Page 37 of Mountain Protector

“Knox has been so sweet,” Lark explains. “Since I was having trouble sleeping, he offered to stay at the cabin. Although—” She turns to me. “I don’t want you to feel obligated, Knox.”

“I don’t.” As I remove Lark’s coat, I add, “It’s nice staying here. I’m closer to work,andI’m getting to watch all these great movies.”

Winter giggles. “Are you watching Hallmark Christmas movies, Knox?”

Hawk snorts. “You mean those ridiculous movies where there’s some woman from the big city who moves to a small town and falls in love?”

I arch an eyebrow at him. “And how doyouknow about Hallmark movies?”

He goes slightly pink. “My grandmother liked them. Whenever I visited for Christmas, she made me watch an entire marathon of them.”

Enzo walks into the foyer and grins. “Who’s talking about Hallmark movies?”

“Hawk and Knox are,” Winter replies gleefully. “They both love them.”

“Wait.” Hawk shakes his head. “I didn’t say anything about liking them. Let alone loving. Watching them under duress doesn’t count.”

Enzo chuckles. “Hey, no judgment here.” He pauses. “Much. I mean, I prefer watching manly movies for the holidays, likeDie Hard?—”

Winter takes Lark’s and my coats and plops them in Enzo’s arms. “You watched a Lifetime Christmas movie with me last night. So you can’t talk.”

“Well, we have football on today,” Enzo replies. “Come into the living room. We’ve got snacks to keep us going until the turkey is ready.”

As we follow Enzo and Winter into the living room, he adds, “The turkey should come out of the oven at five—” He glances at Winter and she nods. “So we’ll servedinner around five-thirty. Plenty of time for snacks in the meantime.”

Winter glances over her shoulder at Lark. “Not to follow the patriarchal roles, but you’re welcome in the kitchen with me and Violet, if you want. We’re sort of cooking, but also drinking wine and watching a rerun of theNational Dog Show.” After a beat, she adds with a mischievous smile, “Or you can stay with Knox. Get to know the guys better.”

“Maybe I can do both,” Lark offers. “I’d really like to get to know everyone better. But wine and cute dogs sounds nice, too.”

“It’s okay if you want to spend time with Winter,” I tell Lark quietly, dipping my head so only she can hear me. “Don’t feel like you?—”

She catches my hand. “I don’t.” Her cheeks pink up as she meets my gaze. “I want to spend time with you most of all.”

Oh.

My heart squeezes and expands simultaneously. “I feel the same way.”

“Knox. Come sit over here so we can catch up.” Nolan gestures to the empty spot between him and Alec. He swats Alec’s shoulder. “Move. So we can make room for Knox and Lark.”

Alec moves approximately one inch to the side before dragging his attention from the football game on the TV screen. He smirks at me before saying, “Hey, guys. Grab some snacks. The mini quiche things are delicious.”

What an asshole. I know exactly what he’s doing.

As Lark and I approach the couch, her hand stilltucked inside mine, she eyeballs the empty cushion skeptically. It’s not small for one person, but for two… it’s definitely a tight squeeze. “If you want to sit with Nolan,” she starts, “I can?—”

There are several ways this could go.

I could find another spot to sit with plenty of room for both of us. I could let go of Lark’s hand and encourage her to get to know Ronan and Gage better.

Or I could do what instinct is telling me to.

Tugging her over to the couch, I sit down, pulling Lark onto my lap.

At first, she stiffens, and my heart drops to my feet.

Shit. Did I really fuck this up? Did I make assumptions I shouldn’t?

But before I can apologize or try to play it off like a joke, do literally anything to fix this, she relaxes, leaning back against my chest.

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