox’s arms… But I don’t know how to unravel it.

Instead, I finally blurt out, “I haven’t had nightmares like this since I was a teenager.”

His jaw tightens. “What happened when you were a teenager?”

I can tell him part of it. The part that doesn’t tear me up inside to think about.

“My dad and I were in a bad accident when I was sixteen. It was a fluke, he hydroplaned and went off the road.”

“Shit.”

“We went into the woods, hit a bunch of trees. Both of us were injured—” My voice catches. “We were stuck there for almost an hour before help came along. So… I had a lot of nightmares after that.”

Knox hugs me closer to him, still being careful of my injured arm. “Were you hurt badly?”

“I spent some time in the hospital, but I’m okay. My dad, too.” Pausing, I add, “That’s one of the reasons he’s so protective of me. Because he feels guilty. Not that it was his fault. But it’s always been him and me. My mom took off when I was a baby, so he was always protective, but after the accident…”

“I get it.”

“He’s better now. But he still worries a lot.”

A wistful expression moves across his face. “It’s nice that he cares about you.”

“It is. It was always just us; he didn’t have any close family. That’s why he pushed me to work for the company. He wants me to take over Weber Investments one day. But if I do… which I’m still not sure about… I want to earn it. That’s why I got my bachelors and masters in finance. And I worked my way up from the bottom of the company. So if I end up taking over, I’ll have earned it.”

Knox stares at me for a second, his eyes seeing too much. “Doyouwant to run the company?”

That’s the real crux of it, isn’t it? Is it my dream? No. But I’m not sure my dream is possible.

Sighing, I admit, “I don’t know.”

Knox shifts, his muscular thighs flexing underneath me, and I suddenly realize I’m still sitting in his lap, which is very muchnota just friends sort of thing.

My cheeks go hot as I start to scramble off him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think. I should get off you. And… it’s late. You probably want to go home.”

“No.” He gives me an unreadable look before lifting me off his lap and setting me beside him. Then his arm wraps around my shoulder, gently hugging me to his side. “I don’t want to go home.”

Snagging the remote from the end of the couch, he turns on the TV and sets it to the Hallmark Channel. “Why don’t we watch another movie? And I was thinking, maybe I’ll just sleep on the couch tonight. In case you have another nightmare. How does that sound?”

Oh.

I don’t think I’ve ever felt this way about anyone before.

“I would really like that.”

CHAPTER 8

KNOX

“I hope the pie turned out alright.”

Lark turns to me, her cheeks flushed from the cold, her lashes and hair dusted with tiny flakes of melting snow. A light breeze lifts her hair, sending strands of fiery red dancing around her face. Surrounded by thick blankets of white in every direction, she’s the rare and perfect splash of color amid it, like a cardinal taking flight in the winter.

My songbird. That’s how I think of her. Not that I’d say it out loud, not when we’re still dancing around what we actually are to each other. Friends? Friends with potential? I don’t know, and I’ve been hesitating to ask.

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